What I Did On my Holidays By Tony Horkins Aged 6

And Live Pads

Occidental innovation.

More than delicately wrought slivers of hand tooled timber, they are the drummer's er, thing.

Bailey and Betteridge get together for a banter

MIDI Controller

While the keyboard player, horn player and guitarist have enjoyed the benefits of the MIDI revolution, the humble bassist has been sadly neglected. Ollie Crooke gets down to (MIDI) basics.

Jim Gilmour, principal keyboard player in the band, talks to Paul Wiffen about the host of keyboards the band use onstage and in the studio. Their recent European tour increased their reputation as one of Canada's premier music-makers. Photography by Sally Newman.

What do you get when you cross brilliant musicianship, technological wizardry and one of the brightest line-ups in modern jazz? Answer: Steps Ahead. Interview by Liz Rose and Leslie Fradkin.

Richard Fowler passes on a few hints and tips tor Alesis HR16 owners

'Hymn' music to play — we've linked the music to an exclusive interview with Midge Ure and Billy Currie on E&MM cassette, discussing and playing the instruments for this new Ultravox single

The Alternative MIDI Controllers Session

Beating Like This

...Beating Like This. In the third part in our series on creative drum programming, Chris Meyer and Matt Isaacson take a detailed look at the various trigger-to-MIDI converters now available.

Three Of A Kind.

Electronic Percussion Buyer's Guide

If you can hit it or make it sound as if you have, you'll find it listed in E&MM's exclusive rundown of what's available in the world of drum machines and electronic kits.

We highlight three recording studios that place the emphasis on music hardware rather than expensive recording equipment: in order of price, East London Community Studio, Hollow Sun, and Computer Music Studios.

Music For A Small Planet

An enterprising duo who mix business and pleasure in the pursuit of music making.

How Good Are They?

Over the next two issues Graham Hinton tests five mixer automation systems which all provide control of audio signal level by means of Voltage Controlled Amplifiers (VCAs) and are accessible to some degree by MIDI. This month it's the turn of the Akai MPX820 and Simmons SPM8:2.

Dave Stewart gives the technology the human touch.

Producer of Style Council, The Jam and Comsat Angels explains his working techniques in the studio, production skills and the ins and outs of various effects.

Rock City

The C-ducer Acoustic Percussion Trigger.

TWO BOOKS TO DEMYSTIFY THE SYNTHESISER

Geoff Twigg and Neville Unwin cast a critical eye over two books aimed at taking the mystery out of synthesisers, and come to vastly differing conclusions.

The Alternative MIDI Controllers Session