Kraftwerk: Interview with Ralf Hutter
Published by:NZHERALD.CO.NZ
Thank you for taking the time because I appreciate you are busy. You are playing in Krakow in a couple of days?
Yes, we are travelling there tomorrow and we are doing three dates and finishing a festival, we are some kind of ‘highlight’. I think it will be a beautiful occasion in an old industrial complex re-functioned for cultural events. So we travel tomorrow to set up.
Does it take Kraftwerk longer to set up than most bands given the amount of technology you have?
No, faster I think. Two or three hours. But it is more like checking cables and connections and having the computers working properly. It’s not so much a physical set-up.
Is it easier now to perform live than it was say 20 years ago because the technology is better?
Definitely, we’ve been very lucky that the technology developed in our direction. (laughs) This is what we envisaged in the late 70s when we worked with mostly analogue [equipment] of course. Then we composed the concept of [the album] Computer World coming out in 81 and we didn’t even have computers at that time. So that was more like a visionary album. We only got that technology, a small PC, around the tour of that album and we used one on stage just writing letters. Just typing them in, not even in synch or anything. Just live, and a guy putting that on screen.
Read the full interview here >>
Finally a decent Moog filter
And believe it or not – it has actually been endorsed by Moog
The new Moog Multimode Filter, delivers the first truly analog-sounding VCF (voltage controlled filter) emulation made for mixing, performing, creating, or destroying. The Moog Multimode Filter is a ‘digital-only’ tabletop filter set that combines the best of Bob Moog’s classic designs with select features from his final Voyager instrument.
Moog Multimode Filter features :
* Classic Moog ladder-type 24dB/Oct (4-pole) & 12dB/Oct (2-pole) LPF/HPF/BPF
* Extreme distortion via 0/+20dB Input Gain, replicating MiniMoog external input
* Stunningly “analog”; Self-Oscillation, Smooth Saturation, Zero Artifacts/Quantization
* Enveloper Follower, Six LFO wave shapes, and DAW tempo synchronization
* Mono & Stereo processing with Spacing/Offset features from Voyager
* Includes Free low-DSP Multimode Filter “SE” version for high instance counts
The Moog Multimode Filter has an introductory price of $199 and is available as a fully functional 14-day demo in the v5.1 download. It will be available for UAD-2 in a future software release. UAD-2 owners who buy the Multimode Filter now for UAD-1 will get the UAD-2 version at no additional cost.
New remix contest
Starting October 15th PLP/Synthvox are hosting a remix contest.
The featured track to be remixed will be “Yours” by Uk artist CLING. There will be two winners. Prize number one is an iPod Touch 8 Gig valued @�169 and the other will get Sony Sound Forge 9 Professional Digital Audio Production Suite valued @$299. The competition will run for 60 days.
The two winners plus three runners up will have their remixes released by ClingMusic, and will be available for sale on all of the major download sites.
So not only do you get to remix CLING “Yours” but you can also win some great prizes and get your track released.
I will keep you posted when it is time to get signed up
Know more about PLP/Synthvox go here >>
Featured artist: Red Cell
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAMvpuxORgo]
RED CELL was formed by Per and Jimmy during the winter of 2002/2003. They recorded their first demo, called “In Command”, in February 2003. The sound was very raw and was called “Industrial metal” by the local press. Per came up with the band name Red Cell who appears in the TV-series Nikita. The band name was actually one of the first thing Per and Jimmy decided before they started to compose melodies.
After that they hooked up with Stefan (who played guitar on their first demo) and Jens on synthesizer, and the sound quickly developed into a more electric type of music. After the “I am the way”- demo, they recorded their third demo “Related skin” who received good reviews and when they won the big Swedish demo-contest Quest For Fame, they had their first record contract. But they later turned down that deal. After that they played in most of the biggest and small cities in Sweden and also visited Copenhagen, Denmark, and they slowly began to plan to release an album. And in January 2005 they signed to Torny Gottberg and his Progress Productions, located in Gothenburg, Sweden.
On the 7th of September 2005 their debut album “Hybrid Society” was released and went up on 7th Place at the swedish official metal charts and 53rd place on national official charts. After that the guys did a tour in Sweden and during 2006 they played their first gig in Norway. That was also the first gig without Jens who decided to leave the band. In 2008 the band will release their first record in three years, named “Lead or Follow”.
