MOPHO Last Analog Transmission

In 2008, the Editor in Chief of Producer’s Edge magazine, Drew Spence, was inspired by the Dave Smith Instruments synthesizer MOPHO. Sound designer and Media Editor Griffin Avid released a soundpack of elements created purely by the MOPHO. Rap Artist Lenzmen Dynamics Plus released the album Dynamic Universe Volume 12 Battlestrux Year One: Captain of a Starship. The bonus track “MOPHO Last Analogue Transmission” was bundled with the magazine DVD. That song was entirely composed of sounds made with the MOPHO.

This work is a depiction of the events detailed in that music recording. It’s a song created in tribute to the Dave Smith Instruments MOPHO desktop synthesizer. A vessel responds to a hail and find out what the Push It button is for on the MOPHO.

The young Captain Dynamics Plus will see the light of destruction. 22 Pages, full color, standard format for your collecting pleasure.

We also have a music video for MOPHO Last Analogue Transmission.

This video is Dedicated to the Memory of Dave Smith.

The Dynamic Universe on Patreon

THE DYNAMIC UNIVERSE goes live on PATREON

Thank you for supporting The Dynamic Universe! We are a creative engine- turning out Graphic Comics, Music and Video. Help us generate new content by getting involved. We are Recording Artists Dynamics Plus, Domino Grey and Fallout Shelter. We are Mark of the Griffin. We are Dynamica Comics – serving you graphic comics and art. Our tastes swing from ambient to epic, from the symphonic to the synthetic. Thank you for joining us on this amazing ride. Together, we’ll bring the far future – closer, faster.

Get involved for behind the page access, exclusive and un-edited content, new music and art. Add your voice and help decide where we go next. It’s your universe. We’re just here to make it more Dynamic. Thank you for your support. It means everything.

https://www.patreon.com/TheDynamicUniverse

 

F.A.Q.    The Dynamic Universe on Patreon

 

Firstly, you are NOT buying a product. You are $upporting The Dynamic Universe and, in turn, getting FREE access to everything we create based on your level of support. You can increase, decrease or modify you $upport level at any time you wish.

 

1) WHY and HOW does the $upport per release vs monthly contribution work?

 

Since the amount of releases per month may change, we feel it is best to accept your pledge ONCE per month. If we do not release any material, you simply do not pay anything for that month. Also, for example, if you pick the $8.00 level of support and we release three projects, you will NOT be charged for each product. You would be charged your one-time contribution of the $8.00 for the ENTIRE month and receive your complete share of the Dynamic Universe content.

 

2) What do you create and release?

 

The Dynamic Universe is the combination of the AVXP music label (Dynamica Music) and Dynamica Comics. We are home to recording artist Dynamics Plus, electronic music producer Domino Grey and the instrumentalists Fallout Shelter. We produce graphic comics with the lead title being Force Six, The Annihilators. We have plans to branch into other mediums and properties. As we get a better idea and a reliable timeframe, all of our Patreon supporters will be updated.

 

3) Can I just give you something in one lump sum?

 

Sure! What I suggest is heading over to the Dynamica Music store and grabbing a few titles. (http://www.dynamicamusic.com/store.asp) Grab multiple copies of the same release if you feel the urge to show some super love this way.

 

4) You have quite a collection already. Can we get your old stuff?

 

Web series and videos like Mark of the Griffin are free to watch and the entire released musical catalogue is available on iTunes, Amazon, Beatport, CD Baby and everywhere digital music is sold. You can also buy it directly from the Dynamica Music store. Once you’re a Patreon supporter, drop us a line and we’ll talk about it. Speaking of which…

 

5) Do the Patreon $upporters have real influence?

 

Of course! This remains flexible. Join us on Patreon to give feedback and help build a better build. This is only 1.0

 

 

For Free Content, you should subscribe to the Dynamic Universe Blog, our youtube.com/DynamicaMusic channel and follow the various artists on the roster. Dynamics Plus, Domino Grey (@DominoGrey), Fallout Shelter, Mark of the Griffin(@MarkoftheGriffin) and The Dynamic Universe @DynamicaMusic.

