mistrustmusic's posterous

I'm on iTunes at last

The remix I did for New Zealand dub/dance band Pitch Black is out today on iTunes and all the usual download sites (Amazon.com, Beatport etc). It's one of the tunes on the band's 6-track EP "Rude Mechanicals" and is my very first release on iTunes - in fact my very first "official" remix - so I'm feeling quite chuffed! The track has been on my music player for a while, so hopefully someone might like it on here! Rude Mechanicals (mistrust remix) on iTunes Rude Mechanicals (mistrust remix) on Amazon.com

Filed under  //   amazon   beatport   ipod   itunes   mistrust   mp3   music   news   pitch black   release   rude mechanicals  

Barack Obama didn't review my Rude Mechanicals remix

As you've probably seen, Barack Obama has been doing pretty much anything these days to get the word around and get himself elected. Good luck to him. However, he's obviously been too busy to have a listen to my remix of Pitch Black's Rude Mechanicals, which is out on October 27th. It's even on Amazon.com's and Dancerecord's download sites, so don't tell me he doesn't go on there? Well, Mr Obama, a few people have listened to it on Myspace and Last.Fm to name some of the places the previews can be found, and so far, the reaction has been good, to say the least. It's had over 1100 plays on my own myspace (myspace.com/mistrust) and over 200 on Pitch Black's.  The reviews and heads-up have started to come in - and so far, they're really positive. Here are some of them (with links to the original comments): Dubmaster PHD featured the track on his blog - he gave the track a massive plug, so a big thanks to him -  and there are some comments from his subscribers - "I love it, you have done Micheal and Paddy proud" (AOTEAROAnz) "awesome" (kyosuke316) "Electro-Techno goodie" (Panzerplatte) "Cool!!" (Babyjay99) Read more here on Dubmaster's site.... Some more: "really good, good quality, liked the beat" (Helix, on Di.FM forums) "Great Tracks, Especially the Rude Mechanicals remix!" (Mahabashi, on Myspace) If anyone comes across a review of the track anywhere, please let me know. If you listen to it yourself on myspace, last fm, or anywhere else and want to tell me what you think of it, then please leave a comment on here. ------------------------------------- This is my first post for a while - been laid up with an ear infection. Seems like very few people get ear infections these days. Typical isn't it. A musician almost deaf in one ear. I've had it for over 2 weeks, and antibiotics just won't shift it. Back to see the GP, I think!

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Filed under  //   USA   barack obama   mistrust   music   obama   pitch black   politics   president   remix   rude mechanicals  

Rude Mechanicals remix on Myspace

Following on from my last post about my Rude Mechanicals remix being released on October 27th, I've just got a couple of updates about the track. It's now on the music player on Pitch Black's Myspace profile - in fact there are two different remixes up there: the first one is an instrumental version by Mike Hodgson (one member of Pitch Black), and the other one is the remix that I've done. So, you've got 2 Myspace profiles places you can hear the track before it's released - mine and Pitch Black's. I've had quite a bit of interest in the "mistrust remix" so far.  The Only Michael played it in his DJ set at the BFI 75th birthday Big Weekend celebrations last weekend, and it looks like a DJ in Lithuania will play it on his alternative music radio show. Also, the track is getting quite a few plays on Myspace and some great comments around and about on the web. I've also put the track on my Unsigned Band Web page, where you can get a widget for my music player, plus a load of links to add to social bookmarking sites. There's also a banner to promote the release of the Rude Mechanical remix. If you'd like to help out promoting the song, please copy the following code and paste it into your blog or website: http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/4140/20081002141951ff4.gif

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Filed under  //   mistrust   music   myspace   pitch black   remix   rude mechanicals  

Rude Mechanicals official release date

My remix of Pitch Black's Rude Mechanicals gets its official release worldwide on 27th October 2008. The band's latest newsletter says: The second single from Rude Mechanicals - the title track itself - featuring Queenstown's KP, is due out digitally on October 27th with remixes from PZ, Sound Guise, Mistrust, and our very own Mike Hodgson in his nefarious Misled Convoy alter-ego. We'll be posting the tracks up here for your musical delectation. Don't forget, you can listen to the track on my myspace music player right now and (hopefully!) download it on iTunes etc when it's released. If you're a DJ and want to play the track in your set, let me know and I'll send you download link for a CD quality file. So, it's official - my first proper release!!! I know it's only a remix, but I'm very proud to be part of this project, and thanks go to Mike and Paddy, and of course Jasper at Crazy BaldHead.

