Product Review (with some tracks)

I bought some new equipment last weekend and it deserves a little review, so let’s get started.

Since I bought some headphones a couple of years ago, because ear buds were giving me a headache, I never went back. Although they take up lots of place, I usually just hang them around my neck without much trouble. The sound quality on them is multiple times better. The only problem was that I always bought some plastic shit with not such great sound quality for a very reasonable price. They broke often, but they were just as easily replaced with a new pair. But this all changed when I bought these beauties:

The Pioneer HDJ-1000 Stereo headphones

They look awesome with a clean color scheme. Some might call them futuristic, I would describe them as looking professional. I’m thinking about painting some of the metallic parts black though, better fits my style.

Looking at the specs you can immediately guess how great they are:

• It has 3500 mW of maximum input, making distortion practically non-existent.
• It weighs about one pound, so no trouble wearing them for long periods of time.
• Frequency ranges from 5 to 30000 Hz (human hearing goes from 20 to 20000 Hz), making it the perfect headphones for your dog to use.
• The output sound is somewhere around 107 dB/mW ( below the dangerous values).
• Cable length is 1,2 m – 4 ft long folded and 3m - 10 ft unfolded.

The shape and joints allow you to fold the headphones for space-saving and to turn them in each direction for single ear sound monitoring. It is easily adjustable to fit my head size and doesn’t seem to break easily (trust me, I tried). The fact that the connection cable is one sided also help the ease of putting them on.

Another cool feature is the mono-stereo switch on the side, which allows you to instantly change from single ear monitoring to stereo listening enjoyment.

Above all is the sound quality. The 50 millimeter dome encompasses your ear completely, providing great sound insulation (I didn’t even hear my parents calling for me while wearing them) and great clarity.

The only downside about these gems is off course the price, retailing at €200 or $270. I managed to get mine with a €50 discount ($70 for all you Americans).

I know I’m going to enjoy these for a long time…

And for your enjoyment, here are some mp3’s (because let’s face it, what’s a post without songs) to enjoy on your very own headsets.



This first one is a pretty recent housetune. It gets my groove on from the start, but wait till the magic happens at about 1:30 and the 50’s theme unveils itself. And say hello to some great vocal sampling.



Next one is to check if all your bass are belong to us. Who else but Rusko could do us the honor. I know most of our readers don’t appreciate Dubstep, but I know some of you do.

But what if you like neither house or Dubstep? Hmmm, better provide you an alternative. Maybe some kick-ass electro will do the trick for you guys.



On to a question for all of you: would you be willing to pay big bucks for high quality equipment?

Enjoy, Mr. Brown.

DJ Zinc & Ms. Dynamite - 'Wile Out' official video

Well, I dunno about you, but I can't wait for this.



Out on 8th February.

BONUS:


Keep it funky,
Joe

AFX

Hey Everyone.

So, as Joe noted in this post, Richard D. James is a man with many, many

names. I hope I don't show myself up as a person who is particularly drawn

to artists with like, a 100 pseudonyms, but hey.

Aphex Twin.

Okay, if there is still a person on earth who listens to electronic music

and isn't - at least in passing - familiar with that name, I'd be pretty

surprised.

AFX.

Aha! A lesser known pseudonym! Now we're talking. Under this he

recorded a series of eleven (!) records titled 'Analord', averaging two to

four tracks a piece. They're pretty great. Warp eventually convinced him

to put together a 'best of' CD, entitled 'Chosen Lords'.

Some of these tracks were on the cd, and some were vinyl only. These are a few

of my favorites.

Phil.

Poka Poka Poka!

NOTE!! : Please leave comments, I'm sure Poka would love to know what you guys think of his music.



So Poka, tell us a bit about your background...

What were you doing before you started making music? And how did this
talent come out?
I started playing the guitar at 9 years old I think that was my first contact with music. Then somewhere around 12 years old, I got my first computer and around 14 I got this deejay program that you could make music with loops. So it was then that I started experimenting with computer music, I bought some magazines that had fruity loops 3 as a demo and since then I’ve been making almost every kind of music you can imagine on a daily basis! I guess it was and still is, a need for expression.

