Obscurities

 Every Photo Tells..., Featured, Music, Podcast, Solo  1 Response »
May 192013
 

Obscurities CoverAfter some fine-tuning of the music from the ‘10 Weeks : 10 Sounds‘ project, I have compiled it into an album that is now ready to download from Bandcamp.

The music is embedded on the right-hand side of this site, so you can listen to most of the tracks before downloading for a very reasonable price. In addition to the music I have already featured on this site, the final album includes another 16 pieces of music that were recorded at the same time, but not released (these do NOT appear in the track list shown, but are included as bonus tracks in the final download).

The whole album has a Creative Commons (BY-CC) licence, which means you can freely share it, use it in podcasts, films or online projects, just so long as you credit it to Mick Bordet and include a link to this website in whatever you produce.

In addition to the music, the download contains a full-colour pdf booklet that describes each track along with photographs of all the instruments, and a pdf file of a novella that accompanies the music.

The novella (also called “Obscurities”) introduces a character from a forthcoming book, who discovers a box full of instruments and learns the story behind each one: a story that forms her own personal history and leads her to learn about her ancestors and herself. Yes, each of the instruments she finds is one of those used in the album and each has a very different tale to tell.

ObscuritiesBookThe eBook is also available at Smashwords in formats for all the usual eReaders.

As if that wasn’t enough, the story will also be appearing in audio podcast form over the next few weeks at Every Photo Tells…
The audio version of the story includes snippets of music from the album, so is also a good way to hear some of the music and immerse yourself in the story at the same time.

Some Loose Ends

 Instruments, Music, Solo  Comments Off
Mar 082013
 
This is part 12 of 12 in the series 10 Weeks - 10 Sounds

Everything together

Everything together

The challenges may be over, but the music keeps coming!

The weekly deadline to the challenges meant that some pieces that I started were left incomplete, so that I ended up at the end with 8 or 9 tracks in various states of readiness. Some were little more than a piano riff or a line of meeblip improvisation over an organ pad, while a couple were more structured but needed more time to complete. I spent the last week doing just that: editing pieces down to decent length, recording some more melody, textural or rhythm parts and generally finishing things off.

As a result, this last week steps out of the neat lines drawn for the challenges and mixes the instrumentation up, though always within the bounds of the original set of instruments – there are still no bass or guitars or other instruments used in these. Consider them as bonuses, overlapping between challenges and seeing what happens when you mix an iPad synth, an electric organ from the 1960′s and a flute made from a walnut together. They may lack the strict definition and limitations of the preceding weeks’ music, but it seems a fitting way to end the cycle, to just let everything mix together and see what emerges.

Let’s kick things off with a short three-part suite built around the piano, starting with a slow, funereal march that builds into a crescendo and finishes on an insistent beat, backed by percussion in the form of rainstick and gong as well as some drum sounds from DM1.

Next we have a delicate piano arpeggio that starts off with a rising, slow synth pad as bedding, before being joined for a glimpse of ocarina, and then fades away, but only for a moment, as everything comes back for a last run away from the woods with egg shaker, DM1 and walnut flute.

Then we end on a piano melody with a slightly sinister synth backing is joined by pizzicato strings (on DM1) and rainstick for a short up-tempo moment before changing direction as the synth takes over.

Sound Brush and Rührtrommel

 Instruments, Music, Solo  1 Response »
Mar 032013
 
This is part 10 of 12 in the series 10 Weeks - 10 Sounds

Rührtrommel and SoundBrush

Rührtrommel and SoundBrush

I thought this last challenge was going to be more fun and less challenging than it turned out to be. A quick glance at SoundBrush gives the impression that it could be quite a usable application, a more visual take on the standard step sequencer that has you drawing on the iPad screen to create music.