 

 

 

$1.00 Tier

This is saying ‘Hey, I appreciate your work and want to drop in once a month and say hello.’ No amount of consideration is too small to overlook or take for granted. Thank you.

 

 

$5.00 tier

– early access news updates and releases

– Free download access of the Graphic Comics in PDF format.

– Free access to any musical releases (singles, EPs, albums)

 

$8.00 tier

– early access news updates and releases

– Free download access to an HD QUALITY version of the Graphic Comics PDF

– Free access to any musical releases (singles, EPs, albums) + Remixes

 

BONUS content may include

– unedited version of graphic comics (Mature Version)

– Alternate artwork

– Skype QA session invites

– Behind the panels exclusive looks

– Additional download access of satellite titles

– Prizes and gifts to be announced

– and more is on the way!

 

Thank you for $upporting The Dynamic Universe!

Any questions, drop a line ReachMe@TheDynamicUniverse.com

Falling Planets The Graphic Novel drops

Falling Planets

This is a graphic novel from the Battlestrux Universe. It details humanities first voyage into the larger universe. Purchase this book and receive a free download of the soundtrack inspired by and created for Falling Planets by Lenzmen Dynamics Plus.  60 Pages, Full Color.

Dynamica Comics presents: Falling Planets

Our warp drive will open a new frontier.

This is man’s first step into the larger universe.

We will stumble over our humanity.

Enter the Battlestrux

Battlestrux was a comic book I began drawing back in high school. The entire saga follows the rise and fall of humanity and our influence in the universe. Falling Planets is the first story I wanted to present and it tells the story of alien contact. Thank you for supporting my imagination. – Andrew Spencer

The Graphic Novel can be purchased here, in either print or digital.

Only $14.95 for Physical Deluxe Copies and $4.95 for Digital (PDF) Download.

Here are the  details for the soundtrack from another post on this blog.

Thank you for Supporting my imagination.

RapReviews.com Album review: Battlestrux Year One

RapReviews.com Battlestrux Year One

as reviewed by Steve ‘Flash’ Juon

Battlestrux Year One: Captain of a Starship

“Not everyone wants to boldly go…”     – Dynamics Plus

Somewhere between the demented genius of Kool Keith and the lyrical dexterity of the Hieroglyphics lies the science fiction of Dynamics Plus. Put simply we’re talking about hip-hop meets space opera – it’s like throwing Doctor Who, Del the Funky Homosapien and Bob Dylan into a BlendTec and hitting the “musical puree” button. (Rap smoke – don’t breathe this!) This is not a new phenomenon for the RapReviews crew – Matt Jost first opened a portal into this strange galaxy back in 2005 when he covered “Doctor Atomics and the Fortress of Solitude.” This was apparently the sixth album continuing the saga of the voyages of Captain Dynamics, although like Leonard Parts I-V we have no idea where the rest went. Equally perplexing is what happened to volumes VII-XI of his adventures – perhaps like me some of you Whovians will assume the tapes got erased by the BBC in a shortsighted effort to recycle material and/or clear out some storage space.

In today’s chapter of the journey, our hero Captain Dynamics finds himself exploring the ass-end of a universe where starships are being destroyed at an accelerating rate. “You’re not going into the Triangle?” asks a feminine sounding robotic crewmate. “Not on the first date” quips Captain Dynamics. This double entendre exchange during “Captain on the Bridge” is fairly indicative of what we’re working with here. Dynamics stays “in character” throughout the album, while apparently breaking the fourth wall a la Deadpool to make mocking comments about the absurdity of it all. It’s in fact possible that Dynamics is actually playing ALL of the characters crewing his spaceship, a feat of madness equally worthy of Deadpool and perhaps Robin Williams too. Apparently the solution to the spaceship crisis Dynamics is investing is to “find the Omega Pegasus” – possibly a derelict spaceship – though I’m not honestly sure why. I have the feeling whatever’s on it is like the vaunted Omega 13 of Galaxy Quest – no one knows if it’s good for anything until forced to use it out of desperation.

