Looking for deep intelligent drum and bass with an old school flavour?

Soul Science – Low Key / Power Supply – is out today through Ambra Recordings – get it on beatport! I couldn’t work out how to embed the tunes from beatport

Soulscience – Power Supply/Lowkey (AMBRA003) Release Date 28/07/2011 by Ambra Recordings

Soulscience – Lowkey (AMBRA003) by Ambra Recordings

On a sunday night you wouldn’t think much is happening.

She’s telling me she’s got this other guy going, well I didn’t think I’d care. Across town the gig is about to begin. Skinny slit windows peer out across the city, I sip my beer waiting for another night to begin.

I try to serve as a good example to not ever get involved with making drum and bass. You can ruin your life. There’s perfectly charming things you can do with your life other than make drum and bass music and play it some club. You could say it’s dangerous, but that’s because everything’s dangerous. Life’s dangerous. So try to keep it discreet. As I used to say on the road “Play discreetly, my lord.”

Don’t worry, it’s a private joke.

People make their paths through the night toward their destiny. It’s a big town, it’s a big city, you never quite know what’s going on, behind the walls and through the doors and I suppose it’s for the best. God knows what she’s doing tonight, what she’s doing right now. The crowd is drifting in from the streets slowly. It was just a sunday night but who needs an excuse?

People have got to do what they have to and unfortunately for me, that means making drum and bass and everything that comes along with it.

In Low Key, the instruments don’t really compete, they all take turns and it turns into a structured journey. A lot of the songs are going there into deep narratives.

“Low Key” I identify as a calibre tribute, I wasn’t trying to sound like calibre, otherwise the guitar wouldn’t be so prominent, but I brought a lot of musty, deep vibes over from the era where he was really starting to kick off, more organic grooving breaks, and I really recognised his bold use of sounds, often cold kind of alien techno sounds stabbing over the warm strings and bass vibes. I don’t really use sound boldly that way except for in “Kings” and “Polyps”, but this is a track that has a conscious Calibre influence, any way.

Haha I’m trolling my own music career. Yeah sorry, don’t worry I’ll tell you later.

Anyway power supply. Definitely suspected of a sad lonesome cowboy involved there but it’s also pretty hazy. There are political overtones to the power supply but they’re not just overt. Mainly it’s about the kinds of things you can’t do without power, without energy, without fuel, so it’s about burning out, cold, empty, wrecked and decaying shells that disintegrate and fade.

That’s where Power supply kind of gets lost in a hazy, dreamy space – where the power can’t flow to make things function properly so you get this lurid wheezing fuzz where you’re drifting into abstraction.

As I said it’s not about a struggle over power, because without the power supply you can’t access data or perform functions.

AMBRA RECORDINGS 003

Continuing the global search for soul-hugging drumnbass, Ambra takes you on a trip to New Zealand, presenting the mystic tribal flavours of rising production duo Soulscience. There’s no mistaking the influence of the pacific ocean in the background of these blissful rollers, so open your mind and shut your eyes…

I’ll tell you some more. It’s just another day.

I get back from posters, I think it was good that I found random people had uploaded my old songs to youtube, check it out

“Like You Do” ft. Haze

I think was 2004, from my “Lickwicked” thing – it was kind of an okay sounding tune at the time for engineering, and I showed some restraint for the time in the arrangement so it is one of my few tunes from back then that stands up. Perhaps with some auto tune if I can dig up Hazel’s vocals it can be redone. Obviously a Jenna G inspired jazz roller.

“Moving On”

This is from Lickwicked in 2004 as well – I guess Moving on was probably well not my first good tune, but it was one of the first tunes that got people I didn’t know saying they liked my tunes. Again, I always had good ideas just engineering and beats always sounded kind of rough and let my whole thing down, but I definitely would like to bring the vibes from this up to date, but what this tune reminds me is that I should remember some fans will always look past a rough tune and hear the vibe in it.

Sample from Fat Larry’s Band “The Beat Goes On” – Fever 105 Vice City!!

