Hot new mix tape is released today, School of Rawk, chock full of rock tracks by Rob Neary. You can download the tracks here.
A note from Rob about his mix tape:
20 Tracks was a big challenge, so how did i write them? I Basically armed my mp3 player with as much (12GB) Pop Rock music as i could. A lot borrowed from Leyden Irwin my Fiance's brother in Cape Town, whom i have to say a big shout out too.
Once I had listened to as many bands and styles as i could, it all began to sink in and then the end results are the songs you hear today...
Track listing:
The Race
An New Tomorrow
Catch Me If You Can
Don't Look Back
Flying High Again
Resistance
School of Rock
Skater Park
The Art Of War
The One I Want
Welcome To The Party
Break The Rules
Stop And Stare
Falling For You
Russian Roulette
Shine On
Super Human
The Last Time
The Wild Side
Rob Was recently featured in HUMTOO's HUMCAST series:
Corey Bates has been writing and performing since the age of 17. With the regional success he experienced having his music in regular rotation on many area radio stations, Corey decided to relocate to Los Angeles and attend Musicians Institute.
In 1996 he joined the newly formed version of Neve, a band discovered by Randy Jackson. The live dates, label showcases and recordings he played on eventually led to their signing to Columbia Records.
Corey also supported many other up-and-coming aritsts, often filling the role of music director. His experience and abilites were a perfect fit for many solo artists on the rise, such as Kendall Payne on Capitol Records (1997); where he worked with producer Ron Aniello (Lifehouse, Days of the New, Guster).
All the while, his song writing skills were also being recognized and he was offered spec recording time by then Saban Entertainment composer Ian Nickus (The Red West, Friends, Power Rangers). It was during those late night sessions that 'Alternate Lifestyle' was recorded, which was eventually placed on Dane Cook's Tourgasm series and the soundtrack on Playtone/Atlantic.
After relocating to Rochester, NY, he filled the role of Audio Producer for an interactive products company and created promo music for Microsoft, Cisco Systems, the PGA and many others. Locally he has written music used on PBS, RES Exhibits and hired as sound consultant on an audio branding project for Kodak.
These days Corey is performing with his band, Cruelty Free, in the upstate New York area and abroad and continues to have his music licensed for tv/film.
Canadian composer Alex Fouquet makes his living playing, recording, and most of all, composing music. His work can be found in numerous cinematic scores for major companies as well as independent film makers and producers. With his dramatic and expressive touch, Alex creates and mixes his special and unique blend of orchestral, ethnic, electronic, and modern music. Alex’s scores are currently used by clients in Canada, Japan, the USA, China, Spain, Belgium, and Hong Kong, just to name a few.
While living in Japan in 2005, he composed an instrumental CD under the Osaka-based Groove Studio’s label. The CD has been released in 50 countries. Alex is well known for his work at Big Score Music for which he has composed over 100 original tracks. Alex also composed original scores for TV shows such as Les grands reportages at RDI-Radio Canada, and Belgium’s famous soap opera Spring. Lately, he has been collaborating with animation studios in the Middle East. He was also pleased to compose music for projects such as: an advertisement for HP computers (made by G2 studio in Beijingwww.g2studio.net), MTV USA’s reality show Parental control, and the 2009 movie Alien Presence. Alex also worked on a Chew TV project that was brought to him by Humtoo. Alex has been an active member of Humtoo since the very beginning and has built strong business contacts through the website.
Starting his musical career performing as a live musician, Alex has toured around the world as a bass player for major productions such as Cirque du Soleil’s Cheval-Théâtre. The group has been recognized as one of the world’s top live circus acts and Alex took part in over 450 performances in the United States.
Now focusing on creating great scores that aim to show a wide spectrum of emotions, Alex’s motto remains the same: there is no greater feeling than the one you get when you finish a project and both the producer and composer are proud of what they have accomplished together. Only passion and devotion to your art and a professional attitude can make that happen.
Here are what some of the music makers behind the mix tape have to say about their tracks:
Last Orders - Neokitsch is a quirky twist on the smooth groove/lounge music idiom, which uses unusual vocal echoes, and kitchen utensils for its percussion.
Passenger in the Night - StoneLionMusic I like to put myself mentally in to the place for what I am composing for. I imagined being in a Taxi and traveling through the city at night and watching the buildings and lights reflect off of the store front windows. I felt that using a smooth jazz theme matched very well with that.