I wish I could tell you this is a compelling journey “to infinity and beyond” but I’m afraid the adventures of Captain Dynamics aren’t quite that good. There’s no doubt he’s got a good flow when he gets around to using it on songs like “Lair of the Beast” when he’s battling an intergalactic Space Kraken, but even for a self-confessed hip-hop nerd what Captain Dynamics is working with is a little hard to get into. It’s not that I’ve missed 10 out of 12 chapters in this story – many was the time growing up when I dived into a fantasy or sci-fi book series halfway through and figured out what was going on without having read the rest (although once I could track them down I did). The problem here is that the story isn’t that good. I used the term “space opera” earlier, which some have used derogatively in the past to describe shows like Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek. In truth though good science fiction entertainment needs soap opera elements – someone heroic to root for, some great evil to fight against, and often times a little romance so the male or female lead is more human and not as robotic as the enemies they fight.

Captain Dynamics lacks that humanity, and the fact his crew sound like voice modulated robots reflects this problem. This is one man’s hip-hop science fiction adventure, and although he clearly possesses the intellectual power and production technique to make it work in audio form, even hardcore hip-hop nerds will find it lacks something even medicore commercial rappers have – passion and soul. So much time is put into executing this drama correctly that so little of it actually has boom bap, witty rhymes or a hero whose adventures you’d actually care about. If you want to see fantasy and science fiction put together in a hip-hop context, you’d be far better served to check out the adventures of the insane Dr. Octagon or the drunken MF DOOM. Both have one thing in common with each other that they don’t with Captain Dynamics – they remembered to put the beats and the rhymes first and the comic book style structures second to support them. Captain Dynamics did it the other way around and it’s little wonder he ended up at the backward end of the universe trying to save spaceships instead of having grand space opera adventures worth hearing about.

Music Vibes: 3 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 4 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 3.5 of 10

Hear it for yourself ….

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003X2T9I6?ie=UTF8&tag=theorihiphopl-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003X2T9I6

Visit the Main Website for all things Dynamic Plus

http://www.thedynamicuniverse.com/

Album Review: Dynamics Plus Battlestrux Year One: Captain of a Starship

Album Review: Dynamics Plus – Battlestrux Year One: Captain of a Starship

As posted on Rights Are Imaginary dot com:

What’s the really good word, interwebbers?

Today is an Artist/Band album review of a group I already reviewed an album for, but this is their newest (from what I know; they have a massive amount of released music you can check out at their Official Lenzmen Website) album titled Battlestrux Year One: Captain of a Starship.  A briefing about this group would be difficult to sum up in little words because they’re that nasty.  It’s actually completely confusing listening tracks from the Lenzmen due to the fact that there’s so much information to comprehend and compute in such a relatively short amount of time that the part, or the entire track, needs to be listened to another time.  I actually listened to Battlestrux Year One: Captain of a Starship two times within two hours; it is that good.

Dynamics Plus Interview on the I Can’t Call It site

Dynamics Plus Interview on the I Can’t Call It site

Dynamics Plus- Battlestrux Year One: Captain of a Starship

This was my first Q&A ever. Rarely do you do an interview with a person you greatly respect right out of the gate, but I had that honor in interviewing Dynamics Plus from the hip-hop group The Lenzmen. Considered the “Dr.Dre of underground hip-hop”, Dynamics Plus has released classic album after classic album and continues to put his stamp in history with each release. Here’s the Q&A:

You’ve done a lot of risky choices in your career in the eyes of hip-hop audiences and have succeeded each time. Why do you feel there are such limitations that even “experimental artists” will have on their music?

I think I’m only successful because I am driven by my own definition of success. I pride myself on being creative, different and highly lyrical. As long as people say that I hit the mark, I’m good on all other accounts. Obviously, I face all the same limitations of resources and exposure that all artists do. I take an extra hit for being so left field, but I’m not really an animal that enjoys running in a herd.

I try not to limit my musical directions by what I think will sell or sell well. I can’t use mainstream media outlets like the radio or video channels to help decide what I should do next. That will always keep me in the box of experimental risk-takers. I’m fine with that since I only need enough exposure and $ales to justify putting out another record. I will always make music, but packaging an entire project and pressing it up takes a level of focus and commitment that still has to make sense and cents at the end of the day.

