Also set to perform remotely for the two-hour TV fundraiser, which aims to bring an end to child poverty around the world, are Sam Smith, Meghan Trainor and OneRepublic among others.

Efforts to boost economic development and research in Flint are getting support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Venue: Sir John Clancy Auditorium. Time: 8pm.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau says Connecticut ranks first in the country in insurance claims filed for metal theft.

Region’s showcase of ambitions sees 50% increase in media profile.

Solihull Junior School pupils were so impressed by their visit to a local children’s charity that they made an Olympian effort to support it.

Laurence Inman is not in a hopeful mood, despite receiving good news

Birmingham's hidden industrial heritage saved from the skip.

This week, we bring you a convo with Michael P. Jeffries, author of Paint the White House Black: Barack Obama and the Meaning of Race in America, a fascinating examination of how we think about race in a supposedly “post-racial” America.

Jeffries is also a huge hip-hop head, and has written about rap music and culture for The Guardian, The Atlantic, and more. We talk to him about Tupac and “thuggin’,” Rick Ross’ controversial “U.O.E.N.O.” lyrics, the changing meaning of being multi-racial, and lots more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/42/ for full show notes and comments.

DJ EFN is a key player in Miami’s hip-hop scene. He was arguably the city’s first mixtape DJ, and certainly its most influential. His mixtapes, featuring exclusives and freestyles from hip-hop’s biggest names, made him a power broker in the region and enabled him to move into marketing, clothing, and even movies, with his recent Coming Home series of documentaries. His new album Another Time features appearances from Scarface, Talib Kweli, Juvenile, Kurupt, Killer Mike, and Ras Kass, among many others.

We talked with EFN about breaking Rick Ross and giving advice to a young Pitbull; why mixtape culture is dead; the never-released album that could have changed the face of Miami rap; and much more.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/102/ for full show notes and comments.

Kevin “K-Def” Hansford is a producer with a long and storied legacy. He hooked up with Marley Marl in the early 1990s and became a key part of Marley’s famed studio The House of Hits. While under Marley’s wing, he produced great records for Tragedy, Da Youngsta’s, and more. But it was his work with Lords of the Underground that would really cement his reputation. K-Def produced half a dozen songs on the group’s classic debut, 1993’s Here Come the Lords, including the omnipresent “Chief Rocka.”

After leaving Marley’s tutelage, K-Def’s production career continued, with songs by Ghostface, Diddy, UGK, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and even his own group, the duo Real Live. In recent years, K-Def has released a number of stellar instrumental works with Redefinition Records, and continues to find new ways to expand the palette of sample-based music.

NOTE: This episode, we have a special contest. Find the answers to the two questions below in this interview, and you can win prize packs from Redefinition Records. E-mail your answers to contest@theciphershow.com by September 7th, and three winners will be chosen at random from all the correct answers.

Question 1: Which artists ended up with a K-Def beat that was originally supposed to be on Illmatic?

Question 2: What song does K-Def credit with marking the end of sample-based hip-hop?

1 Grand Prize: K-Def’s Tape Two on vinyl & cassette + Damu’s Public Assembly Vol. 2 CD

2 Runner-Up Prizes: K-Def’s Tape Two cassette + Damu’s Public Assembly Vol. 2 CD

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/117/ for full show notes and comments.

DJ EFN has done it all in hip-hop: hosted mixtapes, put out albums, managed acts, owned a clothing store, run a marketing company, been on the radio, and more.

But now, there are two major projects that have vaulted EFN into the spotlight. First, there’s his Coming Home documentary series, where he travels around the world and discovers different countries through the lens of their hip-hop scene. The newest edition in the series is Coming Home: Vietnam.

Second, EFN created and co-hosts with Nore the wildly popular Drink Champs podcast. The show has wild, booze-fueled conversations with hip-hop’s elite, including Diddy, 50 Cent, Ice T, and dozens of others.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/196/ for full show notes and comments.

Skeff is a producer and engineer who worked on some of the best hip-hop to come out of New York in the 1980s and 90s. He started out as the in-house engineer for the label Strong City Records and its associated recording studio, both of which were run by the legendary Bronx DJ Jazzy Jay.

Skeff has worked on records by Brand Nubian, De La Soul, Mos Def, Heavy D, MC Serch, D-Nice, Busy Bee, Diamond D, Tragedy, and countless others. But he is perhaps best known for his work with A Tribe Called Quest. On the group’s classic second and third albums, The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders, Skeff was one of only two non-group-members to produce songs—the other one was Large Professor. Skeff also worked very closely with the late Phife Dawg in the vocal booth, helping to turn Phife into the iconic rapper he is remembered as today.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/198/ for full show notes and comments.