Alone In The City - Hans I tried to depict the sensation of loneliness in a big city when you don't have any means to get in touch with the one you love. I started the track with a sort of Avant Gard chord progression a la Erik Satie (Gymnopedie) and used break beats to sound more modern and urban.
Light At The End - KeyDrum12 I was inspired by watching Nature documentaries and scenery pictures. I just wanted to reproduce, almost "painting", those beautiful landscapes through music. Mon Salève - Audioscapist is a piece with a darkish heavy mood resolved by soaring lighter sections. Inspired by my memories of le Salève, a mountain with wondrous views of Geneva and surroundings. I remember one day watching parascenders rising in the thermals from the top, the lighter pads mimicking them were written first, followed by the driving bass to give the piece the solidity of the slopes.
Here are what some of the music makers behind the mix tape have to say about their tracks:
Ben By Night: (Neokitsch) is an ambient piece which is tranquil, reflective and enlightening. It is a location specific piece, as the music resonates through the chimes of Big Ben, so this track is a perfect choice for those wishing to describe a London night scene.
The Ocean: (Neokitsch)is a mysterious and haunting piece with threatening rumbles contrasted with high pitched chimes. It weaves through light and dark moods, describing the uncertain depths of the otherworldly ocean.
Schumann Fish: (Neokitsch) uses a mixture of subtle ambient music with sound recordings. The name comes from the piece being inspired by a particular passage in one of the Schumann Lieder, although this piece however, has an aquatic texture.
Frost: (Neokitsch)is very dark, with a distant, reverberant female voice accompanied by the low crackles and rumbles of the vintage analogue Moog Rogue synthesizer.
Deep water shallow breath: (Dave Waugh) I spent hours searching through all my synths for sounds and tweaking them, what I was really looking for were synths that were unpredictable, never responding the same way twice, I'd record the outcomes and reposition the audio, sometimes reversing the audio files. Other synths I used had an incredible delay, only starting to be audible a couple of bars after playing them, and then twisting away long after the note had been stopped on the keyboard. I enjoyed not knowing what to expect next in the track. I renamed it when it was complete because it gave me the feeling of something terrible lurking beneath a deep ocean.
June: (Dave Waugh)I tried for something a little more musical in regards to the timing on this track, I started with a bass pulse and a couple of very gentle synths which complement eachother to provide the pad. The melody line is a combination of a celesta through effects and synth. The organ sound which enters in the last third of the track, is a build up of delay from a couple of the synths.
Barrier reef:(Dave Waugh)Althoughprobably the simplest sounding of the three tracks i have on Shades of White, this track took surprisingly long to create. I took hours to find the right synths and although a very simple progression, reworked the chords several times. The track surprised me when it was finished.
Evolving: (Keydrum2) I was inspired by watching Nature documentaries and scenery pictures. I just wanted to reproduce, almost "painting", those beautiful landscapes through music.
Molecular Connection: (stonelionmusic) I often compose music with out any title in mind at all. I am often inspired by the track itself to title it something and go by the "feeling" of the piece. This reminded me of something on a Molecular level and all the connections within ourselves there are.
The Minds Eye: (stonelionmusic) I've always loved doing Ambient/New Age style music and try to convey things through it. In this track I thought it was like a short trip though the mind in a slightly grandiose and expanding way.
Deep: (stonelionmusic)This track was originally done for a deep sea documentary and because of that I tried to convey depth of the ocean and some of the wonders deep within the sea. Recently this track under a similar title was pitched for a feature film because of it's relaxing nature.
Neo-drones is the first of HUMTOO's invite mix tapes. Here are some of Neokitsch's thoughts on neo-drones.
This mix tape came naturally to me, as ambient genres of music are often requested for NeoKitsch. The instruments and performance style bring about a hypnotic, meditative aura. Most of the pieces, although thoroughly minimal, use a technique where all the twelve notes of the chromatic scale are used mainly in relation to one and other, rather than sticking to a key, and it avoids melodic and traditional harmonic structures. This approach, I find, encourages the listener to appreciate textures and mood above all else, as each note is of equal importance. As NeoKitsch produces music for visual mediums, this mix tape is designed to enrich the screen with deep textures, as well as keeping a distance, in order not to dominate the image.
