hanging out with audiophiles

Welcome Rodaidh McDonald  We met through our mutual pal Bobby Krlic (my guest on EP33) and got a brief chat in. I realized quickly that he’d working on the Sampha record that I really love called Process and I had so many questions. We get into that and oodles more in this face to face hang at Rodaidh’s brand new house in LA. He had literally just got his gear in the place and there were a bunch of boxes and dreams lying around so I was very grateful to be welcomed into that rather vulnerable scene.  He’s a creative force and has a stack of potent collabs under his belt.  To name drop a few:  Adele Bobby Womack The xx Damon Albarn King Krule Savages David Byrne Brian Eno… Yeah I mean he’s heavy.  It’s clear his calm manner and focused ways clearly help him to see things through to the end. The hallmark of a true producer.  It’s a pleasure to ramble though the timeline with him! ___________ nitty 59 explores the transformation of the PA mic feedback “issue” into a layer cake of pitchy joy. Tall order! No more “uh uh” just whip it through some cascades. Watch it spin into space. Something like that ___________ Music for this show comes from Mason Cos who are an electronic duo based in Denver, Colorado. Originally formed as a Krautrock-leaning live band in Chicago around 2016, Mason Cos then discovered the joys of experimenting with analog synthesizers. Listen! https://masoncos.bandcamp.com

The noise annoys  Where would we be without John Peel ?   In a time of noise we need selectors! Yeah man.  We can all agree on something right?   I chat with DJ VJ Label boss Zen  Cyber punker Future surfer    Matt Black He’s seen a lot. A LOT   From making hit records in the UK (One that sat at the number 1 spot for weeks), to remixing Legends like Eric B and Rakim, INXS, Steve Reich, The Fall and James Brown (I mean what a list!)... from mulitmedia pioneering with everything from video art to software video performance instruments to the unknown sky.   Matt has had his fingers in many a tasty pie.    I was very lucky to catch up with him on the blower for a minute :)    we chat about the zen delay which is a great collaboration between ninja tune and Ericasynths. Check this link!   ZEN DELAY LAY LAY LAY LAY   _____________   Nitty today is all about the mysterious and musical world of the morph. Exploring the space in BETWEEN. I use a few methods to explore this. the obxa's portamento, the emblematic systems "catalyst" which is a eurorack module for crossfading between stored states (in this notes) and lastly I use Ableton with midi faders to achieve similar results. I needed to make a max patch for this which is here: enjoy ! it has a help button :)       ABLETON NITTY FADER!    _______________   Music for today's show comes from 2 fine artists !   1) 2 songs from Envelope music. These come from an album called "The Rift" which is a debut collaborative work by West Australian composers Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan. find the album here: https://envelopemusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-rift   2) 2 track by Adam Jay, a experienced techno chap! he's done a lot of banging shit! https://soundcloud.com/adamjay

Richard and I go waaaay back. Yep, we were touring America together back in 2002 and that was the first time I met him.  tWas a warp records tour with Mark Bell (RIP), Nightmares on wax, Prefuse 73, Luke Vibert and other nutters!  He was the guy fixing everyone’s laptops on the bus I recall. We were all busy getting wasted and he was onto something else. That pretty much explains the man. Super generous with his time and pioneering in his goals and accomplishments. Not a follower.  Indeed, not content with just making LPs, touring and all of that trad life, Richard’s made his own path and now his work represents the high bar for sound design across the board.  Whether working for Google, Yamaha or Jaguar Richard is the guy to figure out converting the unknown into the possible. A no to yes convertor.  We talk about his toughest sonic challenge, the cutting edge of sound tech in 2019 and where he is heading in terms of his AI aspirations.   We chat about the world of sound that lives above 20kHz. Why analog ??? and a lot more.  He’s a deep mind and this chat gets pretty specific in terms of tools used and so forth.  You’re welcome!   Richard talks about a purely algorithmically generated set of music Here’s a link:   https://williamfields.bandcamp.com/album/fieldsos   Really something unexpected.    Also That Sanken 100khz mic !   https://bit.ly/32T0j54 ____________________ In the nitty today I dive into controlled chaos. Dipping an ankle into the portal! It’s a lot of eurorack talk. Tricky to explain but I give it a go :) CHAOS  CONTROL CHAOS ?? bit of both like … ____________________   Music for today’s show comes from Fake Baby. Check it here! http://www.andyrivas.com ____________________   Here’s the link to the competition giveaway thanks to Sonarworks! What you stand to win!!   Speaker measurement software – find out where your monitors need help DAW plugin – reference sound combined with zero latency for any musical endeavor Systemwide – apply calibration to all outgoing audio Measurement microphone for  Recording Studios – sniffs out any faults your setup might have Custom-tailored calibration file for your Sennheiser HD 650 studio headphones Sennheiser HD 650 studio headphones   Enter now!    https://gleam.io/lroFH/howa-podcast-x-sonarworks-giveaway

