Industrial Music Monday - He Dreamt of Ascension

It's that day... and you know what that means... Industrial!! This week we have a project out of West Plains, MO. The music is in the vein of alternative/industrial/art rock. The sole songwriter for this project is: Ryan Steinbruner. The endeavor is called: He Dreamt of Ascension! Check them out!!





hdoa.bandcamp.com

facebook.com/HeDreamtOfAscension/

HeDreamtOfAscension YouTube

Is the/your Goth Scene Dead?

Is the/your Goth Scene Dead? Let's discuss!!

Twitch: b+

You want more Twitch? Well, here you go!! Here is Twitch's "b+"! This EP is a natural extension of "The Block, The Stream, and The Key"! It contains remixes and alternate versions of the singles off the full album, plus the (exclusive) title track "b+"!

Limited to 50 downloads... after that, you either have to ask me personally for a copy, be invited to a private link to access it... OR... you have to get a pirated copy from one of your friends (who's willing to share)!

Industrial Music Monday - ooluu: ANTEDILUVIAN

Well, it's that day, and you know what that means... Industrial!!! Normally, I only feature a band once here, but today I've made an exception... cause I like these guys (and I kinda know them... well, at least Wychdoktor), and they've released something new (which I'm assuming it's in preparation of a new album)... So, I'll reintroduce these guys... they are from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada... This particular EP is in the vein of progressive/industrial/metal with some tribal influences... The EP is called "ANTEDILUVIAN", and they are called: ooluu. Check them out!!






ooluu.bandcamp.com

ooluu Facebook

twitter.com/ooluutribe

ooluu Youtube

soundcloud.com/ooluu

www.ooluu.net

Twitch - This Is It!

Here it is! Twitch's newest music video for the song "This Is It!", off the album "The Block, The Stream, and The Key"

So You Want To Buy A Hardware Synth!:

So, you’ve decided to get a hardware synth for yourself, you’ve never purchased one before and you are not sure where to start! Somehow you’ve stumbled across my blog, and luckily enough, I’m going to give you some pointers/tips to figure out where to get started when purchasing a synth, and what you ideally should pick! When I was much younger, I did receive advice from a couple of online sites regarding synths, I don’t think those sites are around anymore (they were from 1999-2000 period), so I’m going to offer my advice to anyone out there looking for their first synth! So, here we go!!

First of all, figure out what you want to use this synth for… do you want to create new sounds? Do you need something with a sequencer, so you can write/sequence songs into it? Do you need something that samples (so you can sample that weird sound that plays from an obscure movie)? Do you need something with a high polyphony (like the Yamaha Montage [128 voice polyphony]), so you can layer multiple sounds? Do you need all the above? Ask yourself exactly what are you going to use the synth for… these are the questions you want to ask, as it determines what you are really gonna use the synth for!

Once, you’ve determined what you are gonna use the synth for, I would suggest either going to your local music store and asking the customer service person if they have something like that you are looking for (if they do, ask if you could try it out in store, or maybe rent it to try it out for a week or so), or go into your local music store and start trying out the different options they have there, and maybe renting one of them if you seem to like it. I would also pick up any brochure that goes into detail about the synth you are wanting (if they have a brochure, if not then check the details out online)!

After you’ve tried out the synth in store (or rented) and you like the sounds in it, and you like the feel of it, you like what it offers, then I would suggest purchasing it! For myself, when I chose the synth (Yamaha EX7), I knew I wanted a synth and wasn’t sure exactly which one I wanted, I knew I needed something I could create my own sounds with (not just a ROMpler), something with a sequencer (so I could write songs right into the synth, and maybe even bounce tracks [or parts of tracks] from my computer to the synth), and maybe a sampler (so I could sample TV shows/movies/found sounds/etc), I also knew I needed something with MIDI as well (which most synths have nowadays), as I wanted something I could use with my software on my computer at the time! I had walked into the local music store, and sat down and played on a Yamaha EX7 at the time, I quite liked it! It wasn’t until I had moved to a new city that I realized that was the synth I wanted, just randomly I walked into a music shop and there was the EX7 sitting there, so I tried it out again, I realized that was the synth I wanted, so I went up to the store attendee and talked to her about it… she handed me a brochure with all the relevant info about the synth… It honestly wasn’t until 2012 that I ended up purchasing the synth (so, many years later), but I found someone that was willing to sell theirs online (as they weren’t in store anymore), purchased it, and haven’t regretted it! Best purchase I have ever made! It had everything I wanted, I could create my own sounds (it had all the synthesis options I wanted), it had a sequencer, a sampler, 64 voice polyphony, MIDI capabilities, some knobs for sound manipulation, and I like the way the keys on it feel! I will never get rid of this synth! It is my first synth purchase, and the only synth I’ve ever wanted!

