BuzzMoo.com » music

beacon flew pretty damn high

BuzzMoo — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:20:55 +0000

Yesterday I hit the road with James – destination The Metro Theatre, Sydney – in order to attend the James Blake gig. Turned out to be a well coordinated and well timed trip, transport and accommodation coming together without a hitch even though we did have to navigate the most horrendous car-park on earth. Now that I think about it I should have taken some pictures (actually I’ve got no pictures from the trip at all) since it appeared that the owners of the hotel had realised, at some stage, that parking was necessary for their visitors and just drilled down into the ground with little consideration as to how big cars actually are. The silver lining was that we got to park right in front of the elevator doors. I mean literally in front of them. Handy!

The hotel being a few minutes from the venue was a huge plus and allowed us to get there with ample time to spare. Blake’s support had some chop but maybe expected a bit too much from the crowd. The fact that you hang out with Kanye West occasionally doesn’t change the fact that you’re the support act and the crowd is going to talk if it wants to. Notice how the full house was absolutely silent for the quiet moments in Lindesfarne? Didn’t hear James Blake needing to ask us to be quiet. The performance was high quality, though, and he was an entirely appropriate lead in.

We’d set up shop just above the audio engineers as is good to do, sometimes. The whole setup was fairly minimalist which wasn’t surprising; all of the magic happens on stage. And when the bass hit at the end of I Never Learned To Share it ripped through the place like nothing else. In an amusing moment we saw all the engineers look up to the roof at the same time, it was shaking that much. Fortunately they didn’t turn it down and the roof didn’t fall down. The set included a good selection from his self titled album and EPs, Lindesfarne coming together just as I hoped to hear (see reference to silent moments above) and the guys managed to space out the satisfying hooks with some tasteful almost drum n bass style. It happened to be the last show on his solo tour which, I guess, ensured an emotional performance from the lot of them. The crowd was fine, packed to capacity (it looked like, anyway) and everyone left satisfied.

I’ve said before this was a lucky catch and I’m glad we made it. I think it’s unlikely we’ll be able to see him again at the same place for the same price. It’ll be great to see what comes next. Frez mentioned he’s hearing Blake inspired sounds filtering through Triple J over the past few months. That’ll probably continue for a while. Refreshing!

Two music facts

BuzzMoo — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 06:53:38 +0000

We have an old 45 that has on it Prince’s work that was rereleased for Tim Burton’s Batman. I used to listen to it as a kid. Didn’t like it all that much, really. Born in 1985 I missed out on the Prince thing and have always wondered how exactly he became associated with the Batman franchise. It turns out that originally it was envisioned that Michael Jackson and George Michael would work with Prince on tracks to be composed for the movie. MJ dropped out early on and legal complications with George Michael’s record label saw him miss the gig. Apparently Prince got so into the movie that he went off and scored the whole thing by himself. Unsurprisingly it was never used. Instead we ended up with Danny Elfman’s score and we’re all better off for it. That’s a movie music trivia fact.

Another fact that exciting news has emerged that James Blake is on tour and performing in Australia. Thanks to James’s eagle eye while leafing through BMA we have tickets to the July 30 show at The Metro. This kid has emerged fast and he was an act I had on my list of “would love to see, but am unlikely to anytime soon” performers. He’s done some remarkable work and while Lisa informs me that he’s now well known in the UK, I’d still say this is a bit of an underground sound. Get in while you still can because you’d be silly to miss it!

Experimental Canberra

BuzzMoo — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 03:02:52 +0000

It went under my radar but following a link from a forum (as often happens) lead me to ‘New Weird Australia‘, a promoter of eclectic Australian electronic music. Part netlabel, podcast, community, online space thing, it’s got some great material. Of interest to me was The Sound of Young Canberra, a compilation of, well, sounds made by young Canberrans. It’s not going to be for everyone, is my disclaimer, as I generally link things a bit easier on the ears. But it shows some developing talent in a difficult genre, despite how random it sounds at times. Shoeb Ahmad, who I understand as an active character in Canberra says

“Some people wonder if anything does actually happen here but if you ever make it to our town, you’ll see that there’s bands playing in backyards and parties, electronic music made in bedrooms and improvisors making a racket in gallery spaces.”

Indeed. The evidence is the scattered sounds found on

The Sound Of Young Canberra

Lemon In The Way – From The South stands out, Apache by Danger Beach is amusing, it might get a smile from Morricone (I say that just to be nice – I’m lead to believe he’s a very strange man and difficult to get along with), Shoeb’s Out Of Breath is a well realised track, the most mature sound on the disk without a doubt. Assasins 88 – Scanners absolutely tears it up!