“Long Ting”

Long T’ing was another leveling up tune that came late 2006. The leveling up tunes I think are “Kings” from 2008, “Long Ting” in 2006, and “Past Lives” in 2005.

This tune was one that not only randoms mentioned to me, but other DJ’s around town started to think I was qualified at least to be “a guy who was making tunes”. It’s got quite a similar vibe to “Everything” and “Pacificized” quite DJ Marky style but with my typical melodic overkill.

I think it will probably just stay as an okay tune I wrote in 2006 or maybe I could strip it back, who knows.

What are we going to do with drum and bass in 2011?

Well, there’s mixing and there’s gigging and there’s tunes.

DJROMANTECH2010MIX-MAKEBELIEVE by romantech

JUST SLIPPED MY NEW DJ MIX UNDER THE TREE FOR YA!

http://dnbshare.com/download/DJROMANTECH2010MIX-MAKEBELIEVE.MP3.html

It’s a bit of a pyramid there, mixing is kind of something, gigging is kind of important, and tunes are mostly the issue.

Well with mixing I think we just want to put out another mix at the end of 2011, and if possible maybe step up to a mid year mixtape. Nothing much really. Make a mix, make cd’s, give them away. I want to do a podcast at some stage but I need a more robust platform, then I guess I’d be moving to quarterly – save that for 2012.

Gigging, well I’d like to take steps towards touring more often and possibly getting paid more – and I say that rather hopefully, because I don’t know exactly what to do to push that forward except sit back in the passnger seat of fates ride, possibly to remain doing gigs at fu etc.

I’d like to play more out of auckland mainly but im not sure how to make it happen, that is manage my commitment to that goal without it becoming overly draining, thats the problem with tours, it seems the only way to smooth the wheels is to build your rep in the hope that invitations and opportunities will materialise as you establish yourself – you just have to make clear you are open to opportunities to play outside of auckland.

Tunes in 2011 is what it’s all about.

Mixing is only something that is about promoting the fact I make tunes, gigging, well I like to test my mixing, and I like to be apparent and promote my name, and feel like I’m involved, but again, it’s just going through the paces, keeping it steady for when the tunes are coming through.

I can release another mix in 12 months and do a dozen odd gigs before now and then, but it’s the tunes that will define my progress. The

We need to start on our next step, we have 4 tunes to work up for local activity, which should take me at least the whole break, but then we’re firing through new ideas, and ideas that don’t catch fire are filing into a pool where they will either get taken up again or will be gathered for an underground release.

It’s like a new system:

- does a label want the tune?

- has got a special something?

- can it be developed to the standard of around 5 songs on a self released EP?

- can a concept be built for the launch?

pull out the old plan – EP / minimix + youtube short / full mix

So either we’re going to get more songs signed, or we’ll go ahead with Microscope, see how that goes, and re-evaluate the eventuality of having many tunes that are worthwhile but labels don’t want, and what to do at that point, because otherwise, as long as tunes keep getting signed, I’ll just keep trying to write them until we get the breakthrough tune, which could still take 2 years.

But new directions, taking the approach that I do not make drum and bass, I just write and mix music at drum and bass tempo . . . and also, singers and pop sensibilities will be parts of the treasures discovered on this blog and elsewhere contributing to my music in 2011.

gonna put my picture here, right?

DJROMANTECH2010MIX-MAKEBELIEVE by romantech

JUST SLIPPED MY NEW DJ MIX UNDER THE TREE FOR YA!

http://dnbshare.com/download/DJROMANTECH2010MIX-MAKEBELIEVE.MP3.html

It’s Romantech’s “Make Believe” DJ Mix for 2010 – just in time – no fancy packaging – yet.

Catch me playing with Soul Science Dec 31st and Jan 7 at fu bar – dates for A-Sides forthcoming . . .

