14 minute read
Grooves
“FRIDAY”
u Riton x Nightcrawlers feat. Mufasa & Hyperman u Ministry of Sound/RCA Flexing a phat sample of the Nightcrawlers’ 1992 classic “Push the Feeling On,” this one’s a fun, party-style jam that should find a broad audience. Pop-leaning with electro-house flavors, it’s a peak-hour, dancefloor killer – no doubt. Check the “Dopamine Re-Edit – Extended.” – Jennifer Harmon
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’90S ANXIETY
u Jus Jam u Broken District A deep journey through an influential decade of rhythm-based music – replete with cultural signposts like video-game snippets, New Jack Swing grooves and cinematic dreamscapes – this six-tracker offers some genuine nuggets. “Neopolis Sound” flaunts a sleek and easy groove with jazzy flourishes, while “Higher Sense” pushes an airy, mildly psychedelic vibe with congas, tasty horns and a snappy breakbeat – a lovely groove. The title track offers a soulful R&B vocal over a skittering beat and an earworm sample and “Wide” drops some splendid 2-step flourishes. Deep jam delights.
– Jim Tremayne
u Nicola Fasano & Carmine Sorrentino feat. Miss Jane u One Seven While the original is sweet and ethereal, an excellent new “Jaydan Wolf Remix” brings a rugged bassline on top of some very cool angelic vocals. Lots of attitude on this little gem and the groove is a definite floor-banger. – Phil Turnipseed
u Random Soul u Random Soul Recordings This Aussie duo, Yogi and Husky, never seems to disappoint as they always bring their best to the dancefloor – and here’s another winner. With a preacher vocal throwing down atop sexy keys and bouncing house rhythms, this one will wake up the floor. Check the “Extended Club Mix” for full flavor. – Tommy D Funk
u Stranger Souma u PinkStar Black Straight outta Casablanca comes Stranger Souma and her delicious melodic vibe that is so evident on this gorgeous new cut. This one’s trippy and soulful and it delivers some cool world-beat grooves. Adventurous and very hot! – Phil Turnipseed
u Giolì & Assia u Ultra The Italian DJ/production duo starts this moody track with a driving beat and trance-laden accents, while maintaining a strong dancefloor vibe. With a beautiful, breathy vocal, highlighted by whimsical harp plucking, the cut offers just enough on the low end to keep a delicate, yet danceable groove going. Tasty. – Jennifer Harmon
Eats Everything Stranger Souma
Giolì & Assia Conor Ross
Random Soul Jus Jam
u Affective Sound u Sirup Music Sirup continues to pump out the sounds with another deep, dramatic, club killer. The latest from Romania’s Affective Sound delivers smooth vocals over a hypnotic bassline and perky little keys to form a sexy house piece. Catchy and cool.
– Phil Turnipseed
“LIFT”
u Conor Ross u Casablanca/Republic At the ripe age of 17, this U.K.-based talent has really nailed it with this night-bass gem. Initially bringing a classic, happy-house sound, the track then adopts a menacing tone. Dark, rolling bass morphs back and forth to the piano-driven sweetness for one delicious track. A midnight grinder with clever vocal accents, it’s irresistible.
– Jennifer Harmon
u Sam Lynch u Groove Soul Dropping an old-school diva vocal sample, this thumping house track delivers the goods. It’s a deep roller that features piano chords, rubbery bass and a deft 4/4 beat. If you’re a deep-house lover, check the “Classic Club Mix.”
– Tommy D Funk
“MISSING FEELINGS”
u Third Attempt u Beatservice A deep, slinky bassline-driven groove adds some tasteful sax, woodblocks and chimes, and becomes something quite sweet. Ethereal, soulful, jazzy, this one sets a chill tone and creates an ultra-comfy mood.
– Jim Tremayne
u Glass Slipper u Harmonious Discord The Texas-based duo of Brad Eller and Lisa Cork-Twiss deliver a sexy, vocal-house joint. Flaunting jazzy elements and murky vocal moments, this haunting number should win over soulful house lovers. And don’t sleep on the ultra-deep “Dub Mix.”
– Tommy D Funk
u Jordan Strong & Tony H feat. Ramiro u Uniting Souls Music Jordan Strong & Tony H return with a sublime house track. With its tasty conga beats, dubby effects, pulsing bassline and minimal synth melody, this one will definitely sink in. Out of several mixes, go right to “Sean Dimitrie’s Rub.” – Tommy D Funk
u Nicole Moudaber & Eats Everything u MOOD For this relentless and driving house track, this somewhat unlikely duo drops a rugged groove sporting some sassy vocal snippets. Add in some squelchy synth stabs, disorienting sirens and the inevitable, yet satisfying drop and you’ve got some wonderfully chaotic dancefloor fury.
