REJOICE, THE PLAYER ACTUALLY SEEMS TO WORK !!!
As they usually do! Has it been nearly four months since the last lot? I believe it has. How time flies eh? I won't try and describe the five new tracks, maybe one of the few people that can be bothered to listen will be kind enough to do that. You know who you are! Are the tracks drifting towards a different feel? Middle aged induced melancholia perhaps? I'd say not for the last song of the five but overall, I'm listening to a lot more stuff where the tempos rarely exceed 100bpm. Anyway, enough postulating and providing the new MySpace player is actually going to work reliably, it's on with the technically filled synthetic show…
Morning Light Mountain
This will contain elements of that melancholic thing I reckon before picking up a bit. I like the idea of introducing a bass line late, it seemed to work. Freeware synth called Cygnus features a lot as does Reaktor 5 which does all the rhythmic stuff. Wavestation VST does the deep bass/bell. The nice strings are from one of SX's built in VSTIs whose name I forget. Absynth does the sequence near the beginning, Arp 2600 VST does the bass one at the end. Albino 2 and the excellent Synth 1 are also buried in there. I'd like to say the title comes from some dewy-eyed countryside vista that had me reaching for the tissues. It doesn't! Happened to be reading the latest Peter F Hamilton novel which mentions MLN, a controlling anti-social alien keen on the elimination of everything but it's own kind. I just liked the name to be honest!
Magnum Manipulator
Lot's of samples from a well known sci-fi film in this. I'm sure you can guess what it is. I'd just gotten my hands on the re-issued DVD and couldn't resist nicking left right and centre. Novation Nova features in this doing chords, basses and other stuff. MS20 VST plays the high sequence. Drums all from the Waldorf Attack. The last quarter is all out Reaktor 5.
Hyper-Speak
Very Synth 1 based plus lots from Absynth 3 and even the old DR660 drum machine. EVM provides a filtered step bass sequence. I had something relentless in mind when I was doing this, can't think who I was thinking off now. Filtered echoes from the very nice Lexicon DDl plug in. Chopped speech triggered as a step sequence using Reaktor's beat slicer.
Herr Wiesler Of The STASI
Should I explain who the STASI were? Any one reading from Germany will certainly know! Check the link otherwise. Visited the STASI museum in Berlin earlier this year and was blown away and horrified in equal measures by what I saw there. Immediately got back and watched 'The Lives Of Others' again and happened across a little riff that accompanies the STASI officer Herr Wiesler when he get's back to his stark apartment. Liked it so much I decided to build the whole thing around it. The sample from the film is in there buried under Albino and Reaktor sounds playing the same notes. Deep analogue drone is Synth 1. Main sequence is the Albino 2 VST. Reaktor does all drums. Jupiter Six appears later doing a filthy sounding bass chopped up by SXs midi gate. Like 'Hyper-Speak', lots of post mixdown edits and effects inserts. Never avoid the opportunity to bugger around with you finished mix in a wave editor.
8-Bit Delia
Thought things were getting a bit warm and fuzzy so a change of tact was needed. Mostly made of various samples from circuit bent games and old computers including a bunch taken from a 15 year old cassette of Commodore 64 noises. Main synth line from Reaktor and in particular the Carbon 2 synth which excels at nasty sounds. Imposcar plays the fast sequences. Nova does the sync sound and all percussion was nicked from a variety of CDs and the odd bit of Waldorf Attack. Who is Delia? Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic workshop, an undisputed pioneer in the field of electronic music and most definitely right up there with Kraftwerk and all the others as far as I'm concerned. Talking of the BBC, yes that is Orac half way in!
On the Jukebox
Portion Control – Slug
I was hoping this might continue more in the vein of 'Filthy White Guy' which it mostly doesn't. Still good stuff from another bunch of still uncompromising pioneers and definitely a slow grower. Stand out track for me at the moment is 'Infant'.
Travelogue – Imaginary Hospitals and The Art Of Conversation
Brilliant retro analogue synth pop of the Joy Electric / Solvent kind. Just reading the kit list on the Travelogue web site prompted me to buy these!
Severed Heads – Clifford Darling Please Don't Live In The Past and Since The Accident
Been meaning to get these early Severed Heads albums for ages. Some amazing tape loop based stuff interspersed with fledgling melodic synth pop, a sign of the direction he's loosely head in later. Also plenty of moments of entertaining chaos that's pure trademark Severed Heads.
Bakterielle Infektion – Early Recordings
A forerunner of Skanfrom and very rough and ready in places but excellent miminal electronic music.
Abfahrt Hinwil - Links Berge Rechts Seen
Beautiful ambient techno/IDM styled stuff from Switzerland. Melody, tune and interesting rhythm abound.
Always keen to hear any comments or criticisms and I'll answer boring technical questions conerning synthesizers with over enthusiastic relish!
I believe that is all.