While in Germany for Musikmesse earlier this year, I got hooked on a remix that was in heavy rotation on Euro MTV at the time. The band: Vanguard. The remixed track: ?Flash Gordon? by Queen. In the video, two very aggressive DJ/programmer-types attack a pair of drum machines, twisting knobs and punching buttons with the vengence of Hendrix tearing into a Strat. Turns out that the machines in question are Elektron Machinedrums ? and what wild, wacky, wonderful devices they are.
In Volume 15 of M-Audio?s new ProSessions line of soundware, the Machinedrum is the star of the show. M-Audio promotes the package as the work of ?Europe?s hottest programmers pushing the continent?s hottest drum machine to the extreme.? In the liner notes, Charlie Storm is credited with creating the samples, with additional edits by Carlos Vasquez of Digital Assasins and Johnny DeLeon. All sounds on the disc originate from the Machinedrum SPS-1, and span a wide range of modern electronic music styles.
Get ready for some strange, infectious loops. Thumps and thwacks, springs and sproings, four-on-the-floor stomps and fluttery arpeggiations, wheezy sci-fi grooves and outright ballistic beats ? this collection rules. Some patterns are strictly beat-oriented, some have melodic material mixed in. Fitting, since the Machinedrum is really a synthesizer in drum machine?s clothing. In all cases, the sounds are very electronic and experimental. But don?t get the wrong impression ? many of these beats still groove hard.
Also on the disc are one-shot samples: booming electro kits, snappy snares, noise-burst hats, zingy cymbals, and a variety of miscellaneous SFX hits. In all there are 157 MB of loops and 115 MB of one-shot samples, duplicated in AIFF and Acid/WAV format. The loops are presented in REX2 format as well.
If you?re looking for a library of creatively programmed and processed electronic loops, this collection is for you. And if you?d like to know more about the Machinedrum, log onto www.machinedrum.com.
