MUSIC TECH: Poise is the BEST MPC Style Drum Sampling Software Available

In my mind, poise is the drum sampler we’ve all been looking for. Poise is what I would make if I could write software….

Poise is a simple, 16 pad drum sampler that lets you quickly add layers, manipulate the layers, and come up with new sounds.

Poise is NOT a sequencer. You can NOT sample into it. From the site:

Direct, straightforward, no frills and no bloat! Poise aims to make working with drum samples quick and painless, allowing you to focus on making music.

Sounds good to me, so good I had to keep it under wraps until I could actually SHOW you what it did. It’s not new, it’s been around, but I just found out about it and I know many of you will love it, because I get the same questions from folks looking for an easy drum sampler that let’s you layer your drums quickly and tweak each layer.

Why I think Poise “gets it”

Why do I think it’s the best? Let me list the reasons.

* It’s easy to layer sounds, just drag them onto the pad, and a layer number will appear in the window
* layers can be played in round robin, layered, or velocity switching mode
* You can have up to 16 outputs, enough to send each pad to it’s own track in your daw if you want
* It’s easy to setup to work with your midi controller
* You can have note on or one-shot mode for your samples
* It has mono mode, so you can get down like on your hardware, making pads cut each other
* You also have “cut groups” so you can set pads to cut each other off
* You can link pads… so you can quickly layer multiple sounds just by linking the pads together
* You can save your own kits quickly
* You can tweak each layer on a pad separately or together
* you can use wav, aiff, or mpc snd format sounds
* It’s lean and cpu efficient
* It’s 49 bucks

Read more at the original post HERE

Afro-Punk Festival 2010 in NYC This Weekend!

Afro-Punk Returns to Brooklyn for 6th Annual Festival, June 26-27!

Bad Brains to Headline, with Ninjasonik, KOS, God Forbid, Activator, Game Rebellion, P.O.S.

and Many More!

Two Additional Dates in Chicago and Atlanta TBA

"Definition-defying artists like Santogold, Janelle Monae and TV on the Radio are finding peers and a fanbase under the movement's welcoming umbrella." - MTV News (view clip here!)

Fresh off its first national tour, Afro-punk is returning to Brooklyn for the 6th Annual Afro-punk Festival on June 26-27 in Fort Greene's Commodore Barry Park. And this year, the festival is proud to host hardcore legends and Afro-punk godfathers Bad Brains. In addition to Bad Brains' set, the festival will include performances from Ninjasonik, KOS, God Forbid, Activator, Game Rebellion, P.O.S., and many more! In addition, this year's Afro-punk will feature the Battle For the Streets Skate and BMX contests. The Best Trick Competition (Skate) will take place on Saturday June 26, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will be hosted by Steve Rodriguez & Keith White. The following day, Sunday June 27, The Best Trick Competition (BMX) will be hosted by Danny Parks aka Baby Bean, Jimmy Mac & Keith White. Both contests will be open to the public, and the contest winners will receive cash prizes, including an All Expenses Paid Trip to the XGames, courtesy of ESPN. The festival will also feature a BMX demo by NYC's Bulldogs Bikes Team, Battle For The Streets Art, NIKE ID Customization, and more. Tickets for the festival are $20 and available at http://www.afropunk.com. After the Brooklyn shows, the festival will hit Chicago and Atlanta.

Afro-Punk 2010 Band Lineup

JUNE 26th
Bad Brains, P.O.S, Ninjasonik, Cipher, Game Rebellion, The Bots, Activator, The 54, Belikos, More TBA

JUNE 27th
24.7 Spyz, The Cool Kids, J *Davey, Martin Luther, The Memorials, Bad Rabbits, More TBA

MUSIC TECH: Clone your Hardware and Software Instruments with SAMPLE ROBOT

You read that right. Clone your hardware and software instruments. If you have access to an old synth laying around, or you want to borrow your peep's Roland Fantom, you can clone the entire library of sounds and playing dynamics within the patches. Open Labs' Neko and Miko synth/computer workstations have had this feature available for some time. Sample Robot allows you to perform the same functionality with your PC. Take it away Saint Joe:



What is SampleRobot?

It’s basically your personal software, hardware, acoustic instrument cloning, recycling, re-mangling, ninja sound design system.

