Disclosure: I hate demos. Hate watching them. Hate doing them. Now, technically, this is a demo. But… uh, wow.
Is there product news here? Not especially. The Octatrack is ten years old; in this case what’s new is that its latest MK2 iteration now comes in black – no custom paint or limited edition, but for everybody. Perfect Circuit pretty much nails the description: Octatrack has eight tracks of sampling, eight tracks of MIDI sequencing, four audio ins and four outs. It lets you manipulate samples and effects. And, crucially, it has a crossfader, DJ style, which doubles as a macro control.
Now, to anyone who says there are no really great live performances and you can just DJ, watch this:
It’s not fantastically complex stuff from LA’s Baseck, but it does all fit perfectly on this little box with absolutely nothing else. And jamming everything live – well, I mean, it just obviously looks fun. And Maestro Baseck demonstrates why Elektron users can be so fiercely loyal – all the stuff that makes this set breathe and groove is about getting all these operations under your fingertips.
It’s a great machine. But honestly, that’s not why I share this – I think this is a serious inspiration and high water mark for prepping your next live set, whatever box you use and whatever your style or voice is like at the moment.
https://www.elektron.se/products/octatrack-mkii-black/
Also, I kinda miss LA. Take care, y’all. (And stay safe up in Sweden there, too.)
Check out Baseck on Bandcamp:
Like, this banger happened:
For something totally different, also from Perfect Circuit’s channel, here’s synthesist Sarah Belle Reid with a burbling, grimy-dirty modular set and some thoughts about making a Eurorack setup. And I’m also a sucker for thinking about sound design and composition via minimal setup for live performance – that’s, uh, everything I like, so here’s that too:
And obviously we need to loop back and explore this music, too – there’s a new one out in March, plus this one from late last year came with a graphic score:
Hey, I came via the Baseck link and hung out.
This is not a paid product placement in case it seems like one. So if I do ever make it back to LA, someone can buy me a beer or something; I imagine those cost like $15 in the USA by now.