You know them, right?! You've seen them everywhere. From house parties to clubs, to the scratching world championships; they're everywhere!! Well, they were, until CDJ's took over and people moved away from Vinyl due to the ease of filling a USB stick with your MP3's. They're the creme de la creme of turntables, especially if you wanna learn to scratch...
Can I get an Amen!? If you've ever been to a Drum and Bass rave, you would've skanked to it; if you're into hard, old-school Hip Hop, you've bopped your head to it; you've seen B-boys do their thing to it, it gets chopped up regularly at the DMC championships - that's right, we're diving into the backstory of one...
Looking for a drum pad to make some beats? Ask any Hip Hop producer worth his salt and they'll always recommend you the MPC! Used by the Dopest of the Dope, passing through the hands of the likes of Dr. Dre and Big Boi through to Mark Ronson and Kanye West, this machine has been around for time and played...
Wanna dutty up your sounds?! You can mash up your beats using Tape, yes, Tape (ask your Dad). You can add grit, dirt, fuzz, wow and flutter and all other sorts of Lo-Fi goodness by reading through the steps below and getting experimental. Dive into the world of Lo-Fi now... In the age of Lo-Fi Hip Hops’ burgeoning popularity, it...
Beatboxing!! But more, much, much more!! The multi-talented, gurning maniac, Beardyman has taken just what's possible to do with your voice, flipped it on its head and launched it into space. Using state-of-the-art tech, he can create anything you can imagine, plus a lot that you can't (!), with his voice and have a whole auditorium skanking out in no...
To this day, one of the finest looking machines on the market!! This bad boy has captured the hearts of everyone from early prog-rockers through to Hip Hop royalty! Producing some of the sickest sounds for its time, no other synths could step to it. Even now, peeps wanna cop it and are willing to pay top dollar! Learn how...
Remember that old toy keyboard you used to play with as a kid? Well, that sort of thing is gold dust to a Circuit Bender! A bit of rewiring wizardry here, a dash of circuit manipulation there, and there you have it, you've got yourself some crazy new sound to tweak to your heart's content! There's plenty to explore in...
Got Bass?! You know how, sometimes, you need your bass to hit harder, so you decide to build yourself an oversized double bass about 3.5 metres tall? No?! You've never done that?! Well, we've dug up the story of a French guy who felt the need to do just that; read on below... We’re back again with our foray into...
WRITERS BLOCK! The bane of anyone trying to stay creative. The struggle is real!! It’s all too easy to get caught in a routine when creating. Break the cycle, step out of your routine and try something different. You've probably heard it all before. But there are some tried and tested ways to get the juices flowing again... Going through...
Prime Loops is a Black and Asian run business We believe in peace, not chaos. Music from the black communities has shaped our lives. Hip Hop, Soul, Reggae, R&B, Dancehall, Dub, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Drum & Bass, Dubstep, UK Grime, Garage, the list goes on. Commercial music is dominated by genres from black communities and we owe our careers to...
From Russia With Love!? Not exactly the first place you'd expect to crop up in an article about Synths, but here we are. They have made, and continue to make, some banging synths. Who woulda thought?! Come join us on an unexpected journey through the history of synths to come out of...Mother Russia!! When you think of nations pushing the...
The Whatty-Whatty?! Yep, dope name; a crazy bit of kit. You're not that likely to find one going cheap in the local pawnshop and if you're not a French revolutionary jamming out in the Baroque-era parties, you've probably never heard of one either. Here, we're gonna take a look at what this weird little gizmo is all about... Most people's...
'Trap Soul'...Soulful Trap? Soul with hints of Trap?! Or something new entirely? Don't worry, we're here to investigate and get to the bottom of this sick and soulful subgenre... ‘Trap Soul’ is the budding new star to emerge from contemporary R&B. First gaining notable success and prominence around 2016 with breakout stars Fetty Wap and Bryson Tiller achieving Top Ten...
Afrobeats!! You must've heard of it right? Funky rhythms, Tropical vibes, potential global dominance!? Over the last few years, no other style of music has emerged out of Africa quite like Afrobeats, gaining global recognition and infiltrating Western charts with an almighty force!! Get to know one of the dopest genres to come out of the last decade!! Drawing from...
The idea of Stereo Widening isn't – at first – too hard to grasp. Making things sound wider, right? Hmmmm, maybe...but the devil is in the detail!! While it might sound appealing to have a huge wide soundscape, this ain't always the one. Things can get messy real fast! Lets guide you through this very important area of production... Why...
Why!? Cos we say so!!Ok, maybe that's not gonna cut it as an explanation!! But this week we're pretty hyped on the release of TAKESHIDO: Manga Melodies. So we figured you might also appreciate a few tips on how to use sample packs in your own stuff. So let's go in with a few helpful hints! Use Them As Starting...
Wanna make the most out of some old analog gear that doesn't work quite right?! This week, we're looking at the technique of multisampling. And no, we ain't chatting about using two different accapellas in the same track. Multisampling can be way more handy, and can help you get the best out of any sound source that you might have...
What even is a tracker? Seems a bit dry and a bit too much like coding to be particularly creative right? If you're like the majority of the music-producing masses, you'll probably be used to a conventional sequencer. But there are a group of musicians who think there is merit in having limits. Crazy right?! Well, let's hear them out...
So you wanna make it big time!? Well, you need to get friendly with one of these four to take things truly international and into next-level superstardom! The music industry is a confusing one. Labels are changing fast, but one thing that has remained consistent is the existence of major labels - the big players. The Dons. Like the Mafia...
Ah, the 90s - a time when curtains seemed like a good idea, VHS still had a place in the market and wild boy bands roamed the plains in search of 14-year-old girls to make money from. Yes, it was cheesy, and painful to hear at times, but sometimes you just can't shake those tracks from your head and there's...
