| PANDEMIC. |
01. Start
02. Bang Bang
03. Starfield
04. Endiment
05. Sincerely, Morton Suboctave
06. The Longest Corridor
07. Dot Matrix 7
08. Bitumen of Judea (photographic memories)
09. Sharkjumping
10. These Sounds were Wound Around my Ears for Years
but Now they're Here so Have no Fear
11. Insulated Like The Dead of Winter,
Incubated Like an Egg
12. Congraturation
13. An Acronym that stands for nothing
14. Curiouser and Curiouser
WHAT IS THIS RECORD ALL ABOUT?
This is an album of electronic experiments. This is not music to put on at your next frat party
or social function, more than likely. These sounds were intended for more cerebral
listening, preferably with headphones. But then again, you can listen to it how ever you
want. I don't really care. A lot of it was a tip of the hat to experimental composers that I
admire, such as John Cage and Morton Subotnick, and electronic explorers such as Dick
Hyman. I have sat here and tried to think of others that I may have taken cues from, but I
can't come up with any more names. For some reason, people seem to like names for
comparison. The main reasons for my creating this project are 1)I find it very easy to make
electronic music, and I wanted some new sounds to play around with; 2)I was in the throes
of an intense bout of writer's block, so this was a vacation from "serious" music; 3)I had
just finished putting together my modular synthesizer and wanted as many excuses as
possible to use it. In fact, it ended up on roughly 80% of this project in one form or another.
CREATION INFORMATION
01.Start
INSTRUMENTS USED:Synthesizers.com Modular Synthesizer.
This piece was created for a video I made of me patching and playing my modular synth.
02.Bang Bang
INSTRUMENTS USED:Roland SH-3, Roland RE-101 Space Echo, drum machine (anyone
who's been around lately will know which one)
This was a really fun piece to make. It began with me experimenting with the SH-3 through
this old Realistic line mixer my friend Aaron gave me. It has become one of my favourite
sources of weird, nasty tones. I made some percussive-sounding loops on the SH-3, and
everything went from there. The big echo sweep and the drum machine were added almost
as an afterthought, but they make the piece.
03. Starfield
INSTRUMENTS USED: Electric Guitar through ring modulator, voice.
This was one of the few pieces that were created before October 2005. I recorded this on
cassette 4-track in my "back to basics" phase of Autumn 2004. It's just a ring mod interplay
type thing, with a pinch of heavily effected, backwards voice added in there. I think it
sounds a bit like Stockhausen.
04.Endiment
INSTRUMENTS USED: .com Modular Synth, computer sequencer, Moog CP-251, Space
Echo.
This was one of the first things I created with the .com Modular when I had enough
components to actually make sounds. You are hearing three sequenced parts that interlock,
created using only 1 VCO, Ring Mod, VCA, and EG, with the CP-251. The "lead" stuff was
added later when the system was more complete. Oh yeah, and the title comes from
Homestar Runner.
05.Sincerely, Morton Suboctave
INSTRUMENTS USED: .com modular synthesizer, Moog CP-251.
I've always wanted to use that title because I think it's clever. This was created in the spirit
of old Moog records, but came out sounding more like some Buchla stuff I've heard. Of
course, you can tell it's a jazz guy messing around, not a "serious" experimental composer,
so I guess this is where the Dick Hyman comparison comes in.
06.The Longest Corridor
INSTRUMENTS USED: Roland SH-3, Moog CP-251, RE-101 Space Echo.
This was a one-take synthesizer solo (it was edited somewhat), with two tracks of echo
added later. The CP-251 is controlling the filter of the SH-3 via the lfo, sample & hold, and my
foot on a CV pedal.
07.Dot Matrix 7
INSTRUMENT USED: Acoustic Upright Piano.
This was done on 4-track in December 2004. It's four parts that interlock, each in a different
time signature (yes, it was written out, except for the improvised bit in the middle).
Part 1: Bass strings struck with tympani mallets in 4/4.
Part 2: Bass strings struck with tympani mallets in 13/16.
Part 3: Upper strings plucked with a plectrum in 10/16.
Part 4: Upper strings plucked with a plectrum in 7/16.
I was flicking the hammers with my hands in the end bit. This tune was inspired by
"Sysyphus" from Pink Floyd's Ummagumma.
08.Bitumen Of Judea (photographic memories)
INSTRUMENTS USED: Fender Rhodes Suitcase 73, Roland SH-3.
Created on 4-track in December 2004. The Rhodes is the main sound, with the vibrato set to
maximum intensity and only one channel plugged in. The Rhodes is again backwards, and
the SH-3 does everything else. I came up with the title while I was reading about the origins
of photography, and I discovered that Bitumen of Judea was the material used as the
exposing element in the first Daguerrotypes, which evolved into what we know today.
09.Sharkjumping
INSTRUMENTS USED: .com Modular Synth, kick drum loop of unknown origin.
I feel like 120 bpm 4-on-the-floor "dance" music "jumped the shark" long ago, and here I am
with some more, albeit a bit minimalistic. The other percussion besides the kick loop is from
the modular. This track uses a digital delay instead of an analog or a tape one. sorry.
10.These Sounds were Wound Around my Ears for Years
but Now they're Here so Have no Fear
INSTRUMENTS USED: cassette tapes processed through the .com modular.
Simple: I edited some field recordings that I had on cassette, and some demos, and my
friend Andy playing the piano over the cell phone, and my old high school band in
rehearsal, and ran them through the modular. A simple tape composition.
11.Insulated Like The Dead of Winter, Incubated Like an Egg
INSTRUMENTS USED: .com Modular Synth, computer sequencer, RE-101 Space Echo,
Roland SH-3.
This was another early basic configuration modular synth experiment, with three
interlocking sequenced parts (recorded separately, of course). The SH-3 through Space
Echo is the lead, with noise sweeps through Space Echo added. Quite an effective piece, in
my opinion. It reminds me of a lot of things, and it probably will you, too.
12.Congraturation
INSTRUMENTS USED: Atari 2600 through Zoom 3000 effects unit.
I played some Atari while I let tape roll, and I played with the effects in real time, straight to
tape, on three tracks. Then I severely mangled the results in the computer. Well, that's more
or less how it happened. The title is from the Nintendo game Ghosts n' Goblins, which had
some pretty bad Japanese-English translation, as evidenced in "Congraturation" flashing
on the screen when you beat the game.
13. An acronym that stands for nothing
INSTRUMENTS USED: Casio CZ-5000 through digital delay and RE-101 Space Echo.
Another "almost-endless-delay" thing. It's fun to do. I just did this in two separate takes, just
running through all of my programmed sounds in the CZ-5000, which is pretty much digital
garbage. Anybody wanna buy it? The bell-like sound in the center channel is through the
Space Echo instead of the digital delay.
14.Curiouser and Curiouser
INSTRUMENTS USED:there's guitar and piano and my voice and some field recordings and
some Rhodes spots and a few Oberhiem Matrix-1000 spots and...
A tape piece which took five years to complete. In 2000, I bought a 5" reel of 1/4" tape for the
purposes of making a "junk reel"- one in which I'd just carelessly throw sound around,
regardless of the result. By 2003, it was full, but there were some gaps, which I filled the
following year. It was re-mixed and re-edited this year.
=P.S.-I do a terrible impression of Wendy Carlos.
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