It has been so long since I had time to write here. Although I am sure the number of readers of this blog can be counted on the fingers of one hand, I consider this place a little music diary. It was embarrassing seeing where I was a year ago, but I am completely relieved at where I am today.
Ever since October 2011, my day job locked up my music. I could not find the time or the energy to go into my little cave and put beats down. And even when I made it that far, I just couldn’t find the inspiration to make anything. The idea of having to compose on my old banged up PC was too daunting. I needed a break, and I needed change. After my last major project of that period, and a much needed two week trip to Paris with my lovely wife, I found that change.
I had hopes in assembling a new PC to produce on. DONE. With an AMD 6-core processor, plenty of RAM, and an M-Audio Audiophile 192 soundcard.
I always wanted to get a proper MIDI controller. DONE. Got myself an AKAI MPK-49.
I am finally getting round to working on the remixes I promised people I would make. Starting with Dr. Jeez’s Reggae track “AlBareha” which translates to “Last Night.”
This was my first attempt at the big room Dubstep sound and my first attempt at remixing an Arabic song. I feel that I have not done a great job, but it was a great experiment, and it won’t be my last attempt. I am working on a project my friend Jalal AlJazeeri asked me to do a long time ago, and it’s starting to sound MONSTROUS. I hope he does not reveal to anyone what it is, as I want it to be a surprise, because it samples something only the 90s Arabic-dubbed Anime fans will know!
I am 98% done with the best Techno track I have ever produced. The meat of the track is one NI Massive bassline synth only, with a lot of parameters automated, and I recorded the automation in each section in one take, for all parameters at the same time, using the MPK-49. With the help of my buddy Uniz Kazz, I was able to get this track to standards I could have only dreamed of reaching last year. The artwork for this track has been done by the Bahraini artist Bader Shirawi, of whom I am a BIG fan, and I am honored to have his talent be used to visualize my track. I will be uploading the track probably in the next couple of days.
Oh, and by the way… it’s called STAR SLUT.
