Alt-UK

Music, Film, and Gaming

Features

Taking A Look At Akai’s MPC Renaissance Controller

by 1 Comment

Akai MPC RenaissanceAkai MPC RenaissanceCHECK PRICE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


If you’re looking for old-school MPC functionality, but coupled with a modern twist, then the Akai MPC Renaissance may just be the perfect product for you.

With the Maschine, Native Instruments demonstrated that there’s a massive market out there for MPC style products that you can connect up to your computer for ease of integration and maximisation of productivity in your recording studio, and Akai took note of this by bringing the MPC Renaissance to the table.

You now no longer have to worry about the memory constraints of your MPC as it’s your computer that you’ll be relying on for this now, and the MPC Renaissance really is a fantastic piece of kit that you can connect up to your computer and get making beats on in no time.

The MPC Renaissance is a fantastic little hardware and software package. If you’re familiar with the MPC setup of old then you’ll no doubt find getting to grips with the MPC Renaissance incredibly simple, it’s just that you now no longer make beats on the MPC in isolation, you do so with this fine piece of kit connected up to your computer.

Below is a video of this fantastic Akai controller in action:

Introducing: Kurt Borutski

by Leave a Comment


Kurt Borutski is a 23 year-old Canadian musician that has made quite a name for himself on YouTube where he has built up over 2400 subscribers and his videos have been viewed more than 732,000 times.

Kurt operates under the Youtube alias KurtsCovers, and predominantly posts Blink-182 covers (and other Blink-182 side projects such as Boxcar Racer, Angels & Airwaves, and +44). Kurt has also covered tracks by several other artists (including a number of Green Day covers), however his predominant focus has been on the work of the much loved pop-punk trio that is Mark, Tom, and Travis.

Kurt has been posting videos on his YouTube channel since April 2011, and in little over a year has already built up to 238 videos, posting videos frequently and keeping in touch with his fans through his Facebook page, and also through interaction with his viewers by commenting on the YouTube platform itself in response to those that leave him comments.

Having previously focused on covering single tracks on bass, guitar, and drums, Kurt has recently taken to uploading full album covers of Blink 182’s music, and has so far posted full album bass covers of ‘Take Off Your Pants and Jacket‘, ‘Neighborhoods‘, ‘Cheshire Cat‘, ‘Enema of the State‘, ‘Self-Titled‘, and most recently the ‘Mark, Tom, and Travis Show‘ live album.

A prolific poster of cover videos on Youtube,  Kurt Borutski is not just another lifeless cover artist; Kurt injects a great deal of energy and enthusiasm with his cover videos, and you can tell that he’s a prolific fan of the artist’s that he covers (and not just because he seems to own every Blink-182 signature model instrument known to man).

Kurt Borutski is most definitely a very impressive musician, and particularly if you’re a Blink-182 fan, it really is worth checking out his videos on his Youtube channel. There are a lot of people out there that cover the music of Blink-182, there are few that can put their personality and enthusiasm for creating music across quite like Kurt can however, and whenever Kurt adds a new cover to his channel, even if you’re not the biggest fan in the world of the work that he’s covering, you can rest assured that Kurt Borutski will still make it well worth watching.

Introducing: Bombs Into You

by Leave a Comment

Bombs Into You is a band based out of Portland, Oregon in the United States of America and their songs will evoke a mix of euphoria, anger and determination within the listener. ‘Nearly‘ is the classic emotive tune that everyone will relate to and “feel something for”, while the sudden electro beats (and Jared Jensen’s soft vocals) on ‘Fighting Over Elevators‘ has euphoria dripping from every chord. ‘Been Your Art‘ is also worth a mention as a standout tune; its own cooly-delivered venom will have your anger handled and dealt with in a few easy minutes.

There’s something delicious about a band that can serve up something that appeals so easily to a range of emotions like Bombs Into You. The great thing is that, despite their reliance on tech in the studio, out live they come off as a full and proper rock band – something akin to how Depeche Mode might work if they were still lurking in basements.

The band is currently working on a new full-length album (their second), but in the meantime there are a number of quality live and studio recordings, alongside demos available to download for free via the act’s official website.

For more information visit: http://www.bombsintoyou.com

Introducing: Sharks

by Leave a Comment

Influenced by all the best punk and rock greats – see Springsteen and The Clash (via Charles Bukowski’s raw and honest poetry), Sharks make music for the disenchanted and honest working man, and they do it very well.

Having supported Social Distortion over in the States, and in advance of playing with Tribes over here, the band has all the right scuzzy rock credentials to appeal to audiences across the great genre spectrum from rock to metal via pure punk and back again.

More importantly, this band has the drive and energy to make a real difference to punk music in 2012, and they’ve already been cracking on with that mission and touring the world.

