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"Glacier" is a Digitakt performed Chillout track that's dedicated to the Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland and the Swiss Alps in general - places where I feel home and where I spent most of the holidays when I was little. I went up this spectacular place some time ago - the scenes where so breathtaking that you can see them now in the background of this video and on some pictures below. I also created a litte landing page where you can download the track as well. The track happened during my Digitakt Live Sessions I started working on the pattern itself during my last Studio session and it is supposed to be a kind of "intro" track for another live set, which is why I wanted to do something slow. Nevertheless, the speed should of course fit to the following tracks of the set, which is why I simply chose half of my regular speed (112bpm). Most of the audio tracks you hear make massive use of LFO modulations to create that typical 59 Perlen texture, which slowly but steadily provide a continuous evolving of each sound. Even the clap delay is modulated, among effect parameters, hold times and bit reductions. If you want to get some insights, I suggest you go and watch the session on my YouTube. The fantastic arp was added at the very end of the production on the last free audiotrack. I made it with ANA2 and loaded the sample into Digitakt. Do you like the atmosphere? Leave your thoughts in the comments! Learn how to make your own house music with the Digitakt! Have a look on my Digitakt Online Class! It's a video course focussed on creating tracks with the Digitakt. It covers LFOs, Arrangement, Performing, Digitakt FX and many other interesting topics!

Here’s another dawless Polyend Tracker song.

My label mate Gabriel de la Mora released his debut EP "Collection of Choices" this week and he was so kind to send me a copy for reviewing. Since the album was mainly created using the Elektron Digitone, I thought you guys might be interested to get some insights and details about the release. "Reviews" are something new to my blog, and I will publish them frequently from now on. I think it's very inspiring to listen to other artists' work and share my thoughts with you! If you have proposals for future reviews (even your own!), drop me a message. Gabriel de la Mora about his EP Let me start with a little text that Gabriel send me together with the music files. "Using mainly a 4-Track cassette multi-tracker (Fostex XR-5), a Panasonic Cassette Walkman and a few effects pedals: It was only natural for me to approach these recordings in a very minimalistic maner. I did mostly one takes and recorded directly to cassette tape. I also wanted to embrace the "live" aspect of playing music on this record. This album is the result of me learning how to use a cassette multi-tracker for the first time. I had just purchased my first cassette multi-tracker off of my friend and as I was getting familiar with this machine and format I recorded "Collection of choices" My "mistakes" will be noticeable in these recordings, I embrace them. (no computers were used in composing or recording, only in the mixing and mastering I relied in digital processing) The instruments used on this album are the Elektron Digitone for 3 songs, and the Roland JU-06a for 1 song. (4 songs total) The "samples" of the album were reproduced with a standard Walkman and they are cassette tapes that i've been gathering during my many scavenger hunts through flea markets (swap meets), garage sales and thrift stores in my city, so i always find some very unique and random cassettes tapes that date back all the way to the 80's." My impressions of "Collection of Choices" Now let's get to my impressions and I can tell you right up front, I am extremely in love with this release! "Collection of Choices" is an ambient album consisting of 4 tracks with a total running time of over 40 minutes. The music feels extremely atmospheric and create a dense atmosphere, from the first minute to the last. This is not least due to the way the tracks were produced (or rather, it's the main reason!). I love the lofi feeling, which on this EP is really lofi and not a DAW plugin. You can just feel that. One can definitely listen to the EP "on the side", as is the case with many ambient productions. I wouldn't recommend it, though, because the music tracks are packed with so much detail that you wouldn't catch half of it. My track by track thoughts What Kind Of Distraction? (00:00) The track offers great ambient atmosphere and sounds and immediately draws me under its spell. Gabriel plays super nice harmonies, and I keep hearing the little "mistakes" that were created during the production and deliberately not edited. That's so cool, I'm into that kind of thing :D The song has a very sweet buildup that keeps adding new elements over time and bringing variety to it. The soundscape is directly "dreamlike" and floating. We shared The Sky (14:28) Suddenly I am pulled out of this dream world - the track stops abruptly and the next track starts with a surprising sample of a radio announcement, which develops into an interesting soundscape. Well done. The song starts rather gloomy, but after a short time super nice pads and pads let me dive back into the sonic world of Gabriel. What strikes me here for the first time are the fluid transitions between the tracks. Drugs (22:24) Also this track inspires me with beautiful sound carpets and great interwoven textures (just my thing!). Although I have never taken hard drugs in my life, I still imagine the state when you take some after listening to this track (and I didn't know the track is titled "Drugs" until I wrote this review). The Space Behind Your Eyes (29:06) The last track brings some percussive sounds into play. I hear clear FM synthesis from the Digitone, which fades into one of Gabriel's great sonic tapestries towards the end. Conclusion You can tell I'm a real fan of this creative production! This is of course due to the minimalist production approach itself, the appreciation of the small glitches and mistakes, the organic sound and the equipment used but also not least the whole concept - Gabriel de la Mora posts on his Instagram page also visually matching content and lots of background stories. I think, especially in the field of ambient music, there is unfortunately far too much average music without soul. "Collection of Choices" is not one of them - if you are looking for an inspiring album, you are in good hands here! Where to get this release Grab a copy of "Collection of Choices" by Gabriel de la Mora on the Bandcamp page of Petit Victory Collective!

