music - tm

"Clangs and Whimpers"

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clangs_diagram

clangs_diagram_MMMD

"Clangs and Whimpers (Short)" [mp3 removed -- some of this got incorporated into Field Whimpers, on Bandcamp]

"Clangs and Whimpers" [mp3 removed]

mmmd1 stands for minimal morphing machine drum--an analog-modeling synth/sequencer from the Reaktor user library that un-analogically allows you to morph among hihat, snare, and bass drum to get your drum hit. The amount each of those percussion types contributes to the sound of the hit depends on the position of a yellow square in the step key boxes above. The parameters of those three sounds can also be messed with, pre-morph, using the dials under bd, sd, and hh.

In this song I used the mmmd with effects as shown above. The diagram isn't entirely accurate in that several recording sessions were done, each time with the effects configured slightly differently:

Session One: All drums (mmmd1 "Out" in the diagram) went through Flatblaster 1.0 (a compressor/limiter) to channels 1 and 2.

Session Two: Hihat through Echomania (delay) to channels 1 and 2.

Session Three: All drums through Instant Repeater (another delay that adds pitch), then Flatblaster, to channels 1 and 2.

Session Four: As shown above. Since Reaktor's inboard .wav recorder only records channels 1 and 2, I used a second PC to record all four channels simultaneously through an ADAT connection. I could have configured my sound card to do this on a single PC but frankly I get confused with all the in/out and it's too much bother trying to avoid feedback loops among player, recorder, and monitor.

I then did post-production in Cubase with the .wav files resulting from those sessions (cross-fading them and using automation curves to add and subtract reverb).

Am posting two versions of this song. They are identical, except that the long one has more variations and gets progressively noisier. What interests me most in both versions is the funky robot syncopation resulting from the layered delay tracks. Like syncopation at its most primitive and reductive. The sound overall is pretty harsh--the reverb provides the only softening factor.

"Software Caddy Variation"

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"Software Caddy Variation" [mp3 removed]

The beats are from Reaktor's Rhythmaker synth, beefed up with reverb, delay, and compression; the pads are Carbon 2. I keep coming back to Rhythmaker because it is a pure electro synth--no PCM (samples), it's a series of dedicated channels (kick, snare, percussion, toms) with tweakable variables driven by an onboard sequencer. Basically a software 808 with more up-to-date sound generators (e.g., spectral synthesis for the snare). The two beats used in this song are presets where I made small changes to the sequences and levels on the individual channels. Other variables included switching between wet and dry on the reverb effect, and seeing how different beats interacted with different pads. The song starts out minimal and gets more lush as it goes.