Here’s a recording from I don’t know when. Featuring Lex on the freestyle vocals and myself on the turns. Nothing but rawness and crazy randomness. It wasn’t even recorded through a line out but through mics capturing the speakers. Enjoy!

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Check out this track called Unwind Your Mind from the Greyboy album 15 Years Of West Coast Cool featuring The Greyboy All-Stars. The group is a collaboration between DJ Greyboy and jazz musician Karl Denson (saxophone, flute). It’s absolutely imperative that you stop whatever it is you’re doing and pick up this album immediately. You’ll be immediately rewarded with some of the funkiest groundbreaking jazz music this world has to offer. It is highly recommended.

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Exile “Milli” Video from Jonathan Kim on Vimeo.

MIND BLOWING

Jel Live On The MPC!

Here’s a track from the Dudley Perkins “Expressions” Instrumentals album by Madlib. Enjoy!

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Check out this track called Tiger Choir from Scottish electro rock band The Magnificents. You can find it on their recently released album entitled Year of Explorers. I give it 10 toes up.

Album Info

Year Of Explorers, the latest from daring Scottish band The Magnificents, is an epic saga of stolen synths, left-handed guitars, trans-European expressways, covert product placement, and serious studio tomfoolery. Following months of touring, twiddling and general sonic invention, The Magnificents are finally ready to unleash their long-awaited second LP. Employing a bewildering array of dusty keyboards, wires, boxes and buttons, The Magnificents have meticulously crafted Year Of Explorers with a little help from esteemed producers Damian Taylor (Bjork, Unkle) and John Cummings (Mogwai). Whereas their eponymous debut was primarily fuelled by raw punk power and electrifying excess, the sophomore LP demonstrates a more measured method. Not to say the boys have mellowed with age… Year Of Explorers will still have the indie-disco young pretenders quaking in their Converse.

Tiger Choir

Bonus

Can’t Explode

Purchase Album

The Great Deceivers

Ninja Academy

Spaceland

What up! Here’s a remix track I did for “Life Has No Rules” featuring Lex (Alex Tshering). You can find it on the Kamay At Puso Benefit Album. Make sure to get your copy. All proceeds are for a great cause! Get it here.

Life Has No Rules (Mastacon Remix) by Deftune, LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.deftune.com.

Here’s some new Mastacon beats:

You’re welcome to record vocals over. If you do, send it our way so we can post it up.

Naked

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Naked by Deftune, LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.deftune.com.

Sheep Kill Dreams

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Sheep Kill Dreams by Deftune, LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.deftune.com.

Check out this track by Clutchy Hopkins entitled Rocktober. You can find it on his album Walking Backwards released earlier this year. Yes, I know you can’t help but sit back and nod your head to this. Featuring a slew of raw drums and a mixture of various live instruments Clutchy creates a musical journey reminiscent of revered classic jazz and funk records lying hidden in between dusty piles of Herb Albert and Barbara Streisand records found only at your local Goodwills. There’s a lot of mystery behind the man. Check out his bio from his Myspace:

Clutchy Hopkins is a multi-instrumentalist who recorded under various pseudonyms throughout his entire musical career; his recorded output consists of everything from field recordings of his travels to avant compositions, to jazz to funk. These recordings were up to this point unknown to the public. His father had been a recording engineer for Motown bands and had taught him intricate recording techniques when he was just a young boy. This knowledge Clutchy used to his advantage during his travels, working in recording studios from Bombay to Cairo. The information we gathered of him was from a small biographical manuscript that was found with his recordings under the care of a Mohave shaman who was a descendant of the Cahuilla Indian tribe who Clutchy had studied under. In this autobiography we find the writings of a musical gypsy who traveled the world investigating consciousness and its relation to music.

When Clutchy was just 20 years old he traveled to the Far East and was under the tutelage of Rinzai Zen monks in Japan for many years investigating silence and the rhythms of silence in music. Later, he studied Raja Yoga in India to master and articulate the movements of the body and its relation to sound. In his autobiography Clutchy relates his fascination with drums and their effect on consciousness so he decided to travel to Lagos, Nigeria to study with a master percussionist by the name Oba-lu-Funke. During his stay there he became a political revolutionary and gun-runner, and staged rebel missions to fight the oppressive government and its policies of Apartheid. During his intensive studies and travels, Clutchy was constantly recording music.

When he returned to the US Clutchy used his recording techniques to produce his own music and create instruments of his own. He has played with many groups primarily in the jazz, funk, avant setting. During his recording with other musicians Clutchy refused to contribute his name to the recordings, preferring to use a pseudonym or no name at all. He was purportedly good friends with Moondog and did some recordings with him; these recordings are yet to be found. His recordings span from the early 70s to the late 90s covering a whole spectrum of musical styles. After these recordings came to the surface, we have tried to contact the original source where these recordings were found unfortunately that source has since died. It is said by locals who knew him that Clutchy Hopkins returned to the Mojave Desert to finish his life out living in an underground cave; no one has heard from him since.

The MySpace Page also has a documentary that consists of several videos in which people named J.T., Percy Crimmons, Nijella Falhall, Teddy La Brea, and Jasinto talk about their run-ins with Clutchy Hopkins in Hawthorne and Hermosa Beach, CA and Guanajuato, Mexico.

Despite all the mystery the fact remains, this dude is indeed one of those rare musical geniuses. Enjoy.

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Check out this track called “A Thing Called Beauty” By Alex Tshering aka LEX. This dude’s been holdin’ it down for a good while now appearing on several productions such as infamous S.A.R.S. music video on Youtube and the Kamay At Puso (Hand And Heart) benefit compilation album featuring high profile artists such as Bambu and Roscoe Umali. Now he’s working on a new album and this is just a small preview of things to come. These are just rough mixes that have been recorded and mixed at Deftune Studios by yours truly. Keep checking back for updated tracks.

Beat by: Eric Collado: MNP
Vocals: Alex Thsering: LEX
Recording/Mixing Engineer: Conrad Magabo aka Mastacon

BONUS TRACK

On The Surface

Drums: Crystal (Auburn Court)
Vocals: LEX
Synths: Mastacon
Electric Guitar: Mastacon
Recording/Mixing Engineer: Mastacon

My school SAE Institute will be hosting the event. Pick up your General Admission Tickets (Free) today! Click the link below to get your tickets.

Get Your Tickets

Check out this track by School Of Seven Bells entitled Trance Figure. You can find it on the The Green Owl Comp: A Benefit For The Energy Action Coalition. The band was created by former Secret Machines member Benjamin Curtis. In case you were wondering the band was named after the legendary pick pocket academy. You can check them out on Wednesday December 3rd at Low End Theory (The Airliner, Los Angeles). Pick up their latest album Alpinisms from Ghostly International.

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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

Purchase Album

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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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.

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)