Straight out of graduating from Pyramind Studios at the end of 2009, DJ Dooz has been hard at work with Arizona's premiere house music DJ/producer Tranzit. Together, they signed their first EP "Nothing But A Dancer" to the German record label 12-Inch Recordings. The EP features 2 different tunes in the styles of progressive house and straight electro. Dooz says, "Knowledge from all the intuitive courses at Pyramind really helped me expand my production abilities to not just one style, but many styles, and make them all sound great."
Dooz has not only been able to apply these new-found production skills to his partnership, but he's also been able to use the networking and business skills he learned at Pyramind, as well. Joining forces in the studio with Pance Party, another group that graduated from Pyramind, Dooz and Tranzit have been able to help sign an exclusive Pance Party remix of "Nothing but a Dancer" to the same label.
Not a pair to rest on their laurels, Dooz and Tranzit's future includes another upcoming release on Jetset Music, a record label from the Bay Area. The track "Obsession" just made its world debut on DJ Riddler's Siruis/XM radio show "Adrenaline" with over 10 million listeners worldwide. Look for mp3 and WAV versions to drop on Beatport soon.
Pyramind graduate Ramon Wesselink has already worked on significant projects in the audio industry, including LucasArts' upcoming MMO "Star Wars: The Old Republic" and also the "Watchmen" Motion Comic, for which he shared a GANG award (more). But nothing – except for his Pyramind education – could have prepared him for his latest adventure: Electronic Arts' and Visceral Games' new title "Dante's Inferno."
The game is loosely based on the epic poem "The Divine Comedy" written by Danté Aligheri during the early 1300's, and tells the tale of the title character journeying deeper and deeper into the nine circles of Hell itself. In fact, Ramon recalls, his first communication with EA began with the line, "Hello Ramon. Welcome to Hell."
After that unique welcome, Ramon worked with Bay Area Sound to edit, process, and master major dialogue for the game, including dialogue from Dante and his ultimate nemesis Lucifer. Ramon also contributed as part of the atmospherics team, processing ambient dialogue including tormented moans, screams, whimpers, crying, and general agony. All this contributed to making Hell sound like the truly uncomfortable place that it is supposed to be.
As a footnote, Ramon adds, "There was so much screaming and torture stuff coming from my studio that I was surprised I didn't get a visit from the FBI!"
"Dante's Inferno" is available now for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
Pyramind Studios graduate Robby Cronholm first rose to prominence with the band "crumb" in the 1990's in Southern California, touring with bands such as Jimmy Eat World and Death Cab for Cutie. Now his new project "Taxes", featuring fellow Pyramind graduate Jonathan Kepke, is starting to climb its way to similar heights in the Bay Area.
Coming up on Saturday February 27th from 7pm-9pm at Mini Bar, SF's legendary Noise Pop Festival (www.noisepop.com) will be hosting a listening party for Taxes' new album. The event is sponsored by one of the city's favorite drinks, Fernet, and is FREE to all comers.
The Noise Pop Festival is an annual 6 day event in San Francisco held at over 10 legendary venues in the city, including Bottom of the Hill, Thee Parkside, The Great American Music Hall, Cafe Du Nord, Slim's, Bimbos, and more.
This year (the festival's 14th) will feature performances from Yoko Ono & Sean Lennon, !!! (Chk Chk Chk), Deerhoof, Nico Vega, Nathan Fake, Four Tet, If By Yes, Music For Animals, and more.
Noise Pop alumni include Death Cab for Cutie, The White Stripes, Joanna Newsom, and The Polyphonic Spree.
You can view the complete Noise Pop schedule here.
Everyone knows the classic baseball tune "Take Me Out To the Ballgame". But here in the Bay Area, San Francisco Giants fans may have found their own new classic.
During the summer of 2009, after an inspiring Synthesis & Sampling class with Senior Instructor Steve Heithecker, Pyramind Studios student Sam Harkness borrowed a classmate's field recorder and walked to nearby AT&T Park - home of the SF Giants - to interview dozens of fans about their favorite local team.
Using the more than 3 hours of audio he recorded, Sam co-wrote, engineered, and produced the track "An SF Giants History" with his longtime friend MC Berg, who also happened to be the official MC of AM radio station KNBR Sportphone 680.
The track contained a blend of MC Berg's vocals with Sam's field recording interviews, guitar work, beats, and lyrics. All this within only two months of starting at Pyramind!
Through MC Berg's connections at KNBR, the track aired to the thousands of listeners tuned in before and after the SF Giants July 1st 2009 ballgame. Damon Bruce, the show host, enthusiastically described the track as "fantastic" on-air.
You can listen to the whole track with the KNBR commentary above, via Soundcloud.com.
Pyramind Studios is pleased to announce a special partnership with Alfred Publishing for an evolutionary new, nine-volume multimedia recording & production book series.
Pyramind's "Core" training curriculum will form the basis of the content for the books, and they will cover key topics in disciplines ranging from creativity, to technology, to business.
The books will be out soon! Stay tuned for more information about publishing dates and availability, and check out the announcement video (above) that debuted at Alfred's both at NAMM 2010 in Los Angeles.
The Waves Certification Program is an educational and training program that provides a high-quality means of mastering this powerful audio production software suite.
Ableton Live
Pyramind hosts two Ableton-Certified instructors, and offers classes in both the music creation & live performance aspects of this unique and effective DAW.
Pro Tools Certifications
Students can earn Pro Tools Operator Level Certification in both Music and Post-Production. Expert Certification in Music is also available.
Apple Logic Studio
Formerly the territory for programmers and geniuses, Logic is more powerful and accessible than ever. Pyramind hosts Levels 1 & 2 of training in this DAW.
