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Review: With roots that date back to 1967, when Weekly Manga Action magazine decided to take a punt on a new character, master thief Lupin III, grandson of gentleman robber Arsene Lupin, and his criminal gang, Takeo Yamashita and Otomo Yoshihide's collaborative soundtrack has cult status written all over it. While not made to accompany the core Lupin III series, the music here featured on the critically acclaimed Lupin Zero, a saga that takes us back to the early years of the protagonist - a young boy opening the door on a life of crime in mid-1960s Japan. On record, that sounds like a flamboyant and intoxicatingly heady brew of jazz, psychedelic rock, electronic experimentation and pure groove. As vivid as both the original printed cartoons and the subsequent screen adaptations that continued the legacy.

Review: Some 30 years later, Flashback, the legendary game by Paul Cuisset, is back with a new addition to the franchise. A classic game for the players, the newly reissued version of Flaschback 2 gets a facelift on its 30th Anniversary, in "2.5D" - following his victory over the Master Brain in the first episode, Conrad and his allies are once again confronted with Morphs, whose modus operandi is to crush all civilization. The new OST was produced by Raphael Gesqua; with about one hundred original soundtracks created for video games or cinema since the beginning of the 90s, Gesqua reunites here with the one who got him started in the world of video games: Paul Cuisset, on Flashback: The Quest For Identity. Cuts from both versions of the game (Commodore and Amiga) appear as part of a rich soundtrack, swerving between cinematic music, electronics and synthwave ambiances. A must have for all science fiction fans.

Review: The heavyweight trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi return with their 12th and most epic release to date, a triple LP no less. Documenting the entirety of their final performance at the dearly departed Roppongi home of Tokyo underground institution SuperDeluxe in November 2018, the music spread across these six sides splits the difference between the guitar-bass-drums power trio moves and experiments with novel instrumentation that have defined the trio's decade of working together. Containing some of the most delicate music the three have committed to wax since the gorgeous 12-string acoustic guitar and dulcimer tones of the
only wanting to melt beautifully away album, this wide-ranging release also offers up some of their most blistering free rock performances yet.

Review: The work of American singer and songwriter Janelle Monae is being reissued now and for good reason - it has more than stood the test of time. After her second album The Electric Lady from 2013 reappeared back in June we are now traded to a limited edition clear vinyl version of Dirty Computer which was originally released back in 2018. It was the first one not to follow the Cindi Mayweather Metropolis narrative and moved away from her early psychedelic vibe towards a more pop, funk, hip hop and r&b style that also draws on trap, new wave and Latin. It was nominated for two Grammy Awards and got widespread critical acclaim for its celebration of queerness, female power, and self-worth.

Review: Looking at Usher it seems as though he is somehow defying the ageing process. He looks as boyish and innocent now as he did some 20-odd years ago during his initial pomp. The American has legions of adoring fans who continue to swoon over his every super smooth verse and hooky vocal. Coming Home is the star's ninth full-length album and another irresistible blend of new soul and r&b that lands just ahead of his appearance at the legendary Super Bowl halftime show. What's more, this one comes on lovely limited peachy sky vinyl to make it all the more irresistible.

Review: Finnish hip-hop duo Bombfunk MCs made a massive splash in 1999 when they dropped their debut album In Stereo. It sold well due to the success of its lead singles like 'Uprocking Beats' and 'Freestyler', which took after a mixture of big beat and b-boy raps for an effective semester of classes in the school of hip bangerology. This reissue by MOV reminds us, though, that there are plenty of greats left to be heard on the album, too, from 'Sky's The Limit' to '1,2,3,4'. A point of pride for the Finnish music scene, it's certainly not one to be missed for those seeking a complete collection of breaks records.

Notes: TRS Split - CV/Audio signal distributor

TRS Split is a multipurpose CV and audio signal distribution module. It has three 3.5 mm TRS (tip/ring/sleeve - stereo) jacks and six ordinary 3.5 mm mono jacks.

It contains 3 identical sections set up as following:

Upper jack carries the tip signal
Middle jack carries the stereo/dual signal
Lower jack carries the ring signal

Each section can either split a stereo signal into two mono signals or join two mono signals into one stereo signal. The module does not have any active components and does not need a power supply.

Use cases:

When you plug a stereo signal carried by a stereo (TRS) cable into the middle jack, you receive two separate mono signals by plugging in a mono (TS) cable in the upper jack to carry the left signal and a mono (TS) cable in the lower jack to carry the right signal. That way you can attack an "AUX" cable such as from your smartphone to your modular.

Or the other way around: Send two separate mono signals by plugging in a mono (TS) cable in the upper jack to carry the left signal and a mono (TS) cable in the lower jack to carry the right signal. Receive a stereo signal at the middle jack to be used with a stereo (TRS) cable.

Converting from stereo to dual mono and back allows you to alter the two sides of a stereo signal with different effects/filters.

Some tuners such as the Korg NTS-2 accept inputs to tune two oscillators combined in one 3.5 mm stereo jack. With one splitter you can easily feed two VCO signals into such a tuner.

