Tweet
==280202
Oh my!! I just started to watch FRENZY, and Alfred Hitchcock Movie.. And The Main LAd In It is AVON out of Blakes7!! Messy.. Proof can be found here.. A nice looking Movie database thingy for MytypeofFilm!! Ok.. so i did something wierd this week.. i Dug out the Box of dats from 1992-1994 of mine. Very odd.. But i Have Pulled About 3 CDs of stuff down, and MP3d them.. I`m now looking for webspace to up them for you.. Some SOUND CROWD stuff mostly, some released, some not, but all of it offered since we approach the 10th anniversary of all that messing starting.. I should be able to up quite alot of stuff from "the day".. maybe some longer video clips or whatever.. but hey.. it`s underway.
==250202
Weekend Playlist for Mr.Spring`s Show on 2FM,
(www.2fm.ie) TX: 230202/20.00-22.00
20.00:
Firen` Squad, Squaddies: Marshall Jefferson (set u free),Cormac O'Halloran (bassscaper),
Paul Ariphel (irish promotions), The Emperor Ming (Magic Disco Machine Candidate)
*love inc./it's only love -nu life - 44%
nux40/wri:sheppard & denny//BMG music
*tony thomas/get high -soma - 53%
soma117/no details
*sensi/do what u wanna -breathless - 61%
brth004pt/no details www.breathlessrecords.com
*DMB vs. Oakenfold/when the world ends - 65%
dmb4/no details
*shaggy & ali g/julie -island - 47%
juliecd1/wri:burrel & baron-cohen//emi music pub
*liquid state & marcella woods/falling -prefecto - 7%
perf29cds/wri:bury & mowatt//mushroom music
21.00:
*ladies first/i can`t wait - polydor ladies11
*lucas feat. blu/my feet work - polydor mfw3
*timo maas/o.c.b. - perfecto parfalb08lp
*panic machine/beat - acalwan aca9959-12
*forbidden planet/holding on 2 u - black ice 007 wavelength@vfree.com
*gollum & yanny/watch out - edm 061-1
*space frog/follow me - tripoli trax ttrax082
*massimo cominotto/gula-matari - bxr claxixx bxr1147
*dj gert/once upon a time in the west - noname nt5022 www.nonamerecords.be
*phasendreher/the trip - pulse050!
Above is Marshall Jefferson's Watch, Filmed today at a secret Location... The plot? Well.. he's a fun guy, and after only minor nagging, traded watches with me after saturday's squad.. Whereas He thought mine was the coolest he'd ever seen - a rebuilt original Red l.e.d. watch, I thought his was severly cool due to it bieng HIS watch and all that..This is all good stuff As far as i can tell, not only do we both have strange new watches to suss out without instructions (how DO you stop it going off at 4am??) but we should have enough genetic material on the watches to grow a clone or 2 should the need arise.. So.. that's nice to know.
So 2 Fermoy we went.. a lovely little Jaunt (tomorrow people stylee) down the wrong motarways resulted in the ULTIMATE dodgy road bieng discovered.. there are some SPECIAL b-roads available for the discerning Car-Thrasher between the N8 and N7 - real mad tarmac rollarcoasters! Should there ever be a need for a "hogs of the road" type cannonball special this summer, WE HAVE THE ROUTE.. mmmm.. danger.. Ehm.. anyway.The venue, SG-1, is actually quite bright and nice.. sadly the Decks are on a flexi-stage, and are suspended by chains, so it`s like DJing on a stiff trampoline by the side of a lake,with the decks on a raft in the water infront of you.. Oh, with a (far too loud) monitor on a tripod right beside you, pointing at the left deck.. so.. yep.. you guessed it, our old pal the mid-range howl, the favorite bass-feedback loop and on this occation, a special visit from our old pals, BROKEN NEEDLE on the right deck and DODGY FADER on the mixer (causing the entire right side of the room to be without sound randomly when you move the fader..) and (this is funny) the mixer switched to MONO so the tracks "Beat-cancel" and the Bassdrums go hollow when the mix is perfecton the floor when mixing. So.. I turned the monitor around to face the crowd, moved the deck off the ropey fader to a fresh one, and was provided with a working headshell during the process of the night.. I also had to Ride the Bass AND the mid on the left deck throughout the night due to the feedback from the monitor.. I am Mystified how anyone had a good time with all that messing going on.. Needless to say. i am warning everyone else to be prepared for the monitor feedback, it`s so strong (as the Sound is so lovely & loud - easily the loudest in the country at the moment) that the howl can actually cause the record to slide and skip from vibration during breaks if you don`t ride the EQ.. My recomendation: Get a Mixer lads, the picnic player that came free with the CD-players doesn`t cut it at all, and make that monitor volume-controllable and suspend it from girders like the deck-plinth, having it on a stand blaring in the DJ's face is asking for trouble.. The Crowd in Cork are always very friendly, no exception this time, and it`s been so long since i actually played in Cork, innit? Lovely Chicks Pecking Around, a smattering of Modded Motars and DJ7's mob in the area too (the poiseners), i can safely classify the visit as a result.. I did enjoy playing, even though i kept having my head wrecked by various acute angles on the gizmo front, and hope This is the New Cork Mecca.. Well, there sure ain`t much Competition in the Area unlss You are into Shovels...
==230202
I have never been so busy on the phone and by text as i have been in the last 48 hours.. If you are one of Our Irish Springers, You can`t have helped but notice the current press waffles about the 2FM shuffles going on.. I Honestly don`t know what is going to happen to us at the moment, but it`s All or nothing, You can be sure of that.. We won`t desert you if we can help it, but sometimes shit happens.. You know we'd never run out on you don`t you? DON'T YOU? Good. Well let's just hope Things turn out Alright.. We have tried very hard to bring Dance Music to the nation and You have made it a worthwhile pleasure by going to the Gigs, hitting our websites and ACTUALLY ADMITTING TO LISTENING TO US in the last Listenership Poll thingys.. For this i thank you, and i want to say [Dirk Diggler while accepting a porno-oscar voice:ON] "We are going to keep trying to make better shows for you and keep trying to bring new Sounds and Events to you, We believe the music can help people, and we won`t stop trying, we'll keep on rockin' & Rollin'.. Hell Yeah.." Yes We are Freaked Out, as are lots of our friends, not just in 2FM, but in the whole Dance-Sector.. But change always looks like a bad idea and we naturally resist it usually because it means WORK and disturbing the nice cushy vibe we are all used to, but when change is called for to make thigs even better, then it HAS to be looked at - If nobody ever tried to make things better we'd all still be Going to work in the local Mill on a buckboard for 2 groats a year and a share in a turnip..
Tonight i`m in FERMOY.. Err... that is if the snow doesn`t take over totally by then.. hmm.
==210202
One of the vinyl shelves in the Bratcave collapsed causing me to look at it's comtents as i tidied up the mess.. Some Fun was had seeing if tunes were still any good that i'd really liked 3-4 years ago.. and besides a few (like SLEEEPWALKER by GREEN MARTIAN) that seem dreadfull now, the majority were still listenable! Things like ICON's VOCA ME are simply delicious still and are screaming for a blast again... mmm... blast..
==190202
Power Updated The Script.. And don`t forget to VOTE for your favorite DJ born in the 32 counties of Ireland on 086.604.6020 ( from outside Ireland +35386.604.6020) Just send a text-message with the name of your favorite Irish-Born DJ in it to that number.. it`s for the Smirnoff Dance Awards "Best Irish DJ" Catagory..
"Computer games don't affect kids, I mean if Pac Man affected us as kids,
we'd all run around in a darkened room munching pills and listening to repetitive music..."
--- Kristian Wilson, CEO, Nintendo Gaming Corporation, Inc, 1989
WE ARE THE BOLLOCKS!!!! IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!
I have just been tipped off that The Dance Dept. on 2FM has DOUBLED it`s listeners in the last Survey.. You may have noticed the Press bashing the crap out of RTE because of the recently published Listnership figures - well those figures were for the main Weekday Shows - the Monday to Friday Stuff, and despite some of the More established Shows loosing a little ground, the Top 10 Most listened to Radio Shows in The Nation are ALL RTE shows.. It`s nice to see the Competition perking up a bit - there's nothing worse then an uninspired adversary!! But our Weekend-Dominating Solid Trouncing Of all comers is a Joy.. The Dance Cru Rox!! And You are the proof.. As soon as i can find some accurate figuers. i`ll up them here, but for now you`ll just have to be satisfied that we are the Daddies with MORE then 3 out of Every 4 of You checking in Every weekend. Theat's Seriously scary. And i thought it was only my Granny listening. Sheesh. Thanks. That's made it all worth while - i want to promise you that we are going to keep on trying to make better radio for you. and we are going to keep on breaking the new tunes we need to feed this unquenchable thirst for new music.. Now the cherry on the icing on the cake - if we are streaking ahead and the Mainstream radio world is fragmenting it can mean 2 things in the long-run.. Firstly, now we have established that dance music-radio is _the_ growth sector, we can expect more dance music programming in response from our competition.. this is good news for us all since competition drives the quality up.. Secondly, It is only a matter of time before we replace the "M-People and Office requests" shows that bore us all so shitless.. Face it.. Whomever that radio appeals to should be off listening to RTE Radio 1 or BBC 5-Live, let's make radio more bloody fun for god's sake.. I had to listen to the BBC and To the local services in N.Ireland Yesterday.. BBC 1 was OK untill some depressive girly moron playing Mailing-list shite came on at 10am and i could FEEL a million people switching off (mentally and physically) as the poor girl died a death flogging a dead greyhound... What an anti-climax after Sara Cox and her madcap ALI G interview!! I mean, she's a girl, but that's all.. If a bloke was as wishy-washy he'd be out on his arse.. Booooooring. Even Gerry Ryan was more exiting.. Then came the New Dance Station in Belfast.. Holy Shit what bollocks.. Sorry Lads, but Cheeseball "DJ Alligator" muck mid-morning is NOT correct. Sorry. Yes.. i know all the kids are on Middterm, but that's an excuse to treat them like adults and earn some respect, NOT dumb down for 5-year-olds.. I actually felt Physically sick after listening for only 15 minutes.. So i switched to DOWNTOWN for a while and Fell asleep at the wheel.. Luckily the RDS kicked in and i awoke narrowly avoiding a brick-wall that appeared from nowhere to the strains of an Add for NEIL DIAMOND on the national pop station. HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO? is there anybody there?
