Doktor Fell

Is Tumblr still worth the tussle?

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 18:38:35 +0100

Not a week goes by without a new socnet launch, it seems, and servicing them could be a full-time job. Naturally, all you’d end up writing about would be the social networks themselves, rather than holding forth on life, sharing ideas, discussing philosophies or copy/pasting crappy ‘inspirational quotations’ (of which I’m thoroughly sick).

So is Tumblr worth a jot? Is it the right platform from which to dispense Fell tidings, or might I do better elsewhere? Have you any thoughts you’d like to share, or am I indeed howling into the void via Tumblr? I anticipate no response at all to this post, but why should I? So many are babbling away online in the hope of being heard, and yet so few are listening.

So this is as good a place as any to reveal that there’ll be a new batch of music from me (let’s say FellKlang) well before this year is out. I’d call it an album, but the notion of albums is becoming redundant. It used to be whatever could be squeezed onto two sides of a 12-inch vinyl disc. Come the 1980s, an album’s content became governed by the data capacity of a Compact Disc. Nowadays, we’re back to the ‘classical’ era. Way back when, a cohesive suite of works was defined by the composer’s imagination, the supply of paper (or parchment) and ink, and the attention span of the audience.

Assuming that composers are still inclined to be creative, rather than merely copying what sells, the endless supply of scoring materials makes for an infinite canvas. Streaming/downloading makes a nonsense of the album as an artefact, so it can be as long or short as makes sense. The bugger is attention span.

There are sooo many distractions, work lives are busier than ever (so much for computers giving us more leisure time) and, as with the impact of digital tech on photography, technology has opened up musical creation to anyone who can afford to buy in.

Of course, as with desktop publishing and (again) digital photography, tech has unleashed a shitsunami of creative works. Thankfully, it has also greatly empowered those with talent, but the internet makes it easy to flood the world with the good stuff and the crudulous alike.

Of course, those with music in their blood will persist, but it’s hard to judge which tech-driven conduit will most readily reach and engage the audience. You can’t beat a good live performance, although it does help to have a loyal core following that’ll turn up wherever you play and add to the atmosphere. However, knowing how best to spend your time engaging online is a tricky call.

Can anything useful be said in the 140 characters of a tweet? Is Facebook too faceless? Does anyone except employees of Google really lean on their Google+ account? And does anyone joining your ReverbNation mailing list actually use a regular email account? (Many prefer to open a redundant webmail account with Yahoo!, Gmail or Hotmail that they never access in the hope that you’ll respond by signing up to their mailing lists.)

So much smoke, so many mirrors and way too much noise. From bedroom creatives to multinationals, there’s a howling on the wires. Can Tumblr make one’s voice heard above the din? Do you give a stuff? Go on, surprise me by having your say right here.

TOONTRACK EZKEYS UPRIGHT PIANO | £111 (€139)

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 21:11:44 +0100

TOONTRACK EZKEYS UPRIGHT PIANO | £111 (€139)

Latest Fell blogpost: Got an Android? Have a free app for nowt, gratis and you no pay, not nothin'. Plus! Other stuff

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 09:02:00 +0100

Latest Fell blogpost: Got an Android? Have a free app for nowt, gratis and you no pay, not nothin'. Plus! Other stuff:

Free Fell app for Android owners from the Google Play store - just search for ‘doktor fell’ using the Play app on your Android handset. (Also, rumour of an iOS Fell app to accompany rumour of the rumoured autumn/fall iPhone 5 launch rumour.)

News of Fell MuzoBlog collab on U-He Diva 1.1 soft synth review. Discover a virtual analog synthesizer plugin based on the kind of heavyweight code used in industrial circuit sims - PSpicy…

And also in addition! Word of the Dok’s FellSwoop (ie, sample) donations to 8Dio’s forthcoming Free Radicals - a sick-sounding, crowdsourced NI Kontakt instument. Audio examples embedded.

Karl Foster @MuzoBlog: U-HE DIVA 1.1 | £138.04

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:54:02 +0100

Karl Foster @MuzoBlog: U-HE DIVA 1.1 | £138.04:

Fell sponsor @MuzoBlog today reports on U-He soft synth Diva 1.1, an update to a veritable monster of an analog synthesizer simulation. Just the kind of gear I rely on for that Fell sound.

Check out more from the same developer at http://www.u-he.com/ - Zebra2 is well worthy of close investigation and word is a special soundbank for it is due for launch imminently. When I know more, and embargo permitting, I’ll shout out on the Fell Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DoktorFell - if you’ve not visited before, click that Like button at top right and, if your FB page accepts Likes, you’ll get a click back.

The MuzoBlog Community, meanwhile, can be found at http://www.facebook.com/MuzoBlogCommunity (you’d never guess that URL now, would you?). As for MB supreme controller Karl, he’s at http://www.facebook.com/MuzoBlog when wearing his editor’s hat. Swing by, say hi and ask tricky music-technology questions - heh, heh, heh… :)

Arturia Next Generation Software

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 00:50:11 +0100

Arturia Next Generation Software:

Into the next generation we go by modelling the instruments of the old generation. Arse-about-tit, but engaging for all that. Should fit in nicely with the timbres I have lined up for the next tranche of Fellworks…

(via FORGOTTEN WISDOM PRODUCTIONS) Hmm, vinyl. In red. What say...

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 18:54:09 +0100

(via FORGOTTEN WISDOM PRODUCTIONS)

Hmm, vinyl. In red. What say you a Doktor Fell disc in green? Way sexier than CD…

Oh, the temptation - a Korg Polysix Rack Extension for...

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 18:42:33 +0100

Oh, the temptation - a Korg Polysix Rack Extension for Propellerhead Reason 6.5. Real retro vibes (for which I’m a sucker).

Metal Nation - Doktor Fell

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 01:25:57 +0100

Metal Nation - Doktor Fell:

Time to set up a presence on Metal Nation - a metal-heads’ hangout that, while still in beta, shows promise. That TV & Chat button is intriguing. Yet another way to get up close and personal with The Fell - my ever-amazing audience of adventurous audiophile folk.

MuzoBlog dot-com domain campaign

Sat, 19 May 2012 07:54:43 +0100

A word from my sponsor MuzoBlog on an indiegogo fundraiser to protect its online identity. Chip in with, say, $25 or even more and help this not-for-profit music-technology website fly…

Doktor Fell @ReverbNation

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:05:35 +0000

Doktor Fell @ReverbNation:

Listen to and download fine FellSongs for free.