The release of my album "When Left Alone" was just 3 weeks ago, and already I have something new in the bag! "Memory" is a minimal house track, once again performed on Elektron Digitakt. The special thing about this release is that it is exclusively available on my website. And it's for free. If it's well received by you, I plan regular website releases in the future. The premiere on YouTube happened on Saturday, March 6th. You can watch it in the embedded video.

Hi everyone, this week's Jam was about exercising with the setup I'm going to take with me for my upcoming performance "Shopping Bag". The event takes place Friday August 11 and Saturday August 12 in Stralsund, Germany, and the gear you see in this Jam is what I gonna take with me. I wrote a blogpost about the preparation, you can read it here. Gear in this Jam Vermona Perfourmer (Synths) Notation Peak (Bass) Squarp Pyramid (Sequencing ) Strymon Big Sky (Reverb) Empress Compressor Electro Harmonix Gran Canyon (Delay)

Last night it finally happened! 15 guests came to my performance "Moods" and with their cool mood they turned our apartment into a little private club. I really loved the intimate atmosphere we've created and it will definitely not my last event like this. The tracks of the performance will be released as an album in early May: 1) Entrance Pattern 2) Desire 3) Jérome 4) Apollo 13 5) Awakening 6) Minds Eye 7) Beach The set went over 40 minutes. Major roles have been taken by Elektron Digitakt, Digitone and Squarp Pyramid as the main brain behind the gear. I also used the Dreadbox Typhon for arps and the Access virus for leads and chords. You can watch the entire video now on my Youtube channel or directly above.

This week, I am late with everything! The update of my Digitakt course messed up my schedule a bit, so there was no Saturday night premiere this week coz the video is just finished :D It is once again something completely different than intended - I wanted to make a generative Digitakt track, the result is something very Chill-housy (which I also like very much). I used the awesome samples from @BlankFor_ms "IV" in this track, a very cool sample pack, you should really check it out if you like noises and lofi stuff. The pattern uses several LFOs via midi loopback to keep the audio tracks moving. I titled the pattern "Home", mainly because the the progression reminded me of some kind of home coming feeling. What do you think of it? Learn how to make your own house music with the Digitakt! Have a look on my Digitakt Online Class! It's a video course focussed on creating tracks with the Digitakt. It covers LFOs, Arrangement, Performing, Digitakt FX and many other interesting topics!

It's finally Saturday and time for a brandnew Digitakt Jam. After we left last week out due to the premiere of "Walking", a contemporary dance video I created a score for, it's finally time for a good new classic Digitakt Jam again and here we go. The track features a sample taken from my free pack "Citylights". Learn how to make your own minimal music with the Digitakt! Have a look on my Digitakt Online Class! It's a video course focussed on creating tracks with the Digitakt. It covers LFOs, Arrangement, Performing, Digitakt FX and many other interesting topics!

