Years ago I realized that the recording studio was becoming a musical instrument. I even lectured about it, proclaiming that "by turning sound into malleable material, studios invite you to construct new worlds of sounds as painters construct worlds of form and color." I was thrilled at how people were using studios to make music that otherwise simply could not exist. Studios opened up possibilities. But now I'm struck by the insidious, computer-driven tendency to take things out of the domain of muscular activity and put them into the domain of mental activity. This transfer is not paying off. Sure, muscles are unreliable, but they represent several million years of accumulated finesse. Musicians enjoy drawing on that finesse (and audiences respond to its exercise), so when muscular activity is rendered useless, the creative process is frustrated. No wonder artists who can afford the best of anything keep buying "retro" electronics and instruments, and revert to retro media.

The trouble begins with a design philosophy that equates "more options" with "greater freedom." Designers struggle endlessly with a problem that is almost nonexistent for users: "How do we pack the maximum number of options into the minimum space and price?" In my experience, the instruments and tools that endure (because they are loved by their users) have limited options.

Software options proliferate extremely easily, too easily in fact, because too many options create tools that can't ever be used intuitively. Intuitive actions confine the detail work to a dedicated part of the brain, leaving the rest of one's mind free to respond with attention and sensitivity to the changing texture of the moment. With tools, we crave intimacy. This appetite for emotional resonance explains why users – when given a choice – prefer deep rapport over endless options. You can't have a relationship with a device whose limits are unknown to you, because without limits it keeps becoming something else. Brian Eno 1999.





C UNiT techno god
Weirdo's only.

info: matt.carl@hotmail.com

Junglist for life. But I love all music.
Producer since I was a kid. 
Been DJing about as long, but I've only recently been giving it some real focus.

I hope you enjoy my mixes and the music I write as much as I enjoy making them for you.

Rich Allen aka Dj Gixxer , Has been mixing electronic music for over a decade, reaching many people in many clubs across the U.S.

Now with a strong focus on production, Rich allen is a remix artist with a unique style.

CHECK OUT MY OTHER SOUNDCLOUD ACCT ! http://soundcloud.com/dj-rich-allen-la



<b>Follow me and i will follow back </b>

'All those moments will be 
lost in time, like tears in rain.
Time to REC.'
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
Diaries of an Electronic Man.

antwerpmusic@live.co.uk



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