My guest today has been watched by so many people it’s hard to imagine all the eyeballs! Quite a harrowing image actually. 440 million eye balls!! Yes, that’s the amount that have viewed his now uber famous and ace youtube channel. An quick and undeniable word to describe Andrew might be prolific. I mean it FEELS apt since he’s made over 50 albums of original music.  It’s bonkers! The man must never sleep and yet he always looks so well rested! Many mysteries.. so many.  Many questions too.  I mean how to navigate the internet and win?  How are choices are amplified by the web? How to forge your own path? He’s a great teacher, formidable visual artist and musician and super positive hang :) It’s the wild west out there and Andrew has been riding his digital horse into unexplored towns for years now. He’s been around and seen a lot on his travels Let’s get into it Please welcome to hanging out with audiophiles   Andrew Huang   Check his amazing youtube channel : https://bit.ly/28SFrz8   His 30 day class is underway.. Looks like you can Join a waiting list for next time   https://bit.ly/316oxqM _____________________   In the nitty I get into the rubby universe of the microtone! We just dip a toe in but it’s a trippy toe   _____________________   Music for today’s show comes from a man that lives just down the road from me over in Knoxville TN It’s from Nikki Nair. Keep that electro alive!  Links: https://soundcloud.com/nikki-nair https://www.instagram.com/nikki__nair/   ALSO:   I’m selling a bunch of heavy studio gear at an amazing store here in nashville. Check it out! https://retrogearshop.com/products   What am I selling?   Vac rac TSL 3  2x Neumann pres (with meter) (220v) 2x Neumann comp (220v) 2x V74 line amp Kurzweil k250 RMX  Ensoniq mirage (with loads of disks) Moog theramin etherwave (UK power) 2xUA2100 channel strips  DSI tempest 

A man who I’ve heard of many times and yet never had a chance to meet. Gotta love the pod for this coz after my chat with Mr Vaderslice on Episode 51 I was introduced.  Mr Congleton is so fast. He’s quick witted and on point. He knows what he thinks and has clearly taken a long time to come to his opinions. You know where you stand with that kind of attitude. You can see the strength of his character quickly from his twitter feed where he is not afraid to tell it like he sees it. The fact there’s a quick way in with the man perhaps that explains how he’s been able to work with such a huge range of talent from a multitude of genres. Time for a quick name drop. Although he’s worked with hundreds and hundreds of great acts (many of whom are wonderfully unknown) a selection of his high profile gigs include working with: Lana Del Rey Angel Olsen St Vincent David Byrne My guest on episode 17 - Kimbra  Modest mouse  Swans  Erykah Badu And my guest from episode 16 - unknown mortal orchestra  There are so many more. It’s quite staggering to read a longer list of names from his wiki.  Needless to say “have you ever been experienced” is rather fitting So in that mental cloud of psych dust lingering in the doorway lets jump into this coffee morning speed ramble with the powerhouse that is John Congleton  ______ The Nitty sees me getting old school with my original looper. The same one I used to open for James Brown, Bjork and Beck! so simple by 2109 standards but it was 19 years ago :) _______ Music for the show is from second violin :  https://secondviolin.bandcamp.com/ or soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/second-violin Thanks to  ASC for the show sponsorship Get some tubetraps ASAP !! They rule http://www.tubetrap.com

