Archive for the 'audio tracks' Category

Mar 15 2018

The February Challenge – [FAWM 2018]

Thanks to some online music groups, I discovered an annual effort where musicians record 10 to 15 songs during the month of February, with the intention of releasing them as an ‘album.’ After some careful thought in January, I decided to join in, but with a slightly modified vision. I decided to compose and record 1 new original music track every day. Before I started I knew that I’d work ‘inside the box.’ Everything would be created in Cubase (on my PC) or in Korg Gadget (iPad) using software synthesizers and mostly original sounds.

There was another challenge that is reflected in some of the tracks. It is the ‘A Synth – A Song’ challenge, where all parts in a track are created using just one synth. The idea, of course, is to push the capabilities of the synth AND one’s own programming skills to create something interesting.

Some of these are completely realized recordings, and others are sketches. Overall, I’m fairly happy with what I created. I didn’t end up meeting my challenge. I really only recorded 26 tracks. Also, I’m still working on one that I started in toward the end of the challenge. That will be a full fledged song, played with some ‘real’ instruments, and will have me singing.

Below, you will find a player that has all 26 tracks (and one alternate version) in alphabetical order. Below that, you’ll find individual players for each track. Also, you can download a playlist of all the tracks. It should open in your favorite music player.

You can also view the site where the challenge originated.

 

 

 

 

      Three To Win
Produced in Cubase using a variety of virtual synths.

 
 
 

      Countdown
Produced in Cubase, this track has an ever shifting time signature, which gives it a floaty sort of feel. All of the synth patches were created by me, using a variety of inbuilt and free VST instruments.
 
 
 
      In Seine Rapids
Here’s a tune to dance to as you skip and stroll along the river Seine. Watch your step, though, as it is in 7/8.
 
 
 
      Walking in Central Park
This is a simple song that evokes a feeling of nostalgia… Created using one Steinberg VST, HAlion, in Cubase.
 
 
 
      A Non-Gender Specific Object Being Consumed by Fire
Another track created in Cubase, using just one synth: the free Eclipsis VST.
 
 
 
      Lullabye
Music to make sleeping children dream of ghostly apparitions. This track was created entirely on the iPad, using Korg Gadget.
 
 
 
      Circular Thinking
Produced in Cubase using just one synth, the free VST, Eclipsis.
 
 
 
      A Broken Vessel
Produced entirely in Cubase, using just one synth, the free VST, Matrix 6000.
 
 
 
      Double Jointed
Here’s a dance number for people with two left feet.
 
 
 
      Changmai Escape
Produced entirely on iPad, using just one synth: Korg Gadget’s Changmai.
 
 
 
      Sweeping The Steppes
This is a recording of a live looping performance on the iPad using just one synth, Wolfgang Palm’s amazing Wavemapper inside Michael Tyson’s AudioBus3 and using his LoopyHD for Frippertronics style looping. All sounds were created by me in Wavemapper, using samples that I recorded. No editing or effects were added after the fact.
 
 
 
      The Empty Mirror
This song was produced on the iPad, using Korg Gadget, and inspired the following lyrics:

“The empty mirror reflects a sadness I cannot see. It politely refuses to let me be.
It asks me to look but nothing is there. It’s hidden the last of me.”
 
 
 

      Dust Devils
An imagined landscape of reds and browns, with swirling winds and plucked strings.
 
 
 
      Love Is (For Shari)
This is an allegorical piece, telling the story of how love brought me out of chaos and into peace and joy. It was composed on Valentine’s Day, for my beloved wife, life partner, and friend. It was produced entirely on the iPad using Korg Gadget.
 
 
 
      Above The Kermadec Trench
As one moves lower, into the deep, the last glimmers of light from the surface begin to fade, and darkness becomes blinding.
 
 
 
      Discadance
This is a musical thought experiment using a systems-based composition technique. No effects, other than reverb on the master mix, were used. No dynamics were manipulated. This track was created using Cubase, and one synth, am early virtual analog synths made by Steinberg. Best heard on speakers.
 
