Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y. & Indie MusicLast week, our tips and advice for independent musicians covered the TikTok "ban," Bandcamp, Spotify cutting lyrics, eco-friendly vinyl, marketing your old releases, and more.....
The post Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y. & Indie Music appeared first on Hypebot.

REWIND: The new music industry’s week in reviewIt was a busy week, and the music industry was no exception. UMG returned to TikTok, there were major updates on its standing in the U.S., Swifties made waves, and more......
The post REWIND: The new music industry’s week in review appeared first on Hypebot.

iZotope Ozone 11 Elements Is FREE With Any Purchase In May
During May, you can claim a free copy of iZotope Ozone 11 Elements with any purchase at PluginBoutique until the end of May. Ozone 11 Elements is the entry point to the world of mastering offered by the premium Ozone 11 Advanced suite. It’s a cutting-edge, AI-powered editing tool that lets you effortlessly master your [...]
View post: iZotope Ozone 11 Elements Is FREE With Any Purchase In May

Lambden Audio introduce LA-X studio monitors Lambden Audio have announced the launch of a new series of active studio monitors and a passive monitor controller.

Kubernik: Catching Fire - The Story of Anita Pallenberg

Catching Fire – The Story of Anita Pallenberg, debuts in New York as a sneak preview at 7:30 pm at IFC Center on Thursday, May 3, 2024 and may open at more theaters at a later date, and on VOD. 

    This fascinating documentary comes from Magnolia Pictures.

     It’s directed by Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill, with the words of Anita Pallenberg read by Scarlett Johansson from Pallenberg’s unpublished memoir. It was an Official Selection 2023 Cannes Film Festival 

    CATCHING FIRE: THE STORY OF ANITA PALLENBERG is about a woman who was at many points in her life a newspaper headline: Anita Pallenberg was a “rock n’ roll goddess,” a “voodoo priestess,” and an “evil seductress.” She was accused of trying to break up the Rolling Stones, among other things. But those who loved her considered her an exciting cultural force, and a loving mother – and innocent of the accusations. Never-seen-before home movies and family photographs explore life with the Rolling Stones and tell a bittersweet tale of both triumph and heartbreak. From Barbarella to the Swiss Alps, and the Lower East Side to London, Anita Pallenberg was a creative force ahead of her time.

    Media materials provided include the Director’s Statement which further describes this captivating movie.

     “Catching Fire is a truly hand-made film by two directors motivated by the desire to create something lasting, and personal. It’s a film about family, made by family: Alexis and Svetlana were brought the idea in 2020 by Marlon Richards, the son of Anita Pallenberg and Keith Richards, who wanted his mother’s story to be told in all its complexity. The directors have worked closely with Anita’s inner circle over the course of three years, and the result is a private view of a life that was often lived in public. The Super 8mm home movies woven throughout the documentary are the purest expression of this intimacy.

     “Catching Fire is very much an expression of the honesty and love in Anita’s family, but it’s no hagiography. Anita was famous for her biting sense of humor and her contempt of false praise. This film bucks the trend of “branded content” and “celebrity bios” by embracing both the bitter and the sweet, the heartbreak as well as the triumph. Anita Pallenberg is a true anti-hero, an antidote to corporate messaging. The directors approached the film as an act of historical reclamation: putting the female perspective back in the official narrative of rock ‘n’ roll, making Anita visible again.

    “For Alexis and Svetlana, Catching Fire was a deliberate recalibrating of history, and a celebration of an unapologetic leader. Anita was doubtless a muse to many, and she continues to be an inspiration to the directors. In the words of one of Anita’s grandchildren: ‘Anita was the original gangster; she was ‘girl power’ to the end.’ Alexis and Svetlana developed the film with the conviction that something this personal can become universal. Anita struggled to balance her own professional life with the needs of her partner, motherhood with a desire for freedom – her themes are absolutely contemporary. The directors hope that Anita’s humor – and theirs - shine through a story that’s unsparing at times. Anita took risks, and so did e directors: this is an immersive documentary with a style and rhythm all of its own.”  

     Alexis Bloom was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Alexis now lives in New York. In her early career, she produced widely for the National Geographic Channel, and for BBC World. She also produced extensively for PBS Frontline and NOVA. In 2014, Alexis won the Producers Guild of America Award for We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, a feature documentary for Universal Pictures, also nominated for a BAFTA Award. In 2017, she was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming, and an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking (Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, for HBO.) Alexis directed, Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes and was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2019. Alexis’ films have shown in film festivals around the world: the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride, Toronto, and the New York Film Festival to name a few.

