London based music magazine and website INVERTED AUDIO were today announced winners of the 'Battle of the Blogs' music category.

Between 1st - 7th March 2010 Inverted Audio competed against Phuturelabs, a collective of music aficionado's from across the UK. The polls were open to the public for the entire week and resulted in Inverted Audio winning the battle by 64%.

Battle of the Blogs | Phuturelabs

London based music magazine and website INVERTED AUDIO today announced the launch of their dedicated online music community to their readers.

The COMMUNITY is similar to Facebook. Users can upload and embed all varieties of media, MP3, video, photos and links. Members can comment  and 'like' updates effortlessly.

Once you join the site, you are automatically set up with a profile. You can add your details, set up your Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and connect with others in the community.

The community allows members to post updates, videos, photos, links and MP3. Other members can comment and 'like' updates and share any content to their preferred social networks. Members can also post updates via email and mobile devices.

All content submitted to the community is automatically archived on the users profile 'Wall'.

*Record labels and event companies will be invited to join the community in the next few months, email to request an invite.

PRESS CONTACT:

TOM
info@inverted-audio.co.uk

RUMOUR HAS BEEN QUASHED - Panasonic have issued the following: "As a major global business, Panasonic keeps all of its operations under constant review. However, there are no current plans to discontinue the Technics brand and the production of Technics turntables." - SOURCE

Take a deep breath....this has to be the most earth shattering news of all time! The Panasonic Corporation have announced that production of the world famous Technics SL-1200 and SL-1210 direct drive turntables will stop at the end of February 2010.

Since the name Technics, pronouced 'techniques', was launched in 1965 for domestic premium loudspeakers, they have set the standard for high end audio equipment. In 1969, they introduced the SP-10, the first direct-drive model for the professional market, and in 1971 the SL-1100 for the consumer market.

The SL-1100 was the predecessor to the SL-1200 which, as the upgraded SL-1200 MK2, became a widely used turntable by DJs. The SL-1200 MK2 was a robust machine and incorporated a pitch control (or vari-speed), and kept the speed constant and the speed variability low, hence why it was adopted universally by 99% of all DJs and clubs.

In a statement Panasonic announced that they would cease the manufacture of Tehcnics turntables in February 2010, citing an increasing decline in sales as the motivation behind the line’s demise. The Australian arm of Panasonic issued a similar statement today, expressing their disappointment that the brand’s 35 years-and-running legacy was to be put to bed.

“It is a sad day today but due to low sales globally in analogue turntables a decision to stop production has been made on Technics Turntables,” Panasonic spokesman Ian North explained. “For Australia this means we will receive our last shipment in March.”

One thing that is clear is that the digital rollercoaster is showing no signs of slowing down. Technics have been the industry standard for over 35 years with this turntable and the SL-1200 is synonymous with the DJ culture. It has been released and re-released over 9 times with different models and numerous other manufacturers have tried to compete with this deck, but above all, the Technics SL-1200 & Technics SL-1210 are the undisputed number one deck in the world.

I can’t find a copy of the statement on any of Panasonic’s region sites, nor their Technics pages. It’s also unclear what the news means regarding the production of mixers and headphones under the Technics brand.

Recent years have seen a rise in the popularity of digital mixing systems, which either use CD or completely digital MP3-style mixing rather than classic vinyl.  These setups are generally easier to transport, less prone to damage and allow for more flexibility in post-processing.The question that pops into my mind is, is this a mean viral marketing stratergy to boost global sales of their turntables? Either way its tragic to hear this news! If you dont own a pair of these iconic tutntables I strongly reccomend you do.

BUY

Ok so if you're not familiar with the iPhone please for your own sakes go out and get one. Let's be honest this little phone has skyrocketed as the ultimate phone or shall I say icon for 2009. Ultimately Apple have brought together what we all want from a phone, whilst making it so earnestly simple to use my pet zebra Charlie could use it. If your into music you've probably got iTunes, Spotify and I hope the seriously suave Ghostly iPhone App. Now there's something to get your musical projects going wherever you might be.

In a nut shell Star6 is a highly-addictive sound remix instrument that allows you to create an infinite variety of amazing sounds from your own samples or by using their own free presets. Chop up beats with a flick of the wrist. Pitch any sample up and down like a Theremin. Use the iPhone's accelerometer to control Star6's powerful granular synthesis engine to change the pitch, speed, gate, sample order, sample size and randomness of the samples. Record it all with the press of a button and download recordings to your computer in a flash.