Provisional Authority

BuzzMoo — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:31:21 +0000

My fingers are pretty sore, the blisters have finally popped. Ended up on a lovely 12 string Maton not too long ago, as well as a bass hooked up to a make of rig i’ve actually had the pleasure of playing around with before. They almost make the same level of sound! You’ve noticed the lack of the audio aspect things here at BuzzMoo.com over the past year or so, even though my old tracks seem to keep up a healthy amount of web traffic. I’m not a musician so it takes time/chance for these things to happen.

There’s something that I’ve been trying to get out for a long time but I’ve been composing on shifting sands. It’s an audio chronicle of The War in Iraq but since it’s taken so damn long to finish all my tracks they all sound quite different. I did want to present something coherent, so it may be time to invite Frez to The Glass Ball Theatre…

Stay tuned.

Audio Gourmet Top 10 of 2010. #7: Damian Valles – In The Shadow Of The Occluding Body

BuzzMoo — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:49:23 +0000

Guitar is often a principal instrument in ambient. I think it’s a good mechanism to bring people into the track; it’s a familiar sound that can lead you into the darker, diffuse drones. And at #7 on the Audio Gourmet Netlabel’s Top 10 of 2010 chart, Damian Valles with ‘In The Shadow Of The Occluding Body’ does exactly that! The two tracks totaling 15 minutes, ‘Umbra’ and ‘Penumbra (Nearly There)’ have melancholic clean lines from guitar along with gloomy but not downright-sad pads that wander and think. Dark but calm. There’s potentially even some oboe in there; I like these two tracks a lot!

You can get the whole disk for free at Audio Gourmet.

Damian Valles – In The Shadow Of The Occluding Body

If you like this kind of thing you’d do well to check out Long Desert Cowboy and Beyond Absence. All good material!

Audio Gourmet Top 10 of 2010. #9 – Small Things on Sundays – Recalling

BuzzMoo — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 22:42:09 +0000

Following on from the Carl Sagan’s Ghost entry, Small Things on Sundays’ “Recall” comes in at number #8 on the Audio Gourmet Top 10 of 2010 chart. Three floating tracks that are thoughtful and on their way to dark. ‘Floating in Space’ keeps you grounded with a minimal beat. ‘I Know You Now the Dinosaurs Calling’ makes you think of an ice-age and cold caverns. The Crow Warns You Should Not Be Here is almost exactly how you’d expect a song by that title to sound.

The group (a duet from Denmark) have been around for some time now and rarely disappoint. Again, this release is only 15 minutes long so it’s accessible. Definitely give it a shot if you were after something darker, but not sinister, to listen to! You can get the full thing for free from the Audio Gourmet site by following this link. Check out Small Things on Sunday’s official site here.

Small Things on Sundays – Recalling

Audio Gourmet 2010 Top 10. #10 – Before I Go.

BuzzMoo — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:55:55 +0000

Over the past few years I think A State of Trance and Trance Around The World really got me into the ‘year mix thing’. Triple J’s hottest 100 still means something to me today. But only the disks before 1999. So what about ambient, experimental and ‘other’, the genre I listen to most? Well, the Audio Gourmet label has just started a run of their top 10 most popular EPs offered by the label, this year. I have to add an important note to add here, to do with accessibility. Generally this kind of music runs at a dozen or more minutes a track, sometimes they run into hours. For a lot of them listening to the whole track is important to understanding the idea behind the piece. But the brilliant ones have moments that stand alone, which is a large part of the attraction of the genre for me. Anyhoo, Audio Gourmet only releases tracks that are the duration of ‘a coffee break’ in a somewhat novel attempt to make the genre more accessible. 15 minutes, no more! Consider it a form of distillation. The result is some quality material that doesn’t take long to get into.

Tonight at number 10 we have Before I Go by Carl Sagan’s Ghost. A restful two part release with long soft, airy passages. Breezes through pipes that wander to build something more solid in the deeper registers. Light and scattered static that doesn’t irritate, cosmic drones with suggestions of choir that ask questions but then satisfy. Water and soft chimes, you’ll be able to relax to this. Recorded August 2010 in Spokane, Washington. you can pick up the entire release, for free, from Audio Gourmet right here. You can visit the artist’s official site here www.carlsagansghost.com.

Carl Sagan’s Ghost – Before I Go

New Boards of Canada ?

BuzzMoo — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 10:34:17 +0000

New Boards of Canada impending? Or was it just a blip over the horizon radar…?

