Summer Love II on Tango Hanto - The Story

The weekend started for Jamie, Natsuko & I early Friday morning. I think Jamie awoke to his cat licking his face before 6am...and he was up early...and we were on our way to Tango. We kind of knew the amount of work that was ahead of us...and we knew that it was going to take 2 days of full-on work to get everything set up in time for Saturday evening. Anyway, we cruised our way North...and stopped to get tons of food and beer.

When we finally reached Tango Hanto, it was about 12:30...and we immediately got to work. Our idea was to set up Jamie's stage creation in a different location than last time because the typhoon kicked up tons of sticks and garbage on the other site. First, we put together the DJ table and the VJ table. Then, Natsuko immediately got to work on making signs for the party, I started carrying old bamboo poles, about 4 meters in length, across the beach to the other site, while Jamie jumped on his laptop and started to use MAYA to draw up the design.

Jame is a genius, and through this idea came together in about an HOUR while sitting in the car (and ridiculously exhausted no less). We finally decided how much bamboo we needed, and went up to the old temple to get all the final pieces that we needed. After enduring countless mosquito bites from where the bamboo was, we brought it all down to the party site, and decided to celebrate our hard work with our FIRST meal of the day and a some chu-hais...while watching the "Dragon Sunset" (as Natsuko liked to call it).

Around this time, Matt showed up and started to set up the food stalls. Jamie and I realized that we still had a lot of work to do, and that we needed to set up lights and try to get the stage frame built by the end of the night or else we simply would not be finished in time for the party. So...thats what we did. We were really on our last bit of energy...but...with the alcohol flowing...we got to work and started to construct the frame. After setting it up (and then putting it back down to get the flags on), it was finally looking like a stage. At the end of the night (around 11pm), it looked something like this.

That was about it for the first day. We enjoyed some relaxation with some friends, and quickly passed out...until the morning.

The sun came up, and we were back at it around 8 or 9 in the morning. We still had tons of work to do...and really wanted to have the party place looking like a party by the time people started showing up. So, we started to get the final bamboo poles set up on the stage, and started to place the white cloth on the back for the projection. We also got all the sound set up, and tested. It was so nice to have tunes to listen to while working, and we listened to tons of OASIS DJ sets throughout the day. That really made it easier to work!

Everything was ready to go, and DJ Kamon started to spin some really old-school reggae tracks while we finished up. The sun was starting to set, another yet amazing sunset blessed us all.

One thing I forgot to mention was that one of our KEY team members was not there. The last "Summer Love" party we did...Jamie, Natsuko, myself, & RICK were dubbed "Team Hurry the Fuck Up". Well, Rick wasnt able to make it until later...so we decided, for him to hold his place in "Team Hurry the Fuck Up"...he would have to redeem himself. I think it was Natsuko and Jamie's idea...but we had decided to BURY Rick in the sand. But, to add insult to injury, we were going to make him dig his own hole, and tell him that it was for part of the stage.

Whats even funnier, is I clearly remember Rick saying at this point "Do you guys really need this hole". We were laughing harder than ever. Anyway, he dug a HUGE hole, big enough for him to sit in...and we buried him....all the while laughing our asses off! He became the Mer-man!

We also got this beautiful sunset shot.

So, the sun was going down...and Dan Kane, Darren, Tender, Dan Hart, & all their friends played an AMAZING acoustic set while the sun went down.

The sun went down on the acoustic set, and it was time for the DJs to start the night. I was the first DJ...and it was the first time the visuals were able to be seem in full force. The set up looked AMAZING!

The party was pumping...and people were dancing. FroBot (myself), Joey, and Nori all were lucky enough to lay down sets before the "RAIN MONSTER" came. It was crazy!!! It went a little sumthin like this.