==180202
Weekend Playlist for Mr.Spring`s Show on 2FM,
(www.2fm.ie) TX: 160202/20.00-22.00
20.00:
Firen` Squad, Squaddies: Leoini (blue),Al (3rdeye beachbum), Arveene (psychic deckchair attendent), Pressure (for novelty value)
*dj innocence/so beautiful -echo - 12%
ecdj1194/wri:charles//echo music
*mathias ware/hey little girl -manifesto - 40%
fescd91/wri:davies//emi songs australia www.manifestorecords.co.uk
*nu flesh/do you understand it? -big dada - 58%
dada18/wri:nu flesh//cop con
*faithless & dido/1 step too far -cheeky - 48%
cheeky016/wri:bliss & armstrong//bmg & cheeky music
*snap vs. tom novy/the 1st the last eternity -kosmo - 8%
kos2037/wri:benites & brown//hanseatic & warner chappell
21.00:
*cerrone/supernature - universal germany 5705981
*porn HQ/pornorama - recycled loops ear004
*spacejump/i found a reason - loweredlow002p lowered.recordings@zen.co.uk
*timo maas/o.c.b. - perfecto parfalb08lp
*dj noise/sibel - voice-noise vnr008
*norman DJ/go back - blutonium blu042 info@blutonium.de
*dj arne/test bitching - deep mission dm23 www.clubculture.de
*missjma/all bitches - fairlight b258837
*phasendreher/the trip - pulse 0605:43 PM 2/18/02
*Tripods - spring recordings sli 10302
==160202
Oooops! Got that SlateReport A little Wrong.. I actually got slated -=3=- times in the latest issue! There was one staring me in the face all along, right next to another one (mmm.. sorta like when the same record gets reviewed 3 times by 3 different reviewers on the same page in DJ magazine/7 magazine..??) Wow!! Reall deep gashes in the ego here (sob!) and poor auld AL GIBBS is shocked and horrified at the realisation he is actually "the Pat Kenny" of dance!! Christ! you'd better watch out kids, Plank will sue your asses off for associ8ing him wid the Gibbster! Urmp.. anyway.. We can't have them saying things about a BROADCAST resident like that willy-nilly.. even if it is 60% true.. So.. as a small token of our disgust, heeeeers TODAY'S BEST SLATE RUMOUR TOP 5:
1. They are all frustrated MIRROR stringers.
2. Customs & Excise Confiscated the last issue under the Obscene Publication's Act.
3. The Black Panthers (Dublin Chapter) Are Offering Cash For Information.
4. The K.K.K. (Dublin Chapter) Are Hosting The Slate Easter "Bar-B-Q".
5. ***** Walshe IS the Slate.
Now.. about lastnight.. there WAS an alleged appearence for Me,Kav,Presh and Pidgeon in the Temple.. And it ended up Pres & Kav instead, this really was down to a simple matter of there bieng a mix up.. yeah.. a mixup. I missed my flight back from the congo and Jay got his cock caught in a temporal vortex after mistaking a crack in the space-time continuem for a rift in time itself.. messy.. i'm still reeling from bieng caught in a 14 second timeloop on the laughlinstown roundabout for what felt like a millenium, although in reality it was the same 14 seconds over and over again.. sadly my memory didn`t record any of them, so i have a blank spot for 14 seconds last night and (through carbon dating) it seems the date is actually mid feb 3010ish.. sorry about that.
A note on DJ TED/GPO/Essence doing a "welllllll after 7 years, it`s time for a move, a change.. etc.... blah.." >>BOLLOCKS!<< (ithankyou). I hope everyone will still be talking after all this!!!! (not me proclaiming the Bollockosity of it, but the split itself..)
Check this out too if you have a JAVA-enabled Browser.. it's this week's Favorite Staring thing..
==140202
Happy Love day fools!!! Did we nJoi last night at the KITCHEN? check out the cool flyers - 1 for each dude.. Okay, so it was more like a Who's-Who of The Scene rather then a Buzzing student night, and for this we were greatfull sice 99.9% of Dublin students were elsewhere due to Rag-Week and The Match and so on.. In fact, Who`s Up for Banning the Public From the Night? Anyone? It`d be a good Plan of action if we fail to attract any REAL punters in the long run!!! Special Shout to the BBM Mob who graced us with a visit and were Beautiful, Charming and Actually Fitted in real well with the organised chaos,despite insisting on a photograph of Urz Truely.. Mmmm.. now that this year's photo of me has been done, i can relax and return to howard-hughes/naomi campbell mode and deck anyone near me with an Image-stealing Device.. Grr!! They steal Your Soul You know!! Anyway.. the flyers..
So there!! It`s all good i suppose.. the staff in the Kitchen are Sound.. Our Guests were sound and the Crowd Were sound as well!! And there were Fine Women walking about offering people 2 bottles of V'ICE for the price of 1 - exactly the way i planned it!! hehehe.. (now claiming some responsibility after it wasn`t empty!!).
You`ll Find the DOWNLOADS page overhauled.. With New Clips From the Next Spring Recordings Release: SLI10302 - TRIPODS.. G'wan.. give it sox!
==130202
WARNING: We are experiencing Server Difficultys At the moment so Updates may be a liitle erratic and (frankly) incomplete.. feel free to report dead links, corrupt files or plain bad service to me.. apparently we are touching ( and sometimes exceeding ) our Daily Bandwidth these days due to people hoarding the Media files.. ah well.. it`s part of it all innit?
After a month off for Xmas, It`s the Welcome Return Of...
Top 30 Spring Nations [January 2002]
1 Ireland
2 US Network
3 Unresolved/Unknown
4 US Commercial
5 United Kingdom
6 Spain
7 Italy
8 Netherlands
9 Belgium
10 Australia
11 France
12 Germany
13 Finland
14 Canada
15 US Educational
16 Japan
17 Norway
18 Switzerland
19 Poland
20 Sweden
21 Austria
22 Russian Federation
23 Brazil
24 Denmark
25 Estonia
26 New Zealand (Aotearoa)
27 Malta
28 Portugal
29 Singapore
30 Argentina
BEST EVER MONTH on mrspring.net!!! 28881 hits!! Whay-heyyy!!! G'wan!! Biiig Up the ClickerCru!! And for the First Time.. (and coz we're very bored tonite) herez the Search Engine Top..er.. 4.. Google, Yahoo, Altavista and Lycos - In decending order of Freshness.. Oh.. and Ask Jeeves Did send 1 person our way, but they were looking for A Clutch for a 1980 Ford Capri ghia.... which we can`t do..
==120202
Hahahah!! Thanks for the Thanks for the MFAQ bit below.. yes it seems i oversimplified and stated the bloody obvious alot for some of you that are a little more advanced - sorry, but didn`t you get a bit of a voyeur thrill from seeing how someone else does it? heheh.. So.. Tomorrow is the Start of BROADCAST at the Kitchen in Temple Bar Dublin.. The Actual Fine Details are a bit Blurry, but it`s something like the MONO thing we Used Do on A Wednesday in the Distant Past Except AL GIBBS is Playing CONOR G's Role this time, and it`s in the Kitchen, Not Mono... Er.. So, that`s Power & Me and Gibbs, Wednesdays, Kitchen.. Now, i know what you are thinking.. Wednesday night? WTF? Yep.. that`s what i thought when we started In MONO on a wednesday, and it went so mental busy we ended up shafted so the venue could take it over for themselves! So we will see.. maybe students have a different plot thesedays or maybe it`ll be a blast, but yeah, wednesday night.. what a stupid idea...It's gonna b gr8! I wonder if the Kids From the Slate will be Allowed Out to carry out their threat of a review? I hear they are grounded for a while for Bieng Clever.. Tsch!!
Weekend Playlist for Mr.Spring`s Show on 2FM,
(www.2fm.ie) TX: 090202/20.00-22.00
20.00:Firen` Squad, Squaddies: Pat dempsey (messy),
Tony C & Ronan Mac (messier), Paudi (messier still), Jon Carter (even messier) Johnny Who (Messiest).
