Tag: webmixgarden

My mix garden is down for a while

Mixing live in the EMFCamp null sector

I only noticed today that my mixgarden is currently down. I know exactly why which means its been like that for a while (a couple of weeks).

I recently upgraded to Apache 82 from Nginx and my redirect hasn’t been updated but not only that, my process really needs my Dell XPS laptop which has a currently a bit broken battery. My chromebook is good but its a struggle when messing with SSH and content on the Dell not Chromebook. Being ill and loosing someone doesn’t really allow me the time either.

Fear not you can still get to most of the latest mixes on peertube.

Update 24th Oct 2023

I have fixed the problem, it does mean a slight change which I did plan to do a while ago.
Now the link for the mixes is

https://mixes.cubicgarden.info

not the old

https://www.cubicgarden.info/mixes.

I’m attempting to setup a redirect but currently ill and taking it easy…

Dying daylight in Utrecht mix

A street in Utrecht at sunset

I had the joy of going to Utrecht in the Netherlands for a Storyjam. On that plane ride I started a mix, which I thought was good. Then did it again during of the nights in the Airbnb recording it live to my external recorder. It was good but then on the plane ride back I let rip and the results is what you hear in the mix.

  1. Ayla (Veracocha mix) – Ayla
  2. Crazy for you – Greg Downey
  3. Daylight (Frainbreeze remix) – Saad Ayub & Cristina Soto
  4. Go Fast! – Orjan Nilsen
  5. Doppelganger – Niels van Gogh
  6. The Great Escape – Rank 1 Vs Jochen Miller
  7. Carte Blanche (David Gravell Remix) – Veracocha
  8. Apocalypse – Yuji Ono
  9. RAMsterdam (Jorn van Deynhoven remix) – RAM

You can hear the whole mix at full quality on my mixgarden or on peertube.

 

Let the lyrics do the talking mix

Utopia's street art of a young woman with roses
Utopia’s street art of a young woman with roses (C) Utopia

A special anniversary mix for my partner, partly following the hearts in the clouds of Amsterdam mix. She loves vocals, while I tend to focus on the beats & rhythm. Looking through my collection of tunes, I was surprised how few had vocals.

With this, I started thinking about a mix using them and following a holiday in Lisbon. Tweaked an initial mix a few times to make it a better listen overall. The result is a mix which moves along at a higher speed of about 138bpm, matching the higher vocal trance and is a gift to my loving partner.

Of course enjoyable by all those who love vocal trance…

Enjoy it on my mixgarden or via Peertube!

The night life above and under Martim Moniz mix

The night life above and under Martim Moniz

Its a return to Lisbon’s Martim Moniz after the heights of Lisbon mix, always reminds me of how the square is being used by many different people. I learned the old city wall runs right through it and its interesting to sit and watch the different people come, go and gather.

Bit of a moody mix during a lovely holiday in Lisbon but its winter so wasn’t as warm. Leaning on the tech trance side, this mix has a large number of new tunes and some bold choices with the crossfader, which I kept in. Its a mix which gets you bopping that head up and down with some excellent tunes.

Enjoy on my mixgarden or on Peertube!

Adding activitypub or switching to peertube?

Mixcloud warning: You've reached your limit for published shows

In my latest mix the interdimensional transmission mix, I went to mixcloud to find, I’ve reached my limit for published shows. So been thinking about what mixcloud does do for me. Mainly distribution and a bit of charting.

On the distribution side, it seems like the fediverse could easily do a better job. Originally I would love to use funkwhale but from previous experience it doesn’t really support mixes well compared to single tunes. Which is why I setup my own webmixgarden.

Currently I’m using a static site generator (pubili) which is great because I could add webmonitisation. Although I’m wondering if I should switch to one which supports activitypub? However I feel there is a way which combines both and its likely another platform on the fediverse? I can’t be the only one who is putting out mixes right?

I tooted and had some suggestions. But decided to look at peertube to see if that could work. After finding a instance, which had rules which worked for what I was doing. I starter experimenting here but i’m waiting for my mix to be moderated (its a one man instance, so expect it might take some time). If things work out I might just install peertube on my server.

Update

My mix is now up on peertube via rankett.net, thats the big news.
However I wanted to talk through what happened.

William who runs the rankett instance of peertube messaged me via email asking about copyright details of the mix. This was a surprise because we are all use to faceless entities moderating via machine learning.  We had a little chat over email and I explained what I was doing and shared this blog post. Happy with the explanation, my mix was unblacklisted and its now available for all to play.

I’m currently looking at ways to add chapters markers to the mix, by slightly abusing the captions feature. I can’t really see another way to do it.

Another update

LPS messaged me on mastodon and pointing out a undocumented feature of peertube.

I can easily add time points in the description and with the correct formatting will automatically turn into jump points into the mix.

Adding jump points in peertube

We also talked about setting up peertube using yunohost, which I’m already using. So theres little excuse now for me to just set it up one day soon.

The interdimensional transmission mix

Communicating with space from the See Monster

Following the previous Pacemaker mix, I decided during a very long train journey to get the pacemaker out for some more trance. Using parts of the last few mixes, I decided to give the new mix some new direction.

The mix shifts along at a nice 136 bpm, complete with hands in the air moments and who couldn’t enjoy some stress test (hidden gem).

Enjoy!

You will notice there is no Mixcloud upload for this mix. Mainly because of the decisions of Mixcloud and being at my limit for a free account. Which means going to my mixgarden for future mixes.

