Lx7 - The Something In That Square

The renovations are taking alot longer then expected, but here are some of the results of some of the renos that have kept me out of the studio. While this might *NOT* be the studio… it’s a huge milestone in the project plan.

Think of this less of a music podcast, and more as a vLog update.

This episode is a goodbye to my current studio, but the Lx7 Podcast is not over. It’s been a summer of planning, for season 3 of the show. After 2 years of working in the basement, it’s time I got organized and had something more.

Life has been a series of interesting but forever distracting events but it’s definitely growing and changing in the right direction. In this episode it’s all goodbyes to the studio, to the house, to life as it is; and hello to tomorrow, a new studio, more artist interviews, production tech, and more of what the Lx7 Podcast is all about.

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At Beats Breaks and Culture, Play De Record sponsored a gallery installation that tracked some of the hardware used to make electronic music.

What all started with Leon Theremin has evolved into an ever increasing array of synths and software that is technology music. This installation is interesting but brief. I like it because it shows some of the major innovations in user interface from the SP1200 through to the tr-909. Check out some of the gear that makes our music possible.

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On the edge of the Toronto docklands is a small park called Cherry Beach, or M5A 1A1 if you go by the postal code. And for the past couple of years Promise has been busy holding free electronic day events. A summer ritual that started back in 2000. The event started out as a rengade event, and has had it’s share of hurdles to overcome.

I’ve spent a couple of sunny sunday afternoons and evenings hanging out at Cherry Beach for these Promise events. The guys who run it (Dave Macleod and Irving Shaw) organize these events, bring the gear, suggest the lineup, and then open it up for anyone to share and participate in. The opportunity for anything to happen can/has happen. It’s not quite Burning Man, but still an interesting scene to watch or participate in.

I thought I’d go down and shoot some video and capture some of the vibe of what it’s about. If you’re here one summer sunday and have time,.. you should head down and check it out.

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I’ve been a fan of Theo Parrish (Last.fm | Discogs) since I first heard First Floor. I’d been traveling to Detroit buying pretty much anything that I found at Record Time that sparked my interest, and that album was just so deep. Both Heal Yourself And Move, and Sky Walking haunted me forever after I’d heard them. So when he was here in Toronto I picked it as a prime opportunity to grab the camera and share his thoughts.

If you haven’t read my review of the event at Crosstown; it was stellar. I had thought of recording the event itself, but figured it would be better to just get Theo sharing his thoughts. It was 5 or 6am when they shut down the party… It was a hot nite, the club was locked with great performances all around… So under the red light of the dj booth we spent a couple of minutes talking about all things and all the reasons people should get into this.

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I’ve known Sean (The Butcher of Detroit) for ages from his visits up to Toronto to buy records and hang out for Carabana. So while I was in Detroit for DEMF, Sean had me over to check out his basement studio and run through some of his favorite the records and mixes before the Detroit Techno Militia record release party.

It’s quite a collection and he has a number of vinyl gems that I was drooling over; but out of nowhere he pulls out a NIN 12′inch. I’m a fan of Trent Reznor and the music he makes and I’ve even remixed The Hand that Feeds. So when Sean pulled out his vinyl copy and started to give me a quick show of a remix he would do I had to pause and grab the camera to capture it and share here on the show. But if you want to know what that other track is… message Sean on mySpace and ask him or check out his mixes on detroitfightclub313.com.

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My attempts to spend some time with Anthony Shakir (Last.fm | Discogs) on camera seemed fraught with problems… every time I planned on interviewing him, he would disappear. Having been a fan of his music since his release Club Scam II on Frictional Recordings, I’ve always wanted to meet him. Add to the mix, stories about his production skills and off beat personality, I wanted to say hi.. and introduce myself. While we had been writing through a chance meeting on the 313 mailing list, it was in our conversation that I thought to bring a camera and interview artists. After Claude Young’s set… I finally got 5 minutes.

As you can see… the resulting footage is nothing but chaos…. We talk for abit… My plan was to discuss song inspiration, talk about his dj set…. but as chance would have it… along came Claude Young (Last.fm | Discogs) and flipped the script.

I can only say it’s with admiration and honest shock the results of it all. Candid camera moments like this really help me realize that we’re a huge scene of people out here. All of us making and sharing our craft and love… and sometimes we get a glimpse of the reflection of what good can come from it.

Thank you everyone for listening, watching, participating and sharing. And most of all thank you Aaron Carl, Lamont Norwood (dj Di’jital), Anthony Shakir and Claude Young for being on the show and sharing some time on camera at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival this year.

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When I first started visiting detroit I had a chance meeting with DJ Di’jital (Last.fm | Discogs) outside of Record Time. He had no idea who I was,… but for years after the chance conversation haunted me. I bought an ASR-X off of another UR artist who releases by the name Perception, and the three of us talked briefly about making music on the machine.

Running into him at DEMF was the perfect opportunity to finally ask him some of the questions I always wanted to know… so with fading sunlight I asked him my 3 favorite questions: What tracks inspired him? What gets him into the studio? And what is his favorite piece of gear? The interview was quick; I was manic from handing out zines. But I tried to capture abit of the quiet artist who is known as Dj Di’jital.

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Wondered what DEMF was like… for me it was a chance to hang out with friends and shoot some video. Having spent most of the event at the various kiosks I took the opportunity to get a quick interview with Aaron Carl (Last.fm | Discogs). Having just heard his new EP and in the excitement of the event it was a pleasure to catch up.

It’s all hand held camera action… so my apologies for the motion sickness.

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Look out spring, here comes the techno! It’s that time of year when 2 of North America’s biggest techno festivals happen. DEMF over in Detroit, and Mutek in Montreal. 2 weekends in a row of electronic music… Techno and more! You can already guess who’s getting outta Toronto for a couple of road trips. It’s time to pack a weekend bag, fill the tank and get loaded on a heavy dose of electronic music. But first… there’s this little thing called vLogDeathmatch that we’ve all got to content with, and I need your mouse clicks for a couple of votes.

If you’ve got a sec, hit vLogDeathmatch.com and vote for me (Vergel Evans).

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This is my official entry for the Deathmatch contest… of course I picked a song I made… of course it’s from my own album “..everybody has a story…” (Last.fm | Discogs)

So without further adue… here is my very first music video ever. It was shot in 1 day, edited in 1 evening, and posted here. I liked the experience, and even after this vLogDeathmatch stuff, I plan on shooting a couple of more. Check out the videos I’m competing against at http://www.vlogdeathmatch.com.

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Some people are fans of programming their music to the nth degree, but sometimes working that way can bog down the creative process. I like to get in there and let things roll as they do and capture the happy accidents. This episode highlights that technical process and how I’ve been recording my songs. If you’ve been having problems capturing your ideas and loops into songs, you might want to peep this episode and give the process a try… as always, there’s no right way of making music… just ways that work in your process. So kick back and watch, or jump in and comment, this episode is all DIY.