My philosophy for picking gear:

When purchasing the Yamaha EX7, I chose it because, it could do everything I wanted it to do, and it sounded great (or rather, I loved the way it sounds)… I also chose it because, I wanted something that could do everything, so I wouldn’t have to make more synth purchases in the future! The advice I received years ago was; Remember the rule of synths: one great synth is worth ten good synths, and one good synth is worth one hundred bad synths. Whether or not a synth is good or not depends on YOUR personal tastes, regardless of what others say... I chose the one great synth 😉

Well, hopefully this was helpful! If you folks have any other questions, post them in the comment section, and I’ll try my best to answer them!

Skinny Puppy "Brap: Back & Forth Series 3 & 4"

Skinny Puppy “Brap: Back & Forth Series 3 & 4” has to be my favorite release from Skinny Puppy ever! There’s a lot of albums out there that they’ve done (with some of these songs in their original forms), but this particular release is my absolute favorite of theirs! It’s not even an album per se… it’s more a collection of instrumental demos (disc one) (1983/84) as well as some outtakes and live songs (disc 2) (1990/91)! This particular release came out in 1996, it featured an Enhanced CD component, where if you slipped either of the discs into a CD reader on your computer, a bunch of cool digital content would show up on your computer desktop! There was a 3D style VR interface based on the “Too Dark Park” album and a virtual walk through of the “Spasmolytic” single! I’m not gonna get into that part too much but, I kinda want to get into the sound of the release! This particular release was my very first Skinny Puppy release, oddly enough, I picked up a rare misprint of the CD artwork… I guess apparently the version I got had the “3” logo imprinted on both discs, when it should have a “3” on one and a “4” on the other… I realized a while after when I had talked to a friend at the time they were supposed to be labels “3” and “4” (I still have this copy). I had actually heard this album somewhere in my young adult years (19 or 20 years old) at a friend’s place, and I remember popping it into their CD player and listening to “Love In Vein” (disc 2), it was the first time I had heard Skinny Puppy, I loved it! Course I couldn’t really decipher the lyrics to their songs, at least back then, they seemed very abstract (nowadays is a little different). You could definitely tell that they were on some form of drug while recording these (some of my friends say the only way to truly figure out what their lyrics are about, is to drop acid and listen, although my drug days are long over, even before I purchased this release I had stopped [that might be a story for another time though]) Eventually, I purchased this CD, and after going through the first listen through… it was soo good! Just the quality of the audio, and the heavy sound it had. Even now when I listen to it, there is this sound quality to it. It’s not too processed, it sounds very heavy compared to their other releases with the same songs. It also, seems to be very bleak sounding… I am definitely curious where their headspace was when they were creating these songs! It’s amazing the quality of the audio too! The majority of the songs on disc 1 were originally recording on a 4-track portastudio… I am quite curious how they ended up with such high quality sound from a 4-track portastudio (you can tell there is a tiny bit of tape saturation on the recordings, but it is so subtle I don’t think an individual who isn’t already a musician/producer would notice)! After initially purchasing this double disc release, one of the first songs that was on repeat a lot was “Grave Wisdom” (disc 2)! I love the intro of the song… the weird dissonant bassline paired with the kick… something about the way it sounds. One of the songs off disc 1 also became a favorite of mine “Double Cross”, just soo bleak… “YoYo Scrape” was also another favorite! I loved playing it when friends were over, I love the intro to it as well! “Spasmolytic” (disc 2) was also another favorite, just for the sheer heavy electronics and drumming! I wish I could articulate exactly what this record, or rather how this record and the songs make me feel, but to be honest, I don’t think there are words that can articulate what I feel… The overall sense of the album is bleak… it actually kinda reminds me of Ministry “The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste” album, maybe not so much of the guitar based industrial stuff, but just the kind of sound it puts forward… just this bleak, bleak sound… maybe angst… where Ministry did that with guitars, Skinny Puppy did it with synths… I can only imagine what they were going through at that point in time, and what was going on around them! I was quite young when they started up, and their reality is/was quite different than mine, when they were playing out and making a name for themselves (their first release was in 1984), I was still in elementary school (6 years of age).At that time, they were trying to bring awareness to animal cruelty in lab testing… and I was trying to survive grade 1 here in Canada, lol! All I have to say is, if you haven’t checked out Skinny Puppy’s “Brap: Back & Forth Series 3+4”, go give it a listen (and listen to it multiple times)! It is truly worth it! It made me a fan for life! Maybe you’ll hear what I hear… the bleak, angst, the dissonance… Or, maybe you won’t... Or, if you have already, what do you think about this particular double disc release?

