Segue

Other people were out frolicking. A somewhat old term that, but more than appropriate no doubt. Roller coasters, taming lions, computer games and possibly even disco dancing. Crazy kids. Me, I was moving the studio once again. Some readers of Create Digital Music might remember that it was just over a year ago that I wrote an article called “Moving Music: 10 Ways For A Geek To Move House”. I loved the space I had moved into when I wrote that article, with the studio gear dominating the lounge room in close proximity to the kitchen. The fun I had throwing fresh vegetables and spices around in a wok only metres away from Kris hard at work on Begin Again. On the flipside, picking up the refrigerator when trying to record acoustic guitars while reviewing microphones for Time Off. Mostly a great space, but a chance came up on a unique property only a short walk from the current one, and a few months ago it was all about cardboard boxes, carrying things up flights of stairs and trying not to drop things on my feet. With a modicum of success at best.

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One of the interesting characters that has shared in the Segue adventure has been long-time collaborator and geeky creative friend Jaymis. A veteran VJ and video geek, he has done a bunch of our live visuals, lugged gear through airports with us and even filmed and edited our Big Day Out video. You might have spotted him in our Big Day Out photos, which were shot by his equally talented partner, Rach, or my quick behind the scenes video. Drawing upon his experience shooting and editing live event footage, and his frustrations editing other people’s less than interesting live event footage, Jaymis has written a great article on Create Digital Motion with an accompanying rough video comparing the raw and edited footage for the duration of our set closing track, “Reset”. Check it out.

Link: Shooting Video For Gigs: Take That Camera Close and Make It Look Like Stuff Happened

After a few weeks as a Beatport exclusive release, the Guise EP has gone worldwide. You can now grab it from your favourite flavour of online music store, such as Juno, 7Digital, Beatsdigital, and even iTunes. It is, of course, still up on Beatport and getting some great responses, so check out it and let us know what you think!

The video should say it all. Maybe not very well. And certainly in a rather pointless way. But there you have it. Segue. New track coming out. Remixers. Dektek Records. Drums and such. Awesome.

Climbing around some glaciers today, I remembered that it’s the Beatport launch date for the Guise EP! I did an impromptu handstand to celebrate, tore another hole in my gloves, and recorded a quick message for all of you back in the civilized world.

So bust a handstand, kick your rollersaktes off and check the tunes. After that, please pause for a moment of silence for my poor, torn gloves. I did it all for disco.

No river too wide. No valley too low. No mountain too high. And so on. As I stand here in this photo, inviting my own scorn at myself for being one of “those” kinds of musicians that wear their own band’s t-shirt designs, there is a fair amount of activity taking place beyond these misty peaks. I’m currently on holiday, and doing some travel writing, in New Zealand. As I hike and climb mountains, ski and jump off of bridges and all of that, there is an equally exciting amount of things happening back in the studio.

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Here is one that I completely forgot about. Despite working on a bunch of tracks with Vitreous, who is based in Amsterdam but formerly of the excellent act My Ninja Lover here in Australia, I had totally skipped the memory of telling Dektek Records that I was up for a remix of his latest release. Even more embarrassingly, I had been cheering on Kris-Ko as he worked through his own very awesome remix of the same track. With a couple days before deadline, the label asked how I was going on the mix. With a “good! Yeah! Absolutely!”, I took it as a chance to break my usual slow habits and use it as an excuse to try out some new gear. Here’s the result, as a preview on Soundcloud. The actual release date is 23rd of June 2009 for Beatport, and everywhere else two weeks later.

The “Segue Does Disco” Dub:

The Original Mix:

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Seriously now. The universe told me to get some new headphones. So I did. Dropping in to see Porl at Musiclab, checking some cans with my old staple “Dig Your Own Hole” as a reference disc, I soon walked out with some Beyerdynamic DT770’s. I wouldn’t normally post about new gear, as a music technology writer and reviewer of new gadgets and gear every damn week, but this is a momentous occasion. One to mark with a suitable amount of respect. The passing of the Pioneer HDJ’s.

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Bringing his bulging laptop of musical mystery to the Segue studio, the occasional Segue collaborator and live drummer, Kris-Ko, has leaped back into the producers chair with a new track that has been billed as “an emotional piece of minimal-tech electronica aimed much more towards the lounge room than the dancefloor”. Working with Australian record label Dektek Records, Kris-Ko has taken a step back from the pounding tribal house that defined his style while penning D-KO’s “Tribal Gathering“, and has ventured down a melodic and electronic path.

Running on the “re-imagination rather than remix” angle, the Segue mix took the liberty of running wild with alternate ideas, before settling into a gentler idea inspired by a serendipitous night of partying on the Gold Coast with the Dektek Records crew. With a tip of the hat to the space disco, deep house and melodic adventures that have been infiltrating the Brisbane party scene throughout the early stages of 2009, this one is a flipside mix that shows a subtle side to the Segue live show antics.

Available now on Beatport, and all other digital retailers shortly. If you like the tunes, or are playing them out, let us know!

Here’s a rough and ready snippet of video grabbed quickly as Scott Walker and Magoo warmed up for Nick Warren at Brisbane nightclub The Met, on 12/04/09. The track that is booming through the incredibly loud PA is Scott Walker’s first production, recorded recently in the Segue studios and currently out on tour with him in Asia. Despite the vague video recording, this is shaping up somewhere in the deep tribal house realm, with a dose of Balkan folk, care of my travels in 2004. With Kris-Ko also at the helm, and some hilarious recording sessions featuring Scott and some improvised percussion instruments, this is an exciting track and has been a lot of fun. Stay tuned!