Filed under  //   beatport   cd   itunes   mistrust   mp3   music   october   pitch black   release   remix   rude mechanicals   single  

Talacre Sands and other tales

[caption id="attachment_133" align="alignleft" width="246" caption="Talacre Beach at Sunset by Tim Blackburn"]

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[/caption] Should have posted this a few weeks ago, but seem to have had very little time these days. Anyway, the "mistrust" clan went away on holiday (vacation) at the end of July for some much needed rest and recuperation. Nowhere really special - just a Haven Holidays caravan park near Prestatyn, in North Wales. The best thing about it was the scenery, including the wonderful Talacre Sands and rabbit warren. Very inspirational for some ideas for new tunes (yes, I DO actually make music!), very calming. The kids loved it apart from the first night when no-one could settle (well, Paul couldn't settle and disturbed the rest of us. We managed to get some great footage on video and some great still photos of the surrounding area. I'll put them up on Youtube and Flickr when I get time. I took one of those small handheld video cameras that uses a memory card - an Aiptek. I was a bit doubtful about what the quality would be like, but in the end I got some great results. Have a look at the header image of my blog site (the one you're on now!) to see what I mean. That was taken on the 3MP setting at sunset on Talacre Beach. I actually submitted the full size version of that photo to BBC North Wales' "Your Pictures" feature a few weeks ago, and it's been added to the "Sunrise/Sunset" section. You can see the picture in full-size on the BBC North Wales site here. In contrast, I nearly ended up in hospital at the end of the holiday.....but that's another story that will appear in a couple of days' time.....

Filed under  //   blogging   family   holiday   mistrust   music   photographs   photography   sunrise   sunset   talacre   vacation   wales  

Guitar Hero and the great untalented

I've so far managed to avoid all the fuss surrounding Activision's Guitar Hero video game that's taking the world by storm. I'm not really a fan of video games and consoles such as Playstation 3 and XBox, and never have been, and I'd much rather use a computer for either searching on the web or making music. Could never see the excitement or the fun of things like computer games, and even when I had a Spectrum ZX81 when I was a teenager, I tried to learn how to PEEK and POKE it, rather than play games on it. Even had a Commodorer 64 and an Amiga, and used them for making music. However, I've suddenly seen the light and think that Guitar Hero 3 is just great. Paul (my stepson) got the demo on a PS3 magazine disc the other day and immediately took to it. Even though he had to use his Sixaxis controller, he loved it. The next morning, he wanted the real mccoy. Paul being Paul, with his impulsive nature (he's got Autism) desperately wanted the full version, complete with the guitar. Fast Forward to 9.30pm and a trip to the Trafford Centre,  we found what he was looking for, and traded in a few of his other games to get it. We got home, and Paul thought it was great. I spent ages afterwards just watching him getting hooked and thinking I could do that. I had my first go of it last night, and just wanted to stay on it. It's a great thing for someone like me who tried to learn the guitar (a real one, with strings) years ago but never had the co-ordination or the ability to play a proper tune.  Now I can play the lead on Anarchy in the UK or Walk this Way without looking a fool if I get it wrong. Paul's been trying to learn the guitar himself, but hasn't got much idea of a what makes a good tune. Paul, being Paul tends to give up because of stuff like that. Now he has Guitar Hero, he can learn more about how a song is made and maybe get back to playing the real thing. I used to think the same as John Mayer - via Rolling Stone magazine - that things like Guitar Hero are  "making it easy for untalented people to pretend they are good at playing the instrument". just another excuse for people to sit at home and think they were become proper musicians. After seeing how Paul has taken an interest in it, I really think it's a good thing. My only wish now is that someone will come up with something like "Synth Hero" for eighties throwbacks like me!

