MusicRadar - Future Music

Attend Producer Sessions Live: Get Into Ministry For Free

Daniel Griffiths — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:39:00 +0100

It's very nearly too good to be true. But it is true! Go to PSL AND hit Ministry of Sound on the Saturday night too. Thanks to our friends at Ministry all our Producer Sessions buddies can get in for free. How's that for bargain/brilliance?

Producer Sessions Live is Future Music and Computer Music's special live event taking place at the SAE school in London on the 25th and 26th of September. We've every great gear company in the world appearing for one-on-one product demos and a host of top producers appearing live for intimate tuition sessions.

You probably know that bit already. Well now Ministry are guaranteeing that anyone with a Producer Sessions Live wristband will be able to get into Ministry of Sound on Saturday 25th September too.

That goes for if you're attending Producer Sessions Live on Saturday 25th OR Sunday 26th - if you've got a wristband your name IS down and you ARE coming in.

That means you get a day of gear demos, intimate tutorials with top producers then a amazing night out all for just £8! (Tickets for each day are just £8, with each Producer Session costing a piffling additional £4.) See you there!

For more on the event head to it's own special site here.

Want to know about who's appearing and what gear you're going to try out? You must have missed the final line-up story here.

Want to know what's happening at Ministry of Sound on Saturday 25th September? Then click here.

SoundCloud adopts Creative Commons licensing

Declan McGlynn — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:00:00 +0100

Creative Commons allows users to publish their work for others to use as they please, as long as the work is credited to the original author. In adding Creative Commons to their industry-leading website, SoundCloud have opened up their once audio-specific service to movie makers or even video game designers, looking for the perfect music for their soundtrack.

For musicians and producers though, it's yet another way to get your music out there, and to reach more people via collaborations, remixes or simply by uploading your latest four-bar loops for others to experiment with. We should also see an influx of samples, field recordings or even spoken-word takes, which will all be tagged and searchable, making SoundCloud a production palette for its million-plus user base.

Great news then, and yet another reason to head on over and join the party.

Producer Sessions Live: The Final Line-Up

Daniel Griffiths — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:21:00 +0100

Already got your tickets to Producer Sessions Live? If not WHY NOT!?

Tickets for each day are just £8, with each Producer Session costing a piffling additional £4. Come on. At that price you're a fool not to.

Latest news is that we now have a final line-up of producer's taking part.

The two new additions are James Hockley of Chicane and top producer Steve Mac, who join an already star studded line up featuring Freemasons, Dave Spoon, Danny Byrd, Jon Carter & Alex Blanco, Tommy D, London Elektricity, Sharooz.

All the guys will be hosting their own exclusive Producer Session at the event. Room at each session is limited so be sure to book your place now. STOP PRESS: Freemasons and Dave Spoon's Saturday slot are already sold out.

Joining the guys will be rooms dedicated to demos of all the latest gear and we're proud to announce the final line up of exhibitors is Apple, Akai, Avid, Alesis, Ableton, Absolute, Cakewalk, Digidesign, Event, Eventide, Focal, Fostex, FXpansion, Genelec, Jamhub, Novation, Korg, Lynx, Moog, M-Audio, MOTU, MXL, Numark, PreSonus, Roland, ReBEAT, Propellerheads, Pro Tools, Spectrasonics, Steinberg, Tascam, Time & Space, Toontrack, Sample Magic, Sontronics, sE, SSL, SoundCloud, Universal Audio. Phew!

That enough for you? Be sure to head to the Producer Sessions Live website by clicking on this enormous link right now for full details, and how to buy tickets.

Unbe-bieber-ble: Justin Bieber slowed down 800%

Daniel Griffiths — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:20:00 +0100

OK. You've never actually wanted to hear Justin Bieber's 'U Smile' slowed down but, by God, you'll be glad you did.

Up and coming artist Shamantis has posted on his SoundCloud his own dramatic reworking of Bieber's... 'classic' by simply slowing it down 800%. In the process he's rendered it not only unrecognisable but also 800% better too.

It's one of the most beautiful ambient works we've ever heard! It's the best record Sigur Rós never made! Check it out here:

How has he done it? Which piece of software can accomplish such fine-grained dramatic stretches? All the evidence points towards a brilliant (and free) bit of amateur software Paul's Extreme Soundstretch. Check it out here.

Oh, and for the record the reverse is not true: Speeding up Sigur Rós 800% DOES NOT make a Justin Bieber record.

