New Album: "Civilization 2012" Track Title: "What Is The Question?"

What is The Question?

Dub Electronica for the 21st Century. The first track to be completed from my new album Civilization 2012 featuring a sample of the late, great and sadly missed Terence McKenna. Posted today to archive.org.

It's good to have the creative drive well & truly back in place. Logic Pro has helped me more than a clever little piece of code has any right to (If little pieces of code have any rights that is: discuss), not only has it managed to draw me back into making music on a pretty much daily basis; it's also helped me to make the music I'd always wanted to make.

The sonic possibilities seem endless - as I suppose the advertising blub for any sequencing software will always state. But in Logic's case I can say {IMHO} that statement seems to be true.

"The sonic possibilities are endless..."

My productions have taken a massive leap forward from a production point of view. The Jinster has even commented on such with the beautiful phrase "Everything just sounds fatter.."

True enough. The sounds are "fatter" "dirtier" "funkier" and all the other qualities you (well certainly I) want from a track. I think more than any other program I've used it inspires me to create. The quality of the plug-ins are just breathtaking. For the new album one of the guiding precepts was the "Totally Soft" approach. One of the many coincidences recently (a full list to be published here) was my good friend Ben bringing this months copy of a well known Techy music making magazine featuring an article on going "Totally Soft" ie not using outboard gear (Synths, Drum Machines, Reverbs, Mixers etc) instead use software versions. The argument "real vs soft"(whatever real is) has raged for years and will continue to do so until the end of time I'm sure. The tag line read

"The totally software studio, with sound quality at least as good as that offered by studio hardware, is now more feasible than ever before. But what are the factors to consider if you're going to go completely 'soft'?"

I sold my last remaining real synth recently. My Access Virus C was a much loved but unfortunately much neglected synth module. When Logic Pro came along everything changed. I couldn't justify keeping the Virus when I wasn't even using it - especially since we were in the process of moving to our beautiful new home in Ibiza. And amazing synth that the Virus was, why keep something you don't even turn on?

Yes I could've kept it for "old times sake" but seeing as I could sell it for the same price I paid for it, over 18 months ago, and if I paid for shipping it over to Ibiza then never used it.... it was a no brainer. Well it was a no brainer when Logic sounded like it sounded (and continues to sound). Bye bye Virus. Hello world of the totally soft. Just Code baby that's all we got...

Well apart from my input device (I like to call it a Keyboard) the funky little Remote 25 and my Amp & Monitors etc my Studio is "Soft". This would have been science fiction not too many years ago. But now thanks to our mastery of technology and the invention and subsequent mass production of the CPU we have a fully functional Pro Audio Studio in a gorgeous little (well seventeen inches if you want to be pedantic) laptop.

So armed to the teeth with kick ass software I began. What Is The Question is the first track to be completed. In the fortnight that I've owned Logic I think I've started 9 tracks. A couple were vying for the "first completed track in Logic Pro" title, but in the end "What is The Question" just sneaked ahead of "Berlin".

It's a dubby electronic production number, that will always remind me of the lovely little house in Baildon that we rented for 12 weeks while we were sorting out our future Ibiza life. If you're a fan of Terence McKenna (and if you're not, you should check him) you'll recognize his dulcet tones immediately. It weighs in at just under 5 minutes and it's quite a trip. The idea was to build a groove on his distinctive voice then layer dubbed out synth lines and tightly focused rhythms. The Jinster called it "trippy". That'll do for me....

Enjoy.

Peace

Migz