Marc Cotterell and I are running the show on the brand new TRAXSOURCE LIVE! Garage Session #199. Marc plays the first hour and I’ve gotta say it’s an exceptional selection that is truly reminiscent of the classic days I used to spend avidly listening to DJs like Brian Tappert in the Soulfuric heyday. It’s a fantastic collection of super authentic Garage tracks that really took me back, but in a fresh way. I tip my hat to Marc, it’s a high quality selection with the perfect blend of vocal led anthems and underground dubs. You’ll also find in the second hour a mix and blend from yours truly live on the Traktor S4 complete with Maschine on the sample triggering duties. You can take a listen below, drop a comment in the player if you’re feeling it! Also, don’t forget you can catch me on twitch.tv/dannyjlewis every week.
Author: Danny Lewis
My new favourite Sound Design plugin?
There’s a great deal on at the moment that brings serious discount on Kilohearts plugins. I’ve not really paid attention to them prior to be honest until I saw recently some sound design videos using Phase Plant on twitter that were incredible. So I took the plunge and bought it and instantly I’ve taken to making some patches due to the speed and flexibility of the UI. Sure they’re not innovative but they are super useful for my sound and a great starting point in learning the UX. Can’t wait to dive into the more complex stuff over time. Here’s some of my patches:
You can buy the synth right now at the reduced price – hurry! Buy Phase Plant now
Korg Triton Extreme Classic DAC – RTFM!
If you’ve been watching my videos you’ll see that regularly I’m using the Korg Triton plugin and now more recently the Extreme iteration and it’s what helps me get the authentic old school sound I love. Now let’s talk about that ‘sound’ and how I’ve totally been missing a trick on this amazing plugin. Yes the classic factory libraries are there with all the patches you’ll recognise but little did I know that they’ve built in DAC emulation and I haven’t been using it! Here’s an excerpt from the manual with the lowdown..
Up until now I’ve been using the Digital mode, totally missing out on the vintage vibes and now feeling like a total idiot. To tell you the truth I haven’t yet carried out a detailed analysis on the how different each sounds so perhaps someone else out there has? If you have checked them out what’s your favourite and why?
20 Classics and Secret Weapons
I’ve had a bunch of my classic recordings remastered and bundled up into a new compilation called ‘Anthology 2’ I have such fond memories of these tracks and most have been unavailable on the platforms for a few years so it’s great to make them available again for a new generation of House and Garage lovers. There are also some previously unheard tracks that have been waiting for the right moment to surface and this is it! You’ll also find a track under a pseudonym I’m not sure many knew was me – Plane People with the deep and luscious “Hanging On” (yours truly on the vocal performance!)
Head on over to Traxsource now using this link – https://www.traxsource.com/title/1809897/weekend-weapons-may-13th-2022 and let me know which ones are your favourites
An SSL Mixer for under £50?!
If you hurry there’s an excellent bargain right now on Plugin Boutique that brings together two fantastic and genuine SSL plugins that combined with the super cool SSL360 app will give you a virtual SSL mixer. Take a look at the video below to see the whole thing in action – it’s an intuitive way to virtualy emulate a hardware desk and keep the focus on the mix.
What I love about this approach is that it creates a focus away from the composition – it brings real distance from it. The Channel Strip 2 is your EQ and compression workhorse, designed for the essentials whilst the Bus Compressor 2 brings that classic ‘gelling’ that is the sound of so many classic records.
The plugins are also designed for the UC1 and UF8 hardware, bringing a true hybrid of the physical and the digital. If you have the spare cash on top these look like the perfect partners but of course bring the cost up significantly.
UC1 – a hardware twin of the Channel Strip 2 plugin
UF8 – a physical mixer controller that brings everything together
I don’t have either of these but frankly would LOVE them – just need the spare funds! The deal for the plugins won’t last forever so head on over to Plugin Boutique right now and grab them quick. Here’s a link – https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/2-Effects/39-FX-Bundle/8683-SSL-Native-Essentials-Bundle/?a_aid=54ff4ceef2df1
Soundwide is here! Incredible FREEBIES!
If you’ve watched my videos on http://www.youtube.com/musicprotutorials you’ll know that i’m a huge fan of Native Instruments and Plugin Alliance tools. The incredible news today is that they’ve combined with Izotope, Brainworx and Sound Stacks to form a truly mighty organisation called Soundwide.