Before you start questioning how valid this App is, let me just give you a little insight. This App was created by musician Jason Forrest aka DJ Donna Summer. an electronic musician working in a variety of forms. His sample-based music has been a pioneering force in the experimental music community, and he has been credited as being a pioneer in the emergence of the Breakcore genre.

Star6 is the first fully-featured, performance-grade sample instrument for the iPhone. It's effortlessly simple for musicians of every skill level to use, so what are you waiting for go get it!

Star6 Songs On SoundCloud

Star6 On Vimeo

CockRockDisco.com

An Evening With Star6 - Berlin (Compilation)

Entitled Michael Mayer: Kompakt - The Early Years (1998-2004), Michael dug into the vaults of KOMPAKT and has come up with a remarkable journey of classic and forgotten tunes from KOMPAKT'S first 6 years of existance. Tracklisting below.

The mix begins with shimmering soundscapes courtesy of Wolfgang Voigt, blending live minimal percussion until Mayer blends them into Peter Grummich's interwoven abstract sounds of schleusen Auf #3 creating a buzzing whole.

To buy any of the tracks listed, click on them and you'll be redirected to KOMPAKT.

DOWNLOAD MIX MP3:

Michael Mayer: Kompakt - The Early Years (1998-2004)

Needless to say, fans of Ghostly's prestigious output and indeed any iPhone/iPod touch user with a discerning taste in music is heavily advised to click here, immediately, to watch the demonstrative video and find out more.

Kompakt’s most anticipated annual release returns and this time its colored gold to celebrate 10 years of Kompakt.

 Warp Records is to launch a brand new website, for those of you that have never visited the site, please go and check it out, because visually it still looks stunning, and that’s pretty impressive as the site was originally launched in 2000. However this old horse has gotta go, but we’re pretty sure that Warp will do a great new job. Anyway this is what the guys from Warp have to say about the redesign.

"Since its launch to widespread adulation and award winning acclaim in 2000(!) this site has served us incredibly well and still looks amazing, a testament to The Designers Republic's inspired design, Kleber's ahead-of-its-time development and of course everyone at Warp who were involved!

But now its our 20th Birthday and there's a host of new features we're looking to launch, it feels like the right time to give it its well-earned retirement; an engraved pocket watch and a holiday home in the country.

As a fitting farewell, the first pages of news now host a collection of some of the most memorable articles across its 9 years. We've had to change the dates to make this work, but the publishing dates are in the articles themselves. Hope you enjoy reading them as much as we have, but there are loads more to explore by flicking through the pages of news.

We realise that there is a LOT to live up to with Warp's new home, and we've been working extremely hard to do it justice. Until then, and if you haven't already, Help us create the definitive warp album.

Warp x


PS. We are planning a tribute to this site on the new one. Send any comments to editor@warprecords.com and we'll include some of the best. Thank you all."

On May 11th, Pinch, owner of Bristol based, dubstep imprint Tectonic Recordings, will release the second volume in the Tectonic Plates CD series and, my oh my, has he pulled together a diverse selection. The first disc, featuring 12 tunes from everyone from Skream to Flying Lotus, has a tracklist that pretty much reads as a who's who of dubstep in 2009. What we're most excited about is the fact that Shed is on the remix duties of a Peverelist  tune and has seemingly returned the favour for Peverlist's sublime remix of "The Fall" which was released earlier this year. The second disc is a mix from Pinch, himself, containing a bunch of unreleased tunes but, as of yet, no tracklist.

For the vinyl massive, the eight out of twelve previously unreleased tunes will be made availbale in a four-part 12" series.

The first 12" with Martyn's "Yet" and 2562's "Kontrol" is out now and comes very highly recommended indeed. 

The tracklist for the CD is:

01. Martyn - Yet
02. 2562 - Kontrol
03. Skream - Trapped In A Dark Bubble
04. Benga - Technocal
05. Flying Lotus - Glendale Gallereria
06. Joker - Untitled_Rsn
07. Pinch & Moving Ninja - False Flag
08. Peverelist - Junktion (Shed Remix)
09. 2562 - Greyscale
10. Skream - Precression
11. RSD - Forward Youth
12. Pinch – Joyride

BUY MARTYN/2562: YET/KONTROL