Frankmusik sets out on first Headlining US Tour

Frankmusik, one of my former guests for interview and an old favorite as an artist, is setting out on 20 date tour across the US this June as headliner.  This is FM's first tour as a headliner in the US, so we'll get to see a full set of Frankmusik tracks, from his first record to the latest, Between, coming out this summer.  If "summer" is too vague for you, check out "Chasing Shadows" on May 9th, the new single.

FM is an incredible live performer, and his shows are always a ton of fun-- you can tell the man loves to sing.  I highly recommend checking out the show in your nearest city.  For more information or to check back for more dates, visit his website.  To hear his newest tracks, check out his SoundCloud.

Bob Moog Inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame

Bob Moog was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his creation of the Moog Ladder Filter, one of the most important inventions in modern music.  It's great to see such the father of the synth industry acknowledged with such a prestigious award!

Weekly Daft Punk Update

Behind on your Daft Punk news?  Here's the latest from this week.

Above is a video of YouTube user SinclairEoin performing a note-for-note attempt at Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, which helps you appreciate the fantastic soloing in the track.  Great work.

The two latest collaborator videos (seen below) are from Chilly Gonzales and Panda Bear.  Chilly goes into a discussion about musical theory, and how Daft Punk used his songwriting talents to help connect the chords of the album to create a bigger picture-- which shows just how in depth with songwriting the robots are trying to go.  Panda Bear's video is less technical, but he instead talks a bit about what it's like to work with such a mysterious duo.

According to this French website, the next two singles will be "Lose Yourself to Dance" and "Instant Crush", featuring Pharrell and Julian Casablancas, respectively.

Word is also floating around that the record will be up for streaming a week before it's release.

Finally, the first reviews are starting to crop up, giving a better insight into what each track sounds like (NME, MixMag).  Don't read this if you're looking for a full surprise of everything on the record-- here are the cliff notes.  Giorgio Moroder's track has him speaking about his life to a click track, but apparently expands into an epic landscape of sounds.  Todd Edward's track is described as a letdown by MixMag compared to his first collaboration, Face to Face.  The Julian Casablancas and Panda Bear tracks supposedly sound a bit like each of their bands.

Korg MS-20 Mini Song Demo

Cool little demo of a track completely made with the MS-20 Mini.  Very Japanese-y melody, but if you get beyond it you can hear a great range of stuff.

Daft Punk's New Single "Get Lucky" is finally here; What do you think?

After many sleepless nights for Daft Punk fans, "Get Lucky" featuring Pharrell Williams is finally here (you can grab it on iTunes here, or any number of websites).  This track actually leaked earlier this week with unmastered vocals, and many of us were left guessing if it could be the real thing, or if it was just a Pharrell impersonator, considering a leak with only unmastered vocals is so unusual.

I initially wasn't too keen on the track, as it's such a far departure from previous work.  The radio edit is only 4:07, and it just seems short to listen to.  Furthermore, we're all accustomed to DP using repeats to drive a point home, especially in the case of Human After All-- the title track of which is 5:20 of repeats with slow variation.  Putting a pop vocalist on a DP track takes away from the familiar, almost comforting house style.  The other problem is the two clips that were released first, which are the two main parts of this song, are the ONLY parts of this song.  You've heard parts A and B since the beginning, and the only thing left that's new is Pharrell.  The album version is supposed to be about 6 minutes long, meaning we're missing a full two minutes of what I can only assume to be instrumental music-- hopefully Nile Rodgers will take a bigger spotlight in this time.

On the positive side of this release, it notes a major departure from the past-- it's always good to see a band take on a new direction, and this is a welcome one.  "Get Lucky" sounds like a legitimate disco song.  Purely from a technical standpoint, the recording is a masterpiece.  It has the warmth of a vintage record, yet the crisp and clear sound of a modern record.  The performances are tight.  And the vocals are catchy!

I know there's a large group of people perhaps disappointed in this track, but you have to keep in mind, it is a radio edit, and it is a "featuring Pharrell" track, meaning he's bringing something new to the table, and he's the star.  And you've also heard these parts probably 100 times listening to the previews, so there's also that part of the expectation to.

So in short-- I like this track a lot.  The recording is some of the best I've heard in a long time, this is a new direction for dance music, and that's all worth applauding.  If you hate this track, remember this is a 74 minute record, and we've only heard 4 minutes of what is probably the most mainstream moment of the record.

Don't forget to grab the new record on Amazon, who still have the best price for the vinyl version.

Future Music's In the Studio with Chromeo [Video]

It's no secret that Chromeo has a knack for synthesis, and this Future Music In the Studio demonstrates just how synth crazy they are-- and hits home with what this blog is all about.  The above video shows their studio (I believe in Canada) with their fantastic array of analog and digital synths and drum machines.  Currently, the band is writing its next record in New York City with a reduced synthesizer setup, judging from their Vine account, so this video is slightly outdated, but they still have some of the same gear and work the same way.  The video below shows them working on a song from scratch, so there's a wealth of great information here.  This video was in Future Music magazine a couple years back, but has only become available on YouTube this week.  Be on the lookout for their new record in the fall.

New Korg MS-20 Interviews with the engineers of the Original and Reissue

Curious to see the behind the scenes of new Korg MS-20 mini?  Here are two interviews with two of the original engineers, Mr. Fumio Mieda and Mr. Hiroaki Nishijima.  They go into detail about the making of both synths, the choice of components, and some of the characteristics and quirks.  Great video for electronic specialists and MS-20 fans.