  Director Svetlana Zill is a filmmaker born and raised in New York City. She has worked as a producer for some of the most renowned documentarians of our time including Alex Gibney, Errol Morris, and Morgan Spurlock. She began her career as an archival researcher on Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story and Mike Mills’ Beginners and worked as a consulting producer for the Academy Award nominated Cutie and the Boxer, which also won an Emmy. Her work explores an impressive range of subjects that include vast CIA conspiracies, eccentric sports fans, pop culture icons and fine artists, and has been presented by HBO, Showtime, Netflix, PBS and The New York Times. Catching Fire is Svetlana’s directorial debut.

    Catching Fire is enhanced by an deep archive of rare, unseen photos and home videos. This film truly reveals Pallenberg’s many facets and assets.

    It’s very obvious Keith Richards still harbors tender feelings for Pallenberg, and in one reflection summarizes her, “She was a unique piece of work.”

    In Catching Fire, Anita finally has a forum to define herself. As she says in her memoir, “Writing this has helped me emerge in my own eyes.”

    The cast includes Prince Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, Kate Moss, Angela Richards, Keith Richards, Marianne Faithfull, and Marlon Richards.

    I enjoyed the pundits on screen, but surprised that Andrew Loog Oldham, the manager/record producer of the Rolling Stones 1963-1967 is not in Catching Fire as an interview subject.   

   "Anita joined the group in late '66," Andrew Loog Oldham wrote in an email to me.

   "We had come back to the UK, sorta burnt out from 4 years on a rock 'n' pop world tour, and all the recordings. We did one last UK tour with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Then the psychedelic period kicked in, the result was Satanic Majesties Request.

   "I left three weeks into that, probably 24 hours before I would have been asked to leave. Allen Klein may have taken over the money, but Anita, and Marianne to a lesser extent, took over the game. And the game was strong and the band moved successfully to where they stay today."

  Marianne and Anita are heard as background vocals on “Sympathy for the Devil.”

     I interviewed Marianne Faithfull in 1995.

     She praised Anita and mentioned Pallenberg was working on an autobiography. Some excerpts are heard during Catching Fire.   

    "Like most of the time I don’t remember what people were wearing. 

     “I remember what Allen [Ginsberg] was wearing, because often, Allen would take his clothes off. So, I would know that and understand that. And that’s a very simple situation.  

      "Now Anita actually remembers things only through what we were wearing, ‘cause that’s what she’s interested in. I don’t mean that as a put down,” she smiled.

   “But that’s how she remembers things. When I say, 'Do you remember such and such a day…?' The way back for Anita is ‘Oh yeah... You were wearing a red velvet …and I was wearing…’ You’d dig her, man.”

      In 1994, Anita Pallenberg graduated from Central Saint Martins in London with a fashion and textile degree. 

    In April, I saw an advance screening of Catching Fire with photographer and music journalist Heather Harris. She reinforced to me that Pallenberg surpassed her gorgeous European fashion model classification “by seeming to be, to all who encountered her, one of the most reckless extroverts to ever stride the planet.”

   Heather emailed me about Catching Fire.                                                                   

   “Her great-grandfather painted one of the most famous, genuine Goth paintings of all time, ‘Isle of the Dead,’ 1880, oil on canvas by Arnold Bocklin, a work of immeasurable dread as a coffin-laden hearse-barge is rowed, lapping on a lake in the dark of night, towards its ominous namesake.

    “But Anita Pallenberg attained notoriety for a far different fate, first as the major non-audio influencer of the nascent Rolling Stones, then as an almost worst-case scenario victim of, then survivor of that band's most notorious excesses. Younger music fans of Classic Rock are said to lack context in which to fathom the import of what they're hearing. Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg is a newly released documentary that treads a long ways to rectify that.

    “Make no mistake, Pallenberg's absence in the band history would have begat a far different Rolling Stones. No matter how superior the music is in and of itself, do not underestimate the importance of strong visuals in modern popular music. We have five senses, and they all work together. And she plugged her own volcanic life force directly into the Stones at just the right minute of the 1960s, which indeed helped codify The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band.

    “She insured they looked different from their frenemies and fellow tastemakers/leaders of all pop culture the Beatles during the style turbulence of the '60s.

    “As rock and roll couturier Evita Corby noted (not in the film) ‘Brian Jones, Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg constantly looked like they all wore one another's clothes,’ which indeed they did, ‘And that they just threw their favorite garments together daily, with zero regard to a matched, put together look’ unlike everyone else in the music biz, fashion biz or even the avant-garde. The resultant mode was Unisex in exotic textiles reflecting worldwide travels alongside cherry-picked exemplars from Granny Takes A Trip appropriated idiosyncratically to their own custom tailors via Pallenberg's personal, outsider taste.

