Taliban House - by Wez G

The Taliban House mix by Wez G was created in 2009 for the Global Intelligence Data Services (GIDS) company which at that time was in Afghanistan for operations against the Taliban and in support of the Afghan Government. This mix was played on the choppers while going into operations. In a very first, the GIDS Radio Station (click here) on KryKey.com streamed this through their satellite system on the helicopters.

 

This mix has been tested under battle conditions!

 

You can hear the Taliban House on their radio station right now at http://www.krykey.com/Radio/PRSPage.aspx?id=291

 

The opportunity to win a Taliban House t-shirt is on offer this week by KryKey.com by guessing the Top 4 radio stations in the new ranking after midnight this Saturday. To enter go to the KryKey Facebook page and leave your guess on the post (click here).

Getting digitized?

As I’ve clearly stated in the past: I’m a vinyl junkie. An analogue dinosaur. In the field of dance music we have often been the very first genre to embrace new technology. Indeed, more than any other musical variety, dance music and audio technology are intertwined. I have watched all this change and although it interests me a lot, when it comes to performance I am an absolute Luddite. Turning up at clubs to watch my dancefloor heroes play on CD decks makes me want to send the sparkling lights and fancy buttons hurling to the ground. Like a nineteenth century cotton mill, the pioneer CDJs 1000, lying in bits would bring a smile of satisfaction to my face. I’m told they’re sexy. I just feel that CD DJing is cheating – not so much the technology aspect, as in principal it is the same technique as vinyl DJing, but that the audience is cheated. I watch with horror as my favourite record shops close down as everyone turns to the cheaper alternative… Anyway – I have stuck to my guns regarding CDs and remain a vinylist.

However, it’s not just CDs that have changed the face of DJing. One of my favourite DJs is Sasha. I remember reading several years ago how he was embracing Ableton for production. I remember picking up a (vinyl) copy of Involver in 2004 and being blown away by the ‘new’ sound. The thick bass, the really electronic feel, floor-friendly loops, perfectly cut vocals… It is an ambition to produce music and I’ve always liked the sound of Ableton. I dabbled with Cubase a few years ago but Ableton seems to be the software daddy. Shock horror – I realised that Ableton could be used for DJing. I was at a gig at the Q bar, Cardiff, and the DJ had a laptop and a complex looking MIDI controller. He was playing an Ableton Live DJ set… I trainspotted for a bit, to check how it all works… DJs are anoraks at heart and get a high watching others at work. It is the quickest way to improve your style, by studying others in action. I started to interrupt the guy by bombarding him with questions. It all looked posh and he seemed a bit snobbish, with all his fancy equipment… He was very vague and seemed to be avoiding my answers. I didn’t appear to be spending much time at all cueing… OK – fair enough… Some DJs don’t need to cue much. I’ve seen Norman Jay cue a record, when someone dropped a glass from the balcony onto the decks at Ministry of Sound, in literally under 2 seconds, without a glitch in the music. Jeff Mills is notorious for spinning about 5 records every minute throughout the duration of a DJ set, bunging the vinyl over his shoulder as he slams in dub plate after dub plate of the most experimental techno. Thing is – as I soon learnt. You DON’T beat match with Ableton. It is all automatic. How can this be DJing? I felt properly cheated. It’s like losing your lifesavings in Las Vegas then realising you have been playing with a marked deck.

It put me off Ableton. I’m a DJ, not a jukebox. However, I continued reading and reading about the program and it seems that virtually all of my production heroes are ranting religiously about its power. I knew that at some stage I would be on board. I’d have to be, if I want to actually make some decent tunes, realise the dream…

I picked up a book and got studying. Ableton 6 landed on my lap and I churned out a couple of tunes. Very basic, very nasty really, but an attempt nonetheless. It is a powerful program, for sure, it just gets very confusing. I let it fester on my PC for a while and decided to wait for a bit of inspiration. The social side of DJing is important. Swapping label notes in a grotty record shop, booth banter, interacting with off-their-face clubbers. I think that the growth of social networks has helped the whole dancefloor community. I have a DJ category for friends on facebook and there are over 200 people in there. I was a self-taught vinyl DJ but always absorbed advice from my peers which proved fundamental. I decided to invest in a bit of MIDI equipment for potential use with Ableton and through a mutual friend, managed to find the local Ableton guru. I needed to get sweaty in the studio with someone, and get shown how it all operates. A few tips wouldn’t go amiss. As boring as DJing may appear to non-musos, it really is an exciting subject and digesting books and technical manuals just isn’t the done thing.