Kalyn is a rapper and the leader of the eclectic Denver-based group Wheelchair Sports Camp, who have garnered critical acclaim for their music and their energetic live performances almost since their founding in 2009.

Wheelchair Sports Camp - named after a real camp that Kalyn, who has brittle bone disease and has been in a wheelchair her whole life - used to attend, is a group that pushes the boundaries in sound and subject matter. Most performances consist of Kalyn, drums, and trumpet, and their latest album No Big Deal explores everything from gentrification to the pressure artists put on themselves to important social issues.

In addition to being a great rapper, Kalyn is also an activist, and now a politician. She participated in a big protest against the repeal of the ACA that had her and other activists taking over a senator’s office. And now she’s running - or rather, as she puts it, rolling - for Mayor of Denver.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/240/ for full show notes and comments.

Ari Shaffir, comedian and host of the, "Skeptic Tank" podcast, joins Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt LIVE in studio. Check out Ari's double special, "Double Negative," on Netflix.

This podcast is brought to you by: 

New jobs aid West Midlands' "world-class" reputation.

Glynn Purnell leads Health for Life cookathon.

Public support for benefits 'safety net'.

"Deliciously entertaining" cookery comedy play coming to Birmingham.

Stephen Pennell meets Jo Jeffries, inspiration behind the upcoming Birmingham Music Awards.

The benefits of short food chains and local produce were the focus of an event on Wednesday 3 July organised by Coventry University’s Centre for Agroecology and Food Security

On Saturday 2nd April some of the region’s top authorities on voting reform will gather in Kings Heath, Birmingham, to present their perspectives

Forget the current obsession with reforming the EU, reform of our domestic political institutions is far more important says Steve Beauchampé.

It's absolutely spectacular! Continue reading…

She can't believe it's actually happening. Continue reading…

Businesses in the region are being encouraged to find out more about the importance of the growing digital economy at a free event taking place at Coventry University in January.

Villa and Wolves virtual derby raises over £4,100 for Acorns.

The plan, which has been in the works for months, is likely to be part of the stimulus package, that is expected to be announced shortly.

It further said that although 2020 is a lost year, in terms of trade, India can think long-term and build relations so that it can occupy the space vacated by China.

Plugin Boutique has launched a sale on Sonarworks Reference 4, offering 20% the sound calibration software for a limited time. Reference 4 removes unwanted coloration from studio speakers and headphones. Sonarworks is on a mission to ensure everybody hears sound the way it was meant to be. Across all devices. Calibrate sound on your current […]

The post Get 20% off Sonarworks Reference 4 sound calibration software appeared first on rekkerd.org.

Denise has launched its new audio plugin God Mode, introducing a new push-pull technology that gives you full control over what frequencies to saturate and distort. God Mode features a node EQ graph and linear phase filters that allow for unlimited options to shape the coloration of your sound. The God Mode makes use of […]

The post Color your sound with Denise’s God Mode saturation effect plugin appeared first on rekkerd.org.

Tracktion has announced availability of Waveform Pro, the eleventh version of the affordable, award winning, fully featured digital audio workstation. Designed for the needs of modern music producers, this deeply capable DAW is a suite of tools that is powerful, intuitive and very user friendly. The latest evolution includes new features developed to harness the […]

The post Tracktion launches Waveform Pro creative, inspirational DAW appeared first on rekkerd.org.

COVID-19 has deeply impacted the livelihoods of countless musicians all over the world, causing them to cancel performances and lose other sources of income. To help offset this hardship, Polyverse Music has created a platform for supporting and raising financial aid for performing artists. Polyverse.TV is a livestream-powered fundraising initiative to support independent artists impacted […]

The post Polyverse Music announces Polyverse.TV livestream fundraiser for COVID-19 Relief appeared first on rekkerd.org.

Plugin Boutique has launched a sale on the FireCobra audio plugin by United Plugins, an analog saturation and tube effect. FireCobra combines the accuracy of the digital world with the live randomness of the analogue. Behind its simple user interface, there’s more technology than meets the eye. FireCobra intelligently analyses the audio signal and makes […]

The post FireCobra saturator effect by United Plugins on sale for $55 USD appeared first on rekkerd.org.

EndeavoxFX has announced the release of Pantastic, an audio effect plugin that is designed to place audio naturally in the stereo field without compromising mono compatibility. Panning is a simple effect that is easy to take for granted. It is one of the fundamental mixing tools. However, the conventional method for panning is anything but […]

The post EndeavorFX releases Pantastic natural pan effect plugin appeared first on rekkerd.org.

