Despite the optimistic and righteous say, most human beings are visual and frivolous creatures. Most of the time, one’s motivation to pick up a skill or a piece of clothing or a gadget doesn’t wander too far from “cool”. With that in mind, METROFARM, has probably created the coolest DJ Desk we have seen and would absolutely drive many to pick up DJing. Based in Berlin, METROFARM is a design studio run by Julia and Nunu. The studio has a roster of clients such as Nike, 55DSL, ABSOLUT Vodka, Idee, Pioneer and BEAMS. The high end DJ Desks created by METROFARM are crafted specifically to the DJ’s equipment, and some of the models built here come in a variety of style and installation methods. There is minimalist yet party-worthy stainless steel number with mixers and turntables embedded into them; a bright orange legless number that is bubbling 60s; a nature-inspired woody number….and sorts. Rather than the usual boring black boxy platform of a DJ stand, these will make the most important equipment of a bar/club as swanky as the place itself, and definitely be the enviable fixture in any home.

via: http://www.freshnessmag.com

Got a few new records and recorded myself practicing with them.

Cedar Falls, Iowa what.

Giant Step presents the final throwdown at Hudson for 2009!

DJ DANNY KRIVIT

(2 in one year?! Yes!)

His set earlier this year was so tight they decided to do it again…

They of course could have called me to do it but hey, I like Danny sooo…

That’s the flyer for the event. You can go to

www.giantstep.net

to sign up for the event. You are only allowed 1 RSVP per person;

If you have friends who want to go simply refresh the page and add their name and email address and they will be added to the guest list.

BTW the event is FREE as always but the drinks definitely are NOT.

Below are some photos of Mix To Go’s coverage of the last event Danny played for at Hudson:

There’s a beautiful message in the music!

Workin’ the box as they used to say!

The crowd was clearly having a good time…

…and so was I! Until December 28…peace!

Hello all! Today is Thursday and we have only 1 day until TGIF! I know a lot of you were happy at that thought! So here we go with today’s question.  When my generation was growing up, we listened to mostly records and cassette tapes. Originally we would get that favorite album out put it on the record turntable set the needle, sometimes placing a quarter on the needle so it wouldn’t skip and listen to good music.   Then came the advent of the cassette tape. Man, we’d get some blank tapes and sometimes tape the radio because we wanted to hear our favorite songs over and over again or a certain mix from DJ Red Alert or DJ Kid Capri especially if we didn’t have our own copies of the songs. Exclusives were really exclusive back then also because we couldn’t go and download them back then. As a matter of fact the internet was almost never heard of during those times. There even was a trend amongst people in the hood who used to put tissue or tape over the top corners of a cassette to dub over a tape that they no longer wanted to listen to or just simply didn’t like. LOL We sure can be creative! LOL As in the words of the late great Notorious B.I.G. “we let our tapes rock until our tapes popped!”. Then came the internet takeover, we no longer had to wait for songs to come out because with a certain file sharing program we could simply download the song if we had the right search string and even more so with the invention of the MP3 player, such as the Ipod, Zune and many others, we no longer had to have a physical copy of the song.  This has led to lower record sales and tightened the profit margin of many record companies, publishing companies and royalty management companies . This trend has affected artists both new and old. So my question for you today is do you think with the state of technology and its potential for advancement, that we will eventually wipe out the need for record companies because of insatiable appetite for new music?  As always comments are deeply appreciated.

http://www.mediafire.com/?1qmkzzm0zjn

The Slew: Forging the new chapter of rock. 100%: The iconic rock turntable experience.

What started as a soundtrack to a film never made has spun into an amps-at-11 turntable rock experience.

Four and a half years ago, Eric San (aka Kid Koala) and Dylan J. Frombach (aka Dynomite D) started working on a rock record. The pair, who met on the Beasties Boys tour in 1998, had been approached to soundtrack a documentary feature film. The film was eventually abandoned, but with Mario C on board for mixing, San and Frombach were already deep into the psych rock-influenced score and there was no turning back.