Welcome To The New-Look FM Website

Daniel Griffiths — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:34:00 +0100

Wha?! What just happened?

The new Future Music Website - that's what just happened. Ooosh!

Don't panic. We'll still be serving up the usual heady cocktail of behind-the-scenes music making info, and plenty of teasers and trailers as to what's going on in the upcoming issue of Future Music. It's what they call a 'refresh' y'know. It's basically like getting your haircut.

The main change - in addition to our new quiff, ponytail and tramlines combo - is a nice big slot to show you the cover of the current issue. Click on the big banner to find out more about what's inside. Simple. We've also added a big fat button for a no-messing route through to our in-house store, letting you buy the mag from our online store with a few clicks.

There's a new 'nav bar' too. We've got a button to take you through to the latest subs offer, a button to find out all about Future Music (if you're fresh to what we're about) and quick links to what we call 'news' and our 'home' front page.

Right now our 'reviews' button takes you through to our review's online home at our resident website MusicRadar.com, but soon it'll even go so far as to pull up an archive every review ever to grace our pages. Come back and give it a try.

Our new-look site is part of our triple-threat of online 2010 activity and joins our brilliant YouTube channel here and insanely popular Twitter here. Subscribe and follow us to never miss a moment of what we're about.

Thanks for reading. Now go dig deep.

Take the MusicRadar poll and win £200

Daniel Griffiths — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:40:00 +0100

Future Music is just one of the magazines appearing at the London Music Show this year, 8th to the 10th October, at London's ExCeL in Docklands.

Alongside our colleagues from Computer Music, Guitarist, Rhythm, Total Guitar, Guitar Techniques and MusicRadar.com we'll be showing you all the latest gear from the world of hi-tech, guitars and drums at the UK's biggest music show.

And we want LMS 2010 to be as big and brilliant as it can be. And for that we need your help. Take part in MusicRadar's readers poll and help us tailor the London Music Show of your dreams.

And if that's not enough incentive one person will be winning £200 of Amazon vouchers too. All you've got to do is click here to find out more.

Future Music Issue 230 On Sale Now

Daniel Griffiths — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:18:00 +0100

It's time to brag about our new issue - on sale today! This month we're in the company of true studio royalty. Most famous hardware earns it's reputation on stage with the stars. It could be bold caps emblazoned on the back of a keyboard, a logo on a kick drum or the distinctive globe and band of a Shure SM58.

However true legends keep a lower profile and their influence doesn't just affect the hearts and minds of live audience but work their magic on recordings that will last forever. And, despite decades of innovation, they're still a vital part of hits today simply because they still can't be bettered.

Our massive Studio Classics feature this month gets you up close with ten all-time-classic studio gems. Learn how they work and hear what they sound like on DVD. And even if you're not lucky enough to meet one any time soon, the principles and knowledge you gain will help make your music sound great no matter which gear you apply them to.

Speaking of legends (seems the magazine is brimming with them this month) we speak to Bernard Sumner about his new studio project Bad Lieutenant (and the small matter of how they made Blue Monday – of course), and Patric La Funk, D.Ramirez and Steve Duda bring the royal ruckus on video on our DVD. Don't miss their brilliant collaborative beat-making masterclass.

Want a taster? Check out the trailer below for the full issue content, now live on our brilliant YouTube channel here.

Can't find the issue? Buy it online or (dare we say it) subscribe for an entire year for hassle free delivery here.

And are you following us on Twitter yet? Keep up to speed with everything amazing going on in music making here.

Still here? Well how about we insist that you check out our XL, star-studded reviews section and demand that you come back next month for more. Cheers!

Producer Sessions Live: Tickets On Sale Now

Daniel Griffiths — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:30:00 +0100

Ever wanted to ask Steinberg directly about Cubase? Get tips for Reason direct from Propellerheads? Or even get behind a massive SSL console and learn the industry tricks on how to use it? Well, with producer Sessions Live, now you can. Below is the enormous list of manufacturers and retailers that will be on hand at Producer Sessions Live ready and willing to give you the latest tips, tricks, technique and kit demos, all live and direct. You might even pick up a studio bargain along the way too! Day tickets are just £8 plus, you get access to the intimate Prodcer Sessions featuring Dave Spoon, Danny Byrd, Freemasons, Sharooz, Alex Blanco & Jon Carter, London Elektricity, Tommy D and more TBC!

