scot snow

Arrived In The Mail!

2011-06-28T18:43:00.002+10:00

Got this awesome mug today. Sent by the most excellent Jeff Rona and the team at Liquid Cinema. Thanks guys!

It looks ever better in person.

Planet Drum On Sale!

2011-05-17T18:17:00.021+10:00

Planet Drum is now only $1.99 on Bandcamp. Limited time only, get it quick!

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://scotsnow.bandcamp.com/album/planet-drum"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Planet Drum by Scot Snow&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

We'll also be putting Music For Film up for pre-order soon, at a special price and with exclusive pre-order only tracks. More soon.

NanoFics #31

2011-05-16T19:37:00.003+10:00

You would think the enemy of the trampoline tester would be a low ceiling, but you'd be wrong. It's actually an unbalanced trampoline that, when the tester goes to climb on, it tips over, hits him in the face and traps him underneath. Bounce on that, Mister Bouncy Man.

nanofics on twitter

New Release: Puzzle Boxes: Mystery & Crime Stories

2011-05-14T04:06:00.009+10:00

Available right now on the Amazon Kindle Store!

At ~~$2.99~~ .99c you should impulse buy a copy!

Other platforms such as Nook and Sony will follow soon.

This is my first ebook and frankly there was a learning curve with regards to correct formatting for Kindle, etc, but I'm fairly happy with how it turned out.

Next up is finishing some music and then I'll probably do another ebook. I'm thinking a collection of my nanofics...

Off to work I go.

(Cover by Erika Pearson.)

NanoFics #30

2011-05-12T03:28:00.000+10:00

The first fight of Rule Club is about how many rules there are & whether we should call them rulers or rules. Also, wood, metal or plastic?

nanofics on twitter

NanoFics #29

2011-05-10T03:21:00.000+10:00

I love going for a drive in the country, finding a nice out of the way little town and then running for my life from the cannibal residents.

nanofics on twitter

Sneek Peek: Music For Film

2011-04-15T04:14:00.000+10:00

A short preview of the upcoming EP.

Available soon!

Defend The Realm by scotsnow

The Ambient Room

2010-06-01T17:11:00.001+10:00

Available now at Bandcamp.

Strange Karma is also available for a limited time as pay what you like, including nothing!

Thanks for listening. I hope you like them.

Pulse - Cover For The Next EP

2010-05-14T17:57:00.003+10:00

Yup, this will be the cover for the next EP/mini-album. It was supposed to be the cover for my second release in 2006 but that didn't quite come together as planned. It's taken me this long to figure out what music I actually wanted to go with the cover. It happens like that sometimes.

~~We're aiming for a late June release, however, that's not written in stone.~~ But as I have weddings to fly out to and trips to Berlin this year, I'd prefer we hit that deadline.

Will post a preview tune once the tracks are finalised.

ETA: Needless to say the June release didn't happen. Music For Film will be coming out before this and should be available the first half of 2011. Pulse will come out later in the year. Fingers crossed.

The Daily Noise: Volume 1

2010-05-07T21:29:00.001+10:00

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://scotsnow.bandcamp.com/album/the-daily-noise-vol-1"&amp;amp;gt;Highly Unstrung by Scot Snow&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

Or you can head directly over to Bandcamp.

The Daily Noise is an ongoing project and can be found here.

The Daily Noise will, of course, continue, but now that this and Planet Drum are out I plan on taking a little downtime to refocus and work out the direction I want to push my music. I've already decided the way to go is multiple EPs per year, but because I'm easily bored I tend to be all over the map stylistically and I'd really prefer to bring everything more into line. That's the plan.

Or I'll just keep right on doing what I'm doing. Or something else entirely. It's hard to tell.

Enjoy the music.

The Album Is Dead - Long Live The Music!

2010-04-29T02:47:00.006+10:00

I've never really been a fan of the "album" and, in fact, I always felt it was an artificial construct of the music industry designed to wring more cash out of punters for what was often nothing but filler material. Don't get me wrong, there are some excellent albums out there, but they're the exception rather than the rule. On the the other hand "singles" were - and are - even more of a rip-off.

But somewhere inbetween I think is the perfect medium - for both musician and listener. And this has become even more pronounced with the advent of iTunes, where we can essentially pick and choose single songs and build our own albums of favourite music.

So I'm thinking about moving my music making to a different model. This would mean doing several EPs (with anything from 2-5 tracks each) throughout the year. And each EP would probably be quite different from the others. This would also allow me to stretch my creative muscles in different directions without feeling like everything had to fit the style of a single album.

So I would love to know your preference. Feel free to leave a comment (the poll that originally accompanied this entry has since ended.)