Around 9:30pm, someone comes running into the party yelling "WERE ABOUT TO GET NAILED BY A RAIN STORM!!!!". The tone of voice is what got me....it was DEAD SERIOUS. I looked at Jamie and we both knew exactly what had to be done. Luckily, I had set up a tent for equipment, and immediately started getting out tarps and whatnot. Literally 1 minute after this, the sky lit up...and rain came down like jungle rain. There was no indication of this storm...and if it wasnt for someone using an iphone and looking at the local radar...we would have been up shit creek. We got the gear out of the rain JUST in time...and...of course...have no pictures to show for this. The last thing on our minds was "taking pictures". The rain didnt last long, but the radar showed a bunch more rain coming throughout the night....so we were hesitant to put up the expensive sound system again. After a little bit of drizzle...and some brainstorming between Jamie and I....we set up the tarps over the stage, put the speakers within them...and set up the ipod for about a half hour. This at least kept the music going, and people were ready for a party again.

However, Jamie and I made a BONEHEAD move. Remember, that if you STAPLE a tarp to bamboo poles, it NO LONGER works as a tarp is intended to! HAHAHA. Needless to say, water was kind of dripping into the stage...and we were worried about gear. Never-the-less, DOM PANG said he would risk his own gear....so we left the mixer only...and he set up. He started to pound an AWESOME techno set...and people were again, dancing and partying it up!

The party was supposed to end around 2am...but...well...it didnt. It went all night. Dom rocked out for a while, Asogi too, Alex aka Freebass, then Karla jumped behind to the wheel for the sunrise set (she had eagerly wanted!!!).

I fell asleep for like an hour around this point...and Tim spun for a while, then Karla again...and they made sure that this party wasnt gonna stop!!!

The weather was looking promising, so we set the gear back up...and the DJs who use CDJ's were able to get on. Hiran played a nice chill morning set...and kept it moving through morning.

At some point...Hiran looked me straight in the eyes and said "Tsukarata!" (im tired). I couldnt agree with him more. I was running on 1 hour of sleep, and most other people were at about the same point. I needed to find a DJ or SOMEONE to go on to make sure that this party didnt stop....and then, one of the locals showed up with his FLUTE and did a small performance for us. It was FUNNY to say the least.

When he finished up, I was unable to find any DJs that were still awake who hadent played already...so I jumped back on for a long 2 hour set. It was at this point people started to take pictures again...(sorry to the DJs who there are no pictures for...it seems everyone dropped out of picture mode from like 12pm-9am).

I was dead tired...so Masamune jumped behind the decks for the final set of the party. People were still dancing away until about noon.

When Masamune finished... Jamie, Natsuko, and I were feeling pooped...but knew there was still a ton of work ahead. We decided to tear down everything while we still had help from everyone else. We started to tear down...and it happened in a fraction of the time it took to put up. 

We packed it all up...enjoyed some swimming for a bit...and then got on the road. I passed out within a few seconds of leaving...only to awake to some ice cream (yea, team hurry the fuck up LOVES ice cream).

With everything finished, Summer Love II was a major success. The energy was great, the people were so friendly, and Love & Peace was in the air. This party would not have been possible without everyones help. Matt, Jamie, Natsuko, Joey, & all the artists, performers, & food stall friends....thank you so much for all your hard work. I hope we can continue to do parties like this in the future....where LOVE & PEACE are the only things that matter!

CODA Brings NEEDED Change to Osaka Popular Crowd

Something very spectacular happened in Kansai last Saturday night at the Suma Beach Party 2010. Normally, this party is relatively good....but something happened that night that stood out from the rest of the years. I watched all the normal party goers...whether they be people who like top 40 music, salary men, hip/hop enthusiasts, heavy metal rockers....anyone & everyone...rock out to...can I say...the RAW BEAT. 