*kooki/imagination -universal - 53%
dinstdj234/wri:trivellato//sym music srl.
*db boulevard/point of view -illustrius -3%
cdill002/wri:comazzetto & bragato//suono edizioni musicali
*basement jaxx/get me off(superchumbo) -xl - 76%
no details whitelabel//no details
*porn HQ/pornorama -recycled loops - 100%
<--- 1st EVER 100%!!!!
ear004/wri:kanzyani//cop con kanzyani@siol.net
*tom cole & steve carrol/certified madness -abbey dance - 55%
12ad005/wri:cole & carrol//cop con
*kim wilde/loved -emi germany - 0%
7243550110964/wri:wilde & ronald//cop con www.emimusic.de
21.00:
*timo maas/old school vibes - perfecto parfalb08lp
*Tripods - spring recordings sli 10302
*marc et claude/history of acid house - alphabet city alph0220-6
*blockbusters volume 4 - blockbusters 004
*dj raf bass/intenso - md 0088
*derb/in africa - unsubmissive b259429
*toolboy/fear the drill - uberdruck 04
*crazy masters/untitled - digi mini 10
*voice of buddah - groove trax 3
*dj nano/fuc*ing in space - tempogressive
==110202
After getting yet another email asking about mixing tips i`ve decided to Publish my "M" FAQ - My "Most" FAQ.
Q: Could You explain in Plain (ish) English How Beatmixing works?
[aka: Beat Mixing - A guide for Teachers, Parents and Concerned Friends]
A: Well, it`s a simple enough concept that i`m sure i can cloud totally for you and ensure you NEVER get the hang of it and therefore pose no threat to me and my DJ-folk mates who run things around here.. (clear the throat)..
RIGHT.
Imagine you have 2 train tracks side-by-side.. One has an 8-carriage train travelling on it at 130 MPH. If U were to Fly alongside it like superman with a jetpac at 130 MPH, it appears to be standing still if you stare at it.. If You Drop your speed to 129 MPH the train will slowly accellerate away from you since it is now travelling 1 MPH faster.. You can catch up with it again by speeding up a bit (lets say by 5 MPH for a split second..)
The same can be Applied in reverse: If you were to accellerate to (let`s say) 131 MPH, the train would appear to be slowly reversing away from you but you can drop back to be along side it again by hitting Your Brakes for a split second to allow it to catch up with you..
Now.. Imagine The same setup again, this time you are in a magic Flying Train, also 8 carriages long, and the 1st train is busily banging away on it`s track.. Your job is to swoop in from above and land on the track and match the speed of the other train so You can drive along beside it and allow the passangers to all cross from the 1st train to Your Train.. that means you have to MATCH the speed exactly and pull up so Your 1st Carriage is next to The other train`s 1st carriage, Your 2nd is next to it`s second and so on - this is to make sure when you give the signal to "Jump Trains" none of the passengers hit the tracks and die horribly at high speed.. So..
How do you do it?
Well, here's how I do it anyway... i Park my train about a mile up the track and rev it up like fuc* with the clutch out, ready to tear off (nought to 100 MPH in .25 seconds cos it`s a technics train!) as soon as the 1st train passes by.. I will watch out of my 5th carriage's window and when i see 4 of the other train`s carriages pass by i will drop the clutch and speed off.. Why the "5th carriage" thing? well i wuld have VERY little hope of starting off alongside the 1st train if i was only looking at/for the 1st carriage since it would be well past me by the time i reacted! Think about it! While if i`m staring out of the 5th carriage window, i get a nice "4-3-2-1" countdown as the 1st,2nd,3rd and 4th carriages on the 1st train whizz by and i can drop in alongside pretty damn well by the time the 5th comes along.. remember i`m looking out of MY 5th carriage, so when i match with the 1st train`s 5th after the countdown, my 1,2,3 & 4th carriages are automaticly in sync.. as are the rest of the train.. Well, nobody is perfect, especially when you don`t know what speed the other train is moving at!
The Messy bit.
Once you have dropped in in sync, as long as you don`t really over brake or over accellerate, you should be able to match the speed of the other train.. How? Well, lets start relating all this to record decks shall we?
Most records You`ll want to mix are made up of common numbers of sets of Bars (4 beats/kickdrums=1 bar) usually sets of 4s. So have a listen to a dance tune and count the beats and bars as they go by, notice how things sort of tend to change or happen on bars devisable by 4? or Every 4 or 16 bars something happens? Make use of this fact.. Imagine on of these groups of bars is one of our trains from the above rant. Find the begining of one of these sections on a record and let 4 beats play, catch it right before the 5th to be safe.. hold it with your finger in the tiny gap before the kick, rock it back and fowards gently with your hand and feel where it starts.. and sit and wait for the next "change" on the record you want to mix into.. when it happens, as long as you were listening, you`ll be able to count off the first 1-2-3-4 beats of the section as it starts and then release the one you are holding (just before the 5th beat, remember?) alongside the 5th beat in it..
Now you are sure they are running with at least a vague "section to section" agreement between them, you can take your time matching the speeds.. Immediatly after releasing the record you`ll need to dive in with a correction as you`ll rarely get it right 1st time anyway, so slam on the brakes a bit (press your finger against the edge of the platter to slow it down for a split second) and if it improves the Sync, ie: if the beats mingle better and don`t "clash" so much (imagine looking at the trains from above and seeing the gaps in the carriages lining up in a straight line from left to right) then you know you need to reduce speed on the new tune, so knock a bit off the pitch shifter and slam on the Brakes again and see if it takes any longer to get messy again, if it does take longer, you are on your way, so loose some more speed and slam on the brakes again.. and so on.
Soon slamming on the brakes will make it WORSE, and that's when you know youv`e reached the same speed, in fact you may have over done it, so you`d better know how to GIVE IT SOME WELLY (GISW from now on to save fingertipskin) as well.. Simple really, same as above, except when Braking makes things worse, get straight in with the GISW and push the record on in time by "nudging" it foward a bit.. helping it on so to speak.. push on the label in the direction of rotation, or if the record is a "Knocker" and the hole is too big causing it to move backwards & fowards and possibly skip all over the place when you nudge it, twist the silver thing in the middle that pokes out through the record - more subtle this one, but for fast correction in the early stages of a sync, go for the label and be rough..
By GISW you`ll have the same experience as Braking really, it`ll get better, then drift out, and spend longer drifting as you add more pitch adjust until it is in..
No, when i say "in", i mean in the Biblical sense, because it`s NEVER going to be _actually_ in, but if you know it`s a TINY bit slow and will need a "twist" or a "nudge" about every 4 bars to be in, that`s actually BETTER then believing it`s in and getting caught when the mix starts to drift (because it always will - trust me on this) At least you KNOW what to do, and how much of it to do when it`s ALMOST there.. Better IMHO!
So.. there. All of the above is meant to encourage exploration, it`s NOT "the" way of beat-mixing, it`s the way _I_ worked it out, and i does work most times - now don`t get me wrong, i don`t have all that crap above in my head when i do it, i just do it now without even thinking, i seem to instinctivly know where to put the pitch adjust and never have to decide to nudge or brake, it all just happens, and always has really, i suppose i`m used to it that`s all.
I HIGHLY reccomend tricks and gadgets in the training stages of beatmixing.. especially if you can CHEAT with them!! Like BPM the records before hand.. here`s how - count the number of kickdrums that happen in a minute (or in 20 seconds and triple it) and write them on the label.. at least then you`ll know if the tune you are about to mix in as faster or slower then the one playing BEFORE YOU EVEN LINE IT UP! hah!! No more "nudge or brake?" dilemmas, excellent if you are a heavy toker or a pisshead.. You can of coarse buy BPM counters (www.redsound.com do a nice range) to automate the process and mark things down to a tenth of a BPM!! very anal but hey, works!
Gadgets like "Kill" Knobs and switches are a godsend for the actual sound mixing process of beatmixing - you can kill the bass on the new track and creep in only the top and middle real easy.. all while checking the mix in your headphones and spotting the (very easy to notice) Hi-Hat Rattle going out of sync for quick correction on the way up to max volume, then after a while, when a section is doing a change, swap over the bass end, no messy bassdrums on top of each other - lovely. back to the train thing for a minute to elaborate, when you are satisfied the passengers (remember them?) can safely "jump trains" then give the order on the intercom "Jump you fuc*ers, Jump!" and they all leap accross into your train.. safely.. nobody getting caught between the carriages and mashed into dogfood.. It`s a bit risky and messy thought, no room for fine tuning.. You could of coarse Transfer all of the first class carriage first, and then the non-smokers, and then the Smokers last.. Seeing if any of the 1st class lot get squished, if they do (oops!) then make adjustments for the Non-smokers, and ditto for the jump by the Smokers by which time casualtys should be down to a minimum..
