Joel Corry’s track ‘Fallen’ is a must for any prevalent playlist.
Joel Corry, a respected DJ and music producer, has released his latest chart-promiser ‘Fallen’ featuring Hayley May, as of today. The song comes just in time for New Year’s and Christmas parties. It is the latest release since the release of ‘Good As Gold’ which now has over 430,000 plays on Spotify alone.
Unsurprisingly, ‘Fallen’ has already received support from BBC Radio 1 and Kiss FM DJs.
The opening song in this Sound Selection is by River Fury named ‘Five Year Plan.’ In this latest track, the band delivers a pleasant-sounding production with ear-pleasing vocals and a vibe that will have you hooked from the get-go. With this track released, we are thrilled to see what’s coming for River Fury in the months to come. This one is for the playlists.
Convex ‘Pain’ feat. Tyler Shamy
Another tuneful song to enter Sound Selection 048 is by Convex featuring Tyler Shamy named ‘Pain.’ In this commercially driven song, Convex and Tyler Shamy deliver a wave of energy through top-notch synths, harmonious melody and chart-promising vocals. If you are looking for some fresh music for your playlists, this is it.
With the headphones market being more and more saturated in recent years, it has become difficult for consumers to choose the right ones. Thus, we have selected three of our favourites for under £50 pounds that tend to hold up quite well for their price. All of these range in quality, but overall are great value for money.
Audio-Technica ATH-M20X Professional Headphones
Audio-Technica, a trusted Japanese manufacturer of sound equipment, has become one of the favourite brands for bedroom music producers in recent years. While these headphones have great crystal-clear sound with more than enough quality for an average listener, we must warn you there is a lack of bass as these are made for mixing music. However, we must recommend you these as the overall sound is fantastic and if you’re practising an instrument, these will be great for you.
AKG, a company originally coming from Austria, has also become one of the key players in the headphones market with their headphones ranging in price quite heavily. The K92 is one of the several headphones they have for under £50, so it was a tough choice for us to choose these. However, these hold a decent frequency range and have a pleasant bass for the everyday listener. The headphones themselves weigh about 200 grams and are rather pleasant on the ear.
Our final choice for headphones comes from the beloved brand known as Sennheiser. While these headphones are not considered to be the crème de le crème of Sennheiser headphones, they are certainly splendid for their price. These on-ear closed-back headphones are lightweight and are great for casual listening. So, if you’re watching a film or listening to the newest Childish Gambino track, these are worth checking out.
Sometimes when it comes to the things you love you see a negative turn coming. In a few cases, as we have seen with Bethesda games over the last decade, these are so obvious, so undeniable, that it can be hard to believe they’ll ever follow through. Bethesda, though, are nothing if not predictable. Like many AAA developers their desire for profit over quality has become an increasing problem for a while now but, unlike most developers, many of their issues have been given a free pass.
“Bugs in open world games are inevitable!”
True, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be addressed. Bethesda is one of the biggest in the business after all, and many of their bugs are fixed within a week from fan modders, yet are never fixed officially.
“Their bugs are cute, like a puppy pissing on the rug!”
You’re free to think that, but you’ll still end up with the lingering smell of urine.
So when Fallout 76 came out and was just as much of a nightmare as so many longtime industry followers predicted, it’s difficult ’to appear surprised. What is notable this time, however, is that the irradiated Fallout 76 straw has finally mutated enough to break the brahmin’s back.
Backlash over this game is enormous, and with that in mind, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at just some of the issues which have plagued this release, to better illustrate the problems to the uninitiated, and hopefully raise some awareness about the dangers of purchasing a Bethesda game on release. Note that some of these have been fixed already, and many more will be repaired in the future. Does this make them acceptable on release for a full-priced supposed AAA game? Well, no.
Frame Rate
We expected it, but Bethesda managed to limbo under the bar of our predictions impressively nonetheless. In the current age of gaming we expect only a few console games to give out a constant 60 FPS, as most developers are more concerned with a more detailed game-world over a better-feeling experience. Mostly, today’s games settle for a locked 30FPS, with enough overhead to guarantee this rate almost constantly, with a few minor dips.
Fallout 76 not only had a frame rate which would rarely stick to 30fps in all but the most contained of scenes, but it even managed to hit as low as 12fps in these tests performed by notable YouTube game testers, Digital Foundry:
Tying into this issue was the inevitable problem which occurred when Bethesda chose to tie physics to the frame rate. This has long been known to cause negative effects when coupled with unstable performance, as was the case here.
If you look at the ground the game has less to render, and thus it runs faster. Because physics is tied to this, any player running around while looking at the ground will themselves run faster. Stare at your feet and outrun anything. Just like in real life.