“@bocpages Their site and myspace just got a black background. I don’t think this is just me. I thought I would let you know.” 8:34pm

Audio Gourmet Netlable Soundcast

BuzzMoo — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 00:56:22 +0000

An ambient set isn’t probably what you were looking for. But I’m linking a great one here! Drone, field recordings and all that avant garde nonsense actually do really well for an hour long set… maybe I should give it a spin at some stage, I’ve certainly got what would equate to crates and crates of vinyl.

The Audio Gourmet Netlable, run by Harry Towell, is currently firing on all cylinders. A great intro into the kind of stuff he’s been finding and publishing is summed up in the latest AG Sound Cast. Mixed by Spheruleus (Towell in disguise) he plays a great hour of wandering in the ether. Featuring artists like Model Citizen, Small Things On Sundays and Alvari Lume, you can’t go wrong.

Listen to the mix on mixcloud!

Inns, Towns and Taverns Volume 1

BuzzMoo — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 04:19:46 +0000

I’ve listened to a fair bit of video game music in my time. I’ve got a significant collection and I guess hunting around for the old gems is a bit of a hobby I have. One of my favourite elements in game soundtracks are town, tavern, inn, celebration music. I decided to put together a compilation playlist but ended up with two; for legality’s sake I decided to put together a list of tracks you can access via YouTube rather than upload my own set here… as a result the list is only what I could find there. So, what follows are ten tracks of peaceful, happy music that all the villagers are listening to!

Matt Uleman – Torchlight, Town (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcVccWwJM-A)
Pawel Blaszczak – The Witcher, Inns and Taverns (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyG_mnBS6zg)
Michael Hoenig – Baldur’s Gate, The Friendly Arms Inn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYCWQ8XjBnM)
Jeremy Soule – Icewind Dale, Easthaven In Peace (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K7dfP3QlS4)
Bob & Barn – Medieveil Resurrection, Welcome To Gallowmere (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkQesyUae_o)
Russel Shaw - Fable, Guild Day (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5orJZYvQMDY)
Jason Hays – World of Warcraft, Human Tavern Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU1T_MtqEj8)
David John – Neverwinter Nights, Tavern Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpLTcxoK7Hs)
Inon Zur – Pirates of The Caribbean Game, Tavern (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWkq2l8AMlU)
Matt Uleman – Diablo, Tristram Town (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2evIg-aYw8)

Synaecide Scientifica EP

BuzzMoo — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:10:41 +0000

Probably following a lead from the epic Anodyne Industries mix disk “Continuum”, James has dug up a super sweet breaks and dub disk by Melbourne based Syneacide. The EP is called Scientifica and it goes all out. You can grab the whole six tracks from IDMF right here. There’s also a handy little sound cloud streaming option (got to have it, these days!) for those stream. Track 4, The Penny Drops is the standout track here, if you only play one, play this one. It benefits from being played as loud as you can possibly play it! It’s all free so don’t say no.

Synaecide – Scientifica at IDMF

Kristian Risti on MySpace

BuzzMoo — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:47:11 +0000

Nuts to garageband recordings on a dictaphone. Rent a studio and blast pop rock from Melbourne, Australia. Kristian has got a bunch of new recordings out, published on his MySpace page. You’d better go and check it out!

Avril 14th remake

BuzzMoo — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:26:14 +0000

A great upbeat remake of one of Aphex Twin’s best. Almost one of the saddest songs of all times – but that might just be the Salad Fingers connection.

A Brief Communication

BuzzMoo — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:41:26 +0000

The first experimental track I’ve ever really been happy with. Home made textures crossed with a late night recording from a HF radio in Colorado. Included should be depth, texture and development. 4.3mb MP3 @ 128kbps.

it was waiting in the wings

BuzzMoo — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:44:24 +0000

Eyes Flutter Beneath – Inside The Dream Laboratory

BuzzMoo — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:11:07 +0000

I’ve been meaning to mention a top quality ambient release from the artist formerly known as Audio Gourmet. If you like organic ambient then you need to get this disk. Since it’s free for download you don’t have an excuse! Harry Towell sets the bar high with the first track Six Years Dreaming and takes it from there,

Eyes Flutter Beneath – Inside The Dream Laboratory (PHCH007)

Halloween in Pakistan

BuzzMoo — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:04:12 +0000

It’s amazing what gets you hits these days. Take Better Homes and Garden’s (US) tutorial on how to make a Halloween wreath. It’s a full page article that can be summed up in a single sentence. To make a pumpkin wreath, glue pumpkins to a wreath! Good advice. But not enough for poor She256:

“I REALLY LIKE IT,BUT MY BADLUCK IS THAT IN MY CITY I COULDNOT FIND PUMPKINS,I LIVE IN KARACHI,PAKISTAN.SO I SAVE YOUR PIC IN MY FILE.”

