This is a much more "textural" track than my usual melodic ones, as I like to experiment with timbre as well as slow moving sounds. The tracks starts with intensity (a simple orchestral chord) but then synths add and overwhelm the strings and brass. I keep changing presets on the synth (a VST called OBxD - much recommended as it is also free) to create interest and movement - the notes for it are pretty random playing on a keyboard. The piece finishes with a bell synth part, I dare not say Pink Floyd-esque :)

Putting arpeggiators in VCV Rack to work in forming a more cohesive orchestral track which to me resembles a kind of game soundtrack of a light nature. There are strings and timpani coming from East West Orchestra, Brass and Choir from Spitfire, while the piano is Addictive Piano.

A late submission as this was actually recorded, but due to being away and other issues I didn't get to post it. This week will probably be the same. A solo melancholic guitar with a looper.

This is Wotja generating a very nice background song for me messing around on the cello. I am a beginner so there's some very odd intonation at times and the tone is a bit raspy, but the best practice is making songs and listening :) This is one of 6 takes.

A dreamy ambient piano piece, with me actually playing it this time - many times I do generative pieces but here I just wanted to have a bit of a "hands on".

While I gather ideas and techniques for more electro-orchestral piece I like to just chill and play some guitar. Here a software called Wotja does the background while I freely improvise on top.

This one blends orchestral and electronic instruments. I started in VCV rack with two synth patches using Euclidean Rhythms which I then blended with a bass synth, Strings, Piano (played live on the midi keyboard) and some timpani.

So here we go again :) For this first week I used VCV Rack to sequence most of an orchestral track: the percussion, choir, staccato and accented strings while freely playing the flute in the beginning, the brass in the main track and the short strings towards the end. The samples I used all come from the East West Hollywood Orchestra library.

This is just the second take on the patch (I like to keep it as improvised as possible), the only difference from the first one being that I added the cymbal "rise" because the transitions were a bit too abrupt (also because I don't have a proper midi keyboard around and I used a Launchpad Mk3 to both play the notes and fade the instruments in and out).

If you want to see the patch:
https://youtu.be/CuCVFYTOgSs

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 :)