KC Editor

Clive Nolan, Arena / Pendragon / Shadowland

September 28, 2020 by KC Editor Leave a Comment

If you think it’d be hard being in one successful band, try being in three on top of a bunch of other projects. Clive Nolan is best known for his keys work with Pendragon and Arena, but as you’ll hear he’s up to a lot more than that.

Links to content mentioned during the show:

Clive’s recently released book

Mick Pointer

Genesis – Seconds Out

Matt Clifford

Korg 01/W

Roland A-90

Arena – Paradise of Thieves

She – The Musical

‘Dragon Fire’ Chorus

Beowulf saga

Desert Island Discs: The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table – Rick Wakeman, Seconds Out – Genesis, Symphonie fantastique – Berlioz, The Best of Monty Python, Phantom of the Opera – Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Clive’s Top 5 Stephen King books: ‘Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Doctor Sleep, Mr Mercedes and sequels, Dark Tower books.

Don’t forget to click on any of the subscribe links to automatically have each episode download, or just click play on the player above to listen right here.

We’re always keen to hear from you: drop us a line via the website, Facebook, or Twitter.

If you’re a keyboard player, we also have a weekly newsletter with interesting news from the industry just for you.

To help us keep the podcast running like a fine oiled machine, we do have a Patreon account if you’d like to contribute the cost of a small cup of coffee a month.

Finally, check out our podcast guest playlist on Spotify to get a taste of each guest’s creations.

Roddy Bottum, Faith No More / Imperial Teen / Crickets

September 5, 2020 by KC Editor Leave a Comment

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Roddy Bottum would be best known to most listeners as the keyboard player in the phenomenally successful hard rock outfit Faith No More. However as we’ll learn, Roddy is a musician with a prolific and diverse output, which includes the indie pop sensibilities of Imperial Teen, the dancey electronica of Crickets and the doomy metal of Nastie Band – all current projects. Add to this his current COVID isolation inspired collaboration with his Partner Joey Holman and his film score and opera work, it’s fair to say that Roddy is not only an excellent keyboard player, but a truly creative artist with plenty to share.

Links to content mentioned during the show:

Faith No More – Live 2015 at Hellfest

Roland Juno 6

The amazing Duane Hitchings

Man On Man – Baby, You’re My Everything

E-mu Emax

Sequential OB-6

Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock

Africola Restaurant in Adelaide

Imperial Teen – Don’t Wanna Let You Go

Roddy’s Film and TV compositions

Fred

Nastie Band – Falling In Love Again

Crickets – Elastic

Sasquatch: The Opera

Roddy’s Bandcamp releases

Desert Island Discs: Self-Titled – Roxy Music, The Wiz Soundtrack, 1999 – Prince, 20 Jazz Funk Greats – Throbbing Gristle, Hunky Dory – David Bowie.

Don’t forget to click on any of the subscribe links to automatically have each episode download, or just click play on the player above to listen right here.

We’re always keen to hear from you: drop us a line via the website, Facebook, or Twitter. If you’re a keyboard player, we also have a weekly newsletter with interesting news from the industry just for you. To help us keep the podcast running like a fine oiled machine, we do have a Patreon account if you’d like to contribute the cost of a small cup of coffee a month.

Finally, check out our podcast guest playlist on Spotify to get a taste of each guest’s creations.

Komplete 13 Announced

September 2, 2020 by KC Editor Leave a Comment

September 1, 2020, Berlin – Native Instruments today announced KOMPLETE 13, the latest generation of its flagship production suite, with new additions including some of the company’s biggest releases from the last two years. The launch will coincide with that of GUITAR RIG 6 PRO, a revamped version of Native’s amp and effects modelling lab.

For 17 years, KOMPLETE has brought the very best from Native Instruments into a comprehensive production package for artists of every level and genre. KOMPLETE 13 is the biggest collection yet, and is available in four sizes; SELECT, KOMPLETE 13, ULTIMATE, and Collector’s Edition.
The latest generation sees some of Native Instrument’s biggest new releases join the lineup, including GUITAR RIG 6 PRO, CREMONA QUARTET (including STRADIVARI VIOLIN), ARKHIS, PHARLIGHT, STRAYLIGHT, MYSTERIA, SUPER 8, SESSION GUITARIST – ELECTRIC SUNBURST DELUXE, and NOIRE.  There are four new additions to the KONTAKT Play Series – BUTCH VIG DRUMS, LO-FI GLOW, MODULAR ICONS, and CLOUD SUPPLY.   The latest version also includes the CRUSH PACK, which puts a modern spin on distortion effects, as well as last year’s much-loved RAUM reverb.

