River works

I finally got to work in the studio again. It's been quite a busy time lately and making music came last in line. Today I worked mostly on the K146 project. I now have some five parts that I work on and which I will or will not glue together later on. I am contemplating whether I should just present them as tableaux vivants in separate parts. That would make sense since each of those five parts concentrates on one (or two) original recordings. One particular place that I worked today was Combe au Moulin.

The original water recording was edited with a ducking technique and then reverberated with the special DFX Transverb. Think of it like a tape loop with two independently-moving read heads. There are a lot of parameters that can be controlled and a parameter randomizer for the impatient. I was able to extract a cool ringing sound from it. After that a second movement focused on further layering that recording with harmonized subchords. It seemed to magically come together.

Below are three short samples of the mix:
First is a sample of the first rework of the original. I have used a noise gate to cut out all of the more silent parts and thus enhance the loud parts of the running water [ listen ]
Secondly I added the transverb into the mix [ listen ]
Thirdly you can hear the transition from the first section into the second part where I start working with harmonic layers of the original recording. [ listen ]


Another work started with the recording of a bird. This recording was at the Dognon. There's actually no water sound in this piece but I guess it was recorded somewhere on a slow streaming part a bit off the bank. The call of the bird was isolated and then repeated. After a while a heavily filtered version of a river recording shows up. Interestingly in the original recording it's most of all the water that you hear. In this filtered version you can hear cows mooing in the distance.. funny.

Listen to a provisional mix [ here ]

Read more...

Fieldrecordings in Zagreb

I am on a business trip to Zagreb, Croatia. Yesterday I spent the afternoon walking with my Edirol and binaural mics. Although the people are pleasant (actually a woman started flirting so obviously that even I noticed...) the city is acoustically not very appealing. I attended a Catholic mass (in order to record part of it) and crossed an empty square later that evening (after a particularly depressing pizza) that had some interesting reflections. I'll upload some recordings later this week.

Read more...

new horizon... or fata morgana?

Slowly a new structure is emerging in my head...... I decided that the current setup is too dense for most. 90% of the listeners will not make it to the end in one go. There are too many notes, sounds, changes, dynamical changes, transients, pans....

.......................... .... .... .. ... . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I will construct a new series of (indoor) field recordings which will serve as empty rooms for the compositions that are already finished. They will allow the listener to take a rest. Smoke a cig and drink coffee. Chat a little with the friends that are also present at the table. In other words: enhance the cafe atmosphere.

Read more...

Doubts, doubts, doubts

Ow! I have fallen into doubt frenzy. Is this really it? Shouldn't I skip this work? It's too loud. No, that's not it. Not enough rest, it's too hasty. Take this out? No, layer it. Wait, cut it up and mess it around? No, revert.

In general I think the work is too dense, now. But how to solve that? Extend pauses? ...... ............ ...... ..... ....... ............ .............. .......................................

Read more...

Almost forgotten voice work

Yesterday I was again running a check on the pianovox work, which is really coming to an end now. Looking for a few snippets to insert here and there I came along a directory that I hadn't hear for quite a while. I listened and remembered why I had abandoned it. It was beautiful sound material but it lasted too long and I couldn't find a twist to make up for that.

But yesterday I did see that solution! I rendered a few tracks and started playing with the highs and lows. Then I added a recording of the original played in the studio twice. One with a bad mic and another one with feedback added. Then I had material enough to finish it up. A late night and an early morning session later I have the impression that it's finished.

Listen to the entire mix [ here ]

I will add this work to the mix of the whole piano and voice material. I now have mixes of all of the piano and voice works in one reaper setup. Listening again and again and changing bits and overlaying parts I am blending it all into a coherent work. I have been in doubt for months about this project. Man! Several people who heard the piano works thought they were not up to standards... which can make you doubt your own judgment. But it's all starting to come together now: the idea of a avant garde jazz pub, with lots of smoke and drinks and people reciting and mumbling and a piano player somewhere in the distance (and sometimes right inside your ear!)

Read more...

Another go at the pianovox/S.A.T.I.E. project.

I have relistened after 2 months or so. It's near complete. Just one piano part needed more attention. The 3rd one (3.7). There are too many piano notes. So I cut back a lot and mixed them back into the crowd that can be heard as well.

I have mixed voice and piano parts and cross-referenced here and there. It's becoming more coherent now: one sonic vocabulary. Later this week there will be more soundsamples of 3.8 (the follow up to 3.7) and first impressions on the final mix.

Read more...