Tracks like this don’t happen too often, they are rather special and I used to just keep them for myself. Having a site like this makes it really easy to share these little one-off concept pieces with people and I am happy to let this ‘cat out of the bag’. As with all the limited time download tracks this one will only be available for limited amount of time, so grab it while the cat is out and about.

It was late, around 4am and I had just finished working on the music for this track. I knew I wanted to add something to keep the song moving along, some vocals of some sort, and the phrase ‘And that was his first mistake” popped into my mind. I thought about it for a minute and decided that I was going to talk about this guy named “Johnny”. I wasn’t sure what I what else I was going to say but I had the first sentance in my head. I hit record and just went for it. I ended up being able to do the whole thing in just one take, ad-libbing it totally off the cuff. I didn’t go back and do any overdubs, just a few edits so that some of the vocals would appear to come from a different direction. I didn’t edit any of the rhythms or word placements.

While recording it was *really hard* to keep from laughing. I finsihed, hit stop and totally lost it. I don’t know if anyone else will find it comical, or enjoyable, but I figured with this internet thing and a blog I could just put it out there and let it have a life of it’s own. I hope you enjoy ‘Johnny’s Mistake’.

New Local Link: transelectronic link to johnnys mistake
Sendspace Link: http://www.sendspace.com/file/gvxu8g

I am in the process of mastering some of my back catalog, getting ready to release it and I came across one of my favorite tracks from 1995. I just had to post it on the site. It will only be available to download for free for a short time so grab it while you can. It is from the upcoming “Basement Sessions 1994 - 1996″ to be released in February of this year on Transelectronic.net. Happy New Year!

download : rj valeo - the time tunnel [1995]

Thanks to Moodgadget I recently had a mix featured on Samurai.FM. To see where it is click on the image above and do a search for “Isomer”. It is a little hidden, and no “Transition” is on the page, but it is there. To make it easier to find, as well as portable, I have linked to it below on this page as well as posted the set list. Lots of new Isomer material in there - classics as well as unreleased tracks.

16+ tracks of isomer mixed together dj style… not a live pa, just a dj set. Can you believe it? Finally. :)

Track Title  //  Artist   //  Release Title  //  Label

Saturday Morning  //  Richard J Valeo  //  Process 82  //  Modyfier Blog
Searching for Clues  //  Isomer Transition  //  Orbits Decaying  //  Archipel (Jan ‘09)
Deep in Space  //  Isomer Transition  //  Mission to Mars  //  Moodgadget ‘07
Mastery of the Gravel (v2)  //  Isomer Transition  //  1971  //  Moodgadget ‘08
Give Me Your Hand  //  Isomer Transition  //  Orbits Decaying  //  Archipel (Jan ‘09)
South Side of the Mountain  //  Isomer Transition  //  1971  //  Moodgadget ‘08
Hot Salsa  //  Isomer Transition  //  Orbits Decaying  //  Archipel (Jan ‘09)
Landing Near the Center  //  Isomer Transition  //  Orbits Decaying  //  Archipel (Jan ‘09)
Let’s Just Eat This Again   //  Isomer Transition  //  never to be released // for personal use only
Parametric Pressure   //  Isomer Transition  //  Orbits Decaying  //  Archipel (Jan ‘09)
Welcome to Cook Street  //  Isomer Transition  //  Orbits Decaying  //  Archipel (Jan ‘09)
Moon at Noon   //  Jeremy Idol  //  Digital Single  //  Transelectronic.net ‘08
Loop Me Through to Control the Mains  //  Isomer Transition  //  Mission to Mars  //  Moodgadget ‘07
Space Madness  //  Isomer Transition  //  Mission to Mars  //  Moodgadget ‘07
Automat’s Revenge  //  Jeremy Idol  //  never to be released // for personal use only

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dbtb1c

Artist:RJ Valeo
Title: The Hardware Excursions
This release is now available on Io Records as a paid release.

As of lately I have had a real fascination with hardware and making it sound as raw it can sound.

I really love the texture and grit of equipment, especially when something isn’t working right. My ears prick up when I can hear the values step on tunings due to dirty pots and knobs. My favorite is when oscillators sound like eggs being cooked in corn oil, all spittery and sputtery.

I thought about it for a while and decided that I wanted to find a hardware delay that sounded kinda nasty. I wanted to hear the low bit rate of an old digital delay, so I sought one out. I knew that I would be tweaking it out so I wasn’t worried when I first took a listen to it.

At first the DM1000 sounded rather nice. No real grit to speak of, no real bit rate degradation.

I opened it up (with the encouragement of Matt Scopp) and found some nice little pots that said, of all things, clock. Nice.

Actual 4 bit sound playback sounds totally different than 4 bit crushed audio, played back and output as 24 bit from a computer. The real 4 bit output has real crunch, density and presence

In order to make some nice sounds I hooked up a few more pieces of gear. My trusty Oberheim OB-1 that has just been resurrected from the grave, and, i dug up the ‘wrekah’ — a bent ibanez distortion pedal that does one thing, wreck sound

I hooked the wrekah up to the Elektron Machinedrum. You can hear it come in at 4:32 in session 2.

