Long Time Coming
Discover more from Sonikmatter: An Occasional Newsletter
Stood by the bus stop with a felt pen
In this suburban hell
And in the distance, a police car
To break the suburban spell
Let's take a ride, and run with the dogs tonight
In suburbia
You can't hide, run with the dogs tonight
In suburbia
Break the window by the town hall
Listen, the siren screams
There in the distance, like a roll call
Of all the suburban dreams
Let's take a ride, and run with the dogs tonight
In suburbia
You can't hide, run with the dogs tonight
In suburbia
Trivia: Suburbia debuted the same day as the television show A.L.F. with folks commenting that the theme and Suburbia sounded as if they were the same composition.
Last I spoke, I mentioned this would be an occasional newsletter. And then, three weeks later, I decided to run for mayor of one of the largest cities in the US.
Long story short, I lost.
But in the most important ways, I didn’t. I had policies that both major parties discussed…my statehouse argued over, and the state fraternal order of police said was bad for policing — before listening to their rank and order officers and deciding that these would be a win/win for everyone and as of last week, being on the front head of our state newspaper being called a ‘butthead’ by a has-been 45-year-old politician who lists his high school football stats under his official bio. Okay, okay…technically not directed at just me, but my shining face was on the front page…again.
I’ve had six months of wearing suits and not dropping the f-bomb on Sunday talk shows. I’m done being respectable…I want to make music again.
Artist News:
Brian Eno Touring
For the first time ever, Brian Eno is taking a live solo show on the road. He’ll perform a concert program called Ships across Europe this fall, built around 2016 album The Shipand featuring new and old compositions from his catalog. He will be backed by the Baltic Sea Philharmonic (with conductor Kristjan Järvi), the actor Peter Serafinowicz, and Eno’s longtime collaborators Leo Abrahams and Peter Chilvers. The run concludes with two shows in one night at London’s Southbank Centre on October 30; find all the dates—including shows in Venice, Paris, Berlin, and Utrecht—below.
Despite touring with Roxy Music in the 1970s and sporadically with other artists, Eno has played only sporadic, one-off solo shows, often as part of festival programs. In 2021, he and his brother, Roger Eno, performed live at the Acropolis.
https://pitchfork.com/news/brian-eno-announces-first-ever-solo-tour/
Instruments:
The Deluge
“an all-in-one, stand-alone, portable synthesizer, sequencer and sampler designed for the creation, performance, and improvisation of electronic music.”
I’ve always been intrigued by grid-based instruments. This looks like one I’d love to own. Synth, Sampler, Sequencer, Controller. Everything you need for electronic based music.
https://synthstrom.com/product/deluge/#overview
Vintage Sequencer:
Maybe you want something a little simpler. How about the MFB-601 vintage sequencer from 1983. Watch as this instrument is brought back to life.
GADGETS
Bluetooth Cassette Speaker
https://www.ninmlab.com/product-page/it-s-real-bluetooth-speaker-cassette-player-combo
DIY
There will be a 1 million unit stock of Raspberry Pi products available in the month of July and every month onward until consumer backlogs are cleared, Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton told hobbyists in a recent community newsletter.
As reported by Tom's Hardware on Thursday, the newsletter, said to be an "update from Eben" (screenshot via Tom's Hardware here), promises to assuage customer demand after small businesses were favored over individual consumers during the pandemic-fueled silicon shortage.
Computers:
From the Absurd Music Ideas group.
Sounds
Native Instruments Irish Harp —Free until July 3rd!
“Whether you're keeping things traditional or warping sounds further, IRISH HARP offers warm, lush, rich tones captured from a 34-string neo-Irish harp. With a range of scales, phrases, effects, and controls, it’s got all you need to craft authentic and unique performances for composing, beatmaking, and everything in between.”
https://blog.native-instruments.com/irish-harp/
Spitfire Audio Uilean Pipes: Free
https://labs.spitfireaudio.com/?sortBy=prod_products_labs_latest
I’ve split this letter into two, so I have something to send in a week. Maybe sooner! Or…maybe in another six months. We’ve been having discussions on and off about the future of this site/letter and if you want to join in, start a discussion!
Sonikmatter: Mind + Music + Technology
An occasional newsletter. Barely fact-checked and often wrong.
Additionally, if you’d like your music or project to be featured old-skool style, call (415) 683-1381 and sing, rawk, or prog into the answering machine! We will post it!!!
Mail to the Editor: Zampino @ sonikmatter.com