SampleScience has announced the release of its free instrument plugin Analog Waveforms, featuring the basic waveforms of the Mopho analog monophonic synthesizer from Dave Smith Instruments. Each waveform has been sampled note by note across 7 octaves (each sample being 10 seconds in length) which gives an accurate and genuine sonic representation of an analog […]

The post SampleScience releases Analog Waveforms free rompler plugin for Mac and Windows appeared first on rekkerd.org.

Plugin Boutique has announced a sale on Kuassa, with discounts of up to 50% off on its guitar amplifier and audio processing plugins for a limited time. The sale includes the Amplifikation amplifier series, EVE equalizers, and Efektor stompbox plugins, including the recent Efektor RV3604 Reverb. Efektor RV3604 Reverb comes with 5 different types of […]

The post Kuassa guitar amp & effect plugins on sale at 50% OFF appeared first on rekkerd.org.

AudioFB has launched a channel strip effect plugin developed for all styles of mixing. Daga’s StripTeaser was developed in collaboration with producer brothers Adriano and Giu Daga. Stripteaser’s multi-effect rack features: 4-band equalizer, where the extreme bands can be switched to bell or shelf types, ‘high pass’ filter with option of 12db / octave or […]

The post AudioFB releases Daga’s StripTeaser channel strip effect plugin appeared first on rekkerd.org.

Kuassa is celebrating a great decade of its vision for a palette of inspiring technology for musicians with the release of Amplifikation 360, a virtual “playground” for stacking pedals, amps, and cabs to create the perfect sound for guitarists. Amplifikation 360 allows you to combine every Kuassa product you own with ease. Try routing Matchlock’s […]

The post Kuassa releases Amplifikation 360 complete guitar amp and effects playground for guitarists appeared first on rekkerd.org.

Neural DSP has announced availability of its new Fortin Cali Suite, a 3-channel guitar amp effect plugin. The plugin aims to cover the cleanest vintage tones, classic hot rod British styles, and rich high gain distortion. The Fortin Cali reflects the history of Fortin Amplification, culminating in a 50w amplifier that covers the cleanest vintage […]

The post Neural DSP releases Fortin Cali Suite amplifier effect plugin appeared first on rekkerd.org.

Bluezone Corporation has announced the release of Tank – Explosion Sound Effects, a new sound library including a wide range of loud explosions, distant blasts, military tank firing and reloading, mechanical parts, incoming artillery shells, debris and more. Devastating impact: With an arsenal of 184 audio samples, this intimidating sound library brings sound designers a […]

The post Bluezone releases Tank Explosion Sound Effects sample pack appeared first on rekkerd.org.

Fred Anton Corvest has announced its new audio effect for iOS inspired by famous phaser units from guitarist and keyboardist world. FAC Phazer aims to satisfy most fans of phasing effects with a rich sonic palette and an elegant interface. The design development has been inspired by some pedals as well as built in phaser […]

The post Fred Anton Corvest intros FAC Phazer phaser effect for iOS/AuV3 appeared first on rekkerd.org.

K-Devices has announced the release of an iOS/AUv3 version of WOV, an effect plugin for creating a wide range of textural transmutation, from familiar static tremolo waves to evolving glitchy stutters. WOV for IOS comes with a set of intriguing presets from sound designers Richard Devine and Stév! It is a deeply creative tool that […]

The post K-Devices releases WOV creative modulation effect plugin for iOS appeared first on rekkerd.org.

Plugin Boutique has launched an exclusive sale on the SplineEQ linear phase equalizer plugin by Photosounder. SplineEQ is a linear phase equalizer plugin. Designed to be simple and flexible, SplineEQ allows you to create filters using Bézier splines, the best known way to design curves. SplineEQ features Linear phase equalizer. Spline-based filter design. Up to […]

The post Save 40% on SplineEQ equalizer effect plugin by Photosounder appeared first on rekkerd.org.

Igor Vasiliev has announced the release of Classic FX, an iOS app featuring a selection of reworked classic audio effects designed to add brightness and expand the sound space of any instrument. The app features unique effects with unified control parameters that provide convenience and at the same time many opportunities for individual expression and […]

The post Igor Vasiliev reworks classic audio effects with Classic FX app for iOS appeared first on rekkerd.org.

Woodman’s Immaculate Maple Syrup Studio has launched WoodScaper 1.2, an audio effect that delivers classic guitar effects. Version 1.2 adds Next and Previous preset buttons and some more improvements and fixes. WoodScaper combines the 4 classic guitar effects into one unit : phaser, chorus/flanger, wah-wah and tremolo. Besides the familiar controls each effect has some […]

The post WoodScaper classic guitar effects by Woodman’s Immaculate Maple Syrup Studio appeared first on rekkerd.org.