[9th Wonder talking FL Studio via YouTube]

Ridiculous. I think the same thing is happening here. 

Enter Just Blaze and a recent post on his Instagram. Just, w/o a doubt, is one the most widely respected & revered producers of our time. Countless classics are the result of his hard work, determination, ear, and most importantly...his willingness to push the envelope musically. Especially with the tools he uses. You'd be hard-pressed to think Just Blaze is new to iOS! Without a doubt, I'm quite sure he's ultra familiar with not only Beatmaker 3 [shown in his video], but a host of other apps. It's incredible to see him rocking our fam over at Intua's Beatmaker 3, using the CME xKey. We have extremely similar set ups. Now while we're incredibly excited to see this, the problem I can see happening with us a culture  is now we may FINALLY consider iOS a legit solution to making music. JB is an influencer no doubt, but bruh. Was it any less valid prior to this?

One of the things that stops our creativity, innovation, and growth is the fact that often times we wait for validation & that stamp of approval before trying something for ourselves. Too often times we won't release new music until we've posted enough snippets, coming-soon's, and other visuals to gather some sort of positive feedback before we feel it's "ok." Our industry is FULL of band-wagoners sometimes. It's a huge problem. Some gear won't be touched until we see our favorite producer using it. Techniques in mixing/mastering won't even be considered until we find out it was used on our latest favorite records. Production styles stay pretty much the same until the next new wave of reasonably accepted sounds & styles gather steam and momentum. It pains me that sometimes we stop ourselves short of potential--waiting on a co-sign. 



iOS music making on the rise. I believe, eventually it can become a standard--similar to how we saw the landscape shift from tape to computers. Consoles to software. Large facilities & gear to home studios. It's inevitable. Just Blaze is just ONE example, a popular one, but just one example of that. I'm hoping that you guys won't wait until you see your next favorite producer co-sign the move before you decide to give yourself a shot. Price points on apps will be different. Many new players will be involved and things will become more increasingly complex for you to learn & excel. iPads/iPhones will for sure be more expensive. Most importantly, valuable time to innovate & push yourself creatively could be lost. I wanted to take a minute and highlight some folks you, without a doubt, should see that are knocking down preconceived notions on iOS and getting it done. Peep the wave below...

[Jay Ellyiot chopping samples in Beatmaker 3 via YouTube]

[Point5xl getting busy in iMPC Pro via Instagram]

[Marv building tracks in BM3 via Instagram]

[You've probably seen this, but it's worth another share. Steve Lacy on iPhone via Wired]

 

As if that isn't enough, have you seen the some of the players now getting involved in the iOS game? Plugins and the ability to fully produce tracks were a hangup of ours early on. Eventually you learn to adapt like with anything else. There are tons of other high-quality, professional apps to mangle your tracks with. I won't even sit here and explain to you how dope Lo-Fly Dirt & Fly Tape are...lol! Or even the incredible things our friends via AudioKitPro are doing with the FREE joints Synth One & FM Player! However, with desktop staples like Waves [within Cubasis] and FabFilter with the recent Pro-Q2 AUv3 drop, I think it's evident. We are getting there.