What's going on on planet CodeZero?
This blog post is long overdue. Really it should have been several blog postings, but I've been busy actually doing things, rather than blogging them. It's 4am and far too hot to sleep, so you get a blog posting! Unlucky.
Life. I got a new job. I now code plugins all day, which is sick. I am very very pleased. Finally I can do my filthy DSP thing all day, and make toys for making things sound sick, and someone will pay me for it. It's too good to be true at the moment. The lads at my new company decided that working in the UK in an office was a rubbish idea, so they sailed away. I'm off to Alicante for a business meeting in about 36hrs. Canary islands in a few weeks. I'm working from home, which is nice, because I get to sleep in LATE, and work when I feel like it, and take time out to recover when I need to. Creative / deep-technical work is so much easier to actually do when you can control your own time. I'm in paradise already, and I'm doing maintennance. Working on new projects is going to send me to new levels of ecstasy. I'm pleased.
I'm tidying my life up, and this includes my lifestyle. Yes, I am working funny hours, and no, this is really not the first time I've been up doing things at 4am recently. So, it needs to balance out. I am going running, with the support of a super-nice friend, and I'm trying to keep my diet healthy. Also trying to save up some money, so I can do things which require investment, should the need arise. Even my room is tidier.
I have fine-tuned my studio setup to three cables. I have a USB connector, which gives me my control surface, keyboards, sound modules, synths, samplers (the joys of usb-midi!) and mouse and keys, plus a Firewire connector to a SaffireLE, and then a monitor cable. Everything is ready patched into the desk.
I was heavily involved with SaffireLE, and whilst it's not the most IO-crazy unit, it sounds better than anything else I've heard period, and it has the right amount of IO for me. I was very firmly in the "Convertors make NO difference" camp- but there's a clear audible difference between the DACs on my Delta and my SaffireLE. I've decided that the LE really stands for Listening Experience. In fairness, all this stuff is just for monitoring. I think I'll learn to fly long before I mix analogue, and my record path is now courtesy of my delicious new ISA430mk2 with digital card, which delivers SPDIF straight to my SaffireLE. I have a 2nd pre that hooks up to the spare IP on the digital card, and now I can record whatever I like whenever. Vocal + Guitar simultaneously through decent pres. Yay! It's nice. I'm rambling.
In other news, I've just achieved probably my only musical ambition in life. I've remixed my favourite producer, and I'm on the same 12" as him. MJ Cole's new tune "Bad Boy" on Prolific should come complete with a CodeZero remix. He liked it. I still can't believe it. So... I have to find a new ambition. Platinum selling album? Give me some time... this may get messy...
What else is news? Tunes with SpecimenA are getting a little bit of recognition, which is exciting. It's great to hear tunes we've worked on played at Swerve. Last time I was there, Switch dropped Recollections, and it filled the floor. That waa great.
Musically, I need to do something more useful with myself. I'm still not sure I bring enough to the table. I feel like I'm still too reminiscent of other artists - people whos music I like. I'm still digesting drum'n'bass and making drum'n'bass. I need to bring in something fresh and original. It has been suggested several times that I lock myself in a room for two weeks, and not listen to any d'n'b... and I'd like to, but I have collaboration projects on the go, and they need attention.
Soon come: new Addiction tune (which I am mixing), new tune with Specimen A, and lots of new bits with Kali.
I'm going to try and sleep again. Love to you all. Peace.