 
 
      Baracha Nada
This one is is kinda groovy in a vaguely latin way, when the band has had one too many to drink, perhaps.
 
 
 
      Point Fermin Fog
A spin-off of the systems-based approach of Discadance, with a much more relaxed, languid feel and a bit more variety in the tones.
 

It inspired a brief poem:

The horn howls like Ginsberg,
cold as the light-knife cuts through
the darkness.
A cloud blanket softens the night,
dampens the forgotten spirits
that haunt Angel’s Gate,
forever waiting for imagined
invaders.
I ache for that softness,
breathe it in,
but the edge remains.
 
 
 

      Sistema Sac Actun
This is a recording of a live performance, made entirely on the iPad, using Korg Module and Loopy HD running in Audiobus 3.
 
 
 
      The Flemish Cap
The Flemish Cap is an underwater ocean area East of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. It is best known because of the collapse of previously abundant sea life due to over-fishing by EU member states in the 1990s.
 
 
 
      Kaddish A Requiem for Humanity
The creation of this track proved to be surprising. A friend was discussing the value of watching the footage of the evacuation and rescue that took place in Florida after the recent shooting. I found myself responding rather passionately and, immediately after, recording tonight’s track. Here’s what I wrote.

When I was 12, my Hebrew School showed all of the students at least three big reels of 16mm Nazi death camp footage. Most of it was filmed by the Nazis before the liberation. It had no sound. It was just silent b/w moving images of horrors that, as a child, I could not previously imagine.

There’s a part of me that feels injured by that experience. There’s another part of me that cherishes it. I think we can too easily look away from the horrors of the world and, in doing so, believe that we are disconnected from them.

As we know, though, safety is an illusion. We know that none of us are immune from the pain and suffering that others feel. We are not separate from each other. Your pain is my pain, and we need to see the truth so we can understand the problem and work together toward a new paradigm.

Gun control is one small part of the problem. We’ve allowed ourselves to isolate the others, those who make us uncomfortable, when we should be reaching out to them and bringing them closer. We have a systemic cultural problem, and there is no easy fix for it.

BTW, ‘Kaddish’ is the Jewish prayer of remembrance for the dead.

Translation:

May His great name be exalted and sanctified in the world which He created according to His will! May He establish His kingdom and may His salvation blossom and His anointed be near during your lifetime and during your days and during the lifetimes of all the House of Israel, speedily and very soon! And say, Amen. May His great name be blessed for ever, and to all eternity! Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, above and beyond all the blessings, hymns, praises and consolations that are uttered in the world! And say, Amen.
 
 
 

      The Great Wall
This piece was created in Cubase using one synth, the free VST, Sonigen Modular.

Lyrics:

What’s so great about a wall?
What is their beef, those Mongol hoards?
With beards and swards
Sweeping the steppes
With dissonant chords.
Why do they install
This monumental wall?

Strong fences make good neighbors
but the hooves and neighs of foaming steeds
bear no quarter but those hung and drawn.

These effortless sketches stretch South and West,
but I’ve forgotten all the rest.
 
 
 

      Bang Header
This tune is really just an excuse for a tune, rather formulaic and sad, except that I like it, kinda. It was fun creating the beat, and I quite like some of the patches. Some are stock and others more custom.

Lyrics:

Head your bang, your bang diddy bang bang.
Head your thang, your thang diddy thang thang.
 
 
 

      Frederated
Here’s another fun odd time signature for all the counters out there. Also, this track used just one synth for all of the sounds, the free VST Sonigen Modular. The track was created in Cubase. The title refers to one of my favorite musicians.
 
 
 
      Whitney Winds
This is a recording of a Frippertronics-style live looping iPad performance using an app called Yonac Steel Guitar.
 
 
 
      Disco Fever
Dance, everybody! Everybody dance!
 
 
 
      Worthy
A song about the struggle to embrace love. Recorded in Cubase with virtual drums and organ, real guitar courtesy of the Sandblaster, the Industrial Guitars Indy Rail lap steel, and my Japanese Fender Fretless Jazz bass with custom humbucking Seymour Duncan pickups and Aguilar preamp.