Some of the instruments used were the Moog Etherwave Theremin, Violin, Viola, Folktek Folkchord, Micro Garden, Electron Monomachine, Lap Steel Guitar, Moog Voyager, Bass Guitar, Omnichord and the Haken Continuum Fingerboard.
All tracks are live improvisations recorded at the NeoKitsch studio using a ProTools HD system, with vintage and modern mics and preamps, including the Nuemann U87 and AKG C414.
Neo-Drones is an eclectic mix of atmospheres, which will be appropriate for any soundtrack seeking ambient sounds with the ‘less is more’ approach.”
Happy 2010 from the HUMTOO team! We hope you had a wonderful festive season.
HUMTOO has 3 new mix tapes hot off the press ready for use! Neodrones is full of ambient drones. Metropol is jam packed with smooth percussive electronic grooves. And get a serious dose of retro funk and disco grooves with Disco Retropolis. You can find them here: mixtapes.humtoo.com.
Remember, any use of either a track from the library or from a project created in the music marketplace is eligible to win a Macbook pro. More information can be found here: macbook.humtoo.com. More prizes are to be announced shortly, so stay tuned!
The latest HUMCAST is up on our youtube page and it features award winning duo EntropiK, check it out here.
If you need assistance logging into the site, have any questions, email us any time - talktous@humtoo.com or mike@humtoo.com.
HUMCAST is HUMTOO's podcast series...Meet EntropiK, the budding producer of media music in multiple genres including classical, electronic and easy listening, and also a performance/ recording duo who make beautiful and boundary-breaking music featuring cello and electronics.
As a producer of media music, EntropiK.humtoo.com is also gaining a solid and favourable reputation. In the past 12 months, they have scored 2 award-winning short films: Enfant (by AdamR) and Le Cinquième Jour (David Forest Animations) and have licensed a vast number of their tracks for a variety of media platforms including documentaries, corporate films, commercials and films.
They have a growing list of short films scores to their name and collaborated on a feature film score for the British independent horror film, Bane.
EntropiK.humtoo.com is known both as a budding producer of media music in multiple genres including classical, electronic and easy listening, and also a performance/ recording duo who make beautiful and boundary-breaking music featuring cello and electronics.
Winners of HUMTOO's HUMFEST prize, they are also currently finalists in the international People's Music Awards, and have been generating a buzz on BBC Asian Network and 6 Music with tracks from their latest EP, Cellotronics.
As a producer of media music, EntropiK.humtoo.com is also gaining a solid and favourable reputation. In the past 12 months, they have scored 2 award-winning short films: Enfant (by AdamR) and Le Cinquième Jour (David Forest Animations) and have licensed a vast number of their tracks for a variety of media platforms including documentaries, corporate films, commercials and films.
They have a growing list of short films scores to their name and collaborated on a feature film score for the British independent horror film, Bane.
For more information and to listen to some of their music, check out EntropiK.humtoo.com
Meet robneary.humtoo.com in his own studio and find out about his recent success on HUMTOO and also how he creates his sound with his two Ibanez guitars.
* HUMTOO's first HUMCAST goes live * New Look front page for HUMTOO * Music Maker of the month announced * Win a MacBook Pro for the best use of our music * Remixes and Collaborations
We're pleased to announce our first Podcast is now live. HUMCAST, HUMTOO's video podcast, will feature HUMTOO's music makers and their tracks, to raise their profile. In HUMCAST 01 meet Neokitsch.humtoo.com in his North London studio, complete with handmade synth, Omnichord 0-300 and Theremin. We've updated our front page. This update reflects our growing content creator community that are looking to access music quickly and easily from the library. The project marketplace is still easily accessed after you log in to your account. If you've got any feedback on the update, feel free to message mike on the site mike.humtoo.com.
HUMTOO's music maker of the month is Rob Neary. You can find out more about his work on the blog. He'll be featured in the next HUMCAST which will be featured on our youtube page shortly
The MacBook Pro continues to attract interest in the music in our library. We will be announcing more prizes for the best use of our music in the coming weeks. More info can be found here: macbook.humtoo.com. The library is currently looking for Christmas/festive music - don't forget you can upload tracks directly into the library from your profile page.
Congratulations to Whitesound.humtoo.com for their successful pitch for the interlink project. You can create collaboration projects and remix projects simply and easily from your own profile page.
