NEW Wordpress Blog and Upcoming EP Release

Hi everyone. Apologies for not posting very frequently here lately. I'm currently working on a new solo EP release as part of my final year studies in Music Technology at Huddersfield University. I have begun work on an accompanying Wordpress blog documenting the EP's progress along with current thoughts, inspirations and generally anything revolving around the process leading up to the album's final release. You can find the new blog at:

http://martinchungmusic.wordpress.com/

I'm really excited about the EP project on a whole and will be posting new updates and findings regularly.

Hope to see you over there soon!

Martin

Live Session at BBC Radio 4 with Jah Wobble

You can now hear our BBC Radio 4 studio session with the Jah Wobble band over on BBC iPlayer. The session was recorded for "Loose Ends" presented by Clive Anderson and also includes guests Earl Spencer and Dave Gorman. 

Here's the link to the show http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04hmd4b You'll also learn lots about medieval torture and gin! 

End Of Academic Year Projects

Hope everyone is having a great Easter. Here is the tiny ZT amplifier I've recently been using to track guitars at home. After a spell of experiments with amp modelling software and direct injection it's wonderful to return to the simplicity and harmonic richness of even the smallest amp!

The next few weeks will be fairly intense with the final push for a number of end of year assignment projects for university. After that I'm quite looking forward to a busy summer season of gigs and shows with Dana Ali and The Nu Popes (alongside some exciting new projects that will be announced very soon).

Frigiliana Improvisation

Now I have regular internet again I thought it would be nice to post this solo guitar improvisation I found on my phone. It was recorded at Villa Morera in the Andalucian mountain village of Frigiliana during summer 2013. Many thanks to Harmen Van De Steur for the loan of the wonderful guitar.

Nu Popes New Studio Track

Earlier this summer The Nu Popes were requested to play "house band" for a recording project organised by students of the SSR School of Creative Media in Manchester. We were required to pick a single number from our live set for recording and as a result went with one of our favourite numbers: Our cover of the Derek Trucks Band track "I'll Find My Way" from the DTB's 2006 album Songlines. Big thanks to producer Michael Pollock and the rest of the students at SSR who were involved at both tracking and production stages.

 


After a recent quiet spot with the band due to family stuff (with a seven-piece band there is always plenty of time juggling) the Nu Popes are looking forward to hitting a few of our favourite venues during our collective winter break periods and hopefully continue semi-regular gigs throughout early 2014.

Extra Curricular in Record Collector Magazine

It was a nice surprise earlier this week when Jack from Extra Curricular called to let us know our recent vinyl release of Robbin' Hood (produced by Lack Of Afro) and Notify had received a very nice review in the hollowed publication of all things vinyl Record Collector.

The band are currently in the writing phase, preparing and producing new material with a variety of vocalists for release in the not to distant future.

TONETEST: Korg Pandora PX5D Portable Guitar Effects Unit

I recorded a quick tone test with my new Korg Pandora PX5D. I created a set of custom patches for lead, rhythm and bass guitars within the unit and recorded them into Logic 9. The tones were recorded pretty much "as is" with a touch of compression, EQ and delay applied within Logic during mixing. As with many virtual amp simulations the amplifier controls bear very little similarity to their physical counterparts and it takes a while to dial in. However with the Pandora, once you've tamed the rather unforgiving high end there are some great sounds.

Whilst I still prefer the feel of electric guitar straight into an amp and the sound options offered through microphone placement, modelling does offer some interesting possibilities. It's practical when you need to get ideas down at less sociable hours and portable, when your full rig plus favourite pedals aren't available. To deal with the very different response of digital modellers compared to the warmth of an amp, I've found it beneficial to employ certain devices and techniques including heavier plectrums and picking harder to exaggerate the guitar's dynamic range more than you would do normally going direct into an amp.