Regend Dot Com

It's the Tuesday KoolOut!

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 07:45:00 +0000

VCI-100 + Max/MSP Granular Scratch from nanonum on Vimeo via MatrixSynth.com

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:34:00 +0000

Saw this on MatrixSynth.com and though I'd share my my SkratchDJ friends.

VCI-100 + Max/MSP Granular Scratch from nanonum on Vimeo.

"Performance of Grain synthesis scratch and xfade drum trigger for Vestax VCI-100 PCDJ controller"

Vestax Pad-One Controller

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:10:00 +0000

This kit came out last year but since NAMM 2011 just ended and I didn't see anything new from Vestax I guess we'll post something that we missed last year.

Free Sample Friday - 8bit vinyl samples using a Casio RZ-1

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 01:25:00 +0000

I own a Casio RZ-1 and for the most part if collects dust. I've used it every once in a while to do random things. The RZ-1 is a PCM ROM sound based drum machine with 4 additional pads to sample in 8bits. With virtually no memory, the 4 pads are only useful for stabs, hits, and short attack percussion. Unfortunately you can't chain the samples together like you can on other samplers but it does have filters knobs for each set of sample pads. Circuit benders have managed to burn new ePROMs with different sound sets and bend circuits for additional tone capabilities on many of the sounds. What's unique about the RZ-1 is it has 10 individual outputs for each sound and each drum channel has it's on volume slider. Basically, they threw in a drum mixer.
Here are some specs:

Oscillators - 12 PCM sounds (Tom1, Tom2, Tom3, Snare, Kick, Rim, Open HH, Closed HH, Ride, Crash, Clap, Cowbell)
Sampler - 0.8 seconds over four 'Banks'
Sequencer - 100 Patterns and 20 Songs
Effects - None
Keyboard - 16 Pads
Control - MIDI IN, OUT, THRU
Date Produced - 1986

Decided to grab a random piece of vinyl and sample some sounds and upload them for the lo-fi heads. I'm sure someone out there will guess what record I grabbed.
Each sample wav file has two sounds in it so do the math.
Equipment used to record the samples: Vestax PDX-2s, Tascam XS-8, Casio RZ-1, Stanton 500 cart/needle, and RCA to 1/8" into an iMac. Processed using Audacity.
I also added two loops of a live jam I made using the RZ-1 (file: livejam1.wav).

Live Jam 1

Then I took that loop, and warped it to 70bpm in Ableton Live and recorded another live jam with a guitar loop and a pitched bass drum (file: livejam2.wav).

Live Jam 2

Free 8bit vinyl samples using RZ-1 by @REGEND
download: http://www.sendspace.com/file/s8xraz

#FREESAMPLEFRIDAY

Tips for DJ's of ALL types aka N00bs and Digital DJ's

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:47:00 +0000

I remember the early days of DVS when Serato SL1 first came out. It seemed like the perfect marriage of vinyl and vinyl emulation. After years of playing vinyl and then switching to Serato, I sold off my Serato SL1 boxes. I felt that it was making me lazy with mixing and technique. I eventually got another SL1 box recently so here is my advice to digital DJ's that have never DJ'd with vinyl (in no particular order).

#1 Know thy track: You have to know the songs you are playing inside and out. Dissecting music is essential

#2 Don't DJ with tracks that are of inferior quality. Strive to keep your collection at the highest possible file format setting. 320 for MP3's 9/10 for OGG's, or just use WAV and AIFF files. Portable hard drives are cheap right now.

#3 Get your face out of the screen. If you know you're tracks and have prepared your play-lists your chances of interacting with the crowd and being aware of your surroundings will help you create a better vibe. The crowd wants your attention...it doesn't want you to be hidden behind a screen.

#4 Learn to beat match...it doesn't hurt to learn. However, if you just don't want to learn, incorporate the dynamics of a track to make your transitions work better. Learn your tracks and you'll see that some songs beg to be mixed in and our out.

#5 Don't mix out of a song during the hype part of the song. This pertains more to hip-hop DJ's. I can tell when a n00b is DJing because they cut the verses off or the chorus off when the crowd is vibin with that part of the song. AGAIN: Know Thy track.