We've had a few questions lately about the new HUM system. If you are a little confused, check out the blurb here in our How It Works section which should make it clear. If you are still unclear, message Mike on the site.
Keep up and great work, and as always if you've any feedback or questions about HUMTOO, hit up mike at mike.humtoo.com
robneary.humtoo.com (BMI) is a songwriter, composer and music supervisor based in Surrey. He writes music for TV, Film and all forms of media. His motto is “Your vision, my music”
Robert has been involved with various projects this year, which covered custom work for “the Smithsonian Network” documentary film “The Rivals” and independent films (one by the makers if “Hoodwinked”) as well as music for a Unilever Campaign through HUMTOO.
With over 200 music placements world wide each year, Roberts music featured recently in the Oscar Nominated & Golden Globe winning Motion Picture – “The Wrestler” 2009. His work can also be heard on MTV, The Discovery Channel and live broadcasts such as the Asian Excellent Awards 2008.
Popular with corporate companies worldwide, his music has also featured on Radio and website commercials worldwide for CBS, Adidas, Momentum Pictures, KPMG, Unilever, Reuters, Boeing and Porsche.
Roberts creative imagine and musical vision has led him into music supervising with his first 10minute short film (Directed by Neil Moss) called "Open Season" which came in 14th place out of 58 movies in the UK for the 2Days Later film festival which had film critics from the Guardian and the Times.
Robert's home studio comprises of a Boss digital multi-track, 2 Ibanez guitars and POD X3 effects system.
All of the music you hear on HUMTOO is written recorded and mixed by Robert himself with over 20years experience.
Roberts’ growing success is being noticed worldwide and has also moved his music into Computer games, E-cards and I-phone applications.
HUMTOO's first Podcast is up on our Youtube page. Meet Neokitsch.humtoo.com in his North London studio, complete with handmade synth, Omnichord o300 and Theremin.
We'll be getting our Podcasts up on itunes soon, but for now you can check them out on our youtube page or here on our blog.
HUMTOO is pleased to announce the winning film for HUMFEST is AdamR's ENFANT. The winning music track, Waltz Enfant, was pitched by EntropiK.
On hearing that his film had won the competition, AdamR said "I'm so pleased that Enfant was chosen for HUMFEST. HUMTOO is a fantastic resource for producers to find music for their projects..."
The EntropiK team were similarly pleased on hearing the news: "We're genuinely very surprised and delighted! We have to say that the film is such a little work of art; it was an absolute joy to add music to."
So for your enjoyment, here is the winning film. It's a wonderful union of pictures and music and a testament to the talent of the HUMTOO community. Oh, and don't forget, HUMTOO is currently has a Macbook Pro up for grabs for the best use of our music, more info at macbook.humtoo.com
Here's a quick update on the progress of the HUMTOO mixtapes.
There are currently 7 mixtapes open on the site looking for music, and below is a short explanation of the music we're looking for. We are currently sorting the closed mixtapes and we'll be in touch shortly regarding the successful tracks pitched.
Stay tuned for the announcement of the HUMFEST prize shortly!
60's The Beat Poets - Closing December 31 We're looking for 60's pop classics. Tunes that take you straight back to flares, lavalamps and psychedelia. Tunes without vocals are preferred.
Acoutic Guitar - Hardwood - Closing December 31 Acoustic tunes that take you to a place. We're looking for songs with a softer pallet, that float and take the listener on a journey.
The Box - Closing December 31 Where energy meets finesse. The Box is music that sells the brand. We're looking for high end orchestral music with driving beats.
Skinny Jeans and Pointy Shoes - Closing December 31 Attitude meets attitude. Think Punk, think rock, think cutting edge tracks that are going grab you by the ears and get you movin'.
Mr Kringle - Closing October 31 Christmas tunes, both classic and modern.
Disco Retropolis - Closing October 31 Foot tapping, hip swinging funky tunes that are going to make you want to get up and boogie...
Piano Inbetween keys - Closing October 31 We are seeking an original mix of piano tunes, through various genres and moods. Solo piano only.
Remember, you can create projects to get your tracks remixed! More information in the How It Works section.
