Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year

To whoever is reading this, here's to the good times. 

My new year's resolutions… 

- love, don't fear

- don't be a hypocrite or a liar

- follow the noble eightfold path :)

Everything else, like doing more music, finding a new job, losing weight, etc etc. can happen in their own time. 

Bon voyage

Logic Pro: the Sample Delay plugin demystified

Logic has lots of different delay plugins, but one rather overlooked and misunderstood little plugin is our little friend, the Sample Delay. Put simply, the Sample Delay works by delaying its input by a set number of samples, specified by the sliders. You can delay the left and right channels independently, or you can link them together. You can also type in the box and enter your values manually instead of using the slider. 

So, what's it for? 

Well, it's really to compensate for the delay that certain plugins can exert on your audio pathway. In the days before plugin delay compensation, if you put a big beastie like the PSP Vintage Warmer on, say, your drum stem, you'd immediately hear that the drums were late, as the PSP takes a few milliseconds to process the signal. This is called plugin delay, and you could compensate for the tiny delays caused by plugins with the Sample Delay plugin. 

You could also use it for compensating for delays caused by certain outboard processors, or for any ADC or DAC conversion that you do… but don't worry, we're not going to get into that here! I really want to talk about how to use the plugin creatively. But first, a tiny spot of maths. Logic works at 44.1kHz by default, which means 44100 samples per second. So, if you delay a signal in the Sample Delay plugin by 44 samples, we are delaying the signal by roughly one millisecond. So, this clearly isn't the same beast as a conventional delay plugin… it's the really tiny stuff we're dealing with here! 

Milliseconds are massive  

Milliseconds sound like tiny imperceptible units of time, don't they? Wrong. A millisecond is a huge amount of time. Considering that sound travels at 343 metres per second, it takes only 3 milliseconds for a sound to travel one meter. Our brains know this, and process this information constantly to tell us where sounds are coming from. In fact it's these tiny, fractional-millisecond delays between a sound hitting the right ear and left ear that the brain uses to work out where a sound is coming from. Don't let the fact that a millisecond is only one thousandth of a second long fool you – these are useful little things! 

In terms of Logic's Sample Delay then, you might find it helpful to bear in mind that 120 samples relates to sound travelling one metre. If we say that the distance between two ears is 20 centimeters, this relates to approximately 24 samples. So we can use this to trick our brains into thinking a sound is panned when it's not. For instance, a sound that hits your right ear 24 samples before it hits your left ear can sound like it's coming from your right, all without the need for panning, which can often ruin the balance of a mix. 

Making space

Another use for the sample delay plugin is in conjunction with reverbs. Delaying a reverb bus by 1200 samples will move the imaginary 'room' 10 metres away – great for separating out reverb from drums / strings to avoid a crowded mix and give a nice sense of space. (Actually, most good reverbs come with a pre-delay feature to make this easier, which is normally dialed in by the millisecond, so remember 1 metre = 3 milliseconds = 120 samples.) 

If you want an alternative to reverb, then why not try delaying a dry bus by 1200 samples? This will simulate an artificial space 10 metres across, which you can blend into your sound for more 'body' without waving the reverb flag. Mathematically, this sound is a perfect reflecting sphere around the mic, so if you try this you may not like the results straight away. Experiment around with equalisation to make this sound useful, but watch out for phase interactions as these can affect mono compatibility – try removing some of the low end from your delayed bus to correct any phase issues (remember to use the Linear Phase EQ for this!). 

Middle and sides

Another use for the Sample Delay plugin is to simulate a MS mic configuration. MS stands for middle and sides, and is a technique for miking a sound source (such as an acoustic guitar) to give it sense of space, without the mono compatibility problems that can arise when using other stereo mic configurations. 

The technique involves using two microphones, one pointing directly at the sound (M for middle), and one figure-of-eight mic pointing 90º off axis, picking up the 'room sound' on both sides of the direct mic (S for sides). This is then fed into an MS decoder (Logic's Direction Mixer, for instance) to translate the MS microphone signals into left and right channels, with a nice sense of stereo space and image. The advantage of this approach is that due to the clever MS decoding process, when you sum the mix down to mono, the S signal cancels out, and you're left with just the M channel, a perfect mono signal. 

The good news is that you can cheat your way to your own MS sound without the need for two microphones. To do this you need to send some of your mono recorded signal to a stereo bus, which we will use for the S signal. Insert a Sample Delay plugin and a Gain plugin onto this bus. (It may help to insert a Linear Phase EQ also.) You then invert the phase of one of the channels (doesn't matter which) using the Gain plugin. Now make a decision about how big the live room was, and dial the appropriate figure in samples into your Sample Delay. (Remember 1 metre = 120 samples.) Make sure you have linked L and R channels in the Sample Delay. And – hey, presto! – you have your own S signal, all without buying any more microphones! Now, EQ to taste. 

Important note: Only use the above MS configuration on dry, mono signals. After setting up the MS configuration in Logic, it's important to route both the signals from your M channel and S bus through to a new stereo bus, and do all processing (EQ, compression, etc) on this new bus. Any processing, especially time-based processing (such as reverb, delay or chorus) on your dry M or S signals will have a negative effect on the realism of your MS processing, and may cause all kinds of phasing problems that will negate the mono-compatibility advantages of this approach. 

Delayed reaction 

I hope you can make some use of the above processes, and if you do, you'll discover that the Sample Delay plugin is a powerful and overlooked tool in your creative arsenal. It can be used to give sounds their own space in your mix, to fill out a dull mono recording, and once you start playing around, you will find it has many other useful applications. In fact, you'll wonder how you ever did without it. 

Found this hiding in some old paperwork…

OPEN YOUR NO !

fade out, shake out of your dusty dream sleep

sunlight in bloom

— ?

— ?

fullest openness of selfless care

share in my art

spring rain leaves a mist upon your hair

go with your heart

open your heart

[Stresses]

[who dares to wake me, Prince from the biomass?]

is it always like this?

chasing a particular neurosis?

following your brain's pathways

towards the ever receding horizon

of thought / feeling?

is adulthood the full realisation

of stasis? is it the ability to

stand still? take root? become

oneself – accept that you have

become everything you intended

never to become. Each fear

hides a wish. .

Electrodynamic intimacy

meta-cunts : evolution of the off-switch

invasion of your backyard by the other people

all you ever care about - you

salivating wreck of senses and urges!

you counteracted in new and unusual

ways… why did do you do it?

You'll never rid your self of your self of yourself

circumference + diameter abound in you.

a better ratio of life to death, please,

a more appropriate balance of of possibilities

[ in a more extreme form of moderation

all that's required. and only going

"above and beyond", never above,

never beyond. Never above, never beyond.

[Fuck all you cunts –

Open your heart]

will it always be like this, love the heart in command?

chasing each & chasing every neurosis, chasing your never to become

circumferen every fear hides conceals a wish, feet on the ground

Teach ourselves to hit + miss, learn to find home

A better ratio of bad to good, [ balanced + true / that's never been true ]

— you'll find it at the horizon as the sun sets on you

towards the never reach the horizon

circumference + diameter, all that's required

everything in moderation, never alive

teaching ourselves to sit still

never above, never beyond.

will it alwa is it always going to be like this

the heart in command

chasing every little neurosis

never become

Every fear conceals a deeper wish

feet on the ground

Grounded, learning how to hit & miss

learn to find home

NEVER ABOVE

NEVER BEYOND

A better ratio of bad to good

never been true

You'll found find all that shit at the horizon

when the sunsets on you

circumference & diameter

all that's required

everything in moderation

never alive

Warrantless Wiretapping

Read this first. 

Clearly bad news… but it's not just the Americans who suffer this kind of thing. Three of our very own ISPs, BT Broadband, Virgin Media and Talk Talk, have all signed up to this new 1984-ternet. 

It's called "Webwise", a new technology created by former spyware makers Phorm. Webwise listens in on your broadband connection, and logs all of your browsing habits. And the point? Adverts. They can be directed straight down the phone line and into your internet browser, and tailored to match your behaviour on the web. 

Clearly this is a massive breach of users' privacy, but the real news is that BT have already been testing Webwise on its customers… without their knowledge! It's a modern cold war nightmare. Also, you can't control it: no firewall, pop-up blocker or browser can reach along your BT landline, from where Webwise sits and watches all times. 

Up to now, it's not technically illegal. Or is it? Well… in Britain, we haven't made our minds up about whether the Webwise technology should be legal or not: after all, it's a "robot" doing the watching, not a person. See, the issue is new, and the laws aren't written yet. Companies like Phorm and BT are setting the precedent, though, and very few people are really challenging them. 

Plus, cha-ching! Think of the economic growth! People get profiled, browsing patterns become big profits. ISPs can't believe their luck: they're about to cash in on all those expensive "unlimited broadband" deals! New laws are being written as we speak to protect an ISP's right to snoop, and everyone wants to get in on it. 

And if that doesn't work, there's always the good old "public safety" issue to fall back on. We don't appear to mind too much when our civil liberties being eroded, as long as it's in the name of keeping the bad guys fenced in. After all, we've already decided to protect ourselves from music and porn, and I bet you didn't even know that! 

https://nodpi.org/2008/05/30/protest-at-the-barbican/

Could be a laugh.

MY NUDE REMIX.

Dunno what sort - think it's just a standard Nude.  

Intravenous Pea & Mint Soup

You need:

• a big saucepan
  
• a hand blender

• 1oz butter
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 800g frozen peas
• one small onion / half a large onion, coarsely chopped
• handful fresh mint leaves with the larger stalks removed
• 1L vegetable stock (use a good quality stock cube, not OXO)

METHOD

1. Melt butter in large pan.  
2. Add onion and garlic and fry until onion soft, but not brown.  
3. Add the peas and stir continuously.  You may need to add the peas in stages.  
   
4. Continue to cook until the mixture has warmed through.
5. Shred the mint leaves into pea mixture and stir through.  Immediately pour in stock.
6. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Blend the soup using the hand blender, reduce the heat and cook for a further two minutes.  
8. Season to taste and serve immediately with crusty bread and parmesan cheese.

CONCLUSION

• Goddamn.  That's some nice soup!  

ANNUAL MUSIC REVIEW: The Best of 2007

Everyone's got one of these.  Mine's come later than the rest, cos I'm (a) lazy and (b) rubbish at blogging without an internet connection at home.

So here we go then, in no particular order...

BURIAL – Untrue

A vibe that cuts so deep that it sometimes physically hurts you can be matched only by this anonymous Londoner's formidable arsenal of the most incisive and natural-sounding grooves around.  While Burial's debut was mainly for the dubstep scenesters, genre classification of any kind is utterly irrelevant here.  This is the sound of being alone, at night, outside, in the urban coldness.  And it's frighteningly good.  Half-distinct vocal refrains of half-forgotten singers weave their way through the cracks in the fractured beats, and swathes of string samples swell up out of the crackling sounds of old records, log fires and rain.  It's a trick not to get so far dragged into this dark and compelling territory that you can't come back.  

Stand-out tracks: In McDonalds; Etched Headplate; Archangel

ULRICH SCHNAUSS – Goodbye

The splendid German is back with this gem.  See my previous review!  

Stand-out tracks: Goodbye

STARS OF THE LID – And Their Refinement Of The Decline

(OK, so I didn't really get on to this until 2008 but hey.  My list: my rules!)

This album sounds like the moment of your own death, slowed down to an almost stationary pace, and the whole thing transcribed using the sounds of your subconscious mind by the ancient and mysterious orchestrator of life and death himself.  

Stand-out tracks: Don't Bother They're Here; Apreludes (in C# Major)

MODESELEKTOR – Happy Birthday!

A remarkable second album from the boys from Berlin.  Stunningly well-produced dance-floor stomps provide the perfect backdrop to a struggle between the most sublime sounds imaginable and the most ridiculous decisions you've heard this year.  It works too: however this music makes you feel, you'll be grinning and grooving along in no time.  To nitpick, their ideas can be pedestrian at times – the album is perhaps half-a-dozen tracks too long, and some of the guest appearances are rather 'token'.  But if you don't mind skipping a few, there's enough on here to make this a consistently stronger, fuller and more proficient effort from the German duo, and is recommended to anyone who appreciates a good beat.  

Stand-out tracks: The White Flash (feat. Thom Yorke); Let Your Love Grow (feat Apparat and Paul St. Hilaire)

WORTH MENTIONING:

UNDERWORLD – Oblivion With Bells

Almost didn't make the list, as it's genuinely weak in many places, but Crocodile into Beautiful Burnout makes it all worthwhile.  

RADIOHEAD – In Rainbows

Don't get any big ideas.  This record misses far more than it hits... but I'd say it's probably (just) worth the £0.00 I paid for it.  What I liked: Jonny's lusciously dated-sounding string arrangements.  What I disliked:  Rock-idiot Ed O'Brien is clearly in the driving seat now, elderly Phil Selway just can't drum anymore, Thom's voice is BLOODY AWFUL and you can't even hear Colin.  Oh, and the desecration of Videotape is just a little too hard to forgive.  

KLASHNEKOFF – Lionheart: The Tussle With The Beast

Hip-hop appears to be at last starting to shake free of its oversized bling booty, and this record from the British rising star is as hopeful a sign as any we've yet seen.  Rousing, occasionally tragic and always extremely personal poetry is set against Joe Buhdha's phenomenally slick production... this is strong, moving and inspirational stuff.  Just the way hip-hop should be.