“What was the process in creating this album like as opposed to your previous albums??”
Battlestrux: Captain of a Starship kind of grew out of nowhere. After Chaos Legion I and II, I felt like I had done enough stories for a while. I was ready to dive back into freestyle joints, but every so often I would finish another starship story and soon realized I had half an album done without really trying. So I decided to stay the course and finish off the album.

Fortress of Solitude was pieced together very deliberately. 3 story joints, 3 freestyles, 3 songs etc…I picked songs from my raw-catalogue and rendered them. That’s where the “Interactive Construction Module” idea came from. I built songs like I was a scientist carrying out sonic experiments. Chaos Legion was basically a huge story arc and I wrote and recorded the songs in order. I basically lived out that adventure inside my studio.

Starship was simply a matter of me saying “What happens next?” I wasn’t even sure what was going to happen at the end. The mission is to investigate some kind of anomaly that’s destroying ships in a gravity well. That’s it. I kept the plot real simple, but buried all the extra meanings so you can only get caught up in the layers if you choose to. Chaos required a keen level of perception to really get it all. So far, the feedback has been that Starship is much easier to follow and I think that’s because of the linear nature …in the order of the songs. There aren’t any diversions or side quests to get lost in.

Character Voicing has been a big deal on a bunch of my story albums. Starship had a lot of different characters coming in and out and there are whole sections left to the ad-libbing characters to fill in. This definitely added to the challenge of pulling off an album with a huge cast of supporting personalities. In Chaos, I used the story to flesh out the personalities. In Starship, it’s all down to the ad-libs and what they choose to say that gives you the idea of how these characters would interact in different scenarios.
“Thoughts on the digital game”

It’s a double-edged sword. It’s much more cost effective to release music as MP3s than any kind of physical media. But the hitch is that it’s also much easier to obtain your music illegally and share it without any consideration. I see tons of Lenzmen songs as free downloads all over the net. People are even uploading scans of the physical CD like “Here, print this and make your own CD cover”. The peeps behind it are trying to spread the word and share our stuff, so where do I draw the line? I only hope someone gets an experience and likes it so much, they decide to support us on a future project and buy the music. One can hope, can’t one?

The best part about digital distribution and sales is the tracking of sales through sites like iTunes and Amazon. I get to see exactly what songs are people’s favorites from any album. The songs that I consider the singles always do well, but every so often I get surprised by something I really made just for me being appreciated and selling as well.
Thoughts on the relevant artist/groups of the 90′s still being dominant forces in the game …Nas, Jay-Z, Wu Tang..?

I see the parallel in sports, mostly boxing. There isn’t a new crop of cats coming up with enough raw skill to push the veterans out the door. So it’s a situation where the old heads are schooling the new generation at every turn. If you build yourself on ‘hitz’ then it’s always possible to run out of big hit records and fade. The foundation for a long career is based on skill and the ability to adapt to the changing landscape. Skills diminish much more slowly and for many of veterans, the bar was so high, it’s going to take a long time to degrade down to the level where most of the newer cats are coming in at. And that’s only because the new generation of artists and athletes are built up by endorsements and hype as opposed to their raw talent and skill.
“What is your favorite song on this new record??? Why??”
Um…that’s a tough one. Maybe “Space Kraken Awaken”. It’s a self-contained story that really sets up the rest of the album. I like the traditional arrangement with a hook and bridge- something I usually try to avoid with story joints. I feel like a traditional format reminds you it’s a song and not a narrative, but in this case it works.

Musically, it’s really out there and spacey without all the lazer zaps and filter sweeps. I feel the story captures some really special moments- like the engine room scene and the switch up to the bridge in the final moments. I feel like I’m right there when I hear this one. Yeah, it’s one of my favorites, for sure.
“What is your favorite Lenzmen album???”

One that hasn’t been made yet. We have so much more experimenting to do.

“What is the possibility right now of another Lenzmen album??””
Right now? All the Lenzmen are still active, so it’s really a matter of time. Pretty good -if we can figure out how to pull it together while we are all so far from each other.