Lyrics:

Worthy
by Sander Roscoe Wolff

I’m not too bad. I’m not too good.
I’ve not done all the things I should.
This road is rocky. I stumble and fall.
I can’t get up, so I just crawl.

The darkness calls. It knows my name.
My forgotten goodness is hidden by shame.
I look to the depths and decide to go.
But you tell me one thing that I did not know.

You say, “You’re worthy. Worthy of my love.”
You say, “You’re worthy. Worthy of my love.”

Your words, they shake me. I start to cry.
I feel unready to live or die.
I turn to leave but I’m caught by surprise.
I see the truth in your blue eyes.

I said, “I’m worthy. Worthy of your love.”
I said, “I’m worthy. Worthy of your love.”

Some days are dark, and some are sad.
Now, through it all, my heart is glad.
Some days are dark, and some are sad.
Now through it all, my heart is glad.

I said, “I’m worthy. Worthy of my love.”
I said, “I’m worthy. Worthy of my love.”
 
 
 

      Walking in Central Park (One Synth)
– This track uses the same note information as the original, but is realized entirely with one synth, Arturia’s Moog Modular VST in Cubase. Some of the sounds are stock patches, some were tweaked, and some completely original.
 
 
 

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Sep 23 2016

Music For Frank Moore Documentary

Published by under Instrumental,Music,Studio

Some months ago my friend and musical ally Robert Douglas (aka Carl Off) was asked to contribute music to a documentary project about American performance artist Frank Moore. His circumstances wouldn’t allow his participation, so he connected me to the producers, Linda Mac and Mikee LaBash. Carl and I had collaborated, previously, in the improvisational studio and performance duo known as Ain Soph Aur, and he’d tasked me with creating music for From The Heart of Brahma, a film he made about Prumsodun Ok, a queer Cambodian American dancer who’d drawn upon traditional Khmer dance to create new, inclusive, narratives.

The Let Me Be Frank documentary morphed, rather quickly, from a feature film into a series of shorter pieces based on Moore’s book, Art of the Shaman. Since Moore had been born with cerebral palsy, he was unable to speak, so many wonderful fellow artists, collaborators and friends were asked to read sections of the book. My job was to create musical beds beneath these readings. Most ended up being very ambient, though some were more rhythmic.

It has been a really enjoyable and collaborative process.

To watch the episodes (currently 4, so far, with many more planned), visit frankadelic.com or Vimeo. You can also read the text the series is based on, and explore a vast collection of Frank’s other work on eroplay.com.

Here is a playlist of some of the tracks I created for the project:

 

For those who are interested, here are some very scant production notes about the tracks:

Affected Infected – Voice
A New Free Love – Trombone
A Tribal Body – Cambodian Buddhist Monks, etc
Back Brain – Live Looping Synth & Guitar
Death Tickets – Electric Guitar
Destructive Games – Acoustic Grand Piano
Elementary Acts – Acoustic Guitar
Feedback Cycle – Imagined Psychoactive Ritual
Flesh Pleasure Creatures – Jazz Odyssey
Inside The Ritual – Rock Odyssey
Into The Volcano – Toe Tapper
Jump In – Jazz Odyssey
Magical Action – Recorders, Ocarina, Cat
The Braided Path – Guitar Suite
The End of Evolution – Guitar Suite
The Holy Obvious – Piano
This Hidden Yoke – Trombone
Trance Myths – Kalimba

Listen to the music I created for From The Heart of Brahma:

 
 

      Brahma Suite

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Aug 25 2015

Found: 80’s Synth Pieces Created at Long Beach City College

In the early 80s, I spent quite a bit of time in the Synth Lab at Long Beach City College. It was a fairly small room, packed with two Moog 15 racks, a 35 rack, a sequencer, and a keyboard. There were also two Oberheim 4 voice synthesizers, an Apple 2e system with an AlphaSyntauri digital synthesis system which I grew quite fond of. In the lab, there was also a Mini Moog, a drum machine of some sort, an 8-track 1″ reel to reel, a 1/4″ stereo reel to reel, a mixing desk, and a rack with a spring reverb unit mounted in it. I believe there was also an Arp String Ensemble in the studio, too, which is used on one of the tracks.

