A city rich with musical heritage,
Manchester and music
have always gone hand in hand.
On the 6th day, God created Manchester.
In Conversation with Crazy P
In October SEM was honoured to host a very special SEM Session, in conversation with two members of UK electronic music royalty: Danielle Moore and Jim Baron of Crazy P.
The event marked World Mental Health Day and proceeds from the talk were donated to Music Minds Matter. The guys talked through their illustrious careers, navigating the music industry and pumping out albums (including their latest The Age of Ego) as well as a track breakdown with some secrets to their sound, both live and produced.
Marcus Intalex Foundation Partnership
SEM was proud to host the Marcus Intalex workshops in February this year, celebrating the life of Manchester-based drum and bass producer Marcus Intalex (14 July 1971 – 28 May 2017). The DNB (and occasional techno!) artist was well known on the Manchester scene and a friend of SEM.
In 2013 we (then known as Manchester MIDI school) teamed up with Marcus to setup the Marcus Intalex Scholarship, offering several lucky applicants free places on our Complete Music Production Course for that year.
SEM Winter Social Round-Up 2019
Nothing makes us happier than seeing our students doing what they love best, performing the music that they love! To celebrate graduating, our Complete DJ Course students tore it up at SEM’s October Social & Winter Social (click through to listen to their mixes).
The students took the nights through a variety of styles, ranging from disco, to tech-house, to drum and bass. Keep an eye on our blog for features on our student succeses. Who knows what your classmates could be achieving next!
Big kudos to Mihaela Koleva for the awesome pictures too :)
Swindle – No More Normal
To celebrate the release of Swindle‘s album ‘No More Normal’ on Brownswood Recordings, SEM, in association with Arts Council England, hosted an exclusive screening of ‘No More Normal: Behind the UK’s Rising Producer’, a Red Bull Music film.
Swindle came in for a conversation with Elijah from the label Butterz, and Q&A with our students. Swindle’s upcoming dates include Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse in January.
Nymfo Ableton Workshop (MIMF x METALHEADZ)
September saw MIMF x Metalheadz artists Nymfo and Mikal offer the chance to remix their track ‘The Chosen’ from Mikal’s Metalheadz EP ‘Where They At’. Selected stems from ‘The Chosen’ were online for 48hrs, the time offered to submit a version of the remix.
The artists selected their favourite 15 entries and those chosen (pun intended!) took part in a special feedback and production workshop hosted by Nymfo, in association with Ableton.
The Remixing Rights and Royalties Mixtape: The Sampled Series
In September we invited Digital Rights and Royalties expert Lucilla Green (Do The Rights Thing) and DJ and Remixer Johnny Jay (Mixrupt).
They shared tips on how DIY, bedroom and professional artists can remix, sample and release music in the digital age, while ensuring they are legally covered for their releases. Jonny then took the audience down memory lane by demo-ing some of the largest sampled tracks in the history of electronic music. So, so good!
Slice & Dice Scratch Tournament
Sunday 8th December saw the return of DJ Rasp‘s head to head knockout scratch battle, held in SEM’S student space. It showcased the best local DJs who went all in with their scratching skills.
A big well done to all involved, and a huge congratulations to Tommy P-Nuts for taking 1st place!
Celebrating the 10 year Machine anniversary with a free giveaway
To celebrate 10 years of Maschine we launched a competition to win the Maschine MK3 (rrp: £499) – a portable 16 pad groove production studio of dreams.
“Ten years of playing, performing, and creating. Ten years of finger-drumming, sample flipping, and beat-making”.
You can download some free sounds for Maschine here. Stay tuned to SEM for lots more giveaways and competitions lined up for 2020!
Masterclass with the Minimoog
The Minimoog has shaped electronic music since 1970. In March notable musician Paul Birchall (collaborations with Marshall Jefferson, Candi Staton, Felix Da Housecat to name a few) showcased what the iconic Minimoog Model D can do, while previewing his album ‘Conversing with the Minimoog’.
Manchester stalwart Graham Massey (808 State, Bjork) described Paul playing the Minimoog as being:
“Like watching James Bond throwing an Aston Martin around” – which proved accurate!
SEM Meetup
In May we launched SEM Meetups – an evening of networking, workshops and music feedback sessions. Think of it as an incubator to your next chart topping collab, or just time to move away from the screen and chat to fellow music heads irl.
Open to those at every level, from the curious beginners through to seasoned producers, we definitely plan more for 2020.
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