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 :)

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!

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.

For a week or two I am away from my iPad setup and thus my faithful looper and FX. However this meant I have a chance to rediscover the powerful effect modulation of VCV Rack and this is exactly what I did here. It's a simple electric guitar improv over an ambient texture plus very lo-fi drums, but I used two delays to create rhytmic interest (Chronoblob), the "pad" is actually an arpeggio sequence fed through Clouds and a tap delay while the drums are played with the XOR sequencer making them more varied and "unstable". For the looping I used a free vst that can be found around called GLoop - its controls can be mapped to any VCV utility.

This week past in such a speed I barely believed today's Sunday. I haven't manage to prepare any material so this one is right in the same style as the previous: acoustic guitar, eerie chants, weird percussion some flute passages and an overall floating feel. It was a one take improv.

Listening to it now again before uploading I realised it gave me some memories of bands I used to listen quite a number of years ago: Arcana, Elend, Deine Lekein, Dargaard, Samsas Traum, Die Verbannten Kinder Evas and several more of the genre they used to call dark wave. Not saying it's a direct tribute since I only now figured this influence, especially since I haven't been listening to those in quite a while. Perhaps a subconscious hint? :)

I've had several options for this week in my usual style with lots of synths and acoustic instruments on top. However, after I recorded one it then occurred to me to use just a single instrument for the task whilst keeping the big reverb, expansive delays and looper I usually use (Eventide Blackhole, FAC Alteza, Eventide UltraTap and Gauss Looper).

I chose the panflute I have since I really love its tone but I didn't do much with it lately, having focused on acoustic guitar. Since I'm mostly a beginner with it, I can't do any complicated phrasing so the accent was more on the texture the looper and delay create together, alternating octaves and mostly using the Eminor key (the panflute is tuned to G major). I also tapped on the wood of the instrument from time to time to create a sort of a ritualistic feel to the whole track, I like how the delays also catch that up and compliment nicely.

I had a sort of a background structure for this weekly track in the form of repetitive rhythms played on synths and messing them up with delays and loopers as well as a nice bass melody. But i had to drive away to a distant city for two days and I arrived in there straight into rush hour. It was a complete mess of long ques, weird direction turning, missing underground passages and so on...and it took me long enough to get to the meeting I had.

So today at home I felt like a lo-fi distorted guitar with would perfectly resemble what could be going in people's mind at that time, alongside with some slightly aggressive drumming. It's sudden and grasping, that's why I thought it's like a "chorus-first" format.

Just like my earlier tracks, I use FAC Alteza to add the big ambience, a Marshall amp emulation for the guitar, drums are sequenced by the LaunchPad Pro Mk3 and the repetitive textures come from Arturia MicroFreak and Volca Modular, with Gauss and Kosmonaut iOS FX applied.

This week I was improvising acoustic over a static pattern, initially an arpeggio pattern on the MicroFreak synth which I then spiced up with a delay and high-resonance filter sweeps. As I was building atmospheric textures with Magellan 2, Korg Volca Modular and Keys I had a reminiscence of those moments you sit on a window, rain is outside and thoughts just emerge and disappear at once, each pulling into their own direction then just as quick releasing tension, like the dance of the drops of rain in water puddles.

With that in mind I went to add a recording of rain I once did from my window and then to wrap up the song I added a meditating drum rhythm, a short solo on the Volca Keys and let the acoustic looper run on its own for a couple of seconds.

On this week inspiration for this song was a Volca Modular patch with its Stochastic Sequencer making constant variations on a pentatonic pattern. I added generous chorus and reverb (FAC Alteza) and Eventide Crystals delay with gentle pitch shifting. This created a less gritty sound than the Modular usually does. Over this I added a rhythmic E pedal tone on my acoustic guitar, with some occasional other notes.

The main melody was played on the GeoShred app on the iPad, using the GeoViolin sounds. After this I added a simple drum accompaniment and two short acoustic and wooden flute part.

While the violin does tend to give it a very cinematic feel, I made the rest of the sonic texture (especially by reverb modulation) intentionally oversized so it feels like there's tension between the two.

This is a track that continues the sonic explorations I've made last month on Weekly Beats, so a theme of "Forward" is very adequate.

The song started with playing acoustic guitar with an iOS looper called Gauss which has loop decay and a really long delay time so you are basically able to improvise with your own self, or with the music you've done 30 to 40 seconds ago. Over this I layered a bass guitar part then a keyboard pad made with Magellan 2 (also iOS). Finally I designed some flute and violin like tones in the same synth and added a very simple drum pattern.