MGMT

I'll start with, They make good music. You cant argue that, they do a good job. Now, to their choices and media decisions. I personally think they are an incredibly hyped band. They have a quality electronic sound that can be trippy at times, fitting into their mellow hypnotizing feel that they are reaching for. You can see from their music videos that they are really trying to hit the druggie band note. Theyve made a radical decision on their last album to leave their electronic sound and alot of people including myself think it isnt near the quality that the first album was. I can respect their choice to change directions, theyre artists and thats totally their decision.

Though I feel their music, even the stuff off their first album, is not deserving the crazy hype it recieves. They have become the cool hipster band so everyone who is trying to seem like they have a good taste in music listens to them..

Meh. If you want that sound, check out, FM Bellfast, Neon Indian, Friendly Fires, Geographer, Limousines, Cut Copy, and Memory Cassette.

Vitalic - Second Lives.

I have know this song since mid may but have started listeing to it all the time lately.
The video is pretty incredible as well. Enjoy.

Ambient Piano Synth

Ive had this album for a few years now and always enjoy when ever it ends up bonding with the green play button. Lots of delay piano. Great for something to listen to after work, de stress, loosen up to.

Roland RS-09

Wow, for never having heard of this thing, it has an incredible sound!

Jupiter 8 Demo

So I was watching Demos the other day.. Bad news on the staying on top of my time front but good for being a fan of the Jup 8. Anyways, it was either this or a Howard Jones video. Suprising an Ebay walkthrough is more entertaining in my opinion, you can also learn a bit about the synth itself from this vid.



PS: I promise no more jup 8 stuff for a while!

Stuck in my Head

So this isn't your standard synth, some people might outright call me silly, but I'm really digging this song right now. Some reason it just popped into my head with out listening to it recently and now i cant get it off repeat..




Update: I still like the song but the music video gives the feel that she is mentally handicapped. Get those shoes off your hands.

My Legs are Jelly.

Today I headed out to the Jelly Pool Party for, well lets be honest, I went there to see Cut Copy. Those guys have been huge on my iPod for the last two years and an opportunity to see them free brought forth the easy answer of "well of course!"



Anyway, got there at 2 and Restless people started first, quality just like everyone there but they had a really cool feel, Hmm, Id say they kinda reminded me of a four piece, all guy, Crystal Castles (minus the one song that sounded kinda rasta, wasnt really feelin that one). Owell, so after they finished everyone got to their music festival festivities and in no time this 3 piece DJ set had everyone in the crowd dancing, jumping, and air punching (fitting as they were called Punches). They were great for the first thirty minutes but the fifteen after that left everyone really tired.
Glasser totally caught me off guard. Guitar player, drummer (with an electronic drum set), a guy on what looked to be an artuia midi board and some sampler stuff and then the lead singer walked out, she was short, red haired and had on the coolest Spacy while organic feeling costume. Hopefully some pictures of it will get posted on the internet, if you find em post em in the comments and ill update. Great electronic feel with great vocals on top. I think its all the singer's music and they were just her band. Anyway They really reminded me of a more Spacy-Kyte Feeling Florence and the Machine. I personally liked her music alot more than what I just related her to, which i find funny.

Memory Tapes played next and were a two piece, drums and guitar. They had a synthy soundscape creating backtrack aswell. I really enjoyed their bit. Reminding me of a blend between M83 and EL Ten Eleven, two incredible bands. I'll probably make an individual post just about these guys so this one will be a bit light.

Cut Copy headlined and showed us why they were. They really sound great live! I dont know what else to say about those guys, Great band. (this video is kinda like a studio version of their live set, with green screens. Enjoy your good seats!)

The Cure - Plainsong

This song is so incredibly under rated.. The Cure was really able to make quality songs that were really inspirational soundscapes. Three other favorites of them are All Cats are Grey, Charlotte Sometimes, and The Funeral Party.

Phatty Friday

In celebration of Phatty Friday, Here's a nifty little demo, really shows how fat its voice is..

Original Jupiter 8 ads!

Found on Retro Synth Ads some of the original ads they used for the beast. By the way, the Jupiter 8 is my favorite synth out there. So seeing these is like looking into the beginning of something very ground breaking for the synth community. Anyways, enjoy!




and

Yamaha Sk 15 Review

So I've had the SK-15 for a good while now and have some concrete thoughts on it. Right off the bat playing it is a joy with its thick wood shell and the series of sliders, you feel like you've got something real under your fingers, something with real substance. Its got 49 full size keys, by the way. So when you turn it on it has all three of its voices on: Organ, Strings, and Polysynth.
Its organ sounds are really fantastic, this has to be the second most used function of the synth for me. It gives you complete control over how you want it to come out, all the way down to percussive organ sounds.
Strings are controlled by two sliders that control the high frequencies and one for the low. They sound as though they're being hit with a strong cutoff though still use able for the synth player. You can control the attack and release of them aswell with two buttons and one slider.



The polysynth is really incredible after you get the hang of it. I spend most of my time making Bladerunner esque pads and leading those into chord progressions. The ADSR controls the filter of the whole board and I tend to turn the reso up and the cutoff somewhat middleway with a slow attack on the filter. This leads to a growing sound that I feel like I can swim through.

Anyways Enjoy the video and comment any questions!


ALSO! The vibrato in it is great! It will really give a good sound when you turn the delay down and the speed about mid way.

The Music for the new Tron

So Ive seen snippits for this every now and then, but this is a really good collection of serious Tron. They say it leaked but I bet its just viral marketing, I mean, its working isnt it. This music is coming out of Daft Punk.

Daft Punk for Tron Legacy Soundtrack by Hypetrak

Korg Poly 800 and Korg DDD-1 Demo

So as most of you know, Ive already got a poly 800 and like it alot. In the last few weeks Ive been looking into drum machines and came really close to picking up a tr-505 but then I heard this thing. Still havent gotten one yet but I really cant wait to. Listen to that snare drum, my gosh.