Darren's posts with tag: cables
|  | OK, my guitar is in rehearsals so I can't use it to test the PODxt Live. So I used the Roland SH101 instead.
DEMO: [SH101]PODxtLive
Not a song but just a demo of what the PODxt Live can do to a sound. What you hear is a product of 4 tracks recorded using Roland SH101 with a square + saw wave sorta synth going on in C major. 3 tracks hold either C or G notes in different ranges while 1 track holds a C7 chord arpegiated. The effect used on the PODxt is a harmonic flange with effects. There's some filtering going on on the SH101 but minimal... What you hear is unprocessed after recording. Just SH101 through PODxt into my lap-top and mixed.
Just got this second hand off from a nice dude. I must say this is a heavy stomp, build like a tank. Controls are straight forward and interface is great. It allows you to design your own "effects chain" and the silver knobs allow you to have control over the tone of the output... It's my first impression from using it straight out without reading a manual. I can't wait to use it with my guitar and see what it can do... I don't suppose it will be revolutionary, but I am sure it will come in handy. |
| | Ok, so what happen when someone who doesn't know how to play the guitar and picked up an electric guitar for the first time and wanted to cut a track for an upcoming production? THIS:
W.K.W Dream[reject] (song number 7)
Supposed to have piano playing live on top, so this is like a backing track during performance. Yep, wanted to compose a track for Wong Kah Wai's Dream, TFP's production during arts festival. But after this track was done, I am having second thoughts so tentatively I've rejected this track myself. I am still a dummy when comes to guitar at the end of the day. Well, and I felt the song was inappropriate in a way. We'll see after tomorrow's meeting and hear what TC have to say to this.
Anyway, what's done is done, take it as an experience. It is afterall my first attempt on a guitar with no prior knowledge or training. Basically, I played by ear and loop it through EH2880 and RC20... effected through VF1 and ZebraVCF for different takes... kinda composed on the fly. For the synth parts, it was added in subtley and builds over time (JUNO106, AX60 and Radias). My favourite will have to be the SH101 (in about 03:43 and went on)... basically wanted to keep it as "acoustic" as it can be despite everything being electronic (well, analogue mostly)... have fun listening. Don't kill me if I've played the guitar really badly... It's my first time :P
Instrumentation:
Frigging brandless humbucker
Roland SH101
Roland JUNO106
KORG Radias
AKAI AX60
Looper: EH2880; BOSS RC20
Effects: BOSS VF-1; ZebraVCF
Omitted: Thingamagoop; Effector13 Synth Mangler |
| | These are pictures taken whilst I compose and design for the play "Everything But The Brain" for Action Theatre. Now showing at the Esplanade Theatre. Here's the demo of three songs which I've picked out to upload (click on the title of the songs to listen):
EVER AFTER
This track, by approach was really simple. I mic'ed up a Hungarian Zither (CITERA) using a contact microphone and it's being fed into the KORG Radias audio in. Using a vocoder preset, I have made it to trigger a synth note (D flat) with a moderate attack and a long release. So everytime I plug a note, it will trigger the synth note. The signal is also routed through it's internal effects with delay and reverb. Another contact microphone was employed to sample the Citera with a BOSS RC-20 and the playback is reversed... This track was recorded live with me improvising on the Citera. (I have no idea how to play it so I just did what I think sound right) You can find a picture of the Citera below...
BEDTIME STORIES
A Plogue Bidule composition using a patch I've designed. The group has a couple of sequencers that triggers the risset bells and sine tones, which was passed through a rebuilder and some effects. Crytal Synths were employed for the generation of the glassy ambient. KORG Radias was used for a base drone...
EINSTEIN'S BRAIN
An abstract of the 10 minute long piece. The piano was from KORG Triton ST88. An improvisation based on the scenic mood was recorded and then reversed and picthed down to underlay the original recording. Another Plogue Bidule patch was designed to sound scape subtley underneath this track...
DISCLAIMER: There are pictures of other synths which was employed for the composition and design of other songs and sounds but I did not include the demo here... It's sad to see the way they treated my music in production... director's call, so what to do :/ |
| | THE VOTING HAS STARTED! Yes, voting will run till this Tuesday 12pm our time here in Singapore. I have provided the voting link so if you like what you hear here, do vote for me :D. THANKS! Stiff competition!
Okies, so here are the entries I submitted into the Cyndustries BUG OFF! aleatoric music contest:
d-DAY|h-HOUR
mo12seCODE
The theme of the contest is "WAR & PEACE"and we are suppose to use any kind of synthesis be it software or hardware based, digital or analogue. If you like it do go HERE to vote for me as your top three picks. Look for the titles. I will be really grateful! :P
NOTE: No looped samples were used and they are all original creations, played live, sequenced or programmed. No matter how aleatoric it is supposed to be, it can still fall under a familiar format of music. There are more aleatoric elements in mo12seCODE than d-DAY|h-HOUR. The random bleeps and glitches of the oscillating and filtering Sherman Filterbank II and also alot of "chance" music involved in this piece (eg. the transistor radio reacting with the MF105, etc). For d-DAY|h-HOUR, it's set to a more typical music track with the filtering algorithms random on the arpeggiating synths. Just because it says aleatorical doesn't mean it must sound weird and out of this world in my opinion.
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This album was taken post of recording the tracks. Here's the description of each piece:
d-DAY|h-HOUR
GEARS:KORG Triton ST88, KORG EM-1, KORG KP3, Sherman Filterbank II, MOOG MF105 Murf, MOOG Etherwave Theremin and ROLAND SH101.
