FreeBass on Global Funk radio June 27 2019 Monti Rock Guest

Check out this months FreeBass with a guest appearance from the one and only Monti Rock.

How I Finally "Blind Hacked" my DJ Set List

      I have  finally “blind hacked” my track lists for my Electronic music radio show, Free Bass on Global Funk Radio. For those who don't know, a "blind Hack" is a technique or series of techniques blind people use to interact with the sighted person world. An easy example is a white cane or counting steps. Another example is I used to  "cut and paste my emails" in Word documents to read them because my screen reader didn't read my email software. I have a “blind hack “to find the proper playlist on my lap top DJ software, M-Audio Torq. I have many more tools and strategies that I use in everyday life, many of which I probably don't' even notice, because I've been doing them for so long.  But, one thing I've had particular problems with is  the making of a track list for the show I've been doing for thirteen years on Global Funk Radio.

    Here’s the thing.   At one time I could read record labels with a magnifying glass. For a while, I could magnify my screen large enough to read my lap top.  So, early on I was able to make some sort of play list after each show.  As my vision became worse and worse, I gave up on making track lists all together. Unfortunately, screen readers have never worked with my DJing software, M-Audio Torq. I wasn't happy with this decision, but I really didn't have a choice. I have always felt that it's important to share the name of the tracks I play, especially if the tunes are promos or new releases that the audience may not be familiar with. To make matters worse, my vision is always going downhill, so even putting together a playlist before a show has become very difficult.  

      For the past two, or so, years, making a pre-show playlist goes a little something like this. After taking minutes to find the "search" box, I typed in an artist's name or album, and then found my way to the list of tracks. This is after I had to ask a sighted person to help me add new tracks to the Torq database. Then, I used the software's queue function to find the tracks I wanted and loaded them onto the decks one by one. Every time I wanted to change the artist, I had to go back up to the top of the screen and find that pesky “search box”. Sometimes, I lost the search box and it took me another five minutes to find it to repeat the process.  Apparently, I really like playing Electronic music to keep torturing myself, but I still think it's worth it.  

      Adding the tracks from a compilation was a particularly anonymous process.  I typed the comp name in and found the track I liked, not knowing the artist I have just loaded on Deck 1. It was such a huge ordeal to get a pre-show playlist done.  It left me wondering how much longer I could DJ digitally. To be unable to efficiently find the "search box” finally pushed me to find a solution--quite by accident, no doubt.

      I came up with the solution while putting together a Techno mix of some promos I received recently. Instead of using the Torq "search box” to find the tracks one by one, (this would have taken forever; the artists and tracks were unfamiliar)  I decided to "Copy and Paste" the tracks into a folder, then label them "1 Feb Mix, 2 Feb Mix, 3 Feb Mix...".  The next step was to find a handy dandy sighted person to help add the new folder to the database. I'm still working on a hack for that. Then, I just typed “Feb Mix" in the “search box”. Voila!  All the tracks I needed were at my fingertips. No searching all over the screen for the “search box”.  I only needed to find it once!  It didn't take me but a second to realize I could do this with my show set list too.  I tried it today and it works really well. The best part is that it has an added bonus;  I can browse a bit more in my collection to find tracks I haven't played before or maybe overlooked.

      I have solved both problems of being unable to put together a track list, coupled with the extraordinarily hard time of finding all the tracks for a show. I think “pro bird murderers” call this "Killing two birds with one stone”.  "What did he say?"   I believe I can file this discovery under "Why didn't I think of this before?”  I will continue to struggle with guessing the artist’s name on the vinyl that I play, but I usually have a pretty good idea where my records live between plays.  I can deal with that.

     In a perfect world, it would be nice if DJ gear manufacturers made an accessible software, CDJ or controller. Hint Hint!

FreeBass April 25 2019

Some great tunes on this month's show. Really pleased to be playing the new E.M.U. release, which is a not so new re-release from the early 90's Lot's of other great tunes in here too, so check it out. 





Tracklist

Gary Gritness - Big Marcus Knows the Score

E.M.U. - Structures 4

Carl W. Scheele - Liquid Phlogiston

96_Back-Tripp_d_Isle

Luxus Varta - Quark

Rawtary - Morning Render

NAIL - 1987

Alpha 606 and Sync 24 - Lunar Passport

Cody Commando - Kontrol

Anthony Rother - Freaks

ADT - Departure for Peace

Alavux- Repetitor

Binary System - On Your Mind

Arcane Dialect - Moving Mirrors

 Gravedad Cinética -Electroluminescent (The Bandit Remix)

Mono_Martini_N.N._Original_Mix

Fitzroy_North - Animate

Robert Cosmic - Sentimiento Underground

Batch Sound - The Chase is On

John Cellway - Stars in the Gutter

DVS NME - Cloud Orbit

CYBEREIGN - Right Herr

Buzzkill - When the Smoke Clears

Mr. Velcro Fastner - A Monster in Two Worlds

David Pasajero - Out Of Mind

Mandroid - Anti-Gravity Machines

AMR - Minerate

Newcleus - Technology (DJ Xed remix)

scape one - mental inertia - 02 pentagrid converter

Egyptian Lover and Q-Bert - Beyond the Galaxy

Foundation - Bring it Back

Robodrum - Army of Droids

Overclock vs Code Rising - Trigraph

Dub Species vs Ten Sui - The Dose

Lektroid - Piano

Kretz - Electronic Warriors

Kurt Baggaley - Happy Frontiers

FreeBass on Global Funk radio March 28 2019

March's shows is half Electro, half Drum and Bass /Jungle

FreeBass on Global Funk Radio February 28, 2019

      My February show on Global Funk radio. thank you to all the artists who make this great music.  

FreeBass on Global Funk Radio February 28, 2019

     February's FreeBass show on Global Funk Radio. thanks for all the great music by the artists that make this show possible. 

Fundamental Bass Intelligence Goes Big w/ 2x12 Compilation

From Electric Kingdom magazine

"Seminal label Fundamental Bass Intelligence (FBI) is set to take the on-demand record trend to the next level, by laying it all on the line with their upcoming "11:11 - The Fundamental Compilation" release. Using the record service Qrates, FBI plans on releasing this extraordinary compilation on a 2 colored vinyl LP, if, and only if, the funding goal for 100 copies is met! In the unlikely event the funding goal is not met, the entire compilation will be immediately available for free download, no questions asked.
Set to go live in early 2019, "11:11 - The Fundamental Compilation" features some of the biggest names in Electro today: Dark Vektor, Exzakt, James Wolfe and Bixler, Errorbeauty and Serge Geyzel, Sbassship, Nexus 23, Deemphasis, Cybereign, Mauro Nakimi, Nuklear Prophet, and Ascension Électronique, all fundamentally essential Electro artists who will imprint the grooves of this 2x12" compilation.
Proposed vinyl version of 11:11 - The Fundamental Compilation © Fundamental Bass Intelligence/Qrates
The first track to preview by Mauro Nakimi is a dark, brooding, bassy plunge into the Fundamental Electro sound that foreshadows a release that is not to be missed. More details coming soon on Electric Kingdom and the upcoming new FBI website!
In the meantime, listen to "Slaves of Sion" by Mauro Nakimi: https://soundcloud.com/mauronakimi/mauro-nakimi-slaves-of-sion-fundamental-bass-intelligence