"Cloud Deck" new electronica from Seen From Space

"Protostar": Koushion iPad sequencer, Virus C, MS2000, Supernova, Blofeld

I've been playing with Koushion, the excellent new iPad step sequencer. No it's not pronounced "cushion"! You're meant to say the "i" but no idea how the rest of it's meant to sound. It's a Japanese word I think.

The drone is the Waldorf Blofeld, arpeggios from Korg MS2000BR, Access Virus C and Supernova II. Plus super-pads and subspace whistles from the Supernova. Recorded live with no overdubs.

Onstage for Beethoven 9th, with Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra

10th May 2015. Onstage in the Usher Hall, Edinburgh for the orchestral rehearsal of Beethoven's 9th symphony. I joined the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union as an extra to pump up the volume a bit. The concert got a 5 star review in The Herald!

Shot on my phone, so a bit wobbly.

New August Moon - Octatrack remix

Some dubstep-influenced drum & bass. Remixed on Elektron Octatrack and Analog Four. Recorded in one take.

"Everanything" remix on Octatrack and Analog Four

Another in the series of remixes recorded "live at home"...

"Rare Bird" by Seen From Space

A remix of a piece I did some years ago, recorded in one take as usual on the Elektron boxes.

Old Earth (Elektron Octatrack + Analog Four)

A video slideshow of the track "Old Earth" previously posted. Photos taken all in the far north-west of Scotland. The "Ancient Foreland" has some of the oldest rocks in Europe - about 2.8 billion years. It's an isolated fragment of the same tectonic plate as North America.

"Old Earth" - new Berlin School track by Seen From Space

A bit of a homage to Ashra Temple's "New Age of Earth", a classic Berlin School album that I used to play obsessively long ago. Not that I buy all that cerebral "New Age" stuff - hence the "Old" in the title - but the musical influence is massive.

Waldorf Blofeld tutorial - how to use wavetables & arpeggios

Here I do a walk-through of the sound design for arpeggiated soundscapes with sweeping wavetables.

Sorry about the stray cat hair hanging off one of the knobs. Didn't spot that till I was in the "cutting room"!

Two new "Berlin School" tracks from Seen From Space

Both recorded in one take using the Elektron boxes. Some loops recorded in Logic with sounds from Virus C, Supernova II, various soft synths etc.

Elektron Analog 4 tutorial #4 - how to do Berlin School sounds

My new tutorial shows how to programme typical "Berlin School" sounds on the Analog 4. Especially useful for those new to the A4 and/or new to synthesis.



Berlin School as defined by Wikipedia: "...a style of electronic music that emerged in the 1970s. Berlin School was so named because most of its early practitioners were based in West Berlin. It was shaped by artists such as Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and Manuel Gottsching. Innovative Berlin School recordings were a precursor of ambient music."

Whisper Ship - new Deep House/Berlin School track

New track from Seen From Space. As usual, recorded in one take on Elektron Octatrack and Analog Four. Loops created in Logic Pro 8 with sounds from Supernova II, Access Virus C, Korg MS2000BR and the synths in Logic.

56 degrees north - winter slideshow with dubtronica

Recorded in one take on Elektron Octatrack and Analog Four. Loops created in Logic Pro 8 with sounds from Supernova II, Access Virus C and the synths in Logic.

Photos taken in and around Edinburgh, not all this winter.

Octatrack + Analog 4 tutorial: How to make them work together

My latest tutorial shows how to set one machine to follow pattern changes on the other. Plus physically connecting them up.

This is something that took me quite a long time to get right, thanks to the sheer complexity of Elektron machines, and some (AHEM!) gaps in the documentation.

"Berlin School" jam

From the Wikipedia entry: "The Berlin School was a style of electronic music that emerged in the 1970s. An offshoot of Krautrock, Berlin School was so named because most of its early practitioners were based in West Berlin, Germany. It was shaped by artists such as Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and Manuel Gottsching. Innovative Berlin School recordings were a precursor of ambient music."

I'm using sounds from: Access Virus C, Supernova II, Omnisphere, Korg MS2000BR, and remixed on the Octatrack. The Analog 4 comes into its own in part 2!

Elektron Octatrack tutorial 1 - How to work with Scenes

The basics of setting up Scenes in the Octatrack, and then into more creative territory. Of interest to the advanced Elektron person as well as the beginner I hope.

Elektron Analog 4 tutorial 3 - How to make a drone

Number 3 in my series of tutorials: how to create a space drone using the Elektron Analog 4. (Spot the rank exploitation of an innocent cat in the shameless pursuit of Likes.)

Elektron Analog 4 tutorial 2 - Effects

My new tutorial: a quick tour of how effects are used in the Analog 4, and how to make best use of the effects in a mix.

The Circle K by Miles Cosmo - progressive drum & bass

Miles Cosmo's music is bursting with ideas and crosses genres like electronica should. This drum & bass track is a great example. It evolves constantly throughout, and ends in a beautiful space with a harp revisiting a synth theme from earlier in the song.

Elektron Analog 4 tutorial - performance controls

This is my new tutorial video on how to programme the performance controls on the Elektron Analog 4.