«Dagsavisen» is a daily newspaper published in Oslo,
Norway. A few days ago they came to Zurich to write about the music
scene and mentioned AN MOKU and Les Gourmandises de Miyuko (his
little café) as well. Takk!!! Read the full article.
introduction
Kaossilatoren…
Seit 2008 besitze ich einen Kaossilator, den ich damals in Tokyo gebraucht gekauft habe. Um ganz ehrlich zu sein, ich habe paar Aufnahmen damit gemacht, die ich auch verwendete, aber mich nie ernsthaft damit beschäftigt. Mittlerweile gibt es diverse Nachfolger, Pro, Pro+ und iKaossilator.
Hier ein kleiner Überblick:
The Korg Kaossilator KO-1 is a portable dynamic-phrase synthesizer manufactured by Korg. It is capable of producing a wide range of sounds, can produce a continuous music loop, and can be tuned to various keys and scales.
Being related to the Korg Kaoss Pads, the Kaossilator is a synth that is played touching a pad that is not unlike a trackpad on laptop computers. For most sounds, moving horizontally on the touchpad changes the pitch over a range of two octaves (in one case, only one octave; for several sounds the range is much more than two octaves). For some sounds, horizontal movement affects a non-pitch parameter. Moving vertically usually modulates the sound in some way.
The Kaossilator features 100 programs, which are mostly synthesizer voices and sound effects, including acoustic (guitar, trumpet,piano), percussion, and electronic sounds. The last 10 programs are complete rhythm-patterns, but since percussion sounds are included in the programs, users can develop their own rhythm-patterns by layering multiple overdubbed sounds. Programs are indicated only by a letter-and-two-digit designation on the LED display but are given specific names in the instructions. Most instruments can be locked into various keys and scales. The Kaossilator supports 31 different scale patterns including chromatic, blues and diatonic scales as well as more exotic scales such as Japanese and Egyptian.
The Kaossilator also has a gate arpeggiator and a loop function that allows the layering of instruments to produce loops. The loop recording function is somewhat limited, as the maximum length is two bars in 4/4 time. Despite this limitation, some artists have recorded full-length albums with the Kaossilator.
It is possible to overcome the two-bar limit as the Kaossilator records audio to memory. To do this the user sets the tempo to the desired value – 150 for example – and records his part. The tempo is then set to exactly half the tempo of before, in this case 75. When played back one hears the first two bars but then two more will be available afterwards.
Another way to fully overcome the two-bar limit is by powering up the Kaossilator while holding down the Tap and Loop Rec buttons. Doing this will make four bars available (by setting the Loop Length to 16), but this disables the Undo function.
An updated Kaossilator KO-2 was unveiled at the 2012 NAMM show, with 150 programs, two sound-banks, a save for audio files on a micro-SD card, built-in microphone and speaker, and touch-slide with + and – step buttons instead of a knob. The Kaossilator 2 was released in April 2012 at a retail price of US$160.
Korg unveiled the Kaossilator Pro at NAMM on 14 January 2010. The device has a metal casing similar to the Kaoss Pad 3 (KP3), but its touchpad (divided into an 8×8 grid of rectangles) is back-lit with green lights instead of the KP3’s red lights.
The larger pad makes it easier to hit specific notes compared to the original Kaossilator. It offers 200 sounds, vocoder patches, four channels of looping, MIDI, a gate arpeggiator, 31 scales, editor software, and other features. Unlike the original Kaossilator, it allows music-loops and settings to be saved on an SD memory card.
The Kaossilator Pro+ Version has even 250 sounds. The whole system has been unpated. Bigger and better.
A software-only version is available as an application for Apple’s iPhone and iPad. The iKaossilator offers 150 sounds, a 5-track loop sequencer, scale/key settings, WIST support and the ability to save/resume an ongoing project but does not have an arpeggiator.
Bald mehr…
teenage engineering
Hell yeah! But what is this little white thing that looks like Korg’s nanoKey from a distance?
Let’s take a closer look…
The first time that I have realized an OP-1 portable synthesizer was in the studio live performance of Depeche Mode’s «Broken». To be honest at that time I thought that DM is performing a plugin with a nanoKEY. But it was not so. Some days ago I have made a post about Meme Antenna from Brooklyn and their customized modular systems. They had a plastic synthesizer with little plastic knobs and other additional plastic gadgets to buy there as well. Back in the hotel I had to find out more about that toy synthesizer and found a lot which impressed me!
This is DM’s studio live performance. If you do not like the track, just skip to 0:33 and 0:39 to see the OP-1 in action.
I went to the homepage of Teenage Engineering and got impressed by that video:
The accessory demonstration is great! If you like to play with Lego or even go for DIY instruments, you like it. Further on a full review by Sonicstate:
«Do you need it? I do not know. Do you want it? Hell yeah, I’d love one!»
rudy’s music stop: electro-harmonix
Four years ago I have bought my Zoom h4n at Manny’s Musical Instruments shop. A nice shop with a quiet wide range of all instruments. Now the shop is closed forever. A new one is too far away in the 33th Street and it is called Sam Ash Music Store. This is what the internet says and it did not mention, that Manny’s is closed. So, while it is raining it decide to go to Rudyl’s Music Stop – A tiny music store vis a vis. I saw it four years ago, but I did not have the time to check it out. Today I did. At Rudy’s I have meat Dave. We spoke about Electro-Harmonix, since I am very pleased with my Memory Man Delay, I was looking for a Reverb FX. He showed me the FX they have in stock and Cathedral made it. Not cheap, but of great quality made in New York. I came to NYC with a decision of buying Korg’s Kaoss Pad Quad. If i would see it somewhere in a shop by chance, propably I would buy it. And now I am happy I did not. I think if Korg is going to work on the Quad as they did with Kaossilator and Kaoss Pad, the updated version of the Quad will be worth of a purchase.
