MESSE13: Korg Volca Grooveboxes Video, Drums, B-line and analog poly -Sonicstate.com.

If your like me (and maybe you are if you are here) and have to try out all the latest and greatest audio/dj related web apps, then you may have tried Mixlr which allows you to do live audio streaming online either on their website or  have loaded up their iOS or Android App.

On the Broadcasting side, you need to run Mixlr’s Broadcaster App and configure it with your software setup. In my case, I of course use Native Instruments’ Traktor App.  I also recently purchased Native Instrumens Z2 mixer which is awesome in its own right (yea, i know, fanboy) working seamlessly with Traktor doubling as the Sound Card / Audio Interface.

Mixlr’s Directions speak to using Cycling 74′s SoundFlower App to internally ‘wire’ Traktor’s Outputs virtually into Mixlr. This is fine, but the way they describe it is a bit more complicated than it needs to be I think.

1. On a mac, open up Audio Midi Settings Application.

2. Create a new Aggregate Device with Soundflower 2 (or Soundflower 16 channels if you want, you only to use 2), along with the Z2 Device or whichever physical audio interface you have. On the Z2 Mixer, Sample Rate is set to fixed @ 48khz. Then, select the Soundflower Device in Audio Midi App and make sure the SoundFlower device is set to 44.1khz Sample Rate! (Mixlr needs Clock set to 44.1khz or you will have the incorrect pitch in your audio)

	A. My Mixlr Aggregate Device Settings. Checked Soundflower (2 ch) and my Z2 Mixer. Named Device Mixlr
	B. My Mixlr Aggregate Device Settings Order (make sure SoundFlower is listed first, then your sound card)
	C. See that the Z2 is set to 48khz Sampling Rate.
	D. My SoundFlower 2 Channel Settings (44.1 khz)

3. Inside of Traktor’s audio settings, select your Aggregate Audio device (I had named mine ‘Mixlr’)

Select Mixlr as Audio Device and select 44.1 khz for Sample Rate

4. For Monitor Settings, you need to point to the Aggregate Device  Channels where the Z2 is, so in our case, it comes on channels 4 and 5.

5. For Master Output Settings, keep the usual Z2 settings (outs 3 and 4)

6. Then.. on the RECORD Output channel Selection, this is where you should select Output to Mixlr Channels 1 and 2, which is the 2 Soundflower Channels. This is the Simple Setting workaround I found.

Route your audio. Key is Output record set to 0 and 1.

7. You can check that the Mixer Recorder option inside of the Traktor Preferences is still set to Internal. You can still record internally, as well as broadcast out to Mixlr for higher fidelity capture of your set.

8. Exit out of Traktor Settings

9. In the Mixlr Broadcast App, just change audio settings and select Mixlr Channels 1 and 2 as the input and make sure you are running some audio through Traktor Software and the Master level is up a bit. Mixlr App should recognize the internal Audio and you should save the settings and be good to go. No need to set a Monitor output setting in Mixlr.

I like that this keeps the signal path digital the entire time and no extra fiddling with cables going out of a mixer and into a spare stereo channel on your sound card to capture the audio for Mixlr. You should be up and running a bit faster and be happy Mixlr’ing.

Mode Machines F-106 Juno Filter Review – BBOY TECH REPORT.

After some disturbing news I was made aware of yesterday, my mind need a bit of escape. And what better escape method than getting immersed in an hour and 20 minutes of some mixing. This session is a bit more straightforward, steady, 4 to the floor veering on some more shall I say, darker moods, with a short burst of positive vibes, but veering back to the dark side.