On further investigation, the experience of using the program is revealed to be less than ideal. For example, although the images show it is possible to create long flowing curves, in practice these just result in a series of steps instead of the sweeping glissandos they imply. A more damning problem lies in the sound production, which is highly flawed: there is no natural decay or looping to any of the four available sounds. This results in short notes sounding unnaturally truncated, while the longer notes fade out before they should, making it awkward to produce certain combinations of notes. On the positive side, four colours represent the different instruments and this makes it possible to build more complex arrangements than is possible in most standard step sequencers, though the lack of any control of dynamics and the truncated note lengths can just result in a bit of a muddle. I guess this app would be fine as a toy, but it misses the mark as even a basic musical sketchpad.

The Rührtrommel (literally ‘stirring drum’ in German) is another handmade instrument from klingklang.at, picked up at the Christmas market in Karlsplatz (as with the Walnut Flute). It consists of eight wooden keys arranged in a circle in ascending order of size, rather like a short, rolled-up xylophone. A wooden mallet is used to strike the notes, which can be done individually or in a circular, stirring motion producing a unique character of its own.

The first track has two slow layers from SoundBrush (flute and strings) playing a melody that is overlaid with a pair of tracks played xylophone-style on the the drum.

Multiple layers in SoundBrush (piano, flute and strings) meet a simple Rührtrommel accompaniment that becomes more complex towards the end of the piece.

Finally, this last SoundBrush track is based on the picture shown here (my signature in four colours), slowed down as much as possible for playback, then passed through a filter and delay (resulting in the accompanying deep bubbling effect). Two tracks of Rührtrommel are also heavily processed through different chains of distortion, filtering, pitch-shifting and delay to create the squeaking, burbling percussion.

Piano, Ocarina and Rainstick

 Instruments, Music, Solo  1 Response »
Feb 242013
 
This is part 9 of 12 in the series 10 Weeks - 10 Sounds

Piano, Ocarina & Rainstick

Piano, Ocarina & Rainstick

The piano is certainly the least unusual of all the instruments used in this set of challenges. We have a digital piano (a Yamaha Arius), which can technically also produce string, organ and choir sounds, but I wanted to try and keep to the spirit of the challenge, so limited myself to only the piano sound. The pieces are all based around the piano as the central instrument, most being based on a set of improvisations and then edited together.

I have never even tried playing an ocarina before this year, when I received one as a Christmas gift. It is a ten-hole ocarina in C, produced by the Ocarinamusikhaus where you can a museum, workshop and a shop full of ocarinas of all varieties, from tiny piccolo-size to huge contrabass instruments. Mine sits somewhere in the middle of the range and has a pleasant tone at the low end of its scale, though it gets a little shrill towards the top. It is certainly easier to play than some of the other wind instruments in my collection, though it seems to better suit short, staccato notes rather than slower pieces, as the pitch can wobble around a bit. As a result, on most of the pieces I recorded, the ocarina parts only really worked on the more up-tempo tracks, so does not appear on all of them.

The rainstick was picked up in our local Spar for a couple of euros, part of some strange ethnic craft sale that has never been repeated. Originally an Aztec instrument used for summoning the rain, they are made from hollowed-out cactus, embedded with thorns inside and filled with beans or stones that would bounce off the thorns when the instrument is turned on its end, making a sound similar to rain. My version is made from bamboo, with matchstick-sized slivers of wood in place of thorns. I have no idea what is inside, though it sounds more like rice than anything else. For these pieces, as well as using the rain effect, the stick doubled as a shaker for a more rhythmic sound. And yes, it has now started raining.

The first track is a short homage to the most famous ocarina solo in rock music and its creator, Reg Presley, who passed away earlier this month. The rainstick is used as a shaker, the piano plays a riff based on a minor version of the ‘Wild Thing’ chord pattern, whilst the ocarina is used for a melody line which uses the same four notes as are used in the Troggs’ solo, though certainly not in the same order.

Next comes an improvised piano piece that centres around a simple repeated two-note interval, with occasional rainstick percussion in the faster, more rhythmic sections. For the slower parts, a heavily-processed rainstick sits low in the mix, providing a swelling atmospheric backdrop.

This is a fairly long piece, recorded as a single improvisation and not edited in any way. It slips between very sparse, simple melodic lines and dense, aggressive clusters of dissonance. The rainstick has again been mangled through a chain of processors and underpins certain sections of the piece with a ringing cymbal-like sound.

