Archive for the Beatscape category
Grant
October 31, 2015
Day 66: Saturday 31 Oct 2015
Disjointed:
A Beatscape with vocals.
I made a beat with Xenon a few weeks ago and left it. Today I revisited it and slowed it down in TwistedWave 🙂 Then I ran it through most of the effect apps I own, really just experimenting. In the end I used three different versions with Korvpressor, Flying Haggis, Master FX, and FLUX:FX. I loaded these into Auria and mixed them together adjusting volume and panning.
It was okay, but to be honest I felt I’d wasted a couple of hours.
I had a look through my Beats folder, the place I put interesting sounding drumbeats that I might use later, and found two that I liked and slowed them down. I decided to jam all three beats together regardless of their tempos etc and see what happens. So into Auria they went and I cut them up and arranged them as suited me.
I wrote some words on the theme ‘disjointed’ and gave them to iSpeech TTS which I loaded into AudioShare and applied some AUFX:Space and slowed it down, then added it to Auria and cut it up etc.
Finally I loaded Fieldscaper into a track in Auria and recorded some soundscape type background. Twice.
Peace out.
Grant
October 30, 2015
Day 65: Friday 30 Oct 2015
Oliver Misheard:
A Beatscape with bass. (BassScape?)
The backbone of this is a Beatscape made with Patterning, Dedalus, and AltiSpace which I loaded into Auria and combined with pieces of a Grain Science jam I had done earlier. Then I jammed over it with iFretless Bass, and effected that with Dedalus and Emo Chorus.
I also played with AnalogKit and Samplr today; they didn’t make it into this track but may appear over the next day or so. Project ongoing.
The Video:
One of my usual modus operandi was employed again today: draw in Procreate saving several versions, blend them in Pinnacle Studio, effect that in Generate and CinemaFXV.
Grant
October 29, 2015
Day 64: Thursday 29 Oct 2015
Encroaching Winter:
Abstract Beatscape with bass.
Another play with Alchemy. This app just seems to click with me; I get something interesting going almost immediately. One track is a minimal beatscape, two are almost abstract synths, and one is a bassline. I loaded the jam into Auria and rearranged the ending a little.
The Video:
This was fun. Procreate is my favourite drawing/painting app and one of it’s features is the ability to save a movie of your changes as you create a piece. So today I drew some fairly random stuff, using only black and white, working backwards and forwards in layers. Then I saved it as a video, loaded it into Pinnacle Studio and slowed it WAY down. Then I ran it through CinemaFXV for texture, Generate for extra movement, back to Pinnacle for titles, and back to CinemaFXV for more texture.
Grant
October 27, 2015
Day 62: Tuesday 27 Oct 2015
Many More Flowers:
It started as a Beatscape,.. I added a Soundscape,.. it’s got some spoken words… and a bassline. So I don’t know quite what it is.
A Beatscape made in Patterning and effected with Dedalus and FLUX:FX till it was distorted and stuttering. Then a Soundscape made from a file imported into Dedalus and effected with FLUX:FX using the same settings. Both imported into Auria. Then a bassline added from iSem, and some words recorded using the inbuilt iPad mic into AudioShare with AUFX:PeakQ, AltiSpace, and AUFX:Dub. Then I did a little arranging and a little chiselling away until it arrived at this state.
The Video:
Assorted flower pictures were imported into Pinnacle Studio, arranged, and then effected with CinemaFXV.
Peace out.
Grant
October 24, 2015
Day 59: Saturday 24 Oct 2015
Reprise: A Self Portrait In Three Parts:
Part One: Hermits Dilemma 0.00 – 5.31
Part Two: Procrastinate 5.31 – 9.29
Part Three: Nothing But The Bones 9.29 – 14.41
I got ambitious today, three tracks in one. I decided to present them in one track rather than as a playlist. Let me know which you think is better.
Two Soundscapes and a Beatscape with vocals.
It was a long and complicated journey, so today I’m just going to give you a list of the apps involved, because it’s late and I’m tired. I’m happy to answer any questions that you might have though 🙂
The apps in order of appearance were:
AudioShare, iKaossilator, Flux:FX, AUFX:Space, AUFX:Dub, Auria, Addictive Synth, Cyclops, Sector, TTS iSpeech, Figure, Dedalus, Fieldscape, Borderlands Granular, Turnado, AUFX:PeakQ, Caramel, and Grain Science.
The Video:
This music video is all about the music. So it’s very simple, mainly static on black; to let you concentrate on your ears, while at the same time keeping your eyes involved.
Pinnacle Studio and CinemaFXV were all that I used.
See you spoon and Peace Out.
Grant
October 19, 2015
Day 54: Monday 19 Oct 2015
The Lies Behind:
Beatscape with vocals.
Today I began with a drum jam from the 3rd of October… in Patterning… using a drum kit that I created; which I recorded into AudioShare with Dedalus and Caramel in the effect chain.