Tracklist:
Booka Shade vs. Plastic Operator – Night Falls / Won’t Back Down
Arp Aubert – Actress (Aleander Polzin Remix)
Meat Beat Manifesto – TRS2
Cim – Typical (Morgan Geist Remix)
Solid Gold Playaz – Playaz 4 U
Ame – Basic Track
Iori – Grit (Skudge Remix)
Brooks Mosher – Intermetro
The Mingers & Mr. G – Mingers Do Church
Blaze – My Beat (Original)
Solid Gold Playaz – Movements of Venus
Retroflare – After The Rain (Weekend World Mix)
Kerri Chandler – Bar A Thym (Foremost Poets Vocal Edit)
Klement Bonelli – Nocturne 2 (KB Instrumental)
Chez Damier – Help Myself (Carl Craig Reconstruction)
Plastikman – Spastik
Maurizio – M7#3
LFO – Ultra Shall

Download:
http://blancodisco.com/downloads/mixes/bennyblanco_Melon_022613.mp3

benny blanco® – 3 Hours Of 100 – 107 BPM (2013-02-22)

New Mix!

I had a whirlwind session this past friday night at home on my newish Native Instruments Z2 Mixer leveraging 2 MidiFighters as My Decks.
Just went for it. Some if it is nice in places and a few sloppy turns here and there. It is what it is. Got a bit more Industrial in places than I ever thought I would. I can’t believe I kept the tempo pretty slow and steady never really getting past 107 BPM.

Tracklist:

art of noise – day at the races
meat beat manifesto – i got the fear
siouxsie and the banshees – peek a boo
digital underground – humpty dance
emf – unbelieveable (hip hop mix)
echo & the bunnymen – bedbugs and ballyhoo
Da Damn Phreak Noize Phunk – grand royal
the orb – perpetual dawn
studio – life’s a beach (prins thomas mix)
i:cube – tokyo uno
ace of clubs – 2 daze become 1
ministry – my possession
nine inch nails – down in it (singe)
nine inch nails – kinda i want to
meat beat manifesto – now remix
the farm – higher and higher
coldcut – that greedy beat
nicholas – beneath the surface
depeche mode – precious
visti & meyland – stars
ultramarine – stella
joey beltram – psycho bass
sorcerer – surfing at midnight
belle epoque – miss broadway
andreas vollenwieder – belladonna (todd terje edit)
mark e – scared
kmfdm – godlike
ministry – what he say
stratus – footprints
dutch rhythm combo – cartagenera (ray mang remix)
toby tobais – fluffy fruit
art of noise – diversion eight
nine inch nails – sanctified
meat beat manifesto – circles
skinny puppy – last call
propaganda – das testament des dr mabuse (dj promo version)
the the – giant

http://blancodisco.com/downloads/mixes/bennyblanco_3HoursOf100-107bpm_2013-02-22.mp3

Couldn’t resist.

This should be good for All Acid Heads whether or not you DevilFish or not.

Devil Fish mods for the Cyclone Analogic TT-303.

Maybe later this year this little guy will enter the arsenal of it’s 2 ancestors here @blancodisco.

Mark your calendars, my next DJ gig has been lined up and it will be for a funky street art showing already in progress at the Hendershot Gallery in the LES (lower east side of new york city) Thursday, June 28th from 6 – 8 pm.

Some good reviews of the show have been posted by several outlets already.

boweryboogie

solifestyle

insidenewyork

vandalog

gallery

I’m particularly partial to the ASVP goods, but I’m sure I’ll be introduced to a few other artists at this show to my liking.

My Sonic Curation:

Given the image style and aesthetic going on with this installation visually, I thought I would create a fitting atmosphere sonically. My immediate thought that came to mind was to curate a heavy sample based set. What does that mean exactly? Many of the tracks to be played would have the predominant building blocks of music created by pre-existing grooves, loops, sound fx & sound bites from pop culture as we know it (film, tv, radio, records) as the core source material. Found Sound to create new works. This cutup construction has always been inspirational and more importantly, highly entertaining to listen too. For the super audio / record collecting geek types, the idiot savant will be able to identify the sources of all these founds that have been produced into these recordings. So much like the visual artists of this show taking found imagery, iconography, typography and making it their own, I’ll play some of my favorites performing the sounds & grooves with my assortment of dj controller gadgets. Expect some Meat Beat Manifesto, Coldcut, Ninja Tune, DJ Shadow, Mo Wax, Wagon Christ, Plug, De La Soul, Beastie Boys, Depth Charge, Pop Will Eat Itself & Osymoso to name a few…. These are some of my heros in the world of Sample Laden Driven Music. Not to worry, there will be no ‘GirlTalk’.

