music - tm

"Clouds 21" (Jules Laplace), "Clouds Remix," "Fog Computing"

Comments Off on "Clouds 21" (Jules Laplace), "Clouds Remix," "Fog Computing"

Have been working on some collaborations with Jules Laplace. His original song, "Clouds 21," is below. Taking the mixes in reverse order:

"Fog Computing" [4.2 MB .mp3]
A MIDI file of Laplace's "clouds21" was played in Winamp and a few "general MIDI piano" notes were sampled. "Fog Computing" is made with those samples using the Doepfer A-112 8-bit sampler module and the Octatrack for sequencing. Some of the patterns were re-arranged and remixed in Cubase and imported back into the Octatrack.
It's uber-noisy and dirty. Both the wavetable and sampler functions of the A-112 were used. The really dense static-y sound is the sampler playing the notes very slowly.
Thing I learned: how to reduce an LFO signal to swing between 1 and -1 volts to modulate the wavetable: this adds Hammond-like grit to the sound.

Tom Moody and Jules and Laplace, "Clouds Remix" [4.1 MB .mp3]
Some of the gritty patterns also used in "Fog," but playing in conjunction with the march-like MIDI piano version of Laplace's tune below. This isn't the same Winamp piano as above -- it's a sampled concert grand, but "played" with very little nuance.

Jules Laplace, "clouds21" [6.2 MB .mp3]
I maximized the volume to CD level. A diaphanous, faintly Kirk Degiorgio-esque synth confection, very nice, that can in no way be blamed for what came later.

"Slow and Go"

Comments Off on "Slow and Go"

"Slow and Go" [mp3 removed -- tune is now on Bandcamp]

Octatrack playing modular patch(es) with some overdubbing/multitracking in the sequencer.
In the patch an LFO is opening a filter frequency control in one synth on the upstroke and closing on the down, the inverse of the same wave is opening and closing a volume gate on another synth.
While this is going on continuously a 1V/OCT signal plays a tune.
Things I learned doing this:
How to use a "scene" in the Octatrack arranger to switch delay effect on and off in a single track.
Slicing an LFO-d wave into 64 slices and then muting every other slice to get an additional gating effect.
Tempo changes in the arranger to make these "gated" slices play faster and slower in sync with the percussion.
This is mostly analog but sounds computer-gamy due to MIDI-triggering and "simple waveforms."

"Rack Dance 3 (Atonal Variations)" [demo]

Comments Off on "Rack Dance 3 (Atonal Variations)" [demo]

vermonaqmi500

"Rack Dance 3 (Atonal Variations)" [mp3 removed]

This is a bit noodly for my taste but some of the tunes are stuck in my head and I have to deal with that. It's not really all that atonal but I'm calling it a [demo] rather than a piece due to a heavier-than-usual machine agency.
After those disclaimers: I kept the settings for the four modular synth patches in "Rack Dance 3" and then played the MIDI-to-cv notes that triggered them, this time using the above module's "polyphony" and "monophonic 2" modes (the toggle switch at the bottom left).
"Polyphony" as they define it means four notes played simultaneously on a single MIDI channel are stacked as a chord until one ends, then it's assigned to the first available CV out. This adds a random element distributing notes to different patches than they were originally written to play. It's not completely random, though, there is a logic to it. Polyphony uses 1-2-3-4 distribution and M2 uses 1-2 / 3-4. In this four minute piece I'm switching from M1 to M2 to Poly while the sequencer is playing. This method results in a lot of outright unlistenable trash. Originally I had 14 minutes of playing and edited it down to four.

"Three Note Bass"

Comments Off on "Three Note Bass"

124x396_1353507945_324

"Three Note Bass" [mp3 removed -- tune is now on Bandcamp]

This piece rings some changes -- at a fairly basic compositional level -- with the above filter module. A low-fi sample plays through the filter at three different settings, all with gain cranked up in the clipping level, which causes pleasing distortion. The settings are, frequency knob at 2:00, frequency knob almost all the way open, and frequency knob at 2:00 with resonance cranked (causing that eerie whine).
There is a gratuitous dubstep interlude to make one appreciate the bass variations, then back to those variations, then fin. Played and arranged in the Octatrack sequencer; monaural recording mixed down to a stereo file.

"Small Rack Duo"

Comments Off on "Small Rack Duo"

"Small Rack Duo" [mp3 removed -- tune is now on Bandcamp]

A duet or duo between two modular synth patches plays continuously (with some post-production to fix things such as dropped notes in the live recording). It seemed too thin so I added a synth bass line, and then some percussion halfway through.