Now, there is nothing surprising about that fact that Juan, Karla, & Joey all had rockin groovy sets...this is something that many of the people within the scene all knew already from listening to Oasis Radio, or going out the the CODA shows in Osaka. But what was really remarkable, is that for the first time, at Suma Beach...it took absolutely NO CHEESE to get the crowd going. Joey started off with some really groovy beats....great, solid, funky but even a little deep....and the crowd just ate it up. This is not an EASY feat by any means. I always feel like it takes some kind of lame remix, some popular overheard song, or some kind of cheesy DJ gestures...to really get the crowd going. This was not the case for the Suma Party this year. The DJs played great, raw, underground tracks....and everyone on the dance floor were shaking it like they didnt know ANYTHING else in the world besides this particularly great underground house & techno. After Joey... Karla & Juan also brought a great attitude & great track selection to the table, and brought the party slowly more and more raw. By the middle of Karlas set, I could see girls & guys shaking it in front of the stage...but lacking the lame "grind" dancing that seems to follow these sorts of "popular, mixed genre" shows.

It is not easy to balance a crowd like the Suma crowd. When a DJ goes to play at their normal monthly event in a club...they know that the clubbers coming are prepared to hear the genres that are to follow. This permits DJs to dig deep within their tracks and find some even more obscure tracks because the people, for the most part, like that particular kind of music. This is especially true for music that CODA does, as it tends to be more underground, raw, and even experimental. But when you get a crowd of normal, everyday clubbers...like people who attend clubs like PURE, or Onzieme, only for the fact that they will have HUGE crowds and multi-genred music...people who are out for more of the EXPERIENCE rather than a particular GENRE of music... it is REALLY HARD to find the right tracks to make their feet move (and also the house knowledgeable listeners at the same time)...especially when it doesnt contain a remix or something for them to neurally catch on to. But last Saturday night at Suma beach....Coda changed all of that!

Not only were they able to supply the raw beat that made the people of Suma move their asses, they did it with a sort of "Funky Grace" that a lot of DJs just dont seem to have. A lot of DJs have trouble finding the right ATTITUDE on stage...whether it being super douchey and engaging the crowd like they are children....or, barely moving like they arent even enjoying it themself. But...between Karla (whos looks DAMN GOOD and cute up there...boppin her head and def feeling the music) & Juan (who never seemed to stop dancing on the stage even when his Coda friends were spinning)...they showed what a DJ should bring to the table at a mass event like the Suma Beach Party.

I hope this is a wave that will continue to ripple throughout Osaka. We need to show everyone around...that there is nothing like a FUNKY RAW BEAT...good and strong at its core...and you dont need something that you "know"...to feel it in your hips. Great job Karla, Juan, Joey, and everyone else who made the Suma Party possible this year! Great work, and I hope you continue this forward progress in the years to come! 

Again, fabulous job Karla, Juan, & Joey! You are a crucial part to making the Osaka scene a fresh & talented one!

Visit the Coda website -http://www.codatechno.com

Peace!

FroBot

Organic Jam Chicken Fillet

This blog is about organic jams. With Hanami around the corner, its time to make the outside world feel the vibrations of organic jam. No computers, no speakers, just people, instruments, & whatever substance you plan to use to induce it! Here I am going to talk about important elements of a good organic jam.

A Jam is like a Chicken Fillet -

In a drum circle, you never know who is going to show up. It may be the most talented of musicians, the hippiest of hippies, the drunkest of drunks, or that totally musically illiterate. When having a jam session with random folks, you cannot get down when things dont sound just right, just remember that everyones energy is flowing, and do your best to take care of the jam.

I like to think of a jam or drum circle like cooking a difficult culinary dish...like a chicken fillet.

There are certain things that need to be there in order for it to taste (or sound) just right. But sometimes, its the little things like spices (small sounds) that will make all the difference. Lets take a meat dish for example. The drums are like the raw meat. You need them to have a nice rhythm and bass. Without them its simply not jam, or a dish. Obviously, the more expensive meat (or better drums & drummers) is going to taste and sound better. If you are really hungry, or have to feed an army, you are going to need a big slab of meat. Think of this like the bass drum at the jam. If you really want to get a big group of people dancing and feeling the vibes, you gotta have that big pounding bass. It may not be the most glorious of jobs in a jam, but damn is it important. And where is your chicken breast fillet going to be without the chicken. Do we want to go vegetarian....nah, not when you wanna make something SUPER delicious.

