The weather was hot, the show floor was crowded, the business people negotiated, the music played, and the new Allen & Heath Xone:4D impressed everybody. If it's January, it's gotta be Winter NAMM even if it doesn't feel like winter!

To be nominated for a Grammy Award is just about as good as it gets for any musician. The Allen & Heath/Xone/American Music & Sound team were delighted to welcome not one but two Grammy Awards 2009 nominees onto the stand at the recent NAMM convention in southern California: world-renowned Dutch producer/remixer Junkie XL and America's rising star Morgan Page. Both artists performed superb live sets on the Xone:4D. Good luck at the Grammys, guys!

D:Fuse and Mike Hiratzka also appeared on the Xone booth. Their rather cheeky, but perfectly timed, new track called "This Is Our Time" (which includes sound bytes from President Obama's recent speeches) has been getting rave reviews and tearing up the dancefloors Stateside, no surprise.

Want to hear it? You know you do. Courtesy of Mike and D, a download link can be found below. If any mysterious agents from the CIA or FBI demand to know where you found this tune, please tell them that you got it from a dude called "Billy Bob" from somewhere in Texas. Then run. Sorted.

The new Xone:22 two-channel mixer grabbed loads of attention at NAMM and YES you can move into the Xone for much less than $1,000. Huge interest was also generated by the outboard MIDI controllers, Xone:1D and Xone:2D, a clear sign that this technology is now firmly entrenched in the electronic music production and live DJ performance sectors.

Grateful thanks for their support at NAMM are extended to Didje Kelli and DJ Fiddler from San Francisco, John Graham aka Quivver from London, Mark Lewis from Pluto, Jason Blum from Deepsky, LA-LA-Land's James Hsu aka St.James, Omar Cash, DJ R-Man and our fine friend Tim Walter aka Mix Architekt.

Respect to you all.

Next stop Frankfurt...

Nick McGeachin