– Jim Tremayne
“OOALH”
u Redondo & Ruben Golde u Future House Music Essentially, a dance remake of Yes’ “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” this one brings a
GUEST REVIEWER: BRANDON MORALES “GUNNY”
u Dale Howard u Techne Records This groover has been a real favorite for me lately. I love a baseline that dances, and so do the people who come to party. There’s nothing like a slamming track to draw the crowd to the dancefloor and let them know the party has officially begun. This thumper is one that really delivers.
Nicole Moudaber
Brandon Morales
full-bodied house vibe complete with lively piano and tough bassline. The vocals are strong and sure, and the overall groove delivers club energy. This could cross over in a big way.
– Phil Turnipseed
u Lucky Sun feat. Alison David u Lucky Sun Recordings Lucky Sun (aka Tom Lown) and vocalist David deliver a jazzy, deep-house jam that will captivate. With the lush vocals out front, this one oozes blissed-out vibes. For a more bumpin’ ride, check out the “Alvaro Hylander Remix.”
– Tommy D Funk
“MOONRAKER” EP
u Kimse u Brook Gee Kimse drops a bomb on us with this four-track EP, a deep-house journal that delivers lots of flavor. We love the deep, haunting groove from the title cut, as well as the minimal, yet intense soulful vibe of “Destination.” We’re also digging the quirky, liquid sound of “Sacrifice.” It’s a can’t-miss
EP that should definitely be in your crate.
– Phil Turnipseed
u DJ Minx feat. E-Man u Women on Wax
“We are in the midst of very strange times,” intones E-Man, and indeed we are. Over Minx’s deep, warped, house groove, longtime NYC DJ/spoken-word artist E-Man surveys a divided national landscape and asks the question of the moment: “Just how blind will America be?” Indicting, but ultimately hopeful, E-Man offers necessary food for thought. The moment is here – take a stand. – Jim Tremayne
(continued from page 20) your typical listening area; the product provides a number of options beyond simply a single user sitting in a working position at the mixing desk, but that’s actually the option most people would need. After that, the analysis begins, and the software takes you through the multiple steps involved. You’ll move the microphone position as the software guides you on your computer screen, and with each new position, the software generates analysis signals that it uses to understand frequency reproduction characteristics in your room. It takes a bit of time, but there’s nothing particularly difficult about the process.
On completion, the analysis settings are saved for use by the plugin, which is the second part of the software system, and is what brings everything together. The plug-in, provided in VST2, VST3, AAX and (on Macs) AU is simply dropped into the master track in your DAW (digital audio workstation) of choice — or whatever output bus is feeding its signal to your studio monitors. The plug-in then applies the various corrections to the signal before it’s routed to your monitors.
One of the things I rather liked about the plug-in is that you can select different target curves. For mixing, generally, you’ll want to set it to a flat response, but the software will emulate other response curves so you can get a simulated idea of what the mix might sound like in other select environments.
There are a couple of things worth pointing out about ARC 3, and they apply equally to other similar systems. First, you do need to remember to disable the plug-in before rendering out final audio. If you neglect to do so, the room corrections are applied to your recorded master, and you’ll be in for a real surprise when you go to listen to the mix in another environment. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made exactly this mistake.)
Second, it’s worth noting that no technology solution alone can perfectly tame every shortcoming of every studio environment, nor can it correct for a disastrously poor room (acoustically speaking) that lacks any soft surfaces of any kind. Think of ARC 3 as a complement to at least a basic collection of glass fiber or acoustic foam sound damping panels, or other similar solutions, properly installed.
In Summary
While IK Multimedia’s ARC System 3 is not the only solution of its type on the market, it’s an affordable, easyto-use way to help ensure that your mixes are accurate, despite whatever deficiencies you might have in your studio environment. In my view, it’s truly cheap insurance to be certain you’re getting the best results that you can out of your home-studio mixing and mastering sessions.
Sounding Off Bose
(continued from page 23) I should also mention the on button of the speaker is recessed, which reduces the likelihood of it being accidentally pressed. There is an IEC power port at the bottom of the mixer, which powers the whole unit via the included cable.
All functions on the mixer can also be controlled wirelessly through the free-to-download L1 Mix smartphone app. I had the ability to change channel levels and manipulate the equalizer on all channels with very low latency – I could see the speaker is registering my inputs because the lights on the mixer changed rapidly after I executed a command on the app.
The L1 Mix app also greatly enhances the Tonematch technology. On it, I could specify if a channel is receiving signal from a microphone or live instrument, but I could also specify what particular model of microphone or instrument the speaker is connected to. The engineers at Bose spent a great deal of time tailoring the speaker’s performance to specific products from Neumann, Sennheiser, Shure, Gibson, Martin, and many other brands.
Future updates will likely add more dedicated profiles for various audio products. Users can save specific speaker settings that can be recalled later on. For instance, if a DJ often plays at a specific venue, they can store their speaker settings and recall them every time they play at that venue.
