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 My first full-length album, acid is so passé is now up for pre-order on BandCamp.

Check it out here - there is one track available during the pre-order phase.

Full release, accompanied by a listening party, is next Friday, 28th November.

This has been in development for a while and I'm so pleased to be able to share it.

cover image for acid is so passé

It is 9 tracks, over an hour of solid acid:

The album title is a play on the lyric "heroin is so passé" from "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" by The Dandy Warhols.

It's obviously a self-referential joke (the album is full of acid tracks) but it does have a point: the tracks on this album are not focused so much on what makes acid acid — the knob turning and tweaking. Instead, they were written to create grooves and vibes. More of a feeling — as outlined in "acid is more" a manifesto of sorts.

Eschewing the usual 808 & 909 beats, the album reaches into wider sonic territory while retaining a more minimal approach to track building. (It still includes plenty of 505, 606 & 707 samples.)

While there are 'four on the floor' beats they feel less rigid, more funky. But there are also unsettling moments like "no escape" which serves as an homage to the classic "Where's Your Child" by Bam Bam, and the slight dissonance of "the octet rule broken" and "empty orbital".

This is still, however, instantly recognisable as a randomelements release.

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Writing about not missing the classic Roland sounds I was really just referring to the 808 & 909.

Part of my experience with the LM Drum has been loading 505, 606 and 7X7 samples. While they're iconic in their own right, the 8 & 9 are the big ones.

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 The Behringer LM Drum has been a creative revelation for me.

Before (and during) writing my review of it, I mentioned that that the only way to get to grips with a piece of gear was by really focusing on it. That's essentially what I've being doing with this.

The RD-8 and RD-9 are not currently connected and, with the variety offered by the LM Drum, I've not been missing the classic Roland sounds.

Just switching between sample banks (and being able to create my own) has been enough to trigger fresh inspiration, especially with the way the machine works.

The workflow is also more relaxed than the others mentioned above. For example, on the RD-8 & 9 you have to switch between Mute and Pattern modes whereas, on the LM, the layout allows access to both at the same time.

They say that just buying a new piece of gear won't make you happy or make better music, but that's exactly what's been happening.

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 Now available to play and purchase on BandCamp:

The ambient mix is also on YouTube:

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 The piece of gear which is going to be reviewed is this little beauty:

 Behringer LM Drum

I've wanted to have a play with one of these since they were first announced ages ago. While the RD-8 and RD-9 are "clones" of a single machine, the LM Drum has six different kits and is also a sampler.