Legal remixing - let's make it even easier!

You can imagine why this story on CNet caught my eye:
'Copyright criminals' look to remix the noise - legally

While it is very laudable that these guys give their permission to use voices and samples for remix competitions - but it is only a small proportion of the public who posess enough knowledge and software to be able to take an audio sample and create a track from it.
However, I can't help thinking that it is better to do this with a simple interface, no special software and just an ear for what sounds good. Step forward the Digimpro eCards. I can promise you that you will see a lot more of these before too long, especially if you are signed up to the beta of YourSpins.

Soul G & Tony Match - Remix Smash!

Long-time friends of Digimpro, Soul G & Tony Match, have scored a massive hit with their remix of The Sushi Club's "Tsuki". The 'Soul G & Tony Match Remix' has gone to number 1 in the Electronica section of the iTunes Music Store in France.

Featuring the laidback vocal talents of Kaori Kaneko, this production is just the start of a collaboration project between Kaori and the French house maestros. Soul G & Tony Match are also putting the finishing touches to Kaori's debut album, full of soulful, downtempo beats.
Stay tuned!

London - the streets are mean.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I was burgled on Monday during the day and it has taken a few days to sort everything out again. If you see someone walking around Fulham with a 26" Philips LCD TV, let me know. I'd like to have a quiet word with them.

In other news, the UK's 'grime' scene seems to coming of age with hot, new artists such as Plan B (check out his Sick2Def track) and great websites such as Road Royalty. RR is the official site of Road Royalty Records and they kindly supply 'mixtapes' for download from their site. If you want to get a feeling for whats hot on the streets of London right now (apart from my TV) - then give it a try.

Also, we are very close to going into beta for yourspins.com. If you have signed up for an invitation to beta-test phase, you'll be hearing from us very soon.

How to remix with .di files

If you are new to Digimpro and the concept of interactive music, you may feel a little bewildered sometimes at all the options that are open to you with the .di format. So, by way of an introduction, I have decided to highlight two links from the Digimpro site that explain in some detail how the Windows Media Player Plug-in works.

The first link is to this nice graphically-descriptive help file.

The second is to the downloads page, which describe what to do when installing the plug-in. Also available as pdf.

So, first download the plug-in and install it, then read the help files at the first link to get the most out of the free .di tracks on our homepage.

You could also use the dedicated diPlayer - also available from the Downloads page.

Soon we will also have a plug-in for Quicktime on the Mac and a whole host of songs in the Flash-based diOnline Mixer. Keep checking back for more details.

Musicians & their mobiles

Part one of a very occasional series:

Interesting to read how British RnB star Craig David is eulogising about his mobile phone. Not only as an end-user and purchaser of ringtones (hey Craig - check out our eCards!) - but also as a musician when he uses it to capture inspiration as it hits him...

近义词

That says 'welcome' (I hope!) to our new readers in China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Our man in Taipei, Monbaza, is translating this blog into two varients of Chinese. Check them out here:

http://digimpro-cn.blogspot.com/
http://digimpro-tw.blogspot.com/

Also, we hope to have some exciting news from China soon regarding the Sasha remix competition. Stay tuned, wherever you are!

DI Gets Operatic

More news from Sandor Mester on a possible operatic link-up for Digimpro:

"I've just had a meeting with Vera Kovacs, vice president of label G7
Music' in Milan. Vera Kovacs and her husband (technical expert of the label)
were very enthusiastic about DI. They have 300 opera arias recorded - with music and voice recorded separately. We were talking about how we can co-operate in the
long term. They are interested in new ways of publishing and digitally
distrubuting classical music. I'm interested in 'DI-ing' opera music coming from
Milan. They have other classical music recorded as well but the most interesting thing would be to release their whole Italian opera catalogue in DI format.
As a first step I will prepare the production plan. Then we negotiate how to 'DI' the
catalogue. Will be nice, but hard work and we finally will have quality Italian
opera arias in DI format!

Then we had a 2 hour long lunch in a traditional Italian restaurant close the a
canal outside of Milan. Nice atmosphere, great seafood, special Mozarella
Buffala, shrimps and mussels - which I love. Great time and sunny weather in Italia."

Track 5: Michael Dierks - Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude

Explanation of Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude (download it here)

N.B: This track requires the latest version (1.2 beta) of the Windows Media Player Plug-In or version 5.1 of diPlayer. Please update your player from the Digimpro Downloads page.

This Bach choral, improvised by Michael Dierks, is a unique Digimpro production and experiment. We have 16 different structured versions (identified in the Player, A to P) and seven parts. We have two unique objectives with this song. The first is the ability to create interpretations; the reason that classical music aficionados buy music that is public domain and hundreds of years old is to hear how various world-class orchestras, halls, amphitheatres and conductors interpret and influence the original music. The second is to emulate the artistic nature of the baroque period, itself.

With this track, you can make intros before the choral. You can also make melody improvisations and choral improvisations. You can listen to this file for hours to find uniqueness in the versions that are hidden within the 16 different structures. It's like a baroque edifice or church: You should sit and watch and take in the contours for an entire day. The more you relax, the more you will find ornaments within and around the paintings, statues, etc. You will find hidden pockets of light or shadow. There are only two modern variations only. Good luck in finding them!

The sound quality is also unique. With headphones or speakers you can hear the breathing and airflow of the giant cathedral pipes. We have less parallel channels than in modern music, but more versions per channel.