Switching sides

Two splitters can be used to switch tip and ring (left and right): Plug in a stereo cable in the middle jack of the first section. Connect mono cables to the upper and lower jack of the first section. Then connect the upper mono cable of the first section to the lower mono jack of the second section and the lower mono cable of the first section to the upper mono jack of the second section. The signals are switched. Plug a stereo cable in the middle of the second splitter and you're good to go.

Hint: This also works for MIDI signals. If you use MIDI over minijack, there are two standards A and B - some manufacturers use A some B - thus not all connections are working. Now you can easily switch between the standards using the TRS Split.

Note: The MIDI input of the DROID X7 automatically detects A and B, so there is no switching necessary. The MIDI output of the X7 can be set to A or B with a switch on the back of the module.

Stereo multiple setup

If you have a separate multiple in your modular, you can use the TRS-SPLIT to create a 1:2 stereo multiple as follows:

Plug a stereo cable in the middle jack of section 1, patch the mono cable from the upper jack into section 1 of your multiple (e.g. a 3/3/3 multiple) and feed two of the outputs back into the upper jacks of section 2 and 3. Do the same with the mono cable coming from the lower jack of section 1 going into the second section of a 3/3/3 multiple and patch two cables back into the lower jacks of section 2 and 3 of the TRS Split. Now the middle jacks of section 2 and 3 both carry the stereo signal.

Dimensions
2 HP
22 mm deep

Current Draw
Module does not draw current

Notes: TRS Tool - Stereo/Dual CV/Audio/MIDI signal multipurpose module

TRS Tool is a multipurpose CV and audio signal distribution module for working with 3.5 mm stereo jacks (tip/ring/sleeve). These jacks are common for stereo audio but also for MIDI.

The TRS TOOL has no active components and does not need a power supply. It contains 3 different sections set up as following from top to bottom:

TRS Split
The upper jack carries the tip signal
The middle jack carries the stereo/dual signal
The Lower jack carries the ring signal

Use cases:

When you plug a stereo signal carried by a stereo (TRS) cable into the middle jack, you receive two separate mono signals by plugging in a mono (TS) cable in the upper jack to carry the left signal and a mono (TS) cable in the lower jack to carry the right signal. That way you can attack an "AUX" cable such as from your smartphone to your modular.

Or the other way around: Send two separate mono signals by plugging in a mono (TS) cable in the upper jack to carry the left signal and a mono (TS) cable in the lower jack to carry the right signal. Receive a stereo signal at the middle jack to be used with a stereo (TRS) cable.

Converting from stereo to dual mono and back allows you to alter the two sides of a stereo signal with different effects/filters.

Some tuners such as the Korg NTS-2 accept inputs to tune two oscillators combined in one 3.5 mm stereo jack. With one splitter you can easily feed two VCO signals into such a tuner.

TRS Quad Multiple

Multiply a stereo signal. Four TRS jacks to be used with stereo minijack cables.

Use cases:

You could use this to multiply the signal for headphones - listen to patches together.

Or create sends - route one (or two) stereo signals to effects and use the third one as dry signal going to the mixer.

Experimental: multiply a MIDI signal to two or three receivers: NOTE: depending on the output power of the MIDI sender and the power draw of the MIDI receivers this might or might not work. MIDI uses a current of typically 5 mA instead of voltage levels for data transmission. So when you attach too many devices to one output the current might not be enough to drive all of them. So this is strictly spoken not covered by the MIDI standard, but might work anyway.

A/B Swapper
The bottom section of the module consists of two connected TRS jacks.
Whatever signal applies to the tip in jack A will be routed to the ring in jack B.
Whatever signal applies to the ring in jack A will be routed to the tip in jack B.

Use cases:

Switch the left and right side of a stereo audio signal.

Switch between MIDI standard A and B: If you use MIDI over minijack, there's two standards A and B - some manufacturers use A some B - thus not all connections are working. Now you can easily switch between the standards using the TRS Split.

Note: The MIDI input of the DROID X7 automatically detects A and B, so there is no switching necessary. The MIDI output of the X7 can be set to A or B with a switch on the back of the module.

Dimensions
2 HP
22 mm deep

Current Draw
Module does not draw current

Review: This is literally the Best Collection of original tracks from the Japanese anime series Hajime No Ippo, which was first born as a manga series by George Morikaw. It's since gone down in time as one of the genre's greatest, after it was adapted in 1989 into a series of films and video games. We follow the obscurity-to-greatness story of Makunouchi Ippo, a high school student who becomes a professional boxer. The anime's soundtrack artists Tsuneo Imahori, Shocking Lemon, Last Alliance, Wasureranneyo and Coldrain all do well to nail the series' themes of prevailing against the odds and teen angst.

Review: Nathan Coles and Nils Hess dropped a couple of LPs and a tidy run of 12"s as Get Fucked in the late 90s and early 00s, and now Repeat are taking us back to one of their finest moments. Their debut LP Dot To Dot is a quintessential demonstration of tech house at the turn of the millennium, shot through with a wonky humour which pointed to the impending minimal boom, but still rough and ready like the UK sound which had proliferated around parties like Wiggle. There's also a dash of the Viennese jazz twist you'd associate with labels like Cheap, and more heads down grooves than you can shake a nose bag at.