Echo Kinetic
Music, Happenings, Awesomeness
Tarekith’s guide to playing live.
Oct 20th
I’ve been a big fan of Tarekith for a couple of years, not only does he give a lot of time to the the ALDJ forums as well as free effects plugins for Ableton, but he’s just posted what is possibly the best possible online guide to “playing live”. Read the rest of this entry »
Upcoming Gigs – October 2009
Oct 19th
Got plenty of gigs coming up, and as the summer silly season cranks into full drive, hopefully there will be plenty more!
This Friday, I’m playing Little Peninsula, dropping breaks, electro and house. Ditching Ableton this gig in favour of Serato, so I’ll be rocking it on ACTUAL TURNTABLES. hence I’ve been digging hard into the tunes to work out exactly how I’m going to fill 2 hours, but I’m sure it will be loaded with great tracks i haven’t played for a while
Tech House – Mixed By Echo Kinetic (June 2009)
Jun 24th
I’ve finally finished a mix.
Shifting away from the regular breakbeat sounds, but before committing to the new rave/electro sound i’ve been playing with, somehow i’ve squeezed out a tech house mix?!?
Yes, it’s confusing for me too.
To be completely honest, i’ve never heard of any of the artists before, or even dabbled in mixing this kind of sound. I can understand the appeal bu it’s the complete opposite of what i usually do, precise, longish mixes as opposed to heavily sampled, mashed up sounds.
The change of style has also promted using a different moniker. I usually DJ under Rich OK, but decided to use Echo Kinetic, manly due to the significant change in style 
Tracklist
Mark Hemmann – Inessa (Original Mix)
Jairo Lenis – Smoke (Original Mix)
Magitman, Brisker – Modern Love (Alter Breed Remix)
Michael Morph – Do the Lion (Tony Thomas Remix Dub)
Stisch – Turn Around (Mark Dynamix and Jaytech Tripping out dub)
Gino’s – Magnum Force (DJ Lewiss remix)
Khainz – Detectzor (Kinky Beats Edit)
Nimand – Down Town (Original Mix)
Twinbeat – Everything is Red (Original Mix)
Monodrive – Rainy Highs (Original Mix)
NDKj – Main Course (Joy Kitikonti Kiss Mix)
Zone – Gimali (Blockhead Remix)
Quick grab of new the Rich OK demo
Feb 27th
Uber Maneuver Live - Pic kind of unrelated
I’ve finally got my jam on and done a little bit of recording, it’s only a small grab of the demo, but it’s definitely one of my personal favorites. It gets bonus points too because it covers two of my all time favourite artists: Stanton Warriors and The Crystal Method.
The two tracks are: Stanton Warriors “Seeker” (What What What Remix), and the absolute classic “Keep Hope Alive” by The Crystal Method.
DownloadAutumn 2009 - Rich OK
You can download the high quality version here: Promo Grab 1 HQ
It’s the first of a handful of grabs i’ll be uploading over the next few days, with the full mix to be uploaded in around a weeks time.
Want more info on the Dj Side? Check me out www.djrichok.net or Substance Sounds
NAPT Xfm Breakspoll Mix – Holy Shit Bro!
Feb 24th
What can i say, absolutely incredible! 84 Tracks in 11 minutes. I thought it was a typo and was supposed to be 1 hour 11! It’s obviously not mixed on turntables, but that’s not really an issue IMHO. My only criticism (and it’s really really small!) is that some of the tracks are so mashed up that you can’t actually tell what’s what or where it is. Apparently Daft Punk “Harder Faster Better Stronger” is in the mix, and i would have thought it would have been the main vocal hook that would have been dropped. I can’t work out for the life of me where it is used.