So, I loaded up on tinnies and made my way out to visit Dave Wired, techno legend extraordinaire. When I was a teenager, I used to get off my box at the Muts Nuts @ The White Lion, Chepstow, where Dave usually hammered out the last set of Techno every Saturday night. The White Lion music agenda was very underground and for a sleepy Welsh village to host one of the cutting edge forums for Goa trance, minimal techno and esoteric electronic, was quite a blessing. Dave’s style influenced me in the first place so it was important that he would be my teacher.

DJ Wired’s style can be described, if I had to tag it, as ‘nosebleed techno’ which is pretty far removed from my 130 bpm progressive house or ‘handbag’ as my mates in the pub refer to it. 180bpm beats; four top the floor with some occasional breaks. It is fast stuff and not for the feint-hearted. I don’t play this music, or indeed listen to it much, but I do appreciate it. Dave stopped DJing two years ago. Hung up the headphones. He gigs all over the world – from Europe to South America. It’s all a LIVE Ableton set these days. Not DJing, but playing his own productions. Live manipulation of his own tracks in a set that smashes hell out of global festival audiences in the tens of thousands. To hear him talk, as a sceptic of the digital revolution, I was initially unimpressed. I still cannot get my head around the idea of a DJ not using vinyl. After a few beers, we headed into the studio. This is where I truly began to realise the power of Ableton. As I said, I’ve had a dabble. But – Dave loaded up a live set which was MASSIVE. He started it rolling and I was entranced as I witnessed what could only be described as a high voltage electric storm on his laptop screen. Beats, bass and the odd vocal, all dynamically shifting. It’s hard to keep track with your eyes what’s happening. The bass bins do the talking though. The music comes slamming out and sounds shit hot. Everything is done on the fly. You prepare each individual sound in the studio, load up a host of audio clips and mash them all up. Mixing, although everything is beat synched, takes on a whole new phenomenon. You can start the next track my clipping out, say, for example the hi-hats of the track playing, add in the hats from the next track, and start looping some vocal from your sample library. Ableton has a massive host of plugins and effects which makes the most expensive Allen&Heath mixer look primitive. Autopan the kicks of one track mirroring the one you’re mixing in, flange up the mids and whack in a few breaks to liven it up. Glitch a few beats, reverse them on the fly and some of the most amazingly complex mixes can be made. To be fair – there is no time for cueing up beats. As a DJ I often cite myself as an original artist for blending two tracks together, ‘in the mix’ to create something new. Very often though, I hardly even change the EQs. Seeming tracks together in an Ableton becomes a whole new mixing experience. It provides an endless challenge and the possibilities are infinite.

I am happy in a way as I try to learn this new technology. It will consume my entire life. I can see why Ableton can be classified as a religion and I am still a new convert. The sacrament may be sample editors and MIDI manuals but I think that the future of dance music really does lie with Ableton. I won’t be hanging up my headphones just yet, but the appeal of becoming a producer means that the digital lure is starting to bite. In a world of hypocrites I am just following nature’s path. If you are interested in electronic music then Ableton is the new drug of choice.

DJ WezG Web Radio

Following on from yesterday's Blog, we talked about the DK web radio station and how they are and are willing to play any DJ's mixes. One DJ in the UK has used the KryKey Web Radio Station he created to promote his music and talent by adding all his current mixes as he does them to be played.

WezG Web Radio is just that! WezG's mixes playing 24/7.

What a great idea for a DJ to promote themselves. Even bands or solo artists could do it! The possibilities!

Check out WezG Web Radio at http://www.krykey.com/PublicRadio.aspx?Key=198

Music; at work, at play, in business and even warfare.

When I was a small child some 30 years ago I partook in a revolution that has led to today’s MP3 Players – it was the Sony Walkman. My parents bought me one of these new devices and this let me take my music everywhere playing what was then the cassette tape, and wearing headphones. It was a revolution for me as before I was tethered to my ‘record’ player and now wherever I went, I took music. The only drawback in those days that the batteries didn’t last very long and I had to change them regularly – or is that the same today?

