I haven't posted on this blog in quite awhile. It's kinda hard to keep up w/ especially when it really doesn't mean shit because no one reads it. Anyway, if anyone does happen toread this: I am looking for a few wonderful and talented people to accompany me in making music. This project is something I've been writing songs for forever! I have about 11 songs totally written and arranged and have recorded and mastered 3 of them. I will be releasing the record when I'm finished. I guess it could be described as electronic/Pop/Punk/Indie. I'm not a huge fan of labels but just to give you an idea. I have played all instruments on the record but I do need a Bassist and Drummer for live shows. I found a drummer but he lives kinda far away. Hopefully it works out. Also, to set things straight, I'm not just looking for back-up musicians to play my music. I also want to collaborate and write more music. I'm posting this because I'm having a hell of a time finding people who are actually serious about music. Many of the people I encounter love music and all but consider it more of a hobby. Their "Real Life" consists of their shitty factory job that they hate. But hey, that's just reality, right? Ya gotta eat.
Well I don't have a shitty "real job". MUSIC is my job and my life and I WILL MAKE ITºººººººº0TRUST ME. Get at me and WE WILL MAKE IT!

Hope to hear from YOU!





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Warping Tracks in Ableton Live- An easier method

I discovered a great method for warping tracks in Ableton Live. Note: I am still using version 7 of Live. I have yet to upgrade to 8 so this method may or may not be efficient in v.8. I only say this because I'm not familiar with Live 8's warping engine and if it's different or better than that of v.7. Anyway, here ya go.

I am assuming that most of you will be warping various electronic genres of music. I know for a fact this method works well with 4/4 beats. I'm sure it would be more difficult if you were trying to warp a Nirvana song or a Rolling Stones song from the 70's. But for most newer electronic tracks, this method is the shizzz!

1. Load the track into Live. It will most likely look like this if "Autowarp" is turned on.





Now what I normally do at this point is find the first downbeat(the first kickdrum hit) Zoom in as far as you can and set warp marker 1 (yellow) here. Make it as precise as possible.(This is very important)

Also turn on the metronome while performing this operation. It helps when you can hear if the beats are lined up as well as see it.


After you find the first kickdrum and set the yellow warp marker at the beginning of it, right click,(ctrl-click-mac) on the marker and select "warp from here (straight)."
Push "spacebar" with the metronome playing to hear if sounds right. It should!

Now, scrub through the track listening at different parts, making sure everything is lining up correctly.
In my experience, many techno(electronic) productions are warped damn near perfectly at this point. But to be sure I always follow through w/ this next step, just in case.

Zoom out and go to the end of the track. This is where the "different" in this method comes in.
I spent forever warping tracks from left to right. Usually needing to set a marker on every 4 bars, sometimes every bar! I used to dread warping because it took forever. But when I discovered this method, warping became kinda fun.
Anyway, go to the end of the track and find the last kick-drum hit. Actually, it doesn't need to be exactly the last one, but close to the end.

Now, without double-clicking move the closest warp-marker to the beginning of the kick-drum hit. Once you get it lined up just leave it. DO NOT MAKE IT YELLOW. JUST LINE IT UP AND LEAVE IT!
Now zoom back out and scrub through the track again. It should be good! And that's it!

In essence this method is just good ol' fashioned time stretching, but it works beautifully!

Warping, a task that used to take 15 min or more now takes about 1 min.

NOTE: I mix live at clubs all the time and this is how I warp most of my tracks.
I perform the procedure described then click "save" in the clip view. My library of warped tracks are seperated into folders by genre and BPM. I simply drop em' in and get my mix on. Hasn't failed me yet. So as far as I can tell this method works.

I mix Electro, Fidget, Minimal, Tech-House and this works for 98% of the tracks I warp.
I say this because there are some tracks out there that simply CANNOT be warped perfectly!
If the BPM changes during the track it may be difficult to warp.
Depending on when the track was produced and what was used to produce it.(Soft-Ware, DAW, Hard-Ware Sequencer, Synth). The song could be on time or severely out of time by nature.

Also, I don't put too much emphasis on warping every track "perfectly."
I like my mixes to have a "human" feel to them. But that is personal preference.

So try it out. You may find that warping is no longer the chore it once was.

HAPPY MIXING!! : )







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Novation Launchpad- I love this thing!

I've had this sweet little piece of electronic erotica for a minute now. I spent a long time trying to use it in some new, innovative way that no one has ever heard of, all the while missing the point. So, after some interesting experimentation I discovered this device's infinite power as a controller! Customizing control for as many FX, plug-ins, and DJ tools is where this bad boy shines! ºººIMHOººº The step-sequencer and the Monome Emulator were pretty cool to play with but I have no real, practical use for them. While DJ'ing, I use the LP to control :

1. Session View clips> (obviously) Launching tracks and loops while performing Live.
I programmed a button to silence track 1 and 2 while I launch a short vocal sample or some other random loop as a break.

2. User 2> Bottom row of 8 buttons controls the crossfader.
Next two rows up control filters on both Dj tracks.
A row controls beat repeats' grid.
One button for "repeat"
Another button turns "on" and "off" another Beatslicer plug-in called Replicant by
Audio Damage.
I have a ping pong delay effect set up that I control w/ a row of 8 buttons.
dry/wet and feedback simultaneously.

3.Mixer> Controls are default but very useful indeed!
I have a RVerb on send A and a H-Delay on B.

That's just one of many DJ templates I have saved as a Live Set.
It's so much fun bouncing back and forth between pages: Session, User 1, User 2, Mixer. So much more fun than a traditional cross-fader. I love DJ'ing w/ this thing.









