Obviously it took a while to get the hang of it, but after 2 or 3 attempts I was mixing with the best of them (in my head). I was also into music production, having been sampling and sequencing with a mate of mine back in 1997/8 (making me 14 approx.), I bought the Korg EM1 in Summer 2002 before setting off to Lancaster University to study a BSc in IT & Media Communications.
While at Uni I felt like part of me wasn't there - I'd had to leave my decks at home & the college I was in was basically into Indie (which I don't mind) & cheesey shite (which is NEVER acceptable in my eyes - not even if you're THAT drunk *Chesney Hawk(in)s, you're a dead man*) - nevertheless I had my drum machine & so produced a few tracks quite amateurishly using Sk@le Tracker. This was very frustrating due to the fact that I wanted more equipment to play with - "poor student can't afford massive studio".
Three years & a stressful IIi later, I'd managed to create a mixed EP of my original tracks from throughout my Uni life - a kind of time-capsule of where I was at in the never-ending learning curve that is life.
Due to having had such a good experience at Uni creating 2 music videos & 1 chromakey clip (involving the creation of a virtual studio in Adobe After Effects), I decided that I wanted to find a career in which I could gain the same satisfaction...and get paid at the same time! I now work for a local film/media production company as a Media Technician (camerawork, editing, website design/publishing, graphic design, duplication...).MY DIARY:July 2007 It's been a LONG time but I've polished off a new mix CD - 40 Dubstep tunes mixed into approx. 78mins. Impossible to get bored by & so so heavy on the bass - anyone interested in hearing it GET IN TOUCH!
February 2007 I currently have 3 tracks in the "half-complete" stage on my hard drive, which is pretty annoying. One being the aforementioned Daft Punk track, another is a Garage track so close to completion, & I have a Drum & Bass sample that kicks ass...as always, watch this space.
December 2006 Compiled yet another mix CD, entitled "Breakdown", it starts with Breakz and travels to Reggae inspired breakbeat, via Dubstep, Progressive House & Tech-Funk - gonna try to upload it, but having no webspace is a bitch...a project for Summer perhaps???
October 2006 I bought the microKORG analogue modelling synth...and it's beautiful! So many warm pads & head fucking bass tones...I still don't know how to use it! This month I also made a mini-bootleg of Imogen Heap's "Hide & Seek" using the beats from a Garage track I've nearly completed...works OK & have been told to finish it off...but alas I've not got round to it...
September 2006 Began sampling & sequencing a new track with a "Daft Punk - Homework" / Progressive House vibe, but it obviously won't sound anything like Daft Punk when I'm finished...or Progressive House for that matter. This tune is still half-complete in ACID PRO, & I totally don't know where to go with it!
July 9th 2006 Re-sampled Tilt, see Player, & pasted it all together to make a proper composition.
July 7th 2006 I sat down after a hard days graft (& a week listening to Dubstep, Luke Vibert, Autechre & Jurassic 5) to create some music. Entitled Cruisin', it's a Hip-Hop/Dubstep inspired tune & I'm quite surprised that from "idea" to finished piece (well, first draft) took only 2hours! I shall be putting more time aside for jamming sessions in future!
June 2006 I made a mix in the hopes it might get played on The Strongarm Sessions. It was made specifically as a mix CD (80mins), but at the request of sHack (Elite Force) over @ SS I was required to cut it down to 60mins...which is the version you can download below (as mentioned far too many times on this page!!!)
Mid-May 2006 I submitted a track for the BijouBreaks/Title Fight competition, called Razor, which is now on the Player above. I also produced an alternative mix of the Analord (AFX) series of 12s, where the album Chosen Lords was unmixed & focused on slower, more thought-provoking tracks, I have created a "Chosen Mix" of a multi-tempo'd selection that go together quite well.
January 2006 I bought the Korg KAOSS Pad II (real-time touch-sensitive effects unit) to make my mixes more 3-Dimensional, & add a little something special to my future productions. This was used throughout the Strongarm Submission (available for download from the yousendit link below - if it's broken, I've not re-uploaded it yet :-P)
Finally, an ambition of mine is to work with another producer, either a collaboration or a remix, so if anyone has any sample packs or raw ideas, please get in touch!!!!!
Laters, Rob :-D
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WISH LIST::: Korg EMX (Electribe MX)
:: Korg RADIAS
:: Korg Triton Extreme
:: Roland TB-303/TR-808/TR-909 (just because they're antiques - lol)DOWNLOAD MY MIXES ***check back soon***
Strongarm Submission / Breakdown