Deftune

Thanks for the rec James!

Get hyped with this track by Bullion entitled Get Familiar Yes, Get Familiar with this cross of off beat hip hop , and grimy electronic distortion to get you off your feet. You can find this off his newest single of the same title. Enjoy the freshness!

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If you love music then it would be a shame if you didn’t have Nostalgia 77’s One Offs, Remixes and B Sides album in your collection. I consider it one of the best albums I’ve heard in a LOOOOONG time. It features 22 remixed Nostalgia 77 tracks featuring a highly talented collection of artists such as Alice Russel, TM Juke, Bonobo. Natural Self, Elizabeth Shepard, and The New Mastersounds. If you’re into jazz, hip hop, downtempo, experimental, or just music in general this is definitely worth checking out.

Check out this track called Your Love Is Mine by The New Mastersounds featuring Corinne Balley Rae

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Check out this exclusive by Peter Hadar created with Nicolay, for a mixtape by DJ Jamad. I was a little curious to hear what this song was about. When I saw this first thought was…watermelon??? what???….but, I was only about 10 seconds into the song before I was thinking, wow, this is a pretty sick production.

Hadar is recognized as one of URB’s next 100 artists the New Jersey native is successfully branding himself as “the next big thing in R&B.” Gifted with an equal balance of fashion sense and musical talent Peter’s rising success is of no surprise. He’s worked with many talented artists such as Mos Def, Questlove, Q-Tip, Musiq, Raheem DeVaughn, Carl Thomas, Joe, Bilal, Estelle, and Chrisette Michelle and has won several awards for his critically acclaimed album Memories Of The Heart. Look out for his most recent album Well Dressed For The Art Show. He’s currently working on several compilation albums, well as a drum+bass album (whattt???).

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If I were to film a scene in an movie where the main character and his accomplice were riding top down in a beat up-boat sized caddy through the desert on hallucinogens, I would pick this song as my soundtrack.

The Cotton Jones Basket Ride started off as a side project for Michael Nau who is also the founder and lead vocalist of the band Page France. Cotton Jones, hailing from Maryland, delivers a nostalgic folk-pop sound. Chewing Gum (Concrete Tooth Mix) is off the recently released The River Strumming album. Now call up an accomplice, get in your ride, and enjoy!

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Check out this stellar track from The Slapped Eyeballers entitled Rede Het Sie Gseit (November Version). You can find it on 12″ or MP3 on I-Tunes. The band includes members Balt Mirczok, Dimitri Grimm also known as Dimlite.

Sloppy Future Manipulations EP

Free MP3 Download From Dimlite

Hot Heavy Heat (Dimlite\’s Hot Air & Thick Plastic Remix)

Here’s a track from Dosh entitled Everybody Cheer Up Song up from the album The Lost Take. Dosh, an artist known for his electronic and experimental style utilizes a variety of live instruments and electronic gear to deliver a truly unique sound. The music he creates is refreshing to an overburdened ear that is constantly bombarded by repetitious style biting and corporate driven productions. It’s great to know that there are still musicians out there that can play a live show equally good if not better than his recorded material. I definitely dig his use of live loop recording which adds yet another creative element to his music. He’s currently on tour with Andrew Bird and their performances together are mind blowing. Make sure to catch one if you’re lucky enough to have them play in your city.

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Here’s a song by Emiliana Torrini called Big Jumps from her album Me And Armini. She’s most famous for Gollum’s Song heard on the The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers credits. It was originally intended for Bjork but she backed out due to her pregnancy. Emiliana was nominated for a Grammy in 2005 and has worked with other artists such as Thievery Corporation and Paul Oakenfold.

“Big Jumps” is about taking those chances - chiming guitar and delicate synth swooshes, combine with Emilana’s yearning voice to unforgettable effect.

When I heard this track I couldn’t help but stop what I was doing and really listen to the words. It’s definitely positively uplifting and motivational. Music like this helps us remember that life is all about taking the risks, falling hard, and bouncing back stronger than before.

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Check out this track entitled Antenne 2 by TTC. You can find it on the album 36 15 TTC. I can’t understand a single word being said but one thing’s for sure, these beats are beyond comprehension…but in a good way. You’ve never heard anything like this so enjoy!

Album Info

The most innovative, risk-taking and outrageous hip hop act to come out of France in the last decade, TTC are back. With Cuiziner established as a heartthrob in the US, Teki Latex set to release a pop-rave album and Tido Berman concentrating on advanced, heavy-lidded sativation, the trio are taking things higher with their third album, “3615TTC”. With production from the group’s flying helmet-wearing DJ, Orgasmic, the mighty Para One, Tacteel, Modeselektor and Tido himself, this is the band’s most consistent, distinctive effort.

The record kicks off with a nod to Monsieur Gainsbourg as TTC get finger-snapping on “Quand Je Claque Des Doigts”, Para One rigging up a beat that is as weird as it is catchy. “Paris Paris” drops love for the mostest city in the world over a martial rhythm, “Turbo” shows Para’s taste for emolectro. “Travailler” (“Work”) is all about making it look easy. “Ce Pou Vous” finds the group twisting r&b into new shapes for your benefit. “Antenne 2” is classic French pop chopped into small pieces and put back together. Tido contributes the wigged out instrumental “J’ai le son” before Tacteel throws in a terrifyingly satanic re-work of the hokey kokey and then the group get dirty on “Strip Pour Moi”. Only in France would an artichoke play such an important metaphorical role… “Ambition” is more uplifting kitsch, a reminder of the sweet, beating heart of the group. Finally, allies Modeselektor finish things off with some cut up club music.

