LOC NES - Vacation (Akai MPD32, Ableton Live 8 & Anguilla)

For the past week I was vacationing on the beautiful island of Anguilla. Home to some of the best beaches in the world.

It's funny how a simple change in your surroundings can inspire one to create. The pace is so relaxed in Anguilla. By my third day there, I really started to absorb the lifestyle and the mindset. I feel that frame of mind came through in this track.

This is a 100% laptop beat. All the sounds (including the drums) were made in Reason 6 and Ableton Live 8. Instead of doing one of my usual pad-mashing routines I did a live arrangement using Ableton Live's session view (triggering scenes, muting/unmuting tracks, applying effects using my trusty Akai MPD32).

The footage that you see comes from the various beaches that I visited while there. Those include Crocus Bay, Rendezvous, Shoal Bay and Coritot. It was shot using a Canon T3i with a combination of a Tokina 11-16 wide angle lens and a 60mm macro lens.

My only regret is that I didn't get footage of Shoal Bay. Otherwise this was a labour of love.

Hope you enjoy and if you like what you see and hear please subscribe, comment and "like" the video.

Peace and dope beats!

AIFL - Encased In Amber (Akai MPD32 + Ableton Live 8)

So i'm still in my phase of sampling synths. Last episode I only sampled synths from Reason 6. This time around I sampled sounds from my trusty MicroKORG (except for the vocal sample, that came from a podcast about the human imagination).

The MicroKORG is a little beast. The sounds that come out of it still amaze me, even after having owned it for so long.

I first attempted to make this beat on my MPC 1000, but it's hard to go back to it after being spoiled by Ableton. I ended up abandoning the MPC and put everything together on the computer.

Why can't they make a hardware sampler that has the same power of software. Maybe I'm being naive but I think this should be possible.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the tune and if you like it please subscribe and comment. Your feedback is always appreciated and as always very encouraging.

Peace and dope beats!