Regular followers of our show coverage will no doubt be aware of one of the finest demonstrators of contemporary music software – namely James Bernard. In a true fairytale fashion, James started out working in the warehouse for Korg, where he was spotted doing things that nobody thought could be done with Korg gear by Korg soundmaster Jack Hotop. Quickly he became Korgs main demonstrator of dance gear, where he evangelized the popular Electribe series and later the Korg Legacy collection. His demos were always impressive and musically relevant. So much so that Swedish codesters Propellerheads made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Now he regularly treats us to the deeper aspects of the Reason 3.0 with his excellent tunes as the vehicle. Spending so much time on the road means that James has mastered the portable writing setup and in the short time between working and sleeping, has put together a new collection of ambient tunes titled "New Life". Written as a concept album to chronicle the coming of a new child, "New Life" is a journey into sonic landscapes from far away worlds convoluted by sputtering synths and disjointed drum beats. The title track "New Life" highlights the classic Roland TB-303 twisting along on glitchy drum beats. "One More Makes Two" sounds like a cross between Chopin and a Commodore 64 computer from the 1980's. And the Segue tracks are more like mini songs than segues. This is a perfect album for playing in the background while working, relaxing, sleeping, eating, breathing.... a soundtrack for your life. The latest release is available for download at www.lulu.com/jamesbernard.

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