After I expanded my setup some time ago with an Elektron Model:Samples, I was often asked why I bought a quasi identical device like the Digitakt again and what Since the question comes up again and again, I have summarized a few important aspects in this article that you should consider when buying an Elektron. But let's start with this question: Why did I buy the Model:Samples? I was happy with the Digitakt? There are mainly 2 reasons for it. On the one hand, I wanted to have more audio tracks every now and then to elaborate drum sections in more detail, for example. On the other hand, I have some very cool effect pedals, but I never use them with the Digitakt because I can only route the entire sum signal through the effect. With the help of the Model:Samples, I am now able to play one part of the arrangement with the effect, while the part on the Digitakt stays without. Differences between Model:Samples and Digitakt Now, the Digitakt has quite a few features that the Model:Samples doesn't. Logically, the latter costs only half of it. But for the scenario described above, the Model:Samples is perfectly adequate. There are the following main differences that sets the Model:Samples apart his big brother: Missing ADSR envelope No Overbridge support 6 instead of 8 channels No MIDI loopback feature Quality of onboard effects Missing sampling function / resampling Missing Midi tracks Missing compressor Less LFOs Velocity pads direct access to parameters significantly smaller price From this list some are worth mentioning (at least for my workflow!). Missing ADSR Envelope Since I use the Model:Samples mainly as a sample player for drums, the lack of an ADSR envelope doesn't matter much to me. You can only set the decay time, sample start and length, that's it. Complex synth modelling, as I can do with ADSR on the Digitakt, are simply not feasible with these settings. Other sounds that might be hard to create with these limitations are pads or evolving textures. I always use the Digitakt for these parts. No Elektron Overbridge support Unlike the Digitakt, the Model:Samples does not support Overbridge. You can only record the audio sum output, single tracks are not possible. I usually loop the audio in at the Digitakt inputs, but to get a good result, it's important that the Model:Samples tracks are mixed well at the device itself, since it is not possible to do that after recording. Overbridge will only record the input track of the Digitakt. No MIDI Loopback feature I work a lot with the Digitakt MIDI loopback function, and the results made with this technique are really amazing. Again, I would miss this on the Model:Samples as a standalone device, but I really don't miss it in combination with the Digitakt. The same goes for the rest of the differences I listed above. Digitakt and Model:Samples decision help Overall, I don't think the two devices are neither comparable nor is the Model:Samples a cheap copy of the Digitakt. Sure, as a standalone, it lacks too many of the Digitakt features for me. As a beginner's device, it might be certainly interesting and the price is attractive, but you will quickly look at the features of the Digitakt after you have learned the ropes. Meanwhile, the Model:Samples is absolutely perfect as a supplement to the Digitakt! You get the same great Elektron workflow with its powerful sequencer, which also allows complex arrangements. The two device clocks can be synchronized via MIDI cable and thus play together perfectly. If you have questions about the devices, let me know in the comments or use the chat box at the bottom! Want to dive deeper into track creation? Check my Digitakt Online Class! It's a video course focussed on creating tracks with the Digitakt, but most likely everything can be done with the Model:Samples as well. The class covers LFOs, Arrangement, Performing, FX and many other interesting topics, and I add new lessons frequently.

I never liked the Millenium bs-500 speaker stands that came with my JBL Pro monitors much. Well, they did their job. But recently I realized that they make a pretty damn good stand for my Digitakt performances as well! Because I was unhappy with the solutions I had before - I used a little old desk, tried some boards and so on, but it all looked "unprofessional" and not very stylish. Plus, I produce my performances mostly in my little bedroom where the space is very limited. So I had the hilarious idea of using the monitor stand for the Elektron machine and it is awesome! They have a perfect size, adjustable height, a pair of 2 is pretty affordable and they have a simple, yet minimalistic appearance. Plus I have a second one for the Digitone as well 🤩🎈❤️ You can see this solution in my latest Digitakt live performance, I really love the simplicity of it. What stands do you use for performances? I‘m curious for other suggestions.

Some time ago, I asked you on YouTube if you‘d like to see more track deconstruction videos. The response was pretty clear and many of you guys have been interested to get some insights. Now, Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to record a new breakdown yet - I simply haven't had the time due to my releases and projects. But since I would like to share my knowledge anyway, I will do studio sessions with you on a regular basis from now on! The stream will be live and you can ask me your questions during the session. The recording will of course be available after the stream as well in case you can’t make it to the live. The first studio session will take place on Friday the 26.2. at 4 o'clock CET on my YouTube channel. During the session, I will build up a Digitakt pattern from scratch, and the following Sessions will be every Wednesday at 8pm CET. I'm looking forward getting your feedbacks and seeing you there ❤️ If you'd like to reminded, you can check the YouTube page and acitvate the reminder. Or subscribe to my mailing list to get notifed!

The dawless performance Watch the original performance with "Apollo 13", "Beach" and "Awakening" here