Native Instruments 'Abbey Road 60's Drums'

I have been a longtime fan of Native Instruments Battery 2 ever since using it extensively on my album, Pilfershire Lane, and many other projects. See, I can be a bit of a digital luddite and very stubborn when I find something I'm cozy with. Change? Upgrade? Help!. Anyway, I finally took a leap and got my hands on Komplete 6, which includes the dazzling sampler, Kontakt 4 (and Battery 3 among many other programs). And, being the trememdous fan of 60's style drums that I am, I was over the moon to learn of the new Native Instruments collection for Kontakt 4, "Abbey Road 60's Drums".

Read all about this shiny new gem here...will I finally have that "Tomorrow Never Knows" sound? (Dreamy tangent below, i.e. favorite Beatles song):

Hollow Sun Novachord

Finally, Steve & Dan with Hollowsun have now released their gorgeous Novachord sample collection! Lots of blood, anticipation, love & gear lust has gone into this project that I have been covering on here since Dan obtained the super-gorgeous & super-rare Novachord last year. Find out more, listen to samples and order your very own Novachord library here on Hollowsun.

Again, my studio setup is all but non-existant at the moment, but I'm so excited to sink my teeth into all the wonderful programs I have when I get set up next week. I certainly don't feel qualified to make a super - technical review of these lovely creations, but I'm excited to show what and how I create with it. Keep your eyes peeled for shiny new films featuring these new goodies!

PS - I'm very, very new to Kontakt 4 (been using Logic 7's EXS 24 for ages, though), so any tips, tutorial links, etc are very welcome! Please comment below with your tips & tricks, kids.

I remember back when Maf acquired a Theremin kit for me from Big Briar, it included a divine instructional video by Lydia herself - I'd sit stunned watching her perform with such grace and beauty on this instrument that is notoriously difficult but incredibly gratifying to play.

Anyway, here's more about the workshop from Thereminist Gordon Charlton on the great site, Theremin UK News - check out Gordon's Theremin adventures here on the Beat Frequency Blog  and here on Theremin World, by the way.

Where:

Bate Collection, Faculty of Music

St. Aldate's, Oxford, OX1 1DB 

When: 

Saturday, February 6th 2010, 12:00 - 16:00

The workshop includes sessions for beginners and advanced players, as well as an ensemble workshop for all levels. Attendance is free for observers and £30 for participants (£15 for children/students/pensioners) payable on the door.

Here is further information about the workshop. How exciting! Read more about Lydia here - did you know she is Leon Theremin's grandniece? Make sure to mark the date if you can, rumor has it there may be a few special guests & surprises in store as well!

Let's have a look at the latest as the mystery weaves on! Via iamamiwhoami on YouTube:

And the rest of the videos:

Thoughts? 

That said, I want to post a few great videos from our friends Justin and Surachai at TrashAudio.com - This is featuring the wicked new Piston Honda oscillator from the Harvestman. In fact, a great compliment to these videos is this interview with The Harvestman's Scott Jaeger, by Velvet Acid Christ's Brian Erickson, on Synthtopia.

Marvel at the rest of TrashAudio.com 's NAMM 2010 videos here!  Tara will be back after what she hopes will be a brief but nutritious snooze....  x

Quite a few friends of ours ( including SonicState, Matrixsynth, Sweetwater, Trash Audio, Gearwire and Synthtopia ) are getting a first hand peek at the newest, grooviest gear....here are some of many wonderful updates they have for us. What an exciting NAMM it must be this year! I'm still reeling from the fact that I now (can) have a Blue Microphone for stage use, yum.

Photo from GearWire.com

 First off, here's Nick Batt from SonicState.com and the legendary Dave Smith discussing the new Mopho Keyboard:

Here is a link to Synthtopia's NAMM 2010 photo stream on Flickr, including the mouth-watering OP 1 by Teenage Engineering, Moog Taurus 3 Pedals, Eigenharp & more!

And more from the excellent SonicState.com - here they chat with Dave Spiers from one of my favorite music software creators, GForce...Do we hear an Optigan marching forth? Indeed!

Keep yourself posted on SonicState's NAMM 2010 updates here.

More to come indeed! By the way, check out AnalogSuicide.com 's past NAMM capers here on the Tara Busch YouTube Channel.

Anyway, minutes after I had awoken from a jetlag/cold medicine - induced slumber, I found this! I'd like to share this lovely link to a recording sent to me by our friend and proud Novachord parent, Dan at Hideaway Studios (read more about Dan and his adventures with the Novachord here ,here and here on Synthtopia).

