Blog updates. Voltage-Controlled

My other blog has recently been updated with a new look and a new name. the blog is now called Voltage-Controlled.

The blog covers music production and technology.

Click through and have a look.

http://www.voltage-controlled.com/

CKY go acoustic! + B-sides and Rarities

On March 22nd we will see American Hard-Rock band CKY release their ‘B-Sides and Rarities’ album on Mighty Loud Records.

As the name of the album suggests the album will be a compilation of material (new and old) from the Philadelphia based rockers.

The album will feature acoustic versions of their tracks ’To All of You’ and ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’.

You can listen to the acoustic version of ‘Too All of You’ on the Noise Creep website HERE.

The acoustic version of ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’ can be heard on the Alt Press site HERE.

The band is also hosting a Facebook listening party on Friday, March 18th at 9PM – EST (Saturday, 19th at 2AM – GMT) where fans will be able to listen to the full album on the bands official Facebook Page.

The full track list for ‘B-sides and Rarities’ will be:

1.Afterworld
2.Rio Bravo (Radio Session)
3.Shippensburg
4.Halfway House
5.Chad's In Hi-Fi
6.Santa's Coming
7.Fat Fu*k
8.The Deepest Depths
9.Rio Bravo (Remix)
10.Don't Hold Your Breath (Acoustic)
11.Halfway House (Original version)
12.To All of You (Acoustic)

Pre-order ‘B-sides and Rarities’ by CKY on iTunes now.

"If you were stuck on a desert island...."

"If you were stuck on a desert island and you could only listen to ten tracks what would they be?"

I couldn't possibly decide on ten tracks so here's just a list of cool songs. =D

Daft Punk – Aerodynamic

French house legends Daft Punk are clearly influenced by electronic music pioneer Wendy Carlos in this track. Classic arpeggios and Moog synthesizers play a huge part in this piece and add nicely to the retro vibe of the album.

Röyksopp – Eple

Melody A.M has to be their best ever album; it’s so chilled out and easy to listen to. Put this on in a dark room and just lose yourself, chill out and drift away for a while.

Skrillex - scary monsters and nice sprites

This is a prime example of keeping music fun, from the clearly visible video game influences to the sample ripped from the cult YouTube video.

HIM - Acoustic Funeral

The only rock track on this list. This band changed the way I looked at music in general and made me pick up my first instrument (the Bass Guitar). Pretty soon after that I moved onto playing other instruments and started listening to other styles of music that I would have overlooked in the past.

Deadmau5 – I Remember

A nice chilled out house track; Deadmau5 has always been a favourite of mine. I Remember is probably my favourite Deadmau5 track to date (and there’s a lot of competition).

Gorillaz – Tomorrow Comes Today

Marking the end of the 1990s the Gorillaz made their debut with their self titled album. This whole album oozes with nostalgia but I think this track is probably my favourite from their debut.

Mr Scruff – Sweet Smoke

Scruffs’ studio work is pretty creative. Sampling his own instruments, vinyl and synths (Or whatever he can get his hands on) and then completely mashing them up to make some truly funky tunes.

VNV Nation – Nemesis

Much more underground than the other tracks that I’ve chosen. I guess that VNV nation are responsible for giving me that push towards dance music.

Chemical brothers - Let Forever Be

This is electronic music at its finest. The track features vocals from Noel Gallagher of Oasis. The drum beat is very similar to the Beatles song Tomorrow Never Knows.

Tubeway Army – Are ‘Friends’ Electric?

There’s nothing like a bit of synthpop to lighten your day and the early Gary Numan stuff will do the job just nicely.

Underground Christmas Horror Show 28/12/2010

The Christmas spirit is not forgotten in the stoke music scene with the underground hosting the Christmas horror show. The night saw four of Stoke’s own metal bands celebrating the festive season the best way they know how; with loud guitars, quite a bit of booze and good friends joined together to enjoy live music.

The Underground is at the heart of Stoke’s music scene. The venue plays the best local bands that the city has to offer. As always there’s a friendly atmosphere and a few familiar faces that can only be found deep within stoke’s music scene.

The opening acts of the night were The Art of Ruin and Fallen Inquest. Both of the bands did a good job of warming up the crowd and getting the scene set for the night ahead.

As it was a joint headline the top spot was split between two bands; Your Chariot Awaits and Anaphearo. When Your Chariot Awaits came on stage the crowd’s attitude seemed to change completely. The songs they played seemed to merge into one with no obvious changes and the vocals (in my opinion) sounded horrible.

Anaphearo easily stole the spotlight when they appeared on stage. The band were all wearing matching red shirts for the occasion and went on to end the night on a high point with the audience requesting two encores from the band.

Unfortunately their set was brought to an abrupt end when some inconsiderate fans tried to ruin the night by fighting at the back of the venue. However the outbreak was brought to a stop quite quickly thanks to the venue security and a few helpful audience members.