Sunday, December 10, 2006
Dragon Dance - Loops For Acid
Marc Anderson’s Dragon Dance - Loops For Acid
Sample CD Review
By Cezanne Huq
Format: PC CDROM (.wav files for Sonic Foundry’s ACID)
Price: $59 us
Number of discs: 1
Sonic Foundry Website
Sonic Foundry Loops for ACID™ presents Marc Anderson: Dragon Dance. A student of African percussion instruments, Marc Anderson’s historical knowledge and performance skills are matched only by his technical expertise in revealing the mystery and beauty of instruments through imaginative sound recording and processing techniques. Dragon Dance contains essential single solo instrument sounds and performances as well as blistering walls of tribal thunder that have made Marc Anderson one of the most distinctive and original percussionists working today. Unique in the world of percussion libraries, Dragon Dance is the perfect marriage of ancient and modern sounds and technologies, crafted by an artist with an intimate understanding of both. (586 Loops/465 MB)
Dragon Dance is filled with hundreds of specialized .wav files running the gamut from pop culture audio-spheres to ethereal ambient percussions. Marc Anderson proves that studying the craft of African percussion and working through the years with Steve Tibbetts, James Plattes, etc., wasn’t just a mere circumstance. He provides you with a palette of sounds painstakingly treated and processed using imaginative recording and sampling techniques. Ever want to echo the plains of Serengeti and reveal the streets of modern day are conveniently indexed, mastered and packaged to go. Add elements like dumbek, djembe and cahons are just a few worldly instruments that inhabit this CD-ROM. All of the sounds were processed and finalized using 16bit resolution and recorded at 44.1khz.
Virtual Urth Excellence Award Virtual Urth Ratings (Scale 1-5):
Buck Value: 4.5
Sonic Quality: 4
Features: 5
Programming (disc layout): 4
Availability: Now!
Final Verdict: VU Gear Of The Year (95%-100%)
Sample CDs are always hard to gauge and finding the right one can be frustrating. What makes the Loops For ACID a must for musicians looking for new elements to inject life into tracks are the sample songs that examples the sounds possibilities. We spent hours copying the basic template provided on the CD-ROM and replacing and adding our own sounds mixing with Marc’s. Granted this a feature only ACID users but it’s a phenomenal way to experiment and finalize your ideas.
Built on the premise that sounds are Acidized, ACID allows the .wav files contained within the CD-ROM to be loaded and implemented within your music within seconds. More importantly, each and every sound is embedded with special properties, information like beats per minute, looped or not, are pre-installed. This allows ACID to load the sounds with parameters that originally reflected Marc’s intention for the sound.
In conclusion, the loops and samples on this disc are solid as a whole, to make for quite a value packed product, all for around 60 bucks. Its great to use if you own some of Sonic Foundry’s line of ACID products, but even if you don’t, it’s a nice variety of loops and grooves that you probably won’t want to pass up if you’re an enthusiast in creating loop based music. Of course, you’ll need a PC if you’re intending to load any .wav samples off these discs, which is kind of a drawback if you don’t intend to use this disc with any of the ACID products. But then again, you probably shouldn’t be buying this disc if you aren’t intending on using it with ACID, since you’d be really missing out on all the ACID enhanced features the samples offer.
Pros A variety of percussion sounds that foots the bill of any genre of music. At $59.95 this CD-ROM is a gold mine.
Cons the 16bit samples may be disenchant the high-end musicians who have graduated to 96khz recording studios and expect 24bit samples to incorporate into their tracks.
Would be nice to be able to play .wav files and songs on audio CD players.
Albums to consider
Marc Anderson’s “Time Fish”
Posted by Cezanne Huq on 12/10 at 10:02 PM
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Twelve Monkeys DVD
by Robert Carter
THE RATINGS
Movie: *** DVD: ***1/2
THE FILM
“THE AGONY OF FOREKNOWLEDGE COMBINED WITH THE IMPOTENCE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT...” That’s the “Cassandra Complex,” a story from Greek myth… And it’s what Bruce Willis’ character James Cole has in “Twelve Monkeys”--IN SPADES. He knows that in the year 1997 a virus is going to be purposely unleashed on the Earth--a virus that will kill 5 billion people and send Mankind literally underground. By 2035 the animals will live on the surface, while Cole and people like him endure a dark, nightmarish existence below. Cole’s life is particularly unpleasant, as he’s chosen to “volunteer” for a trip backward through time. His mission is to find the source of the virus so scientists in the future can find a cure and prevent the disaster from happening in the first place.
