Use Your Imagination

 
This is my new track.
It was born out of a couple of chords I'd left in Cubasis which is where the whole track was built. I was (am) working on another track which still needs vocals so I was just filling time and experimenting.
The whole track was recorded, mixed and produced on my iPad. As with the other track I wanted to prove to myself that the apps on my iPad could do as good a job as FL Studio which is my DAW of choice. I think I've accomplished what I set out to do.
For those of you that are interested here's a rundown of the apps used:
 
Cubasis, Audiobus, Magellan, iElectribe, Addictive Synth, DM1, Voice Synth, NLog Pro and Audio Mastering to finish the track.
Mobile music making has come a long way and my iPad setup is now easily as powerful as my FL Studio and PC gear. It's nice to have both but at the moment the former is better simply because its so accessible.
 
Here's a link to the track.
http://soundcloud.com/mikistrange/use-your-imagination

 

A Basic Necessity, A Basic Pleasure

 
Since a very young age I've enjoyed setting fire to things.
I blame my obsession with being born in a landlocked city. I got in trouble at junior school for lighting matches, not much older I set a bin alight at home after throwing burning paper into it. Luckily for me the bin was metal, unluckily I picked it up to run water onto the flames, lesson learned. Then there was the old bomb site at the bottom of the road. It was a prime spot for watching flames dance without getting into trouble.
Through my teens I meticulously built model planes then doused them in white spirit and watched them burn too. I enjoyed bonfire night, not so much the fireworks, they're too noisy, too dangerous. Older still and I started to enjoy cooking on an open fire. Nothing quite beats corn on the cob smothered in butter, wrapped in tin foil and left to cook in the embers.
These days I'm careful with fire. I have a fire container in the back yard where I can listen to the crackle of wood and daydream whilst staring into the flames. I did that last Saturday and it was marvellous. Weather permitting I'm hoping to do it all again with a new supply of scrap wood. With a glass of wine in hand, a cool breeze to fan the flames and an imagination inspired by the fire I'll be blissfully happy.
Let's hope the rain stays away.
 

The Things That Dreams Are Made Of

 
I heard "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of" by The Human League tonight.
Apart from finding it on the net to listen to repeatedly it made me think about what my dreams are made of. In all honesty simple things really. My pipes, decent tobacco. Good wine and a few select friends topped off with fine coffee should do it. Not necessarily in that order you understand. The one thing that I've always dreamed of is driving an articulated truck and last week I got the go ahead to sort out some training in order to achieve that.
I'm also smoking a lot less in order to get fit enough to jog around the park. My e-cigarettes are helping me with that. I haven't given up smoking but I've put it back into an enjoyment category rather than it sitting in the necessity category. What could be better than daydreaming ones way through the nature in the park whilst losing pounds I don't need to be carrying around. I'll get there. Not sure when but I'm making it a reality in small steps.
I decided about a week or so ago that I was going to start taking control of my life and once that decision is made there's no going back. With perseverance I'm making it happen, there's a little luck in there too but that needs controlling also.
Until all of my objectives are complete the above track is my theme tune.
It's all coming together nicely.
 

It's Been A Week

 
A lot of people ask me to put DJ sets online. I say no. It's simple really, if you can't be bothered to discover new music by yourself then you should be at home listening to the damn radio.
Some people would like to hear what I'm up to to because they can't travel to where I am. That would be a good excuse to have me put online my original compositions of other people's music. Tough. No train, no gain. Why am I being so arsey about this? The reason is that not enough people go out to enjoy new music. They expect it on a plate when and wherever they are. That's just not me. Get off the damn sofa.
For those that can't make it I still have the talent to create for you at any time because I'm good at what I do.
For those that can't wait or want instant gratification I suggest (expletive removed).
That's it. Turn up, turn on, tune in.