Fingerlab’s brilliant DM1 drum machine app for iPhone and iPad has just been updated today. Among the additions to the already-existing 99 drum kits, step sequencer, effects trackpad and MIDI capabilities are 13 all-new drum kits, including one custom-designed by BEAK>, the Bristol trio comprising Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, Billy Fuller of Fuzz Against Junk and Matt Williams, aka Fairhorns. Says Barrow of the BEAK> kit: "We have given the DM1 a few classic BEAK> sounds for people to write/muck about with. It definitely sounds like me, Bill and Matt… I use the app all the time to write – it’s amazing, and it costs less than two quid." Armed with nine sounds, the BEAK> kit shares the same less-is-more approach the DM1 goes in for, making it both supremely usable and incredibly addictive, as certain corners of the tQ office will attest… Get hold of the app for iPhone and iPad.
BEAK> and their label Invada are giving people the chance to compose their own BEAK> song using their kit and send them in for the consideration of Barrow, Fuller and Williams, with the band performing their favourite track at an upcoming gig. You can enter by uploading your track to SoundCloud and either tweeting it @BeakBristol or posting on their Facebook wall. The deadline is Saturday 31 May and the winner will be contacted via Twitter or Facebook. For inspiration, have a listen to ‘Yatton’ from BEAK>’s second album > > below:
