STEVESMITH RECAP: Horror Experience Through Audio Experience With Alur Bunyi

Horror has been a popular genre of film since decades ago. As the name implies, the horror genre is specifically crafted to horrify the audience but being horrified through motion picture, accompanied by perplexing sounds is enjoyable by some.

Tracing back the origin of the word Horror itself in Latin; "Horrere" which signifies "to tremble", by making a full use of this composition, the musicians, relying as usual to randomness, meant to challenge and take further its meaning: what if, rather than with fear, we let ourselves tremble with curiosity and enthusiasm?

If horror film is not your cup of tea, Random Brothers by Blood, Dalilektra and Stevesmith Orchestra experimented with imagination and fantasy through performing in horror frequency nuance, utilizing their signature performance tools, modular synthesizer, combined with vocals, acoustic piano, and strings quartet. Back in15 August 2018 at “Alur Bunyi”.

Random Brothers by Blood, (Nara Anindyaguna & Randy Danistha), Dalilektra  (Dea Dalila) and Pfadfinderei took the audience to a horror journey that at the same time filled with very enjoyable contemporary overall aesthetics.

For you gearheads out there, you’ll get your eyes real fresh with the immense amount of cool gears being pressed, twisted, and modulated during the performance alongside acoustic instruments performed by Stevesmith Orchestra (Heston Prasetyo, Iswara Giovani, Ravin Kalindra and Strings Quartet).

Also, There’s a DIY acoustic instrument in the performance, which was put together with Lintang Raditya, much inspired by the Apprehension Engine, a mechanism that generates spooky interludes and effects, built originally by movie composer Mark Korven.

We won't leave you with motion picture of the event. smash this one:

Stay Tuned, We’ll see you at the Next event!

Photo : Sancoyo Purnomo

CUT THE WIRES: Choosing The Best Wireless Earphones and Headphones

You can’t beat the convenience of wireless audio gears to fill up your daily music dose. They are so convenient that virtually every major entertainment and even professional audio manufacturer to keep up with the market.

In this article, we’ll get you through the basics and words to help you choose the perfect wireless earphones / headphones. A mini buying guide to be exact. 

How Wireless Earphones Work 

Let's start with the basics. Conventional earphones produce sounds by transferring analog signal from a source (audio player, smartphone, or laptop) to the earphone drivers (miniature speakers that direct sounds to your ear). 

Wireless earphones work the same way, except wireless earphones streams audio through bluetooth. Found on virtually any smartphone nowadays. The rest of the process is identical. The streamed digital data converted to analog signal to the earphone drivers.

There are a couple more steps for wireless earphones to work, that is why you might encounter latency if you are using bluetooth earphones on your smartphone.

Audio Quality: WirED vs WirELESS

On paper, wired earphones are superior compared to wireless earphones. Here's a simple explanation; Wired earphones gathers audio directly from the cable, producing direct sound with milliseconds of latency and delivering the true sound of the earphones to your ears. That's why" audiophile grade" cables exist, arguably helps improving the sound quality of an already good set of earphones. We can talk about audiophile grade cables, but it will take a whole article to do. One thing to mention though, they cost really expensive. Tell us if you want us to talk about these niche cables.

Wireless earphones on the other hand requires more steps from your music source to the earphones. more interference translates to lesser sound quality. But that's only on paper.

In real world situation, especially if you enjoy listening to music in general and you are not an audio professional, you might only notice a slight veiled sound on wireless earphones if you do an A/B test between one headphone (wired, and its wireless counterpart), which is not very convenient. and not really necessary.

Wireless Earphone Buying Guide

Now you know the basics, let's jump straight in to the wireless earphone  buying guide! Depending on your preference of sound, on what occasion you use your wireless earphones for, and of course, your budget, there are a lot to choose from and we're counting down several for you.

1. Radius HP BTF-01

We'll start of the list with an earphone manufacturer you've probably never heard of. Radius is a Japanese lifestyle audio manufacturer focused on delivering affordable quality portable audio products. The sound and build quality of their products extends beyond their price tag. You've probably never heard of this product because their advertisement does not reach you. They allocate hard advertising budget in developing their product quality.

The Radius HP BTF - 01 sounds fun and well balanced through out the frequency spectrum. They carry single dynamic driver for very coherent sound that is unmatched. The low-end frequency thumps well, the mid-range pronounces vocals really well, with a touch of crispiness on the top frequency.

They are IPX 5 certified. Meaning they are splash proof and well designed for sport use. The HP BTF-01 is tailored to accompany your gym and running session.

With the price less than Rp 1000k, Radius HP BTF-01 is one of the best bang for your buck if you are looking for a fun sound and suitable for sport use.

Rp. 870,000. 

2. Beyerdynamic Byron BT

If you watch BBC Radio One live shows, you'll notice every single performers wear a black, studio closed back headphones. That is the Beyerdynamic DT 770. In case you missed out on this, Beyerdynamic is a German professional audio manufacturer producing legendary and indestructible headphones and mics loved by pro audio users around the globe. They also make audiophile focused, home use headphones and recently expanded their range of products to lifestyle, portable audio products and the Byton BT is one of them.

