TRACK OF THE MONTH / april 2024: Heat Wave /  by Music Orange

Heat Wave: TRACK OF THE MONTH / april 2024*

This month…Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, "Heat Wave" is a perfect name for a tune that kicks off with the warmth of a vintage electric guitar riff. But it's the feverish groove that gets the temperature rising with cowbells, congas, shakers and timbales. Everything about this jam sizzles - the heated horn section, the peppery backing vocals, and a bass-line that bounces around like it's dancing barefoot on hot cement.

Find this one filed under ALT LATIN…SKA in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!

TRACK OF THE MONTH / march 2024: In the Barrio /  by Music Orange

In the Barrio: TRACK OF THE MONTH / march 2024*

This month…Is it too early for mezcal margaritas? "In The Barrio" saunters on brazen bursts of brass horns, horse-trotting rhythms, and blithe melodies. Perfect for soundtracking Cinco de Mayo festivities, this animated instrumental balances heated zeal with lively fun.

Find this one filed under ALT LATIN…SKA in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!

TRACK OF THE MONTH / february 2024: Claustrophobic /  by Music Orange

Claustrophobic: TRACK OF THE MONTH / february 2024*

This month…There's a dark tension slowly building within the ricochet rhythms of the aptly titled "Claustrophobic." A smattering of muted beats opens with a cadence that approximates human hyperventilation before 1980s electro-goth flavored synthesizer notes dance fiendishly around the stop-start arrangements. A false ending leads to a pulsing coda, haunted by mysterious whispers.

Find this one filed under ELECTRONIC in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!

Check It Out: A Polar Joystick for Omnisphere Orb /  by Music Orange

I recently had the fortune to work with Ron Nelson from Seven Mile Mountain. Ron builds small, affordable controllers for various uses. I was looking for a physical joystick to control the Orb feature of Omnisphere and purchased Ron’s SOLO : USB MIDI Control Change Joystick on his Etsy store. It seemed the ideal solution for a straightforward and tactile way to interact with this area of Omnisphere that up until then I had mostly ignored. The controller arrived and I began playing with it, but the movements on the joystick seemed to not correlate at all with the changes in the software. I contacted Ron and we began conversing about my specific use. This issue was that the joystick transmitted Cartesian coordinates, whereas Orb needed to see Polar coordinates. Ron completely reprogrammed the controller and added several new features including the option to send both Cartesian and Polar data. Very useful!

Ron is planning on incorporating this into future models, but in the meantime you can contact him, tell him what you’re looking for, and I’m sure he can create a pre-production model for you pretty quickly. It seems to be one of the few hardware options out there that will work for this purpose, and it is certainly the best priced. Here’s a video that explains the build.

TRACK OF THE MONTH / january 2024: Circo Nocturno /  by Music Orange

Circo Nocturno: TRACK OF THE MONTH / january 2024*

This month…With its Romani-flavored swing and modern-day production, "Circo Nocturno" balances hot club jazz with 21st century energy. A sauntering, manouche-inspired melody opens the song, soon accompanied by bouncing rhythms reminiscent of old Django Reinhardt recordings. But both electric and acoustic guitars intertwine here, as the song sways with classic cosmopolitan elegance.

Find this one filed under LATIN…TANGO in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!

Build a Remote Trigger for Your Eurorack CV Gear /  by Music Orange

I use a Strymon Magneto delay unit and recently had need to trigger it from across the room. It uses a CV input that looks for ± 5V to cycle through it’s loop record start, stop, and reset functions. I ended up building a remote trigger from purchased parts that was inexpensive, easy to build, and worked great. So, in case you find yourself in a similar situation, here is my solution.

What you’ll need:

  • (1) tap tempo box (NO, or “normally open”). You can get these for less than $20. I wanted a metal unit so bought a used MXR version for $30. It’s built like a tank and should last forever.

  • (1) guitar cable you don’t mind dedicating to the project. Any cheap one will do.

  • (1) shortish eurorack patch cable you also don’t mind dedicating to the project.

  • Soldering iron.

  • Voltmeter.

  • Any eurorack module that outputs a DC voltage. I used one of the attenuverters that is part of Make Noise Maths.

How to build:

Cut the jack off one end of the guitar cable and strip/expose the wires. Cut the eurorack patch cable in half and strip/expose the wires.

You’re essentially making a regular patch cord, but with a momentary switch spliced in the middle of it. And that switch is at the end of a long cable which means that you can place it wherever you need. Tap the switch and it will allow the voltage to get from the attenuverter output to whatever module input you need to trigger (in my case, the tap function on the Magneto). Using your voltmeter, check the eurorack patch cables to see which wires correspond to the jacks’ tip and sleeve (TS), then wire the cables together as follows:

  • Eurorack cable #1 tip (T) -> One side of the 1/4” cable

  • Eurorack cable #2 tip (T) -> The other side of the 1/4” cable

  • Eurorack cable sleeves (S) -> To each other

If your eurorack cables have a third wire, you can solder them both to the shield wire of the guitar cable. If not, you can cut off the shield that’s exposed at the end of the guitar cable.

In this photo, red is the tip (T), white is the sleeve (S), and yellow is the common/ground.

Tape or heat shrink the connections so they don’t short.

To use, plug either eurorack jack into the attenuverter (or other voltage supply module) and the other eurorack jack into your voltage input jack. That’s it!



