Otto Matta

Etnica - Small Doses and History Spirallianz - One Way Ltd Ka-Sol - Pricken

You're not fooling anyone, Mr. Watkins. Shame on you.

As far as I'm concerned, music is an intimate relationship. Therefore, I expect it to come and go. If it's a good relationship, it will last for years. If a bad one, days, with vast stretches of fantasizing with (listening to) other people's music, which is the equivalent of porn. If I'm not listening to other people's music very much, but am creating a lot, I know I'm in love. My various relationships and break-ups with music have exactly mirrored my maturity, my relationships with women, with human beings in general, and with my universe, since I started 20 years ago. Most of it was very naive, all of it was necessary for learning, and very little of it has been completely genuine. With this very clear logic I know that in order to make the best music I'll ever make, I have to first learn how to love myself completely, which of course will reflect in my relationships with others, which will reflect in my music. Very simple. Very complicated. Again, good topic, Adriano.

I played Portal this last weekend and didn't notice it. Maybe it's at the end, which I didn't get to (yet). Would be awesome if that was the case. I think it was posted like that because the album is super-rare.

Oh, okay. It just seemed like you were more involved and that you had some big secrets to tell. So when and where can we buy the album?

Hmm. I think a lot of that stuff tries too hard to be scary, and therefore is not. To me at least. It's sort of like the difference between Solaris and, say, Event Horizon. Woob - Strange Air (Again, suggested with volume, in darkness, in headphones, for full immersion, and it's imperative that one listens all the way through to the end. It's as much cinema as music. Suggest also finding better recording. )

The chilliest stuff I've heard is Woob. Try it in the dark in headphones, maybe with some doob. Woob on doob. If you really want to freak yourself out, listen to Strange Air this way, and loud. I promise you a serious full-body chill.

Yeah, me too. I listen to psytrance in my car, and occasionally my favorite tracks at home, but I haven't bought anything or downloaded anything in a while. There are about 10 discs I wouldn't mind having, but I can't justify the expense right now. I'd pay good money for another Ka-Sol disc, though. Or another really good S.A. disc, like if Multistate made another one. I've listened to the first one an insane amount because it's exactly what I like, and I don't expect that to happen again anytime soon. I feel like I've really fallen behind, but I'm not altogether worried about it. I don't buy much music at all these days, which is a dramatic change from my last 10 years or so. I think there's something about attempting to actually make decent music that might put one off an obsessive listening regimen.

Last weekend I picked up a copy of Glitch, even though I had my doubts of it working with Cubase 4 or with MIDI. I was wrong in both cases. The guy who made the program said it had problems with C4. And maybe I take people too literally when they say a certain program requires you to run "audio" (as opposed to MIDI) through it. I also picked up a guitar synth VSTi, which is one thing I've been missing. Reason had a really great set of guitar sounds that I used a lot. I need the guitar for the last track of my EP, a sappy ambient thing that is turning out to be Biosphere-ish.

The little-known album of love songs by 50 Cent before he got shot a bunch of times and became popular because of it.

I saw one actually called Psy Kicks or Psykicks at KVR the other day, not that it's necessarily any good, but probably worth a look.

Why do I get the feeling that Suntrip has absorbed Schlab? Very exciting, if that's the case.

+AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHGHHHHHHGHGHG!!! I want it NOW! No, I NEED it now! Where. When. How. !!! Edit: 3in1 Nightmerge at his MySpace is flippin' wicked.

Thanks for the input, GGT. Nah, if you like another track better, that's fine with me. At least I've written one that people like, and there's a lot to be said for that, I think. The "noises/scratches" are intentional, actually. I even named the sound "Scratch". It's an old electronica trick to provide a sort of used vinyl aesthetic. The way I've used it in this case, if you pay really close attention, is as a rhythmic element. I hope it's not too distracting.

A new track, in a happy, upbeat, synth-pop style. I'd enjoy your honest feedback, especially about the production, which I'm still not very good at but improving slowly. Starcade - Karma Olympics (5:22, 192 kbps mp3, 8.6 mb) Thanks for listening.

Wow, that's one I didn't expect. A New Age artist. Honestly, though, being an ex-New Age fan, I do notice a lot of New Age motifs in chillout. And that's fine with me. New Age lacked the cool beats.

Lemon Jelly - Lost Horizons

What has worked for me is to take a break, as in days, and get as far away from it as possible. A lot of times the best stuff comes when I'm not forcing myself to think about it. I think that way you're not as constrained and your ideas are allowed to flow more freely. And if you're far enough away, and you've come up with good ideas, then it's like a friendly reunion to get back to it, with momentum behind it. But even short breaks are totally necessary. I find it's best to find a way to distract the laserlike focus and allow the thoughts to flow unmolested. And when you're ready you dive back in. Most times what inspires me is to just make something, no matter what. That something will lead to more somethings, and those to more somethings, until a larger something starts to take form. But you have to like your equipment.

Transmissions Bible of Dreams Shango and Beyond the Infinite are tied V V V V V V V V Labyrinth

I spent several years with the HD280s and really loved them, especially after Sony headphones. But no, I don't think they're appropriate for production/mixing because they're not entirely accurate. I always had to inflate my levels to get them to sound the best (but not as much as I had to with Sony, and I can't imagine how crappy Bose headphones are). They're best, I think, for home listening and for DJing. If you want headphones for production, you pretty much have to go with Beyerdynamic, AKG, or higher end Sennheiser. But for the price you pay, HD280pro is a lot of bang for the buck.

I gave up on Shpongle some time ago. Not my thing, but I like to nudge people in the ribs for liking them.

Ya, great news. So is it only Marcus now? What about the Spiral/Miliz guys?

Hey, thanks, Doctor J. Hope life's treating you well. Been a while since we rapped at one another.

Okay, cool, man. I'll keep that in mind. I do appreciate it.

Do you mean within this track, or from track to track? And do you mean sounds specifically, or the general tone of my music? Or both? I appreciate the feedback, man. The last thing I want to do is repeat myself too much.