The "Hi Hats" are a last line of checking when preparing the sync before doing the soundmix,here`s a typical "16beat" brum pattern for 1 bar:
H = High hat, C = Clap, K = Kickdrum
H: x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
C: -------x---------------x--------
K: x------x-------x-------x-------
(Sounds like this: Thump,Crash,Thump,Crash with "ticka-ticka, ticka-ticka etc." over it) See our 4 beats making a bar? (the Ks) so thats 4 times in a bar our brains get to compare 2 patterns we are trying to syncronise. But look at the H!! thats 16 times a bar people, 16 times in 1 bar you will be able to glean feedback on how the sync is going.. If the hats are alright, you are there.. so WATCH the hats, they will be the FIRST to go if your mix is slipping out of sync.
"Section watching" is very important for long-haul mixing (ie: showing off) remember how tunes are made of "Sections"? Well thinking of them as trains and trying to have at least their first carriages alongside one another can help cover your ass on the old but classic "running out of tune" trap - where you have been faffing aroung far too long and won`t have the time to lift the needle back to the start of the tune to re-launch and re-sync! Well just start the mix there and then, no reload, and at least things will change/sections will happen in logical places and even though the tune you are introducing is well into the theme,you`ll at least be spared the horror of just kickdrums for ages , or even worse, no nothing for ages!! gulp...
Also worth keeping in mind is most tunes "Build" in sections,usually lots of 4,8 or 16 bars in the begining,and also "break down" in a similer for the end of the record.. think about that for a sec.. if layers are bieng peeled OFF the tune you are playing, and layers are bieng ADDED to the tune you are introducing, they should balence out shouldn`t they? Well, they WILL if you have your Sections starting together.. Get it?
[sidenote;on relaunches;(when you have to move the needle back to the begining of the record you are introducing so you can det it up for another pass of Sync or the actual mixing pass);if you are pretty sure you have the speed right, the "re-sync" can be very quick indeed since the speed is right- don`t be afraid to reload - you`ll get it in real quick if you put the work in on the first pass..]
Now All that's left is to Practice untill you do it without having to think or look. Sounds creepy, But it happens.
==100202
The new issue of the extra-absorbant slate is out this weekend!! (my rabbit will shit on nothing else - the SLATE is even more absorbant then the Parish Newsletter!! shock!!) And it`s as rammer-jammer-packed with Typos, Bitching and the ill-informed rantings of everybody`s favorite frustrated, impotant Young Unemployables as ever!! And i got a record-breaking *2* slags in it this issue! Unfortunatly they are pretty limp digs at best, i do wish they`d come up with something a lid the ill-informed rantings of everybody`s favorite frustrated, impotant Young Unemployables as ever!! And i got a record-breaking *2* slags in it this issue! Unfortunatly they are pretty limp digs at best, i do wish they`d come up with something a little more articulate then calling me a "muppet" and a "media whore", that's not even insulting kids!! Come on, you must have some Venom in those fangs!! Use Your imagination for god's sake! If you took ANY time to study the Spring thing, You`d surely be able to construct something that may hit home a little better then simply verbally abusing me!? Surely You must be aware that when it comes to me, You have to TRY to slag me off, not just for my sake, but for the sake of your poor long-suffering readers who all know me a little better then you.. They will agree 100% with you that i am in fact a muppet, but actually more of a media PIMP then whore.. Yes it`s a mammoth task Slating The Spring. and it seems it`s a task You will never complete.. Remember, to Slate properly You must not only Damage a person`s Reputation, but reveal something That _confirms_ the Slating - ie: support the Slate with some evidance - real or fictional - the public don`t care as long as it reads well and they can tell their mates about it - i mean, what a wasted oppertunity - imagine the WORD OF MOUTH if You`d done the job properly!! Here's a Hint Kids POINT OUT THE bleeding OBVIOUS.. oh sorry, you know that one
Still it`s nice to know there's somebody out there who is so offended by/jealous of my activitys they.... er .. call me.. er.. a muppet.. ehm.. and.. er.. a media whore.. god that's not even a _decent_ slating.. mmm.. research isn`t your strongpoint is is kids? (sob - i feel so unfulfilled) Ah well.. maybee next time eh? (3rd time lucky).. Oh and you`ll have your chance to go for the 3rd slating this wednesday night at the Kitchen where GIBBS, POWER and ME will be Whoring and Muppeting for the executive relief of a bunch of Sad Basterds that can`t get any entertainment at home.. Long live the slate..
==090202
Okaaayy.. feeling a little better noooww... Apparently, I was abducted by aliens.. here's the proof.. Welll!!! With all this talk of retro i thought it might be nice to flashback a bit! Apparently these things come in 3s.. (You`ll need Media player for it..) and if you enjoy that little taster, theres a 10+ minute extravaganza here for you to enjoy!! it`s a 20MB download if you can`t get it to stream properly from the web, but it's well worth it! Full on Footage from inside the olympic on the night of the raid & some fine Movietrailer clips mashed up to this week`s production - mOOnshine! This week i dissapeared a bit (you may have noticed) and decided to try to do things like we used to 10 years ago.. Late nights mostly, but with TODAYS technology! So.. here's what happend.. i Wrote & recorded a tune the way i used to - NO backup patterns or stock samples (even though they are original samples i have made for my own use, they still constitute cheating for this one..) Roughly 2 hours making patches, sampling the speach content from an old instruction tape and setting up the desk,2 hours writing on the fly while mixing and constructing the sequencer files from scratch - started with a 1 bar loop of 4 909 kicks!! 2 hours Blending and stop-starting the first pass.. and then (the fun bit) sourcing the original Betamax and VHS-C tapes we made in the OLYMPIC and making them play.. all the Camcorder tapes were magneto-damaged.. they'd play for 5 seconds then loose it, they were stored badly and are very wrinkled!! Strangely the one's done on LP survived better - all the Betamax tapes are fine, but were of the SFX and so on, the olympic "broadcast" one only lasts about a minute, but it WAS a live UHF TV broadcast from a camcorder (and motarbike battery!) in the crowd to the VCR in the back room using Rabbit-ears and a VIDEOSENDER - so hey! I thought it was on for 3 hours, ended up only working when i was in front of the stage.. grrr!! We sussed this in the SFX years later and mounted the reciever-VCR in the rafters above the dancefloor, so we caught ALL of the broadcast.. cool!!.. er.. ANYWAY,.. i grabbed the tapes and digitised them into the auld TV card, shoved the .AVIs into a shareware chopper and furiously made the movie you can download above.. Technically i went from Nothing to a Full track and finished "mega" video in 12 hours. Hah! So enjoy.. it was a BLAST doing it all and now let us never speak of it again.
==080202
hiudsgilu lidfughdfhgdf!-8ÉIhd dhhgsd.............sdjhsjd dskjsd??? mmmmmmmm.. spaaaceship.
==040202
So.. wasn`t the Superbowl THE BEST EVER!!!!! Whatta night.. in fairness! So.. we Had a mental Weekwnd really, all started up again.. Juan Atkins On The Squad was Surreal For me, i Hope i didn`t freak him out 2 much.. And then The Actual Finding and Immediate Delivary of the TestPressings for the next tune - a spectecular bit of "Oh there they are!!" by the Courier after loosing them for a week!
BE PROUD!!! In Ireland We have NO LAWs on how loud our venues and night clubs should be.. in fact, there have been 131db measurements taken in some disco-bars recently (source:every news bullitan tonight..) So.. Revel in the joy my friends as it`s to be short-lived!! Soon the Thought police will take away our right to Damage our hearing in the name of a good night out!!! Blem while you can doods!! [Note: if you get dizzy when you swallow and have no idea what people are saying to you half the eime, it`s far too late.. so GET READY TO SUE THE GOVERNMENT FOR NOT PROTECTING YOU! (sorry?) (what?) (eh?)
Weekend Playlist for Mr.Spring`s Show on 2FM,
(www.2fm.ie) TX: 020202/20.00-22.00 [thatsa-lotta-twooz]
20.00:Firen` Squad, Squaddies: Juan Atkins (original version),
Gint (innit), Anne Savage (tidy girl!), Ben Curvosso (roaring).
*cerrone/supernature -universal - 52%
570598-1,df101-12/wri:wisniak & cerrone//malligator preoductions
*planet k/acid disco -tgrecords - 10%
tgr002/wri:koglin//ministry of sound pub. www.tgrecords.co.uk
*space frog/follow me -tripoli trax - 37%
ttrax082/wri:merlin & otis//msm songs
*herbaliser/verbal anime -food - 20%
zen64p1/wri:herbaliser,rakaa & iriscience//cop con
*oris jay/trippin -gusto - 33%
prgus3h/wri:jay & ramsey//cop con www.gustorecords.co.uk
*tilmann uhrmacher/on the run -direction - 34%
xpr2782/no details (licence from FOG AREA PRODUCTIONS)
21.00:
*arturo garces/bounce - toxic tunes 5007
*light/travels - blanco records
*solid gold playaz/dark matrix - whitelabel
*oneino/shh! - classic recordings cmc64
*repeat orchestra/private life EP - background records atc005
*smyglyssna/something more EP - minimal music 019
*bay area flavours volume 1 - purerecordings@yahoo.com
21.30:
*tripods 2.6r - spring recordings
*lorenzo de preti/holy noises - subway sub 179 www.lorenzodepreti.com
*dj noise/sibel - voice noise vnr 008 info@voicenoise.com
*fergie/bass EP - duty free
*crazy masters/untitled - digi mini 10
Oh my!! I just started to watch FRENZY, and Alfred Hitchcock Movie.. And The Main LAd In It is AVON out of Blakes7!! Messy.. Proof can be found here.. A nice looking Movie database thingy for MytypeofFilm!! Ok.. so i did something wierd this week.. i Dug out the Box of dats from 1992-1994 of mine. Very odd.. But i Have Pulled About 3 CDs of stuff down, and MP3d them.. I`m now looking for webspace to up them for you.. Some SOUND CROWD stuff mostly, some released, some not, but all of it offered since we approach the 10th anniversary of all that messing starting.. I should be able to up quite alot of stuff from "the day".. maybe some longer video clips or whatever.. but hey.. it`s underway.
