It's been another grey and wet day. Finished the new track but diverted for a couple of hours to write a quick news item for the mag. It involved me watching that scary Roland video again.

Pat working this evening so I'm gonna see if I can get another track started.

Wet Tuesday

Meeting with money man today, gonna get him to do my taxes. Then saw Les who lent me a hi-fi amp so finally I can play my LPs. That speaker working too so my soldering must be OK.

Worked a little on a track this afternoon, a mad mix of howling orientals, drum and bass and Kraftwerk. As Paul says: how can that not be used??

Best news of the day: secured MOTU for review, which means I get to really try before I buy. Got the email just as I was reading my credit card numbers to the guy at Digital Village too! Managed to halt it, all peachy and no hard feelings, especially as it wasn't in stock.

Monday and zilch

Got review off this morning. Otherwise did nothing much today except help with horse. Have decided to buy MOTU's Ethno Instrument 2 despite it using yet another fecking dongle security. Hope it'll be enough for this current project but I expect to keep haemorrhaging money.

Was Pat's herceptin day. Money man and Les tomorrow so let's hope I get some time soon to work on music.

LPs and fungus

Got a deck, decent one too although coulda probably got something OK from the bastards at Richer Sounds. Sod 'em though.

Now I discover some of my albums have little blobs of fungus. Have to fix one of the old speakers though, hopefully a simply solder job. Great listening to the old albums again though. Hope I didn't bore Tony too much with 'em last night.

Ran into Matt B, hope to hook up next week.

Got new phone, very posh touch-screen thing with camera and video camera. Accidentally dialled Pat several times while out walking, must read the manual.

Today (Saturday) I should do final review polish, solder speaker, perhaps start a track. No slacking boy!!

Friday again

Looks a better morning. Finished the brazilian one yesterday - it got more ethic at the start so not really sure what flavour it is now, the sorta indian guitar noise and those crazy mandolins... also redid the old ambient china one and simplified it. We'll see if enough.

Practically completed the Kaossilator review, it's the right length and says everything I want. A little tidying then it can go.

Today I shall take it a little easier but try to get at least one new track started.

Well well, it just goes to show you can never work folks out. Of the three tracks sent, the gamelan one was "good but not for this", the afro-celt one was spot on and the brazilian one needs more worldy stuff at the start. Weird that the afro celt one was added to make up the numbers! Had the formula explained to me - then when I think about it realised that the one track that DIDN'T conform to it was the afro-celt one as it has an intro. Also, some of the other accepted ones really don't have much world and certainly not right at the start.

Consistency would help but I think I'm getting the picture and starting to understand the mentality that goes into this process.

Long chat about scenes and workspaces with Colin. Seriously think this baby is gonna be wonderful but needs to move faster. Like me with the library music.

Finished two tracks yesterday - the "minimal techno" one, which now has japanese school kids and gamelan to add to the brazilian voices and rhythms. Does it work? Will send later and see. Also completed the catchy Brazilian beachy one I'm gonna call Sundance (for now) - better than my working title of Soapy Sophie. :)

Logic caused me some pain. Not the crash but the weirdness with the muted tracks that eventually led me down the path of working from one of the backups, which then didn't do new backups and I somehow lost over an hour's cool sequence work that isn't quite as good now I've recreated it. Did I mention how much I hate that endless "do you want to save?" question that dulls its power through repetition.

I MUST get that review into shape today.