Tag: nostalgia
Climate Control – giveaway
by Mike on Jan.01, 2011, under Free downloads, Music, Studio
Not so many tracks today – in fact I can only find two from this era!
This particular phase coincided with me getting a regular DJ set doing chillout. I had the slightly naive opinion that I could mix live performance with DJ’ing (armed with a couple of synths and samplers as well as a laptop full of MP3s) mixing with an early version of Tracktor DJ.
In practice, the gigs were a complete nightmare – manually tempo syncing hundreds of tracks (this was before Ableton Live made it a non-issue) and matching keys to be able to swap pieces in and out of the flow meant I spend all week preparing for the set.
The fact is, the average punter couldn’t tell the difference between something played live and some crap played straight off a “Best of Chill Out” CD. The last gig I just put Wish You Were Here on and sat drinking at the bar, still got paid though because the barman was a huge Pink Floyd fan.
Embrionic music – giveaway
by Mike on Dec.31, 2010, under Free downloads, Music, Studio
Embryo - (c) 2007 lunar caustic
When I finally moved out of bedsitter-land and stopped sleeping on other peoples couches, I got a small flat in Poole where I began to rebuild my life after so nearly destroying myself.
Following the example of a number of people I had met in my wilderness years, my flat became a kind of open-house and a great community of friends used to call by at all hours of the day and night. We would smoke, drink, make tea and jam for hours with whatever instruments were at hand.
It was about this time that I started building my own recording set-up and just experimenting. Dave, Vlad and Jez were regular visitors – these tracks are about all I have left of that time.
I should probably point out that most of these tracks were originally untitled as they were just jams we did. The titles were just provided so that I didn’t have to work out what “untitled 087.wav” was…
Chemical
Manitou – giveaway
by Mike on Dec.30, 2010, under Free downloads, Manitou, Music, Studio
Here is the second Manitou album – the follow up to the well received “Looking for the Lost”. The album was never finished, much of this was played live in the studio as a “studio rough” and it’s a fairly basic desk mix. Having said that, I still think it sounds pretty good! It was recorded by Steve Smith at his Room With a View studio.
I asked Harry if he minded me putting this lot up for free download and he said,
“Personally I am of the opinion that it should be available for free download as widely as possible. Don’t know how everybody else feels about it but it might just spark interest and who knows what.”
so please feel free to share!
Manitou
Thalamusic
by Mike on Oct.12, 2009, under Music, Video
Thalamusic revisited. A Commodore 64, a Zzap!64 cassette tape and a couple of synths I wish I had back in 1987. One for all the 8-bit geeks out there!
I’ve had a bit of spare time this weekend, and I’ve re-discovered some old Amiga stuff I had – including a (rather lame) cover of Thalamusic I did many years ago. Firing up MilkyTracker let me export the nice’n'crunchy 8-bit samples that I originally made from a Zzap!64 cover cassette (an early computer games magazine), so I had to do the only sensible thing and rework the track using some of the (slightly better) gear I have around these days!
I re-implemented the classic bass synth line using the JP-8000 RPS feature, and tracked the swooshy noises from my Novation Nova, finally programming up a new lead sound on a Fantom Xa – I tried to recapture some of Rob Hubbards airy choir sound he used on the tape version. I also kept a few sounds from the original C64 game, just for nostalgia!
The Brickies Music Club – Ashley Cross
by Mike on Jun.19, 2009, under History
In the late 80′s and early 90′s, a converted skittle alley in the back of The Bricklayers Arms became home to one of the areas most vibrant music scenes. Some of the UK’s best talent performed in a tiny room that could just barely hold 90 people in the middle of Parkstone.
Jazz, Folk, Blues and Rock bands all crammed onto the tiny stage to play to a smoky room packed with an appreciative audience. The Rolling Drunks, The Producers, Hugh Lloyd-Langton, Ringo Chubb and the Screaming Toiletfish from Mars, Pronghorn, Circa, Silent Attack, Manitou, The Agency, Lady Winwood’s Maggot, Q.E.D., Crosscut Saw, Mission Impossible, Blind Lemon Davis, Poze. Just a few of the names I remember.
I had just arrived back home after leaving university with no job, no commitments, no propspects and no cash when I turned up one night – the locals were an eclectic and friendly group, and before long I found myself with a new bunch of friends, and more than a few free pints in exchange for a bit of glass clearing.
It wasn’t too long before I was in a band, I joined Richard Scott and Dave Eley in The Strange, as the singer and bassist. It is no small regret to me that we have no recordings of that time, and only one or two photos of the original line-up exist.
Time pressures, personal tension and money problems eventually led to the break-up of the original line-up – although all of us went on to other projects and continued to occasionally play together, except Bob, our drummer who switched to saxophone and keyboards shortly afterwards!
The Strange never officially disbanded, and over the years many different musicians and friends have drifted in and out what has become a long standing experimental collective.
One of the other Brickies regular bands was Manitou, who showed signs of getting some real success, with plaudits from the Classic Rock Society and a tour of Japan under their belts.
I was approached by Harry on the departure of Sean Carter to see if I could “learn the set in a hurry” to meet some gig commitments, and before too long I was in the band.
My association with Manitou unfortunately lasted longer than the Brickies Music Club. With the death of the landlord, Kevin, and new management coming in, soon afterward the pub lost it’s music license and the scene that had grown up there gradually dispersed to other locals and venues.
If you have any memories of the Brickies Music Club, either during Geoff or Kevin’s tenure, please share them, I would love to hear other peoples recollections!