Electronic Music Links

Technology

Propellerheads Reason - Now on Version 2.5, this revolutionary self-contained electronic music studio for the PC is my primary source of developing, arranging and mixing new music. For a few hundred dollars you get on your PC the software equivalent of THOUSANDS of dollars worth of synth, sampler, drum machine and effects - equal in quality and without the mess and complication of MIDI connections. These swedish guys have it TAPED!

Steinberg Wavelab - The professional software I use to lay down, and equalise tracks for export to CD.

Artists

Ian Boddy - A primary influence of mine, UK artist Ian Boddy has been developing electronica for over 20 years, and now has his own label DiN, which nurtures new talent. I began listening to Ian's music when I was a teenager and have listened to him develop and mature greatly as a master of the art of modern electronica.

Mark Shreeve / Red Shift - Mark Shreeve, along with Ian Boddy, is amongst the most notable UK electronic music developers and I was listening to his early albums way back in the 1980s. More recently he teamed up with his brother and two other musicians on the Redshift project, in which they dusted off ancient 1960s moog sythesizers and mixed them in with more modern samplers to produce a unique and excellent sound.

Vangelis - Perhaps the world's most famous modern electronic musician (not including that French guy we won't talk about), Vangelis has been producing his own classically influenced electronica since the early 1970s. His sound is at once both instantly recognisable, and unique, and as a modern Greek celebrity on the world scene, must surely outrank Nana Mouskouri and Demis Roussos.

Jam & Spoon - Old Skool DJ's Mark Spoon and Jam El Mar got together on a number of superb dance/trance albums back in the 1990s, and have influenced the more rhythmic and upbeat aspects of my music. In early 2004 they are due to release their first album in over six years.

Retailers

Synth Music Direct (UK) - The best retail source of electronic that I know. Their catalogue is huge, and their website is excellent, allowing downloads of samples of most of their stock. Also an electronic music label/publisher.

Fun Records (Germany) - A good source of rare and difficult-to-find new and second-hand titles.

CD Universe (USA) - Not a specific electronica provider, but through sheer general catalogue size they have a good range of electronic music CDs available to buy.

Waveform Records (USA) - An ambient/electronica label and retailer, based in Southern California.

Radio Stations

Radio IO Ambient - An internet radio station, Radio IO Ambient provide an eclectic mix of ambient, downbeat and general electronica that can be most agreeable.