NeoKitsch is a music studio in the heart of trendy Crouch End, London, which specialises in producing original musical scores, sound design, voiceover and foley for film and TV. Five albums have been released under NeoKitsch, some classical music, and some fusion electronic music, and they can be downloaded from iTunes and other leading stores.
NeoKitsch has been active in composing music for filmmakers worldwide including productions in LA, Milan, Berlin, Zurich, Hamburg and London, collaborating with names such as UK Film Council, The League Of Gentlemen, Arts Council England, Sky One and MTV, with works presented at BAFTA screenings and film festivals. The NeoKitsch Blog is regularly updated with reviews and articles on unusual musical instruments, films and new music. You can check out all the serious and silly things NeoKitsch gets up to at: www.neokitsch.com
Current projects NeoKitsch is involved in includes the full score for the stage production of Frankenstein which will be performed in March (date and venues TBC). The lead instruments will be the Violin and Etherwave Theremin.
NeoKitsch is a huge collector of unusual and vintage instruments, and the studio often uses acoustic stringed instruments such as the violin, mandolin, and cello. Some of the more far out instruments include the Omnichord, Micro Garden, Theremin, Circuit Bent Synths, and Stylophone. Among the hard to find, vintage gear NeoKitsch collects, are the Moog Rogue, Yamaha CS10, Korg MS2000B, Roland JV1080, and the famous Roland TB-303. NeoKitsch also uses more modern synths, although arguably, they tend to lean towards the nostalgic 70's and 80's sounds. Some of these modern machines include the Elektron Monomachine and Machinedrum, and the Sid Station.
NeoKitsch is familiar with composing music for a wide range of different genres, but the speciality genre seems to lean in the direction of classical music for violin and piano, fused with electronic glitch and experimental music.
The NeoKitsch studio is run by one person, Danny Hahn, but he often collaborates with classical musicians and specialists in fields which help broaden the possibilities of composing music.
When NeoKitsch is composing with computer software such as ProTools, Max MSP, Logic and Sibelius, novelty Midi controllers are often used such as the Monome. Interesting videos of some of the weird instruments NeoKitsch uses, including the Monome, can be found on YouTube. Here are a few examples:
The HUM system is a vote-style rating system for music on HUMTOO. There is no number rating (e.g. four out of five), and no negative votes.
Every 24hrs every member of HUMTOO gets one HUM which they can use to show their appreciation of a track. Nobody can HUM their own tracks.
To HUM a track simply press the HUM button on the player for that track.
Tracks with more HUMs go to the top of projects and library searches.
So next time you hear a great track on the site, do the community a favour and HUM it.
You can see the total HUMs a track has on the display above the button and the total of all the HUMs on all your tracks on the HUM display above your profile picture on your profile.
To level the playing field as each new project comes onto the site, tracks have a separate number of HUMs on each project they are pitched for.
These HUMs display in red and add to the total HUMs that a track and music maker has received.
This means that old and new tracks start from the same spot and have the same chance of rising to the top on each new project.
We love the sound of our production music, and we think you will too.
We’re offering a MacBook Pro for the best use of our music (there’s loads of other great prizes to be announced shortly).
It’s simple and easy to enter; simply go to www.humtoo.com and sign-up for FREE. Then, search our production music library or create a project in the project marketplace.
HUMTOO’s music is FREE to use on broadcast productions, and each track has an individual price for non-broadcast productions.
Once you’ve found the perfect piece of music for your production, send us a link, ftp or yousendit.com us a quicktime of the result. Please include your email address, humtoo username and the name of the music track you used with your entry.
We’ll review all the entries and our judging panel will choose the best use of our music.
While updating our Youtube page, we came across this, created by one of HUMTOO's members, check it out:
We contacted Neokitsch, and this is what he has to say:
This video is part of a project I call Neon Quiche (which is a play on words from NeoKitsch). This project and the video I uploaded is inspired by 1970's cooking shows. I am very much influenced by kitsch food and cookery. Where the "Neo" part of "Kitsch" comes in, is where I involve serious and experimental contemporary music.I made the video in one take in my kitchen.
If you're making something cool, that's in any way related to music, we want to know about it - email Mike@humtoo.com and we'll get it up here on the blog.
HUMTOO is a global meeting place for Music Makers and Content Creators.
It is an internation music marketplace and user-generated music library.
www.humtoo.com
olecule Connection - 
Evolving - 
Temptation - 