Future Music and Computer Music teams are all attending. So, get your tickets and we'll see you for a beer and some musical nerding out in September! Yusss!

Absolute Music - A3 5th Floor
Absolute Music will be retailing at the show and
offering great prices on any gear purchased at the
event.

Avid Technology Europe / Digidesign / M-Audio - B5, B2 + C1 3rd FloorMeet the Avid team @ Producer Sessions Live...
Learn how to record and remix on the latest Pro
Tools systems, listen and play with the awardwinning
Eleven Rack guitar fx, understand how
M-Audio keyboards integrate out of the box with all
the major DAWs, soundcheck the entire range of
M-Audio monitors, and much more...

Focusrite Audio Engineering / Ableton / Novation - C1 2nd Floor</b>
The Future Producer sessions will be an opportunity
to talk to staff from Ableton & Novation, and attend
a workshop exploring the session behind the recent
Live 8 & Launchpad/ZeRO SL MkII

For some real synth power come and visit the Korg
room! Korg products are used by the worlds top
producers, including Rob Davis, Spike Sent and
Steve Levine who have helped create major hits for
everyone from Massive Attack and Madonna to Kylie
and the Clash. The Korg product specialists will be
on hand to help you put the newest gear including
the Wavedrum, MicroSTATION and Kaossilator Pro
through its paces.

MOTU / MXL Microphones - C1 6th Floor
Musictrack will showing both the industry standard
MOTU range of Audio hardware, such as the 828mk3,
2408mk3 and new UltraLite mk3 Hybrid along with
MOTU's range of stunning virtual instruments
including Electric Keys, Ethno 2 and MachFive and
also the the exceptional MXL range of studio
microphones. Recently re-intoduced back into the
UK, MXL microphones offer incredible value for
money and unbelievable quality with a range that
spans entry level condenser microphones all the way
through to high end variable pattern tube
microphones with hand selected valves.

Numark / Akai Professional - B3 2nd Floor
Akai Professional's MPC range of Beat production
samplers have been the NO-1 choice for Music
producers all over the world. Now have the chance
to see and hear why these are the industry standard
and why countless hit records are made on them.
Numark have recognized the trend in the DJ
market which has become computer driven, which is
why we bring you dedicated Hardware Controllers
for this purpose combinding indusry standard
software such as Serarto ITCH . Take this
opportunity to see and hear why you should move to
this unstoppable media! Showcasing Numark's
flagship range NS7 AND V7 Motorised DJ Controllers.

Roland / Cakewalk - A1 , A2 5th Floor
You will be able to get hands on with all of the latest
gear from Roland. We will also have experts on hand
to offer advise on how to get the most from our
market leading products.

Focal Professional / Jamhub / Fostex - B1
2nd Floor</b>
SCV London will be exhibiting the latest gear from
Focal Professional, Jamhub, Fostex and Universal
Accoustics. Get hands on with our latest products
and talk to experts about how to get the most out of
each product.

FXpansion / ReBEAT Digital - B2, B5 2nd
Floor
Sonic8 will exhibiting two of their premium brands,
FXpansion and reBEAT Digital. FXpansion's BFD2: is
the most powerful acoustic drum production
workstation ever and we will be on hand to show you
the power and control for shaping your drums. If
synths are more your thing then our guys will be
there showcasing DCAM: Synth Squad. Synth Squad
finally delivers the satisfaction of playing real
analogue instruments in software!
The reBEAT Digital team will be on hand giving
walk throughs to their digital software allows you
to sell and promote your music digitally in more than
300 download stores, among them iTunes,
Musicload, Napster, AOL, Nokia and many more –
easy and with only a few clicks directly from your
home or office computer!

Genelec / Universal Audio / Event /
PreSonus / Moog / Eventide / Lynx
Aurora - A1 2nd Floor
Source Distribution is the fastest growing
distributor of music technology products in the UK,
representing a range of premium brands including
Rode, Genelec, Universal Audio, PreSonus, Moog,
Eventide, Lynx, Event, HHB and Rosendahl.
At the Producer Sessions we'll be giving in-depth
demonstrations on all of our key brands, including:
Genelec active monitors - including the new 8260
3-way DSP monitors
Universal Audio hardware and UAD-2 plug-ins
Event Opal active monitors
Lynx Aurora audio converters
Eventide digital processors
PreSonus Studio One DAW, StudioLive digital mixer
and audio interfaces
Moog Voyager, Little Phatty, Moog Guitar and the full
range of Moogerfooger FX units

Solid State Logic - A Ground Floor
From groundbreaking audio consoles to innovative
video production systems, Solid State Logic has
evolved to become the world's leading manufacturer
of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider
of creative tools for film, audio, video and broadcast
professionals.
The SSL room at the Producers Sessions Live will
showcase the range of music-making products
including the SuperAnalogue Matrix, X-Desk and
X-Rack and XLogic I/O solutions.

