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.
Now without further introduction: The Danish Beatles…erhm what? I mean, with a little introduction here’s: The Boogie Beatles. The Boogie Beatles you say? Yes, exactly. That’s I meant to say. Why would one say that if such an idea doesn’t quite register without a bit of an introduction. Ok, here’s one: In 1971, young singer-songwriter […]
Roots Music is an ongoing series where we attempt to trace the influence of certain music genres and instruments. In our previous post, we showed you the rise of the Berlin School of Electronic Music; now we’ll show you the role it would play in shaping Electronic Dance Music. If one would want to feel the history […]
Destination: Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Roland Corporation Headquarters, 1977 We might not realize it, but the Roland company we know now is entirely different than the one it was shaping up to be in its early days. When Ikutaro Kakehashi, founder of Roland, started his first venture into musical instruments, it was indebted to his love for time. […]
— Dave Smith Tetra Desktop Synthesizer Dave Smith Instruments jokes that the Tetra is a sort of “mini Prophet.” Years ago, most people would say the idea of a device at this price coming close to recreating the Prophet’s unique polyphonic sound would be out of the question. The Mopho teased the idea of recreating the […]
Here at zZounds we try to keep it 100. At least I do. Up top, or in the post, you’ll see an embedded link to audio for Philly-born Jazmine Sullivan’s album Reality Show released early this year. What you’re going to miss by hearing this clean version of her album is what makes it an unqualified success. It’s […]
Mark Barrott is a very smart man. However, being smart doesn’t always mean you’ll make great music. In my opinion, sometimes the intellect gets in the way of the feeling. Not so with Mark. On his criminally unheralded album “Sketches from an Island” takes a much maligned style, the music of Ibiza, and reinvigorates it […]
Roots Music is an ongoing series where we attempt to trace the influence of certain music genres and instruments. In this two-part opener, we’ll first trace how the Berlin School of Electronic Music began, and eventually (in the second part) how its innovations have left their mark on current electronic dance music. What exactly is the Berlin School […]