If you missed out on the latest version of the MAC SID player
You might have missed out on the new user interface which I have come to enjoy
SIDPLAY is a Commodore 64 music player. It emulates the sound chip and other internals of the Commodore 64 home computer to play back music that was originally written on it. The sound chip of the C64 is called the “Sound Interface Device” or SID, and therefore this music is known as SID music. The SID chip is basically a three voice synthesizer on a chip. The unusual combination of digital and analogue circuitry is the reason for its distinctive sound.
SIDPLAY strives to offer the best possible SID music experience on any platform. It has been designed with the High Voltage SID Collection (HVSC) in mind. This collection is the biggest and most complete collection of SID music on the Internet. It can be obtained for free from http://hvsc.c64.org/.
Sonar 8 Released – some highlights
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTIf4lNGQ5Q]
Cakewalk has revealed that Sonar 8 will be available for pre-order from September 22 2008. At the moment, this is all the company is saying about the software – spec details are being kept under wraps for now.
Seasoned music software observers won’t be surprised to learn that a new version of Sonar is on the way. It’s almost become a tradition that Cakewalk announces a major update at this time of the year.
Depeche Mode tour dates
Depeche Mode
According to several big fan sites, Depeche Mode will host a press conference at the Olympia Stadium in Berlin on October 6. The conference will reveal all details on the band’s upcoming tour in 2009. The band is also said to be working on their upcoming album together with Ben Hillier, but this isn’t confirmed from official channels.
More news on this as it becomes official.
Focus on: Electric Keys from MOTU
Electric Keys puts a slice of music history at your fingertips with the most complete collection ever of classic and vintage electric pianos, clavs, organs, strings machines, tape sampler and other electric keyboard instruments.
Electric Keys is a cross-platform virtual instrument that delivers authentic sounds of 50 classic, vintage electric keyboard instruments from the last 40 years. This massive 40GB sound library includes over 20,000 meticulously crafted 24-bit 96 kHz multi-samples of legendary electric pianos, electric organs, clavinets, Wurlitzers, tape samplers, string machines, keyboard basses and other rare and exotic electric keyboard instruments.
Recreate the popular keyboard sounds and riffs you know so well from your favorite recordings of the last four decades of rock, pop, funk and jazz, or create your own unique style with an intriguing assortment of rare electric keyboard instruments never before offered in a virtual keyboard product – and sure to delight even vintage keyboard devotees.
Electric Keys is beautiful to look at and easy to use on screen. Load, save and combine factory or custom presets. Use the virtual effects rack to combine, apply and save chained multi-effects, including chorus, reverb, delay and more. It’s easy, fast and fun to play and layer professional, authentic electric keyboard sounds.
Advanced software features include MIDI control of nearly all parameters, 256-note polyphony per instrument, ultra-low latency, efficient disk streaming for fast preset loading, world-renowned UVI Engine™ for superb sound quality, universal plug-in compatibility and stand-alone operation. You can even load and play Electric Keys sounds using MachFive for convenient, consolidated operation with your other sound libraries.
Analog Drumsynth à la Kraftwerk
For those who want stereo output only, here is a version with individual pan.
Propellehead announces new high quality refills
New ReFill downloads in the PropShop
Welcome to visit the new Third Party ReFill page! This new PropShop section contains downloadable ReFills, hand picked for their sound and quality, taking advantage of all the sonic possibilities of Reason.
The Refills introduced this month are:
• EMU Proteus 1 2 3 – All the great sounds from EMUs classic range of rack modules.
• Old World – Color your music with strings, winds, melodic and percussion instruments from around the globe.
• Vintage Pro – 30 classic keyboards; Arp 2600, OB-Xa, and a Hammond B3 to name a few. Includes 384 Combinators!
• The Wizard II – Mind-twisting ambient and electronic sounds. Buzzes, beeps, textures and drones are offered in this other-worldly ReFill.
• Electrified! – Features the sounds of $30,000 worth of vintage and modern guitars and amps. Exceptionally responsive!
• Pure Acoustic Special Edition – Vibrant and natural acoustic guitars, from soft mellow fingerstyle to buzzy and edgy picked guitar.
• Flatpack 3 – The third episode in the award-winning Flatpack series, for electronic music producers and sound designers. Now available as download.
We will keep adding more exciting titles every month so don’t forget to check back!
DATAMASKIN