The recording features Dan and Thereminist, Thomas Grillo. Here's a little more about the recording by Steve at the Novachord- dedicated blog, HollowSun :

"...We are thrilled to have collaborated with Thomas Grillo, one of the world's premiere Theremin players. He heard Dan's sublime new tune (rich string chords played using our samples in Kontakt) and felt compelled to improvise a Theremin melody over it which he has kindly 'donated' to this unique project."

Creepy, eerie & beautifully "futuristic" in a Terry Gilliam kind of way, I think the sounds pool together so sweetly. While we're enjoying the Novachord, here's another clip courtesy of nuswolloh on YouTube....enjoy the sound:

Above photo of Moog setting up at NAMM 2010 from Moog's Facebook page.

Read more about the new Taurus 3 Bass Pedals here. I'm sure many of you are as excited about this as I am - What are some of your favorite Taurus moments? I am of course fond of PJ Harvey's use of the Taurus I pedals on her 2007 "White Chalk" tour...and you?

We will not be attending NAMM this year, but I highly recommend checking out Synthtopia, SonicState.com and Matrixsynth for all the fabulous updates. And AnalogSuicide, of course!

Anyway, this will officially be our last American post as Maf & I have 2 hours remaining until we are Heathrow-bound, and will be living in Wales. Needless to say, I'm incredibly excited about the big beautiful door we're about to open....

Onward - I'd like to share with you the wonderful trailer for the Mellotron documentary by Dianna Dilworth, 'Mellodrama'...doesn't it look divine? :

And another clip from Mellodrama featuring AnalogSuicide hero Brian Kehew discussing the sassy Chamberlain:

You can find Mellodrama links aplenty on the YouTube channel, (MellotronMovie)...here's the official website. 

You all know we adore "all things Mellotronic"! See?

Also, amidst the madness of our impending move to the UK next week, I had a sanity - nourishing peek at the lovely Matrixsynth this morning where I caught this latest update about NAMM 2010 ...who else will be there? More news soon...back to packing!! As always, hop on our Twitter site to read my oh-so-constant ramblings. See you in a bit!

Here in NC, we will gather our belongings (the studio & a few pairs of socks) and embark upon another moving adventure. We are moving back to Wales in a few weeks and are wildly excited! In fact, here's Tara window gazing, watching London shrink placidly into a frozen, delicate Lego land of dollhouses and scurrying cars...the pilot hoists us higher above the rolling pastures both firey and green despite the winter snow:

And the song to ease my tender flight nerves? This one, a Tara-penned 'pilot anthem' which will appear on my next album. Here's the demo verion of 'Climb On O Pilot' for your downloading pleasure:

Climb On O Pilot! by TaraBusch

Let me leave you with a groovy bit of New Years gear lust! Fresh from our friend Dan at Hideaway Studio in the UK, is the latest update in his Novachord restoring saga. He's just sent me this lovely photo f her, currently impressively ship shape indeed:

Find more fantastic pictures here in this previous blog post and also on Dan's Novachord blog. In addition, I can't resist posting this neato Novachord clip! This is a teaser from the forthcoming Hollow Sun Novachord Sample set, via nuswolloh on YouTube:

More here on Failed Muso about the Hollow Sun Sample Library.

Have a beautiful New Year! I'll be pretty involved w/ all the moving business, but I will indeed do my best to keep you posted on our adventures & musical musings. In the meantime, visit my Twitter page to stay in touch w/ our daily micro-universe...Happy 2010!

I sit here sketching out trunkfuls of new ideas on Logic 9 (yes, I finally upgraded from 7!), eager to share with you all the new projects we have coming for 2010. It's been a while since I've gone into 'monk mode' to write, and I'm excited to paint for you the sounds that are swarming and swimming in my circuitry at the moment.

Anyway, I often read about my hero, Brian Wilson, when the tides turns over for me to go into this aformentioned 'monk mode'...in my reading I found this photo (on the sweet blog Between Two Worlds), more charming than those several cups of vin chaud I consumed in Paris! Brian with an ARP Odyssey, 1973. Does anyone know more about the specific model he's playing?

I'm not sure who took this photo, if anyone knows, please inform! I think it may be Guy Webster.

Have you seen this? "Vintage" footage of Tara meeting Mr. Wilson, July 2007:

 And speaking of the Odyssey, here's a clip from our friend Marko at retrosound - I highly recommend his wonderful synth demos...truly fantastic. This one shows the lush Sample & Hold of the ARP Odyssey III:

May your holidays twinkle like an ARP! Most likely I'll be in hibernation for a bit, keep up with us on Twitter for my many odd little clips and ramblings. See you in a bit!