All of that and some midiverb 4, and away we go.

There are 2 different pieces in this series. The first piece is entitled ‘oberheim’, and it was the third take during the first session. That session took place during Matt Scopp’s visit. The second piece is entitled ‘hardware’ and was recorded earlier today. I mastered both of these tracks today, July 26 2008.

Theses pieces are about playing with tension and release, challenging the listener’s focus, and the suspension of disbelief. These are themes that I enjoy exploring again and again. I feel there is a lot of work that can be done in this realm.

I found it interesting to look at both of these waveforms side by side so I decided to share the screen grabs. It appears that both performances have a similar overarching structure, as well as, interestingly enough, timing. It could almost be said that they are different performances based on the same score.

Session 1 Overview

Session 2 Overview

So, I am sure that you know about The Wire. It is the ‘Modern Music’ magazine based out of the UK. They write some of the most in-depth and well informed reviews and articles that you’ll find anywhere, on the web or in print. Really. Where else will you find a magazine that features, ON THE COVER artists such as Ricardo Villalobos, Phil Niblock, Throbbing Gristle, Terry Reily and Vladislav Delay? Absolutely no place. They are pretty much ‘the defacto’ place you turn to when you want to read about the stuff that really matters.

If you didn’t know, on their site they have some really great exclusive content - both mixes and tracks. One of my favorites is a Mira Calix mix from the ‘Faster than Sound’ festival competition page. Some are to download, and some are to stream. Downloading is nice, streaming is problematic if you want to listen to that track on your iPod while riding the subway. You can trick the site into letting you download the files if you take a look at the URL and modify it slightly. I don’t want to get into too much trouble so that is all I will say on that. :)

The other reccent audio treat that has been tickling my ears is the 74 minute uneditted interview with the iconic free jazz trumpeter Bill Dixon.

I can’t help but think that this interview would make for some *amazing* source materail for sampling and sourcing. Stream only? Not really a problem. Take a look at the URL and do a little tweaking and you should be good to go.

Keep on reading and listening to all the wonderful music that is out there!

Recently I had the honor of participating in a series of releases curated and released over on the modyfier blog. Shepherded by the ever-insightful Rayna, this series of site-specific works focuses it’s attention on not only the product of the works, but on the process behind them.

I wrote a 3 page paper to accompany the 4 composition to be posted on the site. Here is an excerpt of what I wrote.

“… Another aspect of the project was that improvisation was used as a central part of the compositional structure. The general form for each song was created using a MIDI sequencer, but the final recorded version was a combination of improvised performance and structured composition. It was this paring of improvisation and composition that allowed this series of compositions to stay fresh and novel. …”

Visit modyfier for the full text as well as to download the tracks. They are experimental and minimal.

Artist: Jeremy Idol
Title: Moonbase Apha
Catalog Number: TRANS.008
Type: Digital Single
Format: 320 kbps MP3
Duration: 4:23 minutes
Size: 10.2 meg
Link:

So, I don’t usually post music on my site from other producers, but this is one of those exceptions, I mean, Moonbase Alpha? How could I refuse!?. A friend of mine that I have worked with in the past hit me up with this track and asked if I was interested in releasing it on IO-Records when it re-launches this fall. While I really do love the track, I can’t release it (and get him paid) due to the fact that it has some samples in it that are going to be cost-prohibitive to license.

It’s an electro-ish techno track that has influences from old school industrial, glitch and a little bit of “the edit” throw in. I hope that you enjoy “Moonbase Alpha”. If you are a sci-fi head as I am I am sure you can tell where he sourced the sample from, if the cover art didn’t give it away already. Enjoy.

Listen Here:

Artist: Isomer Transition
Title: Mission to Mars
Catalog Number: mgt.010
Type: Digital
Format: 160 kbps MP3
Duration: 28 minutes

Following up his debut on the UK’s enigmatic imprint Future Days, Isomer Transition redefines his sound and sets off on his own course with the digital futurist EP “Mission to Mars.” Mission to Mars is four tracks of thematic, expertly crafted minimal techno from electronic music producer RJ Valeo, who made a name for himself with several releases on Type Records and Neo Ouija.

The mission begins with the stealthy and sleek “Loop Me Through to Control the Mains.” A calculated blooping bassline and a periodic warm drone crescendo are spliced with a low, gravely voice that states “I see you over there.” Eerie. On “Deep in Space” Sawtooth synth canon blasts are paired with a rolling, clacking beat and bass that sounds like bits of space debris colliding violently. The mission continues with “Space Madness.” The combination of enigmatic rhythmic synths, seemingly random bass bloops and warbly synth stabs might beg one to ask the question “Am I going crazy?”

This is the soundtrack to being alone in the vastness of space. The destination is reached with “The Exploration of Region 13.” A bubbly, clicking beat, haunting drones and a shimmering lead synth teeming with life send the EP back into orbit on a high note. All four tracks are infinitely danceable, and the thematic element adds a unique twist to the minimal techno genre – encouraging individual interpretations of the material.

Purchase this release on Beatport as WAVs or as 320 kbps mp3 - CLICK HERE