music - tm

"Memory Drum Solo" [mp3 removed]

Continuing a series where a long sequencer "session" is chopped down to segments a few bars in length and the bars are rearranged. To some extent this expresses my irritation with all the long-winded sequencer jams you can find on YouTube where people show off their gear. My own boredom determines where cuts are made and segments placed. One could argue that I need to be a lot more bored but that would be cruel.

This is all done with software in any case. Some filtering near the middle reminds me of one of my Hammond B-3 gods from the '70s who shall remain nameless.

"SeaQuencher" [mp3 removed]

Same sequencer as "Faraway Hilt," but with only the analog synth making the sounds. It's the same "acid" riff repeating, in an exercise in changing timbre (and the occasional slight pitch variation). This is semi-live; a fair bit of post-production was done here: editing, EQ, reverb, etc.

"Faraway Hilt" [mp3 removed]

A digital sequencer triggers analog and digital synths in two different "sessions," which are then layered on top of one another and mixed down to a single stereo track. The start times of the two recordings differ by a few steps so there is bit of echoing of motifs back and forth. This sounds kind of Detroit-ish to me.

"Duo Mutando" [mp3 removed]

Half-notes on the Sidstation are played through the Mutator filter while non-sounding 1/16 notes in Cubase change the pitch of the Mutator's cutoff via MIDI. In the piano intro and outro the two groups of notes are combined. An interesting unintended effect here--the first time I've noticed such a pronounced audio afterimage. The Mutator part is so dense the piano afterward sounds thin and trebly, but it's the same piano heard at the beginning. This is like a Joseph Albers exercise (make a color look lighter through a darker surrounding color) except it's not the main point of the work.

"Xylodrome" [mp3 removed -- a revised version has been posted on Bandcamp]

Bouncy rave-ish thing where two sequencer melodies, both played on Reaktor instruments, intersect, mostly not in real time but with some virtual knob turning at the end. No drums (though they could be added.) Lately have been trimming several-minute "sessions" down to small loops of one-to-four measures and then rearranging and splicing the measures. Most of the work is in the editing but the cuts aren't heard so much.