There’s a ton of information here from NI https://blog.native-instruments.com/soundwide/ but right now I need to tell you to get your ass right over to plugin alliance and grab yourself some incredible FREE plugins >> https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/pa-soundwide-bundle.html using the code JOINSOUNDWIDE. There are 6 plugins available for a limited time but my favourites are the beautiful Focusrite SC console and the super useful bx_masterdesk
Focusrite SC
Honestly, I cannot believe this is free so you NEED to grab it now. This is a fantastic channel strip that brings authentic analog style summing if you use it on every channel. It also has a lovely low and high shelf that i’ve used to truly bring tracks to life.
bx_masterdesk
If you want to get a quick DIY Master together this all in one plugin really does a great job and is a great alternative to some of the AI services out there. I’ve genuinely had great results that are totally playable in DJ mixes with this tool.
Offer ends April 26th so get your skates on! I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes from this collective in coming months.
More info below:
https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/blog/blogpost/items/introducing-soundwide.html
Biscuits, MDMA & riding the creativity wave
Have you ever got to the end of a Mcvities Chocolate Hobnob and thought how sad you are that it’s gone? that bite by bite it had disappeared? What started as an enjoyable foodie moment became a slow descent into a desire for more and yet, if at the end of the packet there was none, how did you feel?
For those that partake in MDMA usage the resulting high is one of the key drivers of the activity, the reasonably sustained plateau of bliss facilitates a sense of leaving this planet, existing on another plane, becoming one with fellow man and woman. However, this declines over time and sooner or later you’re stuck at the end of the night with the lights in the venue coming on and those friends not looking so friendly anymore.
So where on earth am I going with this? Fairly recently I was asked to do a remix for Musicated Records that featured one of my all time favourite UK soulful voices, Shaun Escoffery. I have been a huge fan since “Days Like This”, “Space Rider” and “Music In Me” and have secretly harboured a hope that one day I might be able to work with him in some capacity. So here I was, in that moment, with the incredible acapella vocals ready to start creating an entirely new musical backing of my choice.
I don’t know how everyone else works but I like to ride the wave of creativity as much as I can, which means trying to stay in that Hobnob/MDMA moment as long as possible. The early stages of composition when they go right can truly be magic and this was one of those moments. Everything fell into place and I was elated as each movement of the new version took shape. I would listen to it over and over again, over several evenings, running versions down to fall asleep to – a technique I use that magically brings the subconscious to the foreground and allows me to establish where the gaps are.
So things happened fast and I was ready to submit to the label. These moments are always with trepidation but I knew some magic had happened and I was still on that creative high. The reactions I got were priceless and utterly endorsing my gut feeling. Previews were hurriedly put together and started emerging on social media. Shaun Escoffery himself even jumped into the hype machine and was showing his approval.
I was elated, elevated, satisfied and validated.
but
then
just
like
that…….
No more excitement
It’s raining, it’s cold. I’m in the cold turkey phase and need my next Hobnob. Anyone want to send me a remix?!
First Single Of 2022 – Piece Of Me / Tell Them
It’s been a minute but I’m back with a bang! This hot new Just Underground Recordings release is a double a-side with two distinctly different vibes but still feeling Garage House in attitude. If you’re a DJ head on over to my exclusive promo partner Traxsource for the extended version – https://www.traxsource.com/title/1758686/piece-of-me-tell-them and for everyone else head to your favourite streaming platform for the radio edit – https://share.amuse.io/track/danny-j-lewis-piece-of-me-tell-them
You can listen to the tracks and comment on them on Soundcloud here too. Let me know which one is your favourite and why!
Piece Of Me
Tell Them
The Final Single Of The Year!
Currently at number 8 in the @traxsource #garage chart is “Slipped Away”, my final release of 2021. It’s a bouncy, piano infused vocal hooky #garagehouse banger that comes in a jingle bell infused festive version as well as non-festive for the underground heads. Initial DJ charts from Jackman Jones, Tony Fuel and Michael Pieterse lead the pack with more to come. You can grab the DJ downloads exclusively from Traxsource or hit your favourite streaming platform for the radio edit using this link – https://bit.ly/DJLSlippedAway
A Special End Of Year Message
Watch the video below to hear the instrumental version of the single and some closing words from Danny.
Wicked new Drum & Bass Sample Pack
Now most wouldn’t associate me with Drum & Bass but I LOVE the genre as a punter/consumer of the music. I’m a huge fan of DJ Marky, a DJ who plays MY kind of DnB and therefore when Native Instruments reached out to let me know about a new Maschine Expansion forthcoming that covered the style I was super interested. I jumped on Instagram with a livestream session earlier today and it was a huge amount of fun! Thanks to all joining 👏
Rhythm Source LIVE!
In this session we took a look at some of the example projects (Killah being my favourite) and some of the kits (groups) then I attempted to create Drum and Bass myself!
You can buy the expansion using my affiliate link here if you like the sound of it – https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1932156&u=2877973&m=77930&urllink=&afftrack= I think you’re gonna love it!
Danny J Lewis 