TRACK OF THE MONTH / december 2023: Out of Sight /  by Music Orange

Out of Sight: TRACK OF THE MONTH / december 2023*

This month…"Out of Sight" is so funky, you'll wanna dance the James Brown shuffle to it even before its uplifting melody arrives. A slick, electric guitar lick opens the tune before a big boogaloo groove lays down the foundation of a classic, hard-grooving strut. And while the blasting horn section gives this song a voice, it's the well-oiled rhythm section that swings hardest here.

Find this one filed under SUPERFUNK…SOUL in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!

TRACK OF THE MONTH / november 2023: Now or Never /  by Music Orange

Now or Never: TRACK OF THE MONTH / november 2023*

This month…The funk flavored "Now or Never" opens on a walking bassline that sounds like it's walking with purpose - straight into a hard-strutting breakbeat. Add in some funky electric guitar strumming and suddenly a party unfolds, replete with a pulsing horn section and a bouncing melody that would well accompany a sunny day and a pair of rollerskates.

Find this one filed under SUPERFUNK…SOUL in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!

TRACK OF THE MONTH / september 2023: Rolling Deep /  by Music Orange

Rolling Deep: TRACK OF THE MONTH / september 2023*

This month…"Rolling Deep" recreates that magic moment between late 1960s soul and early 1970s funk. It opens with a hard-grooving bassline set to handclaps and a hi hat rhythm before more instruments are layered to create a festive strut. Vintage guitar tones, an uplifting horn section, and dancing electric piano notes all come together to forge a fiery boogie that begs for bellbottoms to flap across the dance floor.

Find this one filed under RETRO ROCK & POP in  The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!

Learn Scoring to Picture /  by Music Orange

Learn the art of scoring music to picture with Music Orange composer Michael Lande. Enroll in the upcoming online semester course, MUSC 067A - Creating Music for Film, TV, and Gaming: Foundations, offered through West Valley College [ https://www.westvalley.edu ]. Classes begin next week, and a few spaces are still available. Don't miss out on this opportunity to expand your skills.

TRACK OF THE MONTH / august 2023: Spectacle /  by Music Orange

Spectacle: TRACK OF THE MONTH / august 2023*

This month…"Spectacle" opens with lilting piano notes that gradually trickle down like raindrops. It sounds bare and cinematic until pitter-patter beats and syncopated handclaps suddenly accompany the keyboard melodies to make for the perfect marriage of mechanical sounds with organic tones. Stick around for the coda where big bass synths and stormy atmospheric drones crack the song wide open.

Find this one filed under INDIE ORCHESTRAL…FILM in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!

TRACK OF THE MONTH / july 2023: Final Hour /  by Music Orange

Music Orange -> Expertly created original music for commercials and other advertising.

TRACK OF THE MONTH / july 2023*

Final Hour

This month…The staccato notes of a string section start off so strong, you can almost hear the bows swipe against the steel. Ten seconds into this handsome arrangement, the song contrasts tight beats with a loose swing. "Final Hour" sounds like a cinematic score for an elegant party - emphasis on "party" once the mechanized vocals show up fashionably late, bringing in a more festive swagger.

Find this one filed under INDIE…ALT POP in  The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

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*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. If you like what you hear, please visit and check out some of our latest tracks. Enjoy the Music!

TRACK OF THE MONTH / june 2023: Walk the Talk /  by Music Orange

Walk the Talk: TRACK OF THE MONTH / june 2023*

This month…"Walk the Talk" starts with a hard-strutting electric guitar riff playing alongside a drum beat that's so groovy, it begs to be sampled for a hip-hop production. But when a hep horn section and bouncing bass join in on the fun, "Walk The Talk" transports the listener to a steamy summer night party where New Orleans flavored funk is the preferred soundtrack of the evening.

Find this one filed under SUPERFUNK…SOUL in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!

TRACK OF THE MONTH / may 2023: Hit It One More Time /  by Music Orange

Hit It One More Time: TRACK OF THE MONTH / may 2023*

This month…With its post-punk inspired electric guitar riff and a steady four-on-the-floor dance beat, "Hit It One More Time" recalls that bygone time when uber hip, indie-disco bands wore white belts and angular haircuts. The tune even boasts a little South London flavored injection of dubstep wobble on the breakdown. But it's the uplifting vocal cameo that makes "Hit It One More Time" sound more timeless than nostalgic.

Find this one filed under INDIE…ALT POP in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!

TRACK OF THE MONTH / april 2023: Last Laugh /  by Music Orange

Last Laugh: TRACK OF THE MONTH / april 2023*

This month…Some vibrant electric guitar strumming and groovy organ grinding kick off "Last Laugh" with a mid 1960s go-go dancer vibe. But then a merseybeat rhythm and some surfy, undulating tones come into the mix with the jubilant aplomb of a beach-blanket shindig. "Last Laugh" is a perfect tune for doing the twist in the sand or putting around on a vintage Vespa.

Find this one filed under RETRO ROCK & POP in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!

TRACK OF THE MONTH / march 2023: Spark of Life /  by Music Orange

Spark of Life: TRACK OF THE MONTH / march 2023*

This month…"Spark of Life" is a bubbly electronic number that opens with choral synthesizer bursts playing alongside sputtering ricochet beats. But it's the lilting glockenspiel notes that yield the airy melody here. This cheerful tune also utilizes hints of drum & bass without sounding too retrospective of the late 90s/early 2000s.

Find this one filed under ELECTRONIC in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).

*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!