Ello This is the commonwealth edition. Like the Ashes of Audio it’s UK vs Australia.  Justin Stanley FINALLY finds his way to the pod.  First and foremost Mr Stanley is my friend. We’ve been on some serious adventures in our times. We were on the road together in 2006, where we met touring with Beck.  I was opening and J.S. was in the Beck band and KILLING. Also he happens to be a prince of man. A TRUE legend. A humble badass and a VERY experienced audio king.  He’s worked with everyone from Leonard Cohen to Prince and even a little Lidell along the way. Husband of the wonderful Nikka Costa and Dad to two incredible young humans, Justin is just a joy.   So happy to have him on.  He surprised me by driving us both over to Barefoot in LA. It’s owned by Eric Valentine. WHAT a place. We sat and played on the piano Stevie used on Songs in the Key of Life, Talking Book and so on.  I mean COME ON!  It was all too much. Such a sweet surprise that’ll stay with me for ages.   Here’s to you Justin! You’re a class act.   _____________________________________   Music for the show is from Sydney Australia.. so apt. It was clearly meant to be.  The band is called Colourfields. And the tracks that appear in the show are from an album called “Body Objects”  Superb stuff! Link here:   https://colourfields1.bandcamp.com/album/body-objects ____________________________________   In the 54th Nitty I get into the mysterious world of reversing reversed effects. Forwarding the backward. A little time travel. Also apt for this show with Justin.    Here we go!        

HOWA EP 53 - BRAD COOK      I was listening to Larry Klein on a recent mix with the masters explain this idea that a producer is someone that sees the spark of uniqueness in an artist and tries to amplify that.  That is a noble process and so nuanced that it takes years to know when to speak, when to encourage, when to call it a night, when to listen and so on. Brad knows aaaallll about aaaallll of this ! He’s an excellent energy in the room and so many musicians can benefit from his touch.  I’ve only been privy to his vibe in a session on two occasions but his presence is both large and also magically effortless.  I think it’s the fact that you know he gets it. He knows a real moment and he’s in it for the depth, not the racking up of medals and the shallow status games.  The first time I met him, he was rather high and laughing at a bass. It was a gathering with Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) and a large crew of players in Nashville where I ended up shouting into a mic with the other members of the collective they call “Gangs” . That first meeting was a great hang but there was no time to chat and so I was super happy to bump into him again on my mystical trip to the sonic ranch in Texas. Turns out that’s where a lot of the latest Bon Iver record was made and Brad was there the whole time as producer so it only seemed right to jump into that story and to see what that was all about and to feel out the ways Brad has learned to listen and cultivate the fledgling music growing in the room. He’s a formidable musician and a very easy going chap. I loved chatting with him! Please welcome to the show BRAD COOK!   _______________________________   In the nitty I gently roll the dice on music asking what probability can offer the sequencer? Take a chance!   _______________________________   Music for Ep 53 comes from Jeremy Hunter aka Doxa Check his music here:   https://doxadoxa.bandcamp.com    Welcome!

RJD2 lives in Ohio! That was NEWS to me I often find myself there for family occasions since my in laws live in Columbus. I never knew. I mean I would NEVER have guessed but isn’t that always the best somehow?   Plus have you EVER met a man named Ramble?  So many firsts on the 52 :) Welcome! let us delve into schmod cast! ______________________________ First off I’d like to invite you to invite to take part in a competition to win a badass Radial EXTC SA. Yes the kind folks at Radial Engineering are running a giveaway to a random player so jump in and WIN this thing :) Here’s the info you need!   Click this (before September 15th 2019)   http://bit.ly/2MRRUd1   WINNNNNN!!!! ______________________________   I’d like to thanks Rob Hurd for the music you’ll find on the show. It’s all from an EP called “Digital”  Here’s the bandcamp link if you dig the mood!   https://speckofdust.bandcamp.com/album/digital ______________________________   In the nitty I try to make a digital nakamichi with plugins    do I win?   Spoiler :   We ALL win!

