Starting October 2012, west London’sTech Music School will offer three new BA (Hons) Degrees in Music Business, Music Production, and Songwriting. Each three-year degree will offer students an opportunity to learn from a team of professionals, all of whom work in the industry across a range of disciplines, in a learning environment that mixes academic study with practical, real world application and collaboration.
Blip Drumshas announced the release of its latest electronic drum sample collection, Platinum. One year in the making, the 24-bit Platinum collection is an assortment of “pounding eccentric bass drums, crisp textural snares, pulse driven hats, future funked toms and more”, designed from the company’s own handmade analogue circuits. www.blipdrums.com
THE APRS has announced a new project in collaboration with veteran music journalist, Howard Massey – best known as the author of the Behind The Glass series of books. The result will be the publication of The Great British Recording Studios, in 2013. Each chapter of the book will
focus on a well-known British studio of the 1960s and 1970s (including Abbey Road, Olympic, Trident, IBC, Decca, Pye, RAK and more than a dozen others), and will provide comprehensive descriptions of physical facilities, equipment
and recording techniques, and technical innovations developed at each studio. Equally important will be the ‘people’ side: listings of key personnel, dozens of photographs and anecdotal ‘stories from the studio’ that reveal the inner workings behind many of Britain’s best-loved and most enduring recordings. Anyone who worked at a British recording studio in the 1960s or 1970s and would like to participate in the project are urged to contact Howard Massey at gbrs@aprs.co.uk or by post c/o APRS, PO Box 22, Totnes, Devon TQ9 7YZ, UK. www2.aprs.co.uk/gbrs
UNITED KINGDOM
The majority of Coldplay’sMylo Xyloto album was recorded in their very own Beehive studios. During the process, producer/engineer Rik Simpson (pictured) tried out the Solid State Logic (SSL) Matrix “and kept it”, reports SSL. According to Simpson, the speed at which the band record was a major factor in the decision-making.
“Technically, any hiccup or time wasted is a bit of a nightmare because they are so eager to record,” he says. “There isn’t a great deal of time to set stuff up. So any time I can save through having something as easy to use as the Matrix is a great thing.” www.solidstatelogic.com