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Annalyzer by Me LMNOP aka eVolakim

Here is a track that I recently finished. (sorta) I think it can still use a bit more compression and maximization. tell me watcha think. Or not. Whatever



http://soundcloud.com/evolakim/annalyzer-master





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What I do

My purpose in life is to make music. I know this because it's the only thing I'm ever really compelled to do. Everything else is just filler.

I have been creating and playing music since I was a young cricket! I got my first guitar at the tender age of 10. It was a Fender Stratocaster(Squire of course-c'mon we lived in a trailer.)My dad always had guitars laying around but this one was MINE! It was so much easier to play than that battered acoustic in the corner and it didn't make my hand ache like I had just spent 6 hours straight jerking off.(That comes later. At 10 I'm not sure I even knew what that thing down there was for.) My dad, also a musician, taught me some chords and the minor pentatonic scale and I was on my way! Music was/is in my blood, in my heart and in my soul. It makes me "feel" more than anything else in the world.

So, as you can see, guitar was my original instrument of choice. Not surprising because at the time I was absolutely in love w/ Nirvana, Faith No More, Rage, and a whole bunch of other eclectic artist's from that revolutionary period in history. The 90's! So I went on to play in a few bands and continued to write music. All the while living through different phases and changes in young life. At one point I was absolutely obsessed with Marilyn Manson and believe me, I dressed the part, but more importantly, my music felt the shift into darker and harder realms and it responded with what came out of my heart. That was just one example. Anyway, when I was about 16 my cousin asked me if I would like to go to party. "Of course I would." So I went. It was my first taste of Live Electronic Music!

I was totally hooked. it didn't take long for me to acquire some used turntables and buy a basic (cheap) mixer. Then I found myself hanging out at the record store. A lot! I spent quite a bit of money on vinyl. Before the advent of Mp3's, Serato and Ableton being a DJ was fucking expensive! I can't believe I payed $8, $10, $15 on one track to mix with some other track! But I did and I loved every second of it. I got really good at mixing but something was missing. Mixing was super fun but aside from a little "flava", it wasn't ME. This was someone else's creation. I was simply listening to it! WTF! I didn't create a god damned thing! Fuck, now what? Well this realization came at a time when technology was just starting to become available for someone like me. I got a Boss Dr. Sample and a Boss 660 Drum Machine. Actually my Dad had the drum machine because he was experimenting with 8-track recording at the time. He also had a hard-ware Limiter/Gate and FX rack. So I had some cool shit to play with! I had a lot of fun and made some interesting sound-scapes but the real deal was yet to come.
Enter Ableton Live: I was a student at a small technical school in my area. Studying computer networking. This led to That and I was able to purchase a brand-new Macbook. I got mad skills on a computer, and can pretty much do whatever with one but I always wanted a Mac. Something about the way they look so solid really appeals to me. So I got a White MAcbook w/ a 2.4 gHz. dual-core Intel and 4 gb. of RAM. I felt I was ready to start producing for real. I had played with Audio-Mulch and countless other trackers along with Logic and a cracked version of Reason before but I wanted something DIFFERENT. At the time I had just discovered a DJ from Estonia called Raiden. I heard he was using a program called Ableton. So I thought I'd check it out. I bought a MIDI keyboard that came with Live Lite 7 and the rest is history! OK seriously though, I absolutely loved it and within a few weeks I was the proud owner of a boxed version of Ableton Live 7. I know I was a little late to the game, starting with version 7 and all. But the way I see it, 7 is where Live really came together.
I love Ableton Live ! I use it everyday and have been for years now. I studied it and learned everything I possibly could about it. I've spent countless hours reading and creating and right now I consider myself a pro at Live. I write, arrange, produce, mix and master with it.(With the help of a few plug-in's and small programs.) I perform Live with it and I honestly don't know what I would do with my time if I hadn't discovered it. I still write music on my guitar, and lyrics in my notebook. But right now I'm back and forth between producing electro/fidget style music and and synth pop. My tastes change with the weather but right now I'm really feeling that stuff! So enough with the intro. This blog is primarily for me to remember and document the things I learn in the Audio Production area. If you find yourself reading this blog, then, I hope it was some help to you. : )

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Welcome to LMNOP

Greetz.
I am Tommy formerly known as eVolakim and currently known as LMNOP.
I spend most of my time creating. Most of the stuff I create is classified as Audio.
OK, I write and perform music. Obsession and Compulsion are two words that spring to mind when describing my feelings toward my creations. Passion is another. This is what I do. Love it or hate it (and sometimes I do both simultaneously.) As for YOU. Do you love it or hate it? Or do you simply not give a fuck? All are perfectly reasonable responses. Either way, I created (there I go creating again ! God I'm clever !) I created this collection of...........what have you, for YOUR enjoyment. And MINE! After all, what better way to share one's creations and attempt to become "known" than the good ol' fashioned interwebz? Here is a "place" that may or may not exist,(depending on your perception) where I can shamelessly plug ME ! I can sell "ME" as if I were some new flimsy, plastic product that YOU simply cannot live without. TRUST ME. You NEED this! THis will make your boring, ordinary, pathetic and meaningless existence one million times better than it was a second ago! Seriously, you suck. Oh jeez, don't get all defensive like that. You've always known it. It's just that no one has ever said it. But now you have. Said it and acknowledged it. The absolute truth that rings through it is so utterly amazing and retarded. (NOTE: Ignore that last line)
So here we are! Go forth and be entertained and/or (insert wonderful feeling.) I am the American Dream in action! I'm also Jesus Christ! And if you don't believe in him(me.) Then, I'm that other prophet they said you should listen to. OK I'm done now.

OnWard SOldier :)