Cole is, basically, the flipside of Willis’ character in “The Fifth Element.” In that film a down-and-out cabbie looking for love finds it, and Saves The World. In this film, a man who just wants to “see the sky and the ocean, and breathe the air” is also given the chance to find love and to Save The World. But he’s not getting much help from his superiors, who prove that time travel is definitely an inexact science. For instance, (in scenes highly reminiscent of similar moments in the movie “Trancers,”) they dispatch Cole to 1996. Instead, he ends up right in the middle of World War One, and naked, no less. That nakedness is a metaphor, a literal illustration that he has nothing to help him but his own intelligence, ingenuity and perseverance.
The makers of “Twelve Monkeys” put a lot of effort into the visual and emotional design of the world Cole inhabits, using anything they could find to reinforce director Terry Gilliam’s vision. (The accompanying documentary covers at length how the “look” was produced and why an abandoned power plant came to represent a lot of this world of the near-future) Anyone who’s seen “Brazil” will immediately recognize Gilliam’s touch from the look of the set alone.
At one point Cole, addressing his superiors says, “I don’t think the human mind is meant to exist in two different...dimensions. It’s very confusing; you don’t know what’s real and what’s not.” After watching “Twelve Monkeys” you’ll probably agree. But it’s a mystery worth unraveling...even if you have to watch it twice to understand it all.
HIGHLIGHTS
An excellent trailer! (It gives a good sense of the atmosphere of the film and the nature of the story, without giving any of the story away)
The scene where Cole recites, word for word, a message left on an answering machine years ago (or was it just minutes ago?)--a very effective moment.
A shot in which Stowe’s and Willis’ characters look up in a store window to see their faces, caught on camera and magnified enormously on t.v.’s inside. It reveals they are, at one and the same moment, anonymous and alone in the world yet painfully easy targets for their pursuers.
Brad Pitt spent weeks at a psychiatric ward at Temple University preparing for his role. The effort shows; he turns in a bravura performance.
Although his role is small and relatively unsympathetic, it’s a pleasure to see Frank Gorshin on the screen. Besides being a talented impressionist, he’s an underrated actor.
Again, like his character in “The Fifth Element,” Willis’ first appearance in the film shows him awakening from a nightmare. The sequence he’s dreaming about--whether you guess its significance early-on or not--is beautifully tied into the storyline. (After everything else we see the conclusion of that sequence is a heartbreaker!)
There’s a marvelous moment in the accompanying documentary, featuring a city street, covered with heavily falling snow. As the camera pans to the right we see we’ve been taken in; that wasn’t snow, it was a crew member spraying a “snow substitute”--a slick example of “movie magic”!
Fans of Gilliam’s trademark animation sequences will find plenty of the ex-Monty Python member’s work on display throughout the documentary.
THE DVD
The “Twelve Monkeys” DVD is described on the cover as a “collector’s edition.” It’s definitely that! Along with the movie, presented in widescreen, you get a 90-minute documentary on the making of the film. The DVD also contains extensive production notes. In addition, the dual layer disk includes a separate audio commentary track, featuring director Gilliam and producer Charles Roven. There’s also cast bio’s and the theatrical trailer. The makers of other DVD’s could learn a lot from the presentation on this disk in particular, and Universal’s approach, in general!
NITPICKS
In the commentary track Gilliam refers to “this laserdisc.” When will directors, producers and others who make these tracks acknowledge they’re doing so for DVD as well as Laserdisc??
The DVD freezes for a painfully long moment at the 1 hour, 34-minute mark, as it makes the layer-switch.
You’re not able to select audio channels within the movie; you have to exit to the Menu.
With Christopher Plummer as well-known an actor as he is, having him affect a completely unnecessary accent seems silly.
While the movie has some comic moments, music that’s too lighthearted occasionally robs scenes of their impact; for instance, the “chase scene” (compared somewhat less than subtley to a Marx Brothers movie) in the psychiatric hospital.
We never actually get to see the time travel process. Then again, the story works so well without it we don’t really need to see it happen to believe it…
Posted by Cezanne Huq on 12/10 at 04:51 PM
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Godzilla: Special Edition DVD
THE RATINGS
Movie: ** DVD: ****
Birth Of A King
Godzilla, the father of all Japanese monster movies, stomps onto the scene refreshed, reborn and badder than ever. Tomoyuki Tanaka, the father of Godzilla, would turn over in his grave if he saw Godzilla 1998. Oh Tanaka, how we have dishonored your post nuclear hero! In the early 1950’s, Tanaka, a cameraman-turned-producer working for Toho Studios in Japan, was desperate for an idea…
“I was up against a deadline when I first thought of Godzilla, and I made it up all at the last minute. At that time, Toho was collaborating with Indonesia to make a blockbuster film called ‘Beyond the Glory.’ This film was supposed to be Toho’s ‘eyeball’ (premiere release) for the year. Because soon-to-be stars Ryo Ikebe and Toshiko Yamaguchi couldn’t get a visa from the Indonesian government, the film was canceled. It was easy to say that the film was just canceled, but now I had to come up with something big enough to replace it. On the plane ride back to Tokyo, I was so desperate and I was sweating the whole time.”