==250202
Weekend Playlist for Mr.Spring`s Show on 2FM,
(www.2fm.ie) TX: 230202/20.00-22.00
20.00:
Firen` Squad, Squaddies: Marshall Jefferson (set u free),Cormac O'Halloran (bassscaper),
Paul Ariphel (irish promotions), The Emperor Ming (Magic Disco Machine Candidate)
*love inc./it's only love -nu life - 44%
nux40/wri:sheppard & denny//BMG music
*tony thomas/get high -soma - 53%
soma117/no details
*sensi/do what u wanna -breathless - 61%
brth004pt/no details www.breathlessrecords.com
*DMB vs. Oakenfold/when the world ends - 65%
dmb4/no details
*shaggy & ali g/julie -island - 47%
juliecd1/wri:burrel & baron-cohen//emi music pub
*liquid state & marcella woods/falling -prefecto - 7%
perf29cds/wri:bury & mowatt//mushroom music
21.00:
*ladies first/i can`t wait - polydor ladies11
*lucas feat. blu/my feet work - polydor mfw3
*timo maas/o.c.b. - perfecto parfalb08lp
*panic machine/beat - acalwan aca9959-12
*forbidden planet/holding on 2 u - black ice 007 wavelength@vfree.com
*gollum & yanny/watch out - edm 061-1
*space frog/follow me - tripoli trax ttrax082
*massimo cominotto/gula-matari - bxr claxixx bxr1147
*dj gert/once upon a time in the west - noname nt5022 www.nonamerecords.be
*phasendreher/the trip - pulse050!
Above is Marshall Jefferson's Watch, Filmed today at a secret Location... The plot? Well.. he's a fun guy, and after only minor nagging, traded watches with me after saturday's squad.. Whereas He thought mine was the coolest he'd ever seen - a rebuilt original Red l.e.d. watch, I thought his was severly cool due to it bieng HIS watch and all that..This is all good stuff As far as i can tell, not only do we both have strange new watches to suss out without instructions (how DO you stop it going off at 4am??) but we should have enough genetic material on the watches to grow a clone or 2 should the need arise.. So.. that's nice to know.
So 2 Fermoy we went.. a lovely little Jaunt (tomorrow people stylee) down the wrong motarways resulted in the ULTIMATE dodgy road bieng discovered.. there are some SPECIAL b-roads available for the discerning Car-Thrasher between the N8 and N7 - real mad tarmac rollarcoasters! Should there ever be a need for a "hogs of the road" type cannonball special this summer, WE HAVE THE ROUTE.. mmmm.. danger.. Ehm.. anyway.The venue, SG-1, is actually quite bright and nice.. sadly the Decks are on a flexi-stage, and are suspended by chains, so it`s like DJing on a stiff trampoline by the side of a lake,with the decks on a raft in the water infront of you.. Oh, with a (far too loud) monitor on a tripod right beside you, pointing at the left deck.. so.. yep.. you guessed it, our old pal the mid-range howl, the favorite bass-feedback loop and on this occation, a special visit from our old pals, BROKEN NEEDLE on the right deck and DODGY FADER on the mixer (causing the entire right side of the room to be without sound randomly when you move the fader..) and (this is funny) the mixer switched to MONO so the tracks "Beat-cancel" and the Bassdrums go hollow when the mix is perfecton the floor when mixing. So.. I turned the monitor around to face the crowd, moved the deck off the ropey fader to a fresh one, and was provided with a working headshell during the process of the night.. I also had to Ride the Bass AND the mid on the left deck throughout the night due to the feedback from the monitor.. I am Mystified how anyone had a good time with all that messing going on.. Needless to say. i am warning everyone else to be prepared for the monitor feedback, it`s so strong (as the Sound is so lovely & loud - easily the loudest in the country at the moment) that the howl can actually cause the record to slide and skip from vibration during breaks if you don`t ride the EQ.. My recomendation: Get a Mixer lads, the picnic player that came free with the CD-players doesn`t cut it at all, and make that monitor volume-controllable and suspend it from girders like the deck-plinth, having it on a stand blaring in the DJ's face is asking for trouble.. The Crowd in Cork are always very friendly, no exception this time, and it`s been so long since i actually played in Cork, innit? Lovely Chicks Pecking Around, a smattering of Modded Motars and DJ7's mob in the area too (the poiseners), i can safely classify the visit as a result.. I did enjoy playing, even though i kept having my head wrecked by various acute angles on the gizmo front, and hope This is the New Cork Mecca.. Well, there sure ain`t much Competition in the Area unlss You are into Shovels...
==230202
I have never been so busy on the phone and by text as i have been in the last 48 hours.. If you are one of Our Irish Springers, You can`t have helped but notice the current press waffles about the 2FM shuffles going on.. I Honestly don`t know what is going to happen to us at the moment, but it`s All or nothing, You can be sure of that.. We won`t desert you if we can help it, but sometimes shit happens.. You know we'd never run out on you don`t you? DON'T YOU? Good. Well let's just hope Things turn out Alright.. We have tried very hard to bring Dance Music to the nation and You have made it a worthwhile pleasure by going to the Gigs, hitting our websites and ACTUALLY ADMITTING TO LISTENING TO US in the last Listenership Poll thingys.. For this i thank you, and i want to say [Dirk Diggler while accepting a porno-oscar voice:ON] "We are going to keep trying to make better shows for you and keep trying to bring new Sounds and Events to you, We believe the music can help people, and we won`t stop trying, we'll keep on rockin' & Rollin'.. Hell Yeah.." Yes We are Freaked Out, as are lots of our friends, not just in 2FM, but in the whole Dance-Sector.. But change always looks like a bad idea and we naturally resist it usually because it means WORK and disturbing the nice cushy vibe we are all used to, but when change is called for to make thigs even better, then it HAS to be looked at - If nobody ever tried to make things better we'd all still be Going to work in the local Mill on a buckboard for 2 groats a year and a share in a turnip..
Tonight i`m in FERMOY.. Err... that is if the snow doesn`t take over totally by then.. hmm.
==210202
One of the vinyl shelves in the Bratcave collapsed causing me to look at it's comtents as i tidied up the mess.. Some Fun was had seeing if tunes were still any good that i'd really liked 3-4 years ago.. and besides a few (like SLEEEPWALKER by GREEN MARTIAN) that seem dreadfull now, the majority were still listenable! Things like ICON's VOCA ME are simply delicious still and are screaming for a blast again... mmm... blast..
==190202
Power Updated The Script.. And don`t forget to VOTE for your favorite DJ born in the 32 counties of Ireland on 086.604.6020 ( from outside Ireland +35386.604.6020) Just send a text-message with the name of your favorite Irish-Born DJ in it to that number.. it`s for the Smirnoff Dance Awards "Best Irish DJ" Catagory..
"Computer games don't affect kids, I mean if Pac Man affected us as kids,
we'd all run around in a darkened room munching pills and listening to repetitive music..."
--- Kristian Wilson, CEO, Nintendo Gaming Corporation, Inc, 1989
WE ARE THE BOLLOCKS!!!! IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!
I have just been tipped off that The Dance Dept. on 2FM has DOUBLED it`s listeners in the last Survey.. You may have noticed the Press bashing the crap out of RTE because of the recently published Listnership figures - well those figures were for the main Weekday Shows - the Monday to Friday Stuff, and despite some of the More established Shows loosing a little ground, the Top 10 Most listened to Radio Shows in The Nation are ALL RTE shows.. It`s nice to see the Competition perking up a bit - there's nothing worse then an uninspired adversary!! But our Weekend-Dominating Solid Trouncing Of all comers is a Joy.. The Dance Cru Rox!! And You are the proof.. As soon as i can find some accurate figuers. i`ll up them here, but for now you`ll just have to be satisfied that we are the Daddies with MORE then 3 out of Every 4 of You checking in Every weekend. Theat's Seriously scary. And i thought it was only my Granny listening. Sheesh. Thanks. That's made it all worth while - i want to promise you that we are going to keep on trying to make better radio for you. and we are going to keep on breaking the new tunes we need to feed this unquenchable thirst for new music.. Now the cherry on the icing on the cake - if we are streaking ahead and the Mainstream radio world is fragmenting it can mean 2 things in the long-run.. Firstly, now we have established that dance music-radio is _the_ growth sector, we can expect more dance music programming in response from our competition.. this is good news for us all since competition drives the quality up.. Secondly, It is only a matter of time before we replace the "M-People and Office requests" shows that bore us all so shitless.. Face it.. Whomever that radio appeals to should be off listening to RTE Radio 1 or BBC 5-Live, let's make radio more bloody fun for god's sake.. I had to listen to the BBC and To the local services in N.Ireland Yesterday.. BBC 1 was OK untill some depressive girly moron playing Mailing-list shite came on at 10am and i could FEEL a million people switching off (mentally and physically) as the poor girl died a death flogging a dead greyhound... What an anti-climax after Sara Cox and her madcap ALI G interview!! I mean, she's a girl, but that's all.. If a bloke was as wishy-washy he'd be out on his arse.. Booooooring. Even Gerry Ryan was more exiting.. Then came the New Dance Station in Belfast.. Holy Shit what bollocks.. Sorry Lads, but Cheeseball "DJ Alligator" muck mid-morning is NOT correct. Sorry. Yes.. i know all the kids are on Middterm, but that's an excuse to treat them like adults and earn some respect, NOT dumb down for 5-year-olds.. I actually felt Physically sick after listening for only 15 minutes.. So i switched to DOWNTOWN for a while and Fell asleep at the wheel.. Luckily the RDS kicked in and i awoke narrowly avoiding a brick-wall that appeared from nowhere to the strains of an Add for NEIL DIAMOND on the national pop station. HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO? is there anybody there?