This comes across perfectly on tracks including ‘Fallen On Deaf Ears‘ and ‘No Gods‘ – these are the types of career-defining songs that bear the passion and commitment of a band who you’d swear were trying to damage the idea of passionate and committed rock (sort of like The Clash… this lot really…really love The Clash). They’re not. They’re good, and you should listen to ’em. Go on.

For more information visit the Sharks Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/sharksuk

Introducing: Zuby

by 1 Comment


Ever wondered what would happen if a body-building UK rapper collided with an Oxford University student. Well… Zuby is the answer. The 24-year old London-based rapper has sold more than 6,000 albums without record label support spending most weekends selling his music to fans on the street.

He is an anomaly in the world of hip-hop; having achieved an honours degree from Oxford University whilst building up a successful career in music, with three independent albums to date.

And in an era of somewhat mindless lyricism usually preaching about money, drugs and guns, Zuby’s music is powerful, raw and urban but without so much as a curse-word.

Zuby has a captivating sound fuelled by his hybrid accent, having moved to Saudi Arabia at a very early age and been educated at an American school before coming back to the UK. His voice sounds American at times, with a British twang.

His new track ‘Stay In My Lane‘ is Zuby’s first venture into dubstep; fusing sounds that make his music more tailored to dancefloor’s nationwide having already been picked up by a number of DJ’s.

It’s a winning concept that will be set to increase Zuby’s seemingly ever-growing army of young followers.

Watch the new video for ‘Stay In My Lane‘ here:

Introducing: Systemyk

by Leave a Comment


This Hull-based lot have some very credible influences and contacts – not only can they count Paradise Lost’s guitarist Greg Mackintosh as the producer of their EPs and their forthcoming second album ‘Reward For Obedience‘, but throughout their long history the four-piece (made up of Danny Barr on vocals, Lu Dixon on bass, Lee Dixon on guitar and Phil Owst on keyboards), have maintained a high profile  by touring nationally and internationally, securing a record deal with independant label Casket Music in the process.
In their eight years together the core members of the band have battled many line-up changes and as a result the music has steadily evolved from an intense crossover of industrial sounds into a more gritty and raw electro-metal assault that has won them fans and media attention from right across the alternative spectrum.

Embedded deep within their debut album (2007’s ‘Cross Contamination‘) are classic hard-hitting goth influences like Gary Numan and the aforementioned Paradise Lost (see ‘Can’t Carry On‘) alongside the more contemporary work of cult industrialists Zeromancer and the keyboard-driven decadence of the Deathstars (check out ‘Ghost In The Machine‘). For their second album though, the band have stepped things up to a whole new level embracing heavier and more full-throttle metal influences like Killswitch Engage and Spineshank (the latter’s new material shows a progression away from industrial in to more metalcore territory).

Despite their brutal new approach to live performance and sonic delivery, thematically the group look to discuss personal relationships and emotions to an unusual depth, with the central aim being to appeal to every person no matter what age, or situation.

It is my opinion readers, that Systemyk are worth your attention because their music is affecting, unapologetically raw and totally direct. It does also help that they are one of the hardest working acts on Hull’s scene having played relentlessly throughout Yorkshire (they’ve also completed an tour of the Czech Republic most recently).

Indeed, their drive and determination is such that they have secured a dedicated and loyal fanbase and despite the gap between albums, over the last year they have been working hard to promote the new material on large and intimate stages alike.

The band’s second album ‘Reward For Obedience‘ will be out later this year.

Introducing: The Carpels

by Leave a Comment


Birmingham-based five-piece The Carpels are about as eclectic as you can get, creating a merged modern sound from a vast array of genres including punk, dubstep, indie and electronica.

The band scored a record deal with local label One Beat Records last year which is owned and run by Jon Brookes (the legendary drummer of The Charlatans) and his business partner Ian Light which has exposed them to a huge influx of attention from the industry.

Last month they played at The Queen of Hoxton in London as part of the club night This Feeling with fellow Birmingham outfit Tantrums. There, they were snapped by Libertines photographer Roger Sargent, who has a reputation for shooting bands which are heading for the mainstream.

They were also fortunate enough to have their debut single, Sand, played on BBC Radio 1 as part of Rob da Bank’s show and by Mark Radcliffe on his show on BBC 6Music.

For a band that’s still in its infancy (most of the boys are only 18 apparently) they seem to be causing a sensational storm!

Their new track, called ‘Handshakes‘, was produced by Jim Spencer who’s worked with New Order, The Cribs, Doves and Shaun Ryder amongst others. It perfectly exemplified the clean sound that The Carpels are becoming known for with screaming vocals and catchy lyrics.

