Vlog 045: From Saigon, With Love
From Australia and on to Vietnam where Shana met up with me for just over a week!
Music: Bon Iver (Stems Project)
The best alternatives to SoundCloud (2017)
With rumours of SoundCloud’s upcoming demise, online creators are about to feel a big loss. The platform is notorious for its rap scenes and artists, as well as a place of choice to host podcasts and DJ Mixes. Thankfully, they managed to secure a last-minute deal and more VC money (about $170M), which should give them another 12 months of runway to hopefully turn things around.
As someone who’s played on the sideline of podcasting, beatmaking, and DJ-ing as a hobby over the past years — I’ve had the chance to test out a few platforms, and figured out some alternatives for online creatives. Read on!
Podcasters
For podcasters, the appeal of SoundCloud is clear: you can get started for free, with free hosting, and you already have a built-in community to help you grow.
However, SoundCloud is not predominantly a Podcast Hosting platform, and anyone serious enough about Podcasting, or willing to spend a little money, should consider other alternatives.
My first piece of advices is simple: in 2017 you need to own your own content and the platform on which you broadcast it. You can no longer lock your episodes on one single platform and hope for the best, especially if you’re not paying.
What I would suggest is that you create a dedicated blog or micro site where your followers can find all your episodes, in case whatever service or platforms shuts down. Hosting on a blog will give you an RSS feed to, which is how podcasting works anyways.
If you don’t have a lot of technical knowledge, you can even add an account with Feedpress to make managing anything RSS-related in a much simpler way.
Now, when it comes to the nitty-gritty of podcast-hosting, your best alternative is Simplecast.fm. I’ve been using them for about two years now — and even interviewed the original founder (since then the company has been acquired but remains independent of outside funding, as far as I know).
Simplecast is a fantastic platform that’s easy to setup, manage and broadcast, available for about $100/year. It has all the features you might want: support for artwork, show notes (in Markdown format, HTML, and Rich or Plain Text.)
Once you’ve taken care of the initial setup, uploading episodes is as easy as picking the audio file from your computer, adding your title, description and artwork, and you’re good to go.
What more, you can even tie it to your own domain, and even generate a dedicated micro-site to redirect web users and followers.
DJs
Online DJs and Radio Hosts are a different breed and require specific tools, however in this case there is already a solid platform available for everyone: Mixcloud.
Mixcloud came around the same time of SoundCloud but focuses on DJ sets and longer (it can also be used to host podcasts, but the core audience is DJs and online mixes.)
Mixcloud is available online via your Web Browser, and has different apps for your mobile devices or your Apple TV. They also have integrations in a couple of DJ mixing software so that you can easily upload to the platform.
The company is also solid as the executive team has bootstrapped it (meaning there is no outside funding or investors to answer to.) There’s no offline mode (you can thank the Major Music Labels for that), but aside from that it’s a really good platform and a solid product. These days I find myself listening to it more and more as I work or require focus without changing songs or albums every 10 minutes.
I’ve personally met the CEO a few years ago and I truly believe in their mission to allow anyone to upload their music, from existing worldstar DJs down to bedroom DJs and hobbyists like myself, and give them an opportunity to share their work, and even participate in competition to get to the next level.
Musicians, Artists, Rappers, Beatmakers
Unfortunately, I’m not the best person in the know about hosting platforms if you’re an artist/rapper.
Over the years, many platforms have come and gone, whether to host Mixtapes (), to allow artists to offer music downloads if you share your email address and follow them on SoundCloud and Spotify, or as a way to host remixes from the Hip-Hop scene. But none of them have ever had the traction and the cultural impact that SoundCloud has.
You have to keep in mind that Grammy Winner Chance The Rapper came up offering his mixtape so for free, on SoundCloud. To this day, his latest album/mixtape —the one he won a Grammy for— can be heard for free on the platform.
If you’re an artist with a small label, or an independent artist, you can rely on Bandcamp to offer music downloads. It’s a great company, with a philosophy and a sets of values that work in conjunction to the Indie Music scene.
Bandcamp is great if you want to sell/distribute your music, but from a listening experience, and from a community standpoint, it feels like it’s a different product, targeting a different niche than SoundCloud.
About my SoundCloud experience.
Before I wrap this up, I wanted to share a couple of thoughts about SoundCloud itself. Given that they’ve secured some additional investment and have a bit more runway, I want to be optimistic.
I’ve been a user of the platform for many years now, since around 2009-2010, first as a listener back when you could only find unknown producers, mashups and remixes. I continued listening regularly, starting to like and repost, up to now, with a community of almost 600 followers.