   “The doc traces her complexity far beyond her libertine persona familiar to music fans from her years with Keith Richards (and Brian Jones.) Her maternal side is well presented by the movie's producer, her erudite son Marlon Richards, and one of the two Weber brothers who lived when youngsters with Keith and Anita in their Nellcote villa in the south of France, invited to do so when their mother committed suicide and their father had understandable trouble coping.

   “Directors Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill chose the classical music also used in the film Barry Lyndon to subtly underscore the tragedies in her later life, some of, some not of her own decision-making, often clouded by the extreme distraction of taking narcotics. The fabled sexiness speaks for itself in clips of her leading roles in the films Performance, Barbarella and A Degree of Murder.

   “People who encountered her briefly invariably called this beautiful woman ‘scary.’ Folks who knew her better called her ‘intelligent, and a tough cookie.’ The slow, deliberate narration by her friends avoids any tempting cliche of having jumpy-cut style or cinematography to match the ‘wildness’ of the '60s, thankfully. But there is the puzzling choice of having my fellow American Scarlett Johansson voicing Pallenberg's own written words. Pallenberg's own vocals were a mashup of Marlene Dietrich's smoky sophistication and Joan Greenwood's seductive purr (Greenwood in fact was her dubbed voice as the Great Tyrant in Barbarella. Same tone and timbre, but just by the then entertainment world's sexiest plummy voice.) It is jarring, but doesn't inhibit enjoyment of the film. And the home movies footage throughout the documentary is nothing short of incredible.”

     In 1965 it was my brother, Kenneth Kubernik, an author and musician, who showed me a photo of Anita in a magazine.

    During 2024 he viewed a screener of Catching Fire and emailed me his response to this stunning cinematic portrait of Anita.   

   “Those twilight feline eyes; a mouth set to snarl, not purr; legs built to stalk, ever conscious of a prey drive that bordered on ravenous.  Anita Pallenberg was built from exotic animal parts, as rarefied as a snow leopard and just as agile, just as willful.  She didn't arrive on the scene so much as blow up the entire toxic patriarchy that defined the British rock aristocracy of the deathless '60s.  Brian, Keith, Mick and all of their pimply devotees became bewitched by her palpable allure.  At that time London was choc-a-bloc with Dolly birds sashaying along Kings Road in their Mary Quant minis and their white Courreges boots.  Along comes Anita, resplendent in Berber batik, a splash of Bosch and the hauteur of a Barbary coast buccaneer.  It wasn't Keith who Depp was copping in those silly films; it was Anita who cast that piratical spell.  Her life was a series of escapades and escapes, a survivor of the vicious misogyny that drove the music culture of her time like a runaway train.  Wild horses couldn't drag her away.

    “The hotly-anticipated documentary of her tempestuous life - Catching Fire; The Story of Anita Pallenberg - exceeds all expectations.  The discovery of an unpublished memoir provides a vital narrative backbone (her words read by Scarlett Johansson in her distinctive single malt voice) that delivers just enough self-reflection to suggest we're finally getting close to this mythic creature who never stopped tantalizing both men and women with her singular style.  The footage is gob-smacking; Stones fans will lap up every bit of heretofore unseen Super 8 footage that only confirms what our febrile imaginations have been concocting all these years.  All the touchstones are checked:  Anita's youthful caprice in NYC, meeting Brian in Munich, Courtfield Road, red carpet at Cannes, the madness in Morocco, VilleFranche, the Swiss Alps and on and on.  How she persevered through the insanity of those times reminds all of us that even our most fervid projections on our heroes and heroines come at an often ruinous cost to them.  Three ABKCO era Stones tracks were licensed for the soundtrack, the rest a pastiche of bluesy British punchins.  That's enough - we're all better off with just a taste.  

   “Marianne Faithfull, a unicorn in her own right, said tellingly about her: "I often used to think that if one spent the evening with Anita, one could very easily get killed."  There are worse ways to exit this mortal coil."

      During a 2013 interview with record producer and artist manager Denny Bruce, who represented arranger/composer/songwriter and record producer, Jack Nitzsche, Bruce discussed 1966-1969 encounters with Marianne Faithfull, Anita Pallenberg, Brian Jones and Keith Richards. 

     “Being in Los Angeles in 1966, Keith and Brian wanted to know if anybody, like Lowell Fulson, was playing at any blues club in town? ‘Tramp’ by Lowell was number one this week on their turntables. Jack took the whole band to Watts to see Etta James at the California Club. I went to one of the Aftermath sessions at RCA.

