MusicTech 211: Deadmau5 is taking control back into his own hands

The superstar DJ talks collaborating with The Neptunes, being inspired by Jean-Michel Jarre and his recent move into music technology development

musictech 211 magazine
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Last month I spoke about the recurring pattern of artists and performers switching tracks and settling into the role of producer, though the reverse direction is quite a rarity. What’s even more surprising than that is a global superstar of the calibre of Deadmau5, developing commercially available music technology.

Yes, there are countless high-profile endorsees of products, but very few (if any) with the comparable international pull of Joel Zimmerman’s rodent alter-ego. Joel explains the concept behind the newly available OSC/Pilot control surface and how it has developed alongside his live show, as well as discussing his recent collaboration with The Neptunes and a potential alliance with Jean-Michel Jarre.

Also this issue we go deep on that most under-explored of effects, the humble reverb. We explain how approaching the effect with a creative mindset can yield a wholly different feel for your music, taking the process of building your virtual spaces beyond simply ‘sticking a reverb on it’. Elsewhere we explore the prevalence of the felt piano in a lengthy feature highlighting its ubiquity in soundtracks, and how you can incorporate similar tones into your own music.

Under review this issue we finally lay our hands on UDO’s Super 6, a barnstorming synth we got an early look at last year. Does it live up to (our) hype? Read our review to find out. Other highlights find us getting down and dirty with Heavyocity’s Damage 2 and checking out a state of the art new microphone from Golden Age Premier. As always, there’s a treasure trove of tutorials and studio features this month, too. I hope you enjoy this issue.

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MusicTech 211 includes:

  • Getting creative with reverb – Reverb can be more than just a bit player in your productions. With our help, you can use it as a creative force
  • Keep things separated – Separate the wheat from the chaff with VirtualDJ’s new stem-separation tech
  • Softly, softly – Tread lightly as we explore the world of the increasingly popular felt piano
  • Practise sound design – Scrub up on your sound-design skills by building your own synth patches
  • InterviewsDeadmau5 on his gamechanging new control app, reinventing the live show and Jean-Michel Jarre; legendary UK producer Nick Launay on working with Nick Cave and Idles’ Ultra Mono
  • Tutorials – Get creative with beat-slicing in Logic; Top-tier mixing advice for Live; Using the Loopmash to mash loops in Cubase; Quick tips for better productions in Studio One
  • Reviews – We get hands-on with the UDO Super 6, Pioneer XDJ-RR, PreSonus Atom SQ, Teisco Interface Pedal, Celemony Melodyne 5 and more
  • DVD – 3GB of video tutorials, workshops, software plug-ins and samples including Organic Morph Loops (samples), Equinox Sounds Arabic Moombahton Kits (samples), WA Production Kshmr Essentials Kick (freeware), Spitfire Audio Symphonic Motions (promo), Audio Damage Continua (demo), and more

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