Disconnections and Server Crashes
Entirely too common with online games today, yet always frustrating. As critics like Jim Sterling have pointed out – it’s one thing to demand always online connections from the player, but if you can’t deliver that as the developer then you are fundamentally abandoning your responsibility to paying customers.
This doesn’t stop at random outages either, as players themselves can crash the servers in an incredibly simple to replicate manner. The endgame in FO76 revolves around the dropping of nuclear bombs. This is actually quite a spectacle, and ties into a fond memory many players will have with Fallout 3. Drop more than a single bomb at the same time, though? Say goodbye to the server.
Part of this issue also comes down to the autosave system. Constant little disconnects are annoying as it is, but when you couple that with lost progress you end up frustrating in two ways for the price of one.
Power Armor
To become a high-level user of Power Armor in the Fallout games you need to treat it as a part of your own body. An extension of yourself, fused to the very core of your being.
76 took this a little more literally, with many players unable to escape their Power Armor without quitting the game entirely.
It even warps your character model in a nightmarish way, which is actually a bonus in my book, but not worth the hassle.
Even better, this is a glitch which existed within Fallout 4 which released over three years ago. Fans fixed it almost immediately, Bethesda never bothered, and now we see it again in 76. Of course, the online nature means fans can’t fix it for them, so we’ll see how long it takes Bethesda to figure out what the modders did years ago.
Missing and Invisible Enemies
Go to a quest marker to find an enemy. Not there and you can’t complete the quest? Oh well.
Alternatively, stumble across an enemy which exists beyond your tangible realm. Can’t see them, can’t hit them, but they can hit you.
Never mind, just log off for a few hours and hope they are gone when you come back.
No Push-to-Talk
Not a glitch, but absolutely a feature which all online games with voice chat should have with zero exceptions. In FO76, players are always transmitting over their microphone. Apparently, nobody who developed this game has ever played an online game before, as the results of this are immediately obvious to anyone who has.
Well, they’re immediately obvious to most that haven’t as well, but not to anyone on the 76 development team.
Want to get racist slurs yelled at you? Maybe you want to hear a baby crying in the background, the labored breathing of somebody with obvious apnea, or the screaming of somebody’s mother in the background.
If any of those sound interesting to you then Fallout 76 has you covered.
The Most and Least Effective Weapons in History
The Cryolater, as the name suggests, is a gun which uses cold to slow and kill an enemy. Annoying enough, but temporary. Only there is an extremely common glitch were anyone hit by this gun will be slowed permanently. Re-log if you want, makes no difference.
On the other hand, there is a glitch which commonly occurs with powerful weapons which causes them to hit for precisely zero damage. This can occur against both enemies and players and has been noted to happen as soon as the third shot fired when entering a game.
Just a Taste
These are just a few of the larger and most common issues which players have experience playing Fallout 76, with the full list being many times larger. This is also not taking into account the surrounding behavior of Bethesda, and their attitude when it comes to taking responsibility for their overwhelmingly predictable mistakes.
Many of us didn’t buy Fallout 76 on launch because we wanted to see how it would shake out. Many of us hoped for the best, and most of us were let down. Just the latest in an increasing trend of the biggest AAA developers releasing shoddy products, we hope that this can at least serve as a warning to the next developers who want to try to pull this behavior.
We know gaming is a business, but it used to be an industry of passion first, of quality and gameplay vision before all else. As Fallout 76 takes one further step into infecting gaming with big-business manipulation and profit over quality, we have to wonder exactly where the tipping point lies. Will we have to see more non-apologies and the likes of EA’s responses, or will big publishers and developers finally understand that they can only milk customers so far before they say enough is enough?
I would caution against ever buying a Bethesda game at launch, even the upcoming Elder Scrolls sequel. Yeah, I want it too, but Bethesda have spat in customer’s eye’s enough, and you shouldn’t give faith to those who constantly abuse it for their own short-term gain.
Having released his single ‘Lonely River,’ the gifted artist known as Kyan has shared a music video which accompanies the track with visuals that explore identity and stereotypes.
Talking about the song Kyan said “From the moment we are born we are each given a label. Girl. Boy. Pink. Blue. With these labels comes a set of preconceptions and rules. The more we move through life, the more labels we accumulate, until not only can others not see beyond them, but we too struggle to find our true and individual selves amongst them.”
Puth brings a wave of smoothness and vividness in his latest track ‘Sexual Vibe.’
Stephen Puth, LA-based singer-songwriter, has recently released his newest single ‘Sexual Vibe,’ which comes in with purely pleasing vocals and solid production that drives on its groovy bass. With this track released, we are expecting to see Puth’s name rise through the ranks in the world of music in the months to come.
Talking about the song Puth says “It’s about that moment when you see someone across the room, and how you feel before anything even happens. It’s about the build-up and seeing where it goes. When I’m writing, I’m interested in how something started, how it ended, and everything in between.”