The title of the film was “Gojira,” a name reportedly adopted from a tough looking crewmember at Toho studios. “Gojira” is a combination of “gorilla” and “kujira” (Japanese for whale). The film was released in the United States two years later with the title “GODZILLA, King of the Monsters.” Godzilla mania hit immediately, and Tanaka and Toho Studios went on to produce 21 more Godzilla films. Tanaka passed away as a result of a stroke on April 2, 1997 at the age of 86.
THE FILM
Unfortunately (for some of us, anyway), “plot doesn’t matter” in this new adaptation of Godzilla from director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin. The duo that brought you Stargate (1994) and Independence Day (1996) decided to make special effects the star of the new Godzilla. Emphasizing science-fiction spectacle over story, Godzilla was the collective effort of the high concept duo in collaboration with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, the writing team credited with Aladdin (1992), The Puppet Masters (1994), and Small Soldiers (1998).
The Devlin/Emmerich interpretation features a complete redesign of Godzilla, who is now portrayed as a large “Jurassic Park"-like lizard mutated after fallout from French nuclear tests in French Polynesia. A great deal of care and detail went into Godzilla’s new persona and character. The film immerses you into a kaleidoscope of studio and film footage of actual nuclear blasts, seamlessly visualizing the birth of the Devlin/Emmerich Godzilla. A blinding flash of white light fills the Eastern skies and thousands of miles away, the Pacific Ocean churns, engulfing a freighter then in another part of the globe, giant footsteps plow a path through miles of Panamanian forests, Tahitian villages, and Jamaican beaches.
Matthew Broderick portrays Dr. Nick Tatopoulos (also the name of the movie’s special effects design company, Patrick Tatopoulos Designs). Biologist Dr. Tatopoulos, a.k.a. “The Worm Guy,” is on assignment in the Ukraine for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission examining the impact of radiation on Chernobyl earthworms. As Tatopoulos grabs a handful of worms he is interrupted and immediately reassigned by Colonel Hicks (Kevin Dunn) of the U.S. military. Escorted by Colonel Hick’s military team, Nick is assigned to check out giant claw marks on the beached freighter, and is joined by paleontologists Elsie Chapman (Vicki Lewis) and Mendel Craven (Malcolm Danare). With a freighter covered in blood and giant-size footprints everywhere, Nick decides there’s “some sort of enormous reptile” wandering around. Well, read on to find out “the rest of the story.” Errrr, I mean, the DVD.
FINAL WORD
The Emmerich/Devlin Godzilla: Special Edition DVD goes a long way towards demonstrating that the DVD format has the “right stuff” to make a mediocre movie an enjoyable experience. Even with its shortcomings, Godzilla is a must-have for the DVD fan and a collector’s prize for the Godzilla lovers. It’s clearly a landmark special effects winner in my book and a worthy chapter in the Godzilla series. In particular, this film will be remembered for its valiant attempt to redefine the ubiquitous “King of the Monsters.”
HIGHLIGHTS
The menu features Godzilla stomping through NYC and the sound is nothing short of amazing.
You can learn more about the film by checking out the highly informative special effects commentary presented by the special effects supervisors. You can even watch any of the three best destruction scenes without having to view the entire chapter.
Also included are several trailers and teasers, as well as a “Wallflowers” music video.
THE DVD
While Godzilla didn’t exactly fair well in theaters and in the hearts of “traditional” Godzilla fans, the DVD is a well presented, “packed with a punch” DVD. Because Godzilla clearly represents a special effects spitting contest, it made sense that the studio package the DVD with what made Godzilla stunning viewing. This is perfectly represented with an in-depth special effects commentary presented by Volker Engel, visual effects supervisor and Karen E. Goulekas, associate visual effects supervisor
The DVD also includes a “making of” Godzilla featurette hosted by Harry Shearer. Here you’ll get a dose of information on Godzilla 1998 from cast and Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin.
Overall, the final transfer is terrific. With the exception of the abrupt pause there are no noticeable video artifacts and picture noise. The Dolby 5.1 sound audio tracks made the picture sound and look great even on my 19” Sony TV. But it really blew me away on my 35” TV hooked up to the proprietary CHTS (Cezanne Home Theater System) 
. The audio mix and compression, however, was inadequate at times (for the average DVD fan) as some of the vocal tracks were hard to distinguish.