#6 Develop your own style. This one is tough. I developed my style from listening to elements of other DJ's I like and then incorporated my favorite things about beat juggling and skratching. I guess you'll have to hear me mix in order for me to explain...but...style also comes from learning the gear. I once saw a HOUSE music DJ do a mind blowing set with the old Pioneer CD100s and just a few CD's. He used the effects tastefully to add dimension to his tracks during some of the breakdowns.

#7 Practice Practice Practice - I know DJ's who used to practice 5 to 6 hours a day. Ridiculous right? Well I don't have that kind of time but when I do have time I sometimes do mix sessions for 2 or 4 or 6 hours. And sometimes I just practice my cuts for about an hour or two.

#8 Session with other DJ's of whatever skill level. You'll find you'll learn when you teach and you'll learn when you're taught something new.

#9 Make backups of your drives and have extra of EVERYTHING. When you go digital, things go wrong. Have spares of things like headphones, headphone adapters, cables of all types. Vinyl only DJ's have extra slipmats, needles, carts, head-shells, 45 adapters. etc. Keep a bag handy of all your emergency needs. Even keep an extra bag in the car with your spare and extra DJ goodies.

#10 Have fun. Enjoy the music you play. Don't spin music you don't like if you don't have to. Don't try to please everyone. You'll only frustrate yourself, promoters, and the crowd if you try to please everyone 100% of the time. Remember you're doing this because it's FUN and a GOOD TIME.

UBB beats broken into individual Pro Tools session files

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:35:00 +0000

A few years ago an official version of the Ultimate Beats and Breaks collection was made available digitally in WAV/AIFF format. Previously, someone had digitally encoded and or ripped the original vinyl/CD collection and you either had to get a copy from someone's hard drive or you could find torrents or shared links of the individual collections.

Well now you can have the UBB collection as REX2 and Pro Tools sessions. What's the point you ask? Check the video below and see how you can solo and mute individual sections of these beats. It will retails for about $69.00 USD. Pre-order at turntablelab.com

Here's a video of Lord Finesse using the collection in Serato Scratch Live.

New Serato Interface - Scratch Live SL4

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 18:19:00 +0000

Last year at NAMM Serato and Rane unveiled the Rane Sixty-Eight DJ Mixer with built in USB and Serato Scratch Live. A 4-Channel mixer with features such as Two independent USB 2.0 High Speed ports, each supporting twenty-two, 32-bit floating-point audio channels at 48 kHz. Real-time support for two computers. Support for 2, 3 or 4 Virtual Decks on one or two computers for about $2,599.00

This year we see the interface version of this to use with mixer of choice. The SL4 with a retail price of about

MSRP: $899
Features:
• Supports four turntables or CD decks switchable in any combination.
• Two high-speed USB 2.0 ports for two DJs for uninterrupted performances.
• Aux Input for session recording or LiveFeed.
• Aux Output assignable to the SP-6 Sample Player and The Bridge.
• Four software-switchable analog Thru connections for regular vinyl or CD.
• 48 kHz and 96 kHz sample rate switch on the SL 4 rear.
• 10-in 10-out USB sound card with any software supporting ASIO or Core Audio.
• Bus power from either USB port or the included external power supply."

Dave Smith + Roger Linn = EPIC Drum Machine called Tempest

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:16:00 +0000

Create Digital Music has two posts about the new analog synth drum machine. Looks like a winner. It's based on the Tetra synth engine but will all the glorious innovations Roger Linn and Dave Smith are known for. Click here for more info http://createdigitalmusic.com .

NAMM 2011 - New Synths Part 1 - Venom for about $599

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 06:43:00 +0000

New synths are arriving with NAMM Winter Show for 2011.

We already know about the MOOG Slim Phatty (non keyboard version of Little Phatty) but it looks like AVID/M-Audio are releasing something called Venom. Here's a sneak peek:

Details are:

