Tag Archives: Music

Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House Strong Place Review

Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House Strong Place

OK, so I am a sucker for any new release featuring guitarist Mary Halvorson. Already a fan of Ingrid Laubrock from 2012′s Camino Cielo Echo from the Tom Rainey trio (yes, also with Mary Halvorson), this was an instant-buy for me. And while the band members were all familiar to me, this was clearly Laubrock’s [...]

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Indie Game Anodyne Will Satisfy Your Old-School Zelda Nostalgia

Anodyne, a new downloadable title, is the closest you’ll to come to playing an SNES-era sequel to A Link To The Past. The game was developed by a team of just two developers, and (not to spoil the full review) is pretty damn good. At its core, the title stands as a magnificent tribute to [...]

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iLectric Piano Review – Get Classic Electric Keyboards

Get Classic with iLectric

It doesn’t take an astute listener to realize that ‘retro is in’. At the recent NAMM show, we saw names such as Korg, Moog and Prophet right out of the late 70s, and all of them were producing analog synths. But before the synth became the keyboard mainstay, loads of classic recordings were made with [...]

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The Sonos PLAYBAR Soundbar Brings Big Sound to Your Home Theater

As expected, Sonos has just introduced their new Playbar Soundbar and, yes, as a huge Sonos fan I ordered one. You might recall that I first ordered my Sonos system a mere hours after receiving a loaner review sample. I hooked up the Sonos system, downloaded the iOS app, turned it on and was blown [...]

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iTunes Music Store Has Sold 25 Billion Songs in 10 Years

The thought that the iTunes Music Store Has Sold 25 Billion Songs in 10 Years is stunning. For many it is hard to remember the music industry landscape as iTunes started selling music a decade ago. The CD had peaked in popularity at the start of the new millennium, topping off an amazing decade of [...]

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Fleetwood Mac Rumours 35th Anniversary Edition Review

When it comes to the iconic albums of the 1970s, people think of names like Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, Kraftwerk, and more. But in the late 70s, there was one album that was everywhere to the point that it seemed like a greatest hits collection: the legendary Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. With estimated sales of [...]

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Jon Wirtz Announces New Album ‘Tourist’ Launching in April

When Jon Wirtz released his debut album ‘Sea Level’ in 2010 I thoroughly enjoyed it, drawing comparisons to such reknowned pianists as Keith Jarrett, Vijay Iyer and Matthew Shipp. The album was a solo piano recording, which is a daring move for a solo debut. Wirtz showed a maturity in terms of expression, interpretation and [...]

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Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012 and More – a Music Diary Feature

It is finally time for my Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2012! The end of each year we get bombarded by ‘top 10′ lists for just about everything, but for me it is too soon. Personally, I like to be sure all releases are out, and take some time over the holidays to reflect and [...]

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Joe Lovano Us Five ‘Cross Culture’ Music Review

I have a huge library of jazz music stretching back nearly a century, and including representation from nearly every major (and most minor) figures of the art form. But like any other genre fan, there are artists I am ‘supposed’ to like that I have never connected with. I am also a rock music fan [...]

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Prophet 12 Synthesizer by Dave Smith Introduced at NAMM 2013

One of the first synths I did serious work on was the Prophet 5. That synth was introduced by Sequential Circuits in 1978 as one of the first polyphonic instruments, but the reason it is still popular is the amazing sounds. The Prophet 5 was the brain-child of Sequential Circuits founder Dave Smith. If that [...]

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VOX Announces the Mini5-Rhythm Amplifier at NAMM 2013

Last year I got myself a 20 watt Roland Cube guitar amp. For years I had just played through my studio system and relied on effects to shape my sound, and had forgotten how great an amp can sound. More than that, I was amazed at the leaps in technology that allowed a small and [...]

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Check Out Three Excellent Rare John Coltrane Live Performances

One of the amazing things for me about YouTube and Facebook is how folks on Facebook will recommend a YouTube video or site with an embedded video that leads you to something even greater. That happened this morning, as a Facebook friend recommended checking out a stellar John Coltrane version of ‘My Favorite Things’, which [...]

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Korg Introduces 9 New Products at NAMM 2013, Including KingKORG and MS-20 Mini

At the NAMM 2013 show, Korg announced nine (!) new products that all look great – I recommend you head to Korg to get all of the details. But I wanted to highlight two that look super-cool: the MS-20 Mini and KingKORG. The MS-20 Mini is the reimagining of the classic monophonic synth that we [...]

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AVID Teams with Katy Perry & Adele’s Producer for Online Talent Competition

If you are like me, you love the IDEA of a musical talent competition for a recording contract that slowly funnels from thousands to just a few … but the execution always gets muddled down as the music becomes secondary to what works on TV. But what if there was an online contest that will [...]

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Mackie Updates Master Fader Control App for DL Series Live Mixers

Last year at NAMM Mackie brought iPad control to their DL1608 mixer. Now for 2013 NAMM they have introduced the DL806 mixer and major updates to their Master Fader control app. This EQ is great for getting vocals, guitars and other instruments to sit perfectly in a mix. Now, DL users can choose between clean, [...]

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Magic Paint with Math: Funny Math Tutor for Kids for Android and iOS

Magic Paint with Math: Funny Math Tutor for Kids for Android and iOS Okay, I don’t know why but for [...]

Geneva Sound System Model XS Review

Geneva Sound markets the Geneva Sound System Model XS as “the world’s first portable audio system with true Hi-Fi sound”. [...]

Samsung Galaxy S 4 Android Review

The never-ending battle for king of the smartphones has never been more interesting, with the Samsung Galaxy S 4 leading [...]

Moxtra for iOS Review – Moving Mountains of Info into Manageable Folders

I use my iPad for just about everything — notes, pictures, writing posts, browsing the web, etc. In many ways [...]

Grab Two Gameloft Games for Free This Weekend!

Gangster Rio

If you ask most ‘core’ gamers about the products Gameloft produces, chances are the words ‘shameless ripoffs’ will be uttered [...]

JVC HA-MR77X DJ-style Over-the-Ear Headphones Review

A few months ago we brought word that JVC had upgraded their headphone line. The new versions of their headphones [...]