After a long wait the next edition of the Xone is here and you are very welcome to come and try it. Available to use during your dj studio hire or your DJing session.
All in all, the new Xone puts a modern twist on the masterful art of what the Xone:92 already provides. In other words: it takes the base of the Xone:92 we all know and love and adds updated features you need as a DJ in the tech world we live in today. This includes new dual USB ports – so two DJs can connect their own laptops at the same time, making for easy movement back and forth and access to the six channels on the mixer – and two separate headphone CUE systems. In short, it’s the perfect elements you need to set up seamless B2B sessions with other DJs.
Other new features also include a new three-band EQ added for booth output, a “Crunch” control feature to add to the list of Xone’s iconic filters and more. As put by A&H, it “Xone:96 lets you connect your whole rig, from laptops and turntables, to pedals, synths and drum machines.”
We are very exciting to announce a launch of our very own in house record label called Kombinat which is dedicated to emerging artists from the techno and experimental world and will be a great outlet for our students to release their musical creations.
And the first release is from hugely talented Ireen Amnes who is also our instructor here in the studios. ‘Duality of Self’, the debut five-track EP comes from rising techno creative, Ireen Amnes - a strong musical background, devotion to analogue machines and a number of cross-genre influences sitting behind her unique sound and style. Here, she takes us on a earnest, powerful journey through the psyche, each track portraying different stages of consciousness and understanding throughout life.
The release opens with 'Deranged', its industrial and dark techno influences providing a restrained yet intense portrayal of chaos and what can feel like the decline of sanity in the times of biggest confusion. 'Deranged' leads into 'Ambivalent', a broken-beat beauty exploring the darkness of unsurety infiltrated with the lightness of hope, its organic analogue percussions woven throughout representing an underlying struggle yet unwavering persistence in the search for truth. 'Unconscious Mind' follows - mechanical elements and unique drums depicting the busyness of the unconscious mind at work - our detachment from reality coming across through its feeling of incompleteness. Penultimately, 'Tangled in White Stripes' gives the feeling of claustrophobia - the frantic frustration of being trapped within ourselves, as if a straitjacket restrains us from liberation - making it a perfect 'let it go' release for the dance floor. Lastly, the solemn, ethereal soundscapes of 'Awake' complete the release, signifying the realisation that all of our struggles are in fact dictated by the mind - providing both relief and dejection.