Brearthtakingly clever, silly, profound, shallow and beautiful, “3615 TTC” is that rare thing, an album which sounds like no other.

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Building The Deftune Project Studio

Alright, so things have been a bit busy here the past week and for good reason. I’m working on building up a small project studio which is what I consider to be one of many corner stones for Deftune, LLC. You’ll be seeing a couple more changes here real soon and I’ll begin by sharing with you all my experiences in building the project studio which MAY give you some insight on what we’ll doing here in the near future. I might even slip and just tell you what’s up somewhere within this post so pay attention. I’m going to spread this project out into multiple posts so stay tuned.

All week I’ve been looking into getting my first studio control surface with an audio interface that would work with Pro Tools and offered multiple input and output options. What’s a control surface you ask? A control surface is basically a controller that you can use to control a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Think of it as a gigantic mouse. A DAW is used to record a number of digital audio tracks utilizing a computer and an audio interface. An example of a DAW would be Pro Tools. I looked at several options and I chose the best products that would give me the best balance of quality and affordability.

Check Out The List

Digidesign 003

The 003 comes in 3 flavors:

Digi 003 Factory Firewire Audio Interface (with Pro Tools LE)

Digidesign Digi 003 Rack Pro Tools LE System

Digidesign Digi 003 Rack Factory Pro Tools LE System

Differences

The are a couple major differences between the 3. The 003 Factory and the 003 RACK are essentially the same except for one major difference. The 003 Factory has surface controls with full motorized faders. The 003 Factory and the 003 RACK has 4 pre-amps while the 003 RACK Factory model has 8 pre-amps but 1 less MIDI out. Integrated surface controls and additional inputs were a big deciding factor for me. You CAN however purchase the Digidesign Control 24 Pro Tools Control Surface or Digidesign Command 8 Control Surface surface controllers to use with the 003 RACK models but you’ll end up spending A LOT more. The Factory model 003s also come with $3000 worth of professional grade software plug-ins.

Similarities

- 18/18 Simultaneous ins/outs
- No Phono Pre-Amps
- 48V Phantom Power
- 8 Channel ADAT and 2 Channel S/PDIF
- BNC Word Clock
- 2 Head Phone Outs
- Firewire
- Internal Power Source
- Kensington Security Lock

Digidesign Comparison Chart

Other Options

I also checked out the M-Audio Project Mix I/O

M-Audio offers a product called the Project Mix I/o which is comparable to the Digidesign 003 Factory. It supports Pro-Tools M-Powered which almost identical to Pro Tools LE. One upside of the Project Mix is that it offers 8 pre-amps versus the 003’s 4. One area where the 003s trump the Project mix however is the quality of its pre-amps. The 003s have a much higher dynamic range giving you more output as well as better frequency response. This made it a really tough decision but with the Project Mix priced at about $1000 less it made me lean more towards choosing the Project Mix, especially after checking out Black Lion Audio’s Mod option which gives you HD recording quality as well as higher quality pre amps that are much better than a standard 003’s for less than $500! Sure the 003 Factory models do come with the $3000 plug in package but I already have access to better quality plug ins so that wasn’t much of a deal breaker for me. Also, with the extra inputs of the Project Mix I have the option to record an entire drum kit all at once if I needed to. The extra pre-amps was just something I felt I would need in the long run. Another great feature about the Project Mix is that it supports other DAWS besides Pro Tools such as Apple Logic Studio, which I use A LOT. Oh, and BTW, M-Audio AND Digidesign are owned by Avid.

Final Decision

With my mind set on the Project Mix and Black Lion Audio upgrade I shopped around on Ebay and I was able to find one for $880 with a $200 rebate. The Black Lion upgrade costs roughly $495. The only downside it’s a LONG process which can leave you waiting months for an appointment but from what I’ve heard it’s definitely worth it.

Total cost= $1,175

So, if you’re working on setting up your first studio and you want to keep your expenses low this is my recommendation. If you have questions about the Project Mix feel free to leave me a comment. Stay tuned for further updates on the Deftune Project Studio.

Up next on the horizon….DJ Mixers.

Congrats To Obama and Biden For The Landslide Victory!!!

Change Is Coming!

The best new artist - Kanye West

I’m going to make a confession. I rarely listen to mainstream radio mainly because I think a lot of the music is garbage, and if for some reason I like a catchy song, it doesn’t get played out in a few days. So when I heard Kid Cudi’s song Day and Nite (Crookers Remix), I immediately felt that this song was going to be on repeat.

Cudi released his A Kid Named Cudi Mixtape this summer which showed that he’s not a one-hit-wonder. He’ll be featured on two of the songs on Kanye West’s upcoming release of 808’s and Heartbreaks album. You can download the mixtape for (what everyone loves) free on Cudi’s website.

Kid Cudi “Day N Nite” (Crookers Remix)

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Kid Cudi “Day N Nite” (Original)

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IComplex Devil’s Night