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Features Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022! TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022! A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London! Goa based party animal and artist extraordinaire Nirmal talks punk concerts, metal sculptures, flying and rippin' it up on a High Tide! DJ Wired talks to us about the Rise of the Hope and parties, ahead of his upcoming set at Tribal Village on 14th January 2022!

Earproof yourself Reported by Adam Symbiosis / Submitted 24-11-06 02:40 Hearing is probably one of the last things on people’s minds when they go out. With Funktion One, GAE, Martin and others all jostling to give you crystal clear clarity to your music you could be excused for thinking you’ll hear every last high hat and bass drum perfectly. Especially if it’s coming at you at 110 decibels. That’s where the problems begin though and it something that Peter Van Galen has dedicated his company to. So just how can you earproof yourself? Working for TM Audio Holland, a large distributor for brands like Allen & Heath, Shure and Martin Audio, while also running his own business, marketing concepts like the Freefloat for turntables, Peter was already in a very good position within the industry to see the damage loud music can cause. “I was involved in the American Idols (TV show),” he begins, “Providing the ten finalists with in-ear monitor sets. In this process I reached the conclusion that ears in the music industry are poorly taken care of. We’re all in this business because of our hearing ability and yet we come home after a show or a party with ringing ears that might have been damaged. Isn’t that the weirdest contradiction?” Indeed. The ringing in the ears people experience after going to a loud nightclub is called tinnitus and is caused by the cells in the ears being damaged by constant exposure to loud sounds. You could also experience buzzing, crackling, even deafness or any combination of the above. earproof monitor T15 It’s a very vital and real long-term danger for everyone in clubland but how does Peter view it from his perspective? “That’s a tough question. We deliberately refrain from a fear strategy. We do not want to scare people, we just provide them with all essential information and products, so they know how to mind their own ears. Hearing protection actually gives you a better music experience, so people truly benefit from using ear protection or an in-ear monitor. For example, if you use a MP3 player, the standard earphone transmits a lot of environmental noise. Forcing you to push the volume knob, just to shut out these unwanted sounds and torturing your hearing. With a better earphone, there’s no need to play the music that loud.” In fact, it was recently reported via a study conducted in the US that using over the ear type headphones were the safest when playing music from an iPod at 80% of the maximum volume with damage occurring some 5 hours after first used. However listening to your player at 10 to 50% of the maximum volume meant the ability to use any type of headphone such as bud or canal-phone types for any amount of time without any discernible difference was achieved. Canal-phones, which actually sit within the ear canal, seem to be the best of all-rounders, as users tend to turn the volume right down as there is less background noise to cancel out. Peter Van Galen - founder earproof 60 dB Everyday conversation, ringing telephone. 70 dB Restaurant. 80 dB Heavy city traffic, alarm clock at 2 feet, factory noise, vacuum cleaner, garbage disposal. 90 dB Subway trains, motorcycle, workshop tools, lawn mower. 100 dB Chain saw, pneumatic drill. 110 dB Dance club. 120 dB Rock concert speaker sound, sandblasting, thunderclap. 130 dB Jet take off, gunfire. Decibel levels of different sound sources Taking four months to pick out the right name, as Peter felt it was crucial to the rest of the project for branding the products and the concepts goals, he finally came up with the name earproof. “There are so many names already running on the internet. In the end, I found ‘earproof’ by translating back and forth that proofing is isolation and thinking of watches being waterproof. I want earproof to be a European-wide company, with the main goal of creating hearing awareness. This needs to involve the right partners who can help us build our brand and — most importantly — develop new products.” Working with Carl Cox, Rank 1 and Intec Records, amongst many others, has gained earproof vital recognition for its products. These range from the custom made, individually fitted products to the one size fits all models covering both monitoring for professional musicians and djs to protection for nightclub staff, clubbers or anyone else exposed to loud sounds. “Our products are still hand made and as my manufacturer Andy Shiach has said, “It is an art to do it proper.” The process takes place in a lab, where a lot of R&D is also done. We used to have more then one manufacturer, but since I started to work with ACS people have sent me emails with their thanks. That is something special!” Initially I had first met up with Peter as he wandered round Global Gathering 2006 handing out booklets to confused clubbers. In it they had explained what loud music can do to your ears and included a set of disposable earplugs. “We focused primarily on staff and production backstage. While working in a loud noise environment, people get tired and lose focus. We received several good reactions, but people tend to forget their ringing ears when the irritating buzz is gone the next day or the day after. Most people realise they need ear protection when they are in the music all ready. The booklet is set down to create the awareness and try to bring the message in a positive way.” You should keep your eyes peeled for it, as we’ll be bringing the booklets to the HF Vs The Residents Xmas party at Turnmills on The 23rd of December. But who else has had a chance to read through and protect their ears before you? “We started out at Dance Valley with the Silent Disco. The concept of