Sound Technology - A 3rd Floor
Sound Technology is the UK home for a portfolio of
leading music technology brands. Our product
specialists will be on hand to demonstrate the latest
products from AKG, JBL, Lexicon, Nord and
Propellerhead – including the new Reason v5 and
Record v1.5.

Steinberg Media Technology - B1
3rd Floor
You will be able to get hands on with all of the latest
gear from Steinberg We will also have experts on
hand to offer advise on how to get the most from
our market leading products.

Tascam - A3 6th Floor
TASCAM will be exhibiting selected products from
our Portastudio range which celebrated its 30th
Anniversary in 2009 and is still as liberating and
revolutionary to the first time user and pro alike as
it was back in 1979.
There will be the award winning range of
computer interfaces on display along with our USB
budget mixers.
New for this year are the DR02D & DR680 digital
handheld recorders together with the HSP-82
surround sound Digital 8 track recorder.
The DM4800 & DM series professional digital
mixers will be demonstrated in conjunction with the
award winning X48 digital multitrack, a 48 track
hard disk workstation.

Time & Space Distribution /
Spectrasonics / Toontrack - B4
2nd Floor
Time+Space will be showcasing all the latest virtual
instruments and sample libraries from award
winning brands such as Spectrasonics and
Toontrack. Also featured will be UK-based
Sontronics who will be giving in depth presentations
on their range of microphones and pre-amps.

ImpoOSCar2 Controller

Daniel Griffiths — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:20:00 +0100

It's a beast. And it's brilliant. As this video shows.

Future Music Issue 229 On Sale Now

Daniel Griffiths — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:00:00 +0100

Get thee to a newsagent because issue 229 of Future Music has just gone on sale. This month features three of the biggest producers in Dance music – Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. Known as the Swedish House Mafia, they reveal their favourite plug-ins, synths, production techniques and more, exclusively to FM! We go from LA to London to their massive live show with some studio time in-between, where they explain how they made their latest anthem One.

Brand New FM YouTube Channel!

Chris Barker — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:04:00 +0100

You're looking at the front page of FM's brand new YouTube channel. Get full access to a full-length, top quality portolio of classic In The Studio With videos for free! We're uploading our favourites even as we type. Don't miss this.

For example here's the full In The Studio video for Chris Lake embedded from our FM YouTube Channel. Head over to www.youtube.com/futuremusicmag to catch more of the FULL In The Studio videos from other artists such as D.Ramirez and Dave Spoon. Plus, there'll be more exclusive content and re-issued studio footage coming soon from the biggest producers in Electronic music and beyond.

Make sure you subscribe to the channel and keep up with our tweets to keep up to date on the latest uploads.

www.twitter.com/futuremusicmag

D. Ramirez Adds New Music Showcase To Successful Production Forum

Chris Barker — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:52:47 +0100

Since renowned Music Producer and DJ D. Ramirez launched his new music technology forum http://www.dramirez.co.uk/forums, in February, the site has been going from strength to strength and has gained almost several hundred dedicated users divulging in serious music tech debate.

The interactive forum was set-up by Sheffield's finest to facilitate a real place for music geek speak for Music Producers and DJ's. After spending some time on sites such as twitter and myspace he felt there is a definite need for certain conversations but nowhere to have them. The forum also houses his innovative monthly music tech video reviews.

Dean's past in-depth video instalments have seen him take us round the masterful 'DSI Prophet 08' synthesiser and visit Deadmau5 collaborator Steve Duda at his Los Angeles studio to check out his new beat making software plug-in 'Nerve'.

Please check out the both videos below:

http://www.dramirez.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=7

http://www.dramirez.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=322

There are also whispers that Ramirez could be planning on reviewing the hugely popular Dcam Synth Squad plug-in by FXpansion and the powerful Thermeonic Culture Vulture within the coming months.