Here is a shorter piece in a pentatonic scale with two gentle counter-melodies twisting around each other as the rainstick trickles through in the background.

Finally, we finish off with a melancholy melody on solo piano that sits within mostly minor chords, all improvised with no editing.

Launchkey and Thai Gong

 Instruments, Music, Solo  1 Response »
Feb 172013
 
This is part 8 of 12 in the series 10 Weeks - 10 Sounds

Launchpad and Thai Gong

Launchpad and Thai Gong

We’re back in iOS land this week, with a fairly new instrument application from Novation (who normally specialise in hardware synths and MIDI controllers) called Launchkey. Unlike the other apps I’ve used in this challenge, this is not a music editing or recording system, but more of a traditional synthesiser, albeit one that makes good use of the iPad touch screen. There is a mini keyboard at the bottom of the screen with octave switches to step up and down the full keyboard range, as well as controls for the built-in arpeggiator; the keyboard is a bit on the fiddly side due to its size, but for most of these tracks I used a MIDI keyboard to control the actual playing of notes.

What makes this app stand out is the space at the top of the screen, where you see rotating nodes, each of which represents a set of parameters (e.g. chorus amount, filter, attack, etc.) as well as an addition set of virtual knobs that can be turned to affect those same parameters. Each node results in a very different sound, though based on the same waveform (different patches have different waveforms, further extending the range). As you touch the screen between the nodes, the sound balances each parameter depending on how close the nodes are, so if you move your finger between an aggressive lead guitar sound over to a more gentle acoustic sound, the effect is a subtle transforming of the parameters, like morphing between sounds. It is very intuitive and easy to get to grips with and some great sweeping sounds can result. In particular this synth is suited to long pieces where the gradual shift in tone can be fully appreciated – it isn’t something to use to play just one sound.

There are some drawbacks, for example there is no MIDI out facility, which is a shame as this would offer a great way to control other synths and is a simple approach to changing multiple parameters at once. Another minor problem is that the control knobs allow you to adjust the current sound only – as soon as you touch the screen near a node, the sound jumps to that set of parameters instead of slowly transforming, but this could also be seen as an advantage. It would be good to be able to adjust the node settings, too. Maybe in future versions?

The little Thai Gong came from the fantastic music shop, Gandharva Loka, based in Vienna’s ‘bohemian’ quarter. This is one of a small chain of music shops that has a wonderfully eclectic range of instruments from all around the world: from gongs and monochords to bagpipes and hurry-gurdies. As well as four shops in Austria, they also have branches in Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand and Canada. Their website alone is a great place to browse and find out about instruments you might never have heard of. Well worth a visit!

Now onto the music, with two pieces this week: one very short and one much longer. Firstly, the gong tolls a melancholy note as a fleeting counter-melody appears on the Launchkey, backed by a soft pad sound that modulates into nothingness.

A repeating chord progression sets the basis for this long, evolving electronic piece which is introduced and ends on the chimes of the gong. The bass line changes from soft to aggressive, delicate arpeggios sweep across the soundscape and sounds slowly transform, often hinting at melodies where there may be none.

MeeBlip and Busilacchio Organ

 Instruments, Music, Solo  1 Response »
Feb 102013
 
This is part 7 of 12 in the series 10 Weeks - 10 Sounds

Busilacchio Organ and Meeblip

Busilacchio Organ and Meeblip

In late 2011 I received and built a Meeblip synthesiser. This is an open source synth that you build yourself (though a pre-built version is now available). It only costs $50 (for the kit version) and is very well supported online, though a little familiarity with a soldering iron is a reasonable prerequisite. Once mine was built, I trawled the big weekly flea market in Vienna for a suitable case. As you can see, it ended up fitting perfectly into an old radio that is an almost perfect match for the Busilacchio Organ – even to the extent of having all the relevant connections I needed (power, audio out and MIDI in), though I did replace the originals as the connectors were very badly rusted. The sound it produces is fairly gritty, not unlike the computers of the 80′s, but that is part of its charm. Here is a short video of my Meeblip being constructed.