Where did the name Poka come from? Have you gone by any other names?
It comes from my last name, I’ve been using since I was 12 I think. It’s the only name I’ve used so far as an artist.

If you could travel back to any point in time in music, which time would
you choose and why?
Maybe the 70s , definitely the most creative decade musically imo. So much disco, soul, rock all the fundamentals of modern music! Plus it was all about vinyl back then!

What artist/s has/have influenced you the most?
Hmmm, a lot of artists have influenced my musical style but I guess a top 3 would be, Fatboy Slim (that’s when I first discovered about sampling), Armand Van Helden and of course, Daft Punk.

How would you define your own music?
My style changes every year I think, at the moment I d say it’s a mix of French/Filter House with some nu-disco elements.

Explain the process in whipping a sweet house tune.
Find a good sample, chop it up, rearrange it , add some dirty beats and a catchy bassline maybe some synths too and that’s all for me!

If you could remove any album/artist/track from history, what would you
choose?
“Pitbull – I Know You wWnt Me” and the “I’ll Do You Like a Truck” song.
I just hate them. Many more of course but these came right into my mind.

What is, in your opinion, the best track you've ever made, and why?
The ones I’ll make in the future :) When I look back I always find things I don’t like in my songs.

What songs/albums have you been listening to a lot recently?
Lately I’ve been listening a lot to the Fear of Tigers album and some classical music.

Do you know of any artists that you feel are under-appreciated?
Me of course! Seriously now, concerning my music style there a lot of people that seem very promising for the years to come, (most of them are in my top friends list in myspace)! Although I think it d be easier to name some artists that are over-appreciated imo.

What is your favorite House label (excluding GXC of course :P)? Favorite
album from that label?
I m not really into labels but I guess from currently active labels I d go for Kitsune and Ed Banger. Fave album is Justice – Cross, very innovative sounds there .( I m talking about new stuff here , my all time fave album is Daft Punk’s Homework ).

I can't get enough of your GXC stuff, what does the future hold for Poka?
Can you give us any insider info?
The GXC stuff belongs to the past! Really I wonder how people liked these tracks! The sound quality is terrible mainly cause my studio equipment was kinda primitive then... Anyway, now I think my production skills are improving day by day.
About the future now, I’ve been preparing some new tracks over the past 3 months , most probably I’ll release a 4 track EP till June but I cant say anything more yet , just that I want the tracks to sound perfect , so no need to rush ! Plus , I’ve been remaking all my old tracks so make sure to check my soundcloud profile often , I ll post them there for free download . Finally , apart from music making I d like to do some more dj’ing this year and party all over the world ! That’s what it’s all about anyways!

Thanks ilictronix and Prez for the interview!
love ,
poka

Poka was nice enough to create a sweet mix for the site, as well as include three of his prized tracks, in high quality. Not only is the mix incredible, but it's an ilictronix exclusive! Enjoy!

Poka - Ilictronix Mix [right click to download]


Here's the tracklisting for the mix...

1) Daft Punk - Da funk
2) Poka - Party In me (2010 Edit)
3) Mr Oizo - It Takes Two
4) Moulinex - Lover In Me
5) Le Knight Club - Nymphae song
6) Leonardus and Babar - Your Eyes
7) Cassius - 1999
8) Peppe le Funk - Floor and Order
9) Silver Disco - Send Me Out For Love
10) Siriusmo – Gummiband
11) Sebago – Hands on Me
10) Poka - Still Dont Wanna
11) Tom Middleton – Remember the Love
12) Romanthony - Hold On

And here are the tracks Poka included...

Poka - Cruising [right click to download]


Poka - Somebody Who Loves Me (Pumped Up Mix) [right click to download]


Poka - Starcrash (Nteibint Edit) [right click to download]


Be sure to check out Poka here and here.