I've always loved music and Spotify especially for finding some of the unusual genres. Recently, this past week Spotify released a new version of its software for Mac and Windows (Linux if run under Wine) that spices up the user interface, social connectivity and overall peformance.
Spotify did 'scrobble' your played tracks over the the Last.fm platform that allows your friends to see what you're playing when you're listening to it. Now, Spotify have extended the usage to social network giant, Facebook. The new UI offers a profile for yourself, along with your Facebook profile photo pulled in and all of your friends using the Spotify application, whether they are part of the Spotify page or not.
After using it for just over an hour, I have become much a fan to the new changes and even more so to the Facebook feature. You can also import your own music library from the standard operating system music libraries such as iTunes and Windows Media Player.
You can try it if you live in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France or Spain and unfortunately I don't have any invitations left.
The Electribe EMX-1 is a ground-breaking instrument, which is a part of a series of Dance tools. To create music on the EMX, pattern-based programming is used to create sounds beyond your imagination.
Sometimes thought of as a Synthesizer, or even a 'Mixer' of some kind, the EMX allows the user to create sounds using many knobs to change effects, and filters such as Cutoff, Reasonance, and also Modulation such as Pitch, and Amp to create interesting Wobble effects which can be used in Dubstep music.
The EMX uses a Cutting-Edge MMT synthesis engine, and has Twin Vacuum Tubes for Analog Warmth. Vacuum Tubes, though considered a thing of the past in the world of music, add an interesting 'warm' feeling to the sound produced, though it is actually recommended that you leave Tube Gain at it's minimum.
It is possible to use any MIDI Keyboard with this, especially the microKORG Keyboard, as it's made to work with the EMX. There is a keyboard built in to the EMX, however there are no keys - you just use the pattern keys and change the bar with directional arrows. For this price you may expect a slightly more impressive keyboard implemented, but it does the trick for me and I have no major issues .. though I have used a Keyboard with it and it does make it easier to make catchy melodies due to not having toswitch between bars.
Having used the EMX for a couple of months now, I have to say it is a very interesting piece of equipment. At around £450, it certainly isn't cheap to try, but I must recommend it as I have always been a fan of music, and this has allowed me to have a shot at it. I have been able to make all the sounds I want, from Peaceful Electronica to Devastating Dub .. You can do it all with this fascinating device. A few artists who use the EMX are - Calvin Harris, Enter Shikari, and Lady Gaga, to name a few.
Overall, I highly recommend this, especially for 'forward-thinking' musicians. You can make truly unique music with it, and even for the huge price I think it's very much worth it! The design is very nice, the blue is metallic which gives it a nice, shiny appearance. The buttons light up too which is looks impressive - even though it's simple! I'm very pleased with the product, and I hope many more people take the risk with the amount of money I did!
It is incredibly confusing at first, but if you sit down with the trusty manual (which by the way is very informative), you can find yourself making tunes beyond your wildest dreams in no time. I have created a song for my Artists Page on MySpace.. which you can find here. My first main song is called 'Flight of the Dove', and is mainly a peaceful tune. I made it in less than a day, and will display it here to hopefully give you guys a nice insight on what can be created with this. Don't be too critical as it is recorded in terrible quality and is just a quick snippet, no vocals yet or anything!
Thanks for reading my post, and I hope you found this interesting! Be sure to check out my YouTube channel, HavokHarrTV, and also follow me on twitter, @Harr2k9!
Apple announced today that they sold their 10 billionth (billion with a b) song through iTunes. This is a huge milestone to them, and whomever downloaded the 10,000,000,00th song will receive a $10,000 iTunes gift card. The winner of this contest hasn't been announced yet, and won't be for a few more days. I personally love iTunes and the ease of use it presents to its users.
So, from the Internet, congrats Apple. You've done well.
Like Apple, I love music with a deep passion. I always have and I always will. That's why i'm thinking about starting a podcast of my own, on the topic of, of course, music.
Keep in mind that this is still in concept phase, but I plan to work hard to get it into an actual state of being. Let me tell you exactly what it would entail.
New episode every Tuesday (seems to be the "music day")
Segments would include weekly news, music review, artist to watch for, and song of the week
Podcast published on iTunes and on a separate blog (and possibly thecreativeone)
Would occasionally have guest host (might be looking for full-time guest host)
I'll be sure to let you guys know when and if this idea progresses ahead, but I do plan on it doing so, and I hope it turns out as good in real life as it did in my head.
I mentioned previously that I may be looking for a full-time guest host. If you're interested in this position, send a thirty second audio clip of yourself discussing and topic to ndmacgeek@gmail.com with the subject line "Host."
If you don't know what iTunes is, you have been living under a rock since 2000. In 1999, SoundJam MP was released by a company known today Casady & Greene, which shut down in 2003.
At the time, SoundJam MP was the second audio focused application for Mac OS, next to Audion, developed by a now popular Mac OS X developer company named Panic. Apple first approached Panic about working together on Audion to create a audio focused application that came bundled with the operating system. However, Panic had been talking to AOL and was never able to meet with Apple about the bundled audio application. Apple then moved to SoundJam MP, bought it, , removed a few features, revamped the interface, and named it: iTunes. By version 2, there was complete support for Mac OS X and the original iPod.
Version 4 released the iTunes store. Possibly one of the greatest decisions Apple has ever made. Apple quickly acquired rights from various record companies to sell their music, and give them a percentage of the profit. Apple also introduced iTunes cards, which were pushed out to thousands of stores across the United States. The cards could be redeemed for credit on the iTunes store, rather than being charged to your credit card.
When Apple added support for Microsoft Windows, iPod sales shot up dramatically. Apple became champion of the MP3 world. More and more features began rolling out, ratings, TV Shows and Movies, Cover Flow, Multiple languages, International iTunes Stores, Rentals, and then, Apple released the App Store for iPod Touch and iPhone.
The App Store update was just as successful as the release of the iTunes Store it's self, companies not even associated with music began developing applications for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Games, Social Networking tools, Medical tools, GPS and turn-by-turn, MS Exchange, and more were now all on the iPhone, and all of it had to be done with iTunes.
Though there are copies and competition of the iPods and iPhones there is surely nothing quite like iTunes.
you're playing when you're listening to it. Now, Spotify have extended the usage to social network giant, Facebook. The new UI offers a profile for yourself, along with your Facebook profile photo pulled in and all of your friends using the Spotify application, whether they are part of the Spotify page or not. 
Jonathan Rowntree 