And as always, thanks for listening.

Planet Drum Is Out!

2010-04-28T04:36:00.005+10:00

<a href="http://scotsnow.bandcamp.com/album/planet-drum">Beatscape by Scot Snow</a>

Enjoy! And please feel free to share the link with anybody you think might like it. Get it at Bandcamp.

New Album - Planet Drum (Cover)

2010-03-28T05:05:00.004+11:00

Despite the title, it's not wall to wall drums and percussion; there's also ambient washes, cinematic orchestral flourishes and ethnic vocal beds. I tried to do the percussion album I'd been looking for but couldn't find. Also, I'm probably the only person I know who listens to solo percussion music anyway ...

Available at Bandcamp very soon. Yes, it'll also be available on iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, etc, but it takes them forever to process this stuff and frankly, all things not actually being equal, I'd much rather you get it from Bandcamp.

The cover, as always, was done by Erika Pearson @ subset. I like it a lot.

The iPad: Mobile Music Making Machine

2010-02-02T02:18:00.008+11:00

So on January 27 Apple finally announced their tablet: The iPad.

This was swiftly, and amusingly, followed by a) widespread praise for them doing a tablet the right way and b) widespread condemnation for its closed wall environment and for being "just" a large iPod (prediction: Apple will eventually kill off the MacBook Air and replace it with the MacPad running OSX. Mark my words.) If you're interested in all the tub thumping, go google it.

I have definitely come down on the side that's excited by it. I can't wait to get my hands on one of these things. And I'll tell you why:

Because it's a large iPod touch!
I'm not kidding. I've spent the last 8 months playing with an iPod touch and the whole time I kept thinking that if it had a bigger screen it would be perfect. It does everything I want it to do: multi-touch screen, long battery life, internet browsing, skype, music, eBooks/comics, movies, games (that I actually want to play & at very, very low cost) and more. It also has the advantage of not having what every recent Mac I've used has: the spinning beach ball of infuriation (which pops up whenever you ask OSX to do ... something. Gawd it drives me nuts.)

Sure, the iPad won't multi-task (except it sort of does, just not with every app, and I fully expect Apple to integrate a dashboard style set-up like they have for Safari mobile, where you can have, say, 4 apps open and be able to switch between them), doesn't have a camera (but I bet you it will in ver.2) and it doesn't support flash (and after beta testing YouTube's flashless HTML5 player, flash's demise can't come fast enough.) Also, no, it's definitely NOT a replacement for your main computer. D'uh.

But at this point none of that matters to me. Because right now the iPad is shaping up to be my perfect mobile music making machine.

But of course people have already complained about this aspect too: there's no USB so you can't use a MIDI controller for its synths (you have a bloody inbuilt multi-touch screen, you moron!) or use it as a software controller for the likes of Ableton (uhm, yes, you can), has no line in so no way to record into it (a headphone jack adapter takes care of that, just like on the iPod touch), you can't get the music you make off it easily (a 1/4" stereo cable out its headphone jack to the line in of your main computer and straight into Ableton/Logic/Sonar/whatever - easy) and on and on and on. All of these complaints demonstrate laziness and a distinct lack of creative thinking to me.

For well under $100AU in music apps, you can turn the iPad (or iPod or iPhone for that matter) into a pretty solid pro mobile studio (I've already used some of the iPod versions of these in my music, but I bet you couldn't tell where) and a very cool performance instrument.

So anyway, if you're interested, these are the 10 music making apps that will be going on my iPad the day I get it.

Note: all links go to the app's websites, not iTunes, so you can read up on them a bit more first. All prices are in $AU.

iTouchMIDI (Free - $7.99) They have a range of apps for turning your iPad (or Pod) into a wifi touch screen music software controller, so you can work with Ableton/Reason/Logic etc. Brilliant. Novation and Cubase have similar apps and frankly, Jazzmutant would be insane not to port over their multi-touch controller software to the iPad.

Beatmaker ($23.99) Probably the Gold standard for recording/mixing apps. 16 sample based trigger pads (which you can load your own homebrewed samples onto), audio recording from microphone/headset, multi track song sequencer, effects, etc. Brilliant piece of kit.

Noise.io Pro Synth ($17.99) Like having a Roland synth crossed with an Access Virus controllable by a 10x10 Korg Kaoss Pad. The sound engine is amazing & fully editable/savable. You can also record everything you play, save it, then open Beatmaker and load the saved files. Nice.

JR Hexatone Pro ($12.99) A 6 directional drum/rhythm/melody sequencer developed by Jordan Rudess (of Dream Theater.) You can also load your own samples into it and save stuff then open it in Beatmaker. I can't begin to do this thing justice. Go check it out.