Silent Disco is (for everybody in the club) to dance with headphones on. The headphones gives you control over the dj source, usually two djs and have control of the volume. When leaving the Silent Disco, you hand in the headphones and we then handed back a booklet with a set of earplugs presented as volume buttons. We’ve visited several festivals and events, for example we had an earproof bicycle front running the FFwd Dance Parade in Rotterdam and handed out around 12,000 sets of earplugs and booklets. We hosted an Indian Tipi tent at the Solar festival in Roermond and we regularly visit trade shows and so on.” 85 dbA 8 hrs 88 dbA 4 hrs 91 dbA 2 hrs 94 dbA 1 hr 97 dbA 30 mins 100 dbA 15 mins or less 103 dbA 7.5 mins or less 106 dbA 3.75 mins or less Length of time it takes for ear damage at set sound levels earproof protect ER series That’s a lot of informed people, so why is it that important to have hearing protection? “Ear protection provides your ears with an equalised sound pressure. The ear and inner ear are very fragile parts; too much pressure will lead to an ‘in shock’ position for the inner ear. With the right protection, the ear is capable of listening in more detail for a longer span of time. It really adds up to the ability to concentrate (longer) and to focus.” That’s not to mention the dangers of partial or permanent hearing loss! So through these informed people hopefully they’re spreading the word to protect your ears so everyone can still enjoy the music. I wondered though what different peoples perceptions were depending on where they came from. I asked Peter first about the Dutch, “Everybody working in the entertainment industry knows what ringing ears mean and realises that when they really need earproof products, they are probably too late.” In other words people should be thinking about prevention rather than cure. Here in Blighty Peter thinks there seems to be a growing understanding of the problems though there is still a hardcore of people who think, “Yeah sure, but I don't go on the dance floor” or “I don’t listen to loud music while I am working.” So short of making people turn down the music completely, what would Peter do if he could change something within clubland? Avoiding too many different sound systems is top of his list. He’d rather see clubs use the same source and use various EQ settings to create different atmospheres. Of course, that means getting fully qualified engineers on site, something not many clubs seem happy or able to do. Closing off, I asked if he thought there were differences in opinions between various groups like promoters, venue owners, djs or clubbers? He tells me, “Probably everybody realises the moment they are in loud music that they should wear some kind of protection, but do not have it with them or it is not available. When you walk home and your ears are ringing, you’ve pushed it too far.” Adam Symbiosis Further reading earproof - To purchase hearing protection Reports on hearing study from CBS News Headwize Images courtesy of Peter Van Galen. Not to be reproduced without permission. Share this :: : : : Follow HarderFaster :: Other Features By Adam Symbiosis: Godskitchen Xmas Party: Reviewed The Big Chill: Reviewed Tiësto at Victoria Park: Reviewed Lilly Allen: Reviewed Digital Society May 2009: Reviewed The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable. Comments: From: Mat Lock on 24th Nov 2006 10:24.11 Interesting and informative. So need to get some ear plugs as I am fed up of having my fingers in my ears when these clubs push the sound so loud it hurts ! Any chance of mass HF discount for bulk purchases ? From: Andy T on 24th Nov 2006 10:36.16 Great read, really need to get this sorted From: STACE on 24th Nov 2006 10:39.14 THANK YOU!!!! It's about time this was brought to peoples attention, as half the DJ's i know are deaf. People don't realise the irreparable damage caused to their ears by overly loud music etc...it's worrying. From: Neats on 24th Nov 2006 10:43.38 I've invested in a pair which I wear djing, in the studio and clubbing. They are brilliant, well worth the small fortune I paid for them. Ya can't put a price on your hearing. Wish I had got them sooner. Ear plugs are the way forward. Great stuff From: MR_S on 24th Nov 2006 11:12.25 I'm 21 and my hearing is really bad, just a pity I didn't know about this from the age of 16. From: benz on 24th Nov 2006 17:38.15 brilliant - was wondering where i could get another pair from as lost mine ages ago everyone PLEASE GET SOME From: allstars on 25th Nov 2006 00:48.52 defo worth getting a pair - I have had my set of earplugs for nearly two years and makes so much difference to leave the club being able to hear. I can still hear conversations in the club without competing over the music From: Technikal on 25th Nov 2006 03:55.41 This is one of these things that everyone just puts off and puts off and says I'll get some tomorrow / next week / next year. Me included!! After the new year (here we go haha) I'll be investing in some of these custom bad boys. Good read and good to bring to people's attention! From: Adam White on 25th Nov 2006 18:29.58 Elacin ER15 - I wont DJ without them, infact... I wont go out without them From: Crimson - Crazy Fool on 26th Nov 2006 19:48.30 Yeah, I remember at Global Gathering getting 2 of those leaflets with ear plugs inside and using them later on. That was a good idea!! Since then i always ask at the bar if they have spare ear plugs. Got to protect those ears!! From: James Condon on 27th Nov 2006 12:27.25 I had some of these fitted a few months ago and they are wicked and I find hearing the monitors much better for mixing. From: ~deleted12163 on 29th Nov 2006 22:11.12 Been wearing special ear plugs for the last 2 years now. No more ringing for two days after a night out. From: sexyminx on 30th Nov 2006 20:48.13 Wicked, must invest in some. Getting old now Nice one Adam x From: ~deleted9531 on 5th Dec 2006 17:08.00 Deffo time to invest in some of these puppies before my lugoles get even more damaged than they probably already are. Good read!

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