None of these devices were capable of storing or recalling preset sounds. Every sound had to be created from scratch. Also, this was pre-MIDI, and we had no time code system. All tracks were recorded one at a time, track by track, played by hand on a keyboard. (There’s one exception that I’ll address in a moment.)

Tracks

      Afanasevo Steppe
– This track was recorded, most probably, using the SEM based Oberheim 4-voice synths. It is clearly an attempt by me to be musical.

      Bypass
– This track was recorded, I believe, exclusively with the AlphaSyntauri computer-based synth and is probably the most abstract of the four recordings.

      Edifice Falls
– This track features voice (me), lots of modulated voice (Moog modular), the Oberheim 4-voice, and the Arp String Ensemble.

      Tripadation
– Without even the slightest bit of embarrassment, I’ll confess to enjoying a bit of chaos and dissonance. This rather frenetic track was primarily created with the Oberheim 4-Voice synths, I believe.

      Not Sputtered Hot Horn
At the time, and perhaps still, this was one of my favorite creations. It was created, I believe, entirely with the AlphaSyntauri, which lends it a rather charming edge. Based on a rather simple set of 4 note clusters (without nuts).

      Ether Binge
– This track was found on a different tape, at a different time, but I thought I’d include it here because it was also created in the LBCC Synth Lab. My good friend Rychard Cooper, now ensconced in academia at CSULB, and I went on a bit of a synth bender, and created this rather wild and wooley tracks. In addition to using nearly all the patch cords for the Moog modular systems, it also features the AlphaSyntauri, tape loops, Frippertronics, recordings of ash trays, bathroom ambiance, and just about everything else we could throw in there. The recording is the result of hours of experimentation captured on 8 track, then mixed to stereo, then mixed to cassette.

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Dec 10 2012

Nord Micro Modular Patch Demo

I’ve been fascinated by modular synthesis ever since I discovered what it was. Back in the mid 80s I had the good fortune to have nearly unlimited access to a massive Moog 35, two Moog 15 racks, a Moog sequencer, and a keyboard. These massive racks contained discreet purpose built modules that shared a common power source but, other than that, were completely independent of each other. One connected them with a series of 1/4″ audio plugs, sort of like one of those old fashioned telephone switchboards. While you were limited to the modules and patch cords on hand, there was a nearly limitless set of connection possibilities, some of which were never intended by the designers.

Without delving too deeply into synthesis, I’ll explain the four main tools: VCO, VCA, VCF, and Envelope Generator.

A voltage controlled oscillator creates the sound one hears. It usually can create a number of different wave forms, each with a specific and distinctive timbre. The pitch of the tone is controlled by knobs for gross and fine tuning, but can also be controlled by a voltage (+/- 5v, for example). The keyboard connects to the input of the oscillator and sends a specific voltage for each note that is depressed. It is also possible to send the signal of another VCO, or even an Envelope Generator, to the VCO to alter the pitch.

A voltage controlled amplifier is a simple tool to control the amplitude of a sound. As the voltage drops, the loudness decreases, and visa versa. Often, the VCA is modulated with a VCO to create an effect similar to a tremolo on a guitar amplifier. It can also be controlled by the EG.

The voltage controlled filter helps to shape the tone or timbre. It can do this by removing or boosting specific frequencies, or sets of frequencies, from the sound. Because the filter is voltage controlled, the amount of filtering and set of frequencies can be modulated independently, creating, for example, a ‘wah wah’ sound.

The envelope generator was not intended to directly affect the sound created by an oscillator but, rather, to produce a control voltage that can be used to alter the way other modules behave. The typical EG has four controls: Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release. These relate to how many acoustic instruments produce sounds. For example, if you pluck a violin string, the sound starts immediately. The attack is short, and sharp. If you bow it, though, the sound grows gradually. With a plucked note, there is no sustain, so the sound decays quickly and the string soon is back to rest. With a bowed string, though, the sound can sustain indefinitely and, when you stop bowing, the sound fades out. The EG helps to create these kinds of dynamics artificially, when triggered by pressing a note on the keyboard, or through other means.