   "In fall of 1967 I heard the final mix of Neil Young's ‘Expecting to Fly’ recording on Buffalo Springfield Again one night at Jack’s house. Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg were there. Jack said it was 'the perfect recording to smoke pot with.'

    "Earlier that afternoon I drove Keith and Anita in my Volkswagen to Disneyland. My first Cali car. I clearly remember driving my VW bug with Keith and Anita. That was it - just the three of us. Anita got in and then Keith got in, but didn't move the seat to get in the back. So, it was hard to drive and shift gears with Anita's crotch on the floor mounted gear shift.

    "She beamed and said, ‘This is fabulous being in a Volkswagen in Los Angeles!’

   "Somewhere in the 1967 or ’68 time period Mick, Keith and Jack worked with Marianne Faithfull on 'Sister Morphine.'

    “Keith and Anita liked getting out of the hotels. Marianne and Anita liked to swim in Jack's pool. During their visit we went out to eat several times. A little French place in West Hollywood near Fairfax High School comes into mind. 

    "'Sister Morphine' was written at Jack's house, during the days of hanging by the swimming pool.

     "What people forget was it was hard just to get into Disneyland in those days if you had long hair. I was lucky with Keith and Anita as it was a slow day there, and he was not wearing anything unusual. But showing up as 5 people, looking like a band, would have caused trouble with security. 

   “Jack and I were hassled when we went there with Buffy St, Marie, who was performing an afternoon show."

    In October of 1969, Bruce and Richards went shopping for clothes and rare record albums. Denny schlepped Keith over to Ed Pearl’s Ash Grove music club on Melrose Avenue which housed a record section run by collector Chris Peake. Keith forked out some big bucks for a rare 1965 copy of The Cool Sounds of Albert Collins. Denny at the time managed Collins. 

        Nitzsche did the choral arrangement for the choir on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” from the Let It Bleed album. He phoned Merry Clayton to sing on “Gimme Shelter.”  Nitzsche was a major contributor to both the Aftermath and Between The Buttons albums.  

   Nitzsche’s keyboard, harpsichord and percussion work can be heard on such Stones catalog gems as “Play With Fire,” “Yesterday’s Papers,” and “Sister Morphine” on Sticky Fingers. He played tambourine and piano on “Satisfaction,” and was the pianist on “Let’s Spend The Night Together.” 

    During 2000, I conducted an interview with Jack Nitzsche at his Beachwood Canyon home. 

   Jack and I talked about the film Performance.  His epic soundtrack is still popular and was ground breaking in terms of music merger.  Blues, spoken word, and electronic score all in one package.  With Mick Jagger co-starring in a movie role.

    “The Rolling Stones had nothing to do with it.  It was Mick who came to me about doing the soundtrack.

    “In fact, Keith and Mick wouldn’t even talking to each other during those days.  Somebody came to them to do a movie, which was Christian Marquand, who directed the film, Candy.  (Director) Donald Cammell was close to The Stones.  He knew who I was from the beginning, and they didn’t have time to score the film.  Nor did they want to.

    “So, I went to London for some reason, and saw the film during that time.  They were doing Let It Bleed.  The movie blew my mind the first time I saw it.  Jesus Christ. . . I saw it without music.  It’s very tame without music.  It doesn’t take you to that crazy place.  This is the only movie I have ever done where nobody interfered.  Nobody. 

    “When I was in London, the apartment they got me was right around the corner where Keith was living with Anita. There are some pleasant moments but not many because of what they were doing to Brian…

      “I thought ‘Memo From Turner’ had a clever lyric.  I felt Mick was going in another direction from the band.

    “With the film music I was allowed to do musically whatever I wanted to do.  No instructions from the director.  Nobody telling me yes or no.  I did anything I wanted to do I could do.  And I made up things in the studio.  It was amazing. 

    “Anita on the screen.  God damn!  You saw the film.  I would want to see the film again.  I want to see what’s holding that film up.

    “To this day, I’ll be in a restaurant, or walking down a street, or leaving a screening on a lot, like at Paramount, and someone will mention Performance.

    “(Director) Billy Friedkin saw me walking across the street and yelled ‘Performance!  The greatest use of music in a motion picture ever!’  That was nice.”

Harvey Kubernik in 1969 witnessed his first two concerts by the Rolling Stones in Southern California at the Inglewood Forum.

