<br> <A href="mailto:someone@somewhere?&subject=beatmag?&body=Take a look at this Beatmag.net page... www.beatmag.net/november05/technical.htm *NOTE*TO*SENDER* *CHECK*RECIPIENT'S*EMAIL*ADDRESS*" class=tagLink><img src=../styles/july05/mail.jpg border=0 hspace=0 vspace=0 height=11 width=13 alt="send this page to a friend"> www.beatmag.net/november05/technical.htm</a> <br><br> <font class=headerFont> THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT </font> <br><br> <table width=360 height=66 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td width=360 height=66> <img src=../styles/july05/jari.jpg border=0 height=66 width=360></td> <td width=234 height=66 valign=bottom> <font class=copytitleFont> </font></td> </tr> </table> <br> <font class=standfirstFont> Cookin' with Pepe<br> <br>Beatmag's regular technical columnist James Spectrum (AKA Jari Salo of Pepe Deluxe) heads into the hors d'oevres </font> <br><br> <font class=copyFont> No man can refuse the voice of the Phantom <i>-old jungle saying</i> <br><br> The most important question every composer, engineer and producer has got to ask himself is "Do I eat well?"<br><br> Burgers, fries and even skipping hot meals are quite OK if you work on simple loop-based compositions, as it's usually not a big challenge to still the rumbling of the phantom of the stomach. However, once you start planning journeys far beyond the sun, you better prepare some grade-A fuel to keep the engine running. <br><br>Although having no scientific proof of it, I strongly suspect the fine line separating songs resulting from faking one's artistic abilities and the genuine article, is more or less made of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibres. Just look what happened to all those prog rock monsters who became successful and left their home and mom's cooking! <br><br> A word of warning on food scams: I once got fooled by what's very misleadingly marketed as 'soul food'. I tell you, that stuff's not a ticket for spiritual travel. It took me ages to recover.<br> <br> The good news is that you CAN use any good foodstuff as a transporter to a higher state of musical consciousness. Next time you feel burned out or hit a creative block, start preparing a full course meal. Plan it like a caped keyboard hero planning a composition about descending to the center of the earth: the more complex, the merrier. An appetiser, a main course or two, dessert. Maybe even soup to add some extra flavour?<br> Be your own dietician, mix and match things to create your own style. Remember: don't fear the fear! <br><br> <img src=news/technical.jpg border=0 height=421 width=360 alt="Bon apetit!"> <br><br> While you can get wild with each an every dish, you should also keep in mind the overall flow. Do your best to avoid the oh-so-regular restaurant fiasco of having excellent hors d'oeuvre followed by a weak main course. It's always a good idea to save some room for dessert, and preferably even after that: a little too little leaves people craving for more!<br><br> Season to taste. Think of salt as compression: it does make most things better, but if you add too much, you're in serious trouble. Unless too much is just what the chef ordered. Compression's best friend and companion is distortion, aka 'pepper'. The same rule applies here: sometimes all you need is a pinch of mild allspice, other times even jalapenos don't seem to be hot enough. <br><br> Although it's quite possible to hide less that perfect ingredients with some heavy handed spicing, it's generally a good idea to start with the best foodstuff you can get. Instead of masking, try enhancing the flavours.<br> Almost everything benefits from herbs, the food equivalent of space and reverb. Now, I know what you're thinking, stop that immediately! Oh well, if you gotta smoke, try to save that till you've eaten the meal and washed the dishes. A pile of ‘em is a major creative bring-down, and you better deal with the enemy when it arrives, not let it get a foothold. <br><br> Shortly afterwards, the household work is done, you're sitting on a sofa, feeling full and all relaxed, head full of strange plans ...not a bad starter for a little creativity, eh? <br><br> <A href="mailto:someone@somewhere?&subject=beatmag?&body=Take a look at this Beatmag.net page... www.beatmag.net/november05/technical.htm *NOTE*TO*SENDER* *CHECK*RECIPIENT'S*EMAIL*ADDRESS*" class=tagLink><img src=../styles/july05/mail.jpg border=0 hspace=0 vspace=0 height=11 width=13 alt="send this page to a friend"> www.beatmag.net/november05/technical.htm</a> <br><br> <br><br> <br><br> <br><br> <br><br> <br> </font>
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