soundcloud

okay okayyyy - i knowwwww: something else i'm no doubt late to - but something worth bigging up nontheless, i reckon...

soundcloud is a website/online resource/musical networking tool that basically allows producers (of all levels/abilities) to upload tunes and have people listen to and comment on them. each file is represented on-screen as a waveform, and one of the cool features is the ability to "tag" specific bits of the tune you're listening to and add your thoughts. so it could be a "ooof - nice wubble on the bassline", or "great drop here, made me touch cloth"...i'm sure you get the idea. you can also add general comments if you like - it's not compulsory to tie your comments down to any one part of the tune.

the nice touch about soundcloud though, is that it gives you an insight into both demos/productions-in-progress, as well as mastered forthcoming releases, and occasionally just a "here's a piece i put together a few years ago...thought i'd give it another rinse-out...enjoy!".

a fine example of using the resource in this way is Domu. a favourite producer of mine at the moment, i was pleased to find his work on soundcloud, so i decided to follow him on there and subscribe to his updates (yet another handy feature). in the last week or so, he's graced our earholes with three great productions, all differing in their "status". the first is "The Real Real Thing" - essentially a re-working of a Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell soul classic. is this a bit of jovial experimentation? or is this a forthcoming release? i hope it's the latter! next up was "Mandaloria", which is (in the words of the man himself) the "Second Domu record ever made, released on Archive 1999. A rare, deleted gem I thought I would give a lickle shine to celebrate it's 10th birthday". it's lush - blissed out, melodic broken beat at its finest - i can't believe it's ten years old! finally, Domu has treated us to a sneak peak at "4 O'Clock Earthquake", which is a remix he's knocked out for the KPM Remixes series. again it's immense...and another one i'm going to have to add to my ever-growing "must-buy" list.

soundcloud is full of cracking producers and wonderful music - and though it takes some patience in hunting stuff down, and a fair bit of following links & trying stuff out, you'll soon get the hang of it - and i pretty much guarantee it will expand your shopping list too.

get yourself a log-in and check it out. oh, and don't forget to buzz me if you find any producers on there that you think i should be listening to. cheers dears.

xx