From Nicholas Lem.
This concert is silent in that the live audience wear wireless headphones. Lemnik is one of the recognised masters of these very complex Elektron instruments (from Sweden) and one of the top exponents of "dark ambient".
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Saturday 30 August 2014
Two fathoms below deep: dual Monomachine demo
From MIDERA. Far better than just a 'demo' I'd say.
I'm a fan of these Elektron boxes too; their complexity is bewildering sometimes, but they're wonderful creative tools when you get the hang of them.
I'm a fan of these Elektron boxes too; their complexity is bewildering sometimes, but they're wonderful creative tools when you get the hang of them.
"Driving the Spaceship" by kv3x
From kv3x. "So I snuck the spaceship out of the garage the other night. Once I got it started, wow, what a ride!"
That ship is quite a character. Gets a bit temperamental after the asteroid shoot!
That ship is quite a character. Gets a bit temperamental after the asteroid shoot!
Friday 29 August 2014
AsteroidKiller: "Live in the Studio"
From AsteroidKillerMusic. "This is a patch I've been working on over the last days. It's recorded live and nothing is added in post."
The way the arpeggios syncopate randomly keeps the old attention going. Unlike so much of what I rail against in this genre i.e. a 1 bar groove that goes on for 8 minutes with no variation, so doing in one's head. I also appreciate the stereo production - a sense of space in a mix lifts the whole thing out from the steel box, and if you're listening on headphones, out from your sinuses!
See the two keyboards on the left, close to the camera? I once owned both, but sold them for next to nothing when such gizmos were right out of fashion. They fetch 4-figure sums on eBay now. There's many a similar tale told by gentlemen of a certain age who lived through the arrival of digital synths in the early 80s.
The way the arpeggios syncopate randomly keeps the old attention going. Unlike so much of what I rail against in this genre i.e. a 1 bar groove that goes on for 8 minutes with no variation, so doing in one's head. I also appreciate the stereo production - a sense of space in a mix lifts the whole thing out from the steel box, and if you're listening on headphones, out from your sinuses!
See the two keyboards on the left, close to the camera? I once owned both, but sold them for next to nothing when such gizmos were right out of fashion. They fetch 4-figure sums on eBay now. There's many a similar tale told by gentlemen of a certain age who lived through the arrival of digital synths in the early 80s.
Thursday 28 August 2014
"Synths that block out the sun" - number 4
"Cyrusrex + Baseck", from Muff Wiggler.
We may entertain the delusion of free will, but in fact HERE is where it's ALL controlled from.
We may entertain the delusion of free will, but in fact HERE is where it's ALL controlled from.
A Zen Minute
"Mixing the Buddha Machines with the modular..." A dreamy hybrid of Tibetan gong samples and old-school analog synthesis. From kv3x.
Tuesday 26 August 2014
"Spiral Waves" by Ebotronix
I've previously posted a few pieces by Ebotronix in my "Synths that block out the sun" series. For this one I'm leaving off the irony and posting on its musical merit alone. I love the way the sound evolves from one moment to the next, unlike so much of this genre where a simplistic groove repeats and repeats ad nauseam.
I'm not sure how he manages that quantity of patch cabling without losing track of what connects to what! As I've remarked before, it's unusual to hear such multilayered arrangements played in real time on this analog technology. That's some mental map you'd need to set it all up and perform it. Bravo Herr Ebotronix!
I'm not sure how he manages that quantity of patch cabling without losing track of what connects to what! As I've remarked before, it's unusual to hear such multilayered arrangements played in real time on this analog technology. That's some mental map you'd need to set it all up and perform it. Bravo Herr Ebotronix!
"I must get one of those" - number 6
Circuit Bent Gabriella High School Musical Doll - rehoused with Jazz Hands and doll head control. From freeform delusion.
Any golden age of mad wacky instruments would have to give rise to this kind of stuff too. Circuit Bent do a whole range of items as weird as this one.
Any golden age of mad wacky instruments would have to give rise to this kind of stuff too. Circuit Bent do a whole range of items as weird as this one.
Thursday 21 August 2014
"I must get one of those" - number 5
Last chance to get a Thingamagoop 2x. The golden age of mad wacky instruments isn't ending any time soon despite this.
Monday 18 August 2014
"I must get one of those" - number 4
We're truly in the golden age of mad wacky instruments.
Can't see how you're meant to play/programme this one; unless you're a dachshund.
Saturday 16 August 2014
"Human at Last" - title track of forthcoming multimedia show
The title is a quote by Kim Stanley Robinson, from "2312", one of his near-future novels. Humans (at least the majority) are finally are able to enjoy an existence free of scarcity and violence, replete with whatever cerebral or sensual pursuits that attract them.
Sounds a bit utopian doesn't it? And maybe it could only be fully realised for those able to populate the solar system in the way he imagines in the book. The phrase stuck in my head as a nice shorthand for an optimistic take on our future as a species.
Sounds a bit utopian doesn't it? And maybe it could only be fully realised for those able to populate the solar system in the way he imagines in the book. The phrase stuck in my head as a nice shorthand for an optimistic take on our future as a species.
Wednesday 13 August 2014
"Synths that block out the sun" - number 3
"Form Thirty Five"
More interestingly structured noise from the Chicago lab of sound designer and composer, Surachai.
MFB Kraftzwerg MkII patch + Vermona Filter Lancet
A more epic sound than I would normally use, but it's early days with these 2 boxes! A nice Berlin School bass sequence, as befits the German origin of both.