I used to in those days race motocross and was sponsored by Yamaha and I used the music on the way to a race (Dad driving me there) and before the race to motivate me. Kiss, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple all did the trick and got me focused for each 45 minute race.

Fast forward to 2003 when I was in Northern Iraq as an Information Technology Warfare Consultant we played music over the Comms to also motivate us. I remember flying in a Chopper with music on loud speakers on the outside as we flew into the ‘hot’ zone – this was Physc-Ops!

Over the years the ‘portable’ music players got smaller, better and batteries lasted longer, and today we have MP3 players which are credit size and batteries last up to several hours. The Apple iPod is the most popular and the word iPod is now a generic term for any MP3 Player.

Traveling and working I have found music keeps me inspired; helps pass the time and keep me motivated. Look around anywhere, now; people walking on the street, running in the park, on the train and even at work and you will see the listening to music. You are probably one of them!

As a lover of music, in 2006 I had an idea to create KryKey Personal Web Radio and over a period of 24 months I designed, financed and built it. There was other online music streaming services on the Internet which they called themselves ‘internet radio’, but I think they are more of what I would call an ‘internet jukebox’. You can make Playlists and then listen to the music and that’s where it stops. KryKey Personal Web Radio is what it says. It is a real web radio system where people can create a web radio station and create content to broadcast. Music, promos, Podcasts, can all be added to each Radio Station Studio and then played. Others can be invited in as DJ’s. This is a real radio station system. After a couple of months in Beta, version 1.0 will morph into version 2.0 in May 2009 with a better interface and new site. If you haven’t created a Personal Web Radio Station on KryKey.com yet, I suggest you do to get that all important Radio Station name before it goes. Web Radio is the future and KryKey will be part of it. (Read this Blog on the future on Internet Radio)

WezG is a new friend that I have met recently and he is a DJ of some note. A couple of weeks ago he created a mix which he called “Taliban House”. This was immediately added to the KryKey Personal Web Radio Station; JNCBEST which is a private company supplying its services to the US Intelligence Agencies and Military. In a world first, in Afghanistan, they connected to their Personal Radio Station via a satellite phone and then plugged that into the Comms unit, and they were playing and listening to the “Taliban House”. This they used to motivate themselves as they flew on missions in Afghanistan. They also played this on loud speakers outside the Chopper. Motivation; and Physc-Ops.

Music has the effect on people in many areas. Workers of all fields have embraced headphones in order to inspire them and to make their days pass more easily. As many of today's jobs take place in front of a computer screen in and in a room full of cubicles, access to a computer means you have every available genre of music available to you in the form of online radio stations. Listening to music at work can be more than just fun, as listening to music boosts the levels of neurotransmitter dopamine, a brain chemical that can help people focus. One of my friends, Shane Stringer is a cartoonist and he has told me on numerous occasions that he finds music to be a great motivator at work, he says "It makes a slow day go faster and often really does help me in the creative process."

Music in business also has an effect on people. Research has shown that music influences behavior and the right music can keep customers in a business longer, leading to an increased chance of a sale or the purchase of additional items. In a Restaurant or café environment, the right music can reinforce a brand image and influence behavior (by motivating staff, speeding up or slowing down customer turn over, or providing an enjoyable atmosphere so that customers come again) - it can even be used to mask distracting noise. In a Store, music can play an important role in enhancing the atmosphere, reinforcing a brand image and ultimately ensuring that customers have a positive retail experience. In the Hotel & Tourism industry, image and service are paramount. Furthermore, when it comes to reinforcing image and creating atmosphere, music is an essential component. Hairdressers, Beauty Salons, Doctor & Dental Surgeries, Nursing Homes can use music for a soothing and relaxing process, and of coursed in a Gym or Health Club it helps motive while the people exercise. That’s why we created a new ‘business music streaming’ service called KryKey Entertainment Service or KES for short. KES provides a wide range of music choice with hundreds of pre-created Playlists, and with new Playlists being added each month. The wide selection of music ranges from Easy Listening, Chill Out, Rock, Power Ballads, House/Dance, Pool Mixes, Lounge, Top 40 from the UK the US and Holland all compiled by international DJ's from the Europe, the UK and the USA. Also if you do listen to music at work, please be responsible and use headphones, keep the volume low so you can hear the phone or co-workers, and don’t sing aloud.

