March, 2004 archive

This sprawling book traces the development of ambient music over the past 100 years, from composers like Mahler and Satie, to current musicians like Moby and Aphex Twin. It covers a huge amount of territory, and serves as an easy introduction to many of the significant composers and musicians of the twentieth century.
The Ambient Century: [...]

Musicians using samplers are faced with an unique set of legal problems. Using samples of copyrighted works has become a minefield, often just best avoided. Now new licenses from Creative Commons promise to make it easier for samplists to find samples they can use without fear of getting sued.
Sampling and lawsuits have gone hand and [...]

Cyndustries makes some of the most interesting analog synthesizer components available. They are in Modcan format, but are electricly compatible with most other modular equipment.
Cyndustries has many unique modules that are certifiably drool-worthy:

Dual Sawtooth Animator
4 Channel Analog Switch
Milton Voltage-Controlled Sequencer
Synthacon Filter
StereOSpace
Super Psycho LFO
Octal Inverting Attenuator
Quad Bandpass
Gated Comparator

In addition to many original designs, Cyndustries provides Modcan [...]

Bob Moog makes a special guest appearance March 16th at 7:00 PM on Tech TVs ultimate Tech-fest: The Screen Savers. Moog will be talking with host Leo LaPorte about the theremin. The show is live, so there are bound to be some surprises!
The show will also be broadcast on March 17th. Times and more details [...]

Modular analog synthesizers may seem like dinosaurs in this age of virtual instruments and computer-based music. In reality, modular synthesis has experienced a renaissance in the last few years. The Internet has made possible communities of interest to build around modular synthesizer manufacturers, and connected manufacturers with willing buyers. As a result, a new golden [...]

This CD is a treat for anyone with open ears. Slack Key Guitar is a collection of some of the best guitar music of Hawaii. It features solo guitar pieces played by seven well-known slack key guitarist. It is a beautiful introduction to the music.
Hawaiian slack key guitar is one of the great styles of [...]

This 1992 release is complex ambient music at its best. The music has a mystery and edge about it, even a little uneasiness. The double-cd collection of dark ambient music is one of the finest works Roach has released, and is a classic piece of ambient electronic music. 
The cover of World’s Edge shows lightning striking [...]

Cox delivers a mixed bag of techno and house dance tracks on Phuture 2000. At its best, Phuture 2000 is state-of-the-art minimal dance music. Even at its worst, the music sounds just sounds like Cox needed a couple of tunes to pad out the album.
“Phuture 2000″, the title track, is a futuristic techno track that [...]