After a crazy day of strange dealings with coworkers, it was relaxing to go see some dubstep at Darkroom and let the bass just wash over me. Volume sure can change music. I was about to leave the club out of boredom after 30 minutes or so, until they turned the volume up and actually started DJing. I have a frustrating habit of arriving at places on time, which isn’t often appropriate at music clubs where, like this night, performances start way later than advertised. But ever since I missed missed most of Stromkern’s set at the Darkroom for being fashionably late, I’ve been hesitant to be late. Or non-hesitant to arrive.

Big bass like in dubstep is one of the only things that keeps me from thinking uncontrollably and helps me relax (which actually makes me more energetic and engaged). It’s like the few moments before you fall asleep when you’re not thinking of anything specific and your mind is creatively free and pleasant.

I can bitch and whine for hours about my own life. So can a lot of bands. It’s rare to hear a band that brings an authentic, compelling story of social injustice to their set, but that’s what Checkpoint 303 did at the Darkroom, while still impressing with their programming chops. It was sort of like seeing and Isreali/Palastinian Autechre live, with big static and rhythmic filter effects and plenty of “how’d they think of that” moments, and a compelling video display. The West Bank audio clips interspersed were from their own experiences, which again made the movie audio clips that a lot of programmers use seem childish.

Support these guys if you can, and listen to their music. They’re doing good and doing it well.

I’ve concluded that I no longer enjoy reading audio production magazines, if I ever did. I’ve read dozens of them now, and the articles just repeat themselves after a while — secrets of EQing this, secrets of compressing that, 10 ways to get that XYZ sound the pros use — and lean as much toward advertisement as information. I enjoy learning new techniques, but these magazines somehow leech joy from the production process. It’s not songwriting in the least, just techspeak garble-farble.

Instead, I got a subscription to Juxtapoz, and while I’m not as into graff as they are, it’s still a great dose of current art and culture, with lots of pretty pictures that I can clip out and paste on my wall. It’s a good connection to my art roots. And I don’t mind the gallery ads as much as I do gear ads.

Thinking about the future is sometimes troubling, sometime enlightening. Although these racing thoughts can really muddy what’s going on in my brain, at times moments of clarity shine through and illuminate how I feel about the present. And then they slip away.

I’m back. Phrases were easy enough to learn in Italiano, but even with so many words in English having Greek roots, Greek is not a cognate language. While we learned some useful phrases in Greek, like “yia sou”, it took me a while just now on the interwebs to find how to actually spell “hello” in Greek. Even if it is in english letters. But needless to say, the trip was great.

Now that I’m mostly settled back in at home, Beatserv is back on track with development full steam on Series Two. And Bounte is progressing, with new experiences in my head, and new tools at my fingertips…

…Ableton Live 8. I went ahead and purchased the new version of Live, and even upgraded to the Suite. I have to say, I’m a bit blown away by all the stuff that’s included. Some of it is a bit crap, like Tension, but most of it is dope, like the sound of Operator, and finally a real function for grouping tracks. But sometimes music production involves polishing turds and trashing good things into shit. I’m sure to get a lot out of it.