N.B. If you wonder why this is wierdly formatted, it's because this page has to work as an email too....
Previous Newsletter

Hello there, music lovers! - It's that time again.....

*** NEW RELEASES ***
Check http://www.master-zap.com/cd/ or
http://www.lysator.liu.se/~zap/cd/ for details!

This mail is available online in HTML form with live links and everything at http://www.master-zap.com/newsletter/2-98.html

This is Master Zap Newsletter #2/98. This newsletter is sent approx. quarterly, so dont worry about it flooding your mailbox.

If you wonder WHY you get it (you either explicitly requested it, or bought something from me) or how to stop getting it (emailing me), see the END of the newsletter. This is never intentionally sent unsolicited, so be gentle. Also, if you get duplicates, contact me w. all your email adresses.


This issue is devoted to NEW RELEASES, both Musical and Software, plus some other pieces of info. In this issue:


MY NEW URL

Nobody with a serious internet presence (and you know I have a serious internet presence!) can be without his or her own domain name!! So I bit my teeth and registered my own domain, and here it is, finally. Forget everything else, THIS is my future adress, for ever:

WWW.MASTER-ZAP.COM

Take note that: Btw, the "old" http://zap.base.org URL still works, but might be discontinued in the future (far future, that is).

NEW CD - OLD CD - GREAT CD

For more deatailed info on the CD's, w. cover pictures and more track clips, go to the master zap CD page at:

http://www.master-zap.com/cd/

-- NEW CD: "Mista' Engineer" [$15 inc. S&H]

The demand for new music from me has been overwhelming. I have assembled a new "EP" CD, or maybe an "overgrown single" if you will, for you, my loyal 'net fans. This CD is short (25 minutes), and can be ordered for $15 including worldwide Shipping & Handling. The CD is titled "Mista' Engineer", and you can listen to the title-track, a sort of drum'n'bass rap sample kind of track on this adress: The title track is available in three mixes, has been getting som positive attention, and some national radio airplay! Are you yourself or do you have a friend who is an engineer? Real engineers can get a real kick out of this track....

There are also several other new tracks on this CD...

-- NEW CD: "The Stompilation" [$15 inc. S&H]

The Stompilation is a compilation CD consisting only of tracks utilizing my "drum sound synthesizer" software STOMPER. I only have one track on this CD (which also is available on the "Mista' Engineer" CD), but if you are interested in hearing 22 tracks of strange music from all over the planet, get this little gem.

For more information check out the Stompilation web page at:

-- CD: "The Curvature of Space" [$20 inc. S&H]

Those of you who are new to this list, might or might not know about my debut CD, called "The Curvature of Space". This CD is a combined Audio CD and a CD-ROM with information, software, and bonus tracks (all in all containing over two hours of music)! There is less than 100 copies left, so if you want to be part of music history, and own one, you might consider acting NOW!!

For those who havn't heard the CD can check out the 8 minute mix of tracks I have prepared:


RECENT COMMENTS / PRESS

As usual I have received oceans of wonderful comments from different kinds of people about my music and the "Curvature of Space" CD. The last newsletter issue detailed comments from Michael Tretow, Craig Anderton and others. This time I can boast the following interesting commenteers and pressclips:

ANA VOOG of ANACAM fame (http://anacam.com)
Ana is probably most known for being the net's wildest exhibitionist. She also has an exquisite taste in music. Her comment on "The Curvature of Space" was: "yes! thank u for your cd! i listened to it and it's very good :)"

The Local Magazine wrote a nice article about me
You need to be fluent in Swedish to enjoy it to the fullest, but check it out at:


NEW EQUIPMENT

The studio is constantly expanding, and the quality of my music spirals upwards as a consequence. Several new pieces of gear has been purchased, including stuff like an Ensoniq ASR-X sampler, a new high-quality soundcard, a HUGE 24 channel mixer, with dual swept eq and insert effects on all channels, some cult Casio synth's, some new Effects modules, vocoders, reverbs...