MIDI sequence in Logic. Backing track is some bespoke sounds in Omnisphere. Boss GT10 provides the pan, chorus, delay, reverb.
More music from Seen From Space...
MIDI sequence in Logic. Backing track is some bespoke sounds in Omnisphere. Boss GT10 provides the pan, chorus, delay, reverb.
More music from Seen From Space...
Tuesday 12 August 2014
Arjen Schat - Silent Ritual (Album Sampler)
Don't mistake this for spa music! The packaging suggests that, and you could just about play it at the spa and not frighten anyone. But it's got a bit more height and breadth than that for me.
Monday 11 August 2014
"I must get one of those" - number 3
Another daft electronic instrument; this one probably cheaper than most. It's not 'til about 40 seconds in that you hear it played, by the way.
"Amazing OTAMATONE Created by ALEXCIOUS. It's a breeze to squeeze & tease out a tune with no keys! The world's cutest, weirdest musical instrument." I think I've seen weirder in fact, but that's marketing.
"Amazing OTAMATONE Created by ALEXCIOUS. It's a breeze to squeeze & tease out a tune with no keys! The world's cutest, weirdest musical instrument." I think I've seen weirder in fact, but that's marketing.
Throwing Snow feat. KNOX - Draugr
Taken from 'Mosaic', debut album from Throwing Snow, on the Houndstooth label. Beautiful music crossing a few genre boundaries; always a good thing.
Throwing Snow's sonic experimenter Ross Tones gives a tour of his studio - see Music Radar.
From Houndstooth.
Throwing Snow's sonic experimenter Ross Tones gives a tour of his studio - see Music Radar.
From Houndstooth.
"Synths that block out the sun" - number 2
Sagittarius A event horizon², from Ebotronix.
I love the bullfrogs in this one. All synthesised naturally - no samples I'd imagine! Again unusual to hear multilayered, real-time arrangements using this kind of technology.
I love the bullfrogs in this one. All synthesised naturally - no samples I'd imagine! Again unusual to hear multilayered, real-time arrangements using this kind of technology.
Thursday 7 August 2014
"I must get one of those" - number 2
We're truly in the golden age of mad wacky instruments. Qi Meng playing the Aether Zither. This takes the prize for the twangiest user interface ever seen.
"Synths that block out the sun" - number 1
From Ebotronix. Unusual to hear complete, multilayered arrangements from a modular. Maybe you need this much metal and spaghetti to achieve it?
"I must get one of those" - number 1
I can feel a series of these coming on. Here's number 1. We're in the golden age of mad wacky instruments. I think the person leaving the one comment under the video is from the same planet!!
Stuber from bartlebooth.
Stuber from bartlebooth.
Tuesday 5 August 2014
Form Thirty Four
From Surachai.
Sounds like a cutlery set in a tumble dryer to start with, but the sheer inventiveness wins. Brilliantly mad. Stick with it!
Sounds like a cutlery set in a tumble dryer to start with, but the sheer inventiveness wins. Brilliantly mad. Stick with it!
Monday 4 August 2014
The Fall of the House of Usher, 1928 (Seen From Space soundtrack)
I first came across this film on Super 8 about 30 years ago. For its day it was highly innovative, and pioneered many in-camera special effects. It remains a powerful piece of expressionist cinema, although some of the acting is very much of-its-day.
Was intending to do this soundtrack live, but totally failed to get hold of a projection-quality copy! Licensing is a bit complicated. This is the public domain lo-res version.
Was intending to do this soundtrack live, but totally failed to get hold of a projection-quality copy! Licensing is a bit complicated. This is the public domain lo-res version.
Sunday 3 August 2014
Deep house atmospheres from Lemnic
Nicholas Lem has bought the new Elektron machine! This is cause for rejoicing among those who don't get out much. i.e. us who share his enthusiasm for these great creative tools.
Best to enjoy this in stereo. Headphones recommended - especially for the deep reverbs. The bass needs better than average computer squawkers too.
Best to enjoy this in stereo. Headphones recommended - especially for the deep reverbs. The bass needs better than average computer squawkers too.
"Mighty Dwarf" just arrived!
I've just taken delivery of one of these:
"It's very nice! What is it?" I hear you say.
Well it's a Kraftzwerg Mk II. The name means Mighty Dwarf and it's come from German 'boutique' manufacturer MFB. It's smaller than you might think from the photo, and some of the annotations on the controls are pretty hard to read for someone of my advanced years.
It's a "semi-modular"synth, i.e. it has a lot of jack sockets you can use to reroute the audio and control signals however you desire, and integrate it with other machines that work in a similar way, if you happen to have any, which I don't. Yet! The flexibility that comes from this is huge, hence the 'Mighty' bit in the name.
It takes some getting used to. I'm new to this open-ended form of synthesis, and so far I've worked out what some of the sockets are for, but by no means all. It'll find its way onto recordings and live loops before long I don't doubt.
Well it's a Kraftzwerg Mk II. The name means Mighty Dwarf and it's come from German 'boutique' manufacturer MFB. It's smaller than you might think from the photo, and some of the annotations on the controls are pretty hard to read for someone of my advanced years.
It's a "semi-modular"synth, i.e. it has a lot of jack sockets you can use to reroute the audio and control signals however you desire, and integrate it with other machines that work in a similar way, if you happen to have any, which I don't. Yet! The flexibility that comes from this is huge, hence the 'Mighty' bit in the name.
It takes some getting used to. I'm new to this open-ended form of synthesis, and so far I've worked out what some of the sockets are for, but by no means all. It'll find its way onto recordings and live loops before long I don't doubt.
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