Teaming up with Chris Ross and Myles Heskett, the former rhythm section of Grammy Award-winning band Wolfmother, The Slew set out to put together a full-blown rock band experience to do justice to the material in a live setting. And justice was served: The truly excessive six turntables, drum, bass, keyboard and wall of amps that made their way across North America this October made for a full-on raw, pummeling rock experience. The Slew bring punk rock attitude back to the turntable unlike anything you’ve ever heard.

The Slew’s album, 100%, was given away online ahead of the tour, and limited quantities were made to sell at the gigs. Due to overwhelming post-tour demand,100% is now hitting record stores, distributed by Koala’s longtime record label, Ninja Tune. Backstage rumors suggest more shows and new material from The Slew may emerge at some point, but for now, enjoy 100% in all its rock excess.
@ hangout.altsounds

This piece in the New York Times describes the reintroduction of vinyls as a legitimate way of listening to music. Obviously, with the rise in vinyl comes to rise of turntables, and journalist Patrick McGeehan discusses this new interest in a technology that was previously seen as “ancient.”

I found this piece very informative. I thought that it addressed the phenomenon well, and clearly laid out the history of vinyl/turntables as well as the ramifications the revival has.  He engages the reader by mentioning some of the bigger artists that have been issuing records on vinyl and explains why people have been putting out and buying LPS. Interestingly enough, he contributes this interest to games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, which get younger generations interested in older genres of music that were heading the vinyl era decades back.

He also delves into the economic implications–he mentions the decline in CD sales, how much turntables are going for now, and what record labels are doing to handle the new trend.

Perhaps it is my heavy interest in vinyl (which could be called an obsession by some), but I think McGeehan hits the nail on the head in this issue piece. He covers all the bases in a way that is engaging, which makes the length of piece exciting rather than daunting.

Vinyl sits and waits
(quietly) on my top shelf–
need a turntable

In times of stress, we all have our vices we turn to. Mine include Snyder’s of Hanover Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzel bites (the “crack pretzels”), oversized flannel shirts I tend to wear on a daily basis, expensive cappuccinos from Think Coffee, watching The Graduate, and Fleetwood Mac. Yes, that’s right. Most people associate Fleetwood Mac with flowy skirts and that classic rock station the grocery store likes to play. And yes, some of their later stuff is a little bit of an epic fail. But 1977’s Rumours is a perfect piece of blues-inflected rock and roll wonder. Come on, any album where everyone in the band is writing about everyone else in the band’s failed relationships is bound to have some good stuff on it.

you see your gypsy....

One of the joys of Fleetwood Mac’s catalogue is the diversity of songwriting styles that each of the different members brought to the group. Stevie Nicks made her name off of her witch-woman pop with her ethereal voice. Lindsey Buckingham brought the bluegrass meets power chord element. And Christine McVie wrote some incredibly smooth tracks that brought a little bit more of the funk. Mix it all together and what do you get? No, not a disjointed effort as one might expect, but a fully-realized album that brings together a diversity of musical styles to create a comprehensively listenable work.

There’s the positivity and piano jangle of “Don’t Stop”:

There’s the ultimate drivingly catchy pop anthem about independence and love’s loss that captures the sentiment of “I’ve Been Up For Forty Eight Hours Writing A Paper About Proto-Feminism In Shakespeare, My Personal Life Is Falling Apart, I Have No Idea What I’m Doing With My Future, But I’m Going To Be Fine” (and one of my favorite Guitar Hero levels!):

There’s the underrated acoustic gem “Never Going Back Again” with an almost melancholic guitar twang that gets me every time:

And, okay, this last one might not be from Rumours, but come on, it is Stevie at her most Stevie-esque, flowy skirts and smooth as butter voice and references to nostalgic gypsydom and all. I like to turn it on loud and walk around the East Village late at night while wearing my big vintage faux fur coat:

And let’s not kid ourselves, we all know Lindsey Buckingham definitely deserves a spot in the highly competitive Seventies White Boy Afro Hall of Fame:

The Hair That Defined A Decade

Procrastination is so much better with the right soundtrack.