==180202
Weekend Playlist for Mr.Spring`s Show on 2FM,
(www.2fm.ie) TX: 160202/20.00-22.00
20.00:
Firen` Squad, Squaddies: Leoini (blue),Al (3rdeye beachbum), Arveene (psychic deckchair attendent), Pressure (for novelty value)
*dj innocence/so beautiful -echo - 12%
ecdj1194/wri:charles//echo music
*mathias ware/hey little girl -manifesto - 40%
fescd91/wri:davies//emi songs australia www.manifestorecords.co.uk
*nu flesh/do you understand it? -big dada - 58%
dada18/wri:nu flesh//cop con
*faithless & dido/1 step too far -cheeky - 48%
cheeky016/wri:bliss & armstrong//bmg & cheeky music
*snap vs. tom novy/the 1st the last eternity -kosmo - 8%
kos2037/wri:benites & brown//hanseatic & warner chappell
21.00:
*cerrone/supernature - universal germany 5705981
*porn HQ/pornorama - recycled loops ear004
*spacejump/i found a reason - loweredlow002p lowered.recordings@zen.co.uk
*timo maas/o.c.b. - perfecto parfalb08lp
*dj noise/sibel - voice-noise vnr008
*norman DJ/go back - blutonium blu042 info@blutonium.de
*dj arne/test bitching - deep mission dm23 www.clubculture.de
*missjma/all bitches - fairlight b258837
*phasendreher/the trip - pulse 0605:43 PM 2/18/02
*Tripods - spring recordings sli 10302
==160202
Oooops! Got that SlateReport A little Wrong.. I actually got slated -=3=- times in the latest issue! There was one staring me in the face all along, right next to another one (mmm.. sorta like when the same record gets reviewed 3 times by 3 different reviewers on the same page in DJ magazine/7 magazine..??) Wow!! Reall deep gashes in the ego here (sob!) and poor auld AL GIBBS is shocked and horrified at the realisation he is actually "the Pat Kenny" of dance!! Christ! you'd better watch out kids, Plank will sue your asses off for associ8ing him wid the Gibbster! Urmp.. anyway.. We can't have them saying things about a BROADCAST resident like that willy-nilly.. even if it is 60% true.. So.. as a small token of our disgust, heeeeers TODAY'S BEST SLATE RUMOUR TOP 5:
1. They are all frustrated MIRROR stringers.
2. Customs & Excise Confiscated the last issue under the Obscene Publication's Act.
3. The Black Panthers (Dublin Chapter) Are Offering Cash For Information.
4. The K.K.K. (Dublin Chapter) Are Hosting The Slate Easter "Bar-B-Q".
5. ***** Walshe IS the Slate.
Now.. about lastnight.. there WAS an alleged appearence for Me,Kav,Presh and Pidgeon in the Temple.. And it ended up Pres & Kav instead, this really was down to a simple matter of there bieng a mix up.. yeah.. a mixup. I missed my flight back from the congo and Jay got his cock caught in a temporal vortex after mistaking a crack in the space-time continuem for a rift in time itself.. messy.. i'm still reeling from bieng caught in a 14 second timeloop on the laughlinstown roundabout for what felt like a millenium, although in reality it was the same 14 seconds over and over again.. sadly my memory didn`t record any of them, so i have a blank spot for 14 seconds last night and (through carbon dating) it seems the date is actually mid feb 3010ish.. sorry about that.
A note on DJ TED/GPO/Essence doing a "welllllll after 7 years, it`s time for a move, a change.. etc.... blah.." >>BOLLOCKS!<< (ithankyou). I hope everyone will still be talking after all this!!!! (not me proclaiming the Bollockosity of it, but the split itself..)
Check this out too if you have a JAVA-enabled Browser.. it's this week's Favorite Staring thing..
==140202
Happy Love day fools!!! Did we nJoi last night at the KITCHEN? check out the cool flyers - 1 for each dude.. Okay, so it was more like a Who's-Who of The Scene rather then a Buzzing student night, and for this we were greatfull sice 99.9% of Dublin students were elsewhere due to Rag-Week and The Match and so on.. In fact, Who`s Up for Banning the Public From the Night? Anyone? It`d be a good Plan of action if we fail to attract any REAL punters in the long run!!! Special Shout to the BBM Mob who graced us with a visit and were Beautiful, Charming and Actually Fitted in real well with the organised chaos,despite insisting on a photograph of Urz Truely.. Mmmm.. now that this year's photo of me has been done, i can relax and return to howard-hughes/naomi campbell mode and deck anyone near me with an Image-stealing Device.. Grr!! They steal Your Soul You know!! Anyway.. the flyers..
So there!! It`s all good i suppose.. the staff in the Kitchen are Sound.. Our Guests were sound and the Crowd Were sound as well!! And there were Fine Women walking about offering people 2 bottles of V'ICE for the price of 1 - exactly the way i planned it!! hehehe.. (now claiming some responsibility after it wasn`t empty!!).
You`ll Find the DOWNLOADS page overhauled.. With New Clips From the Next Spring Recordings Release: SLI10302 - TRIPODS.. G'wan.. give it sox!
==130202
WARNING: We are experiencing Server Difficultys At the moment so Updates may be a liitle erratic and (frankly) incomplete.. feel free to report dead links, corrupt files or plain bad service to me.. apparently we are touching ( and sometimes exceeding ) our Daily Bandwidth these days due to people hoarding the Media files.. ah well.. it`s part of it all innit?
After a month off for Xmas, It`s the Welcome Return Of...
Top 30 Spring Nations [January 2002]
1 Ireland
2 US Network
3 Unresolved/Unknown
4 US Commercial
5 United Kingdom
6 Spain
7 Italy
8 Netherlands
9 Belgium
10 Australia
11 France
12 Germany
13 Finland
14 Canada
15 US Educational
16 Japan
17 Norway
18 Switzerland
19 Poland
20 Sweden
21 Austria
22 Russian Federation
23 Brazil
24 Denmark
25 Estonia
26 New Zealand (Aotearoa)
27 Malta
28 Portugal
29 Singapore
30 Argentina
BEST EVER MONTH on mrspring.net!!! 28881 hits!! Whay-heyyy!!! G'wan!! Biiig Up the ClickerCru!! And for the First Time.. (and coz we're very bored tonite) herez the Search Engine Top..er.. 4.. Google, Yahoo, Altavista and Lycos - In decending order of Freshness.. Oh.. and Ask Jeeves Did send 1 person our way, but they were looking for A Clutch for a 1980 Ford Capri ghia.... which we can`t do..
==120202
Hahahah!! Thanks for the Thanks for the MFAQ bit below.. yes it seems i oversimplified and stated the bloody obvious alot for some of you that are a little more advanced - sorry, but didn`t you get a bit of a voyeur thrill from seeing how someone else does it? heheh.. So.. Tomorrow is the Start of BROADCAST at the Kitchen in Temple Bar Dublin.. The Actual Fine Details are a bit Blurry, but it`s something like the MONO thing we Used Do on A Wednesday in the Distant Past Except AL GIBBS is Playing CONOR G's Role this time, and it`s in the Kitchen, Not Mono... Er.. So, that`s Power & Me and Gibbs, Wednesdays, Kitchen.. Now, i know what you are thinking.. Wednesday night? WTF? Yep.. that`s what i thought when we started In MONO on a wednesday, and it went so mental busy we ended up shafted so the venue could take it over for themselves! So we will see.. maybe students have a different plot thesedays or maybe it`ll be a blast, but yeah, wednesday night.. what a stupid idea...It's gonna b gr8! I wonder if the Kids From the Slate will be Allowed Out to carry out their threat of a review? I hear they are grounded for a while for Bieng Clever.. Tsch!!
Weekend Playlist for Mr.Spring`s Show on 2FM,
(www.2fm.ie) TX: 090202/20.00-22.00
20.00:Firen` Squad, Squaddies: Pat dempsey (messy),
Tony C & Ronan Mac (messier), Paudi (messier still), Jon Carter (even messier) Johnny Who (Messiest).
