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There was a time when would-be pop stars would start out by miming guitar chops in front of the bedroom mirror. These days they ape their studio-bound musical heroes with software applications such as ejay studio--and the thing is, they're not miming, they are making their own sounds from day one. like its sisters in the successful e-jay series of "home studio" cd-roms, e-jay studio is centred around a basic on-screen console, something like the fascia of a car tape deck. Behind the console is a set-up that looks slightly like an old-fashioned graphic equaliser. This all seems complicated at first--it is complicated at first--but a little patience and application soon reveal the beauty of the e-jay idea: that by using this console you can access thousands of copyright-cleared samples, be they riffs, strums, paradiddles, yowls, licks and hoots, from any number of cyber-instruments, all of which are stored on the two cds contained herein. Additionally there's a virtually inexhaustible range of ways you can then warp, distort, mute and loop the samples you choose, with up to 24 audio or 64 midi digital slots available within each ultimate track; all this with the option of appending your own voice or musical instrument (if you have a microphone attachment). Every musical segment is rhythmically synched. if there is a fault with this cd-rom, it's one shared by the whole e-jay roster: that the sheer technical wizardry might put off the more intuitive musician, the composer who relies more on his emotions than his mouse. But for anyone with an interest in the techno side of techno music, this is a must-load. --sean thomas |