Introducing: Testtone3

by Leave a Comment


Photo: Annique Albericci

Testtone3 should be hailed one of Leeds’ most exciting and innovative bands of the last decade, coming across like a phat (note, the ph…) mutant crossbreed of Pendulum and Hendrix, the group is made up of Adam Gauton (vocals), Andrew Precious (bass) and Richard Precious on synths and programming alongside the more recent addition of robo-armed drummer Matt Collinge.

As stated, the band’s music crosses genres in a way that few other acts in the North of England can confidently boast. Taking the heavier parts of Pendulum and mixing that in with the punk snarl of The Prodigy and the accessible guitar goodness of Mr. Hendrix, Testtone have afforded themselves a strong reputation on a local and national level for raucous-yet-technically-sound live performances and solid recordings. With a slew of well-received TV and radio appearances recently, the band is starting to see their hard work pay off with some nice festival spots over this summer.

The band formed in 2004 with a core mission to create a hybrid between electronic music and classic rock and roll sounds. The four have been credited in the past as one of Yorvik’s hardest working and most accessible live acts and they have toured extensively in the north which has afforded them dedicated followers in key areas like Hull, Leeds and Manchester.

The act’s first EP, ‘Fuelled By Substance’ was released in 2007 and central tracks like ‘Goin’ Down’ and ‘Get On The Dancefloor’ display the band’s feel-good attitude toward making music to enjoy and dance to. On the former, sky-scraping classic guitar riffs meet jackhammer beats inspired by The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers and Adam G’s Brian Molko (Placebo)-esque vocal stylings for a resounding and heavy-hitting combination.

The band has more recently released an EP, ‘Mind Graffiti’. Early indications are that the group has evolved from a scene standouts into a polished electro-rock juggernaut set to give the likes of Foals and Does It Offend You, Yeah? a decent run for their money. The thing that separates Testtone from the aforementioned big-hitters and other up-and-coming local crossover bands on the scene is their energy.

Call me clichéd, but honestly the live performance has to be seen to be believed. This lot are mental on stage and their approach is effortlessly entertaining. It’s like one massive rollercoaster night out, Testtone3 is pure skull-candy.

Interview with Gerard Johnson – Director of Tony: London Serial Killer

by Leave a Comment

Q: Did you know from a young age that you wanted to be a director?

GJ: Yes, I did find an old diary recently from when I was 13, I wrote that when I grow up I want to be a film director, it was the only thing I had any excitement for or gravitated towards, although it took a lot of terrible jobs and dedication to get here though.

Q: Were you one of these people who would create shorts in their backyards etc?

GJ: No but I did have plenty of action figures and would create elaborate battles so I guess as I got older I just replaced the action figures with actors. I spent a lot of my youth watching films, I had tons and tons of videos and I would even edit out the adverts and label them neatly up. I was learning all the time, my own film school.

Q: Where did the idea for the movie come from? Were you inspired by other gritty horror movies or dramas?

GJ: It came from reading about Dennis Nilsen the London serial killer when I was a kid, I remember when he was arrested and it stayed with me, that image of him talking to dead bodies in his front room and having his favourites who he would dress up scared me. It was also based on my experiences around the east end and the characters I knew then. I did love Henry as well and thought we needed our own version, as we British are good at producing real serial killers, only the US has more infamous ones than us. It must be our respective countries shitty diets.

Q: Did the script take long to write?

GJ: Tony was originally a short film and I showed it to Paul Abbott (creator of Shameless) who became a bit of a mentor to me and he asked me if I wanted to turn it into a feature. I jumped at the chance and started to expand from the short. I deliberately wanted to make a character study and a film that summed up the London I knew. I originally made the short as a serious piece but this element of black humour started to seep through so for the feature I worked on that more. I don’t think it would be as effective if it weren’t so funny. But it’s strange that having toured with the film in the US and all over Europe that the British humour does travel.

Q: How did you go about casting the movie?

GJ: I cast the film myself using a mix of actors I knew to people like Ricky Grover who was an old friend of the family to non actors I met on the streets. We then workshopped in a closed environment for about six months, it was important for me that the actors knew their characters inside out. A lot of the ‘actors’ were close to the characters they were playing, one guy went to prison shortly after we wrapped and I had to write a letter to his probation officer to try and get him a lighter sentence. Another sadly died of an overdose.

Q: Much has been made in the press about Peter Ferdinando’s superb acting in this movie, did he stay in character on set and how did he approach the role?

GJ: Peter is my cousin and we made a bunch of shorts together before the feature. He did stay in character and scared all the crew with his strange behaviour. Although I think they also found him quite funny as well. He approached the role with maximum dedication, he did his own research and we would compare notes. He lost 2 stone to play Tony and afterwards he had to go to Thailand for a month to recover from the traumatic experience I put him through, he still has nightmares.

