In the spotlight: Heather Dale


Also published in Spanish by Articmist

Heather Dale is a fantastic canadian singer and producer, able to take us to places long ago forgotten while she tells us stories with her wonderful voice.

J:Thanks for your time, Heather… Give us a global vision of your musical trajectory.

I am always looking for new stories to tell… I enjoy studying legends and stories from around the world. I think that every story, no matter how old it is, or how strange it seems, can tell us something about ourselves — it can help us Continue reading In the spotlight: Heather Dale

Announcement

I am proud to announce that from tomorrow on this site will feature interviews by Jorge Sergio. Here’s a little about him:

A passionate synthesist and music connoisseur, Jorge is a reference in the field of “independent new musics” -quite broad term!-, and he regularly writes articles on new releases and interviews musicians from every corner of the world. Jorge is currently managing the site Articmist.

Look forward to Jorge’s articles, starting with his interview to Canadian artist Heather Dale.

Reading between the lines

Subliminal messages allow us to communicate something without being direct, and are usually quite effective in reaching the target. Let’s practise!

Imagine there are rumours of a vacancy in the executive bureau of the company where you work. You want to make your boss understand that you are the most capable person for the post. Your boss has his/her car in the repair shop, and you offer to lift him/her (because it’s on your way home). How can you tell her her/him about your aptitudes without saying anything, but only playing five songs? Continue reading Reading between the lines

To be or not to be: that is the version

Yesterday I heard the umpteenth version of the Righteous Brothers’ song “You’ve lost that lovin feeling”, a huge hit from the middle 60’s. They say it’s the most versioned song ever (even more than Beatles’ “Yesterday”).

Many song versions are made by not very popular singers or groups, but sometimes there are well-known artists that decide to make their contribution. Oops! But what a contribution sometimes! It’s like a photocopy.

I think that versions must add something to the original piece. It’s not a matter of respect to the original, but a question of being creative. I remember when, for example, Nirvana was going to version the great David Bowie’s “The man who sold the world”; I expected a new powerful song, but Continue reading To be or not to be: that is the version

The Vostok Suitcase Synth

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~concuss/concussor/vostok.htm

a powerful amount of modular synthesiser power into one small suitcase.

The Vostok is a sort of modular analog synthesizer with a cover that doubles as a suitcase: add a handful of solar cells and you’ll have the companion of choice to make noises on the field for synthesizer lovers and nans alike. The synthesizer is certainly appealing and promises endless hours of modular patching or EMS pinning, plus tons of weird cool sounds. Drawbacks? maybe the price, £1499 -modular synthesizers tend to be expensive. Also, an article in the sound-on-sound magazine pointed out some other issues, especially the behaviour of the digital oscillator, but the last version has replaced it with an analog one. This said, the Vostok looks superb as a portable semi-modular synth and I would take it everywhere, except airports: it wouldn’t be easy to convince the person behind the scanner that that thing actually is a music instrument (let me show you -I just have to switch it on, connect this pin, and it’ll make awesome sounds! the bass is so powerful, it can blow… the speakers I mean…).

ps. I have just found another modular-in-a-box (second thumbnail from the left). It’s not as sexy, but the case looks much more reliable.

Animal Farm

I like Pink Floyd very much. They have handed down to Rock music history not only a fistful of memorable albums (the indisputable “Dark Side Of The Moon“, “Wish You Were Here”, the visionary “Ummagumma”, a less known gem titled “Meddle”, etc), but also a worldwide influential style due to their music, lyrics, performances… Very few times has a band been so unanimously acclaimed by public and critics.

But that symbolism which Waters and Gilmour liked so much (I think) has three great exponents: “The wall” album, the song “Wish you were here” and my favourite album, “Animals”. All of them full of that nonconformity (sometimes naïve nonconformity, but never unnecessary). Continue reading Animal Farm

Reading between the lines

Subliminal messages allow us to communicate something without being direct, and are usually quite effective in reaching the target. Let’s practise!

Imagine you want to leave your girlfriend/boyfriend because you have discovered something you don’t agree with. Now imagine you have to take her/him home in your car. How can you tell her/him your feelings without saying anything, but only playing five songs? Continue reading Reading between the lines

From here to Moroder


This is a great video featuring Giorgio Moroder playing one of his most famous hits, “From Here to Eternity”. Moroder was one of the greatest contributors to the electronic music scene in the seventies and eighties, producing music for countless artists (i.e., Donna Summer) and a handful of soundtracks, like The NeverEnding Story, Top Gun or Midnight Express, for which he was awarded an Oscar. In some aspects his music hasn´t aged very well, but he was a pioneer, and many of his songs will remain fresh forever. My personal favourite: chase!

Remembering synthesizers

It is curious, this of trends. I remember the synthesizer boom around the second half of the eighties. And I say it is curious because the “synthesizer phenomenon” is much older. More than fifty years ago, avant-garde composers (Ussachevsky, Subotnick, etc…) were already using electronics in their music. However, I recognize that I identify myself more with the seventies´ boom and Schulze, Tangerine Dream or the megapopulars Vangelis and Jean Michel Jarre. Continue reading Remembering synthesizers