Ahhh the Internet…

armin van buuren – a state of trance

BuzzMoo — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:14:33 +0000

Trance as Armin Van Buuren has it has raised it’s game recently. I forgot how much I’d missed the old four four and the golden hooks. The Dutch superstar DJ has an electric series of sets that run on Digitally Imported, but if you’ve missed the stream you can grab some episodes in torrent format here. The latest, “380″ is fantastic.

music you want: new audio gourmet

BuzzMoo — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:34:52 +0000

When I downloaded copy of Audio Gourmet’s Earth’s Exit Door, it immediately rose to one of my all-time favourite ambient releases. There’s something about all AG stuff that seems so connected to nature, despite its electronic nature (one of my favourite paradoxes of the genre). Now, with Subconscious Substance, Audio Gourmet brings us closer to home.

This is an album to play when you are sitting along, reminiscing about bygone times. Subtle, restful melodies and sounds of nature guide the mind to positive, yet nostalgic reveries.

Webbed Hand Records has this release for free, through archive.org. Head to the official release page to get a copy for yourself. Top quality.

CASE’s One laptop per child open day – brief review

BuzzMoo — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:45:04 +0000

Just back from CASE‘s One Laptop per Child Open Day, held this afternoon in Belconnen. We had a good time with a dozen or so people showing up. Visitors were introduced to the laptop and then had the opportunity to play with them and experience the feel of one. This stimulated a good amount of discussion – as Darrel said, you could spend a whole day just talking about the ideas behind the project. Pia made it with time to spare and gave her talk which we all appreciated very much. Revealed were some details regarding Australia’s First OLPC XO Pilot, which is now in full swing. Tom Worthington blogged away during the event, and he draws a good picture of the day (live blogging takes some practice…Tom has had practice..).

As for me, I’m tired but glad things went well. There are plenty of things I learned, one important one is that you need practice to demo a large number of these things effectively. Being intimately familiar with the devices will make the difference when trying to pitch their case, and that takes time.

So what’s next? Basically wait and see what the powers-that-be decide what they’ll do next (In Australia, specifically) we’ll see something solid on the OLPC wiki (wiki.laptop.org) shortly, I believe. More to follow…

Two Jams!

BuzzMoo — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:37:31 +0000

So due to some mixups and complications here in the bedroom studio I’ve ended up with two incomplete tracks, but I like enough to want to release them. Somehow I’ve lost the master file for the first track, and the settings for the second are entirely screwed up for no good reason. Both contain what is essentially my first “live jam” that’s been good enough to include in a song. Hence the jam jars! Enjoy their incompleteness and the boppy beats.

Awesome Solenoid Symphony

BuzzMoo — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 06:49:39 +0000

The very definition of Industrial music?

Pop Montage

BuzzMoo — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:45:36 +0000

RnB meets Garritan Personal Orchestra (because I’ve got it running again) but doesn’t quite make it to the finish line…so, for posterity;

BuzzMoo – Pop Montage 1.8mb MP3 @ 128kpbs

audio samples for the XO

BuzzMoo — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 02:07:00 +0000

There are over 10 gig of free audio samples available for XO users and OLPC enthusiasts on the OLPC Wiki. That’s a lot of audio. According to the top of the page, just added are “Loops, Grooves, Licks, Stings, Hits, Pads, Melodic Motives/Themes/Phrases, Sound-Effects, City and Country Soundscapes, Motors, Machines, Toys, Guns, Explosions, Swords, Armor, Cars, Jets, Pot & Pans, Acoustic and Synthetic Noises, Acoustic and Electronic Drums, Voices, Western and World Instruments, Real and Human Animals, Industrial and Natural Ambiences, Film and Game Foley”, all donated by Dr. Richard Boulanger. Other contributers to this massive open source undertaking include Open Path Music and The Berklee College of Music to name a new.

If you want an example of these samples in action, and if you like progressive electronic/ambient/industrial, make sure to download The Face of Human Error OLPC EP from Archive.org. It’s a gem, created entirely with the samples mentioned below. I don’t know if it was made on an XO, though. Naturally that’s a plan of mine..I wonder if it still counts if i connect a mouse..

I’ve added a link to this to the BuzzMoo.com XO Resource Page.

Audio @ BuzzMoo.com

BuzzMoo — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:36:12 +0000

I finally got around to uploading my music back catalogue (as they say in the game). Mostly for posterity’s sake, but if you’re interested in a musical journey of sorts you can easily track my progress here on the audio page.

A few fresh beats are on the way.