Q: Was it a hard to movie to get funding for?

GJ: It was very easy to get the funding for this film because we didn’t need very much, Paul Abbott put in 20 grand himself and the UK Film Council matched it. They could see that I was willing to make a feature cheaply and it would look amazing. For a feature shot on film in 12 days all on location that is cheap believe me.

Q: The film has been recognised not only by horror media but more mainstream periodicals as a compelling, chilling and important movie. This must be rewarding but at the same time must put pressure on you to deliver the same sort of excitement for your next release?

GJ: It is rewarding but you have to keep things in perspective, its not like Tony was Slumdog Millionaire or anything, it had amazing reviews but was a small film really. I don’t feel too much pressure but I know that the second film is very important; I’m just enjoying the process of making a bigger film. I think it’s important to first and foremost make films for me, films that I myself would love and want to see, too many filmmaker’s don’t do it from the heart and it shows, that’s what its all about.

Q: If you had a bigger budget would you change anything about it?

GJ: Lots of explosions and Christian Bale as Tony may have helped box office a bit. But seriously I wouldn’t have changed anything. No need to.

Q: What’s your take on the current British horror film scene?

GJ: Well there are a lot of directors pushing the boundaries, which can only be a good thing, and being a bit more experimental with things. I think we need to go back to making stuff that relies on mood as well though and not only on gruesome special effects; I’d love to do an M.R. James adaptation.

Q: What’s your next project? Do you intend to carry on making “horror” films?

GJ: The next film is a cop thriller called Hyena about bent police and multicultural crime in London, I wouldn’t call it a horror but it deals with characters in pain. I don’t think Tony really should only be classified as Horror as it deals with social issues of unemployment and the class system in the UK. I’m interested in people rather than genres, so if I create a character they could turn up in any genre that suits them.

Q: What are your top 3 horror films of all time?

GJ: Texas Chainsaw Massacre: because it’s a perfect example of a genre film. I saw this when I was very young and no matter how many times it’s remade you couldn’t better it, it’s also interesting that Tobe Hopper never made anything as remotely good again.

Possession: the most art house horror film I’ve ever seen and I mean that as a good thing, it’s amazing and loopy on so many levels and obviously inspired Antichrist.

Irreversible: I guess this isn’t labelled as horror but what is it? It’s certainly not romantic comedy! One of the few films that after seeing it I couldn’t shake it from my mind. When I came out of the cinema I remember I had to walk it off and have a few beers afterwards to calm myself. But that’s what films should do sometimes.

Q: In your opinion what is the all time best British horror film?

GJ: Hmmm, that’s a toss up between Witchfinder General and Wicker Man. Although Peeping Tom has to be there as well as 10 Rillington Place. I can’t decide so I’ll take all four please.

Introducing Alkaline Trio

by Leave a Comment


Having featured FACT, Rolo Tomassi, We Are The Ocean, and Fireworks throughout the week, bringing an end to our Hassle Records Week of Slam Dunk bands is Alkaline Trio (although we do still have some non band specific Hassle Records activity planned for the weekend). Alkaline Trio is a band that probably doesn’t need too much introduction, introducing them we are though, so here’s what we have to offer about the Illinois three-piece.

After forming in 1996 it took the band just two years to record its debut studio album as ‘Goddamnit’ was released through Asian Man Records in 1998, and with its half hour album of punk rock the band was quickly able to establish quite a name for itself. A second album followed in 2000 in ‘Maybe I’ll Catch Fire’, again through Asian Man Records, and in 2001 it was time for the band to hit the mainstream with its Vagrant Records release ‘From Here to Infirmary’ which saw the band have two hit singles in ‘Private Eye’ and ‘Stupid Kid’.

With Alkaline Trio now well on the road to success, it was time for the band’s most popular album to date as ‘Good Mourning’ was released in 2003. With this release came further single success, and Alkaline Trio was now well and truly a force to be reckoned with within the punk rock world. With ‘Crimson’, ‘Agony & Irony’, and ‘This Addiction’ having now followed, Alkaline Trio is a band with seven albums worth of material behind it, and with such a healthy back catalogue the band has continued to grow and flourish.

2010’s ‘This Addiction’ has been Alkaline Trio’s most successful album to date as it has reached number 11 on the Billboard 200; a resounding success for the band’s very first release through its own Heart & Skull record label (joint released with Epitaph). With seven albums behind them, the future looks to be rather bright for Alkaline Trio, and if the band continues to run like clockwork then we can no doubt expect to see studio album number eight released at some stage in 2012.

The following is the official video for ‘This Addiction’, the title track and first released single from the band’s most recent release: