 |
 |
|
|
||
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Ammoncontact is Los Angeles super producer Carlos Niño and bedroom beatmaker Fabian Ammon Alston. The two have been friends since Alston made his way West from the East Coast and encountered Niño DJing at local house parties in 11th grade. Niño recalls that, "Fabian was the only cat who really got all of the music that I was spinning at the time." A lot of rare-groove, Blue Note sides and hip-hop from K.M.D. to Blackalicious was in Niño's 93 crate. And just like his sets today for radio, clubs, parties and special events Niño has always been one to break new music and seek out the most creative of sounds on record. Making music came next as it does for so many DJs with such a variety of sound sources in front of them. Niño first attempted to make beats with a turntable, 4-track, microphone and an 8 second sampler on a mixer that he borrowed from a friend. Alston had a better idea and went out and bought an Ensoniq ASR-10. Their very first beat from 1995 made it on to this album (their first full-length). Check the first half of 1st Melody Music and hear for yourself. The MPC 2000 came next in 1997, Fender Rhodes 88 Keys, Roland Juno-60 and a few other keyboard sources followed. The two work in the living room of Alston's apartment - not exactly a studio. "It's funky but it works," says Alston, "I just got a computer for Christmas this past year so I'm figuring out how to record into it." The creative process goes something like this: 1. Records and keyboards sampled into the midi linked machines 2. Niño and Alston banging out sequences 3. Arranging the best of both expressions into songs 4. Transfer of raw files and or recording directly into Nuendo at Groovetree and mix out of the computer through all analogue gear. "For us, it's all about the vibe," explains Niño, "we make our music and try to put it out and are happy to have the opportunity to do so. We are learning about all of the gear and how to make our music sound better as we go. |
||
|
|