The gig itself should be pretty chill / relaxed vibe and typical gallery faire being served up.

THE PRESS RELEASE:

Celebrate Summer at Hendershot Gallery:
New Prints, Secret Street Art Installations and Music by benny blanco® blancodisco, nyc!

Summer Event: Thursday, June 28 from 6–8pm

Music by benny blanco® blancodisco, nyc

Artists: Anthony Lister, ASVP, Chris Stain, Clown Soldier, Gaia, gilf!, Icy & Sot, Imminent Disaster, Joe Iurato, Judith Supine, Know Hope, Labrona, Miss Bugs, Other, Paul Insect, Sheryo, The Yok and more.

Hendershot Gallery is pleased to announce the inclusion of Joe Iurato, Miss Bugs, Sheryo and The Yok in our summer exhibition, (Re)Print, open to the public now through August 15th. New works by Clown Soldier, Gaia, gilf!, Imminent Disaster and Paul Insect will also be added to the show as (Re)Print transforms Hendershot Gallery into a print shop and project space for the summer. To celebrate the new additions to the show, Hendershot Gallery will be hosting an event on Thursday, June 28^th from 6 to 8 pm with music by benny blanco® blancodisco, nyc.

In conjunction with this event, Hendershot Gallery has invited a select group of artists to create new site-specific installations as part of (Re)Print’s growing underground street art project. Murals by the artists will remain open to the public for the duration of the summer, however, the exact location will remain undisclosed—attempting to preserve the excitement experienced when one unexpectedly discovers a work of street art.

While street art is increasing in popularity among the contemporary art world, the unique relationship between the artists’ public and print work is often overlooked. In their attempt to reclaim public space, street artists apply repetition with a multiplicity of familiar aesthetics or imagery—allowing anonymous artists to create an easily recognizable identity for themselves. Printmaking’s potential for reproduction and circulation offers an alternative vehicle for the artists in this show to make their work more accessible to the public. (Re)Print celebrates the connection found between these salient aspects of both street art and printmaking.

Located:
195 Chrystie Street
btwn Stanton and Rivington
New York, NY 10002
Tel: 212.239.1210

DJ MIXES

I just added a whole archive of old DJ Mixes to an existing page, DJ MIXES tab here.

This is a compilation of numerous mixes made either on set at a particular location, at home or on my old radio show at WZBC, ‘Beyond the QE2′. The older mixes were straight vinyl to DAT or Minidisc and the newer mixes are recorded internally with Traktor DJ Software on my Mac and whatever controller setup I may have been using at the time. I’ll continue to add mixes here for your listening and downloading pleasure.

Please comment if you are looking for an old mix of mine or dig or otherwise.

Cheers,
bb®

It’s quite rare that I DJ out these days (since havin’ Tyler), so, I’d love it if you are in the area to come out and say ‘hello’ or ‘yo!’, toss a few back and listen to some ROCK music (alt new wave by me) with a few of my favorite friends. I’d be so smitten to see ya.

Idle Hands is an awesome cozy venue lacking in hundreds of large screen tvs. They’ve been gracious enough to let Mike, Redboy and I control the sound system for the evening all while Mike and I also celebrate our Belated Birthdays alongside co-owner, Marc (did somebody say ‘shots’?) They’re also super incredible at selecting boutique brews, bourbons and whiskeys. A full bar for your other garden variety of drinks is available too, but I recommend you stick with what they do best and even ask one of the Bartenders for a recommendation.