DESCRIPTION: No software synthesis were used except for general effects during mixdown. Majority of the synthesis was from KORG Triton and composed on the fly. Drums were preprogrammed though on the EM1. The piano is from Triton and it was improvised on the spot. Not sequenced.
CONCEPT: I was pondering about war and peace and thought they are pretty dichotomous. The existence of one entails the existence of another. The meaning of peace would not be possible without the precedence of war or vice versa. Inspired by this notion, d-DAY|h-HOUR depicts the attack that ends war... with that, peace entails, but at much cost. Like my other entry, this song was cut in a about 4 hours. Hope you'll enjoy it. Cheers...
mo12seCODE
GEARS: Alesis ION, KORG EM-1, KORG KP3, KORG Triton ST88, Sherman Filterbank II, MOOG MF105 Murf and a small handhelf transistor radio.
DESCRIPTION: Composed and mixed on the fly with general effects passed post. Again this was done in about 4 hours as well. Special Notes: The Sherman Filterbank II was used as a self oscillating modular instead of processing sounds... it was patched for feedbacking itself. The transistor radio was used for creating the sweeping sounds (like wind)... achieved by feeding through MF105. Reaktor 5 was used for some sound designs as well as a simple drum sequence. Most drum sounds from EM1. Gun sounds were designed on Triton.
CONCEPT: "Morse code is the only digital modulation mode designed to be easily read by humans without a computer, making it appropriate for sending automated digital data in voice channels, as well as making it ideal for emergency signaling..." This piece is a stipulation of morse codes being sent amongst artificial intelligence during wars in the future... Resulting in a cacophony of electronic communication. Inspired by visuals of actual morse codes, I've derived patterns from some to enter it as sequenced patterns, repeating them and countering them against each other... and the outcome is rather musical, naturally...
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PHOTO DESCRIPTION
Well, these were taken during the session. The first few LED displays are from the Sherman Filterbank II. Playing around with movements and it's actually quite magical in my opinion. The rest are just straight forward gear slutting.
OUT
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Quite crap actually. This is my first attempt at video-making, from the demo I cut from my previous post SyNtH MaNtRa II. Amateurish stuff. Visual highlights shots from KORG EM1 and KORG KP3. Here's the original video on YoutubeThe song was cut from KORG EM1, KORG Prophecy, KORG KP3, BOSS VF-1 multi-effects processor and Moogerfooger MF105 MurF. For more shots of the session do visit HERE. Pretty lame but it's just out of pure fun.
| | "Cocktail-Patry Effect is the ability of the human ear to perceive a distinctive sound out of a collage of sounds. The ability to filter out a single sound from a collective of sounds. Sounds which are masked by a myriad of noised can be perceivable by the human ear through the exercise of this effect."
Audio Demo: | SyNtH MaNtRa II |
Music Concept:
Using the Cocktail Party Effect as a main driving concept, I composed a motive for the set. There are three tracks of micro-melodies playing the same motive at different tempos and in variations covering different frequency bands. Each track will take precedence at different times, sometimes clashing sometimes in sync. The four track is a shakuhachi-like synths that plays a distinctive melody at the beginning. The drum track is pre-programmed and sequenced prior the recording, acting as a base to mask micro-melodies to make them hardly perceivable, forcing one to engage the Cocktail Party Effect in order to make out the micro-melodies that weaved underneath the on-going drum track. With the ideology of Cocktail Party Effect, Synth Mantra II is a multi-tracked improvisation in the world of synths, filters and effects, melting the boundaries between analogue and digital as they fuse.
The song was composed, arranged and improvised on the fly less the sequenced drums. It's then mixed down minimally and with no effects added post. I did this track in about 2 hours so don't expect a professional mix. It's more for fun... my fun :P.
Technical Details:
All the synths sounds are from the KORG Prophecy, through the Moogerfooger MF105 MurF that changes rate of LFO as well as envelope. The Drum, which was pre-programmed and sequenced, is from KORG EM1, through BOSS VF-1 multi-effects processor and then through KORG Koass Pad III running a Grain Filter. The drum sequence was first passed through VF-1 on a violin filter, which resulted in a clicky metallic percussive sound. This was sampled into 3 banks on the KP3 in different variations. These sounds can be heard at the beginning of the track as it's morphed by the grain filter on KP3. During the actual recording, the drums were passed through a stereo vocoder on the VF-1 and then into the KP3 for the graining.
Photo Details:
The song was composed and played in the dark so that I indulge in the right mood. The LEDs really take on full effects in the dark so I took pictures of it after the recording and also with lights on later. The streaking LEDs happened when I took one accidentally because of unstable hands but it turned out pretty interesting. So I began to experiment and also changing camera mode. The result is some stunning LED displays.
UPDATES: Video is not available HERE. Or you can go direct to Youtube to view it. Don't expect too much :D. |
| | What does this man do in the middle of the night when he can't sleep and boredom sinks in?
"He let a transistor radio speak to a Moogerfooger"
Listen: C o N v E r S a T i O n S
An experimentation that took place when in need of a modular...
For those who are not atuned to experimental music, this piece is hardly musical and may not be assessible to you or may seemed abstract...
I didn't do much except passing the signal of a mini transistor radio with it's static noise running, through the MoogerFooger MF105 Murf... added some random patchings behind the Murf, routing "rate" to "envelop" and at times "mix". The rest is just knobbing, fading, sweeping the radio frequency band and stuffs. No effects or any EQ'ing added. What you hear is what MF105 did to the signal input. Pretty straight forward stuff...
The results? Ambient windy droney stuffs with spurts of crackly cranky random music and voices... Pretty interesting sounds. Musique Concrete?
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