        Kubernik is the author of 20 books, including 2009’s Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic And The Music Of Laurel Canyon, 2014’s Turn Up The Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll In Los Angeles 1956-1972, 2015's Every Body Knows: Leonard Cohen, 2016's Heart of Gold Neil Young and 2017's 1967: A Complete Rock Music History of the Summer of Love.

   Sterling/Barnes and Noble in 2018 published Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik’s The Story Of The Band: From Big Pink To The Last Waltz. In2021 they wrote Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child for Sterling/Barnes and Noble.

    Otherworld Cottage Industries in 2020 published Harvey’s Docs That Rock, Music That Matters. His writings are in several book anthologies, including The Rolling Stone Book Of The Beats and Drinking With Bukowski.

    Harvey wrote the liner notes to the CD re-releases of Carole King’s Tapestry, The Essential Carole King, Allen Ginsberg’s Kaddish, Elvis Presley The ’68 Comeback Special, The Ramones’ End of the Century and Big Brother & the Holding Company Captured Live at The Monterey International Pop Festival.  

   During 2006 he spoke at the special hearings initiated by The Library of Congress held in Hollywood, California, discussing archiving practices and audiotape preservation. In 2017 Kubernik appeared at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, as part of their Distinguished Speakers Series. For a decade, Harvey has been the Editorial Director of Record Collector News magazine.

Iconiq raises $5.15B toward seventh flagship fundIconiq Capital has raised $5.15 billion across two funds associated with the seventh growth fund family, according to SEC filings. The firm, which launched in 2011 as a private office managing capital of some of the most prominent and wealthiest people in tech, including Mark Zuckerburg and Jack Dorsey, originally targeted $5.75 billion, according to […]
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Sheryl Crow, Mark Ronson, The War & Treaty, Lauren Daigle, Take To Nation's Capital for GRAMMYs on the Hill(L-R) Congressional Honoree Senator Amy Klobuchar, Congressional Honoree Senator John Cornyn, Creators Leadership Award honoree and nine-time GRAMMY winner Sheryl Crow, and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. attend the GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards on April 30, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo Courtesy of the Recording Academy® / Getty Images ©)

On Wed, May 1, GRAMMY® winners and nominees, along with industry leaders from across the country, visited the White House for conversations with top Biden administration officials on the issues facing music creators today. The visit marked the culmination of the GRAMMYs on the Hill® Advocacy Day, Capitol Hill’s largest and most prestigious legislative event for music. Ahead of the White House visit, members of the music community met with members of Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA), and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX), to advance key issues that the Recording Academy® and its members continue to advocate for. At both the White House and on Capitol Hill, conversations centered around protecting the image, likeness and voice of individual creators from AI fakes through legislative measures such as the No AI FRAUD Act and the No FAKES Act discussion draft and reforming the live event ticket marketplace to better protect artists and fans through legislation including the Fans First Act and the TICKET Act.

Artists who attended Advocacy Day included GRAMMY-winning singer Patti Austin, two-time GRAMMY-winner Lauren Daigle, two-time GRAMMY nominee Kenyon Dixon, GRAMMY winner Sara Gazarek, three-time GRAMMY winner J. Ivy, three-time GRAMMY nominee Rapsody, eight-time GRAMMY winner Mark Ronson, and GRAMMY winner Leon Thomas III. Recording Academy leadership present included CEO Harvey Mason jr., President Panos A. Panay, Chief Advocacy & Public Policy Officer Todd Dupler, and Chair of the Board of Trustees Tammy Hurt.

This year’s GRAMMYs on the Hill initiative kicked off on Tues, April 30 with the GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards, Washington, D.C.’s premier celebration of music and advocacy. This year's awards honored nine-time GRAMMY® winner Sheryl Crow and Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) for their contributions to support music creators. The night was hosted by singer and actress Candiace Dillard Bassett and featured performances by Crow and Daigle along with electroacoustic duo ARKAI, three-time GRAMMY winner Dwan Hill, and two-time GRAMMY-nominated duo The War and Treaty.