DigiDrummer ($2.49) 8 drum pads. 28 different drum sets. Build your own kits. Great sound. Record what you play. Who could ask for anything more?

technoBox ($5.99) a 303, 808 and 909 emulator. Integrated effects. 24 layers per session. 1000 bar sequencer. And sounds amazing.

iSyn ($5.99) 2 analog synths, 8 drum pads, sequencer and records WAV and MIDI files.

iSample ($12.99) a sampler with 8 sample engines and capable of sampling in real time. Trim and edit your samples, layer them in the sequencer. Add effects. Beautiful piece of design from the the makers of the TimewARP 2600 softsynth.

Euphonics Synth ($1.19) An ambient music synth which almost veers into generative music territory. Gorgeous sound engine.

ARGON Analog Synth ($2.49) An absolutely gorgeous monophonic analog synth. Do I need to spell this out for you?

ETA (March 2010): Even though I've waxed lyrical about the iPad here, I want to just say that given my past experiences with Apple and my current experiences with the iPod, I would approach the first generation of these with extreme caution. And to be honest I probably won't buy one till Gen2. I'm just saying ...

Polyphasic Q&A

2009-11-02T03:04:00.004+11:00

Jeez, when I did my post on polyphasic sleep, I thought it would be of interest to a handful of my more experimental friends; I had no idea I'd get so many emails from unknown randoms!

First of all, listen: I'm not an MD nor a sleep therapist nor a nutritionist nor a research facility, okay? I don't know what effect narcolepsy, sleep apnea, diabetes, drug taking, prescription medicine, etc and so on, will have on polyphasic sleep (or vice versa, for that matter.) Haven't a clue. Nor can I tell you if this is right for you. It's simply a sleep hack that works for me. My advice is to read everything you can on it and approach with caution and common sense.

That being said, I'm more than happy to talk about and answer questions relating to my personal experiences with polyphasic sleep. At least I know the answers to those.

New entries or updates marked with a *.

Why adopt this schedule?
Well, that's the question, isn't it? I can't imagine why anybody who is happily monophasic and working 9-5 would want to do this, unless they're a chronic experimenter. But for me, it's because I simply don't sleep well monophasically - 3-4 hours is about normal, then I toss and turn. It just makes more sense to me to get up and have naps throughout the day as I need them. It also means I'm awake to deal with all parts of the world, irregardless of timezones, for work stuff. And of course, I'm just better rested generally.

Is this workable in a monophasic world?
As I said above, if you're a nine to fiver there's probably no need to adopt this schedule. But if you think about it, a 15-30min nap is probably achievable during a lunch hour: find a comfy chair or sunny patch of grass, set your alarm and nap.

But if you're the sort of person who worries about what others think, polyphasing probably isn't for you anyway.

OMG, sleep deprivation will kill you! How is this workable?
It's workable because, from what I can tell, it's not actually sleep deprivation. Don't get me wrong, for the first week or so it feels like sleep dep for sure, but then your body gets used to the new schedule and drops you into REM sleep really quickly. The result is that after every nap you feel refreshed and alert and rested.

ETA: Some people have taken the above paragraph to mean that it only takes a week for your body to adapt and then it all becomes easy. Uhm, no. What I mean is that after about a week you should be able to nap quicker which will consequently make you wake up more refreshed. Depending on your own circumstances, it could take a month or more for it to feel like you're fully in the swing of the new schedule. As I've said elsewhere, I eased into this schedule over quite a long period, so results may vary for you.

When do you sleep?
My schedule right now is: core sleep from 4:30am-8:30am and 15-30min naps at 12:30pm, 6:30pm and approx midnight.

Just to be clear: I'm on the Everyman mode. I talk about the different modes here.

Do you ever listen to music while napping?
Sometimes, but I generally avoid regular music such as pop, rock, jazz, etc and instead use more ambient stuff. Although Brian Eno might seem the obvious choice, I find much of his stuff has too many treated pianos and bells to be truly restful. Steve Roach is a good one though. His Immersion series is particularly good.

I'm also working on my own music for static states and napping called, Drift. I will almost certainly post an excerpt from Drift: One at some point very soon.

How does your girlfriend/wife/partner feel about this?
She's mostly monophasic and she doesn't care so long as I'm well rested and happy.

Uberman/Everyman/Dymaxion? This isn't like Scientology or something is it?
That's just the terminology used in the literature. If you read up on polyphasing, you'll see the names make sense.

*Any tips or suggestions that might help?
Drink lots of water. Because you're awake more, dehydration seems to be an issue, or at least it is with me. Drink more water than you think you need. The upside is that it's good for you.

