SumOne

Whatever it is, I like SA pedals being more knobby!

My perennial problem with multi-fx strikes! They can do lots of complex stuff, but complexity isn't good if it causes confusion - especially if it complexity isn't needed for what I'm doing. Last gig I played, I clicked on the single FS I'd set for Tuner (as the double FS press has caused issues), but I think I'd also pressed a dial in with my foot at the same time as it jumped to some far off (very different sounding) Preset....which led to some fast clicking to try and get back to the Preset I wanted. Also, at one point I wanted a more distorted Drive, but I didn't want it enough to actually start clicking around in the fx blocks and making adjustments to it for fear of some unintended consequences. ...during the gig started hankering for a return to a simple setup of TU-3, Drive, Compressor. That's the first stage of the multi-fx to individual pedals cycle.

I'm planning a mix (got a DJ set in a couple of weeks) and that was my thinking: A few versions of Real Rock mixed up, (including the Original and the Scientist version), then that 'Johnny Osbourne perhaps leading into Ice Cream Lover and then Under Me Sensi, then Under Me Sleng Teng. Currently getting into the 'Im Still In Love With You' Riddim, probably going from that into 'No No No' (Dawn Penn going into the Joe Gibbs version). ......although when it actually comes to it live, that will probably all be out of the window!

'Real Rock'..... run the riddim!

Good pub gig list night. Lots of people dancing and singing along to our Ska versions, it seems to work well - not just playing bog standard ska tunes or pub pop/rock covers, putting a different spin adds a bit of originality/interest while also being familiar enough for diverse pub crowd to get into. My feedback to the band will be that DJs (or at least good ones) read the crowd and play music to keep the dancefloor busy. Likewise, some flexibility in the band setlist would be good.

Sugar Minott 'one step ahead'

Lifting up an old cab last week I realised how lucky I am to have a modern one which is probably less than half the weight and sounds just as good/loud if not better. And I'm a bit behind the times with this, but I'm just now moving from DJing with vinyl to digital - I wish I did it years ago. Obviously a digital file isn't collectable like a record, but in terms of DJing it is much more versatile and practical.

RIP Gaps

Jah Screechy, Walk and Skank 'Answer' riddim. Sampled on SL2 'on a ragga tip'

Following that logic, there's close to zero 'cost' of being a Spotify CEO.

Reviving this! I know Aftobeat generally is more associated with the Fela Kuti kind if sound/era, but some of the best pop music from anywhere nowadays is from Nigeria, I suppose it's just Nigerian Pop rather than Aftobeat, anyway, whatever you want to call it - I'm loving this stuff:

The best sunshine pop tune I've heard in a while:

Decent bit of new Dancehall: SHY FX, Mr. Williamz, Breakage, 'Shebeen'

Do streaming services pay any PRS royalties at all?

Couldn't the 'it exploits artists' issue also count for Radio? Artists want to be on these platforms as they mostly treat it in the same way as Radio (and at least they can choose to be on streaming platforms or not). They'll get a small amount of income (streams or royalties), but that's not the real benefit - it gives them exposure so they can make money in other ways: merchandise, vinyl, downloads, live audiences, and increases their social media audience (Selena Gomez gets $2.5m per advertising Instagram post, Ariana Grande $2.2m) It's why I wouldn't be too concerned about recording from streaming services, it doesn't make much difference to artists and still helps them achieve their main objective of getting their music heard - so you are more likely to see them live, or follow them on social media etc. And I don't think the amount of people that can be bothered to record are going to be the downfall of streaming services. There was probably fuss over jukeboxes 'killing live music', and radio, and home taping, and go back far enough there was probably concern that recorded music being bad for live musicians. Streaming is just the latest thing, there will be something else in a couple of years: AI is already curating playlists.

If you can be bothered with it: Free trial for a month, build lists of everything you want, record, cancel subscription. Repeat with different services. It's not illegal: https://audials.com/en/company-audials-ag/streaming-recording And if you feel bad for the denying the income an artist would otherwise have made from streaming (I wouldn't feel too bad, Spotify pays artists $0.003 per stream - artists are on there for exposure rather than direct revenue) then you could help them out a lot more by spending the money you saved in subscriptions by buying stuff like vinyl and merchandise direct from them and seeing them live.

That is sort of my attitude, I've got well over 1000 records and about 1TB of digital music so it'd take years to listen through everything I have. However, I don't have ALL the good music ever made, and people are still making good music....so unless I take the view that I don't want to listen to anything else because I already own all the best music there ever was and ever will be, then streaming is a quite attractive option. Personally, I quite like the halfway house that is not paying for streaming, but finding new stuff via things like online radio show and mixes and digging through online shops and Bandcamp's free streaming and then instead spend that money on downloads or vinyl.

I use Spotify, it seems the biggest library of music and a decent interface. I'm about to cancel it though and see how I get on spending the equivalent money on downloads - to encourage myself to get back into a bit of digging around/quality control to find things I really like and pay to own them forever and properly listen to them rather than just 'streaming' through 100's of mediocre songs every week. I'd recommend Bandcamp. It's not got much mainstream stuff, but it's really good for independent stuff and buying more directly from the artists, and even without buying it's still pretty good for streaming (free) but takes a bit more digging around rather than having playlists made for you.

Yeah, I've found them to be good. Especially as people pay a bit more from a shop than they do from a Private sale, so I've actually got more £ from a hassle free commission sale via Bass Gallery than I'm sometimes able to get selling Privately. Getting the stuff to Bass Gallery might be an issue though - either having to drive it all over, or having to post it and perhaps getting hit with taxes.

I think they are one of the only groups that can pull it off as artistic endeavour: Given that they never signed to a major label and they've always done things quite originally, and their love of kung fu sort of mythology, and this album being titled 'once upon a time in Shaolin' (which fits with previous albums), it's the sort of rare/mystical 'artefact' that fits into the themes they've always had. And (so far, after 9 years) true to their word, this hasn't been more widely released or heard. I think it'd have been better if they'd gone all out though and made it a from gold vinyl or a phonograph cylinder or something, a CD seems a bit cheap and common!