Either way it’s a massive feat from NAPT, and it only takes ten minutes to listen to!
http://www.napt-music.com/xfmbreakspollmix/NAPT_XFM_Breakspoll_Mix.mp3
Track List
1. Lady Waks & Hardy Hard “Minimal”, Rogue Element Mix (Menu Music)
2. Chicken Lips “She Not In”, Stanton Warriors Remix (Azuli)
3. Plump DJ’s “Get Kinky” (Fingerlickin)
4. Rico Tubbs “Gangsters” (Menu Music)
5. Stereotype ft Foreign Beggars “Bangers and Mash” (Hardcore Beats)
6. Plump DJ’s “Mad Cow”(Fingerlickin)
7. Plump DJ’s “System Addict” (Fingerlickin)
8. NAPT “Gotta Have More Cowbell” (Funkatech)
9. SCAM “Killer” (Deepcut)
10. BBB “Bassbuster” (High Grade)
11. Plaza De Funk “Drop the Bomb” (Brighton Breaks)
12. Chemical Brothers “Saturate” (Virgin)
13. Rogue Element “Rogue Rock” (Exceptional)
14. NAPT “Work This Out” (Funkatech)
15. MJ Cole “So Damn Into You”, NAPT Remix (Sub Frequency Funk)
16. Daft Punk “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”, (Virgin)
17. NAPT “Heart of Stone” (Funkatech)
18. Eric Prydz “RakFunk” (Miami)
19. Beat Assassins ft Sweetie Irie “Boom” (MOFO)
20. Soul of Man ft Candy MC “SukDat” (Fingerlickin)
21. Elite Force “ShadowBox” (Kingsize)
22. Slyde “Frequency”, NAPT remix (Fingerlickin)
23. Phonat “Learn to Recycle” (Mofo Hi-Fi)
24. Breakfastaz “Midnight” (Cyberfunk)
25. Prodigy “Smack My Bitch Up” (XL)
26. Beat Assassins “Direct Hit VIP” (MOFO)
27. Stanton Warriors ft Big Daddy Kane “Get Wild” (Punks)
28. Plump DJ’s “Shifting Gears”, Stanton Warriors Remix (Fingerlickin)
29. N’fa “Get Doh” (Vacation)
30. Pyramid vs Far Too Loud “The System” (Funkatech)
31. Ripgroove “Double 99” (Ice Cream)
32. Pyramid “Wickedest Combination” (Funkatech)
33. Dopamine “Hold You” (TCR)
34. Stanton Warriors ft Beatnuts “Shake It Up” (Punks)
35. Deekline & Wizard “Back Up” (Against The Grain)
36. General Midi “Milton” (Distinctive)
37. Freestylers “Push up Word Up”. Stanton Warriors Remix (Data)
38. Far Too Loud “You Know The Sound” (Funkatech)
39. Deekline & Wizard “Angels”, NAPT Remix (Against The Grain)
40. Frankie Valli “Beggin” (Universal)
41. NAPT “Show Me VIP” (Funkatech)
42. PMT “Gyromancer”, Stanton Warriors Remix (10 Kilo)
43. Drummatic Twins “Feelin Kinda Strange”, Nick Thayer and Bass Kleph Remix (Fingerlickin)
44. Ils “Hate Is An Illness”, NAPT Remix (Botchit & Scarper)
45. Plaza De Funk “Got the Funk”, Madox Remix (West Records)
46. Aquasky “Red Out” (Passenger)
47. Plump DJ’s “Electric Disco” (Fingerlickin)
48. Alter Ego “Rocker:, Stanton Warriors Remix (Skint)
49. Plump DJ’s “Soul Vibrates” (Fingerlickin)
50. Calvertron vs Banga “Whoop”, NAPT Remix (Destination?)
51. Slyde ft Lady Posh “’Kiss Kiss Bang Bang“ (Fingerlickin)
52. NAPT ft Skibadee “The Rollers” (Sub Frequency Funk)
53. Trouble Soup “Can You Feel It” Mantra
54. NAPT “N-Funk” (Sub Frequency Funk)
55. DJ Mutiny ft Miss Trouble “Most” (Sub Frequency Funk)
56. NAPT “Wah” (Sub Frequency Funk)
57. Bodysnatchers “Freaky Ho” (Passenger)
58. Vandal “Mad as Hell” (LOT 49)
59. Fake Blood “Mars” (Cheap Thrills)
60. Ce Ce Peniston “Finally”, Bart Bmore Remix (Boot)
61. 30Hz ft Yolanda “Daddio”, Miles Dyson Remix (Lot 49)
62. Plump DJ’s “Rocket Soul” (Fingerlickin)
63. Plump DJ’s “Disco Unusual” (Fingerlickin)
64. Brookes Brothers vs Danny Byrd “Gold Rush” (Hospital)
65. Michael Morph ft Yo Majesty “Do What You Want” Deekline & Wizard” (Pure Mint)
66. Danny Byrd “Weird Science” (Hospital)
67. Specimen A “Algorithm” (Funkatech)
68. Beat Assassins “Gunclip” (MOFO)
69. Groove Diggerz “Funky Heroes” ,Plaza De Funk Remix (Breakin Even)
70. Koma and Bones “Get Down”, Breakfastaz Remix (LOT 49)
71. Stanton Warriors ft Eska “Still Here” (Punks)
72. Culture Shock “Asteroids” (Ram Records)
73. NAPT vs Kish Mauve “Lose Control”, 12″ Dub Remix (Funkatech)
74. Alan Braxe “Addicted” (Roule)