The gear page at http://www.master-zap.com/gear.html will Very Soon be updated to reflect these new investments....


"SWEDISH MASTERS OF REMIX"

I recently was in the remix-competition "Swedish Masters of Remix" (www.q-park.se). The task was to remix a euro-dance track by Tellus named "Take Me Up" to something listenable. I made a whopping FIVE remixes. Unfortunately, the jury showed an extremely poor taste, and I did not win (can you imagine!?), although Pierre Jerksten, the front man of Tellus himself, thought that my "maximum volume lo fi beat mix" 'rocked serious ass'. The rest of the jury didn't seem to share his exquisite taste in music though.

Here's a couple of samples:

"Maximum Volume Lo-Fi Groove Mix"
http://www.master-zap.com/music/beatmeup.ram
"Strip Club Blues Mix"
http://www.master-zap.com/music/jazzmeup.ram


SOFTWARE: "LITTLE DRUMMER BOY" Drum Loop Creator

To make a long story short - now it is released (albeit in a beta version) - my drum loop creation software "Little Drummer Boy". It's ShareWare with $16.50 registration fee, but this beta version has a reduced $12 pricetag.

"Little Drummer Boy" (or "LDB" for short) sequences Stomper drumsounds and WAV files into loops, adding effects like distorsion, resonant filters, and envelopes to the sounds. Download the program and get any further info from:


"TOO FAR AWAY" AND "I'M POOR"

I have on the feedback form on my website allowed people to state if they interested in buying my CD or not, and if not, the reason why. Apart from the flood of "this is great I will buy it immediately", there is also a sizeable amount of people that pick "I am interested but I won't because...." and as a reason states one of:

As for the distance, I have shipped to USA, England, Germany, Brazil, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Japan, New Zealand, Australia (very popular in Oz for some reason!), Russia, Argentina, Singapore, South Africa, and a few more places on the globe. Basically, you can't get much further from Sweden than New Zealand, and I've shipped there without blinking, and YES the shipping IS included in the $20 price no matter WHERE on the planet you are.

To make myself clear: I ship to anywhere on this planet postal mail can come. If you are in the rainforest, you'll have to go to the nearest postoffice. If you are offworld on another planet, email me, and we'll negotiate a shipping fee.... :-)

As for being poor, well, I can sympathize. I know what it's like to be a poor student. It's my own fault, really. The music I make is very popular among the "poor student" range of people, and many don't have a credit card. Serves me right. I should have made a Country&Western album instead. :-)!

The solution: Talk to me! zap@master-zap.com! We can arrange something. Maybe you can do something for me? Get it played on a college, local or national radio station? DJ it on a huge rave? Talk to a friend who owns a record company? Anything!

Depending on what you can do for me, price can drop way down, perhaps as far as $0. The best you can do is get me on the air, the bigger radio station the better. Or a record deal or two wouldn't hurt. :-)


MORE WWW MUSIC

As always, why dont you drop by some of my musical friends on the net. Here they are:

Kelani's land of broken dreams- http://kelani.com

Björn "Xakk" Fogelberg - http://www.fogelberg.com

Björn "Dr. Awesome" Lynne - http://www.lynnemusic.com

(By the way - all of the above artists also use Kagi for their payment processing....)


PRICES/HOW TO ORDER

The price of "Curvature Of Space" is $20 including WORLDWIDE shipping and handling. "Stompilation" and "Mista' Engineer" are $15 each, including shipping and handling

. There is also a bundle option; combine "Curvature of Space" with either "Stompilation" or "Mista' Engineer", and get the total reduced to $30!