Each bundle provides up to 90% off the price of the individual products, and as always, existing KOMPLETE users also have the option to save when they upgrade or update from their current version.  GUITAR RIG 6 PRO returns with an overhauled interface, new amps, new effects, and Intelligent Circuit Modelling – a new machine-learning modelling technology that can bring even deeper realism to hardware emulations.   The technology has already been used to create a new series of iconic boutique and vintage amps, each offering plenty of character and tone to be explored.
Users will also be able to pitch in and help decide what kind of hardware should be modelled for future updates.

The latest version also extends the platform’s capacity as a powerful effects rack for any audio source with 14 new additions from Native’s wider ecosystem – including REVERB CLASSICS, VINTAGE COMPRESSORS, CRUSH PACK, MOD PACK, SOLID MIX SERIES, TRANSIENT MASTER, RAUM, RAMMFIRE, and TRAKTOR’S 12.  GUITAR RIG 6 PRO comes loaded with an inspirational collection of presets from a variety of heavy-hitting guitarists, bassists, producers, and songwriters including Yvette Young, Tim Lefebvre, Pete Thorn, Zola Jesus, and Butch Vig, along with many more to come with future updates.

Pricing and Availability
KOMPLETE 13
Available October 1, 2020

KOMPLETE 13 SELECT: 199 USD / 199 EUR / 25,800 YEN / 169 GBP / 299 AUD / 259 CAD / 1,699 CNY / CHF 209

KOMPLETE 13: 599 USD / 599 EUR / 72,400 YEN / 499 GBP / 899 AUD / 799 CAD / 4,699 CNY / CHF 629

KOMPLETE 13 ULTIMATE: 1,199 USD / 1,199 EUR / 144,400 YEN / 999 GBP / 1,799 AUD / 1,599 CAD / 9,499 CNY / CHF 1249

KOMPLETE 13 ULTIMATE Collector’s Edition: 1,599 USD / 1,599 EUR / 204,800 YEN / 1,349 GBP / 2,299 AUD / 1,999 CAD / 12,499 CNY / CHF 1,679

GUITAR RIG 6 PRO
Available October 1, 2020

Full version: 199 USD / 199 EUR / 26,800 YEN / 179 GBP / 299 AUD / 259 CAD / 1599 CNY / 209 CHF   Upgrade: 149 USD / 149 EUR / 20,100 YEN / 129 GBP / 219 AUD / 199 CAD / 1199 CNY / 159 CHF

Update: 99 USD / 99 EUR / 13,400 YEN / 89 GBP / 149 AUD / 129 CAD / 799 CNY / 104 CHF

Further Information
KOMPLETE 13
https://www.native-instruments.com/specials/komplete/komplete-13/

GUITAR RIG 6 PRO
https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/guitar/guitar-rig-6-pro/

Peter-John Vettese, Jethro Tull / Simple Minds / Bee Gees

August 23, 2020 by KC Editor Leave a Comment

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Peter-John Vettese is a UK-based keyboard player, composer, producer and arranger. Like so many of our guests, summarising Peter’s work within the prism of three or four artists is unfair. As you’ll hear, Peter has had, and continues to have an amazing career across the gamut of music. Strap in for a fascinating journey from the big band halls to the arenas and studios of the world.

Links to content mentioned during the show:

Rick Beato’s YouTube channel

Weather Report – Man in the Green Shirt (Tail Spinnin’)

Peter with Ian Anderson / Jethro Tull – Fly By Night

Peter with Jethro Tull – One Brown Mouse

Peter with Bandzilla

Peter with Foreigner

Stephen Lipson

Simple Minds – Real Life

Peter with Simple Minds

Zucchero – Miss Mary (the solo starts at 2:30 and for the record I cannot pick the mistake)

Peter co-writes with Tina Arena

Peter produces and programs for The Bee Gees

Robin Gibb – Don’t Cry Alone

Sia – You have Been Loved

Cliff Jones – Composer

Saint Bibiana

Heather Small – Proud

Substance dualism / Cartesian dualism

Joe Cocker – No Ordinary World

Jethro Tull – Hunting Girl

Spinal Tap – Jazz Odyssey

Desert Island Discs: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles, Tarkus – Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Can’t Buy A Thrill – Steely Dan, Forest of Feelings – David Sancious, Innervisions – Stevie Wonder, Black Market – Weather Report.