Deadhouse – Black Sun Empire
Ill Behaviour – Danny Byrd
Behind Time – Alix Perez
Thieves in the Night – Lenzman & Redeyes
Come Over – Er.ic
The Touch – Shapeshifter (Camo & Krooked Remix)
How Could I Love You More? – Blue Motion
The Touch – ASC
The Space Between – Concord Dawn
I Have You – Commix
Whispering Words – LSB
Is Anybody Out There? – S.P.Y. & B.CEE
Night on Earth – Zyon Base, Hobzee, Brother
Open Page – Lenzman ft. Riya
Dream Love – Big Bud, Soul Connection
Daydreamer – Komactic, Technicolour
Brothers – Redeyes
Don’t Want Your Love – Calibre
Forget – Mutt ft. Kevin King
Together – Disaszt (DC Breaks Remix)
Three’s a Crowd – Artificial Intelligence, D-Bridge
Stars – All Thieves (Zero T Remix)
DJ Friendly Unit Shifter – Rockwell
Falling Through – Noisia, Spor
I Heart U – Well Being

Wow sounding really nice here, I especially like the Lifetime remix by Logistics and The Camo and Krooked thing as well – really nice deep elements coming in.

Quite inspiring really as I haven’t found a lot of liquid decent drum and bass coming out in the last little while and some of these tunes have some really nice deep subtleties, but I think I said that didn’t I.

Sometimes lots of crappy tunes coming out inspires you to do better, sometimes good tunes coming out inspire you to try and match these efforts.

It’s interesting how Upbeats have added a VIP mix that sounds even solider than their last remix of “Twin Galaxies” – it makes you realise how much tunes can be improved when they’re rested and revisited, even by those who are masters of the full process.

Painted Smile is an absolutely gorgeous deep Piano tune but this new one that’s just gone up “Cold Kiss” is also very very good and worth a spin.

http://soundcloud.com/metalheadz/commix-painted-smile-metalheadz

http://soundcloud.com/metalheadz/commix-cold-kiss-ft-logistics-dub

also for a jazzier sample driven early alix perez type thing check out the remix of Avalanches “Tonight” very very sweet all free downloads right now!

http://soundcloud.com/commix/avalanches-tonight-commix-remix

Keen to hear me DJing some sweet drum and bass?

It’s a mix of big party choons, a few tougher numbers and my typical smooth liquid funk.

http://dnbshare.com/download/TOUGHLOVE-DJROMANTECHdjmxDec09-320.MP3.html

It’s the official “Tough Love” mix.

OH WAIT YOU WANT TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY MARKETING MUSIC SERVICES – THIS IS MY ACTUAL MUSIC, I MAKE – NOT MY JOB, FOLLOW THE LINK

Mmm so yeah I’m thinking of kicking off my newsletter and not giving a toss. Why not. It’s a good idea to have a newsletter you can make money flogging junk and stuff, i’m kind of good at that.

I guess I’m thinking who would want to read it? I don’t know, why not try it out?

The main idea is also a small step toward video.

It’s just been so hard, I’ve been trying to do this for years now! I’ve got to break this mutha down. If I can start with one newsletter per month, I can then move toward a newsletter and a video per month, plus a free song, and well, we’re good. We’ve got our format.

How hard can that be? The thing I like about it is unlike video, with an automated newsletter you can go back and improve the newsletter, which kind of makes me think of it as the top rung of engagement, in fact if it only ends up being a couple of hundred people and less than half of those even read the thing then that’s fine by me.

But I’m embracing the small step because I hate having a goal and missing it and then ending up discussing it and overanalysing it to beyond meaning, and we don’t want that on the newsletter. The newsletter can be actual me trying to do some decent writing and putting together something decent, and even if I don’t – as I say, unlike a youtube video I can just go back and change it.

No problems. Wait no, lets be serious. If I make it too crazy and all Reality Compound then it might put people who are into serious drum and bass or serious marketing off but if it’s too serious it’ll be boring.

I think I might of been saying it’s all about framing. Do the reality compound stuff but in such a way that drum and bass and marketing people can enjoy. Try to keep it edgy and amusing without offending the mainstream. Do marketing, but make it interesting, relevant. Show off your music, video and other content, but be real, not all indulgent.