The first song to enter this Sound Selection is by River Fury who dive in with a wave of splendid vocal energy that brings out a well-produced and structured piece behind it. River Fury have done a great job of arranging this piece, and for this, it is a worthy playlist addition.
TSHA ‘Sacred’
In her latest single ‘Sacred’ the wonderful TSHA creates a beautiful dynamic between ear-pleasing synths and tuneful melody that makes this track rich in its core. ‘Sacred’ is perfect for any electronica related playlist looking for smoothness and lucidity. With this track released, we are excited to see what comes next for TSHA.
New Year’s Even often has a lot of potential, yet it sometimes feels us feeling a little let down. Parties can be a little bland or perhaps blase – so this year, why not make it a themed one? There are an array of themes which have a touch of both class and elegance, so you don’t have to worry about coming off tacky or crass. Here are a few ideas, and crucially, some tips of what to wear to each event.
All White Clothing
There’s nothing more classic than a party with all-white attire and decor. There’s something beautiful about it, and there are so many incredible choices when it comes to attire. White clothing is often somewhat unforgiving, and so tight styles may not be the best choice unless you are entirely confident. White clothing carries plenty of symbolism and it’s representative of the hopes for a fresh start in the New Year, so make the right fashion choices, and start as you mean to go on.
Whatever the activities are that you plan for this party, remember to be careful with your choices of food and drink. The last thing anyone needs is a red wine stain all over their new dress…
Games of Chance
Is there anything better than a classic casino style party? Black tie compulsory, of course! Ladies, your evening gowns need to come out at this point. While many of the Vegas casinos these days have a much more relaxed attitude to dress codes, because most people there are on vacation, we love the old style of years gone by. People really made an effort, and it was all about glitz and glam. You really can’t go wrong with a maxi dress in black, complete with delicate jewelry. Timeless!
If you want to get your guests really into the casino mood, then you can access a multitude of casino games such as baccarat, blackjack and roulette online. Alternatively, you could set up a casino table at the party space, depending on your budget. Card games are easy to do, but you’ll have to
Through The Decades
As a new year storms full speed ahead, it can be a fun time to look at decades past. There’s plenty of inspiration out there, so whether your party is focused on one decade in particular or a broad range across the board, there are plenty of ways you can “wow” the crowds. If you’re really searching for elegance, a roaring 20s style party a la The Great Gatsby. Here, you can really have some fun. Vintage dresses from this era are just incredible – think fringes and sequins, alongside lavish accessories and necklaces.
When it comes to the atmosphere for this one, it’s all about making sure the music is on-point. Can’t afford a DJ? Thank goodness for Spotify! There’s some really fun music from every period of the last Century, you just have to find the right playlists.
No matter what kind of event you plan to host or attend this New Year’s Eve, just be sure it’s a night to remember – and one you’ll want to remember when you look back on it.
The joint exhibition called ‘Woven’ took place in Paul Bovée Gallery in Delémont, Switzerland in May 2018. Both artists created seven woven blankets each and a limited series of t-shirts and sweaters. The exhibition perfectly depicts how modern illustration can be applied to different objects and how cool art makes something as traditional as woven blankets be viewed through a cool fresh lens.
Elderbrook, the music producer known for tracks such as ‘Cola’ and ‘Talking,’ joined us for an interview to talk about his latest release ‘Old Friend’ and culture.
Hi, How are you?
I’m great thanks! Just came back from a huge European tour supporting Jungle.
So, how did you get into music and when did you realise you wanted to become a musician?
I got into music when I was around 13 or 14. I was watching something stupid on Nickelodeon and there was a guy on there playing guitar. I thought he looked really cool, so I got myself a guitar and turned out I was alright at it. It kind of went from there. I started a band then left. I eventually started doing stuff by myself and began using computers which shaped my music into what it is today.
How did ‘Old Friend’ come about and what were the challenges of making it?
‘Old Friend’ came about when I was in a session with two other musicians that I work really well with. It was at a Shoreditch coffee shop called The Grind which has a studio upstairs. It came together super quickly. It starts off with that nostalgic-sounding bass at the beginning which I absolutely love. It reminds me of the early 2000s era which is a period in music not often greatly explored.
Do you plan to create EPs or do they just come about?
I guess they just come about naturally. It was only a month or two ago that I saw a pattern forming with the music I was writing over the last year. I thought it was best to release these 4 songs together until next year when we’re planning to release the debut album which will be a little bit different.
If you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Muddy Waters because I absolutely love his voice and I think I could sample it well.
What are your plans for 2019?
2019 will be album time.
Our final question we ask everyone, what is your definition of culture?
Culture is whatever is going on right now. That’s the only way I could answer that without sounding pretentious!
