New Louis Den Homework - "LINN DRUM HARDWARE BATTLE"

New homework, LDBB back in the buildin!!, this week we want you to use sounds from the 80's game changing drum machine the "LINN DRUM", sounds are provided and we also want you to freak tracks from notable artists who used the machine!, all links are in the myspace blog below!...Check it out!.

Homework 47 - "Linn Drum Hardware Battle"

Louis Den Beat Cypher 04 Spotlight - Ranx Diggla

The final installment of the Beat Cypher spotlights is on Birmingham's own RANX DIGGLA, producer and emcee for Birmingham supergroup MSI & Asylum; very legendary respected mic heavyweights, Ranx and his group are one of the cornerstones of Birmingham hiphop so it was an honor having him bless the beat cypher and his group take the stage..all this and Ranx has been supporting the night from the jump..respect due indeed!..

Peep game!.



Louis Den Beat Cypher 04 Spotlight - Ranx Diggla
Hey!!, please introduce yourself to everybody; let us know who you are what you do and how long you've been doing it!.
The name is Ranx aka Diggla. I am the producer and one of the MC's from the MSI/ASYLUM clique. I started messing with the beats when my mom got me a Yamaha DD10 for christmas way back in 1988 lol.

Was there a defining moment (event / hearing a record etc) that led you into making beats / becoming a producer?.
I have been beatboxing from as far back as i can remember. My brother and i used to clash on regular basis when we were kids. So it was a natural progression from creatin beats with my mouth to banging them out on my dd10. After i began rhyming in my mid teens the production was put on the back burner. That was until i met The Brooklyn Ripper (producer of the first MSI/ASYLUM album). He spotted my interest in production and borrowed me his Roland R-8. I programmed a few beats brought them back to his, we threw a some samples other them and the rest is history.


What was your first peice of equipment and what were those beats like?, any interesting stories about things were doing to begin with / finding your feet?
Although i had my dd10 it was very limited. The quantize on it was mad stiff and the sound that it produced wasn't that good. It wasn't until i got my hands on a Casio SK-1 which had a built in sampler but could only take four separate 1 second samples. I'd speed up anything i wished to sample to fit it in within the second and slow it down afterwards. It had a real gritty like sound to it and I came out with some really dark sounding beats. I borrowed that off an old friend named Olton and he never got it back. Sorry and Thanks Olton.

Whats the one bit of advice youd give to anyone starting out today?
Try to be different... bring something new to the table. There are a lot of good producers out there but their music sounds the same as everthing else at the mo. A lot of producers beats either sound like Dilla or Premier.

What can heads expect from you at LOUIS DEN BEAT CYPHER?
Serious bass and beats that make you feel compelled to spit on em even if you aren't a MC. Plus i might be pissed by the end of night so expect loads of jokes and laughter! Peace, love and prosperity to you all... see you on thursday Bitches!!!

FREE MUSIC
MSI & Asylum - Marvelous (produced by Ranx)

Louis Den Beat Cypher 04 Spotlight - Myke Forte

Ouch, got so caught up in the runnings to the beat cypher I didnt finish these features before the night itself, no worries tho lets get it crackin with the last two installments and more free music!.

We got introduced to Myke back in beat cypher 01 in october, its crazy connecting with a next head whose basically doing exactly the same thing as you and your peeps; into the same stuff but just never crossed paths and this is exactly what happened. Myke came along to the first beat cypher and even brought his MPC2500 with him just in case an opportunity came to play some blaps or jam (dope hahaha)...since then he's been all up on the homeworks, a regular lab fixture; lined up work on Sonnyjim's upcoming Austrailian LP and started a collab project with Raul Supreme!!, lets get a little more from him!.

