Another month down in this rapidly disappearing year, here we are again rounding up the going’s on here at PB plus. It’s been another good one, too. DJ Ravine, for one, has wrapped up his time spent studying with us and, despite being delighted that he did so well with his studies, we were very sad for the series to finish. We also dropped another essential guide, this time to the labels we see having a big 2018, and took a first look at a very exciting new piece of kit from the mighty Roland. In other exciting news, this week we’ve launched a brand new degree programme! Check out the all new BA (Hons) in Music Production and DJ Practice.
First Look at the Roland TR-8S w/ Saytek
What better place to start than our in-house live-performance wizard getting to grips with the latest piece of kit from Roland. When the TR-8 was released in 2014, it opened up the possibilities of the classic 808 and 909 models to a whole new generation of producers, lovingly recreating the classic sounds using modelling and sampling, not to mention circumventing the astronomical prices of second-hand originals. It was a game-changing moment, but how to follow it? Boutique versions of both the 808 and 909 have since appeared, modelled more closely on teh original designs, but the true successor is certainly this, the TR-8S. With new sampling capabilities and an updated interface, there’s a lot to get excited by, and as Saytek showed, its potential for Live Performing is massive. Check out the video for a demonstration.
pointblank’s Essential Guide to Record Labels in 2018
After last month’s guide to this year’s festivals, we decided to return to the format, turning our gaze this time to the underground record labels that have excited for the year ahead. There are literally hundreds, but in the interest of digestibility we funnelled it down to just these nine. Despite some glaring omissions (Whities, anyone?) we think it’s a decent and relatively broad look at who’s on a hot streak night now. Please delve in.
DJ Ravine – PB Vlog 10: The Final Entry
DJ Ravine invites us to follow him on his studies for the final time. Over the past ten weeks we’ve seen him take on Introduction to Ableton, Sound Engineering and Music Composition courses at our London School. As he catches up with his instructors one last time, in this video we bid farewell to DJ Ravine at pointblank. It’s been a blast!
Student Success: India Spotlight
If you follow these pages you’ll know we put together a monthly round-up of the students who have been making their mark in their field, and we’re always very proud of the successes of our students. With our second term at our Mumbai kicking off just a few days ago, we wanted to shine a light on some of the super-talented folks from India who have passed through our doors at one point or another with this extra edition of Student Success.
Breaking Into The Music Industry With Nick Halkes, Co-Founder Of XL Recordings
The first entry in a three-part series with Nick Halkes, founder of XL Recordings and Positiva, and manager of Liam Howlett of the Prodigy, Stanton Warriors, Bad Company UK, and more. Filmed during a guest masterclass with music industry students at point Blank London, this video sheds light on Nick’s remarkable determination to find himself in the right places at the right time, going from a modest mobile DJ set-up in Portishead in Somerset to an invite to a Michael Jackson launch party on a yacht in New York.
pointblank Recommends #49
Once again we could resist throwing our monthly round-up of tracks into the mix. A wide-angle glance at the irresistible releases of recent weeks.
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