Great news! My test pressing did arrive from Rainbo Records on UPS today

A test pressing may also be called a White Label which is essentially A Dummy record that can be played and tested before the full product run.
I did check the record for errors and it seems to be AOK.. There are 4 sides to the upcoming Fleiss 45 so 4 copies of 4 sides where issues as test pressings

Wow! Rick Lepore delivered as promised All 4  sides, A,B,X & Z of the new upcoming e.p Fleiss release on Your Mixed Stare, LLC titled “Fat Noble Kings Eat Buffalo Wings”. The quality of the record manufacture is outstanding & I AM looking forward to the full run that will include the artwork & full track listing.. I told Rick to “Lock & Load” & “Send the Wax to the Max”  (a music biz term 4 “”Start of full production run”). He told me selling of vinyl records especially 7″ 45′ is on the upturn & they are busy selling all kinds of records for Christmas

As you can see my desk in The Office is a mess right now (i need a professional organizer) butt things are allways Mad @ Your Mixed State

Here is a Coolpix of the Test Pressing. The A side 4 The Fleiss e.p ”Fat Noble Kings Eat Buffalo Wings” is called “Anarchy On A Small Business Blog – (Jan Norman’s Blog)’” It’s been specially remixed 4 vinyl

Here is a rare picture of a test pressing. As u can see Quality is Job #1

Additional updates & details of the new record from Your Mixed State, LLC will be coming soon so join our Feedburner to always be connected

GuN

Simon Elvins.

How-To-Make-a-Paper-Turntable video.

Hello! And welcome to our blog!  We are still trying to get the hang of it so bear with us…We started this blog because we want to share our experience with you.  If you haven’t heard about us before, we are Fox ‘N’ Feel.  We started this DJ group in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil back in 2007, actually it started with Diogo and his friend’s sister.   I, Juliette, was still in California with a brand new Stanton DJ turntable kit with live mixes that my roommate used to say sounded like shoes in a dryer.  Once I moved to Rio to live with Diogo, we started to play together (a couple that plays together, stays together!)…and off we were!  Fast forward, or flash forward if you like the show, to 2009, now.  We are producing music like crazy, thanks to Diogo’s hard work and research, and we are just trying to figure out the whole music industry.  We thought we might give it one last push to see if we can really make it…be “The International DJ” (echo echo echo) that I’m sure we have all fantasized about…travel around the world, play at all the best parties (ahem, IBIZA) and drink champagne with David Guetta while texting Erick Morillo and twittering with Funkagenda. In other words, we are still trying for a chance at “The Good Life,” as Kim Fai or Frank Sinatra might say.  Please join in our conversation and share your stories too!  Try not to self promote too much and we will try too  ….(I know, its hard not too).

Thank you!

Spotted @ yankodesign

Just a concept, but this looks dope!

More details here

โรงงาน Panasonic คงต้องบอกลา กับเจ้า Turntable  ระดับตำนานนี้ เชื่อว่า Dj  เกือบทุกๆคนต้องเคยผ่านเจ้า  Turn ตัวนี้มานับต่อนับแล้วด้วยทั้งความเสถียร

