Otto Matta

Thanks, moni, for your hard work, and a nice job on compiling the results. And congratulations to the winners!

Finally, with the selfless, patient and generous help of Ben Kaleideoscopic (a.k.a. Shaft), I've got a website up and running. It's the one in my signature: www.starcade-music.com. There are two mp3s there to listen to, and new ones will be added when their overhauls are complete.

I think it really depends. I get the feeling that people just sort of like the software they get used to. I've spent the last year with Reason and I really know my way around the program. I'm intimate with it, and that comfort keeps me from really trying too hard to have a similar relationship with another program. Now I'm at the point where I feel I need something more serious, at least to make the sound from Reason better, which is why I've acquired Cubase. But messing around a bit on Cubase I've realized there are things that I really love about Reason. To give one simple example, Reason allows me to undo my tweaks on a synthesizer. Cubase does not. Which makes me scared to twiddle too much, because maybe I'll permanently mess up a sound in the name of experimentation. But FL Studio seems to be catching up, and before too long, I suspect, it will be a very serious program. The last experiences I had with it, back in 2005, it seemed sloppy and simple. But you can't argue with the VST thing. So, like anything, I guess it's a trade-off. And it really comes down to what you feel most intimate with. When I recommend FL Studio to a newbie, I recommend that he get familiar with the process, but not intimate with the program itself, because there are other programs he might like better but may not try if he's too in love with FL Studio. I'm going to have a hard time tearing myself away from Reason. But thanks to ReWire, I won't have to entirely. I'm just hoping that the next version has some big improvements. If only girlfriends were like this. Oh shit, they are!

Insanity!

Mine are alphabetical, but I put all my psychill stuff within my general electronic shelves, so trance has its own section in my collection.

It depends on what you consider "big", I think. Psygone was marketed fairly well - although in a stupid way by a stupid company (Cleopatra/Hypnotic) - so there were Psygone albums to be found in the larger chain stores, and his tracks could be found on lots of fairly repetetive compilations. But still, I don't think the name was nearly as big as many of the other names we know from the time. So if you mean big as in popular, I'd approximate his bigness somewhere around the 50th to 60th percentile.

Yes! And incredible music as well. If we're going outside the psy realm here, my most-wanted album is Shuttle358's first one, called Optimal.LP.

I've got a mint copy of the recent Indoor rerelease if you're interested, but I suspect you want the original.

None really for me either. I guess I wish I had hard copies of Krumelur and Broken Toy's albums instead of MP3s. A hard copy of AP's Trust in Trance 3 would also be nice instead of a burned copy.

Cool pics, abasio.

I think you'd be better off voting for Best of 2008 at this point. We love you, moni. Now get off your cute little ass and do some work.

Because moni said she'd do it. I already know what the top three are.

1. Hahaha! Stupid. 2. Cool! 3. Meh. :shrug: Sounds like old Ott.

You don't seem like a total noob, actually. There are some experts in this area here, though, for sure. Me, I'd recommend something a little out of the psy realm, because I like sci-fi music that takes me far away from this planet. First, according to your specifications, I'd recommend Murcof's first album Martes. Also, take a close look at Tim Hecker's music, perhaps Radio Amor for starters. It's not world-ish, but it will take you on an express trip to distant galaxies. And I'm assuming you've already met Biosphere? Substrata?

I've actually been listening to a lot of MFG lately, and although I like their stuff they never quite reached the same classic, quasi-timeless level that AP did back in the day, especially at their peak with Trust in Trance 3.

No, no results yet. We're trying our best to get moni's attention.

Basic Channel - BCD Totally hypnotic stuff from long ago. A great lesson in how music doesn't have to be highly produced to be amazing. Crisp production would've killed this stuff.

Cool. Another word of advice from my own experience: Don't be too impatient. Sequencers are merely music-making tools. They don't read your mind and they don't create the music for you. Like with anything, the more experience you acquire, the easier it will get to translate the ideas in your head to music, and the better the music will get. It's a very long but ultimately fulfilling climb if your heart is in it every step of the way. Also, Astro, I'm familiar with your musical taste by now, and have a basic sense of the stuff I think you'd like to create, so if you feel like sharing anything with me, feel free to send it along and I'll give you my two cents of feedback. Good luck to you!

Yeah, I had a scary experience at the Canadian border not so long ago myself. I thought it was going to be a straightforward, friendly thing, especially since it was close to Niagara Falls, but I ended up in immigration being questioned by a surprisingly unfriendly guy. Then again, I suppose if I were Canada I wouldn't want just any Joe American coming into my country and fucking it up.

Best smilie ever. I'm a-keepin' it.

These were my latest purchase (AKG K701): And if it can be considered gear, I bought a book the other day to help me get around in Cubase.

Honestly, I would get a copy of a recent version of FL Studio and start playing around a little (play should always be important, I think). It's very easy to use, but can also be very powerful. And no keyboard is necessary, although at least a small keyboard/controller is recommended. FL Studio will get you accustomed to the workings of a traditional sequencer as well as give you some experience with plugins. It will also give you an idea of what sort of compositions are natural to you and what sort of sound you enjoy (because even if you think you want to sound like some pre-existing music, often your own "voice" will end up sounding differently), and ultimately what you'll want from a more advanced system. Then when you get to the point when you start to know what you're doing and what you want (don't get too hooked on FL Studio), start researching all the popular programs you've undoubtedly heard of. And then also really do yourself a favor and look into all the other technology out there that has not become popular for one reason or other, because there are a lot of companies making some very interesting technology that is attempting to break out of the traditional boxed-in mode of most popular sequencers and make the creative process more creative (ultimately leading to a more original sound than those using popular programs).

:snore: I already have the We Have Explosive single.