“Where do you see the future for The Dynamics Plus Universe?? Upcoming projects???”

Centri has another full length album to follow up his Article 15 debut. Docktor Strange has his first solo album coming and Earthadox is building his studio and making music. So really, everyone has albums coming and I think after we get those out, it’ll be time to reconnect the continents. I’d like to finish off a bunch of planned releases. Doctor Atomics is certainly in my future and there are a good number of Story-based Universes that need to be fleshed out.

More albums, more music, more abstract sci-fi hip hop!

Hey, thanks for this interview Feenom.

For more Dynamics Plus and Lenzmen information, go to http://www.thedynamicuniverse.com/ and http://www.lenzmen.com/

You can read more from The I Can’t call It Blog…

http://icantcallit.wordpress.com/

FREE MUSIC “M.O.P.H.O. The Last Analogue Transmission”

FREE MUSIC “M.O.P.H.O. The Last Analogue Transmission”

Battlestrux Year One: Captain of a Starship Track Spotlight

A lot of my earlier albums had songs called Captain Dynamics Plus and then a more specific subtitle like “Planet Industry” or “stardust Memories”. These are short stories based around the idea of Dynamics Plus being a starship captain and having adventures. I enjoyed making and listening to them, but I didn’t know how to expand the idea beyond an album interlude.

Enter the MOPHO

Whenever reviewing a piece of gear for Producer’s Edge digital magazine, I always crank out a good number of tracks to both explore the unit and to familiarize myself with its workflow and tendencies. The Dave Smith Instruments MOPHO is a monophonic analog synthesizer that I found to be a joy to work with. You can read the review here. I was using both the surface knobs and the soft-editor and generating a ton of usable sounds. That inspired me to start using the MOPHO to create entire tracks by itself. If you are unfamiliar with synthesizers, you can think of a monophonic synthesizer as only being able to generate one sound at a time. Not entirely true, but true enough to realize that it takes a lot of programming and recording in passes or layers to make an entire song. It’s the equivalent of having one musician play every instrument. Easy enough, but now add in the fact that the musician has to make the instrument (sound) first!

One of the tracks caught my ear with an arpeggiated phrase that sounded like something I would have used in a CDP interlude. I hadn’t made one in a while so I thought ‘why not?’ and began writing. I now had a song as full as “Cosmic Centipede Episode V” from Foresight Wars. That in turn inspired a full length album based in the Captain Dynamics Plus universe. I had a lot of fun creating this song and we can explore some of the lyrics in the following Track Spotlight.

* The samples used in this song and more are available for sale on the www.StudioAVX.com Website.

Product page = Griffin Avid presents: MOPHO Drum Kits and Samples

M.O.P.H.O. Last Analogue Transmission

Chorus:
And this composition (Captain of a starship!)
The Xodus Phoenix expedition (Blast off Rocketship!)
My Final mission (A-shaped spaceship)
The Captains’ last Analog Transmission (The Last Transmission!)

My survey ship
the Phoenix Xodus receives a transmission

Xodus Phoenix is the nick name for a Producer’s Edge staffer. Xavier said that his name sounds like a cool Lenzmen alter-ego so I used it here knowing he’d get a kick out of that.

-it’s a series of blips from a far distance
set a course for it
[here’s your mission:] Ascertain the source and maintain an orbit
Sir, I have visual, it’s a spaceship (of an unknown kind)
It’s sending us a analog signal (well, let’s reply)
We can’t respond in digital (we’ll have to go inside)

A small reference to the difference between analogue and digital synthesizers- that the signal coming from the spaceship is so old, our modern equipment can’t understand the message.

The line has died A magnetic storm has arrived
take the ship down planet-side.
Send an away team while we wait for the waves to subside

Part II [Down and Away]

Can you hear me captain? Yes barely, boost his chip
It’s clearly an earthship, buried up to its tip
fairly certain the ancient rocketship has real analog circuits
powered by Curtis chips.

Dave Smith Instruments, the company that makes the MOPHO, has used Curtis Chips in its analogue synthesizers.