และไม่ งองแงบวกกับความ  Classic สุดจะบรรยาย  และด้วยอายุ อานามของมันที่ ป้าเข้าไปเข้า 30 ปี ไปเรียบ แล้ว (ถือกำเนิน เมื่อตุลา1972 ) แต่ความนิยมในหมู่ Dj มิเคยเสื่อมคลาย ส่วนตัวแล้วผมก็เป็นFan ของเจ้า turn ตัวนี้อยู่เหมือนกัน ชอบ และอยากได้ที่มีไว้ครอบครองตั้งแต่ เรียน มหาวิทยาลัย แต่ว่ากว่าจะเก็บเงินซื้อมาได้ก็ ยัน ทำงาน ได้ซักปีที่ 2 ละมั่ง โน้นแหนะ    แต่น่าเสียดายครับ กับการประกาศจากโรงงานPanasonic ว่า จะทำการเลิกผลิตเจ้า คุณปู่จอมซ่ารุ่นนี้แล้ว (และในรุ่น 1210 ด้วยเช่นกัน) แต่ผมว่าอย่างไรก็คงจะไม่มีผลกระทบกับเหล่า Dj บ้านเราเสียเท่าไรเพราะเท่าที่เห็นกันอยู่ในเมืองไทยนี้ ส่วนมากนั้นจะเป็นของมือสอง หรือมากกว่า ที่ได้หมุนเวียนเปลี่ยนมือกันไปยัง ตาม บ้าน และ ร้าน ต่างๆ   เหตุที่ทาง Panasonic ต้องทำการ ยกเลิก การผลิต อาจเป็นผลกระทบมาจาก ที่เหล่า Turntable ยีห้ออื่นๆ เช่น Numark  Staton   ได้ทำการตีตลาดระดับล่างโดยการสู้ด้วยราคาที่ต่ำกว่าอย่างมากมาย อีกทั้ง เหล่า DJ  ที่พากันผลันเปลี่ยน ไปสู่โลก Digital เช่น Computer Dj  และ CDJ  ซึ่งเป็นTrad ที่กำลังมาแรงในปัจจุบันซึ่งทำให้ ลูกค้ากลุ่มใหม่นั้น เข้าถึงได้มากว่า  ทำให้ยอดของการจำหน่าย ช่วงปีหลังลดลงเป็นอย่างมาก  คงเหลือ ไว้แต่กลุ่มตลาดเครื่องเสียง ระดับHi-End  เพราะด้วยค่าตัวถึง 499$  ถึงอย่างไรก็ตาม เชื่อว่าหลายๆคงคงจะเสียดายและไม่อาจที่จะปฎิเสธได้ว่า ความรู้สึกที่ได้สัมผัส และ Feeling ในการเล่นที่มีต่อ Technics 1200 Series  นั้นหาตัวจับได้ยาก  ในอุปกรณ์ระดับเดียวกัน จึงทำให้ Panasonic ไม่สามารถที่จะปฏิเสธต่อการเปลี่ยนแปลงของตลาดนี้ได้   อย่างไรก็ตาม  ขออย่าง เดียว ว่า ขอให้ เหล่าอุปกรณ์ และอะไหล่ต่างนั้น ยังคงเหลือ และ หมุนเวียนอยู่ในตลาด ไม่อย่างงั้น หากถึงเวลาที่ไม่มีอะไหล่
เวลาซ่อมคงเป็นเรื่องใหญ่แน่ T_T

The Technics Turntables will be discountinued. Even with so many mixers and controllers around, the DJ never had a hard time in choosing his/her turntable.  Technics SL-1200 came out in 1972 as a milestone in electronic music. It gained for +35 years the status of THE most solid turntable for a DJ. It was followed by the improved MK2. The latest version, SL-1200MK6, came out in 2007.

I myself own an MK5. I look at it with pride, nostalgia, I see history, symbol, touch.

Implications? Finally & unfortunately we can say the sunset of an era.

Photos of the amazing DJ crew in Osaka, Japan: Banquet

Taken on the 11th of December, 2008

Photos of the amazing DJ crew in Osaka, Japan: Banquet

Taken on the 13th of November, 2008

It is rumoured that a classic workhorse of the music DJ is to stop being manufactured in February 2010. The Technics SL1200 series of vinyl turntables first saw the light of day in 1972 as a Hi-Fi turntable with an improved MK2 model released in 1978 and soon became the DJ’s dependable favourite. It is widely considered to be one of the durable and reliable turntables ever produced. The British Science Museum even has one amongst it exhibits of technology items that have shaped our world.

Much beloved of Hip Hop DJ’s due to the direct drive motor (rather than the belt drive of most Hi-Fi turntables) which easily leant themselves to the 80’s scratching phenomena. Highly accurate pitch controls made them an ideal tool for mixing too.

But demand has been falling as digital decks have become more sophisticated and as vast libraries of sound can now be stored on small memory cards, hard drives and laptop computers.

It is thought the SL-1200 and SL-1210 models will stop production in the new year. Their durability is almost their weakness as there are probably enough working models in circulation to satisfy its increasingly minority niche position with demand no doubt easily satisfied by the second user market.

If the rumours are true it will truly be the end of an era for many.

Photo by johanlundahl under this creative commons license

So, you might have seen the news around the internets that Panasonic (The manufacturer of Technic Turntables) is ending production on the 1200 & 1210’s in February 2010.

My question is WHY?