The Busilacchio Organ (affectionately known as Mr. Wheezy) is a small electric organ produced in the 60′s that gives a sound not unlike a harmonium, but without the pump action sounds. It contains a number of metallic tines, across which air is blown using an electric pump. This is not a quiet instrument – perhaps this could be improved by replacing the pump with something more modern an efficient. I have already used the instrument on several of The Lunacy Board tracks as it has a certain warmth that is lacking in electronic versions.

On to the music; first of all we have a legato Meeblip melody that slides from note to note as the Busilacchio organ skips along at its side, pretending to be an accordion.

The second track features a brassy synth riff on the Meeblip with gentle organ underpinning (including rotary speaker simulation). A second Meeblip follows along in the upper register for effect.

Now for some sleazy slow meeblip synths with an organ baseline.

GarageBand and Egg Shaker

 Instruments, Music, Solo  1 Response »
Feb 032013
 
This is part 6 of 12 in the series 10 Weeks - 10 Sounds

Garageband and Egg Shaker

Garageband and Egg Shaker


Garageband for the iPad is a ridiculously specified application. I can’t compare it with the regular version of Garageband, as I have never used that, but it certainly seems to possess the hands-on ease of use that I have heard of its older sibling. In some ways it is a complete recording studio on the iPad, but in others it can be frustrating. The various ‘smart’ options for strings, guitar, bass, keyboard and drums offer facilities similar to what you might expect on a home keyboard in terms of auto-accompaniment, but are very flexible to the extent that you can select a certain style of music and play along with a single violin, a whole string section or many other possibilities. These are further supported by different ways to play the same virtual instruments, so you can bow a cello or pluck it, play in chords or single notes, as well as applying reasonably convincing vibrato and pitch bends.

The range of instruments on offer is also impressive, from grand pianos to mono synths, upright bass to distorted lead rock guitar, as well as offering the possibility to plug in your own guitar and use built-in effects or record your own voice or other instruments. As an introduction to sequencing and multi-track recording it is fantastic, but for someone already proficient on a more professional DAW, some things can seem confusing or, in many cases, missing altogether. For example, there is no way to edit sound levels (velocity) other than by individual note and no way to see what the velocity settings are without editing.

The egg shaker was a little bargain we picked up from Klangfarbe, the huge music shop housed in a former gasometer in Vienna. It produces a sharp percussive sound when shaken and is the shape of an egg. Not much else to say, really.

The first piece is a mini string-section, created with various ‘smart’ string settings within Garageband and features a slow, deep cello and bass section flanked by two short pizzicato melodies. On the final section, the shaker joins the party to accentuate the pizz.

A synth-heavy, atmospheric piece using pad sounds from Garageband, an electric piano sample running through the built-in arpeggiator and some effected virtual guitar. Further atmospherics come from a slowed down and highly warped (with resonant filter and delay) shaker. In this case the shaker was turned, rather than shaken, to create a swirling effect.

More Challenging

 Music, Solo  Comments Off
Jan 312013
 

fawm logoHaving managed to get halfway through the “10 Weeks – 10 Sounds” challenge with an interesting collection of new tunes, the time has come to step it up a little. February is home to two musical equivalents of NaNoWriMo that are worthy of investigation.

The first of these is February Album Writing Month (FAWM), where the aim is to write 14 new songs (or instrumental pieces) within the month – that’s a song every two days! Since I have already been producing at least three new tunes a week, I don’t think that is too much of a stretch.

RPM_AvatarThe second is the Record Producing Month (RPM), which is focused on recording an album in the same month. This can be a collection of existing songs, but there should be at least ten different tracks or 35 minutes of music in total. Again, I don’t think this will stretch me much beyond the existing challenge, but it would be nice to hit the 35 minute mark, since the tracks I have already recorded last for just over 20 minutes in total.

Neither of these challenges will add that much extra to what is already planned, but both push the boundaries a little. It will be nice to be amongst a pair of communities where everyone is under the same pressure for the second half of the challenge, though.

