Week 2 at the MEDIA DROPPPPPP!!!!

We're back and ready for another productive week at media drop here at the contact theatre.....
My name is Ruud aka Metrodome; I am a part of the Media Drop collective and what I bring to the group is my skills in music production (beat making and engineering for the groups music).
I started making music on the PlayStation in 1994 at the tender age of 4 years old (believe it or not haha) using a program called "Music", later that year I first had a go at DJing on some CD Decks, which I enjoyed very much. I kept on practicing on both and got a taste for music production which lead me onto making music on a PC using a program called "ReBirth". 

I combined DJing with PC music production when I started using "MixMeister" audio track mixing software. When I was seven, I got my hands on a Technics SL1210 turntable and got a feel for vinyl. I borrowed a friends deck and mixer and started to practice DJing with vinyl, then when I was eight, I got my first professional gig here at the Contact Theatre back in 2002. The night was called "Wonderland" and was sponsored by Diesel and Channel 4. 


My biggest gig was Respect Festival, where I headlined at the same time as the reggae legend Gregory Isaacs, but not on the same stage, it was an amazing feeling because there was alot of people watching me play. Now I've played along side lots of other musicians from all over the world including Skinny Man, Rahzel, Killa Kela, Lethal Bizzle, Broke'n'English, Assmatics, DJ JS1 and Andy Peek, and earned enough to build a decent studio. 


I really enjoy coming to the media drop because there is so many different personalities and musical tastes which combine to make some really interesting sounds. The people are friendly and the vibe is always positive - which is exactly how the contact theatre is in general P.O.S.I.T.I.V.E. 


Because i'm accomplished on most music software fabz and JSD (the media drop facilitators) give me the opportunity to hone my skills on logic and use the iMac's which i don't have access to anywhere else. It enables me to practice mixing down drums, bass and synth's and make them fit well with vocals in the mix with reverb, delay etc etc.

Here is a video we made today, it shows me playing keys on the iMac... The backing beat is something i made today with John on guitar. Although we don't have a midi keyboard in the media lounge i can play the keys on the actual iMac keyboard!! Check it out!!
n 3, Cubase SX3 for production and Numark TTX1, Technics SL1210MK2 and Vestax PMC-06 for DJing.