Dean has just added a dedicated Music Showcase section to allow users to upload their tracks and receive creative feedback from himself, people within the industry and fellow artists. Ramirez says…"This was a natural progression for the forum to take as we want to create a community for Music Producers and DJ's to get proper feedback and the encouragement they might need."

Please visit the following link to start uploading; www.dramirez.co.uk/forums

Future Music 226 On Sale Today!

Daniel Griffiths — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:30:46 +0100

Yes! It's that time again. Issue 226 is in the shops today! [puts on shades, lights sparkler]

Our Mainroom Mixing: Elevators, Builds-Ups, Breakdowns & Drops feature is something that we’ve been working on for months now and it’s great to see it all come together. We guarantee that there’s a tip or a trick in there that’ll help lift your music to the next level and hopefully endear your tracks to a superstar DJ or two.

Alongside the great tips, it’s been a great month for new hardware with the Frankfurt Musikmesse 2010 being the place to play with the latest kit. Don't miss our pick of the bunch with some surprise new synths from the big guns at Korg and Roland.

Our In The Studio With this month has a Trance flavour as we visit Sean Tyas in Switzerland for an in-depth breakdown of how he makes his music. As ever, be sure to check out the accompanying video on DVD too and check out the trailer below for a taster of the goodness on board.

In our reviews zone we’ve the return of a classic: the world’s first review of Moog’s Taurus 3, probably the ballsiest, bassiest synth ever made. Find out if it lives up to the legend!

And are you following us on Twitter yet? Why not? We’re @futuremusicmag. Come join our (celebrity laden) throng. Cheers!

Another packed issue! And if you're in any danger of not finding a copy you can:

A) Email us at futuremusic@futurenet.co.uk and tell us where you expected to see one (and we'll have words with our excellent circulation department and Mr Newsagent sharpish). Or...

B) Head to myfavouritemagazines.com and secure a copy via our online store there. (Go 'Music', 'Future Music', 'Buy A Back Issue' and go for 'May 2010'.)

Sander van Doorn Remix Winners!

Declan McGlynn — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:21:56 +0100

In one of our most entered remix competitions ever, Sander van Doorn and FM are proud to announce the winner of the Studio Sessions remix contest, where readers were challenged to remix the parts created during van Doorn’s In The Studio video. After months of listening to every single remix, van Doorn selected the winning remix as Daan Negenborn’s Elwood Superstorm remix. “The production was standout for me on Superstorm", commented van Doorn, “with a really clever use of the parts and a nice arrangement. The track really drives throughout, concentrating on the lower end and has the SvD sound going on, teasing in and out like many of my tracks do."

van Doorn also commented, “Other entries that came close were Glenn Broekhuizen, who had some nice chords going on, a cool breakdown and was quite funky in places. Durchgang’s remix takes an interesting interpretation of the parts and is on a more trippy tip. Their’s also has a nice Minimal feeling track from Davur Poulsen, which takes you on a nice journey.”

Daan Negenborn Elwood received the incredible Axiom Pro controller keyboard, GMedia soft synth bundle from M-Audio, Rob Papen’s Predator synth from Time & Space and the fantastic DCAM: Synth Squad from FXpansion and Sonic8 Distribution. “I really enjoyed listening to all of the entries", added van Doorn, “It's great to hear what you guys came up with. I hope you enjoyed the session as much as I did! Hopefully we'll do another one sometime soon. All the best - Sander.”

You can hear the winner and runners up below or on our SoundCloud page.

Thanks to everyone that entered and keep your eyes peeled for more remix contests in FM soon.

Sander van Doorn will be playing a headline slot at Global Gathering on 31st July as well as many other UK dates. From July onwards he will be launching a Dusk Till Doorn global tour which will take in over 15 dates in the summer. This will be followed up by a Dusk Till Doorn compilation album, released in August. Somehow he is also finding time to write for his second artist album, expected in early 2011!

Sander van Doorn Remix Competition by FutureMusic

Win Zombie Nation's MPC!

Declan McGlynn — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:03:10 +0000

Now here’s a brilliant idea. Rather than gracefully retiring his trusty Akai MPC4000 to the great loft in the sky, Zombie Nation is auctioning his online for charity! Yes, get a top MPC with celebrity heritage AND do your bit to help the rainforest too.

“This MPC has travelled with me to many countries and seen quite a lot of clubs It’s also the machine I made my last album, Zombielicious on,” he tells us. “It’s modded with an DOM 4GB disc and comes with an additional hard disk, CD ROM and the eight output option. It’s still covered in my gig stickers including one that says "HD up", which means "Head up, don´t look on the display like a nerd!”