49-key, full-size, synth-action keyboard
12-voice polyphony, each voice including: - 3 oscillators with 41 waveforms and 53 drum sounds sampled from vintage analog synths, FM digital synths, and drum machines
pulse-width modulation, sync, FM, and ring modulation
resonant multimode filter with tube saturation limiting
12 dB/octave (2-pole) low pass 12 dB/octave (2-pole) band pass 12 dB/octave (2-pole) high pass 24 dB/octave (4-pole) low pass 24 dB/octave (4-pole) band pass 24 dB/octave (4-pole) high pass
3 LFOs with selectable sample-and-hold - 3 AHDSR envelopes
4-part multitimbral operation with independent MIDI-syncable phrase sequencers
512 onboard Single patches
256 onboard Multi (layered) patches
2 global bus effects
Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser
1 insert effect per multitimbral part (4 total) - Compression, EQ, Distortion, Bit Reduction, Decimation Tremolo, and AutoPan effects
classic arpeggiator with up, down, and alternating patterns
tap-tempo and manual BPM control from top panel
built-in USB 2.0 audio/MIDI interface (USB 1.1 backward compatible)
2 x 2 24-bit, 44.1 kHz (CD audio quality) operation - mic, instrument, and stereo line level inputs route to DAW - synth sounds route to DAW - DAW audio output mixes into main outputs - stereo main audio outputs (1/4” TS) - stereo headphone output (1/4” TRS) - master volume knob; instrument and mic gain knobs - MIDI In and MIDI Out (5-pin DIN)
large custom LCD
4 rotary encoders and 1 button for matrix-assignable performance control and editing
dual-function octave up/down and transpose controls • assignable pitch bend and modulation wheels • sustain (1/4” TS) and expression (1/4” TRS) pedal inputs • included Vyzex Venom software editor
arrange sounds into banks, rename patches, and save backups
patch collider feature mashes up multiple patches to create new hybrid sounds
16-cell modulation matrix offers comprehensive routing configurations

More goodies to come.

Two tunes up on http://regend.bandcamp.com

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:03:00 +0000

Two tunes up for you're listening or purchasing pleasure on bandcamp.

Free audio samples for TGIF - SP-1200 by Goldbaby

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 18:26:00 +0000

Check out these free SP-1200 samples over at Goldbaby

Goldbaby Samples

Adventures in digital DJing

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:53:00 +0000

This past weekend I DJ'd a gig in what I call "VatoLandia" it's the abyss of LA, east of the 110, south of the 5, north of the 105, and past the industrial zones, that houses deep generations of Latin Americana. Trust, this is not a diss to this part of LA...the house I parked my truck in front of had some fresh Impalas parked in front of it and the family was bumping some Ice Cube and handling it on the BBQ.

I sold my Serato ScratchLive SL1 about two years ago and switched back to vinyl. I was a hardcore SL1 user since it was released back in 2004 but never cared for the "advanced" features the software included. I hardly ever looked at the screen when I DJ'd. In the early years I used a PIII 900 Sony laptop with 512mb of ram that had a broken LCD screen. At home I used the laptop hooked up to an external screen. At gigs the laptop ran SL1 beautifully and all I needed to see was the library section of the screen. I got used to this and wished Serato would release a super light version of the software where the wave forms and deck controls are practically eliminated. All I really need is the library view...well, they eventually did it in version 2.0 of the software but there is room for improvement in their interface.

I digress. For a lot of the private parties I DJ I play a lot of music that doesn't exist on vinyl. Mainly newer Salsa, Merengue, and Cumbia tunes. So, I switched to a cheaper solution to DJ these types of gigs: Traktor and the on-board sound card on the laptop. Randomly, the sound card on my laptop shorted out at a gig so I needed to go with a USB or firewire solution. I used an M-Audio ProFire 610 for a while but this unit was bigger than I wanted it to be. Even though I sold it, I'd get another one for live music performance with MIDI gear. A better solution was getting a Native Instruments Audio2 DJ USB 2.0 box and using Traktor.

The unit is small. It has two independent volume controls on the side, two stereo audio outputs (stereo 1/4 to stereo RCA is included). That's it. It's simple, effective, and works great at 44.1k 16bit with medium latency. I went with this solution instead of a similar priced USB 2.0 E-MU 0202 because I have read that the E-MU has driver issues. i needed a rock-solid solution and the size won me over. A $10 BEATPORT card was included which is a plus. I've been looking for some UK Funky and Dubs Step tunes to download.

I've used Traktor for years as a backup DJ tool but recently started appreciating some of it's features when playing out live. Traktor wasn't rock solid in use at first. I realized that part of the problem was the audio ram buffer size. Increase the buffer size and the software performs beautifully. If it's too low...the program crashes. One problem I had with the program was the dragging and dropping of tracks into the decks while another track plays. this is where the glitches would show up, especially when using an external drive. Luckily, I found a working solution that worked well this past weekend after an eight hour DJ session.

