How to make music: iConnectivity MioXM (short review)

iconnectivity mio xm

Today is a bit of a first. I’d like to share a few experiences – both positive and negative – about music production that I’ve had over the last few years with tools, hardware, software, VSTs, books and much more. I’ll try to keep each post short and sweet by following a very simple scheme: expectations based on the product description and the real experiences. Starting off this series of reviews is the iConnectivity MioXM. This device is a MIDI interface, and the manufacturer promises the following, quite wholeheartedly:

“More connectivity than you can shake a stick at. With mioXM™ it’s never been easier to get all of your MIDI gear talking to each other. Harness the power of our advanced computer and network connectivity and experience why mioXM redefines what a MIDI interface can and should do. Connect all your MIDI devices (USB-MIDI, DIN-MIDI, RTP/Network-MIDI) and let this rugged, versatile interface put you in control of your MIDI devices and workflow.”

Source: https://www.iconnectivity.com/mioxm, accessed 9/4/2022.

Expectations:

With this description we are already in the middle of the expectations I had for this device:

  • To connect my computer (DAW, Ableton) to my creative corner (Pioneer Toraiz, Roland SE 02, Roland SH-01A, Korg Minilogue and Korg Monologue) and remotely control all the synthesizers.
  • Using the sequencers on my iPad to control the aforementioned synthesizers/samplers.
  • Connecting all devices to the MIDI interface (MIDI in and MIDI out).
  • flexibly route all devices.
  • Using the existing LAN cable to my creative corner without having to run 10 meter MIDI cables across my workroom again.

Experiences:

I should have taken the review on Amazona (https://www.amazona.de/test-iconnectivity-mioxm-mioxl-midi-interfaces/, accessed 9/4/2022) a bit more to heart. The author described an – to put it mildly – interesting round of tinkering on his Mac, at the end of which he got the whole system working after all.

I’ll make it short, in theory and in the really great tutorials the device worked perfectly. However, only Macs were used in the tutorials and never Windows machines. This should have given me food for thought. From the beginning, there were difficulties initiating RTP connections (network connection of computer/Ableton-MioXM/synthesizer) via the in-house software Auracle. Mostly it took a few minutes until a session was established at all and if it worked once, then not for long. Even after 2 firmware or 2 software updates it still didn’t work. In short, the device did not meet my most important requirement.

Stand-alone use with the iPad didn’t work either, as periodically the Audiobus 3 and AUM apps lost connection to the MioXM. Even with the original Apple camera connection kit, this happened with nice regularity. In short, the device did not meet my second most important requirement either.

Solution

So the decision was clear this summer, I will say goodbye to this solution and so the device ended up on eBay. Now I have a very well working simple solution with an ESI M4U eX (https://www.esi-audio.de/produkte/m4uex/, accessed 9/4/2022), which doesn’t have the capabilities of the MioXM, but it works with both the computer/Ableton and the iPad. And what is the most important? The whole solution is stable. Unfortunately, I did have to run two 9 meter MIDI cables this weekend. But it was worth it to me.

Whether the device works with a Mac I can not say, I have not tested. I personally would not buy it again.

I purchased all of the products mentioned myself, have no affiliation with any of the companies mentioned, and was in no way sponsored and/or paid for this review.

Stay tuned, there is more to come.

The lonely sneakers

Sunday, 8.5.2022 3:20 am. Straubing, near the Café sorgenfrei.

the lonely sneakers, die einsamen sneaker

On the street, two lonely sneakers lie in the entrance of a store. How did these sneakers get there?

Variant number 1: who am I, what am I doing here? And why I’m wearing sneaker?

The owner of these sneakers was out in Straubing that evening, looked deep into his beer glass and found himself in the entrance of this store sometime during the night, probably in a rather deranged state. After staring at my car for half an hour, completely lost, he asked himself: who am I, what am I doing here? And then: why am I still wearing shoes? After another 30 minutes, in order to avoid the answer to this question, the owner decided to simply take off his shoes. He then walked home in socks.

Variant number 2: I danced the whole evening in the sorgenfrei, now my feet are hurting. F***ing sneakers.

