tom moody

"Clean Transistor"

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"Clean Transistor" [mp3 removed]

A sort of mechanical tabla runs through it, using FM synthesis. It needed warming up a bit, so I used an "amp modeling" software preset, which also provided the piece's title.

"I Wake Up Sampling and Holding"

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Revised and reposted version of a tune from a couple of weeks ago. A punchier "final" mix (to the extent anything's final). Deleted the original post and kept the same filename for the .mp3.

"I Wake Up Sampling and Holding" [mp3 removed]

The title is a bit of an electro in-joke. Was going to call this "Grid of Seagulls" but am saving that for a later song. The beats and some of the synth sounds here are made with the Reaktor Rhythmmaker sequencer, which makes a variety of digital wails and hums in real time (live synthesis as opposed to sampling--"sample and hold" is a type of waveform that comes in about halfway through, played on another synth).

Whiter Shade of Steal

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Ex-Procol Harum keyboardist Matthew Fisher just won a court victory in his extremely belated--as in 40 years--copyright claim for the "famous organ riff" in the '60s hit "A Whiter Shade of Pale." (hat tip Mark)
Fisher claims it's only about credit but his 40% of all future royalties of that song will not be insignificant, as it is still an "ear bleeder" on classic rock stations.
In any case, the man has balls, since he admits he took parts of the riff from JS Bach's "Air on a G String" and "Sleepers Awake."
He should give 95% of his royalties to Bach's heirs, whoever they are. It would be the fair thing to do.
It should be noted that Procol Harum was not a one-hit wonder, which is why there is any legacy for Mr. Fisher to claim. Fisher left the band after the third album so his share in the hard dues of touring, recording, etc, that made PH a money machine in the '70s is proportionally small (lower than 40%, I'd say). The live version of "Conquistador," recorded after Fisher left, was a big '70s hit and the band's later LPs such as Grand Hotel (also sans Fisher) also sold well.
The problem with these copyright cases is they hinge on simplistic readings of parts of songs and don't take elements like context, timbre, or "career gestalt" into account. In this case it all hinged on timbre and a few notes. The "He's So Fine"/"My Sweet Lord" (horrible) verdict completely ignored timbre.
But the main point here is, if you're going to sample Bach then don't sue the people that sampled you.
Considering how long it took Fisher to initiate the filing of the suit (no statute of limitations for copyright? why not?) a fair verdict would have been 1% to him and 1% for some foundation dedicated to teaching Bach in music schools.