I use a Midi controller and two external drives so I needed a 2.0 USB hub because my laptop has two USB slots. The key to making this work was hooking up the drives to the hub and the NI Audio2 DJ directly to the laptop. Here's why. Originally I set up the Audio2 on the hub and noticed I wasn't getting the full features of the device. The Audio 2 allows you to use output A as a master stereo out for Traktor and output B as a stereo headphone out. That means you don't need a mixer. If, however, you want to use a mixer, the Audio2 also functions as a two stereo output device (outputs A1/2, and outputs B 3/4) so you can run then into your line inputs. At home I use the virtual mixer. At gigs I like using my wannabe Rane mixer aka Tascam XS-8. It has an XLR input for a mic, effects loop, and an aux in for iPod hook ups. When I hooked up the Audio2 to the hub, only channel A would work. When I hooked it up to the laptop direct, both outputs worked flawlessly. One of two things are at work here, 1. the device requires a specific bus assignment on the laptop to work properly or 2. the hub doesn't provide true USB 2.0 bus speed. Therefore, I just went with connecting the Audio2 direct to the laptop. Whatever the case, after 8 hours of DJing, the only problem I encountered was when I tried playing WMA files in Traktor. Traktor freaked out. I'm also using an older version of Traktor. I haven't installed whatever came with the Audio2 CD.

I applaud Native Instruments for providing a simple, effective, rock solid piece of gear for digital DJing that isn't overwhelming. I caution Windows users however. Make sure you don't use an audio production laptop running Windows on the internet. As many great audio tools exist, Windows on the Internet is just vulnerable to all sorts of spyware, malware, and viruses. It's a recipe for disaster.

I highly recommend using a clean image and keeping your laptop OFF the Internet. Or, you can do what I eventually did, start running OS X on all your audio boxes.

My Roland W30's LCD

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 01:56:00 +0000

My like (or dislike) of Roland 12-bit samplers is sometimes joy and pain. It's really mainly joy because of the sounds these beasts produce but mainly pain because when it comes down to instant music making goodness, Ableton Live 7 on my Mac trumps all. I keep the dusty samplers around for memories I guess. My most recent saga involves a Roland W30 I found on craigslist back in 2004 for 100 bucks. The guy selling it thought he could just turn it on and play piano. He must have thought it had piano sounds and built in speakers like the toy Casio and Yamaha keyboards you can find at consumer retail stores. I didn't mention any of my knowledge of the W30 and just walked out with a big grin. One problem: "The unit turns on but doesn't make sound," the guy said. Well, I looked at the unit and thought to myself, oh, it only needs the LCD back-light replaced. I turned on the unit and the LCD did not light up. No light and no graphics. I put the keyboard away and put into the future projects pile.
Several years later, I bought a backlight from Telesis and took apart my W30. I thought I did a pretty good job in the repair. I have pictures hiding some where on a hard drive that I should put up. Nevertheless I got deep into Ableton use and put the sampler away. I recently pulled it out because a friend needed a keyboard to practice piano lessons so I dropped it off. Later I went to check on the keyboard and saw the LCD lights up super bright but there's no readout (no text). LCD back-light replacement worked but the real problem is the LCD is blank. So really all it's good for right now is just playing back disks I make on my S-330 or via a PC. Good times with a hunk of junk.

if you don't cop this free download you're crazy! all kinds of goodness.

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:26:00 +0000

Via Twitter @Shocklee

Full Metal TR-909: a sample set that covers virtually every sound the TR-909 is capable of making http://ow.ly/2TL4R #freesamplefriday

@Regend at the Commissary Lounge

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:11:00 +0000

DJ'd the Commissary Lounge in Costa Mesa this past weekend. I'm going to recreate the set I did on my Ustream.TV channel tomorrow. Check it here http://ustream.tv/channel/regend-dot-com

Salute!