We’re calling the night “All The ROCK You Want” because it spawned out of a conversation of … “Hey, Marc, what are we allowed to play?” and the response was…. “All the ROCK you want.” Mike and I thought that was a fitting and humorous title for us to vibe on for our little get together. It certainly ruled out that we would be throwing down any serious Four to the Floor beats all night (what we all typically play, right?), but, we kinda figured that given the Idle Hands Bar simple Mantra, ‘Bourbon. Beer. Rock.’ that that would be the case anyway.

Expect to hear a range of Alt Inspired Rock from 80′s, Early 90′s and even a few worthwhile bands of Today that you should be on top of if you’re not already (finger pointing at me). This DJ crew will most certainly try to one up the other from our Virtual Crates as we’ll be playing off our Laptop Traktor Rigs with a variety of Controller devices.

the deets (for SEO – search engine optimization)

Friday November 18th
9 PM to Late

DJ Sets Mined by
Spins
Benny Blanco®
Redboy
& Special Guests droppin in…
Tye Comer and Dave Elliot

Idle Hands
25 Avenue B (btwn E. 2nd and 3rd St)

www.idlehandsbar.com
redboy.com

@spins
@redboy
@blancodisco
@IdleHandsBar

Hope to see you there.

Cheers,
Benny Blanco®

DOWNLOAD TRAKTORPRO2 SAMPLE DECK MAPPING FOR KORG NANO KONTROL V1.1

*UPDATED* 7.11.11: I fixed one minor bug in Scene 1. Sample Deck 3 in Sample Slot 2 was missing the /2 and *2 loop length changes on the buttons. TSI is now at 1.1 inside the zip file.

Contents include the TSI to import into TraktorPro2 and a quick 2 page PDF explaining the mapping. I had to end up using two channels for a Sample Deck Slot in Traktor to get enough of the controls I wanted to tweak up font. That meant I required 2 Scenes for Deck 3 and then Deck 4. I suppose I could do some sort of lighter or basic mapping on Scene 4 as it is currently unused at the moment to fit both Sample Decks 3 and 4 .

Sample Deck Controls.

Scene 1 and 2 Control Sample Deck 3 and 4 Respectively.
Channels 1 & 2 on the Korg Nano Kontrol affect Sample Slot 1,
Channels 3 & 4, Sample Slot 2
Channels 5 & 6, Sample Slot 3
Channels 7 & 8, Sample Slot 4

Controls:
Volume
Filter Sweep
Mute/Unmute
Sample Start/Stop
Loop/1 Shot Mode
Loop Length
Double Loop Length
Half Loop
Length Reset

Channel 9, Loop Recorder

Controls: Loop Length
Dry/Wet Mix
Start/Stop of Looper
Record Loop On

The Korg Nano Kontrol’s Global Transport buttons, I mapped ‘Forward’ and ‘Record’ to Sample Deck 3 Group Play/Stop and Sample Deck 4 Group Play/Stop. These are available across any scene (1-4).

Scene 3, Clear and Load Samples and Filter On/Off
Each Channel represents one Deck’s Sample Slot. Deck 3 Slots 1-4 and Deck 4 Slots 1-4

Controls:
Filter On/Off
Store Loop In Slot
Clear Loop
Copy From Loop Recorder

The Korg’s Preset is the default mapping shipped from the factory, I did not alter any of the midi mappings using the Korg Editor at all.

Was just asked by bestest buddy dj/photographer grande, REDBOY, to select a few tracks alongside at the White Rabbit bar tomorrow evening, Thursday 1-27-11. from 6 pm – 10 pm tomorrow. Tis Happy Hour!

The theme will be on the chillage trip.
Think downtempo sophisticate to dreamy shoegazer bliss. Sounds heavenly.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit me in quite some time (well, ’cause I haven’t played out in quite some time), grab yer coat and head on down to mix and mingle in the laid back atmosphere, that is White Rabbit.

Booze n’ beats always bring treats.

White Rabbit
145 East Houston Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 477-5005
http://www.whiterabbitnyc.com/
Second avenue stop on the F train

White Rabbit is the space directly to the left of the sunshine theatre.