​Remember when we first started hearing the term "mumble rap"? Initially it referred to rappers that had lyrics we couldn't easily understand. But lately it's an umbrella term used to often inaccurately describe a majority of the new artists. This "one size fits all" narrative has unfortunately ushered in a divide between some of the older participants in hiphop, and the youth trying to forge their path in the game. I personally think lumping everyone into this tag is dismissive, and ironically it reminds me of when my generation and peers got lumped into being strictly "backpack" rap fans, and underground MCs. ​

We've all been there. You try to get a mix sitting right and it just isn't working no matter what you do. If you're new to the process and have had recent issues mixing, odds are, one of these tricky little issues might be the root of your problem. Here's how to get over the hump.

​Welcome back to the Lab Science Podcast. This week we take a look at some synthesis basics while conducting an audio overview of the new Korg Monologue, a hardware synth that literally can't be found in stores. Professor SentZ and Captain Lean Automatic also crack a few Modelo's and discuss Troy Ave, the difficulty keeping NYC clubs open, and the "post crack" hiphop generation.

Click here to listen/download this week's episode

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​Lot's of big news has been coming from the Moog team in North Carolina. The new Model 15 app is sitting in most of our phons now, and the return of the Model D has most of us salivating already. But in between working hard to keep our beeps as awesome as possible, the brand has also developed one of the best festival experiences in the states. Check out the video recap of Moogfest 2016 above, and be sure to keep up with our blog to grab our upcoming Moog sample pack, featuring sounds from the Model 15, Animoog, Filtatron, and some devious pedals and amps :)

Let us know what your favorite Moog synth is in the comments

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The IOS community is buzzing with the release of the Moog Model 15 App for iOS. I tend to use Ableton to sequence my iOS apps, so today I made a Midi Effect Rack that allows you to control the various parameters of the Model 15 via the Macros in Ableton and a controller:
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Once you download and unzip the file above, in order to make everything work, you'll need to install the included CC Map into the App. The quickest way is to Airdrop or Message the file labeled "MODEL15 CCMAP.m15c". Opening this on your iOS device will load Model 15 and apply the CC Mapping to the app. To verify the Mapping loaded correctly, go to Settings > MIDI> scroll down and select Save/Load CC Map. Click save and name your mapping whatever you choose.

Next, open the file labeled "SentZ Moog Model 15 Rack.alp" on your computer. This will prompt you to choose an install location, so Install anywhere you'll remember and open the session that's created once everything unpacks. The session will open up Ableton with the Rack loaded. You can then click the disk on the rack to save it automatically to your "MIDI Effects Racks" or you can drag and drop it to the location of your choosing. Drop this and an External Instrument track on a MIDI channel and your off.

The Rack is divided and labeled into a few banks to better group functions together:

Bank1: 921 A/B Oscs: Controls the Driver Oscillator (921A) and the 921B Oscillators

Bank 2: 921 VCO OSC: Controls the 921 VCO Oscillator, Rect Width, and Clamping Point Sections

Bank 3: FILTER/HP/LP: Controls the Main 904A VCO LP Filter. Aux HP and LP refer to the independent filters to the right of the 921B Oscillators. FixFilLP and FixFilLP control the Low Pass and High Pass knobs of the Fixed Filter Bank 907A

Bank4: FixFltr: Controls each frequency band of the Fixed Filter Bank 907A. (Again, the Low and High pass knobs are located in Bank 3

Bank 5: ADSR Envelopes: Controls the 2 ADSR Envelope Generators 911. Note, the layout has been "corrected" to the standard ADSR instead of the Model 15's native ADRS envelope layout. 

Bank 6: MIX/ATTEN 995: Controls the Mixer levels and levels of the Attenuator 995, located to the right of the Fixed Filter Bank 907A

Bank 7: Del/R Att/ Amp: Controls the delay parameters, Amplifiers, and Reversible Attenuators. RevAttn1 refers to the module located to the right of the Mixer. 2 and 3 refer to the Reversible Attenuators next to the Delay (1 on top, 2 on the bottom)

Be sure to comment if you'd like to see additional mappings for other iOS synths. Odds are, I own it already :)

If you'd like to support, buy a song from my bandcamp page!

Gig alert. I'll be rocking with my homies at Beat Haus tomorrow 10/4 at Trans Pecos. I'm always inspired being around the homies at Beat Haus. It's extra special since I've personally seen the founders work so hard at what they do. I've known co-founder Fresh Daily for years now and his creative and professional track record has been nothing but stellar. I met fellow co-founder DJ Jester at Dubspot, where he quickly became one of my favorite students spinning. Some people have a skill for scraping below the surface for rare gems. Jester is a damn jeweler.

Tomorrow should be fun. Pulling out the KP3 for that analog good good. Come through