Next, you need your vegetables to accent your meat. This could be any melodic instrument like a didge, flute, violin....anything noted really. This sound is REALLY going to stand out more than anything else in the jam because it has tones and unique frequencies. Just like some peppers would make the whole chicken fillet nice and spicy. Now hopefully, you didnt shop at the cheap supermarket for your peppers, and the musician knows how to rock out in key with drummers. A main melodic instrument must be able to determine the key of the largest & deepest drum...and stay in key from there. That bass drum stands out more than anything, and you gotta stay right in line with that.

Now we need our onions & garlic. Think of these like all the other drummers jamming in the jam. They really make a big difference to the dish, and without them, it simply doesnt taste the same....yet it doesnt really have to have it in the dish if you dont really want it...but it can make all the difference in a good jam. But, with these elements, you must be careful, because too much can really over do it. And, theres nothing worse than getting a bad onion in the dish, cause it can ruin the whole thing...but even when you make a dish with a bad onion, you still eat the dish, because its better than nothing. You try to not taste it, or pick it out. I think you get what I mean by this.

Now, we have a great gourmet plate serving up....but what chef cooks without salt and pepper. These are used in such small amounts, but can add so much flavor to a meal. Think of salt and pepper as the wood blocks, chimes, bells, sticks, and light percussion in a jam. If you have just the right amount, they can accent the sound of the jam incredibly. These sounds sit at different tones and frequencies that the drums, and can be heard much louder than the lower sounds. Just like salt and pepper can really be tasted in a meal, but they dont really stand out on their own. They need the other elements of the dish to really be appreciated.

Last, we need to add some white wine. Think of this as the people chanting, or that beautiful female voice singing away in the jam. You dont HAVE to have it, but boy o' boy does it sound JUST RIGHT when its there. It can add so much soulful energy to a session, and make it much more memorable. As with wine in a dish, it probably means you have left over wine to drink. This represents all the people who will then let out the vocal insides to the spiritual experience. When more people sing & chant, it makes it so much more memorable.

After slowly taking in that chicken fillet, savoring it, thinking about the time and energy you put into it, there is such a great feeling of satisfaction. Hopefully you didnt drink too much off the wine, and are still able to comprehend all of it....but even if you cant...it still felt great.

That is an Organic Jam Chicken Fillet.

Peace!

FroBot

TIME IS YOUR ENEMY WHEN MAKING TRACKS

(My session today above)

So....for the last year...I have been practicing exclusively DJ skills with ableton live. I said when I started into it, that it would be a good idea to play around with other peoples music, learn the effects and improv elements to DJing, and then it would be good to apply that to track making. I was SO right. After learning what I have in the last year....i'm ready to stop Djing (just too time consuming)....and get deep into the track making process. For my birthday, my wife bought me the Novation Launchpad....and its a perfect addition (well not perfect, ill explain in another blog all about midipipe) to my setup. I now use the VCM 600, Launchpad, Trigger Finger, Microkontrol, and a little nano kontrol while making tracks. Each have their functions, but that is for another day.

What I didnt realize until recently is that my improv set, containing fixed up samples, huge drum kits with youtube pulled samples, and having all the most used effects....all prepared, has made the track making process a breeze....which brings me to the topic of this post.

