Going back to where I left off before my hiatus and continuing creating songs that use only my sax for the source for samples. This includes programming beats in DM-1 using key tapping samples I recorded using my sax, then running those programmed sequences through various effects in Logic Pro. Not as much melodic playing on this one, just a couple lines to break it up a bit.
Overall I'm pretty happy with how this came out. Definitely going on the planned EP of songs created in a similar manner.
Really having a hard time this past week or so getting back into music. Hopefully I can find my pace and muse again soon..
Just wrapped this one up a few minutes ago. Not really a song, more of an idea that got weirder the more I delved into it. Sort of lost my footing here... not remotely close to the idea I had in my head when I started...lol.
Quirky synth-hop?
Continuing with last week's challenge of using only my sax to create all the source sounds, I've decided to take what I learned last week and push it even further. Hopefully you guys dig it as much as last week's.
Yeah yeah, my first late submission. Totally ran out of time this last week and I thought I'd be able to finish this piece yesterday, but that didn't happen. Anyway, I experimented with recording a couple long tones on the sax and then looped those on different tracks with a blend of different effects. I'm curious to hear what you think about this one. For something so minimalistic, I ended up putting quite a bit of time into this, getting the right blend of micro sonic rhythms and droning notes.
Didn't have a lot of time this week to work on anything, but I did manage to bust this out today. Far from finished. I'd like to add scratching and saxing to this song. What do you think?
*No samples (yet).
Yet another jam... I swear I'm going to get back into writing studio tracks. I've just been trying to do more live streaming, so I figure I'll kill two birds.
I like the sounds/settings that I used in this jam a lot, but I'm still unhappy with the mix. This time the sax seems too quiet in comparison to the rest of the mix. Also, I recorded it a bit hot, so there's a little digital distortion, which I actually kind of like, but definitely not my intention.
My intention with these jams is to release the best (my favorite) ones on bandcamp as free downloads named after the people who "vote" or "react" the most during my performance. I like the ideas presented in this jam, so I'll be re-recording this before I release it on bandcamp.
Not my best improv jam, but not my worst (close). Adjusting to being back to work after vacation has been more tiring than expected, plus I had a gig with my other project, so I just got around to doing any of my own music until today.
Some cool ideas in this, but I feel my mix is off. The sax is a bit louder than I like it in the mix and the drums don't seem as blended with my backing synth lines. I was determined to get something posted to, so here it is. Made some alterations to my jamming rig.
Was on vacation this past week with no time to work on music, so here's an outtake from last week's submission. I'll be back on my game this next week... hopefully.
This week my workflow was quite a bit different from all my previous submissions. This week's piece was recorded live during a stream I did on Krue. This is just a live improvisation, so you may hear a couple missed notes. :/
For this song I used the following:
- PO-12 Pocket Operator ran through a
- KP2 Mini Korg Kaoss Pad, manually synced to
- Xzynthesizr running off an iPad
- MicroKorg running through an
- Afterneath pedal
- Alto Saxophone ran through a
- BOSS RV-3 pedal using a
- Shure clip-on mic
This was recorded live to my laptop, bounced out to MP3 and pulled into
-Logic Pro for some clean up (EQ, level adjustment, etc.)
*No movie sample this week
Eeking this one in at the last possible hour... I'm not sure, but I don't really feel like I'm 100% done with this song. The sax squeals I'm happy with, but the other sax is just a rip off of a riff from a remix I did, so I'll need to change that up. Also thinking about some faster "free jazz" sax parts. I also didn't have anything in mind when I started this week's track, I just started programming and went from there.
For this song I used the following:
-DM - The Drum Machine
- Logic Pro (DAW/various effects)
- Alto Saxophone
*No movie sample this week, but the final version of this track may have one in the mix.
I had to get this week's song done early due to moving this weekend, so I took a more experimental approach. Almost all of the sounds are coming from my sax, other than the minimalistic drum programming. Think of this as sort of a sequel to my earlier track, "Saxually Transmitted". I created a couple droning loops on the sax and then built up from there using various effects in Logic.
For this song I used the following:
-DM - The Drum Machine
- Logic Pro (DAW/various effects)
- Alto Saxophone
*No movie sample this week. :)
This came together rather quickly in an odd sort of way. Not as much sax in this one, just a few runs with some delay. I'm thinking about using this as an interlude track on one of my upcoming EPs.
For this song I used the following:
- DM - The Drum Machine (with some effects automation)
- Logic Pro (DAW/various VSTs)
- Alto Saxophone
*This week does have movie samples. Any ideas on which movie they're from?
For week 7 (and 8 for that matter) I've decided to kill two birds with one stone and submit a song that I'm working on for the RPM Challenge that I do with a group of producers each February, where we all submit a couple tracks to create an "album in a month". The theme that we chose this year for our submission is "ACID GOD". What does this mean? It means we all create songs that combine acid music with religious music.
So for my track I used a 303 emulator to generate a lot of the different synth/bass parts, plugged some 808 samples into DM1, and got real weird with it. Can you dance to this? Maybe. I don't listen to a lot of house music, let alone acid house, so I'm not sure if this is really something you would play at a rave circa 1988, but maybe you'll at least find it interesting.
Of course, as per usual, I threw some sax in the for good measure. I'm finding myself falling into similar riffs when it comes to dance music, so I need to work on mixing my playing style up a bit I think, but all in all I think I'm getting better at recording my sax.
For this track I used the following:
- Phoscyon (303 soft synth emulator)
- DM1 - The Drum Machine
- Logic Pro (DAW/various VST/FX)
- Alto Sax
No movie sample this week, but I did sample a sermon from some preacher.
Okay, so for week 6 I went with the sub challenge presented in the forums of creating a "solo piece" using only one instrument. My instrument of choice of course was my alto saxophone.
To create this piece, I riffed on my sax in E minor. Afterwards I cut certain sections into droning loops, which I then layered underneath the main sax line with different effects. I think this song came out interesting, what do you think?
For this song I used the following:
- Logic Pro (DAW/various effects)
- Alto Saxophone
*No movie sample this week. :)