REGEND in the OC Sat. Aug 21st

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:22:00 +0000

Hip Hop 12" Mystery - BIG Dreams

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:45:00 +0000

So on Twitter, a couple famous DJ's in the game have been posting up pics of their 45" and 12" collections. Some of these records are hard to find or just classic material.
I don't make any claims about having rare records or hard to find records but I do have my own digging stories.
One thing that really bugged me out when I first started DJing back in 92 was you either had to buy records with your own loot, steal records, or get on people's nice list and get records for free. DJ's that hustled the club circuit and radio would get "serviced" and receive free records from the labels. I know several DJ's that got crates and crates worth through their college or commercial label hustle.
I was one of those college radio DJ's. I obviously picked the wrong school for college radio but nonetheless it was a great experience. In terms of getting records during this time I just wanted Hip-Hop records. For me, college radio was a way to get records for free and that was pretty much it. At the time, anything free from labels was schwag for for our station so even if we got t-shirts it was good promo material.
One day I called the promo team at Bad Boy and asked if I could have a copy of Dreams by BIG. Guy on the phone was obviously busy and told me that the song wasn't official because they couldn't clear the sample prior to releasing Ready To Die. I bought the LP of Ready to Die only which was missing stuff on it but it was a legit Bad Boy commercial release. The CD had interludes that are now super famous. So for years I had never heard the full version of the album and was totally tripped out that they had left off songs and interludes on the copy I bought. I felt a little cheated. In those days though...what did I know? Eventually Bad Boy would release the entire album as a two album set. Back to Dreams...I wanted that song SO BAD! The label rep I spoke to on the phone lied to me too. He said that song was not available yet I heard it on mixtapes that made their way from NYC. So I figured that was a record I would never get. Until one day I was DJing at a private liberal educational place and found the 12" to Juicy. I copped it. I had to have it. It had Juicy, Unbelievable, and Dreams on it. Here's a pic of the original 12" I have:

In my most gully Beatnuts mode the 12" became mine.
Here's the obligatory YouTube link for Dreams.

THIS IS SCARY!

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:56:00 +0000

I almost freaked out after my iMac crashed today. I'll have to figure out why the Kernal freaked out. I am running 10.5.0 and haven't updated and probably won't until I get a new iMac.

Thu Jul 8 17:47:04 2010
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x001A7BED): Kernel trap at 0x009ba861, type 14=page fault, registers:
CR0: 0x8001003b, CR2: 0x21323d2c, CR3: 0x010c9000, CR4: 0x00000660
EAX: 0x031b8c00, EBX: 0x031b8c00, ECX: 0x0302c9e0, EDX: 0x0052f838
CR2: 0x21323d2c, EBP: 0x213aff78, ESI: 0x21323d2c, EDI: 0x009ba838
EFL: 0x00210206, EIP: 0x009ba861, CS: 0x00000008, DS: 0x031b0010
Error code: 0x00000000

Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x213afd88 : 0x12b0e1 (0x4555b4 0x213afdbc 0x133238 0x0)
0x213afdd8 : 0x1a7bed (0x45e568 0x9ba861 0xe 0x45dd24)
0x213afeb8 : 0x19e517 (0x213afed0 0x31b9280 0x213aff78 0x9ba861)
0x213afec8 : 0x9ba861 (0xe 0xffff0048 0x213a0010 0x9b0010)
0x213aff78 : 0x13e987 (0x31b8c00 0x21323d2c 0x1a136f 0x426af20)
0x213affc8 : 0x19e2ec (0x0 0x0 0x1a10b5 0x2c63128)
Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0
      Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
         com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver(3.0.3)@0x9b8000->0x9bcfff
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(3.0.3)@0x618000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily(1.5)@0x980000

BSD process name corresponding to current thread: kernel_task

Mac OS version:
9A581

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 9.0.0: Tue Oct 9 21:35:55 PDT 2007; root:xnu-1228~1/RELEASE_I386
System model name: iMac7,1 (Mac-FXXXXXXX)

An interesting controller - Snyderphonics Manta

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:37:00 +0000

This isn't something new but I really like it. http://www.snyderphonics.com has created a touch controller that is around $700. It outputs (via USB) HID signal. With a HID to MIDI translator it can be used to control almost any MIDI software. Would love to have this in my arsenal.
The unique artistic look draws me to it vs. getting a monome or a novation launch pad.

photo credit: Vlad Spears

Features:

* 48 touch sensors in a 6 X 8 hexagonal array - each sensor can independently send both continuous control data and note-on/off events with velocity sensitivity simultaneously