Since then I’ve been mixing things up, uploading my own beats, DJ sets, as a hobbyist, but also sharing my podcast, and engaging with the community. I loved the majority of the changes that the company brought over the years, the different redesigns, the modern look and feel of the current version of the app, and while there’s always something that can be improved, I’ve been mostly satisfied about it.
My grudges with SoundCloud aren’t with the platform itself, but with the major music labels who have always acted like a mafia, asking for money to be paid. This goes against the artists on so many levels, and against the current online climate of open-source, Creative Commons, and overall “open and free” mentality that make the web what it is today.
All in all — it’s sad because SoundCloud had a lot of impact on our modern internet culture. It will be hard to get same level of discovery from another platform, and no matter what happens to them next year, they clearly have shaped our modern internet culture and are directly responsible for putting on a lot of different artists from Chance to Lorde, to producers like Lido, Cashmere Cat, Kygo, Mura Masa, and many others.
Don’t blame Soundcloud for trying, they were essentially suffocated from the Majors! And I can personally feel that when some of my remixes or DJ sets get takedown, with my account being flagged and threatened to be taken down. #BlameTheLabels
Conclusion
SoundCloud isn’t dead yet, even if there are many concerns about how it’ll survive. I think Casey Newton of The Verge absolutely nailed it: the biggest challenge comes a majority of users who refuse to pay for content and access, plain and simple.
These are the same users who make music playlists on Youtube (a video platform that is arguably the most popular music streaming service around). I feel strongly about this, because we have seen time and time again the death of platforms like these due to a lack of financial from the community.
As I’m writing this down in Vietnam, I asked my Airbnb host and his friends what service they used to listen to music. Keep in mind that the LTE service here is cheaper than in the west, and, in my experience, almost faster than Wi-Fi. When I asked them, they replied that they didn’t see the point in paying for stuff, and they’d rather:
- manually download tracks and transfer them to their mobile devices,
- or use Youtube or SoundCloud.
This obviously made me a bit sad, because my hunch tells me this is the case for a lot of developing countries where access to the internet is cheap, but you can’t or won’t reward creators with a few bucks.
After securing the new funding, SoundCloud’s co-founder and CEO, Alexander Ljung, was pushed out of the company and, as I understand it, has agreed to step down, it’s not the same type of ruthless business and predator mentality that can be seen in pop-culture movies rendition of The Social Network or any movie about Steve Jobs an Apple.
I saw Alex Ljung speak on stage at LeWeb 2011, in Paris, and his vision for the future of not just music, but also sound and voice, was incredibly appealing to me. Listening to his keynote made me reconsider how I listen but also how I use sound in my day-to-day life. It’s when I started using voice dictation or voice messages in messenging app regularly.
And now, it sounds like the new SoundCloud CEO, Kerry Trainor has his job cut out for him.
He was the former CEO of Vimeo between 2012 and 2016, and was responsible for the platform’s change of positioning from yet-another-Youtube-competitor to a platform with focus on paid content, indie movies, documentaries, and a smart and simple VOD offering. It was a smart move, in retrospect, and one that paid off big time for them.
My hope(s) for SoundCloud is that through the guidance of the new CEO they can focus on what made the community special: a place where remixes, indie artists, and odd internet creators can thrive. But this won’t happen without more revenue, which can only go so far in terms of being ad-supported. I really hope the customers start realizing this as the company has bought itself some more life for another year.
“The Misfit Breakfast of Vietnam” (R&K)
Taking some time during my Vietnamese trip to share a little something I’ve read on Roads & Kingdoms, about visiting Saigon and experiencing a spicy beef stew (known as bò kho).
Like a lot of Vietnamese soups, the magic is in the broth. Star anise, curry paste, pepper, cumin, chopped onion, chive, and the national condiment, fish sauce, are just a part of what makes up a criminally under-celebrated dish.Lighten the brawn with chili, hoisin, lemongrass, hefty squeezes of lime, and a bunch of cilantro, basil, and ngo om (rice paddy herb) and you’ve got yourself a most complex flavor. Order a baguette on the side to dunk and mop up, and you’re onto a winner.
It really hits home, as I’m walking around in the saigonese heat every day, having Phó and all types of different soups even on days when the sun is blazing hot. And the bread-dipping action towards the end is literally my life!
Also, yeah it is not only a popular breakfast, but also a bigger afternoon snack: Vietnamese people tend to have about 5-7 meals a day, albeit smaller than the full meals we have in the West, but all day long, often hearty soups to keep you going through the day!