Really aim to give people something decent

Use the story, use philosophy, because y’know, this is really all about the ideas I had since I was a young kid that I would be an author one day. Now it’s author 2.0, it’s author of my own destiny.

It’s author as character in their own story it’s an author combining the different media – video, newsletters and blogs, music to tell a story in a new way.

The whole RC dynamic of being a “real character”, which is not really me but a caricature of myself.

Another problem is about the idea of keeping it real vs. trying to not offend anyone and ending up a pussy who can’t say anything that’s real becuase it might offend someone.

I want to be transparent, but isn’t it so burdensome from an entertaining perspective to have to explain and justify everything? If I want to sell penis enlargement on my newsletter because it’s rock and roll and I don’t care, do I really have to explain it and justify it to my readers?

Do I just not sell penis enlargements at all and avoid the problem? Do I only do things I can justify in a sentence?

I just have to come up with a way of working with that content that my audience will accept.

Or that I feel . . . well I think I will have to shave off some raw edges. I think if I decide to promote penis enlargement I better be bloody clever about it.

Play the character of myself. The character of myself would sell penis enlargements on his blog because I’m crazy and he would do that.

The newsletter is a new level ofcloseness to the “fan” – I think I really just have to try it, basically, become my own client.

I think the newsletter is a better goal long term anyway, I mean so what if I can use youtube and be hilarious and irreverent and tell a story that I actually live in, what’s the next step? I become a more dynamic individual to play to the audience? I get a segment on tv? I get together with darcy and work on scripts and shoots?

Isn’t that all a bit typically far reaching? Why don’t I send them to my newsletter so you can maybe build up 150 people who give a shit and buy something once in a blue moon simply because there’s something I’m doing they like. Maybe they don’t like the music, or the marketing stuff, don’t care what I think or they dont think i’m funny or my philosphies are very incisive. As long as they have some reason to read it, i’ll keep reviewing what i’m doing until it’s as good as i can do.

How can I meet the objectives without a list? Something I can work with, improve, make money with as well as work on the detailed process of reconciling my music, my business and my new creative directions.

What if it becomes a bummer like this blog, instead of being cool and awesome, just becomes a depressing testament to how belaboured the whole creative existance has become?

I think that means I need to change up my style. I can ramble on here on my blog, I might still continue to spew words onto the page and send them off for backlink building, ramble on generally, but my newsletter is where I put together episodes that are actually relevant and attempt to tackle the broad range that is my platform.

That’s the whole challenge of a new kind of narrative.

There are some people who will put up with information when they want entertainment and some people who will put up with my attempts to amuse. . . yeah nah, but here are some drafts I’m working on:

But first . . . why not sign up and try it out?

Sign up for Matt’s Newsletter: -Tips  -Downloads -Stuff -Good

Name:

Email:

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<!– @page { margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } –>

FIRST DRAFT NEWSLETTER: INTRO

Hi it’s Matt here, I’m doing this newsletter.

It is a story, but there’s promotion and creative tips, music to download, and deals on offer.

So even if you don’t like learning about promoting stuff online or not interested in getting music, or videos, or stuff I think is cool, insider deals from my business, kurb, or any of what I’m into, at least it might an interesting story.

Having a newsletter for your project is a great way of building up a group of people you can reach out to but people will tune out if your newsletters aren’t any good. That’s why I want to make all my newsletters super hot – snappy with lots of good material – promotion tips, free music to download, hot hot links, new videos, tears, laughter, and great deals.

What I’m doing here is pretty broad, so it won’t be valuable for everyone, but the people I’m left with will be valuable to me, valuable connections, valuable community.

hopefully

Part of the reason a newsletter is so effective as a money making tool is the ability to make offers that generate generous commissions. I’m not here to persuade you to buy something you don’t need, but to make you aware that these offers do allow me to make generous commissions on sales and whatever I can do to help you to support me by purchasing any of these digital products I’m happy to consider.

That’s why as well as advice, tips, free downloads of content I’ll also be offering special “insider” deals – ways for you get free stuff, but mainly I’m here to write my newsletter, push my content other content I think is exceptional or provocative, if we make a deal and I sell some junk and get paid, well that’s a bonus.

