I want to thank all who have supported CMA in 2011. Without you, I wouldn’t be keep doing this. Consistent patronage by my clients allows me to focus all of my energy on making better recordings and music.
2012 will be bringing a lot great music. I will be sure to keep you informed on all recording projects, live music events, videos, etc!!!
Janya will also be playing this friday Jan 6th at Drom, NYC.
Thanks to all who supported Pidgin Droppings on Friday at Hat City Kitchen. It was a great show!
We are also happy to announce the release of our CD. PD EP. its a 6 song introduction to the Band’s live mix of hip hop, reggae, funk, rock, and soul.
We will sell hard copy CDs at our gigs. its also available as a digital download at itunes, amazon, etc.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WQOD6O/ref=dm_sp_alb?ie=UTF8&qid=1319456563&sr=8-7
Pidgin Droppings (the band I play guitar in) will be playing Hat City Kitchen, Orange , NJ, Oct. 21st. We will be releasing our first 6 song EP that day. Our friends,
Bigger Thomas will also be playing that night.
Its great when you’ve finished working on an album for a client, but’s what’s even better is when they send you a finished copy of the CD. I know in this digital age, CD sales are down, and digital downloads are on the rise. But think about CD packaging for a minute, it is a form of Artwork that the musicians involved have put time and effort into (in most cases). It is a tangible thing. And although music is being listened to less and less on CD, I think its a viable medium, based on how cheap it is to manufacture them.
Lastly, a Hard Copy CD is really the only way that the Listener would know who is behind the production of the record, Like who the Engineers, assistants, graphic designers are. This is important for people like me, who rely on credits to keep on working.
That being said here are some recently release Albums, that I’ve engineered:
Joel Rubin/Uri Caine Duo- Azoy Tsu Tsveyt
Marla Mase – Speak
Adam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures – Both/And
Joanna Burns – The Green Year
Although, not an offical album yet, I did record/mix an ensemble lead by Cornetist Graham Haynes, for “The Greatest”. This is a Dance Theater performance based on the life of Muhummad Ali, Choreography by Peggy Choy. There is a good chance that this music will be available on CD for purchase in the future.
I just wanted to include this great review of Joanna Burns’ New Album “The Green Year”. I did alot of recording for this album, including Drum tracking, strings, and Horns. Its a cool record, Joanna did a great job putting it all together.
-James
I did some recording today with some of my new favorite musical instruments.
Some of these I built or modified myself.
Here is a list of the toys I was using:
1) Gakken SX 150 analog synth kit
2) Homemade Atari Punk Console (no kit, made from scratch using Circuit Board from Radio Shack).
-this is the device housed in the red Swiss army tin.
3) Transistor radio noise synth- Made from taking apart a transistor radio and Orange Tupperware container. This is an example from Nicolas Collins’ book. noise is made by touching resistor points on the circuit board and tweaking the volume pot. the beauty of this instrument is that no 2 transistor radios sound exactly the same. so start hitting garage sales.
4)Stylophone BeatBox (not modded…yet)
5)Modified danelectro Fab Echo- Housed in the Green Tupperware container, removing the delay time resistor and adding a potention gives the unit a lonnnnnnng analog delay. it really sounds awesome!
6) last is my trusty Electrix Filter Queen. This unit is so cool, and sounds great with the APC running through it.
I’m actually using these on my new recordings. That’s right, I’m working on a new record.
More info on that soon. and I’ll post some sounds from these toys, as well.
late,
James
Here’s a Video of my friend, Joanna Burns, gettin’ down at Orange Music Sound Studio.
On this past Nov. 6th, Method of Defiance threw down an awesome performance at New York’s Santo’s Party House.
It marked the launch of M.O.D Technologies and the release of the first 2 Method of Defiance Albums, which are now available for download or CD purchase at Amazon, Itunes, Etc.
I worked that night as Bill Laswell’s Bass Tech, as well as general stage tech, which allowed me to witness this event in all its Massive Volumed Glory.
Oz Fritz, Method of Defiance’s Live sound engineer, gives a great description and point of view from that night. I’d like to direct to you his blog.
He has great stories about his experiences as an audio engineer, past, present and future.
Also, Check out the latest issue of Bass Player magazine. Bill Laswell has the cover story, written by Bill Murphy.
Being Bill’s bass tech I contributed technical information for this article (and a photo) and my name is mentioned in a sidebar about Laswell’s Pedal Board.
Lastly, Pidgin Droppings has some shows coming up:
Dec. 18th at Hat City Kitchen -Orange NJ
Jan. 21 at Hat City Kitchen – Orange NJ – with Loud Apt.
Jan. 28 at The Shrine – NYC – with Loud Apt.
Check out these recently released Albums:
Method of Defiance – Incunabula
Method of Defiance – Jahbulon
Gigi with Material – Mesgana Ethiopia
Juggla – Leave Babylon
