Born and raised in El Paso, TX, now I call Chicago my adopted home. When not unearthing forgotten musical gems, I try to make some time to write my own music using acoustic guitars, MIDI controllers, and electric violin.
Moog Subharmonicon Demo
Let your imagination run wild with Moog’s Subharmonicon, a dual-oscillator semi-modular analog synth that uses subharmonic generators and multi-layered sequencers to create extremely deep and unforeseeable organic arrangements. Patch it into a rig outfitted with Moog’s other evolutionary desktop instruments — the DFAM and Mother-32 — and hear your music turn literally upside down, producing surprising harmonies generated […]
Rethinking Your Home Music Studio
In light of the ongoing global pandemic, the vast majority of us now find ourselves forgoing any trip to a practice space, club or record studio. That doesn’t mean our musical escape ends at home, however. The largest struggle we’re facing creatively is how to deal with our current situation at home constructively. Now is […]
Denon DJ Prime 2 Demo
Cut the cables and leave it all behind with Denon DJ’s Prime 2 standalone smart DJ console. Powered by Denon DJ’s Engine OS and driven by a 7-inch HD multi-touch, multi-gesture screen, Prime 2 features extensive media connectivity, letting you tap into your digital crates through two 6-inch jog wheels and an intuitive workflow. Built […]
Elektron Model:Cycles Demo
If two is always better than one, make it a pair with Elektron’s latest Model — the Model:Cycles FM groovebox. A perfect complement to Elektron’s Model:Samples, the Model:Cycles focuses on rhythm and melody via a tactile digital FM workstation. Removing all the superfluous stuff coming between you and imagination, the new Model:Cycles is designed to […]
A Journey to MIDI Guitar Land: Part III
Do you know when I had the most fun using a MIDI guitar controller? When I forgot I had a guitar in my hand. It feels liberating to say this but: using the guitar merely as this vessel to do other far more interesting things with it was beyond revelatory. In this post, I’ll share […]
A Journey to MIDI Guitar Land: Part II
Not many dedicate a whole post to what you can’t do with something, but allow me to break a cardinal rule for a reason. Do you ever have one of those “a-ha” moments when things just click? I have to say, I had one quite recently when going through the land of guitar MIDI control […]
A Journey to MIDI Guitar Land: Part I
Lions lying down with lambs. Hams being stuffed into turkeys. Keyboards being turned into keytars. Guitars being turned into MIDI controllers. There are many things that many people consider an aberration (if not an abomination). Once, I felt the same way. But then I tried to turn my electric guitar into a MIDI controller. It […]
Beat Techniques: Ambisonic Music Production
Ambisonics is a phrase used to describe a way of listening to sound beyond the mono and stereo world we’re normally exposed to through headphones and speakers. Ambisonics is immersive audio coming to you from all angles — left, right, north, and south. If you’ve caught any of the previous Beat Connection posts, you’re probably […]
Beat Tools: Generative Music Software for iOS
Where were we before? First, I covered what “generative music” is, and its origins. Then, I wrote of taking generative music out of the sphere of pen-and-staff-paper and into the world of software — and pointed you toward the desktop-computer-based software that can help you add computer-generated compositions into your creative space. Today, we go […]