DRAFT CHAPTER ONE, TAKE 2

Internet Money Internet Fame

I had a little taste on the tip of my tongue of internet fame and it was good. I miss the myspace days. But I was broke, it wasn’t real.

But the stuff I learned while messing around on myspace refined my knowledge of internet marketing, because it worked. When something works once, it will often work again and again and it did and I learned reasonably fast.

If your content is poor than you’re not able to be trusted. High quality content embues trust. In my case, I can write well, it makes people trust me.

see this is the second take. on the first take, I got too far into an indulgent narrative. I always tell myself to get to the point of the narrative, which opens the door for information of value to come through.  I just need to build the steps, create a clear trail for my audience to follow.

They see a video or whatever and end up on the list,

but I really like the idea of burying the information of value into the narrative.

That’s where I see philosophy coming in, just like any narrative.

Setting/framing, plot/narrative, music, video, alternative content and media . . . conclusion, information, resolution in 500 words, far less than whats here. Snappy.

DRAFT CHAPTER ONE, TAKE 1

At 18 I’d probably read to many modern classics for my own good, my beatnik road movie only got me as far as a job packing kiwifruit on minimum wage, I stood there at the assembly line enduring the monotony in my mind, and once in a while in a tiny moment, I felt something that was about more than me just standing there doing some job.

Well I always got good marks in school but I didn’t do much that was smart after that, 5 years later I was still an idiot. I thought I could be a club promoter. I learnt to build sites in dreamweaver, a bit of SEO, adsense, but anyway, I was broke by then. But myspace changed everything. For the first year I just hung out.

Then I started to do this thing called Reality Compound and the timing was perfect, it was outrageous and took off amongst the local kids. Then I got one of those friend adder bots. Pretty soon I was doing pretty well.

]]> http://romantech.co.nz/blog/2010/03/romantechs-marketing-music-dnb-rc-newsletter/feed/ 0 http://romantech.co.nz/blog/2010/02/free-liquid-drum-and-bass-mix-mp3-download/ http://romantech.co.nz/blog/2010/02/free-liquid-drum-and-bass-mix-mp3-download/#comments Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:55:39 +0000 Matt Romantech http://romantech.co.nz/blog/?p=390

http://dnbshare.com/download/TOUGHLOVE-DJROMANTECHdjmxDec09-320.MP3.html

It’s the official “Tough Love” mix.

Be back with tracklisting soon, enjoy!

Just about to upload these place holder pages for the new romantech archive – good gloss over exactly 27 different chapters of the musical projects I’ve been involved in.

PROJECT ARCHIVES:

Dojo Inspectors – Soul Science
Album Project 2009

Soul
Science – Music Project 2007

Beat
Dungeon Radio – Radio / Podcast 2007 -

Such
Heavy Wings – Sampler Project 2007

Special
Times – Sampler Project 2007

Reality
Compound – Mixtape series 2006-2007

Soul
Science – Club Night 2006-2007

Result!
- Sampler Project 2006

Oceanic
Chill – Album Project 2006

Get
Real – Reality Compound CD-Rom 2006

Catguts
Collaborations – Music Project 2005-2006

Reality Compound – Music Project 2005-2008

Viper
Club / Liquid Underground / DBA – Club Nights 2005

Decks
and the City – Mixtape 2005

Short
Circuit – Tour Project

Lickwicked
- Album project 2005

Who
Loves Ya? – Mixtape 2004

Distance
- Further Album 2004

Further
- Music Project 2004

Style
Over Substance – Music Project 2003-2005

Paradise
Bar Etc – Data:Bass Nights 2003-2005

Mental
Illness – Music Project 2003-2004

Data:
Bass Network – Music Project 2002-2005

Data:bass
- Club Night 2002 – 2003

Pre-August
2002

Evil
Robot – Manuscript 2000-2002

Furver
- Music Project 1995-1997

Just got back from the http://Upfm.dj Solar Series at Tahaki reserve in Mt. Eden.
Basically the radio station where i play with our Beat Dungeon outfit every Sunday at 4pm – except not today because they’re doing a live broadcast from the gig – upfm, holds summer parties and Beat Dungeon was lucky enough to get to open up when the party kicked off at 12pm.

