These are my two cats. Gabriel and Loki.

Gabriel’s the orange tabby doberman-cross and Loki’s the white opera-singing baby.

I adopted Gabriel about a year and a half ago from this blog run by Miyuki and Rayna. Gabriel was their first foster case in Malaysia.

He was so small and extremely feisty. Still is.

Loki came from Dawn, who worked with me back in EuroRSCG. He meows very articulately with very precise pitch.

We think he knows the answers to every question, we just can’t understand him.

My meow-meows keep me sane.

A few minutes after sunrise has always been one of my favorite times to practice on the CDJs. There’s just something about that cool blue light filling up the house.

Nightclub culture wouldn’t be what it is if it didn’t spend its formative years in the dark. But when did dance culture go the same way?

I guess that’s why outdoor psytrance experiences have always been so fun. Especially how many of these gigs have DJs specifically for the mornings.

And it’s a different experience compared to listening to a DJ play for an entire night then into the following morning. After 8 hours of continuous dancing, your mind and body respond very differently. Tiredness calls for completely different kind of music.

This isn’t the morning I’m describing.

Dancing in the dark has become a bad habit. If you are truly uplifted by the act of dancing, by dance music, then stop hiding behind the parcans, strobes, and smoke machines. There’s a much better venue.

Try this, compose yourself a ‘morning playlist’, it really doesn’t matter what style or genre it is, you don’t even have to play it loudly. No headphones allowed.

It helps if the tracks serve to inspire, energize, or even heal.

Double-plus good mornings call for double-plus morning music.

Make sure fresh, clean air is moving about. Then let your playlist do it’s work.

Don’ forget to share your results and playlists here.

Daniel (DJ Sanuk) mentioned this sutra to me. It’s a really wonderful experience to meet someone who has attained such a high level of self-awareness. I hope you find this as illuminating:

Rely not on the teacher/person, but on the teaching.
Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the spirit of the words.
Rely not on theory, but on experience.
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
Do not believe anything because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything because it is written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

- the Buddha

So far this has been one of the lighter, more straightforward direction towards clarity. However, getting past the ego is something else altogether (my ego…)

How’s YOUR ego doing?

Also, here’s the Wikipedia entry on the Kalama Sutra

Cheese (Sumerian) = FATHER OF EVILS.

Beware what you play.

(DJs really DO have conversations like this sober)
(Really)

At the end of September, I left KL to play my first gig on the island republic of Singapore. We’re close allies with the Om Project, who are the acting node of connecting Singapore to the rest of the South East Asian psychedelic music network.

Farida headed down with me for what would be a tremendously successful gig full of happy, explosive energies I doggie-bagged from Kuala Lumpur. I love sharing good vibes and the Om Project team had definitely set up the right frequency for it. It was massive, and full of good memories.

We managed to successfully record the gig as evidence of the 3rd encounter. Without ego, I say this one of better recordings.

Anyway, here’s the mix. I hope you’d be able to feel what I felt as Home Club hopped on the full-on bus and trusted me to take them to Hyperion and back. A silicon-cyberpunk sound with some of my favorite producers:

Proxy Metatron @ Equinox with Om Project, Singapore [20th September]

Tracklist -

1 - Intro
2 - First Contact - Hadouken vs Complex
3 - Andes Train - Erofex
4 - Alien Attack - Sirius Isness & Space Tribe
5 - Superheroes - Ferby Boys Vs Bizzare Contact
6 - Moonstomp - Sabretooth
7 - Natural Vibes - Visual Contact
8 - The Vision - Xerox & Illumination
9 - High Technology - Life Style
10 - Trippy - Massive Vs Outer Signal
11 - Denki Korogi - Psysex Vs Space Cat
12 - Techno Logic - Bamboo Forest
13 - No Others - Orpheus
14 - Virtual Space - Basic
15 - Conga Eel - Sabretooth
16 - Shoot - Sirius Isness
17 - Space Time Object - E.V.P
18 - Cosmic Dentrites - Sangeet
19 - Bounce Buda - Chromatone Vs Beyond
20 - Universal Test (Life Style Rmx) - Shanti vs D-Tek
21 - Subliminal - Onyx
22 - Don’t Be Silly! - Sirius Isness And Bliss
23 - Defractyl (Zion Rmx) - Hujaboy
24 - Intercontinental - Proxy Metatron
25 - Fatality - Phyx

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ‘Proxy Metatron @ Equinox with Om Project, Singapore [20th September]‘ (Right-click -> Save as)

A big thank you to the Om Project team for trusting me at the driver’s seat!

Hey, but leave me a comment guys, I’d love to hear what you think.

Packed with home-brew software, a funky interface, and WIFI — the Nintendo DS has already staked itself deeply into the future of portable music-making.

Here’s a roundup of some of my favorite videos featuring the DS:

1.) Theremin, NDS, Keyboards, and one of the best songs off Daft Punk’s Discovery album. There’s something about THIS.

2.) The Korg DS-10 Synth on 4 NDSs synchronized with game cables. *DROOL!*

3.) Scratching on Protein on an NDS

4.) DStep V2 Step Sequencer on an NDS powering a Nord Micro Modular.