We’re stopping the rover and walking closer
There’s lettering on the hull, but its’ covered over
It reads MOPHO what?
M.O. in Code
Mike, Oscar, Papa, Hotel, Oscar
come in over?
Mopho. Find me a reference
the storms too intense
We’re losing communiqué
there’s too much interference
Captain, we’ve entered the main bay
proceeding down main passageway into the command gangway
Captain, the signals split
I can’t receive you but I can still transmit
I hope you’re getting all of this
Look here, we have a dead astronaut slumped over holding a yellow box.

The MOPHO looks like a yellow box in appearance and the dead crew member is holding one in his hands.

Sir, data package, live feed, it’s the ship’s ID
This doesn’t make sense; it’s logged under military defense.
MOPHO the letters meant Mass Obliteration Planetary Heavy Ordinance
There’s a red button sir.

The MOPHO features a red “Push It” button. Before the unit was released, many of us synth-heads were speculating what the button does. It starts the sequencer running and in context of this song, it’s the Red Button that arms/ detonates the MOPHO bomb.

I’m sure it’s a control
Yes, wires leading to the console.
No! Don’t press it.
I’m sure this resets it.
Blast off, emergency Lift-off

The Hull is peeling away!
Atomic yield phase shields raised
Planet Surface giving way.
massive waves of radioactive rays
displayed in an azure haze of Fallout blaze
(planetary shockwave!) gaining a range, mass action engine engage
burning inertial stage, surfing immersing in flames

The above section describes the scene of the starship Phoenix Xodus pulling away from the planet as it breaks apart after being destroyed by the MOPHO device.

Part III [Doctor Atomics sees the Light of Destruction]

The Ark is part of the pardon of Cain

Biblical and religious references abound. The flood, in this case, is a flood of flames and destruction. The Ark is Noah’s Ark which is the spaceship ferrying the crew members away.

the arc is part of the stay from acidic rains in face of his reign

This arc is the rainbow, a promise that the world would not be destroyed again by flooding.

shaping the plane and breaking the chains lights fade in the age of half-life decays
awaken a wraith and awaiting his rage

Describes the anger in using a weapon of this nature to wipe out a planet and its entire civilization. If our concept of God can wipe out the surface of a planet, what kind of terrible entity (us) would use a weapon to destroy an entire planet?

We become gods ourselves based on our destructive abilities.

[it’s the God]
birthing and cursing in his domain
[insert control rods]
the world spins on his lathe
action reaction a vain
attracting your acting a play
a pact to enact a delay
it’s an act of faith

The chance for a few humans and animals to survive gives us another chance to live properly.

we wait as he pulls the reins
plays the strings of fate
it’s the endgame of your ways

There is a pause while we wait. The reins hint at the four Horsemen.

But yet, there is a warning, which is about a coming Judgment Day. That’s considered the Endgame of our Ways.

Sir the gravity gauge
well, check the display
It’s confirmed we’re pulling away.
We were almost burned
Set course for return
Close mission.
Coded: Analog Transmission

Summary

A ship receives a mysterious transmission and investigates. They find a powerfully destructive device at the source of the signal. The explorer group triggers the bomb and escapes as the planet breaks up. This is a song inspired by the DSI MOPHO, I hope you enjoy it.

-Dynamics Plus

www.TheDynamicUniverse.com

Dynamics Plus new album- Battlestrux Year One: Captain of a Starship

THE LENZMEN DYNAMICS PLUS
PRESENTS:

Battlestrux Year One
Captain of a Starship

The Lenzmen Dynamics Plus and the Battlestrux comic series merge into Dynamic Universe Volume 12 Battlestrux Year One: Captain of a Starship. The full length album chronicles the earliest adventures of the Mantis One starship crew.

The Album synopsis:
It’s a mission to investigate the mysterious disappearances of ships near the edge of a Gravity Well. You will follow the first voyage of the newly appointed captain. It’s Time for Action as you man your battle-stations and make ready for sci-fi hip hop. When you put a masterful lyricist over out-of-this-world beats, you get Battlestrux Year One.

Video Trailer for album:

Read and hear more about this album and the lyrics at http://www.TheDynamicUniverse.com