The Beyerdynamic Byron BT carries all-around sound. you can throw various genres of music on it and it will sound good without sacrificing their legacy, the traditional Beyerdynamic sound. 

With this product, you are getting a well built wireless earphones that is perfect for your daily commute or even at the office, however this is not the earphone you want to take with you for running. 

We think the styling on the Byron BT screams luxury and we think you do so. You're paying for an earphone manufactured by a legend. We think the sound, looks, and build quality is worth every penny

Rp 1,590,000

3. Sony MDR-XB950B1

From home appliances to smartphones, In a nutshell, Sony is a strong Japanese multi-national company specializing in anything gadgets. The cool thing is, every product segment they make, they always carry a handful of great products for that product range. One of them is audio. Sony makes professional, home, and portable audio products. and we'll focus on portable audio products because we will talk about the comfort champion, Sony MDR-XB950B1

Bassheads, this one is for you. Advertised as an "Extra Bass" wireless headphones, Sony MDR-XB950B1 carries an unorthodox approach to bass oriented headphones. This pair of headphones literally shakes your head with the amount of bass they have without sacrificing the sonic quality of the other frequency spectrum. Being an over-ear headphone, expect to hear spacious sound stage for a bass-heavy headphone. This headphone is suitable for any kind of music, but you will enjoy the most out of this headphone listening to electronic music.

This headphone is the honcho in comfort department. We are not exaggerating but this headphone is among the most comfortable headphone on the market. The leatherette earpad hugs your ear comfortably. These earpads incorporate plush materials, like wearing a marshmallow pillow on your head. You can wear these for a long listening session without your head feeling tired. Suitable for casual portable use, or even commuting if you don't mind wearing headphones outdoor.

With the price offered, the Sony XB950B1 is worth every penny. Great sound and comfortable.

Rp 1,800,000. 

4. Bose QuietComfort 35-II

Bose is known for their premium home and portable audio devices. They develop the latest and greatest technology to present it to the market. 

It's no surprise they sound good, with added noise cancelling feature allowing you to block outside noise, so you get that "you and your music only" experience by using this pair. All the frequencies are well balanced and pronounced very clearly, with a nice bass shake for thumping sensation.

You can wear this pair of headphones for extended period of time without feeling uncomfortable. These headphones are the made to last. The build quality speaks alongside their price tag.

If money is no object, Bose Quitecomfort 35-II might be suitable for you

Rp 5,500,000

STEVESMITH RECAP: SUPERSONIK #27

Supersonik #27 is a music showcase by Random Brothers (Randy Danistha and Nara Anindyaguna) collaborating with Dalilektra accompanied by sound installation experience by Coune (Hilzam Hindami), and visual installation curated by Lalune (Amanda Ariawan) held at IFI Jakarta.

Taking visual arts and music to another dimension, Random Supersonik #27 was a futuristic music showcase, fusing synergic visuals with music in one experience based on Random Brother's idea of "Randomness", where they show how they manipulate and perform with analog synthesizer, piano, string section, modular synthesizers, and human voice and prove that creativity in music carry endless capabilities.

In the event, Coune introduced a device equipped with ultrasonic sensor that reads the guest's gestures and turn them into music. Dalilektra showcased her artwork representing what she calls as "fragments of mind". Last but not least, Lalune curated artworks created by four artists, pushing the boundaries in visual contemporary arts.

Don't worry, incase you missed the event, we've got Random Brother's performance on tape!

Don't miss out their future events, keep updated through Random Brothers Instagram:

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Film Scoring: A Crash Course

Image by Caio Silva

Action, Horror, Thriller, Comedy, Drama and even animation films won't be immersive without music. As sounds as obvious as it is, a film score is a set of original music written specifically to accompany a film. This type of music is tailored specifically to meet the emotions of a film, whether to enhance suspense or to let the audience know that there is going to be a jump scare coming out.

While writing conventional music nowadays is easy thanks to the advancement of technology, film scoring is written on another level. There are main steps that should be considered in the making of a film score. Here's Film Scoring: A Crash Course. Watch this space.

Spotting 

Film spotting is similar to any kind of spotting, like plane spotting. where you watch and aim for a specific object of interest. The cool explanation for the film spotting is a process of watching a film to determine how the music should interact with it. 

Spotting is important because obviously, a composer should know how the film actually looks like. He/she will set up cue starts and stops, critical moments to focus to re-adapt them in musical manner. 

Syncing

No, it's not that button on CDJs and DJ controllers. Syncing in film scoring is an actual act to create a harmony between sounds and visuals. one method requires mathematical wizardry with the help of SMPTE timecode for syncing purposes. 

Writing

Now here's the fun part, the actual writing of the music! composers might use the OG way, using the best tool for writing in the world, pencil and paper, or use the modern digital audio workstation such as Logic, Ableton and Pro Tools. The difference here is that this process has been adapted to the steps mentioned above.

Recording

Once the score has been written, it's time to record the masterpiece. performers are gathered and perform what has been written by the composer. 

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