Be My Friend Productions

05/05/2021

"She made electronic music beautiful and really created a pathway for people to think of electronic music as music. That’s what these women were up against: not just being women in what was regarded as a man’s world, but also people’s narrow conceptions of what music could be.” - Lisa Rovner, Director Sisters with Transistors Documentary

Wishing pioneering synthesist and electronic musician Delia Derbyshire a happy birthday.

Watch an inside look at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop on bringing the "Doctor Who" theme to life using electronic music: https://youtu.be/xkIEkLww3lg

04/01/2021

Today we honor the Transgender Day of Visibility. We want every member of our community to know we love you and we see you. On this day, we take special time to recognize the resilience, perseverance, and joy of our LGBTQ+ community. Please know my administration is with you, and with the help of our Mayor's Office of Human Rights and Equity- City of New Orleans, we are ready to serve all members of our community.

03/31/2021

We wanted to take a minute to shoutout our friend Anna Liv for helping us design our branding last year. Early on in building the studio she created our logo and our look in a way that really captures our *vibe* - we've been getting some questions about the Be My Friend name and where our look came from, so if you're interested be sure to look her up and check our her portfolio for more info.

A good design tells people who you are. An aligned design elevates your voice and speaks to your truest self. Your brand projects your image out into the world. What does yours say?

03/15/2021

02/27/2021

I founded Be My Friend a year and a half ago with hopes of finding other New Orleans musicians that were as interested and excited about developing new sounds as I was. And that happened very quickly. Within a year I was overloaded with incredible projects and surrounded by people with talent beyond belief. BMF is a place where ideas explode and turn into sound. So far it’s been a dream come true. Not to say there aren’t much bigger dreams though...
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March and April we will be releasing a slew of tracks and albums. The new music for each project is above and beyond what I thought could come out of this studio, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.
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Another dear friend and creative force tagged us to do a “faces behind the company” sort of thing. So here it is. This is the group currently throwing every night and weekend into the studio to develop a new sound. Photoshoots, recording sessions, manual reading (wooo!), troubleshooting, writing, rewriting, editing. A torrent of it is cued up and ready to drop. Hope you’re ears are ready. I bet they aren’t...
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Major shoutout to the partner in the studio I didn’t expect but couldn’t do this without - . Fittingly the first big release of 2021 will be our .sinner debut Die With Me.
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📸:
fitzgerald

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01/12/2021

One of our biggest inspirations is George Duke. Aside from being a synth wizard, he was a masterful composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. One of the best. He is missed, but his music lives on. Happy Birthday to a true OG.

Remembering the Legendary George Duke on his Birthday.

The world class keyboardist, synthesizer pioneer, composer and Grammy award winning producer released over 30 albums of his own, as well as worked with top artists like Jean Luc Ponty, Michael Jackson, Frank Zappa, Stanley Clarke, Official Billy Cobham, Gladys Knight, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Anita Baker, Miles Davis, Barry Manilow, The Pointer Sisters - Official, Smokey Robinson and more.

Check out this episode of NAMM Show Oral History Program with George talking about playing with Frank Zappa, the flexibility of analogue synthesizers and performing with his plexiglass Minimoog - https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/george-duke

10/22/2020

Really excited to see this cover of Bang Bang that and I produced drop on Halloween.
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Bang Bang is recognized by most as a Nancy Sinatra track used in Kill Bill. However, the track was originally written by Sonny Bono in 1966 and became one of the bigger hits for that same year (peaked at No. 2 on the charts). Ultimately it was one of most listened to songs of the 60s.
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Now, just as Nancy Sinatra did, has brought her own cover to the table with several new twists that bring the track into a totally new sonic space.
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Where Nancy relies on clean guitar with heavy tremolo without percussion to drive the track, we went in a different direction. Different kick drums arranged deep within the bass line bring a muscular, galloping feeling to our percussive elements and drive the track forward from start to finish while the vocals are patently “Hazy” - sultry but powerful, and loose but intentional. Oh also synths galore and even a vocoder! We did our best to pay homage to the original, and we hope you enjoy it this Halloween.
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09/04/2020

The Roland Juno 106 is the quintessential polyphonic subtractive synthesizer. With a lush sounding LP Filter and notched HP as well, it can generate swelling chords, wispy noise, or plucky arpeggios.
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If you’re into those 80s sounds that are still timeless, or you want those classic Stranger Things vibes 🌌 the Junos got you fam. It also sounds like magic when paired with the Moog Subphatty. Mono is gonna mono, poly is gonna poly.

