I laughed the other day at a post from underground house music legend Steve Mac mentioning a promo he had received that featured ‘a big ship noise’

It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps they meant a lighthouse foghorn, much like the one beautifully recreated in Spitfire Audio’s excellent LABS series https://labs.spitfireaudio.com/foghorn and a sound that I’ve actually used on one of the mixes of the new single “Memory” 🤣Take a listen below (you’ll need to scan through the track to the right point on the player) and you’ll hear it in its monumental majesty.

https://www.traxsource.com/track/10348058/memory-deeper-dream-dub

So I’m wondering, have I unintentionally got caught in a zeitgeist moment? If I have please let me know of more Ship Noise/Foghorn tracks I can reference. Perhaps Traxsource needs to setup a new genre to accommodate 🤣

This incredible plugin is now free. It’s a complete orchestra and it’s yours from Spitfire Audio, purveyors of high quality sample libraries. https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/bbc-symphony-orchestra-discover/

Why do I love it?

Good question, how about you learn where all the instruments sit on the stage! Invaluable for classical music students starting out on their journey. If you’ve not been lucky enough to see everyone on a stage this is the next best thing. You’ll also learn the diverse range of instruments that exist in the orchestra and of course, you can play them from the keyboard and get used to the sound.

It Sounds Amazing!

As per the norm with Spitfire the actual sounds are high quality and expressive. The orchestral percussion is particularly interesting. Literally you won’t need anything else if this is the only orchestral plugin you have and your name is not Hans Zimmer (who can afford the super luxury ones)

Trust me. Get it. Link again here – https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/bbc-symphony-orchestra-discover/

So last night I did a trolley dash of new #garagehouse tracks on Traxsource and put them into a live mix on Twitch.tv/dannyjlewis but little did I know that one of the kids had been playing with my crossfader switches on the front of the Traktor S4 and the left channel was playing at all times!

When it’s late at night I have to monitor the audio quietly and therefore I couldn’t actually fully hear what was happening although I’ve got to be honest that something felt a bit ‘off’ on occasions from what I could hear. Basically I have gone back to working with crossfader instead of ‘upfaders’ so of course everyone got to hear what I thought I was cueing up and the train wrecks when I did. I literally only realised at the very end and that’s such a shame as I tend to record the mixes in Traktor and then upload after to Mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com/DannyJLewis/

Why Not Delete the Mix?

Good question! Initially I thought it was pointless to keep up but then I realised actually there’s some audible and visual insight into the decision making process of putting together a mix. You can literally see me make decisions about tracks to include on the fly in latter parts and you get to hear the techniques I use to try and put the thing together.

I had some lovely comments surprisingly so there must be some value of keeping it up. You can take a look for yourself here – https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1527231614 is the session if you want to have a laugh!

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.

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

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?

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

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

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