Ben Mullon

Ben Mullon: "

musician, educator and record producer

"

I have heard some crazy things about music but this one has to be one of the more bizarre ideas. Apparently the beat stability of hit records can predict market crashes and according to Phil Mayim (an expert in the study of this) the Beyonce record "Single Ladies - Put a Ring On It" spells economic doom as it has a very constant beat with little variation.

You can read more on the Guardian site here

Its been a while since I sold my Proteus module and I still lament its departure, it had some seriously heavyweight production sounds many of which you can hear on records from the 80s, 90s and early 00s. I've just seen the EMU are giving a software version of the proteus for FREE yes FREE!!! I spent nearly a grand on mine back in the day. For anyone who is new to the EMU brand let me fill you in. In the early 80s EMU (aka Emulator) created the first consumer samplers that instead of costing the price of a small house instead cost the price of a small car or motor bike! Well they proved to be very popular and as the technology became cheaper they created a diverse range of samplers and sample playback modules. One of their classic pieces is the sp1200 which was rivaled by the Akai/Linn MPC, Hip Hop heads will know the sound from early Tribe Called Quest records to name a few!

Eventually though the sampler/sample player became redundant as the computer took over as the production tool of choice. So now EMU make software instruments and bundle their sample libraries with the instruments.

Click through to get your free proteus, you will need to fill a short webform and subscribe to the email list. A small price to pay I think. Watch out this is a PC only app and won't run on MAC OS (Being a MAC user I too look on with envy).

Let me know how you get on, heres the link:

PROTEUS DOWNLOAD

Actually I have had this conversation with many musicians over the years about having a glove that you can use instead of a controller keyboard. Well designer Peter Hampl thinks he has the solution with his concept of this principle. I'm not sure if this is even in development but if it does make it into production I will be queuing up outside the music store to get mine.

Hi everyone,

Its been a while since I last logged on to the blog. I have been busy both in the studio and working on the EP release through my label. I stumbled on this new online facility called "Soundcloud". Its great for anyone involved in sending, reviewing or receiving music via the net. You just set up an account which if free by the way! And away you go!

For those of you who leave CD's for me I would like you to use my new Soundcloud dropbox which is positioned on my tool bar on the right. By uploading your demo's here I can review them and email my responses!

here's the soundcload link for anyone who wants to set up an account:


soundcloud

Ok people, check my playlist of world music with 2 exclusives from my forthcoming EP 'Got To Live". Makeatape.com features a new playlist every week, this week my playlist is on the front cover. You can click this link to redirect to the site and then listen to the music!

makeatape

Here are a couple of links to help you find a studio to book, the first is the official music week studio map. This is by no means an exhaustive map but it's still quite a nice resource. If you want something a little more interactive then the allstudios site lists the studios in categories and run promotional offers, it's worth checking if only to highlight the great value on offer at Roundhouse and other youth centers. I will be running a MASTERING SPECIAL soon so keep checking back for the update!

Here's a link to the pdf studio map

Here's a link to allstudios

mybedroomstudio.com follows the myspace format of social networking sites but is specially for bedroom producers! Although the name may suggest an amiteur nature there are in fact a number of pro users on the site, you only have to browse a few users to see that there are some serious home setups these days! I haven't yet set up my profile on this site but I fully intend to in the next week or so. Its a good place to pick up a few tips from kindred spirits and is certainly a fresh break from the constant marketing attempts of fellow music producers on the myspace music  site.

Who knows about the digital music software GIANTS 'Gracenote'? What about cddb? No? Still scratching your heads?