One last thing about EG: If you listen carefully to a plucked note, you will notice a few other things. 1st, the pitch goes slightly sharp for just a moment, because the player is pulling on the string. Also, the set of frequencies, the harmonic content or timbre of the sound, changes very quickly, from bright to dull. One can use the EG to control both the VCO and the VCF to simulate these variations, and create amazingly realistic sounds. That, though, has never been my interest.

Clavia is a Swedish company that was at the forefront of Virtual Analog Synthesis. VAS uses computer processing to create models of electronic circuits. Their Modular synths are similar to the massive Moog synth, above, but benefit from having a larger set of modules, and the hardware being about the same size as a paperback book. The modules are laid out and connected on one’s computer, then transferred to the unit for performance. Not only can it be used to create sounds, but also to process or effect sounds, something I intend to explore further in the future.

In preparation for an upcoming performance I spent about a month creating patches from scratch and, in some cases, heavily modifying existing patches. I used a Korg Kaossilator Pro as the primary controller for the Nord Micro Modular. This device sends midi note and controller info to the Nord, much like a keyboard, but instead it uses a touch screen with assignable key and scale settings. Although the number of control signals, via midi, is vast, I chose no more than three for each patch, because that’s how many the Pro can manage easily.

Here are some screen shots of the patches, audio demos for each, and a brief description of the other controls. [Note: The controls are as follows: y=up and down movement on the touch controller; 93=a slider next to the touch screen; 94=a knob above the slider. Each is assignable to a single, or many, parameters in each patch.]

Hear 4-8-16. Control: y=Filter, 93=Bits, 94=OD

Hear Diso Deep Mod. Control: Y=Filter, 93=Phaser Depth, 94=Clip

Hear Diso Harm.

Hear Fat Triangle. Control: Y=Filter, 93=Chorus, 94=A/R

Hear Fat Triangle 2. Control: Y=Filter, 93=Chorus, 94=ModSpeed

Hear Filt Seq. Control: Y=Filter, 93=FReso, 94=Speed

Hear Orbitron. Control: Y=Filter, 93=Bits

Hear Pedal Steel Strum, and a slightly different version. Control: Y=Filter, 93=Speed/A/R, 94=Detune

Hear Space Race. Control: Y=Filter, 93=OD, 94=ModSpeed

Hear Spitty Grit. Control: 93=A/D

Hear Sweepy Time, and a slightly different version. Control: Y=Filter, 93=OD/CH, 94=ModSpeed/FM

Hear VocoLead Control: y=Filter, 93=Octave, 94=Vibrato

You can also hear a rather thoughtlessly constructed demo that features about two thirds of these patches.

Please feel free to ask me any pertinent questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

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Oct 06 2012

Live at the Health & Fitness Expo – October 5 & 6, 2012

The Arts Council for Long Beach was given a space at the Long Beach Marathon’s Health & Fitness Expo, and they contracted my Toaster Music cohort, Sumako, to curate it. He gathered a talented group of local artists to body-paint lovely bikini-clad models while I performed my unique brand of lap steel & synth based live looping. There was also a muralist working directly behind me. All in all, it was a really enjoyable experience, with everyone working at a high level, and sharing a sense of collective comraderie.

On Friday, I performed for just shy of 5 hours, and on Saturday I performed for 6. It was, ironically, a musical marathon of sorts.

I used two main sound sources: 1) My custom built Indy Rail Lap Steel Guitar, and 2) My beloved Novation Nova Digital Modeling Analog Synth.

The guitar runs through a series of effects: MXR El Grande Bass Fuzz -> Marshall Vibratrem -> Home Brew Electronics Psilocybe Phaser -> Danelectro Surf & Turf Compressor -> Ernie Ball Volume Pedal Jr -> Digital delay. On Saturday, just for variety’s sake, I swapped the El Grande for my cherished ZVex Wooly Mammoth. It was tasty.