Don’t forget to click on any of the subscribe links to automatically have each episode download, or just click play on the player above to listen right here.

Finally, check out our podcast guest playlist on Spotify to get a taste of each guest’s creations.

Jeff Babko, Jimmy Kimmel / Martin Short / James Taylor / Neil Young

August 6, 2020 by KC Editor Leave a Comment

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Jeff Babko is an amazingly versatile keyboard player covering TV, movies, touring and recording. In this interview, Jeff covers everything from working live on stage with Martin Short and Steve Martin, to recording with Neil Young and an orchestra. As you’ll hear, the four artists listed in this episode’s title are only the tip of the iceberg.

Links to content mentioned during the show:

An Evening You’ll Forget For The Rest of Your Life – Martin Short and Steve Martin

J eff Babko’s Solo Albums

Mike Elizondo

Michael Bearden

Frank Ocean – Channel Orange

Colin Hay

The Caffeinated Keyboardist Podcast

Jeff’s keyboard stand collapse

Desert Island Discs: POV – Utopia, Speak No Evil – Wayne Shorter, Oh Yeah? – Jan Hammer, The Golden Age of Wireless – Thomas Dolby, Seven Steps to Heaven – Miles Davis.

Don’t forget to click on any of the subscribe links to automatically have each episode download, or just click play on the player above to listen right here.

Finally, check out our podcast guest playlist on Spotify to get a taste of each guest’s creations.

Arturia launch Sound Explorers box set to celebrate 20th Anniversary

July 25, 2020 by KC Editor Leave a Comment

Arturia launch a limited edition Sound Explorers box set

French music hardware and software developers release an exclusive in-store Sound Explorers box set. This collector’s item celebrates 20 years of innovative sound design and product innovation.

What’s included?

250GB hard drive
A selection of the most inspiring software titles and sound packs with spare external storage to store your valuable music projects. Installation is quick and easy.

V Collection 7
23 legendary instruments brought back to life, including analog synths, classic pianos, quirky keyboards, and digital polysynths, with over 8,000 awe-inspiring presets.

FX Collection
Circuit-accurate emulations of the most iconic effects and studio tools, supercharged with new features for modern production.

Pigments
A synth that combines incredible FM, virtual analog, sampling, and granular synth engines with unlimited modulation, packed full of presets made by big-name artists and sound designers.
40 best-selling preset packs. Inspiring sounds from the Analog Lab and Pigments Sound Store giving you access to 700 lovingly crafted presets.

Full details here.

Jan Pulsford, Cyndi Lauper and Chico Freeman

July 24, 2020 by KC Editor Leave a Comment

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Jan Pulsford has had a diverse and interesting career over many years, and we take advantage of Jan’s wisdom to talk everything from playing and collaborating with Cyndi Lauper, through to performing in the virtual world of Second Life and the challenges of running a streaming service for electronic and ambient music.

Links to content mentioned during the show:

Melody Maker magazine

Merlyn’s magical music (Spotify link / Apple Music Link)

David Thornton

Searching – the song

Come on Home – the song

Jana KYoMooN performing in Second Life

Rendlesham Forest Incident

Mothership Radio

Desert Island Discs / Artists: Massive Attack, Vaughan Williams, Miles Davis, John Martin, The Planets – Holst.

Don’t forget to click on any of the subscribe links to automatically have each episode download, or just click play on the player above to listen right here.

Finally, check out our podcast guest playlist on Spotify to get a taste of each guest’s creations.

Loren Gold, The Who and Roger Daltrey

July 11, 2020 by KC Editor Leave a Comment

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Saying Loren Gold is The Who’s keyboard player only provides a tiny fraction of the wider story of his career. Whether it’s playing and//or musically directing bands for Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, or playing with legends like Don Felder and Kenny Loggins, Loren has had quite the career to date and we try to cover as much of it as we can.

Links to content mentioned during the show:

Loren’s solo albums (Spotify link)

Loren playing with The Who (Hyde Park – 2015)

The Who’s 2019 release: WHO

Playing with Geddy Lee – 2014

David Campbell – Arranger / Orchestrator

Desert Island Discs / Artists: Rubber Soul – The Beatles, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy – Elton John, 52nd Street – Billy Joel, Talking Book, Stevie Wonder, Pet Sounds – The Beach Boys.