75. Stylus Rex and Electrotec “Quasi” Plaza De Funk Remix (Control Breaks)
76. Pendulum “Out Here” (Breakbeat Kaos)
77. Aquasky ft Ragga Twins “Give It Up “ (Passenger)
78. LADVAN “Waters Of LaLa Land” (White)
79. Brookes Brothers “Tear You Down” (Breakbeat Kaos)
80. Alex Metric “Pins” (Marine Parade)
81. Splitter “All Alone”, Alex Metric Remix (Big And Dirty Records)
82. NAPT VIP (Funkatech)
83. Beat Assassins “Put Em Up” (MOFO)
84. NAPT VIP (Funkatech)
February – Top Five
Feb 12th
Time for a quick rap up of what tracks have got my attention at the moment! Some old gold I’ve just discovered, plus a couple of new gems.
As I’m currently unemployed, there’s been a lot of playing with tracks, seeing what works and what sounds terrible. Rapid Evolution has been working overtime keying tracks, and i’ve warped and rewarped until each track is absolutely perfect.
I’m definitely winning the battle this week, and I’m roughly half way through putting together a new promo CD, which will be finished sometime next week. All the tracks are put together, but I’m still hunting down some fresh samples to really make it something special. Yes it’s long overdue, i haven’t actually recorded anything for quite a while, so I’m really looking forward to showcasing some of what I’ve been working on for the past 12 months.
Without further rambling, here’s a little taste of what you can expect:
Let me know via comment if you can’t see the player, i’ve had some issues with Firefox displaying correctly, but Safari works fine! Go Figure :/
Yeah, call me old, but at least I’ll be able to hear you
Feb 5th
Six years of night clubs and parties has finally taken it’s toll.
After seeing Pendulum last week at The Corner Hotel in Richmond (which was also the most awesome concert ever!) it took me two full days for the ringing to go away. Even now when I’m in a really quiet room, i can just hear this super high pitched squeal, right on the threshold of audible. Not Good. It’s got me just a little bit scared to be honest, only because once you’ve damaged your hearing, it’s gone.
Local hero Blinky has been wandering around at parties looking like a spaceman for a while now. Also, he had these things poking out of his ears which doesn’t help the spaceman look:
So Bill, What’s the Lowdown on those things sticking out of your ears?
Glad you asked Rich. They are a high quality earplugs produced by Etymotic Research, designed to reduce noise, but retain sound quality. They reduce the sound by approx 20dB, but still leaves everything nice and clear, so you can still hear people talk.
Thanks Bill. I’d been meaning to get some for a while, and to be honest, it was just that gig that finally got me off my arse to do anything. If you’re like me and you’re afraid you are going to go deaf, check out Earjobs. You can pick up the ER-20’s for less than $30 inc shipping. I got mine from their eBay store. You can also pick them up from DJ Warehouse in Melbourne and Sydney. Bonus points: they come with a funky case to put on your keyring.
You may also need new excuses about selective girlfriend hearing, as going deaf won’t cut it anymore.
EDIT: No, these guys aren’t paying me anything, or giving me free stuff, i just don’t want to lose my hearing at 24.
Making Ableton Phatter
Feb 2nd
It’s not very often i feel completely overwhelmed by something. On Saturday , i had the pleasure of listening to a fantastic set played at Substance by a local up and comer, Mouka. I’d had a disagreement when we were drunk about controllers chat with him before, and knowing he plays of very similar equipment (I use an Akai MPD24 he uses an M-Audio Trigger Finger) i was really interested in seeing how he sets up Ableton. Is it set up for flexibility, more control, or a combination?