The Cathedral blew my mind! See you again in four years at Rudy’s Music Stop :-)
Customized Analog Modular Systems
If you are ever in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY – you have to go to this small shop called MeMe Antenna. These guys sell decoration stuff, music and customized analog modular systems. Wide range and not expencive at all. The two nerdy japanese guys are doing the customized stuff and sell this as Modular 3U or 6U Bento Boxes and Happy Ending KIts. Very nice!
«Continious»
Listening to «Continious» in Soho, New York- a track made with Adriano Orrù’s double bass. This might be the opener of the upcoming album. 
Zen Lu at Free Outdoor Concert in Baptist University 2011
Zen Lu starts his set with my track called «Schneeflocken» from the album «STILLE». I am honored. :-)
MONONOCLE Review @ Ambient Exotica
Thank you very much for your effort, Bjorn!
The review is written in english.
Working with Adriano Orrù
In a few weeks I am going to start the cooperation with Adriano Orrù, Composer and double bass player.
About this great musician:
Composer and double bass player Adriano Orrù was born in Nuoro, Italy in 1958 and now lives and works in Cagliari. He devotes his time to jazz, radical improvisation, chamber music. He also works as a music teacher.
Orrù has collaborated with artists such as Giancarlo Schiaffini, Paolo Fresu, Tony Oxley, Lenka Zupkova, Ettore Fioravanti, Roberto Cipelli, Marco Tamburini, Tino Tracanna, Andy Gravish, Tim Hodkinson, Marcello Magliocchi, Victor Nubla, Simon Balestrazzi, Silvia Corda, Takatsuna Mukai, Henning Frimann, Renato Ciunfrini, Guro Skumsnes Moe, Håvard Skaset, Angelo Contini, G.P. Campus, Corrado Altieri, Monica Serra, Mauro Cossu, Clara Murtas, Stella Veloce, Sebastiano Meloni, Alessandro Garau, Stefano Figliola, Alessandro Olla, Paolo Angeli, Manuel Attanasio, Elia Casu, Mauro Usai, Paolo Sanna, Roberto Pellegrini, Carla Onni, Giacomo Calabrese, Sara Marasso, Mario Faticoni, Riccardo Pittau, and Massimo Carboni.
He has recorded for Splasc(h), Digitalis Purpurea, Comar23, TiConZero, Big Round Records, Setola di maiale, Magick With Tears, LaBèl.
Together with the pianist Silvia Corda, he co-wrote a performance for six musicians and a spoken voice entitled “Portrait in Three Colors” and dedicated to Charles Mingus. Orrù works with the Silvia Corda Trio on a regular basis, and several of his compositions can be heard on the trio’s Impronte, a CD produced by Splasc(h) in 2001. In 2004, he established the composition and improvisation ensemble Impromptu featuring Giancarlo Schiaffini. In 2005, he published a live CD of the Impromptu quintet and the first recording in his own name: Solos and Duets, a work dedicated to double bass solos and duets with Giancarlo Schiaffini on trombone, Paolo Angeli on Sardinian prepared guitar, and Roberto Pellegrini on percussion. He has also worked with Moex, an ensemble focused on electric-acoustic experimentation. In 2010 Big Round Records has published a CD “Improvised pieces for trio” with Sebastiano Meloni on the piano and Tony Oxley on drums. A new CD titled“Untitled Soundscapes” performed by A Sphere Of Simple Green (Silvia Corda on prepared piano, Simon Balestrazzi on laptop and Adriano on the double bass) was released in 2011 by the label Magick with tears. A free downloadable EP, “Hèsperos”, was released by LaBèl netlabel in 2011 as well, the work is a double-bass solo. In 2012 the label Setola di maiale released “Collettivo di resistenza culturale” a full improvised concert live recorded.
Reviews of his work have appeared in Down Beat, Il Manifesto, Musica Jazz, Cadence, Jazzit, Cuadernos de Jazz, All About Jazz, L’Unione Sarda, La Nuova Sardegna, Double Bassist, Jazzword, One Final Note, Flash Art, and on Radio 3 RAI.
He has performed at events such as Isole che parlano, Time in Jazz, Ai confini tra Sardegna e Jazz, Concerts of the Nuoro Jazz Seminary, Jazz d’autore, Cerisano Jazz, Varese in Jazz, Jazz in Sardinia, Veneto Jazz, San Teodoro Jazz, Sardegna Arte Fiera, Musica sulle Bocche, The Barcelona Lem Festival, Senni Jazz, Isole che parlano, The Signal Festival, Festival Spaziomusica.
Made my year tracks 2012:
Deftones – Leathers (Koi No Yokan 2012) // The Civil Wars – Falling (Burton Hollow 2012) // Black Sun Empire – Feed the machine (From the Shadows 2012) // The Cinematic Orchestra – Music box (Ma Fleur 2007) // Angus and Julia Stone – Chocolates & Cigarettes (Mamories of an old friend 2011) // Bonobo – Stay the same (Black sands 2010) // Arovane – The storm (Tides 2000) // Radiohead – All I need (In Rainbows 2007) // Melody Gardot – Baby I’m a fool (My one and only thrill 2009) // Bnibs – Lake heights (Harmonia 2012) // Max Raabe – Ninon (Übers Meer 2010) // Ella Fritzgerald – I’ve got a crush on you (Ella sings Gershwin 1950) // Moderat – Rusty nails (Moderat 2009) // Massive Attack – Tear drop (Mezzanine 1998)
An Moku 