Louis Den Beat Cypher 04 Spotlight - Myke Forte
Hey!!, please introduce yourself to everybody; let us know who you are what you do and how long you've been doing it!.
Whats up peoples, The names Myke Forte, im a 29 year old father of one very special girl, so yeah im a family man just like Winchester, but dont get it twisted, i still know how to gets down nah mean!! lol Been making beats for about 5 years now, 3 of which was taken seriously.
I love making music its meditation for me when i feel like i wanna blow up the whole world! I also rap (But most peeps dont know) under the alter-ego Mike Leforde. Grew up in Winson Green, Birmingham

Was there a defining moment (event / hearing a record etc) that led you into making beats / becoming a producer?
Well...I fell in love with hip hop after hearing a tape of Ultramagnetic Mc's (Critical Beatdown) that my uncle had stashed away, which got me on to all kinds of other artists like, Grand Puba, Rakim, Masta Ace, TCQ, Gangstarr, Pharcyde, you know that real shit! Many years on studied BA HONS in Visual Communication as i loved designing and drawing and being creative etc. Half way through the course my daughter was born, I left and took up making beats with remaining money from my student loan. After hearing the Love Album by TCQ and Slum do their thing i wanted to make music that sounded like that!! I loved jazz music by that point so i thought time to start making beats, a close friend of mine (Shawn) was into D Jaying , from like the age of 13-14, He was the first person I knew with an MPC.

What was your first peice of equipment and what were those beats like?, any interesting stories about things were doing to begin with / finding your feet?
My first bit of software was music on the playstation with the sample box...remember that!!...so yeah started out with that making drum and bass and hip hop. I then started using reason 2.0 which i got as a demo with some other software on the mac, during this time, i started listening for sounds within music that i liked and tried to emulate it, with no luck whatsoever.

Whats the one bit of advice youd give to anyone starting out today?
Dont be afraid to experiment, i wish i did a bit more. Have fun with it and enjoy what you do.

What can heads expect from you at LOUIS DEN BEAT CYPHER?
Im quite laidback as a person so my beats have a tendency to follow that nature. Soulful, love basslines with a bit of swing.
Just hope you enjoy. Peace

FREE DOWNLOADS!
This was the first beat tape i put together after getting the mpc (J Dilla Tribute by myself and Smith The Mister)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VQQU83LG

Another one shortly after that Discovering Myke Forte
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=99SMW66P

Louis Den Beat Cypher 04 Spotlight - Sivey

Whooo, 1 more day to go to the Beat Cypher 04!! still lots of prep to take care of but it should be a good one one!! maad lookin forward to it, also remember! if you do reach tomorrow you'll be among the first to know about the very very very special BEAT CYPHER 05 line up taking place in June which WILL be nuts!!.

Ok now for Siveys spotlight!, old Sivz is a monster on the boards and has been consistently killin LDBB from the jump; it's gonna be extra dope being able to hear his exclusive new bangers tomorrow so heres a little from the man himself!.

Louis Den Beat Cypher 04 Spotlight - Sivey

Hey!!, please introduce yourself to everybody; let us know who you are what you do and how long you've been doing it!.
Wassup people, my name is Sivey/D. Sivey/Dave... I'm a beatmaker and remixer from St Albans, Hertfordshire (just north of London). Been making beats since about 2003 after messing around with various genres. Still dip into other stuff but it's all about the beats at the moment. Have done a load of tracks for Lowkey & Stylah and a few other UK mcs as well as a few joints with US MCs such as Nino Bless & Diabolic.


Was there a defining moment (event / hearing a record etc) that led you into making beats / becoming a producer?.
Hmm... not really. The stuff I was making when first trying out making 'music' was all sample based but generally not hip hop. I was looping up disco tracks on some house shit or making fatboy slim type stuff with James Brown samples... It was cool but i got bored of trying to make whole tracks with progressions & stuff & didn't really have the capability. So the natural progression was to hip hop beats because I was comfortable with samples and I could bang out ideas without having to make complete, self-contained tracks.