Don't oversleep. Always use an alarm of some sort and get up fairly soon after the alarm goes off. This gets easier as time goes on, I promise.

A lot of people seem to have trouble with adapting to polyphasing and I think it's because they just jump straight in, which can be a shock to the system. When I first started I did it in steps, without really realising what it was I was doing.

Try this: if you're monophasic, knock a few hours off your core sleep and add a 15-30min nap during the day. Think about this. How often have you not slept enough during the night, caught a nap during the day and woke up feeling pretty good? This is the biphasic mode. Do this for a couple of weeks. Next, knock some more time off your core sleep and add a second 15-30min nap to your schedule (whether it's before or after the first nap is a matter of personal preference.) Do this for a couple of weeks and then and add a third 15-30min nap if you need it (preferably at night) and, if you want (though you don't have to!) you can shorten your core sleep further (although if it's less than 1.5 hours, you may as well just switch to the Uberman mode!) Note: the naps usually work best at around 5-6 hours between each one. Everybody's different; experiment and see what suits you the best.

Congratulations, you're now polyphasic!

As more questions come in (that I can answer), I'll add them here.

Yes, I'm polyphasic

2009-10-29T02:48:00.000+11:00

It's true, I am indeed polyphasic.

Oh my god, what is that?! Is it contagious?!

No - it's a mode of sleeping. Or a sleep hack, if you prefer. It involves having multiple naps of short duration during the 24 hour clock cycle. I hadn't really thought about this until a couple of people emailed to ask if I was polyphasic or just didn't sleep at all, and I realised that for a large chunk of my adult life I've been following what is essentially a polyphasic sleep cycle. Especially after my doctor pointed out a while back that if I was having trouble sleeping the 8 hour cycle, I should just go ahead and grab short naps whenever I felt tired. So I've now returned to the polyphasic mode. This means I'm awake, alert and functional for approx 20 hours a day, which means to some people I appear to be online 24/7!

If you're interested, there's plenty of resources out there (wikipedia for a start) but broadly speaking these seem to be the main sleep modes:

Monophasic: One long core sleep of approx 6-8 hours, usually at night. This is probably what most of you do.

Biphasic: A shorter core sleep, usually at night, with a shorter nap sometime during the day.

Polyphasic: Multiple short naps at regular intervals throughout the day. Polyphasic also breaks down to these modes:

Equiphasic (aka Uberman): which involves a 15-30 minute nap every 4 hours and no core sleep. if you don't think this is workable, or sustainable long term, I would urge you to read Steve Pavlina's Polyphasic Sleep Log. It makes for fascinating and eye opening reading.
Non-equiphasic (aka Everyman): which involves a core nap of 3-4 hours + 2-4 naps of 15-30 minutes throughout the day.
Dymaxion: a 15-30 minute nap every 6 hours. This was popular with Buckminster Fuller, but seems unworkable by most mortals.

From about 1989 I've been mostly Non-equiphasic, although I wasn't actually aware that's what it was called. I would simply sleep 4 hours and grab a short nap during the day/evening whenever I was sleepy. When I don't follow this pattern, my sleep goes to shit and everything goes out of whack (including my health.)

It's important to note that this kind of sleep mode requires some biological adaptation and certainly isn't workable by everybody, especially if you work a 8-4/9-5 office job - the naps need to be taken at regular intervals. But for me, it works like a charm.

I also now know why I've never suffered jet lag - when you're napping regularly, there's no such thing as jet lag!

So now you know.

Link Spam, Baby!

2009-05-02T04:24:00.011+10:00

For awhile now my mantra in relation to my music has been this:

CwF + RtB = Win (Connect with Fans + Reason to Buy = Win.)

It's actually tricky trying to figure out ways to implement this and I'm still working at it. Imagine my delight to see that Mike Masnik (of techdirt and floor64) has a video presentation explaining this and how Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails implements it.

Referenced in the above vid is muso Corey Smith, who went from high school teacher to a $4 million income while giving his music away free. You need to read this. There's at least a few other artists who have had great success with this model and I'm kinda sorta toying with it myself.

And while you're about it, have a read of The Grand Unified Theory On The Economics Of Free. You may not agree with everything, and I'm not sure I do, but it's food for thought.

Hugh MacLeod has quickly become one of my favourite cartoonists (one of the few along with Gary Larson, Gahan Wilson and S. Harris who can make me laugh outloud) and his website, Gaping Void, is Chockfull of Awesome. He's an ex-ad man and he has some interesting things to say about marketing for artists on Web 2.0.

I have a lot of thoughts about some of this stuff and should probably write a long post about it. At some point ...