  1. Escape – Markus Schulz
  2. Catch (Martin Roth remix) – Blank & Jones
  3. Stresstest (John Askew remix) – John O’Callaghan
  4. Tears (Protoculture remix) – Dakota
  5. Arjan – Angelica S
  6. Follow me (Jerome Isma-Ae Extended remix) – Jam & Spoon
  7. Talk to me (Orjan Nilsen trance mix) – John O’Callaghan and Timmy & Tommy
  8. Higher state – Kevin Crowley
  9. Shnorkel (Thankyou city remix) – Ido Ophir & Miki Litvak
  10. Running up the hill (Jerome Isma-ae bootleg mix) – Placebo
  11. Eternal Horizon – Alex M.O.R.P.H
  12. The Descent – Protoculture
  13. Grotesque – RAM & Alex M.O.R.P.H

I saw it coming, changes to Mixcloud

Mixing live in the EMFCamp null sector

Today there was a email from Mixcloud.com

Nico here, CEO and co-founder of Mixcloud. Today we’re announcing upcoming changes to Mixcloud:
From December 1st we’re introducing a maximum allowance of 10 published shows for creators on the basic tier.

Why is this happening?

We believe DJs and producers should be rewarded for the skill and creativity that goes into their work. That’s why for over 10 years we’ve subsidized hosting costs and built tools that enable creators to grow and earn money.

We also believe artists should be paid when their music is played. That’s why every show uploaded to Mixcloud is scanned by our content ID system. This enables us to identify the tunes being played and pay royalties to the artists who made them.

Unlike other platforms, we’ve spent years securing comprehensive licensing deals with the major and independent labels to ensure this money is paid to the right artists. We have shouldered these costs in order to create a fair music ecosystem.

Until now we’ve kept our basic tier uncapped. However, as we’ve grown our royalty and hosting costs have risen and we are not profitable. To continue running and improving Mixcloud we need to become more sustainable as a business, and Pro memberships help us cover our costs.

How will you be affected?

On 1st December all of your shows will remain published and available to listeners. But, if you want to make space for a new show, you will need to manually move shows into drafts until you are within the allowance or upgrade to Pro for unlimited published shows.

Fair point but I’m not totally convinced, as it wasn’t that long ago when rewind and track listing became not possible. It was clear to me that I needed to do something ahead of this all, hence why I setup my own webmix garden. I agree it would be great to pay the creators of the music, and using webmotization considered a way to do this.

Maybe this is where I part ways with Mixcloud? Its a shame but like all the people leaving Twitter due to Elon Musk. its just not suitable for me anymore.

I would still like to try that distributed payment pointer system and also explore the notion of distributed charts using DHTs, removing the need for huge amounts of centralised storage.

Heart in the clouds of Amsterdam mix

Looking out across clouds mid flight to Amsterdam

I have been doing mixes in the car for my partner while she drives. Its one of the big advantages of the pacemaker device. Plugin the audio jack and you can DJ almost anywhere. My partner prefers vocal tunes to my usual style of tech trance, so I now have a case of vocal trance tunes. On top of this was a visit to the world’s first dance music museum with my good DJ friend Dirty Si.

So with all this in mind, here is my new mix recorded while going to Amsterdam recently for my lovely partner. The mix shifts along at a nice 135 bpm, is short (due to the flight to Amsterdam) but is full of hands in the air moments. Enjoy!

  1. Tears from the moon (Tiesto’s in search of sunrise remix) – Conjure one Feat. Sarah O’connor
  2. Drifting away (Large sunset dub) – Large Feat. Skye
  3. Talk to me (Orjan Nelison Trance mix) – John O’Callaghan and Timmy & Tommy
  4. Catch (Martin Roth remix) – Blank & Jones
  5. Daylight (Frainbreeze remix) – Saad Ayub & Cristina Soto
  6. Without You (Dogzilla dub) – Dogzilla
  7. Halcyon (Alex M.O.R.P.H. remix) – Andy Moor
  8. Not Over Yet ’99 (Matt Darey) – Planet Perfecto feat. Grace
  9. The Power Of Love 99 (System F mix) – Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Available in full on my webmix garden and mixcloud if you prefer…

Follow me to the big trance sound of summer mix

Train tracks into the distance

During a recent holiday to Lisbon, I of course took my Pacemaker Device to create a brand new mix. This time, I went very trancey. Maybe it was the incredible sunshine, the fun of exploring Lisbon or just being in Europe again?

Whatever it was this mix is a much more pacey 135bpm and frankly kicks those tired legs with some force. I’d say this is a excellent mix and full of hands in the air moments. Its also full of new tracks alongside some old classics.

  1. Blood Angels (Chris Liebing mix) – John Starlight
  2. Catch (Martin Roth remix) – Blank & Jones
  3. Humming the lights – Armin Van Buuren & Gaia
  4. Venture (Nifra Extended remix) – Super8 & Tab
  5. Music is more than mathematics (Extended mix) – Protoculture
  6. Communication (Tomas Heredia remix) – Armin van Buuren
  7. Megalodon – MaRLo
  8. End transmission – ReDrive & Patrick Blanes
  9. Ecstasy – Eddie Makabi feat. Einat
  10. Wonder of Life (F&W remix) – Tukan
  11. Stresstest (John Askew remix) – John O’Callaghan
  12. Airtight (Extended mix) – Rafael Osmo
  13. We are one (Instrumental mix) – Dave202
  14. Arjan – Angelica S
  15. Valhalla (After future remix) – OneBeat
  16. Madagascar (Domi-Nation remix) – Art of Trance

Available in full on my webmix garden and mixcloud if you prefer…