I understand and realize lots of DJ’s have went “Digital” but seriously…. a real DJ uses every piece of arsenal they have and can find to enhance their performance/music/art. I personally support all the new digital equipment/software coming out and the ability to manipulate sounds on the fly, but I do NOT see them replacing my beloved 1200’s. I see the new breed of digital DJ software as additions to what I currently use. I prefer to incorporate new technology into my current setup to make me a stronger DJ and in return give the crowd a greater experience.

Don’t get me wrong… I understand the impact that Ableton Live has made with some DJ’s & especially Live acts, but why not add all this new technology along with your tables? It seems to me if you take away the tables (or CDJs), you are not really DJ’ing anymore. Anyone can auto mix using the muiltitude of DIY DJ software now available. A real DJ learned on vinyl.

I’ve read the press release about the partnership between Ableton & Serato. So what does that mean for Serato? Serato is controlled thru timecoded records or CD’s. Does this mean we are have to all start using CD’s?? What about the DMC Championships?

I am not sure how true or false this is I just know there’s more and more talk of it and it’s coming basically from down under. Let’s hope these rumors are false. My tone arms are crossed. I hope to update when more information is released.

INDUSTRY-LEADING TURNTABLE MANUFACTURER TECHNICS TO STOP PRODUCTION OF DANCE MUSIC STAPLE.

WTF?  I know that the digital revolution has taken the dj industry by storm, but can it really be true that analog decks like the infamous Technic 1200 and 1210’s have become “outdated.”  Many of the world’s leading dj’s, including Armand Van Helden, Sasha, and Tiesto, have converted to digital media, but can it be so that the rest of us also prefer cdjs and laptops over classic analog decks and vinyl records?  I, for one, have three Technics and one single Pioneer cdj200 (which I am selling, btw. $200. Holla.)  For me, instead of having countless unlabeled discs strewn about the studio and boxes and crates of heavy records, I prefer to use Serato technology to dj – with turntables instead of cdjs.  In  my opinion, Serato is thus far the best medium for storing and performing with your music and although Serato is compatible with cdjs  (and I thoroughly enjoy spinning on the excellent Pioneer CDJ1000) I much prefer the sound/feel of old skool turntables.

Needless to say, if this news about the death of an icon is true and not some rampant rumor, my decks are here to stay.  If I ever thought about selling them before, they are now mine to keep forever.  I hope that vinyl records as a whole don’t go away either.  Still, I look to the future and say, Bring on the nu nu shit thats gon revolutionise the dj even further and put us closer than ever to the micro-edit, reworking the music as much as possible to really make our performances our individual and unique.

Read more about the demise of the Technic turntable here.

Cette semaine, dans MUST HAVE, G.M. fait tout l’inverse de la dernière fois.

Souviens-toi, précédemment, je partais d’un objet “carrément trop branché” (les BE@RBRICKS DAFT PUNK) pour finir par déblatérer sur un truc parfaitement hideux (le SNUGGIE).

Et bien aujourd’hui, j’ai décidé de faire tout à l’envers et de commencer par te présenter ça :

J’imagine déjà ton air incrédule face à ces photos…^^

Voici les caps NEW ERA x LEGO designées par Jean Charles de CASTELBAJAC.

Spécial comme accessoire non?!

Pas facile à porter, sûr!

De somptueux couvre-chefs à matcher absolument avec une paire de sneakers Jeremy SCOTT!

Histoire de s’attarder encore davantage dans un univers joyeux et ludique, façon Casimir & L’île aux enfants.

Héhé…

Avec ça, tu serais vraiment parfait lecteur/lectrice!!!

Mais finalement, après avoir bloqué quelques minutes sur ces créations assez dingues (MAGLOIRE en aurait déjà commandé deux palettes entières), je me suis dit que j’allais plutôt te présenter ce qui suit.

Histoire de renforcer un peu plus le côté “nerd hypeux” de ce foutu blog.

Il s’agit là du mange-disque (j’aime bien ce terme) CARHARTT x VESTAX Handy Trax USB Turntable.

Bien plus frais pour débarquer en soirée qu’un vulgaire IPOD TOUCH ou même un PACEMAKER!