So here’s to my Vietnamese heritage and its incredible food(s) of all kinds!
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Today started with an early 6:30am wake up call —for no reason. I’ve been lacking some sleep over the weekend, so it wasn’t a great sign to wake up feeling tired.
I powered through the morning, and, around lunchtime, my Airbnb host asked me if I wanted to go out. I told him I was thinking about getting some Phó and so teamed-up on his scooter for a 12mn ride through the city.
He told me he caught the flu over the weekend, so I thought Phó should also be a good thing for him. After an delicious, energising, filling, and hearty lunch we were on our way back when he asked me if I ever had a face massage, here in Vietnam.
I explained to him that I hadn’t, and that the only massages I ever get are given by my girlfriend — I’ve never felt comfortable enough having a professional massage therapist (unrelated but yeah, I dislike the word masseuse). He said he was going to get one and offered that I tag along, citing how relaxing it was.
We parked in front of this hair salon, in the third district. Entering the salon, we were taken all the way to the back where they had a barely lit room with six beds, and two current customers. As you lay down, you realise that there is a flat surface slightly inclined, just enough so that your head is tilted backward.
The therapist put a towel under my head and another one on my chest, before starting to shampoo and wash my hair. With my hair wet and cleaned, she started massaging my cranium with their fingernails before moving on to my face.
She went through several cycles, several routines, going from the top of my skull down to my forehead, to my cheeks, to my neck, and even down to my shoulder blades. All in all, it was a very relaxing experience, especially considering my physical exhaustion from the past few days and the lack of sleep from last night.
[Book Review] "See You In The Cosmos" (Jack Cheng)
Earlier this week, I’ve finally finished this book from one of my favorite authors Jack Cheng!
This was an incredibly touching story, with a very original way of introducing its plot. A short fiction read at about 300+ pages – I highly recommend it for fans of fiction, moving stories, drama, and space/NASA nerds!
An astonishingly moving middle-grade debut about a space-obsessed boy's quest for family and home. All eleven-year old Alex wants is to launch his iPod into space. With a series of audio recordings, he will show other lifeforms out in the cosmos what life on Earth, his Earth, is really like.But for a boy with a long-dead dad, a troubled mum, and a mostly-not-around brother, Alex struggles with the big questions.
Where do I come from? Who’s out there? And, above all, How can I be brave?
Determined to find the answers, Alex sets out on a remarkable road trip that will turn his whole world upside down . . .
For fans of Wonder and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Jack Cheng’s debut is full of joy, optimism, determination, and unbelievable heart. To read the first page is to fall in love with Alex and his view of our big, beautiful, complicated world. To read the last is to know he and his story will stay with you a long, long time.
[via Goodreads]
Vlog 044: Brisbane, Toowoomba, Sydney
I’ve met my cousin for the first time…EVER!
Music: https://www.mixcloud.com/tibz/amazing-chill-volume-02-take-a-breather/.
My Essential Travel Gear
Having been on the road since April, I thought it’d be a good time to finally take some time to share my favorite travel gear. I’ve been wanting to write this one down for a while because I’ve come to realize how much I rely on some of this stuff in my day to day.
Here’s a selection of the travel gear I can’t leave without — you can find more of my essential kit on my Kit.com page.
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A picture I took at home, before leaving for 9 months on the road[/caption]
Travel Gear
Tortuga Backpack
Preparing a trip of 9 months across the world, I needed to ensure that the very basic backpack would be solid, and allow me to cross borders, airport security, but still fit on the cabin of the many aircrafts to come. After a quick search for a good-looking, sturdy travel backpack, I decided to purchase the 35L Outbreaker, from Tortuga. It’s been the best decision I’ve ever taken in terms of gear to choose. I absolutely love this backpack, from the design, to the splash-proof material, and how sturdy it feels on my back.
Packing cubes
This is a more recent addition, but after realising I was unpacking/re-packing every month, I been looking for a more efficient way to travel. This is partially solved by these packing cubes which allow me to put everything together in my bag, saving up a bit more space, and the hassle of wondering how I managed to pack so much in two bags in the past few months.
Travel mug
I picked up this travel mug during a recent trip to Amsterdam earlier this year. I stumbled upon it in the Design Museum’s store, and couldn’t resist the nice design and simple click mechanism.
Anti-pollution mask
I knew that I’d be visiting some countries with dust and/or a fair amount of pollution (Dubai, Shanghai, Vietnam, …) so I knew that a face mask would be a good investment. This one is meant to last longer than the usual paper masks you can find in convenience stores all over Asia, and you can even change the filters once you’ve used them for a while.