As you would expect, the fit-andfinish of these speakers is flawless, and the sound quality is similarly impressive. The subwoofer in the L1 Pro8 is said to rival a 12-inch subwoofer, while the subwoofer in the L1 Pro16 rivals a 15-inch subwoofer. In my testing, I found my L1 Pro16 was able to achieve high volumes without sacrificing sound quality or introducing distortion. Even within mellower decibel ranges, I found the sound quality to be crystal-clear, if not approaching audiophile territories.
A testament to the angled driver design, my listening experience was equally good when facing the speaker straight on or when listening at an angle. This wide coverage lets the L1 Pro make its presence known within a room.
The Bose L1 Pro series is a different sort of speaker, one that comes from a brand that’s been known to push the envelope when it comes to pro-audio equipment. These speakers would be good choices for bars, lounges, live venues, or mobile DJs, as they could show off a differentlooking speaker design from a name that has long been associated with
Sounding Off Rane
(continued from page 23)
Arguably the most important part of any battle mixer are the faders, and the SEVENTY-TWO MKII does not disappoint in this arena. Both line faders and the crossfader use RANE’s contactless Mag Four fader, and there are almost an unlimited number of options for fader customization on the front of the unit. DJs can control contour and reverse the directionality of all three faders. Additionally, the crossfader has a hardware tension knob, and I was able to dial in my desired level of resistance. Straight out of the box, the line faders seemed well-balanced, and I didn’t miss having tension adjustment knobs for the line faders. Just above the fader section are eight MPC-style RGB-backlit performance pads. When the mixer is connected to Serato DJ, these pads control a number of different software features, including cues, loops, slicer, sampler, and pitch play. Even when the mixer is not connected to DJ software, the pads can still trigger several different types of hardware effects. Both software and hardware effects can also be triggered by the two aluminum paddles: pulling them down temporarily activates an effect, while pushing them up locks in an effect. As with other mixers in this class, each channel features a 3-band EQ and a high/low pass filter on each channel.
The centerpiece of the SEVENTYTWO MKII has to be the 4.3-inch, full-color touchscreen between the two channels. When the mixer is connected to Serato DJ, users can browse and load tracks, view track waveforms, and control various features within Serato DJ. (Like the TWELVE MKII, this unit also works with VirtualDJ and Traktor, although the screen functionality is limited with the latter software.) My favorite feature is touch effects, which turns the screen into an X-Y pad that controls effect time and a high/low pass filter. Interestingly, even when the mixer is not connected to software, the mixer and the screens still proved useful: I could still control the onboard effects with the paddles or with the touchscreen, and the mixer certainly didn’t feel underwhelming without DJ software.
The SEVENTY-TWO MKII packs just about every possible input and output under the sun. There are two mic inputs on combo jacks, and both mic inputs can run line-level sources and have dedicated volume and tone controls. Each main channel has a switchable phono/line level input on RCA jacks and an auxiliary input on RCA jacks – using a knob at the top of each channel, DJs can select whether the channel is controlling a software deck from USB A or USB B, an analog line phono or line-level source, or the auxiliary source.
Above the channel inputs, there are two grounding pins for turntables. There is a session in and out on RCA jacks, a booth monitor output on TRS jacks, and a master output for XLR cables. Each of these outputs has a dedicated volume knob, which is a blessing for DJs who perform on large stages or nightclubs.
The SEVENTY-TWO MKII also has two USB type B ports for connecting the device to a maximum of two computers running DJ software and two USB type A ports to connect other devices. I thought the extra USB type A ports were a really nice touch. Plugging in the SEVENTYTWO MKII mixer and two TWELVE MKII controllers occupies three USB ports on a computer; however, with these two built-in ports, I can connect the mixer and two controllers to my laptop with just a single connection. Like the TWELVE MKII, the mixer is powered by an IEC cable. There are two headphone connections – one 1/8-inch jack and one ¼-inch jack – that can be sent signal from any individual channel or the master output.
Using the SEVENTY-TWO MKII was a real treat. There’s a lot of advanced features in this mixer that push the user to new levels of mixing. This mixer hits all the basics – the faders are butter-smooth, and all the inputs and outputs I could want are present – but it also brings in a lot of advanced features that I enjoyed using.
The killer feature is the screen. Being able to browse my library and load tracks directly from the mixer means I can be more engaged
upscale audio equipment. The design of these speakers is also very appealing: it’s a self-contained, sleek, and futuristic departure from the tradition. Well-done, Bose.
The L1 Pro8 will retail for $1,199, the L1 Pro16 will retail for $1,799, the L1 Pro32 with Sub1 will retail for $2,699, and the L1 Pro32 with Sub2 will retail for $3,099. Sub1 ($799) and Sub2 ($1,199) can also be purchased separately.