What was your first peice of equipment and what were those beats like?, any interesting stories about things were doing to begin with / finding your feet?
Shamefully my *first* encounter with making music was with Hip Hop eJay with the terrible pretend scratching simulator that you did with a mouse... I rinsed all the sounds on it over and over and ended up buying a few others just to get different sounds. Then Hip Hop eJay 2 came and it had a real simple step sequencer for drums and you could import your own samples, so I tried using that to make my "own" beats but it was obviously really limited. Then I heard about Fruity Loops so I copped the demo version online and I understood it enough to get started making different types of tunes and learning new stuff every time. Which still happens now when I make new beats.


Whats the one bit of advice youd give to anyone starting out today?
Be true to yourself and never give up on your dreams, you can achieve anything if you believe in it... Pfff PSYCHE! I guess try and do something new and different as often as possible, whether something small like the way you EQ your sample or something more obvious like a whole different style of beat. Also, if you're wack and have been for ages, just give up. Unless you're just doing it for your own pleasure obviously... no harm in that.

What can heads expect from you at LOUIS DEN BEAT CYPHER?
I'm gonna try and play a mixture of sample-based and synthy/composed beats in a couple of different styles. I'll definitely be watching people's reactions to see where I should take things next...


FREE DOWNLOAD
Sivey Starter Kit (exclusive tracks, remixes and a beat to boot!!)

Oddisee presents Diamond District In The Ruff

Sorry to break up the producer spotlight posts (it's LDBC 4 tomorrow if you didn't know, have a quick look to the right of the page) but when one of your favourite producers and rappers drops a new project and it's free, it's only right, right?

Diamond District consist of Oddisee, X.O. and YU, all hailing from DC and keeping that boom bap sound alive. Anyways get your download on, soak up the dope music and be sure to check out Oddisee's other music projects which get the Louis Den seal of approval.

CLICK ON THE COVER TO DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM

Now back to the producer spotlights...

Louis Den Beat Cypher 04 Spotlight - DJ IQ

These worked well last time so we're bringing you another installment of the producers spotlight!, running from now till the beat cypher itself which is THIS THURSDAY!!, I'll be dropping you an exclusive Q&A with each of the beat cypher producers so you can get a better idea of what they're about and get your hands on some exclusive music from them (in case you're unfamiliar with their sound)

We kick this one off with Man behind Mancan music...DJ IQ!!!

Louis Den BeatCypher 04 Spotlight "DJ IQ"



Hey!!, please introduce yourself to everybody; let us know who you are what you do and how long you've been doing it!.
Hello, I'm DJ IQ. I DJ, So by this i mean mixing & selecting records, scratching, beat juggling, getting the party started!
I also produce, by this i mean making beats, recording songs, mixtapes and generally bringing projects to reality! i've been doing this for far too long, ha ha nah on the real i'm just getting started....


Was there a defining moment (event / hearing a record etc) that led you into making beats / becoming a producer?.
I can't say there was one defining moment, around the time when i started djing for jehst in the early 00's is when i started to wanna make beats. Before that i didn't even know it was possible, i'd just mix records and cut em up all the time. Now its fully fledged art to me, expression and all that!


What was your first peice of equipment and what were those beats like?, any interesting stories about things were doing to begin with / finding your feet?
I started on an mpc 1000, now using a 2500 and to be honest they pretty similar! i'm a scatty worker man...most people can't understand me LOL I'm like throw the rule book out the window NO RULES and lets make some hip hop that BANGS. Some beats i don't even got the parts to anymore but its just RAW you know what i mean?


Whats the one bit of advice youd give to anyone starting out today?
Do it for the love man, if you want the P's u got to study the game. Hip Hop doesn't owe you a living so you got to go hard!!!!


What can heads expect from you at LOUIS DEN BEAT CYPHER?
Merkage.....

FREE DOWNLOADS (DJ IQ PRODUCED TRACKS)
"Gully" Asaviour & Apatight taken from the A-Loop Theory Mixtape
The Aim'"taken from Asaviour's Play 2 Win 2 Mixtape

DJ IQ & Asaviour's "A Loop Theory" album is out now on Saving Grace music!!.