Day bag/tote
What happens once you’ve reached your accommodation? You go out and EXPLORE. My day-bag is a simple tote I’ve got as a gift from my subscription to Monocle Magazine. Simple, but essential, as I tend to put my wallet, my external battery, my laptop or iPad if I’m walking around, and any other accessory I might need on the day.
Accessories
Noise-cancelling Headphones (preferably wireless)
My go-to pair of noise-cancelling, wireless headphones. I simply can’t live, and especially can’t travel without these: noise cancellation is really on point, even when a toddler is sitting behind you and crying on a plane.
The battery life is huge for me (20h+) so I can keep them on my head from the moment I leave my Airbnb, go to the airport, fly for 10+ hours, land, and travel to my next accommodation —and I’ll still have some juice left!
Wired earphones
I need a dirt cheap basic pair of earphones, for when I want to listen to podcasts or music, or have a facetime call, whenever I’m outside and walking around… at least until I decide to get myself a pair of Airpods…
Sleeping Mask
Similarly to the noise-cancelling headphones, this is something I absolutely need in order to get some rest on a plane. On average, in an 8-10h flight, I hardly get more than 2 hours of sleep, generally 30-40 minutes at a time. So investing in a better sleeping mask than the basic ones given on a plane is also a small but crucial improvement. I bought my current one in Vietnam for about 3€ ($4).
Cable organizer
Something so simple, and yet so incredibly vital to anyone traveling on the road with a few gadgets: this travel organizer is possibly the wisest 10€ I have EVER spent.
There’s a small zipped compartment which is perfect for small adapters, SIM cards, and memory cards too!
Cables
Obviously, something to fill the travel organizer with. If, like me, you travel with a few electronic gadgets, I’d recommend having a few spare ones.
For example, if you have an iPad AND an iPhone, have at least 2 charging cables. Or, if you travel with an android phone and another gadget like a Kindle e-reader, make sure you pack 2 USB to Micro-USB cables, etc.
Apple’s World Travel Adapter Kit
Overpriced? Definitely… But you can’t beat the quality, comfort and ease of use of Apple’s chargers and their related kits!
Multiple Port USB charger
This one, from Anker, has become my go-to charger for the gadgets I have whenever traveling, but also at home when I’m staying in my own place!
External Battery Charger
Mine comes from the good folks at Xiaomi, who are trying to sell Westerners on good quality accessories prior to launching their Android phones in the West. I love this sleek-looking external battery, but if I had to pick another one, I would probably invest in a solid one from Anker.
External Hard Drive
For backing up my laptop regularly, and storing tons of movies, tv shows, comics and more, while traveling around the world! I love how sexy this thing looks!
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Ready to hit the road, with 2 bags for 9 months![/caption]
I think it’s fair to say that some of these are pretty straightforward. However, when I was planning on my own, it was easy to forget about certain things. For example, when I arrived in Australia, I realized that I needed to buy an extra adapter. Or, more recently, a sleeping mask. These are just small things that are essential the more I travel, to make sure I can optimize my experience abroad with the least amount of friction.
Now, do I need every single item on this list? Probably not. However, having it available at hand with me when I travel makes my experience of going around the world a much easier one.
Think I forgot something? Want to add something that I should check out before I hit the road again? Let me know what are YOUR travel essentials!
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Vlog 043: Old Friends in Melbourne
After an awesome road trip, it was time to catch up with some really good friends down in Melbourne…
vimeo.com/tibz/vlog… Music: https://www.mixcloud.com/tibz/love-beats-volume-03-what-i-wish-the-dj-played-last-time-i-went-to-a-club/
[Movie Review] Dunkirk
I'm not a fan of War movies. I think I've overdosed on too many movies and tv shows (anyone remembers Band of Brothers?) at an early age.But with such high acclaim from critics and audiences alike, it was hard to resist Christopher Nolan’s latest offering.
I’ll say this about Dunkirk: it definitely has the Nolan touch. The gorgeous cinematography, the music, the intensity and thrill of being unsure which way the storylines are going and how the different paths are intertwined with one another.
It’s not a movie or a story that necessary appeals to me, from the start. But it executed and directed so beautifully that I let myself be captured by those characters and their journeys as they try to get out of Dunkirk (“Dunkerque” in my native language.)
I would add that I was lucky enough to watch this movie for an empty mid-week afternoon screening, in IMAX 4DX. However, unlike my screening experience, while the extra sensory experience was intact, I felt even more immersed because the film itself was in beautiful 2D, with no motion play onscreen. The image was crisp as could be, and worked incredibly well with this motion picture.