*kooki/imagination -universal - 53%
dinstdj234/wri:trivellato//sym music srl.
*db boulevard/point of view -illustrius -3%
cdill002/wri:comazzetto & bragato//suono edizioni musicali
*basement jaxx/get me off(superchumbo) -xl - 76%
no details whitelabel//no details
*porn HQ/pornorama -recycled loops - 100%
<--- 1st EVER 100%!!!!
ear004/wri:kanzyani//cop con kanzyani@siol.net
*tom cole & steve carrol/certified madness -abbey dance - 55%
12ad005/wri:cole & carrol//cop con
*kim wilde/loved -emi germany - 0%
7243550110964/wri:wilde & ronald//cop con www.emimusic.de
21.00:
*timo maas/old school vibes - perfecto parfalb08lp
*Tripods - spring recordings sli 10302
*marc et claude/history of acid house - alphabet city alph0220-6
*blockbusters volume 4 - blockbusters 004
*dj raf bass/intenso - md 0088
*derb/in africa - unsubmissive b259429
*toolboy/fear the drill - uberdruck 04
*crazy masters/untitled - digi mini 10
*voice of buddah - groove trax 3
*dj nano/fuc*ing in space - tempogressive
==110202
After getting yet another email asking about mixing tips i`ve decided to Publish my "M" FAQ - My "Most" FAQ.
Q: Could You explain in Plain (ish) English How Beatmixing works?
[aka: Beat Mixing - A guide for Teachers, Parents and Concerned Friends]
A: Well, it`s a simple enough concept that i`m sure i can cloud totally for you and ensure you NEVER get the hang of it and therefore pose no threat to me and my DJ-folk mates who run things around here.. (clear the throat)..
RIGHT.
Imagine you have 2 train tracks side-by-side.. One has an 8-carriage train travelling on it at 130 MPH. If U were to Fly alongside it like superman with a jetpac at 130 MPH, it appears to be standing still if you stare at it.. If You Drop your speed to 129 MPH the train will slowly accellerate away from you since it is now travelling 1 MPH faster.. You can catch up with it again by speeding up a bit (lets say by 5 MPH for a split second..)
The same can be Applied in reverse: If you were to accellerate to (let`s say) 131 MPH, the train would appear to be slowly reversing away from you but you can drop back to be along side it again by hitting Your Brakes for a split second to allow it to catch up with you..
Now.. Imagine The same setup again, this time you are in a magic Flying Train, also 8 carriages long, and the 1st train is busily banging away on it`s track.. Your job is to swoop in from above and land on the track and match the speed of the other train so You can drive along beside it and allow the passangers to all cross from the 1st train to Your Train.. that means you have to MATCH the speed exactly and pull up so Your 1st Carriage is next to The other train`s 1st carriage, Your 2nd is next to it`s second and so on - this is to make sure when you give the signal to "Jump Trains" none of the passengers hit the tracks and die horribly at high speed.. So..
How do you do it?
Well, here's how I do it anyway... i Park my train about a mile up the track and rev it up like fuc* with the clutch out, ready to tear off (nought to 100 MPH in .25 seconds cos it`s a technics train!) as soon as the 1st train passes by.. I will watch out of my 5th carriage's window and when i see 4 of the other train`s carriages pass by i will drop the clutch and speed off.. Why the "5th carriage" thing? well i wuld have VERY little hope of starting off alongside the 1st train if i was only looking at/for the 1st carriage since it would be well past me by the time i reacted! Think about it! While if i`m staring out of the 5th carriage window, i get a nice "4-3-2-1" countdown as the 1st,2nd,3rd and 4th carriages on the 1st train whizz by and i can drop in alongside pretty damn well by the time the 5th comes along.. remember i`m looking out of MY 5th carriage, so when i match with the 1st train`s 5th after the countdown, my 1,2,3 & 4th carriages are automaticly in sync.. as are the rest of the train.. Well, nobody is perfect, especially when you don`t know what speed the other train is moving at!
The Messy bit.
Once you have dropped in in sync, as long as you don`t really over brake or over accellerate, you should be able to match the speed of the other train.. How? Well, lets start relating all this to record decks shall we?
Most records You`ll want to mix are made up of common numbers of sets of Bars (4 beats/kickdrums=1 bar) usually sets of 4s. So have a listen to a dance tune and count the beats and bars as they go by, notice how things sort of tend to change or happen on bars devisable by 4? or Every 4 or 16 bars something happens? Make use of this fact.. Imagine on of these groups of bars is one of our trains from the above rant. Find the begining of one of these sections on a record and let 4 beats play, catch it right before the 5th to be safe.. hold it with your finger in the tiny gap before the kick, rock it back and fowards gently with your hand and feel where it starts.. and sit and wait for the next "change" on the record you want to mix into.. when it happens, as long as you were listening, you`ll be able to count off the first 1-2-3-4 beats of the section as it starts and then release the one you are holding (just before the 5th beat, remember?) alongside the 5th beat in it..
Now you are sure they are running with at least a vague "section to section" agreement between them, you can take your time matching the speeds.. Immediatly after releasing the record you`ll need to dive in with a correction as you`ll rarely get it right 1st time anyway, so slam on the brakes a bit (press your finger against the edge of the platter to slow it down for a split second) and if it improves the Sync, ie: if the beats mingle better and don`t "clash" so much (imagine looking at the trains from above and seeing the gaps in the carriages lining up in a straight line from left to right) then you know you need to reduce speed on the new tune, so knock a bit off the pitch shifter and slam on the Brakes again and see if it takes any longer to get messy again, if it does take longer, you are on your way, so loose some more speed and slam on the brakes again.. and so on.
Soon slamming on the brakes will make it WORSE, and that's when you know youv`e reached the same speed, in fact you may have over done it, so you`d better know how to GIVE IT SOME WELLY (GISW from now on to save fingertipskin) as well.. Simple really, same as above, except when Braking makes things worse, get straight in with the GISW and push the record on in time by "nudging" it foward a bit.. helping it on so to speak.. push on the label in the direction of rotation, or if the record is a "Knocker" and the hole is too big causing it to move backwards & fowards and possibly skip all over the place when you nudge it, twist the silver thing in the middle that pokes out through the record - more subtle this one, but for fast correction in the early stages of a sync, go for the label and be rough..
By GISW you`ll have the same experience as Braking really, it`ll get better, then drift out, and spend longer drifting as you add more pitch adjust until it is in..
No, when i say "in", i mean in the Biblical sense, because it`s NEVER going to be _actually_ in, but if you know it`s a TINY bit slow and will need a "twist" or a "nudge" about every 4 bars to be in, that`s actually BETTER then believing it`s in and getting caught when the mix starts to drift (because it always will - trust me on this) At least you KNOW what to do, and how much of it to do when it`s ALMOST there.. Better IMHO!
So.. there. All of the above is meant to encourage exploration, it`s NOT "the" way of beat-mixing, it`s the way _I_ worked it out, and i does work most times - now don`t get me wrong, i don`t have all that crap above in my head when i do it, i just do it now without even thinking, i seem to instinctivly know where to put the pitch adjust and never have to decide to nudge or brake, it all just happens, and always has really, i suppose i`m used to it that`s all.
I HIGHLY reccomend tricks and gadgets in the training stages of beatmixing.. especially if you can CHEAT with them!! Like BPM the records before hand.. here`s how - count the number of kickdrums that happen in a minute (or in 20 seconds and triple it) and write them on the label.. at least then you`ll know if the tune you are about to mix in as faster or slower then the one playing BEFORE YOU EVEN LINE IT UP! hah!! No more "nudge or brake?" dilemmas, excellent if you are a heavy toker or a pisshead.. You can of coarse buy BPM counters (www.redsound.com do a nice range) to automate the process and mark things down to a tenth of a BPM!! very anal but hey, works!
Gadgets like "Kill" Knobs and switches are a godsend for the actual sound mixing process of beatmixing - you can kill the bass on the new track and creep in only the top and middle real easy.. all while checking the mix in your headphones and spotting the (very easy to notice) Hi-Hat Rattle going out of sync for quick correction on the way up to max volume, then after a while, when a section is doing a change, swap over the bass end, no messy bassdrums on top of each other - lovely. back to the train thing for a minute to elaborate, when you are satisfied the passengers (remember them?) can safely "jump trains" then give the order on the intercom "Jump you fuc*ers, Jump!" and they all leap accross into your train.. safely.. nobody getting caught between the carriages and mashed into dogfood.. It`s a bit risky and messy thought, no room for fine tuning.. You could of coarse Transfer all of the first class carriage first, and then the non-smokers, and then the Smokers last.. Seeing if any of the 1st class lot get squished, if they do (oops!) then make adjustments for the Non-smokers, and ditto for the jump by the Smokers by which time casualtys should be down to a minimum..
