Google Goes Social
Lots of interesting things coming from Google lately.
Wave was pretty cool, although I think it’ll take quite a feat for it to actually see widespread use. I tested it out a bit with some friends and it’s still extremely buggy. Large text files, for example, seem to make it explode. That’s a deal-breaker for me until it’s fixed.
Buzz, on the other hand, seems like it might be more immediately useful. I’ve been interested in a social network aggregator for a while, but haven’t been able to find something I like. Buzz integrates my gmail (along with its contacts) with anything else I might be interested in following.
If Buzz integrates with blogs outside of Blogger, I think it might become extremely useful as a distribution tool.
“The Finger” Touches on True Performance
Native Instruments has released a new Reaktor ensemble called The Finger. It’s based on the live setup of Tim Exile, and looks like an absolute blast to play. With little-to-no preproduction, it looks possible to create entirely improvised electronica performances. I’m reminded of Dick Van Dyke, but with a little Depeche Mode thrown in for good measure.
Check out this link for videos of Tim performing with and explaining his setup.
Classic ReBirth Tracks
The glory that is YouTube recently helped me rediscover a small part of my lost youth. I figured it might be nice to share, but first a little background.
My first experience with making music was with ReBirth, the original software music application from Propellerheads. If you’re unfamiliar with the software, it was basically an emulation of two TB-303 bassline synths along with two TR-909 drum machines. All the sequencing was done using chained step sequences.
Finally! — Reason User’s Group NYC
For years my good friend Kurt Kurasaki (a.k.a. “Peff”) has been talking about the Reason User’s Group out in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s an opportunity for enthusiasts of everybody’s favorite software production suite to get together and swap ideas, have a few laughs, and sync multiple laptops for realtime Reason jams. Seriously.
Well, at long last New York has gotten our very own!
Dialogg: Trent Reznor
Nine Inch Nails is one of those bands that’s been in the public consciousness so long that it’s impossible for me to imagine a world without Trent and his crew. That’s why it’s so cool that he’s still pushing the industry to be more than it is. Plus, the guy is fucking brilliant when it comes to production and programming.
This video is from digg.com, part of a new series of interviews based on user-submitted questions which are chosen digg-fashion.
Looper’s Delight [Part 1]: Conceptualizing the Project
[Looper’s Delight will be, I hope, an ongoing series of articles that documents my latest project. I’ll update as I make progress, but don’t expect it to be regular! If you think it’s a cool idea to document something like this, check out the series that inspired me at CovertOperators.]
I’ve been talking to my buddy lately about live electronic music and how it interfaces with the rest of a band. There are as many ways to approach it as there are songs to play, which is exciting until you sit down to perform something and hit the wall.
It’s a chicken and egg thing. Performing electronic music requires a ton of pre-production, but if you want your songs to be performance based, the writing process requires performance. Conundrum! more »
Welcome to davidkain.com v2.0
Davidkain.com has been completely demolished and strung back together. I’m trying to keep things as simple as possible now, so hopefully that means more updates and easier navigation. Check out the Music page to hear the latest tracks.