Music’s Biggest Week in Washington will conclude with the inaugural GRAMMYs on the Hill Future Forum, held in partnership with the Human Artistry Campaign. Hosted on Fri, May 3, the Future Forum will explore the impact of artificial intelligence on the music community through panel discussions with industry leaders. For more information on how the Recording Academy is leading policy conversations on AI’s impacts on the music industry, visit the AI hub page.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (L) and Harvey Mason jr. (R) present Sheryl Crow (C) with the Creators Leadership Award the GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards on April 30, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo Courtesy of the Recording Academy® / Getty Images ©)

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 01: Harvey Mason jr. and Mark Ronson attend GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day on May 01, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo Courtesy of the Recording Academy® / Getty Images ©)

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter of The War & Treaty perform onstage during the Grammys on the Hill Awards on April 30, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo Courtesy of the Recording Academy® / Getty Images ©)

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 01: (L-R) Mark Ronson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. attend GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day on May 01, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo Courtesy of the Recording Academy® / Getty Images ©)

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Lauren Daigle performs onstage at the GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards on April 30, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo Courtesy of the Recording Academy® / Getty Images ©)

Crypto Biz: The Bitcoin summer, Avalanche integrates with Stripe, and moreThis week’s Crypto Biz features the Lightning Network rollout on Coinbase, Avalanche integration with Stripe, MicroStrategy earning results and BlackRock’s new tokenized fund.

Follow the Red Ball Wobble Disk Roaster to Coffee ExcellenceIf you’ve never considered roasting your own coffee at home, you may be surprised to learn that it can be done in a few minutes with a regular popcorn popper and not much else. After all, you only really need two things to roast coffee: heat, and constant agitation to distribute that heat evenly. While the popcorn popper provides both, it’s easy to end up with semi-uneven roasts, probably because the beans are mostly just spinning around and not being tossed as well as they could be. Eventually, one might want a more advanced machine, and that’s where something like [Larry Cotton]’s latest wobble disk roaster can step in.
For starters, this machine roasts more beans than the average popcorn popper in a single throw — the maximum is 350g, or just over three-quarters of a full pound, which is way more than the average popcorn machine will hold. It essentially consists of a heat gun pointed upwards at a sieve full of green coffee beans that are being constantly pushed around by a motorized wobbling disk. As the heat blows, the large metal disk does figure eights through the beans, keeping the heat nice and even. So where does the red ball come in? It’s at the bottom, keeping the flying bean skins (chaff) from entering the heat gun’s fan motor.
Toward the end of the short video after the break, you’ll see a diagram showing all the parts of this roaster. If that’s not enough for you, here’s a build guide for a previous wobble disk roaster (PDF) that should be quite helpful in building either version.
If you want to see some of Larry’s previous machines, we’ve got ’em. And then you can let Hackaday Editor-in-Chief [Elliot Williams] tell you all about roasting at home.

How to prepare your mix for mastering: 5 essential tips
From leaving headroom to best practices for exporting, here are five essential tips that will help you prepare your mix for mastering.

Plasma Cutter Gets CNC Treatment at Low Cost[Daniel] has been metalworking on a budget for a while now. Originally doing things like plasma cutting on old bricks, he used his original plasma cutter to make an appropriate plasma cutting table complete with a water bath which we presume was not only safer but better for his back. Since then he’s stepped up a little more with what might be the lowest-cost CNC plasma cutter that can reliably be put together.
The CNC machine uses a handheld plasma cutting torch as its base, which uses a blowback start mechanism making it usable in an automated CNC setup without interfering with the control electronics. This is a common issue with other types of plasma cutters not originally meant for CNC. The torch head only needs slight modifications to fit in a 3D printed housing designed for the CNC machine which involves little more than slightly changing the angle of the incoming copper tubing and wire and changing the location of the trigger.
With those modifications done, the tool head is ready to be mounted to the CNC machine. [Daniel] has put together a bill of materials for building the entire project for less than $400, which includes the sub-$200 plasma cutter. It’s an impressive bit of sleuthing to get the price down this low, but if you’re still using your plasma cutter by hand on bricks in the yard like [Daniel] used to do make sure to check out that DIY plasma cutting table he built a few years ago too.

Psycho Circuitry Releases FREE Razorgate Dynamics Processor
Psycho Circuitry releases Razorgate, a FREE dynamics processor for macOS and Windows Razorgate by Psycho Circuitry is a free dynamics processor with a bit of attitude. As the catchy name suggests, Razorgate slices away any unwanted audio. In typical Psycho Circuitry fashion, Razorgate can be quite transformative by adding the additional character inspired by analog [...]
View post: Psycho Circuitry Releases FREE Razorgate Dynamics Processor

EastWest on how to make a plugin fit for the big screen with Hollywood Strings 2Ad feature with EastWest Sounds.
Doug Rogers and Nick Phoenix know a thing or two about samples. Over the course of an almost 30-year creative partnership, the pair have raised the bar time and again, releasing wildly popular instruments, racking up industry awards, and pioneering new levels of musical realism.
So, when they say composers need a new orchestral string library, it’s probably worth listening to their reasoning.
EastWest, which Rogers founded in 1988, already offers two comprehensive, award-winning orchestral libraries: Symphonic Orchestra, and Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition. Hell, it also offers a fantasy-focused orchestral library that won this year’s prestigious NAMM TEC award for best musical instrument software. Still, they say, something was missing.
“I wanted a drier, closer, ‘in your face’ sound,” says Rogers, who takes the lead on shaping the sonic identity of EastWest’s libraries. “I wanted something where you’re actually in the sound of the instrument.”