The owner of these sneakers partied with me at sorgenfrei. After almost 3 hours of dancing, her feet hurt so much that she took off her shoes in indignation. Her friends were already waiting in the car and asked her to finally get in to go home. So she got in. Completely dismayed, the friends then asked: don’t you want to take your shoes with you? To which she replied: if my feet hurt like this when I dance, then my shoes and I will now go our separate ways.

I could now think of several variations, one of which would probably be more blatant than the other. And that’s why I’ll stop thinking about any nonsense now. But the fact is, when I got into my car at this hour, I was really happy. Why? 1. finally DJing again, without mask, without distance. 2. the dance floor was full. 3. the guests celebrated more enthusiastically than they had in a long time. A successful weekend, 10 out of 10 points.

djing and more…

tante techno’s tea time – dj set april 2022.

tante techno's tea time - dj set april 2022.

Tante Techno has dropped by again. Long time ago, she had a lot to do. And she brought great music, old and new. Just right for dancing into the month of May. Have fun listening.

dj set tracklist

Steady Motion (Alan Fitzpatrick Gets Ravey) – Cari Lekebusch
Body Kontrol – Alias (GB)
Space Division – Sara Simonit
I’m About – Anna Reusch
Life Prison (Spencer Dunning Remix) – David Granha
Take You There (feat. Mr. V) – Slam
Same Minds – Irregular Synth & Nakadia
I Never Felt This Way – Raito
When I Close My Eyes (Original Mix) – Beico & Mt93
Finetuning – Hanubis
Angels Cry (Original Mix) – Mha Iri
Resistance – Tiger Stripes
Plastik (Nicolas Taboada Remix) – Ramon Tapia
In Motion (Extended) – Stray Beast
Strobe (Original Mix) – Bohner
Back in Black – Tiger Stripes
Universe – Beico
Colour of a Dream – Alan Fitzpatrick

djing and more…

Track/Album Highlights # 18: ABC – Absolutely.

Track/Album Highlight: ABC - Absolutely.

What fits musically best with war, inflation and the end of the world? The Requiem by Mozart (https://youtu.be/SxZtU4tjM7Q) would fit perfectly at first glance. But – if I have learned anything in my life – sometimes you should do the opposite of what you have in mind. In this case: don’t listen to something sad, this could only deepen the end time mood. No, something uplifting would be much better in my opinion. Here is the musical highlight: ABC, Absolutely.

Have fun listening:

Poison Arrow: https://youtu.be/x3Yd7_bdQVU
Look of Love: https://youtu.be/YK5a-OTj38I
King without a crown: https://youtu.be/tWnFhiXsnZQ

Stay tuned

A visit to the Design Museum in Milan

Long, long ago. Before Corona was invented, I spent a few relaxing and art-filled days in beautiful Milan over Easter in 2019. It’ s funny, it was only 3 years ago, but it seems like half a millennium to me. Of course, a visit to the Triennale was not to be missed. The design museum is also housed in the building complex, here is the description:

“Museo del Design Italiano, in the evocative spaces of the Curva on the ground floor of Triennale, presents a selection of the most iconic and representative pieces of Italian design, for the first time in a permanent exhibition. The works on show are some of the 1,600 objects in the Triennale collection, chosen by an advisory committee that brings together some of the top names in the world of Italian design and architecture: Paola Antonelli, Andrea Branzi, Mario Bellini, Antonio Citterio, Michele De Lucchi, Piero Lissoni, Claudio Luti, Fabio Novembre, and Patricia Urquiola. The simple, linear display aims to show off the works to their best advantage, in chronological order, and provides insights into the history, creative period and context in which each work was designed.”

Source: https://triennale.org/en/events/museo-del-design-italiano

The items shown above reminded me (don’t anyone laugh now) of my youth, starting with moon boots and ending with a sofa shaped like a mouth. A great collection, but could be much bigger. Just be inspired by the 9 pictures above. A visit is definitely worth it, because there is much, much more to see. I, at least, spent half a day without any problems and I didn’t get bored.

Stay tuned, until the next museum visit.

More about art…

Animated art, the first experiment: Edgar Degas.