The "Hi Hats" are a last line of checking when preparing the sync before doing the soundmix,here`s a typical "16beat" brum pattern for 1 bar:
H = High hat, C = Clap, K = Kickdrum
H: x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
C: -------x---------------x--------
K: x------x-------x-------x-------
(Sounds like this: Thump,Crash,Thump,Crash with "ticka-ticka, ticka-ticka etc." over it) See our 4 beats making a bar? (the Ks) so thats 4 times in a bar our brains get to compare 2 patterns we are trying to syncronise. But look at the H!! thats 16 times a bar people, 16 times in 1 bar you will be able to glean feedback on how the sync is going.. If the hats are alright, you are there.. so WATCH the hats, they will be the FIRST to go if your mix is slipping out of sync.
"Section watching" is very important for long-haul mixing (ie: showing off) remember how tunes are made of "Sections"? Well thinking of them as trains and trying to have at least their first carriages alongside one another can help cover your ass on the old but classic "running out of tune" trap - where you have been faffing aroung far too long and won`t have the time to lift the needle back to the start of the tune to re-launch and re-sync! Well just start the mix there and then, no reload, and at least things will change/sections will happen in logical places and even though the tune you are introducing is well into the theme,you`ll at least be spared the horror of just kickdrums for ages , or even worse, no nothing for ages!! gulp...
Also worth keeping in mind is most tunes "Build" in sections,usually lots of 4,8 or 16 bars in the begining,and also "break down" in a similer for the end of the record.. think about that for a sec.. if layers are bieng peeled OFF the tune you are playing, and layers are bieng ADDED to the tune you are introducing, they should balence out shouldn`t they? Well, they WILL if you have your Sections starting together.. Get it?
[sidenote;on relaunches;(when you have to move the needle back to the begining of the record you are introducing so you can det it up for another pass of Sync or the actual mixing pass);if you are pretty sure you have the speed right, the "re-sync" can be very quick indeed since the speed is right- don`t be afraid to reload - you`ll get it in real quick if you put the work in on the first pass..]
Now All that's left is to Practice untill you do it without having to think or look. Sounds creepy, But it happens.
==100202
The new issue of the extra-absorbant slate is out this weekend!! (my rabbit will shit on nothing else - the SLATE is even more absorbant then the Parish Newsletter!! shock!!) And it`s as rammer-jammer-packed with Typos, Bitching and the ill-informed rantings of everybody`s favorite frustrated, impotant Young Unemployables as ever!! And i got a record-breaking *2* slags in it this issue! Unfortunatly they are pretty limp digs at best, i do wish they`d come up with something a lid the ill-informed rantings of everybody`s favorite frustrated, impotant Young Unemployables as ever!! And i got a record-breaking *2* slags in it this issue! Unfortunatly they are pretty limp digs at best, i do wish they`d come up with something a little more articulate then calling me a "muppet" and a "media whore", that's not even insulting kids!! Come on, you must have some Venom in those fangs!! Use Your imagination for god's sake! If you took ANY time to study the Spring thing, You`d surely be able to construct something that may hit home a little better then simply verbally abusing me!? Surely You must be aware that when it comes to me, You have to TRY to slag me off, not just for my sake, but for the sake of your poor long-suffering readers who all know me a little better then you.. They will agree 100% with you that i am in fact a muppet, but actually more of a media PIMP then whore.. Yes it`s a mammoth task Slating The Spring. and it seems it`s a task You will never complete.. Remember, to Slate properly You must not only Damage a person`s Reputation, but reveal something That _confirms_ the Slating - ie: support the Slate with some evidance - real or fictional - the public don`t care as long as it reads well and they can tell their mates about it - i mean, what a wasted oppertunity - imagine the WORD OF MOUTH if You`d done the job properly!! Here's a Hint Kids POINT OUT THE bleeding OBVIOUS.. oh sorry, you know that one
Still it`s nice to know there's somebody out there who is so offended by/jealous of my activitys they.... er .. call me.. er.. a muppet.. ehm.. and.. er.. a media whore.. god that's not even a _decent_ slating.. mmm.. research isn`t your strongpoint is is kids? (sob - i feel so unfulfilled) Ah well.. maybee next time eh? (3rd time lucky).. Oh and you`ll have your chance to go for the 3rd slating this wednesday night at the Kitchen where GIBBS, POWER and ME will be Whoring and Muppeting for the executive relief of a bunch of Sad Basterds that can`t get any entertainment at home.. Long live the slate..==090202
Okaaayy.. feeling a little better noooww... Apparently, I was abducted by aliens.. here's the proof.. Welll!!! With all this talk of retro i thought it might be nice to flashback a bit! Apparently these things come in 3s.. (You`ll need Media player for it..) and if you enjoy that little taster, theres a 10+ minute extravaganza here for you to enjoy!! it`s a 20MB download if you can`t get it to stream properly from the web, but it's well worth it! Full on Footage from inside the olympic on the night of the raid & some fine Movietrailer clips mashed up to this week`s production - mOOnshine! This week i dissapeared a bit (you may have noticed) and decided to try to do things like we used to 10 years ago.. Late nights mostly, but with TODAYS technology! So.. here's what happend.. i Wrote & recorded a tune the way i used to - NO backup patterns or stock samples (even though they are original samples i have made for my own use, they still constitute cheating for this one..) Roughly 2 hours making patches, sampling the speach content from an old instruction tape and setting up the desk,2 hours writing on the fly while mixing and constructing the sequencer files from scratch - started with a 1 bar loop of 4 909 kicks!! 2 hours Blending and stop-starting the first pass.. and then (the fun bit) sourcing the original Betamax and VHS-C tapes we made in the OLYMPIC and making them play.. all the Camcorder tapes were magneto-damaged.. they'd play for 5 seconds then loose it, they were stored badly and are very wrinkled!! Strangely the one's done on LP survived better - all the Betamax tapes are fine, but were of the SFX and so on, the olympic "broadcast" one only lasts about a minute, but it WAS a live UHF TV broadcast from a camcorder (and motarbike battery!) in the crowd to the VCR in the back room using Rabbit-ears and a VIDEOSENDER - so hey! I thought it was on for 3 hours, ended up only working when i was in front of the stage.. grrr!! We sussed this in the SFX years later and mounted the reciever-VCR in the rafters above the dancefloor, so we caught ALL of the broadcast.. cool!!.. er.. ANYWAY,.. i grabbed the tapes and digitised them into the auld TV card, shoved the .AVIs into a shareware chopper and furiously made the movie you can download above.. Technically i went from Nothing to a Full track and finished "mega" video in 12 hours. Hah! So enjoy.. it was a BLAST doing it all and now let us never speak of it again.
==080202
hiudsgilu lidfughdfhgdf!-8ÉIhd dhhgsd.............sdjhsjd dskjsd??? mmmmmmmm.. spaaaceship.
==040202
So.. wasn`t the Superbowl THE BEST EVER!!!!! Whatta night.. in fairness! So.. we Had a mental Weekwnd really, all started up again.. Juan Atkins On The Squad was Surreal For me, i Hope i didn`t freak him out 2 much.. And then The Actual Finding and Immediate Delivary of the TestPressings for the next tune - a spectecular bit of "Oh there they are!!" by the Courier after loosing them for a week!
BE PROUD!!! In Ireland We have NO LAWs on how loud our venues and night clubs should be.. in fact, there have been 131db measurements taken in some disco-bars recently (source:every news bullitan tonight..) So.. Revel in the joy my friends as it`s to be short-lived!! Soon the Thought police will take away our right to Damage our hearing in the name of a good night out!!! Blem while you can doods!! [Note: if you get dizzy when you swallow and have no idea what people are saying to you half the eime, it`s far too late.. so GET READY TO SUE THE GOVERNMENT FOR NOT PROTECTING YOU! (sorry?) (what?) (eh?)
Weekend Playlist for Mr.Spring`s Show on 2FM,
(www.2fm.ie) TX: 020202/20.00-22.00 [thatsa-lotta-twooz]
20.00:Firen` Squad, Squaddies: Juan Atkins (original version),
Gint (innit), Anne Savage (tidy girl!), Ben Curvosso (roaring).
*cerrone/supernature -universal - 52%
570598-1,df101-12/wri:wisniak & cerrone//malligator preoductions
*planet k/acid disco -tgrecords - 10%
tgr002/wri:koglin//ministry of sound pub. www.tgrecords.co.uk
*space frog/follow me -tripoli trax - 37%
ttrax082/wri:merlin & otis//msm songs
*herbaliser/verbal anime -food - 20%
zen64p1/wri:herbaliser,rakaa & iriscience//cop con
*oris jay/trippin -gusto - 33%
prgus3h/wri:jay & ramsey//cop con www.gustorecords.co.uk
*tilmann uhrmacher/on the run -direction - 34%
xpr2782/no details (licence from FOG AREA PRODUCTIONS)
21.00:
*arturo garces/bounce - toxic tunes 5007
*light/travels - blanco records
*solid gold playaz/dark matrix - whitelabel
*oneino/shh! - classic recordings cmc64
*repeat orchestra/private life EP - background records atc005
*smyglyssna/something more EP - minimal music 019
*bay area flavours volume 1 - purerecordings@yahoo.com
21.30:
*tripods 2.6r - spring recordings
*lorenzo de preti/holy noises - subway sub 179 www.lorenzodepreti.com
*dj noise/sibel - voice noise vnr 008 info@voicenoise.com
*fergie/bass EP - duty free
*crazy masters/untitled - digi mini 10