(Misprinted discs)

Industrial Music Monday - bioHuman//antiHuman

It's that day, and you know what that means... Industrial!! This week we have a project out of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The music is in the vein of Industrial/hellektro. The band consists of two members: J. Perkins (words, and voices), D. Allaxul (noises). They are called: bioHuman//antiHuman! Check them out!!






biohumanantihuman.bandcamp.com

bioHumanantiHuman Facebook

Industrial Music Monday - The Voidloss

Monday? Yes!... You know what that means... Industrial!!! This week we have a band out of the United Kingdom. The music is in the vein of industrial doom metal, with noise elements as well as electronic elements. The projects founder and sole songwriter goes by the name Steve "Voidloss" Loss. The project is called: Voidloss! Check it out!!!






Voidloss @ singularityrecordings.bandcamp.com

voidloss Facebook

voidloss Soundcloud

Industrial Music Monday - Stereo Skull

It's that day, and you know what that means... Industrial!! This week we have a project out of the United Kingdom. The band is in the vein of progressive/industrial/death metal. The group consists of five members: Arthur Sambars (Vocals/guitars/programming), Aivars Sambars (Guitars/programming), Ethan Harvey Durrant (drums), Carlos Fandango (Vocals), Matt Williams (Bass). They are called: Stereo Skull. Check them out!!!






stereoskull.bandcamp.com

stereoskull Facebook

Industrial Music Monday - Cell Zero

Well, it's that day, and you know what that means... industrial!! This week we have a project out of the US. The music is in the vein of industrial rock/electronic noise. Not too sure who the songwriters are for this project but, they are called: Cell Zero! Check them out!!!





Cellzero Facebook

cellzero.bandcamp.com

cellzero Twitter

Industrial+Beers: Episode 2: Coffee Edition w/Wet Nurse.

Here's the second episode of Industrial+Beers! We have an excellent chat with Paul Kinasevych of the solo industrial/death industrial endeavor Wet Nurse. Check out the video!

Music Writing, and Perspective: Using What You Have!

