STRAWBERRY!

Hello all!!

My new album STRAWBERRY is out!

When I first started “making content,“ the whole point was for me to promote my own music. Originally, I was trying to make so many videos each week that I ended up just throwing some tutorials in there because I couldn’t think of what else to do. Of course, that’s what actually ended up taking off.

The fact that I’ve worked as a teacher for almost a decade does something to explain that. I also think I wasn’t fully convicted in the music I was making back then. As more and more of you have watched my videos, however, the lack of my own music has felt like a bigger and bigger hole. So, it feels really good to finally have something out in the world that represents what I’m trying to do.

The album is streaming everywhere, but if you’ve ever learned anything from my tutorials or discovered something through this free newsletter then consider supporting me directly on Bandcamp: https://poetmistry.bandcamp.com/album/strawberry

WIN A SESSION WITH POETMISTRY???

If you listen to my album this month and tell me your favorite track, you’ll be entered to win an hour-long 1:1 Zoom session with me where I can give you feedback on your music, show you how to recreate your favorite artist, or answer any questions you might have. It's up to you! To enter, just fill out this form: https://forms.gle/rQo6ZoBwGwaF2SSVA

What plug-ins did you use on STRAWBERRY?

You know me! We’re all Ableton stock, baby! Actually, I did use two plug-ins, but quite sparingly: Madrona Labs Kaivo & Sumu. Plus, I mostly just resampled sounds from Madrona Labs presets as effects. Almost all the digital synth sounds on STRAWBERRY were Ableton stock instrument presets, but they make me think of this very cool (and free!) VST emulation of the Kawai K1 by Nils Schneider. I actually bought a physical one of these many years ago at this flea market in Massachusetts without knowing what it was. It was such a good find that I kept going back to that flea market and everyone made fun of me because it was a place that otherwise sort of sucked (and I never found anything good again).

A quick note on installing the K1 plug-in: download the .vst3 file from the website and just put it into your plug-in folder. On Mac, this is Macintosh HD > Library > Audio > Plug-ins > VST3. Then open up your preferences in Ableton and go to the Plug-in section and hit the “Rescan” button at the top (you might have to hold option and click “rescan” if it’s not recognizing the plug-in).

I am just such a sucker for those classic K1 pad sounds (ROM Card A1-02 Soundtrak, Impending, SpiritBell), but don’t forget that there are a ton of weird percussion presets (Rom Card J1-02 UamUamUam, Sakula??, UFO’s Back). If you really want to dive deep check out this vintage Sound on Sound article about pushing the K1’s limits. Definitely worth the read just for the vintage color: “If I had been told 10 years ago that a synthesizer without even a filter to its name would be Synth Of The Year in a prestigious hi-tech magazine such as this, I would probably have chortled quietly and turned back to my creaking great modular system.”

Okay - just shorter one for today, but I promise that I’ll be sharing more stuff from STRAWBERRY in the next week or two!