This drum kit has already featured twice, but this jam was particularly good; so good in fact that I could have happily presented it as is.
But I envisioned more.
So, at first I added a Soundscape that I had previously made in Dedalus, I added both files to Auria and rearranged them.
Then I recorded myself reading a lyric from a song I had written somewhere in the mid 90’s.
I then ran this file through Sector, Borderlands, and Turnado.
The two best results of these experiments were then fed back into Auria and arranged to best advantage.
I hope you like it.
The Video:
I made several jpegs of parts of the lyrics in iColorama, combined them in Pinnacle Studio and ran that through Glitch Machine twice and Generate once. I then imported those back into Pinnacle for arrangement.
Grant
October 14, 2015
Day 49: Weds 14 Oct 2015
Beating Against The Cliffs:
A Soundscape.
Today a short break from my Fugue Machine Project, that is still progressing, but I’m working on a number of things at a time.
So this is a track that began in AnalogKit with a Drum Sequencer made by the very talented Clif Johnston of Apptronica Labs.
Check out his projects in the Swap Meet if you have AnalogKit.
Also check out his music at mood481; and indeed have a look at the Apptronica label http://apptronica.co.uk/artists for a look at some of the best iPad and iPhone musicians on the planet.
After recording a jam into AudioShare, I selected the best bit (the last third), and transferred that into Auria where I added some files from Hexaglypics, did some chopping and arranging and voila!
Grant
October 8, 2015
Day 43: Thursday 8 Oct 2015
I Got Nothing:
A Beatscape with vocal.
I began today’s track with a recording of my voice into the iPads built in mike. I then loaded that file into Sector and recorded it twice through different projects. I liked both and thought I’d try to layer them, so into Auria it was; they worked well together but needed more…
I have been going through my AudioShare files with a view to organise them in some sort of useable way, as well as make space on my iPad; an important and constant concern…
And…as I sat back and considered this piece, I remembered a file from April that I had recorded using iKaossilator, Dedalus, and Soundscaper…
So, I imported that into the Auria project, did a little rearranging and cropping, and voila!
The Video:
Pinnacle Studio, Generate. PicFrame, CinemaFXV.
PS Musing…
I am aware that a formula is developing here; and that the videos sometimes match well with the music and sometimes..less well.
Time constraints are a factor here, but I hope to meld the two together more consistently.
Grant
October 3, 2015
Day 38: Saturday 3 Oct 2015
Saturday Dog:
I started today playing with Patterning. I loaded up the Drum Kit that I made last week and made a new beat which I jammed into AudioShare with Dedalus and Caramel in the effect slots; muting and soloing parts as I went. I then loaded up DJ Puzzles ‘FunkStep’ drum kit and did the same, and the built in ‘Honey Drum’ drum kit and did the same.
All three drum jams were then loaded into Auria and slightly arranged. Hey presto instant Beatscape.
But I didn’t stop there, oh no!
Bass, I said to myself, this needs bass. So iFretless Bass it was. I jammed a bit, copied the file, and panned both copies with a different combination of effects on each side (Johnny, Caramel, Muckraker, and the built in reverb).
And then iSem was calling to me: 2 basslines and 2 pads followed.
Plus a recording of the dog barking which I happened to grab in the process.
The Video:
I shot a video of the dog with his bone, slowed it down, ran it through: Glitch Wizard, Pinnacle Studio, Live FX, and CinemaFXV.
Grant
September 28, 2015
Day 33: Monday 28 Sept 2015
Drum Meditation (YouTube Edit):
AÂ Beatscape.
Today I created a simple beat in ElasticDrums, which I then jammed into AudioShare with Dedalus in the effect chain.
When I say I ‘jam’ a beat from one of the iPad drum synths, I mean that I create a landscape (or story) by muting and soloing the various parts, live as it record.
ElasticDrums has 6 drum parts; so I create a mixture of those six voices, spontaneously in one go. But it may take several attempts to get a good mix: and today it was my fourth jam that yielded good results. So good in fact that I felt I had arrived at a finished result; a complete Beatscape that told a story, took us on a journey, without need for any additions.
But it was here that my nerve failed me. How could I present a complete track that was just a drumbeat? Even though I was convinced that it was a finished piece?
So carry on I did, and indeed I could add stuff. But to tell you the truth I think I could do better, if I had the time. But it is ‘A Track A Day’…so here is todays track…I have added a bass jam with iFretless Bass, and one from Addictive Synth. Plus a high synth part, and a drone, both from Addictive Synth. But I do have the niggling feeling that I could push this further.
So here is the original ElasticDrums jam. Tell me what you think, is it better left alone? Is it better with additions? Can it be better yet?
The Video:
A series of pictures from iColorama, sequenced with Pinnacle Studio, run through PicFrame, back to Pinnacle etc etc.