Godzilla is loaded with great accouterments and comes neatly packaged in the “Keep Case” format.
--OPENS WITH MOVIE/MENU: Menu
--PICTURE DISC?: YES
FEATURES
Widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
English subtitles
Closed captioned
Audio commentary by the special effects supervisors, biographies on the director and producer, and cast filmographies
A “making of” Godzilla featurette
“Godzilla Takes New York” before and after shots
The Wallflowers “Heroes” music video
Photo gallery
Theatrical teaser trailers, and a full-length trailer for the film
Trailers for “Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth” and “Godzilla vs. King Ghidora” double feature DVD.
NITPICKS
The Emmerich/Devlin Godzilla isn’t menacing enough and clearly unconscious (or doesn’t care) about human beings until the baby Godzillas are massacred towards the end of the movie. This is markedly different from most representations of the King! And it’s too bad that the baby Godzillas are scarier than its hulking Dad/Mom.
On Chapter 12, when Matthew Broderick asks Maria Pitillo if she’d like some tea there is a noticeable pause.
Posted by Cezanne Huq on 12/10 at 03:33 PM
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Q-Tron
Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron Product Review
By Cezanne Huq
New Sensor Corporation
Pass The Q-Tron Please
It’s amazing how we go through life oblivious to our surroundings while taking for granted the very things we enjoy and need. The fact is we never really know what they are until someone puts it right in our faces. Ever sit back and really listen to the sounds that seem to embellish your life? Musicians are guilty of exploiting these elements and incorporating them into their compositions. Musicians aside, have you ever stopped to listen?
Well Mike Mathews did. He took $1000 of working capital and a head full of radical ideas to form Electro-Harmonix. EH is now one of the most famous, innovative and prolific sound effects company in the history of music. Ubiqitous to the industry, EH is the backbone and embellishment of almost all of tube amps and pre-amps powered by tube technology manufactured today. You could say they are synonymous to effects in the music industry as is Intel to the microchip in the computer industry.
Meanwhile, 1972 was a cornerstone for the music industry, Mike Biegel fresh out of MIT introduced the first self-contained envelope controlled filter, Mutron III. Due to its “automatic wah” sound Mutron III quickly became an important element in funk and rock genres. Countless musicians embodied their recordings with Mutron III giving it an eternal home in music.
However, the fun didn’t start until the two, that is, Mike and Mike got together to create the first new Electro-Harmonix product in 15 years. The Q-Tron envelope controlled filter is the first successful installment of a new EH campaign to further dominate the market.
Q-Tron’s opto-electronic design delivers the same liquid smooth, organic vowel-like wah wah sound as the Mutron III. Q-tron however, sports an increased frequency response, improved signal-to-noise ratio and sensitivity. The squeaky clean sound of this stomp box is, needless to say, “out of this world.”
Q-Tron’s strengths are in it’s simplicity, design and user-friendliness. Allowing the musician to immediately jump right in and start experimenting the Q-Tron is an indispensible tool for musicians. The Q-Tron isn’t restricted to guitarists, keyboardists have been using them since the first analogue synth was introduced. Presently musicians who are part of the Electronica genre (recycled combinations of acid, techno, disco, industrial etc.) are incorporating real-time envelope filters to give their sounds an organic feel. Q-Tron is a stand alone stomp box that can treat your sound and give you a unique and evolving quaity to your sound. Before we finish up this review let’s clear up some terms and explain some of the key features the Q-Tron has to offer.
There are seven onboard controls
- Drive Switch (up/down) This selects direction of filter sweep : up (wah) or down (ow).
- Range Switch (Hi/Low) Emphasizes vowel like sounds in low position, overtones in high position.
- Gain Control (0-11) Functions as both a volume control and a filter sensitivity control in boost mode. In normal mode it acts only as a filter sensitivity control, unlike the Mutron-III which also changes the unit’s output volume. VU uses the gain control switch in real-time in our studio to give signals a dynamic feeling.
- Boost Switch (Normal/Boost modes) Normal mode allows setting the Gain control without changing the output volume.
- Peak Control (0-11) Determines frequency peak of filter. Makes more “effected sound” when turned up more.
- Mode switch (LP, BP, HP, MIX) This will select the frequency range for the filter to sweep. Low Pass is lows, Band Pass is midrange, High Pass is treble. MIX mode (new feature not on the Mutron-III) combines BP with dry unprocessed sound.
- Bypass switch (in/out) Turns effect on and off without shutting off the output of the source signal.
Hits
Gives clean vowel-like wah to signals
Boost signals to give a vintage tube driven sound
Comes in a cool multi-ply wooden box
Misses
The Q-Tron does not run on batteries.
Posted by Cezanne Huq on 12/10 at 03:09 PM
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