Don’t forget to click on any of the subscribe links to automatically have each episode download, or just click play on the player above to listen right here.

Finally, check out our podcast guest playlist on Spotify to get a taste of each guest’s creations.

One of the Best Isolation Covers You Will Ever See

July 1, 2020 by KC Editor Leave a Comment

I’m just going to leave this here:

You may recognise some of the living legends on this video, if not check out all the details here. I promise it’ll be one of the most fun uses of 9 minutes of your life.

Here’s the list of top-notch musicians involved:

VOCALISTS
Brent Carter – Tower of Power, currently AWB lead vocalist
Will Downing – Multi-million selling, major label recording artist
Jo Harman – Award winning British vocalist-songwriter
Eliot Lewis – Hall and Oates, “Live From Daryl’s House”, AWB
Audrey Wheeler – Top NYC session singer (Freddie Jackson, Madonna), formerly featured singer with Unlimited Touch
Cheryl ‘Pepsii’ Riley – Noted Gospel/R&B singer and Arista and Columbia recording artist
Porter Carroll – Singer/songwriter/founder/drummer with multi million selling band ‘Atlantic Starr’ (Hall and Oates)
Travis Milner – Vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/producer/composer Gerald Levert, Roy Ayers, Gerald Alston, Busta Rhymes
Ms. Monet – Recording artist, backing vocalist Will Downing, Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald
Michael Angelo – New York legendary Funk vocalist
Chris Walker – Vocalist with Billboard Top 30 hit ,’Take Time’, Musical Director to Al Jarreau, Regina Belle
Klyde Jones – Hall and Oates, AWB

GUITARISTS
David Spinozza (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, James Taylor)
Jeff Tamelier (Tower of Power, Starship)

KEYBOARDS
Roger Smith (Tower of Power, Dave Matthews Band) – Hammond Organ
Rob Aries (John Scofield, Mary J Blige) – Electric Piano
Travis Milner (Roy Ayers, Gerald Levert) – Keyboards

BASS
Chris Walker (Bob James, Kirk Whalum)

HORNS
Fred ‘Freddy V’ Vigdor (AWB, Michael McDonald) – Tenor Sax
Cliff Lyons (AWB, Manhattan Transfer) – Alto Sax
Barry Danelian (Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Billy Joel) – Trumpet
Ozzie Melendez (Mariah Carey, Diana Ross, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony) – Trombone
John Scarpulla (ToP, Diana Ross, Paul McCartney) – Tenor and Baritone sax

DRUMS
David Garibaldi (Tower of Power)
Steve Ferrone (AWB, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty)
Larnell Lewis (Snarky Puppy)
Brian Dunne (Hall and Oates, AWB)
Rocky Bryant (AWB, Dave Sanborn, Cindy Lauper)
Herman Matthews (Isley Brothers, Kenny Loggins)
Graham Hawthorne (Paul Simon, David Byrne, Madeleine Peyroux)
Poogie Bell (David Bowie, Chaka Khan, Randy Crawford)

(H/T: Musicplayer.com)

Arturia V Collection 7.2 Update

June 27, 2020 by KC Editor Leave a Comment

ARTURIA RELEASES V COLLECTION 7.2
A FREE UPDATE FOR V COLLECTION

The development team took the time to listen to feedback from users – Arturia’s passionate community of Sound Explorers – and improved V Collection 7 to meet their needs. With this update, V Collection 7 is more efficient, more inspiring and more streamlined than ever.

What’s new in the Performance Update?

Faster preset changes

The time it takes to change presets has been dramatically cut. Find the perfect sound faster or instantly recall your favourite patches.

Smaller patch installs

If you already have an instrument installed, any future patch update files will be much smaller. This makes Arturia Software Center updates easier and quicker to install.

Custom resources path

All instrument resources can be moved to a folder of your choice. This is useful if you’re working with multiple drives/devices or limited internal storage.

Various Bug fixes

V Collection 7.2 also addresses a number of other performance issues – it’s now simply more stable, efficient, and easy to use.

Improved graphic performance

All instruments in V Collection have had their animations and visuals streamlined. This provides a smoother appearance and ensures less strain on your CPU.

KC Editor

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