"Sad Alpha" [mp3 removed]
Written after seeing the Arthur Russell documentary.
Day: December 10, 2008
"Pitch Lesson"
"Pitch Lesson" [mp3 removed]
Made a chart with all the pitches and their equivalent frequencies so I could teach myself EQ-ing (most equalizers use frequencies and was tired of looking at numbers that meant nothing to me). Then made a grid in Cubase with all the pitches between C-1 and B9, recorded it, and used various equalizers to see if I could selectively eliminate pitches.
After that exercise, I cut up my pitch grid into loops, added a kick and ambient percussion, and the above tune resulted.
[Here's the table:
C-1 - 8 hertz
C0 - 16
C1 - 32
C3 - 65
C4 - 130 - Middle C
A above Middle C - concert tuning - 440 hertz
C5 - 523
C6 - 1046 (1.046 kilohertz)
C7 - 2093 (2 khz)
C8 - 4186 (4.1 khz)
C9 - 8372 (8.3 khz)
C10 - 16744 (16 khz)
E above C10 - 21 khz (teenagers hanging around 7-11 parking lots can hear this when the proprietor turns it on to get rid of them)]
"House Sweeps"
"House Sweeps" [mp3 removed]
Full disclosure: this is one of those "art" pieces. An LFO-triggered filter sweep such as you might hear in a club tune, at the end of a dropout, right before kick comes triumphantly back in and takes the room to higher levels, here...fades out again. And then comes back... And then fades out, etc. There is also a drum pattern being swept with an LFO on a slightly faster frequency. And panning as seen in the diagram (the green lines). The upshot is, it's repetitive, but nothing ever repeats the same way exactly.
"Monomechanic"
"Monomechanic" [mp3 removed]
So called because it is mechanical and mostly in mono. Made with the mutator filter, Electribe rhythm box, and some software drumming.
Delaware, Zom Zoms
From Japan, Delaware presents an iPhone/iPodTouch application: "Records001" ($1.99)
A small spinning vinyl record appears on the touchscreen, which can be "scratched" with your fingertips while an infectious Vocaloid-esque ditty plays. Even if you are not a participant in the Steve Jobs conspiracy it's fun to watch the video: [.m4v file that might play in your Quicktime]
Somewhat related, check out the Zom Zoms CD Lumbobo's Tube on Mutant Sounds. Great Devo/Residents-ish synth punk from Austin ca. 2003. Saw them in NY a few years ago, and, like, posted about them on my blog. Lumbobo's lacks the pop finesse of their later work; it's mostly slight Casio tunes and spoken/mumbled vocals with occasional jangly guitar or bass licks. But the whole is unpredictable, dissonant, and bracingly primitive.