The Nova is a great synthesizer, made by a company called Novation in the late 90’s. It is a computer based synth that simulates analog circuitry. It doesn’t have a keyboard, so it was being controlled via MIDI by a Korg Kaossilator Pro. This is a musical instrument in its own right but, in this case, I was using it as a ‘keyboard.’ The Kaossilator Pro can be programmed with both scale and key settings and, when I move my finger across the touch screen horizontally, it sends only those notes to the Nova.

Both instruments go into a GigaDelay, set for 8 seconds, via a Mackie mixer, where I do lots of stereo panning. You can see a photo of the rig, more or less, below.

Anyway, before I blather any further, here are excerpts from both days:

Craniundulant – Part 1

Craniundulant – Part 2

Part one consists of excerpts from Friday’s performance. I selected several complete movements and strung them together. It reflects more accurately what I do.

Part two was created differently. I divided the 6 hour performance into 10 minute segments and, from each segment, took a two minute chunk. These chunks have a 30 second overlap, where they fade into each other. Thus, you get a brief snapshot of the evolving performance without ever hearing a complete movement.

Here’s a crappy photo of my rig:

HFExpoRig

And here’s a photo, taken by Gertrude Erin Grayson IV, who is the talented artist that is painting the mural behind me:

Artist Village - Day 1

Here’s a shot of the Saturday crew:

Here’s a shot of the Friday crew:

Here are other photos, posted on facebook, and a bunch more posted by Sumako.

I must say that everyone really stepped up, and brought their ‘A’ game to the event. Everyone was really kind and supportive, and it was a real joy to be a part of the event. Mad props and kudos to Sumako for pulling this together with very little time. It was great.

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Nov 24 2011

Room Recording: Scott Heustis, Orlando Greenhill, and Me @ Zephyr 11/12/11

Published by under Live

The amazingly talented electric guitarist Scott Heustis embraced a rather odd challenge I tossed his way: To play an entirely acoustic set. He confessed that he’d not even owned an acoustic guitar in 10 years but, shortly after my query, ran out and purchased one. Orlando was hesitant that his upright might not carry well without support, but he left his amplification in the car. I, for some reason, felt inspired to tackle the upright piano that had, according to reports, been recently tuned.

Despite the late hour, and the chill in the air, the room was fairly packed with friends new and old. We stepped off the edge of the cliff, with no rehearsal, discussion, or planning and just played.

I made a room recording which, unfortunately, didn’t capture Scott’s guitar as well as I’d hoped. Still, if you listen you can hear everything.

      Part 1

      Part 2

      Part 3

      Part 4

      Part 5

      Part 6

      Part 7

      Part 8

After a rather boisterous romp in Part 5, I was overcome by melancholy due to some dear friends experiencing a personal tragedy. This was expressed in Part 6.

Anyway, it was quite a ride, and we were all sweaty at the end.

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Oct 03 2010

SoundWalk2010 Performance

Published by under Live

I have been curating music performances for art openings at Sipology Village Gallery in Downtown Long Beach for several months. The performances take place in the cafe next to the gallery. Sumako, the art curator, invited me to do this because I have some experience bringing interesting artists to Long Beach, and have worked with him both at the now sadly defunct Koos Art Center, and at the first Experimental Music show I produced at The Puka Bar, which led to the creation of Ain Soph Aur.

October’s art show was scheduled to be a visual retrospective of the past 6 years of SoundWalk, and the event was scheduled for the 2nd Saturday, the 9th of October. Normally, art openings at Sipology Village are on the 2nd Saturday of every month but, because of some logistical challenges, the event was moved to the 1st Saturday, the 2nd. Thus, I moved the planned music for the Gallery opening to the 2nd.

I planned a series of performances, one flowing into the next, with several combinations of artists interacting. I recorded all but one performance, missing that one because my PA wasn’t used for it. So, here’s the line-up, with links to MP3s of each.