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Related Update:
Hello world! Was waiting to have access to the iOS app in order to be back here!
Hello world! Was waiting to have access to the iOS app in order to be back here!
Vlog 042: An Australian Roadtrip
After 10 days in Sydney, it was time to drive down to Melbourne over the course of an unbelievable road trip, spread over 4 days...
[Tibz Mix] Love & Beats | Volume 05: Traveling through Asia
Following up on my Shanghai mix, I’ve published a new mix last week, a little bit more dynamic and definitely on a sexier vibe. All this inspiration came from traveling around Shanghai, Seoul, Jeju Island, Busan, and lately Sydney & Melbourne too!
[mixcloud www.mixcloud.com/tibz/love… width=100% height=400 light=1]
Enjoy!
I don’t often post these types of things, but today’s Timehop had quite the memory:
Eight years ago today, I graduated from high-school! 2009-2017
Vlog 041: Exploring Sydney, Australia
I finally landed in Sydney, and I invite you to watch my adventures in the following Vlog — as I’ve mentioned, I’ve been busy.
Sydney was very interesting, it was my first time back surrounded by westernised white people, after Dubai, Shanghai, and Seoul. But I quickly found my marks: it’s a big enough city that there are distinct interesting neighbourhoods and activities all year round, but it’s still small enough that you can easily walk everywhere. In my case, that meant long walks at different times of days and night.
I was lucky enough to catch up with two different friends from Brighton: Charlotte, back from University, and then James and his girlfriend Lauren. I used to work with James for about two years, back when I was at Realmac Software. It was really great to catch up with these great humans!
And in addition, spending 10 days in Sydney gave me some good time to get back to being productive and work for my clients a bit more than when I was in Korea. Glad to be back on tracks!
I’m going to keep it at that for now, and I hope that you’ve enjoyed these new vlogs. I’ve got loads more to share, but I’ll save this for next time!
See you soon!
—Tibz
[Tibz Mix] Amazing Chill | Volume 04: Shanghai
This mix was way overdue. I had a lot of time on my hands back in Shanghai and I had started working on a new mix. However, time caught up with me, and by the time I got to South Korea, and later Australia, finally mixing this together had slipped off my mind.
So without further adue, here’s a quick mix of songs that accompanied me during my trip to the Chinese Metropolis.
[mixcloud www.mixcloud.com/tibz/amaz… width=100% height=400]
Vlog 040: Exploring Busan
After our holidays in Korea, Shana left to go back to the US. On my end, I had an extra week in the country, so I decided to visit Busan for the weekend. You can watch the latest vlog below:
Busan is a charming city located as far down south as you can get. It’s famous for its fish market, its harbour, and its film festival. Oh, and let’s not forget Gamcheon, a small colourful village that will bring back to mind the Cinque Terre in Italy.
Overall, it’s been a great trip, albeit a short one. But just a few days later, I would fly to Australia, for a month!
Vlog 039: Discovering Jeju Island with my Girlfriend
My girlfriend came to visit me!
Part 2 of our holiday in Jeju Island, including hikes, lava caves, food, sunsets and so much more!
One last time, from Korea!
Hi everybody!
Before I get started, I just wanted to remind you that I’m doing a digital catch-up and Q&A on Periscope on Monday (tomorrow).
I’ll be online at http://periscope.tv/itibz – all you have to do is come on there to watch, or signup/login to be a part of the Chat, say hi, or ask any question about my work or this trip around the world!
As I’m writing this update, I am in the train back from Busan, in the south-eastern coast of South Korea, all the way down.
Traveling to/from Seoul is easy thanks to a really convenient and fast train system. Taking this trip all the way to the other side of the country takes only two and a half hours.
Busan is the second biggest city in the country, and know for being a big fishing town as well as hosting a popular international film festival.
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Jeanne Moreau, in 2001[/caption]
I’ve tried the local fish cakes, traditional delicacies that the city is known for, and I’ve also gone to a street food market located around the BIFF Square (Busan International Film Festival).
I also visited the gorgeous Gamcheon Culture Village, a small village overlooking the sea, on a hill, with very colorful little houses. You’d almost junk you were visiting the Cinque Terre in Italy.
Finally, Shana happened to have a friend visiting the Busan area too, and we ended up spending one evening together, having dinner and discovering the boardwalk and beachside by night.
All in all, it was a short-but-sweet trip to Busan!
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Vlog 038: Romantic Holiday in Seoul
My girlfriend came to visit me!
Part 1 of our holiday in Seoul, including animal cafes, a street art village, street food, and much more!