Hello! It’s Jamie and John in Echo Park time :) Yeah, I sat in my Air B and B and chatted with Mr Vanderslice on Feb 4th 2019. What a treat. I’d met him years before in Australia but I’d completely forgotten I was reminded of that by him during the interview which could have potentially been embarrassing … But John is not that guy. No no no He has a delightfully animated persona, running on 100 the whole time and there’s lots of honesty and enthusiasm that hits you like a vinagerette. A lot of f bombs too so those with sensitive ears get ready to panic! Who is J.V.?? Well…for one thing, he’s been at it as long as I have!  Potted history: Part of the MK Ultra a waiter at Chez Panisse owner and provider of studio magic at Tiny Telephone Studios in the Bay Area AND he is incredibly prolific.    John’s worked with Spoon, the Mountain Goats, Okkervil River, Death Cab for Cutie, Tune-Yards and hundreds (maybe thousands more!) We get into chatting about tour life a little in pod and he tells me of the living room show thing.  I’d not heard of that but was intrigued to say the least. Luckily enough, a few months after this chat I got to see him do his thing in a house just up the road from me.  He was such brilliant entertainer. He’s been through a lot and has come out of it all a generous and energized soul and it was a treat to see him holding court in a little house show.  Just rocking. Welcome to the show Mr Vanderslice!   Nitty Gritty this time sees me delving into some Raymond Scott inspired noodles.  I must say it sounds nothing like his work but the simple point of it was to explore the idea of pitting slow moving melodic motion against a faster trigger source. It’s such a simple premise and it leads to more questions like “what happens if you cluster sequencers as a big blob and transpose them all?”  That’s a very Raymond move!   TIP: On my humble dives into modular I have to shout out http://www.mylarmelodies.com and Div Kid https://www.youtube.com/user/DivKidVideo/videos So much useful stuff these 2 have shared. There’s a lot to learn. Hat’s off you guys!   Music for the show comes from Leo Appleyard aka Urchin    Lovely stuff :)   http://www.urchinband.com  https://www.instagram.com/urchinmusic/  https://open.spotify.com/artist/5YPbtEypUwxOJrt9OpbicE    Cheerio  c u in a Bi-week!!!

I’m happy to welcome grammy award winning musician/producer Adrian Quesada to the 50th Episode of the show!  Let’s just jump into the big list of collaborators he’s rocked with to get a quick taste of the caliber of this gent! How about Shawn Lee?! Yeah! as well as Ocote Soul Sounds,  Martin Perna of Antibalas… so so many more He’s performed on the Late Show with David Letterman as well as twice on PBS' historic Austin City Limits TV Show.  He has also worked with Prince, GZA (Wu-Tang Clan), Bernie Worrell, Daniel Johnston, Israel Nash, Alex Maas (The Black Angels), Larry Harlow, Quantic and many more.  As a producer Quesada has worked on albums by Daniel Johnston, The Sword, Natalia Clavier, Karl Denson, Toy Selectah, Wild Child, Graham Reynolds and Ian Moore, among others.  I mean that’s not the HALF of it!  We catch up as he’s deep in the mix at his superb Austin based studio, Electric Deluxe Recorders.  He’s coming out for an air break so we literally hear a rare sonic glimpse of the local wildlife outside the cave where he is working feverishly at all times… That smell? Yeah he’s likely cooking up amazing musical morsels like the NEW! HOT!  release from the Black Pumas which is the focus of our chat!   So yes, we’ve a Super humble badass in the hotchair  Hey Adrian! I’m 50!    Info Splash time:   web: electricdeluxerecorders.com tw: @adrianmquesada theblackpumas.com     Nitty sees me trying to “music” with filters. 6 filters and a smile :)   The music for the show comes courtesy of Kim Gaboury    Find all the info about him here:   KIM GABOURY kimgaboury.com —  aka AKIDO akidomusic.com —