After a long attempt, I managed to realize an idea last weekend: the animated version of the laundress from EDGAR DEGAS. Here is the description given on the Pinakotheken page:

” The Laundress

Edgar Degas treated the subject of the laundress here for the first time. By the end of the 1860s, he had his “Ingres period” behind him and was increasingly turning to realistically conceived contemporary subjects. By 1902 he had painted a whole series of pictures of ironwomen. While in the later versions the work process as such, i.e. the moment of action, predominates, in this early version Degas’ interest is more in the person; she pauses in her work and looks at the viewer: the work picture has more the character of a portrait. The date of around 1869 is derived from a pastel with the same motif in the Musée d’Orsay, which the collector Manzi Joyant, a friend of Degas, published with this date. It is supported by the “69” dated portrait of Emma Dobigny, who – apparently at the same age of 16 to 17 – posed for the “Büglerin”.”

Translated, original source: https://www.pinakothek.de/kunst/meisterwerk/edgar-degas/die-bueglerin, accessed 03/24/2022

The Edgar Degas painting is just crying out to be animated. I hope the artist will forgive me this modification and deviant interpretation of his artwork. Have fun looking at it.

Stay tuned, until the next creative animation…

Stay tuned.

More about art…

Finally! Animated Art.

Animating classical and modern art

After a long run-up, today I managed to realize an idea I’ve been putting off for a long time: animated art.

When I visited the Alte Pinakothek in Munich in February 2020 just before the first lockdown and while looking at the artworks I developed lots of ideas how to add a nice animated story to the artwork. In the tradition of Terry Gilliam (Monty Python), I would like to breathe some life into – sometimes irreverent and anarchistic – works of art at irregular intervals. Have fun with it, this week I start with Degas.

Stay tuned, until the next creative animation…

Stay tuned.

More about art…

house altar – dj set march 2022.

house altar - dj set march 2022

Heading to new shores. The Bavarian state government has opened the clubs once again. For how long? Keep your fingers crossed that they will be open for longer than 6 weeks. Corona is pissing me off. But tomorrow we will celebrate. The set is already set. Have fun listening.

Setlist
I Won’t Let Go – Husko & Lee Wilson
Good for Me (Extended Mix) – Sammy Deuce
Reachin’ – Rescue
Keep Control (Extended Mix) – Brokenears
Keep This Party Rockin’ (Original Mix) – Luca Debonaire
Ring Ring Ring – DCP & Fellous
Fly Up to the Sky – Babert
Most Precious Love (Sebastian Creeps & Julian Back Remix) – Blaze, UDAUFL, Barbara Tucker, Sebastian Creeps, Julian Back
Moves at Midnight (Original Mix) – Ian Ossia
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Sgt Slick’s Melbourne Recut) – Sgt Slick
Jack – Mirko & Meex
Do You Want (Original Mix) – Charles J
Finally (Crazibiza Remix) – Nicola Fasano & Kate Wild
China Town – Les Bisous
Standing On the Wall – DJ Kristina Mailana
Touch Me (Kevin McKay Extended Mix) – Adyn, Kevin McKay
Let the Music (J Paul Getto Remix) – Carl Hanaghan & Inaya Day
A Deeper Love (Daniel Rangone Remix) – Diego Forsinetti

djing and more…

Open the Noise Stage! The end of the lockdown is near! Once again?

open the noise stage

The clubs are opening up again. Uncle House is waiting in the starting blocks and is bringing his house altar. Sorgenfrei, here I come.

djing and more…

The Ukraine Conflict: The End of Peace in Europe. Welcome to the new cold war?

Hairbert - Ukraine Conflict

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”

Voltaire

„Humanity, you never had it to begin with.“

Charles Bukowski

I continue to be simply speechless. I grew up with the cold war and was glad when it more or less ended in the early nineties of the last century. Those were decades of peace in Europe. Until now.

Apparently, this was a deceptive peace, because with Russia’s attack on Ukraine, I realized that the old thinking, the quest for supremacy of certain nations and the continuation of politics by other means are not things of the past.

It is so unjust for a state the size of Russia to simply attack a smaller neighbor and wipe that state out. Just like I always thought it was unfair that in the schoolyard the older, bigger students beat up the smaller ones. I just hope that the Western world doesn’t ease all the sanctions again in a few months and go back to business as usual.

And I hope that humanity will eventually come to its senses and put violence to rest. But probably Charles Bukowski is right after all.

More about art…