With more and more work this week I had only time for a little jam without a chance for later additions. However I managed to improve how I am able to switch on and off different layers of the loop, even if more development would have been needed in some parts. There is a chord layer from the iPad supplemented by the MicroFreak playing arpeggios, bass guitar, electric guitar and voice plus a drum machine.
Well, this is it! The final track of the year!
First of all congratulations everyone, it's been a great experience and I've certainly discovered some great tracks from you (even if I've been very bad at commenting).
I also had a very interesting journey, going from more heavy-generative tracks in the beginning of the year to improvisation and looping and finally to more structure and composition / evolvement towards the end.
This track is the result of a nice process. First I improvised a clean-guitar track over which I afterwards layered the pad sound and saxophone-like melodies. I then found out the initial guitar track (which was done without accompaniment) a bit too busy so I re-recorded it listening more to the pad and sound. Finally I sequenced the drums and other short melodies.
Happy new year and see you very soon as I'm definitely going to keep going with the weekly challenge!
This track, as given away by the title, was started at this winter's solstice on the 21st. It follows a structure I used on a couple other tracks with this theme: a synth drone and several layers of percussion in increasing tempo. On top of this two tracks of acoustic guitar and a mandolin (from the Wavestate). I think it's a nice energy to push us through to the last week of the year and beyond!
So here's that period of the year where we kinda have some more free time...do we? :)) This piece is about time and is longer than the recent ones, even if it keeps the same ingredients: Korg Wavestate for most of the parts of the track (this time having several programmes and using a looper to add layers) and an electric guitar.
We're getting close, people!
Quite a busy week so only had time for a short experiment, with 4 textures from the Korg Wavestate over which I play the bass. Quick and dancy with just a touch of eerie and cinematic.
For this week here's another facet of the Wavestate: this time I sequenced an acoustic guitar arpeggio, a pad underneath and percussion + drums in a composition reminiscent of the German band Empyrium. Over this I played guitar and bass. It's funny that since I got the Wavestate I moved to more structured arrangements and per-part recording as opposed to the loop-based techniques up until then. I think it's really nice how a new instrument is able to refresh one's work and at least for a time make him work differently. I am sure I will return to looping with the synth adding even more to the arsenal.
Not a lot of time to experiment this week, but I had lots of fun with the Wavestate! On this track it gives the groove and the pads while I improvised on top with the bass and guitar. It happened that the second part is slightly more loose while the first is more bang on the point. A nice effect.
So for this (early) Black Friday I managed to get a good price on a Korg Wavestate. This is the first experiment done with it, along with some bass guitar playing. Being my first dabble with it, there are some weird timings here and there and the bass is a bit low in the mix but I can see some great time up ahead with this machine! It does have a bit of a learning curve, but oddly enough it's one of the most insta-gratifying instruments I had. I used pad, strings, flute and taiko samples and the way you can sequence them so quickly and musically is bound to give some awesome inspiration.
A gentle post-rock ish track in E minor. Not very apparent, but now I also experiment with different timed loops (like 8 bar motive versus 40 bar melody) to add even more variation on the repeats. The synth is sequenced with the Novation Launchpad Pro Mkiii.
Some sort of remembrance piece for someone in my past. It has a (european) doom metal opening riff but I don't find the piece depressing, more like energetic, a call to push through all the shadows. Guitar, bass, drums - back to the core.
Well I would also have loved to spend more time with that cello from last week but now I am back to the old place so...synths :) I am also continuing my experiments with inserting live snippets of random radio stations to create another level of unexpectedness.
Here's an unusual one from me this week. I happened to be near a cello so I did a sparse improv on it, more about texture and rhythm than actual melody and development. Then I added a drone and some FX courtesy of a really washed out radio sound.
This week I began experimenting with live internet radio. We all know how this is in shady territory due to copyright so my intention is not to simply sample things but use it as fx by more drastic manipulations such as gate sequencers, reversals and hopefully spectral processing. But long time until then, for this week I have quite a light hearted guitar, bass, synth and drums track, with the radio almost at the threshold of appearing. It's just a start and I'll continue experimenting.
So here is the track I almost submitted last week. I re-recorded almost all parts and since I work in an improvising manner, you could say they are new material. I kept the main melody themes and developed them slightly different.
Well, I've been working on a track called "Transition" but right before finishing an error made the bass guitar recording unusable (as well as a synth track glitch). Don't have time right now to redo-it so here's the usual backup acoustic guitar improv to go along for the week :)
This started with sound-designing an Arturia Microfreak patch to sound more like a classic analogue synth, creating all sorts of minute imperfections in pitch, cutoff etc. Liking the sound I then layered some electric guitar and drums going a bit towards a Pink Floyd vibe, although perhaps less bluesy but with a post-rock influence especially towards the end.
Had some very nice moments of chilling and sitting in the sunlight today after some very difficult couple of days. This acoustic pieces tries to convey the feelings I had whilst in those moments.
Another "on the run one". Managed to record some solo post-rock guitar, but my bass has ran out of batteries and I couldn't do Midi work so it's just a drum machine playing along some patterns. I still like it, however :)
In a slight break from the guitar driven soundscapes of the past I have now tried the looping technique with a piano. I have expanded the loop length to 12 bars and it really gives an awesome feeling to the melody when it starts repeating, creating unexpected harmony and movement.
Being far away from my instruments, in a hotel room with just an iPad around and rain outside. Surely no chance to do a track, is it? Well, I surprised myself into actually managing it...
I had no inspiration to finish a track I've been working on this week so I just picked up my acoustic guitar and recorded this minutes ago :) Better to do something than nothing and giving something a break will surely benefit.
weekly from
Nice voice effects, they're very present and demand attention. That's a good hook to have in an ambient track like this one. Bass guitar adds a nice groove to this even though it's primarily ambient. I enjoy how this one has a drum beat and still maintains that ethereal vibe to it. Makes me want to get a reverb pedal or something and drown some synths in it. I liked the guitar noodling midway through - I don't know what technique it is, where you strum repeatedly on the string.
One comment is that the track is really long, which makes it difficult for me to sit down and listen to the whole thing (especially since there are a bunch of other tracks). I know there's not really a length limit for Weekly Music, but I think the length might influence who is listening (I had to stop around 8:30).