The Seven Parts

Intro
1 trackgroup
Intro 1, 2, 4, 6 and 11 (.wav)

Choral
3 trackgroups

Choral 1-10 (.wav)
Melody 1-10 (.wav)
Bass Pedal 1-4 (.wav + mute)

Improvisation
3 trackgroups

Choral Impro 1-11 (.wav)
Melody Impro 1-10 (.wav)
Bass Pedal 1-4 (.wav)

Improvisation All
4 trackgroups

Melody Improvisation 1-10 (.wav)
Choral 1-10 (.wav)
Bass Pedal 1-4 (.wav)
Melody 1-10 (.wav)

Improvisation Melody
Melody Improvisation 1-10 (.wav)
Melody 1-10 (.wav)
Melody Impro 1-10 (.wav)

Long Intro
1 trackgroup

Intro 15, 16, 17 and 18 (.wav) - varying lengths beginning at various points in time.

Medium Intro
Intro 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14 (.wav) - varying lengths beginning at various points in time.


Structure Versions of Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude

A - Choral
B - Intro + Choral
C - Intro + Improvisation
D - Intro + Improvisation_All
E - Intro + Improvisation Melodies
F - Improvisation + Melodies
G - Improvisation_ + All
H - Improvisation
I - Long Intro + Choral
J - Long Intro + Improvisation Melodies
K - Long Intro + Improvisation_All
L - Intro Medium + Choral
M - Intro Medium + Improvisation Melodies
N - Intro Medium + Improvisation_All
O - Intro Medium + Improvisation
P - Intro Long + Improvisation

Track 4: Olàh Szabolcs Quartet

The fourth track of this week sees us take a jazzy turn with a saxophone-led track from Hungarian group Olàh Szabolcs Quartet. 'Monday' is a 3 minute experience loaded with possibilities from the .di format. In particular, if you like your jazz more minimalist, you can choose to mute some channels to give the track a different feel. Incidentally, the alternative versions in each channel have great names like 'Keeping it hip', 'Holding it down' and 'Stirring the soup'!

The improvise button comes in for much use when I play this track - and you may want your Windows Media Player on repeat, as 3 minutes is just not enough. Download it here.

Track 3: AMB - Urchin

For those of you who like your house music more laid-back, AMB's Urchin offers the perfect way to experience the .di format. It's melodic, swirling grooves will put you in mind of that Balearic classic, Hoomba Hoomba - by Voices of Africa. Get downloading now!

Track 2: Chateau Lamotte

Track 2 in our week of giveaways is a track to banish the winter blues away. Chateau Lamotte's feel-good slice of the summer is 'Shining' - a string-laden composition of house beats and breathy vocals to transport you to an altogether sunnier place. If you like the sounds of Bran Van 3000 and Crazy Penis, you'll love this.

Track 1: AMB - Romeo

The first of our free tracks this week is available from the Digimpro.com homepage - AMB's Romeo. It is an epic 7 minute workout of breaks and bleeps from the innermost parts of a 303. Don't worry about the quiet start - it doesn't stay that way for long!

Chinese New Year Remix Ecards

This is the Chinese year of the Dog - and if you didn't already wish your friends a Happy New Chinese Year, you can do so now with your own remix of 'Strange Addiction'. The original ecard has been given a new look to commemorate this occasion. Big thanks to our man in Taiwan for this, Monbaza.

A track a day

Next week we will be releasing one new, free di track each day. That's right, 5 new tracks for you to play with next week. There is a very wide spectrum of music in this collection - from drum'n'bass to Bach - so don't miss out. Keep checking the homepage each day and let us know what you think of each release.

Have a good weekend folks.

Opera - di style

Sandor Mester, founder of Digimpro, writes to give a little more background to the forthcoming di opera track.

"When I was Stockholm weeks ago doing the first DI baroque project with Michael Dierks, I was reading a great book written by Stendhal about life of Rossini the great opera composer. He worked in Milan, since Milan was one the cradles of opera. After reading this this book I was dreaming a lot about Italian opera as well as having DI releases in Italian opera style. And then a perfect partner comes to us saying lets try to work together. Isn't it nice, eh?:)

I'll have a meeting in Milan next Friday with the Vice President of G7 Music & Co. Her name is Vera Kovacs, mostly-used Hungarian family name. Her grand-father was Hungarian. The connection is from Midem where we had lots interest from every musical style. I didn't go there, but I can feel the results."
http://www.cantolopera.com

New di tracks

More new tracks coming to the di format this week and next include:

Mentor Kolektiv - Broke
Mentor Kolektiv - Pasand
Lotek Hi-fi - Move Your Thing
Lotek Hi-fi - Showdown
Chateau Lamotte - Shining
Chateau Lamotte - Boogie On You
MS3 - Bach Choral - Gott Lebet Noch
Michael Dierks - Jesu Bleibet
AMB - Wisp
AMB - Romeo
Olah Szablocs Quartet - Monday

See the forthcoming artists page of Digimpro.com for descriptions of these hot tracks.

Plus, another string to the di format's bow will be the world's first classical opera track in our interactive format. Sandor Mester (MS3) is about to embark on a project with Cantalopera - the Virtual Opera House, to bring opera to the masses. Get your dickie-bows and ballgowns ready.