5.) DSMIdiWIFI. NDS + WIFI + Audio Sequencer = JAWESOME!

6.) Glitch-jammer rejoice! GlitchDS cellular sequencer producer some freaky 8-bit sounds.

Now I know what I want for Christmas!

For a comprehensive list of Nintendo DS Music applications, head down to Remain Calm’s very definitive list.

I spent 5 minutes on hobnox.com’s interesting Audiotool. If you’ve been having fun with Propellerheads Reason (which is a killer KILLER production software) you’re going to have allot of fun with this.

Here are some highlights:

• Beautifully Flash driven interface.
• A huge scalable workspace.
• Tonnes of beautifully rendered stompboxes.
• TR-808, TR-909, and TB-303 models.
• Each instrument and effects loads upon dragging onto the work surface (nice and efficient)
• AND you can record tracks.

For a web-app. This is damn cool, you can’t complain. However:

• Why not a more decent mixer … with faders?
• Can we have less Roland-fanservice. Throw in an Oberheim, or a Korg.
• Not a really super-accurate emulation (especially the filters).

Head over and take a look. Tonnes of fun.

HOBNOX.COM AUDIOTOOL

Humor this line of thinking…

Who are you entertaining?

Should they be?

Or are they not.

If so, why?

If then, what is the point?

This is really not meant to be a rhetorical post. I’m genuinely interested in knowing what the intentions behind your choice of being a DJ or performer are.

Why do you choose to entertain?

And if so…

How can you tell if you are?

Let’s discuss.

Music industry mogul, Danny Goldberg has a pretty beefy portfolio as the PR guy for gigantic bands like KISS, Led Zepplin, as well as the manager for Nirvana.

Listen to what this guy has to say, there some truths that also apply to the dance music culture that we really need to take heed off.

What do you think? How are DJ’s requiring an additional edge to survive this competitive industry?

You can learn more about Danny Goldberg HERE.

Got this from The New Rockstar Philosophy. A fantastic blog I found on Twitter.

Here’s some pet peeves that I come across when I’m reading DJ bios. Take note of these; they can really make or break how you present yourself.

5. “Inspired by…”

Wrong: “Inspired by Ryan Seacrest and Yanni : Live at the Acropolis”

WHO THE !@#!ing CARES?! Dropping artist names to fluff up your bio, especially if you’re only inspired by them, serve you ZERO purpose. Except maybe let on that you’re a gigantic poser that has a huge MP3 collection.

If you’re going to drop names, drop names of people you have actually worked with. Being the water boy does not count; bong technician, maybe.

Warming up for a big act also scores points.

4. “Have been to…”

Wrong: “Went to the Winter Music Conference to see Tiesto.”

Going someplace, or attending some event is not the same as having played or organized an event. Again, alludes to the possibility that you’re a poser douche-bag.

Include events that you helped to put together. Communicating to your audience about how you contribute to the scene is WAY more impressive than being a backseat sheep attendee.

Also include places that you’ve played at - include two to three gigs that REALLY matter in the main bio. You can put your full list of formal appearances on another sheet.

3. “Sounds like…”

Wrong: “His mixing style is like Grooverider and Roger Sanchez COMBINED!”

*Shrug* Like a prison bitch cokehead.

You can’t TELL anyone what you sound like. Let them HEAR you. Let them SEE you. But please… PLEASE don’t TELL them.

Jacking up people’s expectations verbally, without demonstration, is a sure-fire way to have an audience clear the floor after you drop poo-poo onto the platter. Demonstrating through audio and video helps with managing the expectations of the people you are performing for.

Why do you think we ask for mixes all the time?

2. “You will be amazed…” ” You will be impressed…” “You will not be disappointed when he steps to the decks…” etc etc.

Wrong : “When he is tearing up the wheels you never know what sound is right around the corner, with the element of surprise being his niche he will keep you moving and wondering what’s next.” (this was from a real bio)

The more you tell me that I will like you, the more you tell me that you’re full of shit. Why are you rationalizing for me? Why are you boring? Why should I care in the first place. Please f**k off.

You can change all of this by including testimonials from OTHER people and what THEY thought about your mix. It holds way more credibility and it doesnt make you out to be some hopeless ego-case.

Finally…

1. “He’s a Child Prodigy…”

Wrong: “He’s been mixing since the tender itty-witty age of 15…”

Awww… he’s so young. So precious.

MOZART was a CHILD PRODIGY. Unless you were !@#!@ing scratching at the age of 3 and writing anthems for Tiesto at 5, you are NOT a Child Prodigy.

If you’re adding this point just to say how long you’ve been doing it, then it’s only going to point out how long you’ve been struggling to create an impact.

If you’ve been mixing since you were 15 and you got your 1st gig when you were 27 - and you still think you’re a child prodigy. Then you are a douche.

But with that said. Child prodigies DO exist:

—

So keep a look out for these points in any bios and press packs that you might be recieving in the future. Promoters and A&R people are trained to spot these kinds of embellishments, leaving your demo and bio in the rejected bin.

Create a truly unique, stand-out bio that demonstrates your accolades in a non-pretentious, douchebag way - I guarantee that you’ll be creating much more of an impact with your audience and potential jobs.

Goodluck!

(originally published on FoundationKL.org)