Music purists like Mike may not be all too happy about this post but I can live with that. I’m a huge fan of the iOS app Discovr Music. It lets me find bands and performers who are related to one another. For example, I might start with one act and then find three or four other acts that were influenced by them or influence them. Most recently using Discovr Music led me to Late Night Alumni via a rather circuitous route.
I love the music, the mix of some Downtempo tracks and some more Trance-related tracks that LNA offer. Looking around for some interviews with the band’s singer I came across these two videos and was struck by the way in which these true musicians use some powerful, often cutting edge, technology to make their music.
In the first video you’ll see them using some of the tech to actually begin recording their newest album. The second video is actually a look at the gear they use. I found it rather interesting and think you will too.
Sometimes tech is a gimmick. For LNA it is simply a tool that lets them combine good vocals with live instruments and sampling to create something great. (Hint, like so much music, it took me two or three listens before I really began to appreciate LNA’s style.)
Music purist? I guess in the sense that I look for distinct musical content and honesty in music … but there is a reason my son is a major techno-head and constantly writing new stuff. I introduced him through Kraftwerk and Klaus Schultze and so on … just like I did with my other son and rap. I was working in a cutting edge studio way too long ago when MIDI wasn’t something standard or expected and still required soldering irons and hacked-up software to get anything working. Glorious stuff and just like then – technology is a tool, but is not an end in itself.
And isn’t that the theme that finds its way into so many different arenas, from music, to teaching… tech is a tool, a way to get toward the goal… not the goal itself.