That desire has culminated in Hollywood Strings 2 — a library that dispenses with standard string recording techniques and instead prioritises dry, intimate, meticulous samples. The results speak for themselves, with a hyper-focused string sound that sizzles on the ear drums. As Phoenix puts it: “I think this library takes it up to another notch, like you haven’t seen before.”
Considering that Rogers and Phoenix have access to some of the best-sounding rooms in the world, it might seem counterintuitive to record a string orchestra with minimal reverb. But, as Rogers points out, while luscious natural acoustics may sound great, they lock you into a specific type of scoring and mixing. “If you’re doing horror films, then you don’t want any room ambience, you don’t want that big Star Wars sound.
“Typically,” he continues, “When you’re recording orchestral instruments, you want the sound to merge with the acoustics of the room. Once you get into a big, 2,500-seat concert hall, like we did with Symphonic Orchestra, it’s a 50/50 combination of the instrument and the hall. We absolutely did not want that here.”
EastWest Sounds Hollywood Strings 2
Seeing the need for a more versatile string library, the pair eschewed the instantly recognisable resonance of EastWest’s Studio One, and instead opted for the much smaller, and drier, Studio Two. “It’s a little unusual,” admits Rogers, “Studio Two is the rock room at EastWest.”
And not just any rock room, Studio Two has been home to bands like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Weezer, REM, and Rage Against The Machine. It’s where they recorded some of the most iconic records of the 90s and 2000s. But the room still has pedigree when it comes to string sessions.
“If you look at the history of the studio, this was the room where the Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Hawaii Five-O soundtracks were done back in the 60s,” Rogers says. “But creating a virtual instrument that has the versatility of a dry room, I think we’re the first to do this in here.”
In Studio Two, they had a room that balanced tight acoustics with a warm tone, but that was only part of the puzzle. The aim was to get samples with such detail that it would feel like your ear was right up against the body of the instrument – something that other sample instrument makers have tried to do but, in Rogers view, none have achieved. “I had looked at other collections that attempted to do this,” he says. “To my ears, they just weren’t close enough.”

“This type of sound really hasn’t been perfected,” agrees Phoenix. “There’s a lot of deficiencies in what’s been attempted in the past.”
The two producers tapped legendary mix engineer Shawn Murphy to help them get the sound they were looking for. With credits including blockbuster films like Titanic, Mission Impossible, Jurassic Park, and the Star Wars franchise, Murphy had built a career perfecting the kind of gigantic orchestral sounds that Rogers and Phoenix were specifically trying to avoid –nonetheless, they felt confident that he was the man for the job.
“He brings to the table an immense amount of experience,” says Rogers. “I said to him, ‘Shawn, I want to do something completely opposite to what you normally try to achieve, I want to be in the sound hole of the instruments’. So, he came up with the idea of putting clip-on DPA mics on all the instruments, and it just sounded incredible.”
To ensure maximum versatility, those super close clip-on DPA’s were backed up by two other close miking options, mid-fields, a classic Decca Tree to add warmth, and surround mics. “The user gets access to all of these different mic positions,” Rogers says. “They can have it literally in the sound hole of the instrument, or they can have a full Dolby Atmos mix, and anything in between.”

Alongside an ultra-focused string sound, and versatile mixing options, Phoenix says it was also essential to ensure the library was satisfying to play and compatible with other collections in EastWest’s sprawling catalogue of sample instruments.
“We’ve learned a lot from our previous ventures into orchestral sampling,” reflects Phoenix. “In this library, there’s a consistency to all the articulations and the sections that makes it a real pleasure to use – and, even though it has a much more intimate sound, it can easily be used alongside things we’ve recorded in Studio One, such as the original Hollywood Strings library.”
Despite that compatibility, when it comes to its purpose Rogers says Hollywood Strings 2 is the “complete opposite” to its predecessor. “It’s designed for horror, romanticism, and total intimacy,” he states. “I think for media and game composers who need strings to provide an atmosphere, but don’t want that bombastic ‘hit every wall’ sound, this is going to be very, very useful.”
By getting up close and personal with the string section, Rogers and Phoenix haven’t just created a beautifully detailed sample instrument — they’ve rounded out EastWest’s orchestral offerings into a one-stop-shop.
“The goal was to fill the missing gap between our Symphonic Orchestra and Hollywood orchestra,” says Rogers. “Now, users are able to do anything they want to do.”
Learn more about Hollywood Strings 2
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Viral HiChord goes live on Kickstarter — and raises £90k in the first dayLast November, a charming little synthesiser started popping up around TikTok. While it was only in its prototype phase, the HiChord had people thoroughly intrigued. Over the following months, users eagerly watched the dreamy retro synth’s development.
After six months of trial and error, the HiChord is finally ready. And the loyal fans made their support clear – the synth has raised nearly £90,000 on Kickstarter in its first day.