Alors en vrai, pourquoi mon choix s’est-il porté sur ce machin?

1. Et bien déjà parce que je le trouve assez beau cet objet et aussi parce sans en posséder personnellement, j’aime bien les vinyles.

2. Et puis je kiffe également tout ce qui se rapporte de près ou de loin à cette obscure science dite du “mix” (que je n’ai malheureusement jamais su apprivoiser).

3. Enfin, je sais qu’au sein de ma horde de lecteurs, il y a de nombreux ex-disc-jockeys!

Parmi eux, je peux même t’affirmer lecteur/lectrice que certains avaient du talent! A en faire pâlir de jalousie Bob S. et la GUETTA réunis!

Mais que veux-tu? La night, les femmes, l’alcool, les smarties, tout ça, tout ça… ont peu à peu détruit leur soif de scratch et de beat juggling.

Avec cette platine super smart, voici donc de quoi peut-être leur redonner envie de tâter du vinyle autrement que via des combinaisons intégrales pour soirées à thème…

Au final, quoique tu en penses, tout ça, c’est MUST HAVE à mort!!!!!!!!

See ya.

$99.99

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I ended up buying a record at a Wilco show over the summer, so I needed a record player. The cheapest one I could find was this Crosley Rochester for about $100 at Target.

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It pretty much gets the job done. For only $100 you get an am/fm radio, a CD player, a tape deck, and a record player. Pretty nice. But when you try to do so much, it’s hard not to botch it in one way or another.

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The sound quality is pretty nice. It looks like there are speakers all around this thing, in the front and on the sides, and as far as I can tell, it really does. The only problem with sound quality comes in with AM radio. I listen to AM radio from time to time and when I do, it’s hit and miss. The antenna wire thing that it comes with doesn’t really deliver. KXLU is MIA on the radio, which is bummer city., but besides that, you’re pretty much set.

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Since it is a manual interface, I can’t digitally store radio stations, so when I listen to FM I have to spin to each station, looking for a good song. Luckily, I’ve all but given up on FM radio, so no big deal here.

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The CD’s work fine and listening to an LP is easy-breezy. Also, it has a MP3 jack, so that’s pretty cool, too.

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The only issue I really have with this machine is the way it plays my cassettes.

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So, the good thing about cassettes is that you can rewind and fast forward and record and stuff like that, right? Well not if you’ve got this guy. You can only play. You put the tape in, select “tape” on the format option, then it just starts playing, and it won’t stop until the tape is done on that side. You can’t fast forward through songs or rewind to hear one again.

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If you want to hear the same song twice you need to turn the tape over, listen to the other side for like…2 minutes or however long the original song was, then turn it over and listen.

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Why? How hard would it have been to add these functions? How can you even call this a tape deck? It’s like buying a car and then finding out you can’t put it in reverse or buying a TV and finding out you can only watch so many channels. Rewind and fast forward are inherent features to a tape deck. This is a crime against humanity.

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I looked online to see other people’s reviews and it looks like the turntable loses speed after some use (some report it slowing down and/or not working before a month of ownership. I haven’t had this problem). Some people say tape decks get stuck, other people say the CD’s won’t play. So I guess I’m kind of a lucky buyer in this case.

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I haven’t had any of these problems, but it looks like they’re serious, and it looks like they’re common. If you just want a record player, it does the trick, or at least it has for me. Just keep your receipt to be safe, and keep your eye on the turntable speed.

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I’m giving the Crosley a C+. It’s a good record player, MP3 player, and CD player, but it actually lies to the consumer about its cassette playing ability.

We love new gadgets, and this Carhartt x Vestax joint is crazzzzzyyyyy!  Can we say mobile DJ?

Made with a tough plastic casing and the capability to operate at angles of up to 90 degrees make the Handy Trax player fit for universal use. On top of this, a stereo line-out makes hooking it up to your hi-fi system at home easy and a mini line-in jack also allows you to connect external devices such as MP3 players. If you prefer to listen to your music digitally but own a large analogue collection, you can easily transform your vinyl into binary code via the newly integrated USB port.

The Carhartt x Vestax Handy Trax USB Turntable will be released mid December.

Via Hypebeast.