The Second State

5:00 – 6:00:

      Jeremy Morelock + Sander Roscoe Wolff

6:00 – 7:00:
      Sumako

7:00 – 8:00:
      Mike Weber + Jeremy Morelock + Sander Roscoe Wolff

8:00 – 9:00: Orlando Greenhill
9:00 – 10:00:
      Sander Roscoe Wolff

Instrumentation

Sander Roscoe Wolff – Voice, Guitar, Bells, Environmental Recordings, Recorder, Penny Whistle, Bone Samples, Effects
Jeremy Morelock – Midi Guitar, Ethnic Samples, Voice, Lute, Effects
Sumako – Custom Fretless Fernandez Electric Guitar, Kaossolators
Mike Weber – Lap Steel, Delay
Orlando Greenhill – Upright acoustic Bass, Electric Bass, Voice, Antics

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Feb 17 2009

Music for Trombone and Voice

I volunteered to do some sound design work for a fledgling theater group’s 2nd annual 6 play festival. One of the plays took place in Heaven, Earth, and Hell. I created a soundscape for Heaven using trombone and voice, and one for

      Hell
using audio from a live performance by sound artists SMGSAP. The director decided not to use the tracks I produced, but I rather liked the piece I created, so I thought I’d share it here:

      Music for Trombone and Voice (A Heavenly Soundscape)

I’ve received quite a few mixed reactions from folks who have listened to it. Most find it pleasing, but decidedly unheavenly. That’s ok. It feels reverential, peaceful, and heavenly to me.

Please feel free to leave comments.

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Aug 07 2008

Ain Soph Aur Studio Collaboration – Work in Progress

A few weeks ago Carl, my collaborator in Ain Soph Aur, emailed me a short audio snippet with the request that I come up with some parts that might sit well with it. The part was strange, with an unusual meter and a chorused bass part that felt elusive. I immediately recorded several guitar tracks, burned them to a CD, and gave them to Carl within the next few days.

Several weeks passed and, to be honest, I’d pretty much forgotten about it entirely. In my email in-box came an MP3, where Carl had taken his original loop, my guitar parts, and added several more tracks as well. I began to get really excited. He then gave me 14 stereo WAV tracks that made up his mix of the tune, and I began playing with those, adding more tracks, processing existing ones, and generally going crazy.

The result is a 33 minute epic of sonic goodness. Now, Carl hasn’t heard this long-form version yet, and it really isn’t complete. I have no doubt that, when he hears it, he’ll be inspired to respond in some way. I can’t wait!!!

Still, he’s away right now, and won’t be back for a while, so I felt moved to share this as it is, knowing that, down the road, it may change significantly.

So, without further ado, behold “Dancing Upon A Foaming Sea.”

[note: this is a very large, 31 MB, file. People with small hard drives or dial-up connections should wait for the CD release]

The title, which comes from Alister Crowley’s description of the Princess of Cups in his Egyptian Tarot book, The Book of Thoth, may change too, btw.

I’ve also posted a screen shot of the project in my Cubase SX3 audio software.

To the best of my knowledge, the track contains the following: Bass, organ, guitar, cornet, recorder, tin flute, bells, voices, plastic tubes, shakers, metal bowls, dog collars, field recordings of seals and birds, a live performance snippet, kalimba, hand drum, synth drums, and a few other things. See if you can find them all!

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Jul 13 2008

Ain Soph Aur Live at OCCCA

Published by under Ain Soph Aur,audio tracks

Karloff and I were invited to perform at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in the heart of Santa Ana’s Artists’ Village. Opening the show were “Between Ravens and Crows,” followed by Ain Soph Aur and, closing the show, was Madamn Grislee.

Due to an oversight on my part, the audio recording captured ambient sound where Karloff and I were seated, but not the sounds the audience heard. While not capturing what I intended, it still produced several nice sections, one of which I’m including here:

The First and Fourth Intellects – Part 2

Karloff can be heard playing organ and bass, and I the lap steel guitar, shaker, and maybe even some voice.

Please feel free to leave comments.

2 responses so far

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