READ MORE: Blipblox MPC-style sampler myTRACKS aims to make music production fun for all

But what is it about the HiChord that has people so excited? The pocket-sized synth taps into a child-like sense of creativity – the small device looks and feels like a toy, with its seven buttons and joystick. The hands-on simplicity urges you to get stuck in and play around.
Chords are also made easy with the HiChord. Users select which musical key they wish to play in, and the HiChord does the rest – users can then play a perfectly suited chord with just one button. This allows for an inspiring musical experience, as users can never hit a bum note. The joystick then allows users to extend, modify and embellish the chord to their heart’s content.

@hichord
Quick HiChord jam – available for pre-order on Kickstarer #hichord #synth #kickstarter
♬ original sound – HiChord

While the synth has a focus on fun, there’s also an effort to help users learn. As you play with the synth, the OLED displays the current chord name, key, and other useful information, allowing you to understand more about chord progression.
The HiChord also comes with a range of built-in effects. From delay, reverb, tremolo, glide and more, users will truly be able to tweak their sound. There’s also a 10-oscillator digital synth engine with multiple wave forms, as well as arpeggio modes.
Powered by a rechargeable battery and boasting a built-in speaker the portable design is perfect for creating on the go. It’s also a great synth for the touring musician, with a high-quality 3.55mm output that is perfect for the studio or while performing. It can even fit on your guitar!

@hichord
#omnichord #teenageengineering #udosuper6 #dirtywavem8tracker #fender #chords #HiChord #chordprogression #critterandguitari
♬ original sound – HiChord

Backers supporting the current campaign are set to receive a classy orange, black and white HiChord. If there are enough backers, the HiChord will also be available in muted yellow/cream.
The HiChord is available to pre-order for £199 on Kickstarter, with plans to start shipping out in August.
The post Viral HiChord goes live on Kickstarter — and raises £90k in the first day appeared first on MusicTech.

Access “royalty-free loops and one-shots” with Tracklib’s new Sounds featureMusic sampling service Tracklib has unveiled Sounds, a new feature allowing producers to access a range of authentically recorded, royalty-free loops and one-shots.
Sounds complements Tracklib’s existing library of song samples, making it a convenient one-stop shop for music producers who subscribe to Tracklib’s service.

READ MORE: The samples used in every album from The Prodigy have been tracked down in one colossal YouTube video

For those who aren’t familiar, Tracklib simplifies the sample-clearing process for both indie and major artists. Samples cleared through Tracklib have featured in songs by some of the industry’s biggest names including Drake, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar. The company’s popular Sample Breakdown series has garnered over 100 million views at the time of writing.

With the addition of Sounds, Tracklib now offers everything from the slaps of a 808 drum machine to the vocals of an obscure 70s track, all with just one subscription.
Users can choose between three subscription tiers: Lite ($8.99/month), Premium ($13.99/month) and Max ($19.99/month). Sounds and unlimited sample clearance is included for Premium and Max subscribers. Annual plans are also available, which saves you two months’ worth of subscription fees. Users who want to try out the service can sign up for a free three-day trial.
“We maintain that music should remain a human process; everything you hear in our library has been created and curated with care by real musicians – it’s all about having the right sounds as opposed to the most sounds,” says Tracklib Chairman Andreas Liffgarden.
Andreas Ahlenius, Tracklib’s CEO, added: “This is a pivotal moment for Tracklib and our customers. Not only can music makers access hundreds of thousands of incredible songs, but we’ve now entered the royalty-free sound space, making Tracklib the one-stop platform for music production.”
Earlier this year, Tracklib removed the licence fee for most of its subscription plans, allowing users to clear an unlimited number of samples without extra costs. The company says that the number of samples cleared through its service has tripled since the move.
The post Access “royalty-free loops and one-shots” with Tracklib’s new Sounds feature appeared first on MusicTech.