SOUND ON SOUND
Dave Stewart is an English keyboardist, composer, producer and author who started his career as a band member in the early 1970s. Since 1981 he has made 'pop music for grown-ups' with singer Barbara Gaskin, releasing seven albums on the duo's own Broken Records label and performing live in Japan, USA and the UK. He has also written TV & film music and created string and choir arrangements for various artists.
Dave is the author of two music books: The Musician's Guide To Reading & Writing Music (Backbeat 1992) and Inside The Music (Backbeat 1999). He has written for Sound On Sound (while resting between engagements) longer than any of us care to remember.
The latest Vienna string orchestra offers a unique dual perspective.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5/5 Stars. It makes sense that Heavyocity, devotees of dangerous, destructive, distorted brain‑crushing timbres, turn their attention to heavy guitar.
Rating 4.5/5 Stars. UK producer Trevor Horn was a dominant force in 1980s pop, and this collaboration with Spitfire Audio gives users instant access to the maestro’s sound world.
Rating: **** 4/5 Stars. Spitfire’s flagship ARO series now features a third percussion collection around the theme of metals, with essentials such as piatti cymbals and tam‑tams making a welcome appearance.
Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Currently retailing at a cool £156k, the nine‑foot Steinway Model D‑274 grand is the star in this Spitfire Audio piano sample library.
Rating: **** 4/5 Stars. The second instalment in Spitfire’s new modular series is a direct continuation of the first.
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars. A huge 362GB collection of complex, playable, largely chromatic long drones created by Alexander Hacke of Einstürzende Neubauten.
Spitfire’s new symphonic double‑bill combines two complete orchestras and a host of extras.
Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Heavyocity’s Avant Modern Keys samples a classic Mark II electric piano.
Rating: 4/5 Stars. A Copenhagen WWII bunker came to be a home from home for violist/composer Nikolaj Moeller Nielsen.