It’s easy to get caught up in the latest gear (or softsynths), or checking out what your favorite artist uses, I’m going to give you folks some perspective… when I was first starting to write songs for my first band (Adam Hates You!), I was using freeware tracker software (Impulse Tracker) to sequence all my songs (1997 or so)… I didn’t even have a soundcard at the time, and listened to my tracks through the shitty mono, computer speaker… granted, it did sound like shit, but I was still writing and trying things! After I had gotten a soundcard, I borrowed a friend’s 4-track Tascam Portastudio… and connected my soundcards audio output to the Tascam line in, then recorded it. I wanted to do vocals for the first and only song from that band, but I didn’t have a mic at the time… so I got creative… I had an old pair of headphones from when I was a teenager (I think they were my Dad’s), and I figured out that you could use them as a mic, if you plugged them into the mic line-in on the Tascam Portastudio... so, I sang that entire song through the headphone earpiece. The song, and the vocals ended up being noisy as hell (the vocals were quite distorted as well)... eventually I ended up getting a mic, and my own Tascam Portastudio… (and that band didn’t end up lasting for all that long [2.5 years I do believe])… Even before this first band (probably 1994-95 or so), my best friend and I decided to make a tape of our own songs… we wrote lyrics and used a stereo tape recorder, and played guitar and drums and sang at the same time to get the songs down, granted, we didn’t know what the fuck we were doing, and I think this was before either of us had considered doing music seriously, but I think you know what I’m getting at… everyone has to start somewhere, you don’t need a bunch of expensive gear to start making music now-a-days… Fortunately, these days, you can get started really easily, for only a couple hundred bucks (that’s if you already have a computer, and now-a-days you don’t even need a computer… you can use a goddamn phone to write and record [Kendrick Lamar wrote an entire album on a phone, and several of the songs have been chart toppers])! What I’m getting at is, you don’t need a bunch of expensive gear to get started, you don’t need a fuckin Minimoog Model D to do all your basslines, you don’t need a Access Virus TI2 Synth to do all your fuckin lead synthlines and shit… Hell, you don’t even need a computer… You could record a fucking album on a stereo, and duplicate it that way. Make your album artwork with a photocopy machine… use the tools you have around you… don’t have drums… use fucking pots and pans… maybe you have a computer, but you don’t have any Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software… use the Sound Recorder in your Windows> accessories folder... If you have the drive and motivation to do music, you will make whatever you have work! Not saying, you can’t save up your hard earned dollars and spend it on a new synth, or a DAW (which is the next step… or, better yet, find freeware), but if you really need to get something out, you’ll find a way to do it (borrow friends shit)! Twitch’s first self-titled album was no different… I wrote that on a PC with the DOS based tracker, Impulse Tracker… I didn’t have any synths at the time, and all I had were samples that I either created using the Sound Recorder in an old version of Windows (version 3.1 and Win95), or was the inbuilt instruments/sounds in the tracker program. I still had my Tascam at this point, and I also had a guitar (w/multi-effects pedal), and a mic. After the sequencing was all done, I bounced it down to the Tascam, did the vocals (used the guitar multi-effects pedal for vocal processing as well as guitar), and had a friend that did the guitars! Then I bounced it down to a stereo (Tascam speed is different than regular tape speed, so had to bounce it to a regular [stereo] tape deck speed), then copied the tapes using the same stereo… it was a slow process, being that the tape had to be played from start to end each time I made a copy, but I did it, and that’s what matters! After the tapes were done, I made a tape booklet (I used a piece of bristle board, a photo, printed out liner notes, and a painted piece of notepaper… to make the original design [it was much larger than an actual booklet], then used a color photocopier and shrunk them by 50%, so that they were tape sized [it wasn’t exactly the right size but we made them work]), put the booklets into the tape case, with the tape… and there you go, Twitch’s first release! I didn’t make many, probably a total of 13 or 14… but I took them with me on my trip to London, UK (that’s another story for another time, but I think you get the idea), and handed them out to various people! Of course, over time, I did acquire better computers, better software, an audio/midi interface, a synth… but I think you get what I’m getting at, use what you have, and make it work!

If you already have a computer (perhaps the one you’re using to view this post), here’s some suggestions to get you started doing music:

Free Stuff:

Jeskola Buzz (tracker style DAW): http://jeskola.net/buzz/  (I used this software for writing 2 Twitch albums: “TCP/IP” and “Welcome”… of course it was an older version that I was using, but still functions the same! Use the x86 version, as from what I understand it’s more stable than the x64 version.)

Audacity (multi-track audio editor and recorder): https://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/ (I’ve never used this, but if you are looking to make samples, this might be a good start)

Garageband (basic DAW that comes with a MAC): https://itunes.apple.com/app/garageband/id682658836?mt=12&ign-mpt=uo%3D8  (I’ve never used it, but I heard it’s a great option to start with, because of the relative ease of use)

Avid Pro Tools First (limited DAW): http://www.avid.com/pro-tools-first (I’ve never used this, but from what I understand it is a limited/try-out version of the full DAW, Can only store projects in the cloud, and limited to 1GB in size)

FL Studio Trial Version: http://www.image-line.com/downloads/flstudiodownload.html (I use an older [full] version of this DAW, but I would highly recommend trying it out!)