Don’t forget that there is ANOTHER musical challenge going on at the moment. SpinTunes is back for its sixth season and the first album full of songs (about memes) is already out and free for download. Here it is:

BeatPad and Mouth Organ

 Instruments, Music, Solo  1 Response »
Jan 262013
 
This is part 5 of 12 in the series 10 Weeks - 10 Sounds

BeatPad and Mouth Organ

BeatPad and Mouth Organ

BeatPad is another iOS drum machine, but one that is quite different from DM1, being perhaps more like a variant of the Akai MPC series (though I’ve never used one of those, so I can’t say for certain). Like DM1, BeatPad has a wide variety of drum and other instrument samples (from gongs and brass ensembles to choirs and hip-hop sounds), but BeatPad allows you to use one ‘kit’ for each track, making it easy to combine many different samples in total. This makes it much more flexible in certain aspects, though it does lack some of DM1′s more advanced features, so it comes down to a matter of taste, really.

The harmonica is not an instrument I have used often – I think the last time was on one of my first rounds of Song Fu – and it’s certainly not something I find easy to play. However, after a while jamming around on it I can usually find my way around it well enough to get a tune out without it sounding too wretched.

The first track uses a few different built-in pad and percussion sample kits on BeatPad, with three different harmonica lines, one of which is unprocessed, one is fed through a rotary speaker simulator and the other through a complex echo modulator to build up a thick, ambient backdrop.

This was a real test of BeatPad, using all eight available tracks and eight different sample sets, including a custom set constructed from the harmonica. Each layer is added progressively, then they are gradually stripped away, first to last, exposing the later layers towards the end. As the harmonica samples drop out of the track they are replaced with a live overdubbed harmonica melody at the end.

A simple repeated motif on percussion, harmonica and piano sample sets starts off, then it drops away, leaving the piano and a live harmonica overdub to lead out.

Mouth Organ Sample Set

Mouth Organ Sample Set

For some of these tracks I decided to use the sampling feature of BeatPad to create my own samples based on the mouth organ. This process is really straightforward: record using the built-in microphone or edit any existing music on the iPhone/iPad, tidy the sample using an on-screen, touch-controlled waveform editor that also allows fades and cuts and then move onto the next sample. The application allows you to save and share these custom sample sets, so here is the one I put together for these tracks – just click on the image to download it.

Alto Recorder and Whirlie

 Instruments, Music, Solo  1 Response »
Jan 202013
 
This is part 4 of 12 in the series 10 Weeks - 10 Sounds

Alto Recorder and Whirlie

Alto Recorder and Whirlie

Of all the ten challenges, this is the one I have been expecting to cause the most difficulty, as it is all about wind sounds, with little opportunity for contrast. This could easily have resulted in just being a wailing set of different notes, destined to set teeth grinding. So, what was the result?
The whirlie is simply a flexible plastic tube I bought for 50p from a gadget shop. Its original fluorescent orange colour has faded in the Viennese sun from sitting on a window ledge over the summer, but the sound is unaffected. For such a basic item it still manages to be able to produce four notes, depending on the speed at which it is spun. As you cannot just instantly change the rate, it is impossible to play anything staccato with the whirlie and it takes some practice to be able to maintain the notes without them slipping up or down into the next one. It does have a slightly haunting sound with plenty of natural movement, but recording that characteristic swirling is more challenging. Rather than set up a single mic or a pair that might result in a lot of level fluctuation, I decided to try and record with a dynamic mic close the end being held, with the condenser mic at a bit of a distance to pick up the movement at the spinning end.
I now have both alto and descant recorders, the alto being the newcomer (a gift from K’s mum – thanks Renate!). The sound of the alto is mellow and woody, but the descant has not been used very much by me because it can be quite harsh and piercing. The challenge was only to use the alto, however, so the descant remained on the shelf for this session.

The first piece is a short folky tune using the recorder for the melody, a gentle drone set up with the whirlie and some percussion using the end of the tube tapped with the palm of my hand.

The second tune is rather more free-form, with the whirlie to the foreground, filling the stereo field while the recorder takes a more textural role, being highly mangled by a range of effects. Some additional percussion sounds come from running a fingernail down the side of the whirlie.

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