TIME SPENT ON A TRACK

Up until recently, I thought it was a good thing to spend 60 plus hours on a track. Working out tiny little details, so you had a track that stands out against the rest....this is not the case. When you spend so much time on a track, hearing that same 4 bar loop over and over....not only do you get sick of hearing it, but your ears do not hear it the same as when you started....or as the ears of a first time listener. Your brain hears it in a whole different way. Now theres the scientific idea that you are hearing it different...which I do not know much about. But what I do know, is how I come to HATE every song I ever finish...by the time I finish it. (up until now) A good electronic track is NOT about how technical you can be....its about a good funky bassline, some nice high frequency percussions that stand out in their own frequency range, and a nice side chained kick. Tuning everything is important too, that is why ableton 8's new frequency shifter tool is a godsend. I have my VCM all mapped out to the 6 main channels for all my improv beats, and then the left side which is normally for effects, programmed to elements of tracks. (Kicks, Snare, 1/4 HH, 1/16 HH). Each has a frequency shifter right above it, so I can easily improv a nice beat, and then find the perfect frequency of each of the elements to match the light percussion...and WALAH! Its like the backbone of the track can be created in minutes.

Now some might say...thats a REALLY lazy approach to making music....you should take more time and pride in making a UNIQUE sound....ok, ok....i get the purist approach to it....but the bottom line is, you can either love your song when you finish or hate it....so get it done as quickly, and with the most talent as possible. That does not mean to make a shitty track....it still takes a couple days to really get a track finished up (not including EQing or Mastering....which I never like to do anyways because I prefer other ears to do it over mine, and its so damn BORING!!!)

Ableton, used with the right controllers, and right template set (handmade to your controllers) can make all the world of difference when making tracks quickly and efficiently....and as a producer....being signed....labeled...managed....you gotta make them funky beats...and fast.

Another key to speed in making tracks is to dedicate a few weeks, months (or even a year like in my case) preparing everything ahead of time. I made many drum pad kits (drum tool within ableton) filled with my most common used samples. For instance, I have 5 full pads (matching my launchpad)(500+ samples) of only sweeps. These are nice samples I have made, found, or purchased. I never know which one i'm going to like, but, I am 100% sure that every track is going to need them. So, just drag in my saved pad (by clicking the save button after making it...the little icon on the right of the pad). Now I can reuse that pad of samples over and over. Having the pads mapped out the the launchpad is great for switching through them before using them...and much more efficient than searching my 700+ gigs of samples and using the mouse. Using abletons transpose button (mapped out of course) is nice to change the key on the fly to match the song i'm making. Now I dont just have sweeps, I have full pads dedicated to chinese instruments by using the "slice to midi" feature. Ive sampled out arhu and dizi instruments in traditional progressions (even from youtube) into nice playable pads...which I can come back to at any time. I dont even want to get into the number of kicks, claps, and snares I have prepared. These are not just samples like ones in your library....these have all been sampled from songs where I liked the kick, cleaned up, and ready to be used on the fly. All helping to maintain speed during the music making process.

You dont want to waste your time on the simple elements of a track....especially when dealing with funky house or tech house like I am doing. They always have a steady kick, always have a nice sharp snare or clap, always have a nice rolling HH....so have those ready to go, and easily swapable.

Another little tip is to have sample making sessions....where you solely make basses for a whole day, or make nice chord sounds..etc. Once you get deep within a synth or soft synth, that is when you find the best sounds. Take extra time preparing nice loops that you may or may not use in the future....but, you HAVE THEM. You never know when that funky bassline you forgot all about just might be the perfect match for that beat your making. Dont just jump into a synth and pick the first sound that comes. Have a session dedicated to sound making, especially basses and melodies. Toss on a nice background beat without many tones, and JAM AWAY. Record one, after another....funk around with the settings....and record more. Thats when you will find your best sounds. NOT EVERY sit down has to be about MAKING A TRACK...you can't go from point A -Z in the music world without going through B,C,D etc (unless your avril lavine or something)....we all just wanna hear some bad ass beats anyway.

Well, all that being said...remember, time is your enemy. Too much is bad. Keep tracks coming, and dont over do it...especially if you are making a living off of it. Its bad enough being in the club night after night and hearing shitty beats over and over in your head...let alone listening to the SAME ONE over and over at home. Keep it fresh....and your soul will be happy with you...and your musical spirit will come into the track rather than being forced. Stay happy while making tracks, and dont make it a job. The more you prepare before hand, the funner your making session will be.