Filed under  //   activision   guitar hero   mistrust   music   paul harrison   playstation 3   ps3   rolling stone   special needs   synth   tune   videogame   web2.0   xbox   zx81  

Audio Podcasting for the idle blogger

Apart from actually reading out the various posts on here and recording what I'm saying, the only other way I can make an audio podcast of my blog ramblings is to use one of the many "audio feed" tools that are out on the web. There are quite a lot of these things suddenly appearing all over web, and if you're not familiar with them, they take the RSS feed from your blog and play it back using an articifial voice. I've used Talkr on my blog before and it had a nice synthetic feminine lilt to its voice. However, I can't seem to get on to their site anymore and fear that my audio feeds are no more.  So, what else can I use, seeing as though it's impossible to get any peace and quiet at home to record a podcast myself? Well, according to various blog posts, reviews, and promo sites there are several, so I thought I'd test what some of them sound like, and what other things they offer (eg the ability to add your audio blog to iTunes. Let's have a look at a few and compare what they sound like. First up.... odiogo Offers a whole "audio" and sharing page, including a link to subscribe in iTunes (which I've added to my "subscribe" links on here), plus a direct mp3 stream for each post. It also creates an M3u playlist. Here's an example or two - see what you think: A is for Amazon (on odiogo) Stream all articles Audiofeed This is the "free" version of Readspeaker, which seems to be making a big impression with allsorts of companies and organisations. It offers a HTML link to your own "audiofeed" page where there are a few sharing options, in addition to a player and direct to mp3 download for each 'cast. There's a really useful link to a mobile version of your page. More soon.... By the way, I'm trying out this new social networking toolbar called "GetSocial", to make it easier for people to bookmark these posts. So go on then, give me a whirl!!!

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Filed under  //   add me   audio   blogging   getsocial   mistrust   music   odeo   podcast   podcasting  
Posted July 14, 2008

A is for Amazon

Not exactly music-related, but some news anyway. I've recently had an article published in a popular e-learning magazine in the USA. I wrote about how young kids are growing up learning the language of the World Wide Web and how we should encourage them to become proficient in using the internet at an early age. The article was reproduced from my own e-learning blog that someone from the magazine found a while ago, and asked if they could publish it. I'm quite chuffed, as you can imagine, and it just adds to the the list of other articles/letters I've had published in the last year or two (eg in Future Music magazine). You can read the whole thing (and the rest of the magazine) online in a virtual magazine reader here at E-Learning Magazine's website (go to page 50 of the NextBook edition.) or see it in its original form on my e-learning blog. Also.... I'm seriously considering moving all my other blogs into one place (here!) as it's easier for me to keep tabs on what I'm writing and who's reading them.

Filed under  //   b2bmediaco   blog   blogging   children   e-learning   family   kids   mistrust   music   web2.0  
Posted June 17, 2008

Mixtape, Muxtape, MuddleTape

I was quite excited about the Muxtape idea that mentioned the other day, and it even got a mention in Dreamrapper's blog too. However, it's all gone a bit pear-shaped over at Muxtape's HQ and I feel a little bit foolish now. It looks like my twelve tracks have gone from my virtual tape and ended up in someone else's, as there've been one or two problems with their software and servers.

On May 21st, Muxtape experienced an error that caused every song in the database to be overwritten with the wrong artist & title. (from Muxtape's blog)
I must say that it was a very good concept, and right now I hope they manage to get everything sorted as soon as possible. If you're not too sure what Muxtape is, have a look at the article I wrote the other day for more information. By the way, I'm still on the hunt for recommendations etc., about the Presonus Firestudio. If you're using one, can you give me some info about it (pros and cons, that sort of thing) as there's just too much info to wade through on the web.

Filed under  //   firestudio   hardware   mistrust   muxtape   personal   presonus  
Posted June 1, 2008

Kids making electronic music 2

Following on from my previous post about how I started making music with various bits and pieces of old radios and things, I posted a comment on Createdigitalmusic's website about all it in an article about Kids making electronic music between the 60s and the 80s. I also I put in a link to "This is the Mood....", the track I made in the mid-80s using just a Jen SX1000, Casio MT31, and a Kay Drum Machine. I was really surprised to get a reply. I maybe expected maybe a "hmmm", or "well, it WAS the 80's". The reply came from the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher himself, Peter Kirn: "Excellent. Totally excellent". I'm convinced there's something in some of these old tracks of mine - maybe I have a plan.... Have a look at the original article on Createdigitalmusic, with all the comments: Kids making electronic music

Filed under  //   80s   artists   blog   mistrust   mp3   music   old   retro   songs   unsigned