* 2 assignable touch sliders

* 4 assignable touch-sensing function buttons with LED feedback - can be either momentary or latching

* USB device, showing up as a HID (Human Interface Device) to the operating system, and therefore will operate on Mac OS X, Windows (XP or Vista) and Linux without special drivers

* USB bus-powered - no additional power supply is needed. Peak current requirement is around 400mA, so if it's powered by a hub, the hub will need to be plugged in

* 68 user-controllable LEDs

* sturdy handmade wooden casing

* slim profile, 9.75" X 11.6" X 11/32" with no protruding knobs, buttons or sliders - fits in most laptop cases even with a laptop

* comes with a protective padded sleeve case

* low latency operation - around 5 ms

* completely made in the USA - including PCB fabrication, assembly, and woodworking

* electronics made to ROHS specifications (lead-free and without hazardous substances)

The Manta is easy to use as an input for software like Max/MSP or Supercollider, and a free program is provided with the Manta that allows any sensor to be routed to any MIDInote or continuous controller for interfacing with standard software like Abelton Live, Kontakt, Reason, Logic, or Digital Performer. The Manta is currently available for purchase through the order page (info and picture taken from the http://www.snyderphonics.com website without permision).

Recognize from Long Beach We World World Wide

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:11:00 +0000

KSP Long Beach Anthem by regend

Novation brings joy to Serato Scratch Live DJ's

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:57:00 +0000

ion has a good thing going here for DJ's who want to use traditional DJ controllers.
Features:

Full Serato integration Instant cue point and looping control in Serato Scratch Live.
Control anything MIDI mapping allows you to trigger samples, FX, select tracks, crates etc.
Compatible with other DJ software Dicer can be used with other DJ software such as Traktor Scratch Pro.

Specs:

• Micro USB 1.1 connector; the most robust and compact USB connection.

• Kensington lock space

• Mini-Jack connector for connecting pairs.
Check out http://www.novationmusic.com/dicer for more info.

i have a thing for drum machines

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Sat, 08 May 2010 23:30:00 +0000

i like things that are destined for doom i think.
for example, i own a Casio RZ-1. the sounds are not very interesting but it does have some unique features. It has individual outputs for the each drum channel and it has the ability to sample 4 very short sounds at 8bit.

Here's a video of the sounds it makes. It's been used on some classic house records.

Everytime I think about selling it I find another reason to keep it. Check this video out.

Apparently there are eproms out there but I think what people are doing is burning their own eproms with an eprom burner. I'd love to have added sounds.

Right now I just use the RZ-1 to beef up my Ableton Live performances. HOpefully I can post a video.

It was bound to happen iPad Djing is here

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Fri, 07 May 2010 01:33:00 +0000

Found this over at http://www.wiretotheear.com

RIP Keith Elam aka G.U.R.U - Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:19:00 +0000

I met GURU once. I was drunk at AXIS in Boston and was trying to find a female to dance with. It was during his first Jazzmatazz tour in 94 and since I didn't have money to see the show I went to the upstairs club which was AXIS. It was about 1am after drinking Crown Royale with three homies. I show up at the club and stroll in without paying and was feeling all gully. I had a good feeling that night would be a good one and when I walked in I saw Guru lampin in a corner booth watching people dance. He seemed like royalty just chillin watching his court have a good time. So I went up to him to say hello and gave him a hand shake, thanked him for being in town, and said, "Peace." As I walked away he got up and was like, "hey what's your name?" I said, "I'm DJ PMA. I have been bumpin your tunes since Gangstarr days." He then gave me a pound and I pointed to a girl and he was like aiight. I grabbed the girl and started dancing with her. I kinda remember her too. Light skin Puerto Rican or Dominican looking.With super curly hair like frizzy. It was complete randomness to me at the time but a beautiful moment. Good times...REST IN POWER GURU!
The video below is what GURU wants to be known for. Apparently before his death he had instructed his estate to not promote anything to do with Primo (which I think is on some BS but that's none of my business). This is one of my favorite tracks from Jazzmatazz "When You're Near."

I think when the dust settles I'll do a GangStarr mix as a Salute.
Right now...just can't believe we've lost a a truly magnificent poet.

Gyptian - Hold You - KSP Remix

regend@xfader.com (regend) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:40:00 +0000

Gyptian - Hold You - KSP Remix MP3 by regend