I often get asked about my favorite bassists. It makes sense — I’m a bass player. The truth is though, my answers have changed almost constantly throughout my musical development. But despite my shifting interests, ever since I first heard The Shining, J Dilla has consistently had an impact on my playing, and has been the first name that pops into my…
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By Orenda Fink I have lived in Omaha for almost thirteen years now, and have always been impressed and inspired by the surprisingly rich and diverse music scene. Coming from Athens, GA, a music town that I adore, that is saying a lot. It’s one of the things that keeps me from fleeing forever during the…
We live in the most exciting time one could possibly hope to be alive. Every day, new aspects of our earthly existence are being discovered, advanced, and technologically exploited to further improve our experience of reality on this planet and in this universe we humbly occupy. Yet, despite these fascinating daily occurrences, we still love…
By Marihiko Hara I love how time flows in Kyoto, not too rapidly and not too slowly. A five minute walk will lead me through streets, temples, and gardens, where I can feel that I am in ancient spaces. To know where I stand, all I have to do is find out which direction points north.…
What follows is a personal selection of some of the most influential and revolutionary Italian songwriters: a mix of politics, poetry, sentiment and history. This is Part II of a two part series. Read “Part I: 1958-1978” here. DISCLAIMER: This is just an introduction. It is nearly impossible to sum up a vast and prolific repertoire like…
By Stef Fiorendi What follows is a personal selection of some of the most influential and revolutionary Italian songwriters: a mix of politics, poetry, sentiment and history. This is Part I of a two part series. Read “Part II: 1980-2013” here. DISCLAIMER: This is just an introduction. It is nearly impossible to sum up a vast and…
By Steph Colbourn When I was 13 I made a cassette tape for my crush. It was the summer before I was going into grade 9 and, like any preteen and probably any artist, I was too overwhelmed to be able to put feelings into words. Instead I recorded 10 of my favorite songs onto a tape,…
Last December, our friends in Brooklyn band Madam West recognized an opportunity: Because so many bands are busy making the pilgrimage to Austin for SXSW this time of year, if you happen to be a band staying put in New York in March, there are loads of amazing venues with big chunks of their normally-swamped booking calendar wide open.…
Today we’re going to learn how to emulate that classic warm keyboard sound that starts Radiohead’s “Everything in Its Right Place” in just a couple of steps. A couple of notes: First, we’ll be working in the newly released version of Helm V0.6.1, an impressively powerful free digital synth plugin. Download the free version here to follow along,…