It will automate the process of cloning ANY instrument that can receive midi, and will even help automate sampling and instrument creation of acoustic instruments.

It can export them in various popular formats like Reason’s nnxt, or Cakewalk Dimension format, Wusik format, or Emulator X, Kontakt, EXS, you get the idea.

It’s a simple way to automate the creation of your own custom virtual sound library made up of any instrument you have laying around, or your friend has laying around, or your friend’s cousin’s uncle Steve has tucked away in his Ghostbuster van!

You get the idea!

So is it easy to use and does it give good results?

I don’t wanna sound like the infomercial dude but it’s really “set it and forget it” lol. It’s VERY deep, you can do multi layers, automatic sound looping and crossfades for perfectly playable instruments.

You can send all the attack parameters, midi cc, program changes, or anything else you need to make sure you capture every subtle characteristic of your favorite sound.

In my tests, the auto-loop and crossfade was spot on! Very seamless and I couldn’t even tell where it looped. It can record up to 192kHz at 24 bit dependent on your interface. Has a very nice built in wave editor, and a ton of presets for common projects like sampling bass, piano, synth, rhythms, pads, etc. This will give you various options, and tell you how much space it’s going to take!

Read more at the original post HERE

VIDEO: NATURAL HABITZ - "Reason to Smile"

NATURAL HABITZ rep Tennessee with their single "Reason to Smile". Diggin' the feel good Summer vibe. The crew has a nice sound and it never hurts to see more females on the mic.

Eternia "Off The Radar" In The July Issue of The Source Magazine

Cop the latest issue on stands now! A sleeping giant awakes...ETERNIA & MoSS "AT LAST" in stores this Tuesday 6/29.

WHO CAN ROAST THE MOST 12? Major B-Boy/B-Girl Battle returns to NYC

Since 1999, Who Can Roast The Most? has grown to be recognized as a premier B-Boy/B-Girl battle, acclaimed as a "MUST" by dancers and enthusiasts in Miami and beyond. The event has been traditionally produced by Ground Zero Crew, the Miami-based, world renowned B-Boy crew. The event has been held for over a decade in multiple venues including South Florida, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Sunday, June 27th returns to New York City for its 12th installation.

The event derives its name from the terminology used when a dancer or crew are out-done in a battle, or lose in a competitive dance situation: "Oh you got roasted!" Indeed, Who Can Roast the Most? boasts its exceptional popularity among the global B-Boy/B-Girl community, for its unique formula and approach. It has come to be recognized as the ultimate in One-on-One battles, staying clear of the well tread contests that are ubiquitous among the scene, by bringing together a cast of characters drawing from talent pools from opposite geographical locations culminating in an energetic experience of stylistic dynamism. The best B-Boys and B-Girls in the East or South East face off against the best in the West and Mid-West. Participants undergo a grueling 10 rounds of competitive dancing where their talent and stamina are tested to their limit. All in ALL, the event promotes excellence in performance, without seeking to declare one of the sides Victorious! That's Right! There is NO Winner announced to add to the hype, and the event features NO JUDGES. Fans do vote online for who they want to see perform. And what they consider to be dream matches, and "Who Can Roast the Most?" turns them into a reality!

Sunday June 27, 2010
4pm -11pm

2 on 2 B-Boy/B-Girl battle for cash prize starts at 5pm sharp!!

The Broad Street Ballroom
41 Broad St.
Betw. Beaver St & Exchange
New York NY 10004

ARRIVE EARLY!
$15 day of
$10 extra per video camera

Trains
2, 3, 4 or 5 to Wall St.
J, M, or Z to Broad St.
R to Rector St

Thanks to TOOLS OF WAR for the heads up!

TODAY! Free Park Jam! DJs GRANDWIZZARD THEODORE, TED SMOOTH & CASEY MACE'EM @ White Park NYC

JUNE 24
GrandWizzard Theodore
DJ Ted Smooth
Casey Mace'em

From 4:30pm-8pm
FREE! All Ages Welcome

White Park E. 106th
betw. Lexington & Third Ave
East Harlem NYC 10029
Train: 6 to 103rd St.