We only had 40 minutes between the two of us, NSU and I  but I wasn’t complaining, I’m trying to get more active “raising my profile” and I’m happy to help the upfm crew because though they’re more on the doof doof tip, they’re solid into the scene and the parties, and y’know – I can get into some “dance” beats.

I played:

“Vale of Tears” Lenzman

“Ghetto Blues” Zyon Base

“With You” Electro Soul System

“Far From Down To Earth” Bionic1

“I Can’t Get Over You” Calibre

“Balaclava” – Nu:tone

“Aware” – Er.ic

Also wanted to play “Tell Me” by Specific which is wicked and “Brother” by Eros and Atmospherix but I don’t know if it’s some crazy DRM bullshit from Beatport or my burner, or my discs or what – it wasn’t too flash to be honest, still having problems getting the discs to play sweet, and those last two wouldn’t play at all.

Usually I’m backed up to the hilt when I play, but today uhm yah. Y’know I was up till all hours dreaming about my money. I’m tellin’ you I gotta start hiring.

“FInd me 5 good men, I say!”

I just need to find people to do what I do for me so I can focus on just being y’know. All neurotic over here, having my little life dramas and maybe even writing a tune or two.

So yeah, you know me, I didn’t get up til 11.40 I just grabbed a shower, my discs and my camera and cruised over to see what was required of me.

After our set the crowd was steadily building, I bought my old video camera so we could get around and get a few sound bites, which is sort of a tradition we’re trying to kick off, all about more video happening, more stories, more authenticity . . . although the footage I took from our last upfm party at the secret garden is still yet to see the light of day, to me it’s about training and experience in getting on with it.

Just want to get to the point where I can play a set and film some stuff and take care of both, handle it.

The gig isn’t over yet but it was getting damn hot out there and after a couple of hours and a couple of beers I figured I’d be best placed heading home to smoke a big joint and get on with my shit.

I don’t know if it was the beers I had but I was kind of reflective, you know me, I’m always kind of reflective if you give me half a chance – as in , alcohol – but hey, don’t worry when I’m having a good time I’ll let you know.

The beats were booming and it was a Scorcher. There were dudes getting sporty playing cricket and there were plenty of girls “dressed in their summer clothes”, it was good vibes. Y’know the quintessential New Zealand summer experience, Sunday, relaxing . . .

I was trying to connect with it.

Y’know summer vibes.

When was the last time I did this kind of thing, went to an outdoor event with friends, drunk some beers, chilled out? Y’know, what normal people do?

Y’know? I write songs about this shit, that’s what liquid funk is all about. The sun is out, the beats are good, the vibes are positive. Girl, you look good, and all our friends are here and we’re having a great time.

But I’m not connected with it. I’m connected with a bunch of dreams, a bunch of ideas of what is supposed to be, but it’s not really real, and it can never last. And so instead I chain myself to my computer, running my businesses, making my beats, planning gigs, trying to recreate the feeling, the meaning of simple contentment, hoping that somehow I’ll get there.

I guess, some of us are different. We’re not normal. We can’t just stand in the sun and be content, and that’s my problem, I can’t be satisfied, not yet.

I have to go home. I have to get on with it. You can stand in the sun for a minute, an hour, a day, but night always comes, and I need something that will satisfy me tomorrow and the next day, something that feels so good that I’m not afraid to die, and whether that’s really something I saw in a movie or it’s just because I “haven’t met the right girl yet” . . .  I have to get back to it.

Maybe if I write a song, maybe if I smoke a cigarette, maybe if I go out tonight, I’ll think about it and know it’s there. The sun is out, and we can play.

But I’m not there yet, and maybe I’m heading in the wrong direction but things have never been simple for me so I’ve got to take my own path.