You can order from the above mentioned CD page, or directly at the following URL's:

If you are worried about using your credit card across the net, remember this: Any credit card transaction that you have not SIGNED for, physically, you can always, no-questions-asked, chargeback via the credit card company. When you do that, it is up to ME to PROVE that I have shipped something to you that you wanted! So you have NO risk and I have ALL the risk. More details at http://www.master-zap.com/worried.html

You can also order cash (NO CHECKS!) directly to me [but see note at the end!], by simply mailing one of the following amounts:

C = Curvature of Space
S = Stompilation
M = Mista' Engineer
  • Sweden (Swedish Krona): C = 120 SEK, E = 100 SEK, S = 100 SEK, C+E = 200 SEK, C+S = 200 SEK
  • Europe (German Mark): C = 30 DM, E = 25 DM, S = 25 DM, C+E = 50 DM, C+S = 50 DM
  • USA and rest of planet (US $): C = $20, E = $15, S = $15, C+E = $30, C+S = $30

...in an envelope to:

Håkan 'Zap' Andersson
Stora Almby, Hagby
S-635 05 Eskilstuna
SWEDEN

Include a piece of paper with:

If you can't change your money to either US$ or D-Mark, again, talk to me. Remember, though, that it's just as hard to me to change this small amount from e.g. Japanese Yen's that it is for you to change Yen's into US$. Best solution: Credit card. You dont have one, give a friend that has the money and let him pay for it with his card!

When using the cash payment, please note that it IS possible for money to get lost in the mail. So far it has happened on one known occasion. Therefore, it is very good if you always EMAIL ME at zap@master-zap.com when you send a cash order! That way I know to expect something and can raise warning flags if nothing happens. I trust the disgruntled postal workers as much as the next guy, but if you are worried about your money, try using the credit card payment facility. It does have it's disadvantages (one being 15% of the money eaten by the processing folks :-) but is very safe, and doesn't get lost! Do NOT I repeat do NOT send me a check, they cost me $15 or more to cash!!! (you would have to send me a $35 check!!)

SWEDES CAN USE "POSTGIRO" TO PAY!

(Now swapping to Swedish for a moment....) I Sverige kan du beställa mina CD's genom att betala in på mitt postgirokonto 154 88 47 - 1. Betalningsmottagara "Håkan Andersson", och skriv i meddelande till betalningsmottagare vad du beställer för CD(s), samt ditt email (och leveransadressen om annan än kontohavarens hemadress), så kommer den på posten!

"The Curvature of Space" finns även att köpa på Boxman (http://www.boxman.se)


FREE REVIEW / RADIO COPIES

Naturally, I want to have my music reviewed and played in as many magazines and radio/TV channels as technically possible. Therefore, if you write for a publication, DJ at venus or on the air, drop me an email at zap@master-zap.com and tell me about yourself, the magazine, eZine, webZine e.t.c. you write for, or where you spin disks as a DJ, and we will try to arrange a free promo copy to come your way!


WHAT I FORGOT / SIGNING OFF

Every time after dispatching this newsletter, I invariably, 5 minutes after sending it, either spot a horrendeous error in it, or discover something vital I forgot. To fix this, I've added this section. So if you want to make sure you get everything, check the ONLINE version of the newsletter at http://www.master-zap.com/newsletter/2-98.html and go to this section. There I will add any errata/updates that invariably spring to mind just after I hit "Send".


WHO ARE RECEIVING THIS, AND HOW TO STOP GETTING IT

If you receive this newsletter, you fit into one of the following categories:

  1. You have explicitly requested it (by "x"-ing the little square in my feedback form "Put me on your mailinglist")
  2. You have bought something from me or gotten something free (Software registrations, CD's)
  3. You are a personal friend of mine
  4. You are a media contact of some kind (Reviewer, e.t.c.)

If you do not want to receive further newsletters, just drop me an email at zap@master-zap.com telling me this. Put "unsubscribe newsletter" in the subject, and in the body of the message, tell me any possible email adresses you might be subscribed under. Btw, this process is done manually by me. I am not a software package, I have feelings, and I will, with some sadness, remove you from the list. Bohoo.


Thank you for your time - that's all for this issue.

[End of Newsletter #2/98]


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