DJs rocking especially for B-Boys, B-Girls, Poppers, Lockers, Rockers & All Dancers!

come in peace with positivity!
no alcohol & no drugs
audience stays in the audience!
no vending without a parks dept. permit
no filming without permission
clean up before leaving & please recycle!

For more info on upcoming park jams throughout the summer go to myspace.com/toolsofwar

MUSIC TECH: Live Jazzy Hip Hop Samples from Digable Planets' DOODLEBUG

Time to checkout some more samples, for those that like to mix the live jazzy sound with hip hop and downtempo funk.

Today I’m doing a review of Doodlebug’s Jazzy Hip Hop Theory, a jazzy hip hop library released by Loopmasters.

Some of the new school folks may not know who Digable Planets are…let’s just say, they ARE jazzy hip hop!

Doodlebug is a member from this very group.

So let’s check this joint out!



So what is Doodlebug’s Jazzy Hip Hop Theory?

It’s that real jazzy hip hop, played by the very same live musicians that have been playing with Doodlebug throughout his career from Digable Planets to his own solo stuff.

If you got a real appetite for that classic, jazz influenced hip hop, boom bap, back pack, funk-rap sound…then this may be your thing.

You get real live drum loops, electric and upright bass, as well as some saxy flute lovin.

You also get some nice guitar riffs as well as a few vocals/phrases to play with

Quick Specs

* Content: 622Mb, 580 samples
* Format: rex, wav, kontakt, exs, refill, ableton live pack, nnxt, rmx, apple loops
* Price: $37.16

READ MORE at the original link HERE

MUSIC TECH: SOUNDSANDGEAR.COM's Saint Joe to be featured on THEZROHOUR.COM

MUSIC TECH posts have long served the purpose of introducing the beatmaking community to software and hardware tools of the trade. Starting today, there will be a MUSIC TECH post daily delivering the news, reviews and info on the best DAWs, software instruments, plug-ins, sound libraries and midi technology available.

The expanded MUSIC TECH posts will be provided by the man pictured above, Saint Joe aka JK, creator/writer of SOUNDSANDGEAR.COM. Saint Joe has a ton of reviews on video and is very thorough with his presentation of the next wave of music technology. I will be reposting articles originally found on SOUNDSANDGEAR.COM. Meet Saint Joe:

"My name is Joe, some call me JK, many know me as saintjoe.

I love all things about music, from real instruments to electronic gadgets.

I’ve been producing music for myself as well as other gospel hip hop, urban, and contemprary artists since 2001 but have been playing with and in love with music for waaaaaay longer.

I’m pretty sure we’d have some things in common, no matter if you’re a producer, beatmaker, sountrack composer, video game music creator, sound designer, or vintage gear collector. It’s all good baby!

This is simply a place for me to share my love, fascination, and outright lust for music gear, news, tips, reviews, and whatever else I feel like sharing.

I’ll try to give you hands on reviews of different equipment , software, and sounds, and make sure you know about the best stuff out.

Join me…"

No doubt! Stay tuned to THEZROHOUR.COM for some vital info that will help you step up your production game.

WAXPOETICS Magazine Releases Third Hip Hop Issue

WAXPOETICS Magazine releases their third Hip Hop issue featuring some of the culture's most revered figures on dual covers. Its a must have issue full of insight into:

• How ICE-T found his swagger in the electro trenches of Uncle Jamm’s Army

• How ICE CUBE’S revolutionary debut fused the sounds of both coasts

• KRS-ONE as he preaches the hip-hop gospel

• How Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith took EPMD from the burbs to the bank

PLUS:
DJ DISCO WIZ
SUPREME PHOTO ESSAY
LATIN FREESTYLE
GRANDMIXER DXT
EASY MO BEE Record Rundown
Record Spot Rundown with DJ AMIR
PEANUT BUTTER WOLF Video Rundown
SOULS OF MISCHIEF
JIMMY SPICER, VICIOUS BEAT POSSE, JUST-ICE, MIXMASTER GEE AND THE TURNTABLE ORCHESTRA and SPYDER D RE:Discovered
GURU, MALCOLM MCLAREN, and CHILLY B remembered

Click the link above to purchase.

VIDEO: NAUGHTY BY NATURE- "I Gotta Lotta"

New single from Illtown's finest. "I Gotta Lotta" is from the upcoming album "Anthem Inc."