Not Free but Budget Conscious:

Cockos Reaper (fully featured DAW): https://www.reaper.fm/ (there is a 60-day free trial version, but the full version is only $60 USD)

Renoise (tracker style DAW): https://www.renoise.com/ (Full version is $75 USD)

Also check your app store on your iOS device! There a tons of options for phones/tablet/iPad/etc..!

Industrial Music Monday - Endgame Protocol

Well, it's that day, and you know what that means... Industrial!! This week we have a project out of Orlando, Florida. The music is in the vein of alternative/electronic/industrial. Not too sure who the main songwriter for this musical endeavor is, but you should definitely check this project out!! They are called: Endgame Protocol!






endgameprotocol.bandcamp.com

endgameprotocol Facebook

Industrial Music Monday - Future Lied To Us

It's that day, and you know what that means... Industrial!! This week we have a band out of Germany! The music is in the vein of electronic, synth-pop, with elements of industrial. The band consists of three members: Lesczenski (also a member of SITD), Vallis, and Wesenberg. They are called: Future Lied To Us. Check them out!!






Future Lied To Us @ infactedrecordings Bandcamp

future lied to us Facebook

Industrial Music Monday - Datacode Division

It's that day, and you know what that means... Industrial!!! This week we have a band out of Las Vegas, NV. The music is in the vein of electronic/industrial. The main songwriter for this project is: Bryen sorg Olafsson (music/vocals). The project is called: Datacode Division. Check it out!!






datacodedivision.bandcamp.com

DatacodeDivision Facebook

undergroundindustrialrecords.bandcamp.com

Twitch (Live) Feb 1st/2018

Ok!! Here's the live footage of Twitch's performance for Feb 1st/2018 (Industrial/metal/Hiphop) Thank you to Slava E. Nartakhov​ for filming this performance!

Industrial Music Monday - Symbol Of Logic

It's Monday... and you know what that means... industrial!!! This week we have a project from somewhere in the U.S.. The music is in the vein of industrial-metal with trance. Couldn't find too much info about this band/project... so not sure who is the main songwriter for it, but they are called: Symbol Of Logic! Check them out!!






Symbol of Logic Bandcamp

EDIT: Here's Symbol Of Logic's Facebook page:

Symbol.of.Logic Facebook

Industrial Music Monday - z(cluster)

It's Monday... and you know what that means... Industrial!! This week we have a project out of Sydney, Australia. The music is in the vein of alternative/industrial/rock. The band consists of two members: Sai Lillith (vocals), and INfest8 (Guitar, programming). They are called: z(cluster)! Check them out!!!






zcluster bandcamp

zcluster Facebook


P.S.: I found these guys from a post by another band (that they were going to be playing with sometime within the week) on Facebook... randomly decided to give it a listen, and they have been on my playlist since... excellent stuff!! I highly recommend this band!

Industrial Music Monday - Matt Hart

Well, it's that day, and you know what that means... Industrial!!! This week we have a project out of London, UK.. The music is in the vein of electronic/industrial/metal. The sole creator (and also the name) of the endeavor is Matt Hart! Check it out!!






matthart bandcamp

MattHart facebook

mattghart Twitter

Industrial+Beers: Episode 1 (Industrial Talk Show)

Here's the first episode of "Industrial+Beers"! It is an industrial music talk show, where we discuss all things industrial! Hopefully, you folks out there like it, there'll certainly be more!

Industrial Music Monday - Boar Alarm

Well, it's that day, and you know what that means... Industrial!!! Not sure where I found this project, but I thought I would mention them here in my blog, cause I haven't mentioned them...So, on that note... this weeks project hails out of Stockholm, Sweden (originally started in Vancouver, BC. Here in Canada). The music is in the vein of electronic/industrial. This endeavor is the sole creation of Fredrik Djurfeldt. Check it out!!!






boar alarm Bandcamp

Boar Alarm Facebook