Mouka uses a custom template purchased from The Phat Conductor, which is nothing short of amazing. It allows him to grab tracks on the fly, use samples, stabs, acapellas, FX all on the fly. It makes the way I play look restricted and inflexible.
The template is rigged up so you never have to touch your mouse and keyboard, but still allows you to select tracks from your library as you play, eliminating the “DJ checking their email” look. It’s tweaked with filters, s speacial EQ 4 to replace the EQ 3, two banks of beat juggling samples rigged up to silence the playing track giving a similar feel to cutting a record.
The issue that i have is that i can’t possibly map the Akai MPD24 up in a similar way because the changing the banks doesn’t include the rotary pots on the right, they are fixed. So i’m left trying to work out what I do, spend hours trying to work this out, or sell the Akai, and get a Trigger Finger. I’ll post tomorrow exactly how i have the Akai rigged up so you understand what i am up against.
Here’s The Phat Conductors clip of how his customer designed template works.
And the link to The Phat Conductor website.
Ladyhawke, no, not the movie.
Jan 28th
One of my favorite artist of the moment is Ladyhawke. It wasn’t like i was attracted to her music straight away, I’d heard a couple of her tracks in passing on the radio.
Initially, i wasn’t such a fan.
I first heard “Paris is Burning” on a late night Channel V session on hotel cable in Perth. Twice.
And then once more.
To be completely honest, i though it was generic UK pop shit. Good production work, but just some good looking chick with a good voice, who could sing a tune and do a good video. How wrong i was…
Not only is her music fantastically produced, and well written, but it’s all done solo. The only time she uses a band is when she tours. That gets massive respect from me, primarily because i can’t play a single instrument, let alone 3 or 4 (also i can’t read music).
She rocked her way in to #11 on the Triple J Hottest 100, with “My Delirium”, which is no small achievement considering the company that she shares with her top ten. She’s actually the highest ever place for a Kiwi in Triple J hottest 100 history, right the way back to 1989. (I’m sure someone will find some artist I didn’t Google, so please correct me when if i’m wrong)
Hats off to our Kiwi cousins for raising such a talented solo producer who can play with the best on the world stage, and i can’t believe I’ve missed her touring OZ with Modular. Looking forward to catching her in Melbourne in 2009.
Ableton Live
Jan 27th
It’s no secret that i’m an Ableton Live fanatic. It’s the most amazing piece of software for both music production and live performance. It’s allowed me to be more flexible and more creative than I ever could be using vinyl.
One of the Best Ableton learning resources is Tom COSM, who runs the website www.cosm.co.nz. Tom is a revolutionary musician, not just because he pushes the boandaries of what is possible in live performance, but also the way he distributes his music.
It’s all free.
You can download all his music from his website, and if you like it there’s a few different donation options for you to show your support.
He has also produced a comprehensive set of Ableton tutorial videos, covering everything from basic production to live performance techiniques. They are well worth watching even if you are familiar with Ableton, even just for ideas on how to arrange your set in different ways.
Last week, he did something that is completely unheard of in music circles. If you are a Pro member on his website, you are able to download a full version of his live performance set, something that he has worked on for the past 5 years. Even Tom has said himself, some people might think he’s crazy:
“People might think I am mad putting this kind of information online, as it reveals my entire live performance technique which I have spent a large portion of my life mastering. If you are one of these people, please leave now, this isn’t for you and you are wasting your time. However, if you are serious about learning what happens behind the scenes in a true live laptop performance and believe that keeping information like this as open as possible can only be a positive thing for the electronic music scene as a whole, this set is here for you to jump headfirst into the deep end and pick up your own techniques as you swim your way out.”I’m not sure exactly why he’s done it to be honest (aside from the obvious revenue stream), it’s really a bit like a magician revealing his tricks, but hopefully this will allow more people to really see how he works, and incorporate techniques into their own work.
If you’re at all interested in Ableton Live, but not quite sure where to start, navigate yourself Tom’s direction and the introduction videos. If you’re in Melbourne, Tom’s playing at the Interview Vs Push Boat party on February 14.
I’ll be playing the after party at La Di Da. 