Music is the common denominator of all people on this planet and besides being used for pleasure can be used for motivation, business and even warfare.

Music; enjoy it wherever you are.

Via Satellite Phone Listening To KryKey Personal Web Radio In Afghanistan

Via Satellite Phone Listening To KryKey Personal Web Radio In Afghanistan

On Sunday, DJ WezG released a new mix called "Taliban House" which was created especially for playing while in Afghanistan by the Intel-Security company JNCBEST in the Choppers while flying on missions.

What is probably a world first, JNCBEST is using a Satellite phone to connect to KryKey Personal Web Radio (http://www.krykey.com) through the internet and then to their Personal Web Radio Station (http://www.krykey.com/prs/JNCBEST) and listening to the "Taliban House".

Will the "Taliban House" help bring peace to Afghanistan, and will it end up a classic tune the same way "The Valkrye" is for when it was used in the movie Apocalypse Now?

You can hear this track on www.krykey.com/prs/JNCBEST or www.JNCBEST.com or www.ShuffleRadio.co.uk

What is KryKey?

What is KryKey?

In a world of music that the ipod has turned upside down, the market of computer music products is full to the brim and highly competitive. MP3 sales is now the standard marker for a music artist’s success. Music in the digital age is pegged to tech developments. KryKey is a disruptive technology that has the potential to set the new standard for music listeners and makers alike.

Web radio is the ‘in-thing’ in the tech sector. The recent annual tech show in Las Vegas was full to the brim of internet radio products. A study has predicted the ‘web radio’ sector to draw in $900 million revenue this year. There is an expected compound annual growth rate of 29.7% That web radio is the fastest growing area of the World Wide Web is in no doubt. What the sector has lacked until now is a platform to incorporate potential broadcasters to supply the channels necessary in the radio boom.

KryKey is the perfect platform for the Web Radio Station. It simply allows you to create your own PRS (Personal Radio Station) where you can invite other people to act as DJs. The KryKey software incorporates an easy-to-use MP3 streaming interface, where you create playlists of MP3s you upload. Today in a terrestrial radio studio, it is normally a similar digital interface that is used to play the music. What KryKey does is reverse the traditional radio barriers, of it costing so much money to set a studio up and being incredibly expensive and tightly regulated to conduct a broadcast, which has certain broadcast limits. You can set up and run your KryKey PRS from your own living room or office, with DJs not even having to be present with you but sat in the comfort of their own homes.

How is the station funded? People initially told about KryKey suspect that it is an ‘under-the-counter’ pirate radio broadcast service. Sure there are places on the net where you can set up internet pirate radio, but the quality of the stream is appalling, there are server issues and no guarantee of station stability. KryKey uses incredibly powerful US servers and one of the most important feedbacks received is that customers are very satisfied with the volume and 128 bitrate quality of the KryKey stream. KryKey earns its revenue through advertising on the station. One of the options for PRS owners is to create their own advertisements or promo dittys. If, as a station manager, you are unhappy with having short advertising intervals there is a subscription service available to ensure your broadcasts are advert free. The station needs revenue as according to radio laws it has to pay royalties to artists that are played on the KryKey network.

KryKey is a truly globalised service. Involved in the running of the company are Americans, Australians, Belorussians, Indians, British & Bulgarians. Web radio stations can employ DJs from all over the world. Presently there are over 130 KryKey PRS running on every continent, with growth rates of PRS creation becoming exponential.

The service is still in its Beta test format and new features are becoming available to increase the facilities for broadcasters. Hot new developments include a live broadcast facility where a mixing desk can be linked to the PC. Enhanced studio features and customizable homepages are due and also a chat and phonein facility to enhance audience participation in shows. Unlike other competitors in the computer music world, KryKey is not just a music streaming service. It allows real live radio. There is a microphone option so each track can be introduced and broadcasters will have to ensure that their shows are well-presented if they want to retain listeners. KryKey truly is innovative and has the potential to really bring the world of web radio to the websurfers feet. The hardware for web radio will sweep the market over the next few years and as portable listening devices incorporate web radio streams, it is most certain that the world of radio has never been a more exciting place to be. Get yourself KryKeyed and set up for the revolution!