Reason for sale? “I switched to the MPC 1000 recently, simply because it weighs 12 kilos less, which makes my life a lot easier! But this 4000 works great and is the most advanced hardware sampler ever built.”

So why the charity auction? “I wanted it to go to someone who appreciates the story of this machine which gave me a lot of great moments. The final auction price will be donated to WWF for rainforest conservation project in memory of Daniel Hansson - founder of Elektron Music Machines - who was a big supporter of the WWF. Remember: Paper has two sides so print doublesided!”

“The highest bidder will receive a copy of the proof of donation of the full amount as well as a signed photo of me and the MPC plus a list of all the dates and clubs this MPC travelled with me.”

The auction goes live on the 1st of March and you can find the page here. Bid generously and let us know if you win!

Future Music 223 On Sale Today!

Daniel Griffiths — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:07:11 +0000

Future Music 223 is officially on sale today! It looks like this! Yes, we know some WH Smiths had it on sale on Saturday. But that's because they love it!

The theme this month is 'decades' both past and present. We've a round up of the hot new gear that'll take you through 2010 and beyond AND the results of our Gear Of The Decade awards.

It’s incredible to think that the noughties are over so quickly. But what has felt like a gradual change in music making has actually been surprisingly pronounced when you look at the facts. In the last 10 years we’ve seen massive keyboard workstations giving way to a laptop and software and elastic audio granting the power to make anything happen.

Hardware samplers are mostly consigned to eBay while the resurgence in classic analogue hardware grows ever more fierce. We look back at the last ten years and pick out the landmarks that shaped music in our Gear Of The Decade feature.

Likewise we look to the decade ahead across this issue, from the first wave of new gear in our Filter section to our review zone which sees not only the successor to clubland’s most popular DJ kit (the Pioneer CDJ-2000 gets reviewed for starters) but the return of Korg’s critically lauded but criminally under-employed Wavedrum. We’ve got the new generation of this amazing hardware reviewed too.

And this month we’ve more tuition (with more audio, video and project files on the disc) than ever before – backed up with a trio of In The Studio specials, from
Joris Voorn, Sharam Jey and American legends The Crystal Method.

Check out the trailers below for a taster of the goodness on 223's free DVD!

Sharam Jey Synth collection

Will Seelig — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:14:53 +0000

King Kong Records owner and producer Sharam Jey gives FM a tour of the synths in his studio.

Joris Voorn on the Mu-Tron Bi-Phase

Will Seelig — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:12:26 +0000

Joris Voorn gives us an insight into why he such a fan of the Mu-Tron Bi-Phase. You can see a full 'In the studio' with Joris in FM223 on sale 26 January 2010.

Gear of the Decade

Declan McGlynn — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:33:31 +0000

The Noughties are over – goodbye Big Brother (almost), adios MySpace (kind of), farewell the music industry as a whole (yep) – wipe away your tears and embrace a new decade. The twenty-tens are here to stay (for a while at least) and here at FM not only do we look to the future (it's in the name) but we proudly salute the past. After all, where would the future be without generations of innovations and ideas and it's with this in mind that we put together our quick homage to the decade that was.

And for producers, musicians and engineers, it's been a hell of a ride. The cost of quality productions fell along with the perceived cost of music (d'oh) and with the hardware and software advancements we've seen in the past ten years, it's arguably easier than ever to get stuck in to producing professional music. We've decided to champion the gear that impressed us most, but we need your help. We've split our feature into five categories, and we need you to comment like you've never commented before and express your vote for each of the headings. The categories are as follows, with some examples to get you thinking:

Best Hardware Synth (microKorg?)

Best Studio Gear (LiquidMix?)

Best Software Synth (ImpOSCar?)

DAW of the Decade (Ableton?)

Innovation of the Decade (Melodyne?)

So make yourself heard and put your favourite bit of kit of software forward – and please don't say 'the Apple Mac'! Also, make sure you follow us on Twitter for more announcements and for even faster voting: FM Twitter

FM223 – On sale January 23rd

FM222 In the studio with: Simian Mobile Disco

Will Seelig — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:43:31 +0000

FM222 goes on sale today and you can get the full 'in the studio' video with Simian Mobile Disco giving you a walk-through on creating sound using their huge modular synth the 'Wardrobe'.

If you cant find it in the shops then head over to
www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk and grab a copy today.