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09/04/2020

The The Bob Moog Foundation is a great organization. Their community involvement is very cool, and they raise money by raffling off some pretty iconic synths. Obviously it would be cool to win a Moog from Moog, but even if you don't, the money is put to great use. Check em out.

The Trifecta Raffle Is Back! http://bit.ly/2020TrifectaRaffle

Three fully restored vintage Moog Synthesizers.
Three times the rich analogue Moog sound.
Three times the chances to win.
Three lucky winners.

We're thrilled to announce this year's Trifecta Raffle, featuring fully restored vintage Moog Rogue, Moog Prodigy, and Moog Source!

Read about each synthesizer, check out photos, and enter to win here: http://bit.ly/2020TrifectaRaffle.

The raffle is open internationally.

09/01/2020

Juno 106 is in the house. Pairs great with the Sub Phatty too. The 106 hit the studio recently, but the Subphatty was on every single track of Skyline. One of the Subphatty’s greatest strengths is the way a repeating bass line can evolve over a long period of time as the filter, resonance, and a sync’d oscillators pitch open over time. You can hear this prominently on the tracks Unchosen, In My Prayers, and at the end of It’s About Time!

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08/24/2020

Two of my favorite musical inspirations in one post! The The Bob Moog Foundation is a great organization started by Bob Moog prior to his passing. Jean-Michel Jarre is one of the OGs of synthesis and an incredible composer and performer. Check out this post from The Bob Moog Foundation to learn more about both!

Wishing the Legendary Jean-Michel Jarre A Happy Birthday!

As one of music's most influential electronic composers and composers, Jarre has become known for his use of both vintage and contemporary synthesizers in his compositions and his highly experiential outdoor concerts.

He is pictured below with his prized custom Moog Modular system in his studio in Paris, and our executive director Michelle Moog-Koussa on set for filming Electronic Voyager.

08/23/2020

Most underrated keyboard?
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I love and and and all the way. But this little dude from is an oft forgotten, cheap, poly synth called the K-Station (modeled after the famed A-Station).
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📢 Features:
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💥3 oscillators
💫8 analog modeled voices with FM
🌜Very expressive 12/24 db filter
⭐️Excellent on-board effects
🎛25!! K***s
🎙 Vocoder
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I’m not big into menu diving but I’ll do it. So to me this does top the legendary MicroKorg (not the presents tho, the MK has some of the best presets ever) due to all parameters being so tactile with 25 k***s and minimal menu diving.
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If I had to make a complaint, my only real beef is the build quality. But for around 200 bucks used even that is remarkably good.
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If you’re getting into synths and you’re looking for a beginner synth that you can learn the basics with AND create absolutely killer sounds with, the K-Station is your friend.
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Any Q’s? Hit me up for more info on this or any other synths you want to know about!
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08/19/2020

Tell me this setup by in the Be My Friend studio isn’t gorgeous.

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08/14/2020

This is me in my natural habitat, turning k***s and making weird noises. My studio has become a semi-sacred space to me over the last couple of years. Time does weird things there, especially at night. If you’ve been in this space you know it’s very strange, and hopefully inspiring. If you haven’t, come be my friend and let’s make something weird.
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08/08/2020

Plugging in the heartstrings.
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08/06/2020

What’s your go to synth?
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The Voyager XL is where I like to start my tracks. Fat bass, wispy atmospheres, warm leads - it can do it all. The XL is the last synth that Bob Moog worked on before he passed away 15 years ago this month.
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08/05/2020

08/05/2020