Archive for the Tracks category
Grant
June 24, 2016
Day 301: Friday 24 June 2016
End Credits:
I’m calling this Downtempo Electronica though at 110 bpm I’m not sure if it qualifies, but then I have no idea exactly what qualifies as Downtempo so I’ll just go with my own categories I guess.
I’ve said it before and no doubt I’ll say it again, Alchemy is one fun and easy to use app. Every time I touch it I get something that I like. Unfortunately it is no longer available on iOS if you’re starting out but you can get it for desktop I believe.
Anyway Alchemy, AudioShare, Dedalus, and Auria is all I used today.
Enjoy.
Grant
June 23, 2016
Day 300: Thursday 23 June 2016
Bombast:
More Downtempo Electronica this time courtesy of iKaossilator. Like Figure which I use yesterday it’s a fun little easy to use app that is really geared towards EDM style things. Another such app that I have used occasionally is Auxy. They each take a different approach, they all have their limitations but that adds to their charm I think. With all of them I usually attempt to subvert their EDMish paradigm, typically by using slower tempos, effecting them, or cutting and arranging them in Auria, perhaps placing them in an unusual space.
Today was a fairly straight forward take on the idea. I began by making a song in iKaossillator at 90 bpm and then jamming it into AudioShare (by muting and unmuting the 5 parts) with DubFilter and Dedalus in the effects chain. Then I loaded it into Dedalus and recorded it at 0.80 sample rate therefore lowering slightly and giving a final bpm of 72, not super slow by my standards but certainly providing a laid back sort of groove which I prefer.
Thanks for listening trackers and may all your days find you in a funky laid back groove 🙂
Grant
June 22, 2016
Day 299: Weds 22 June 2016
Figure Of Speech (Blah Blah Blah):
I’m continuing to embrace my inner ‘blippy bloppy’ today with Figure 🙂
So after I made a thing in the app I exported all three parts to AudioShare via AudioCopy (if you are unfamiliar with Figure it gives you three elements to play with: a drum track, a bass track, and a lead track).
Once in AudioShare I treated them with FLUX:FX and Caramel then imported all the effected and uneffected parts to Auria for arrangement and/or assemblage.
Grant
June 21, 2016
Day 298: Tuesday 21 June 2016
Icarus Summarizes:
I have been continuing with my experimentations with the Abu Dhabi and Bilbao gadgets in Korg’s Gadget, and while it’s been fun I’ve struggled to make a whole track by beginning with them. So today I have combined three of these attempts into one track whose genre I am therefore going to describe as Patchwork Beatscape HipHop (hee hee).
I loaded some beats that I made in Alchemy and ElasticDrums into Abu Dhabi as well as using some inbuilt stuff.
I exported the tracks into Auria and spent ages collaging them together then finally added a two word vocal which I cut up and arranged into the timeline.
Grant
June 20, 2016
Day 297: Monday 20 June 2016
Crazy Mars Procession:
An Ambient Soundscape.
I began in Sparkle, doing a jam using a mixture of files made in TC-11, iElectribe, and iMaschine as both Source and Target (I confess to total ignorance about how Sparkle works, I just play with it and see what happens).
I then loaded the result into TwistedWave where I slowed it by half and lowered it by an octave. Then I lowered that by another octave.
All three versions went to Auria for arranging, where I also added a few moments of an iElectribe beat and some moments of a MicroBrute sample.
Grant
June 19, 2016
Day 296: Sunday 19 June 2016
Dragonfly Rising:
A Beatscape today made entirely in Gadget. I really struggled to get anything today but must admit that in the end I’m very pleased with this.
I experimented with some Gadgets that I’ve barely used:Â BilBao and Abu Dhabi, loading two instances of each and using my own files to load into Abu Dhabi for cutting up (iMPC Pro). I must admit it was a lot of fun. I also used one instance of London and one of Darwin (for the bassline).
I also used AudioShare, Auria, ApeDelay, and Dedalus in the process.
Grant
June 18, 2016
Day 295: Saturday 18 June 2016
Nit Picking (for The Lord):
I have no idea what to call this one, I’m going with ‘Abstract Beatscape/Vocalscape’ but I’m not entirely sure if that’s right, though it’s an accurate enough description I suppose. Which is fine, we don’t have to cater to obsessive genre labelling now do we? We don’t want to hand the world over to the marketing people do we?
But I digress.
This piece revolves around the juxtaposition of two elements; each one simple but filled with subtle changes, each coming and going and sharing the space in semi-regular but subtly changing ways.
At 9 and a half minutes it’s a fairly long track but, for me, the small variations and unexpected fluctuations hold my interest throughout. Let me know what you think.
The beat was made with Patterning and FLUX:FX in AudioShare. The vocal was made with Samplr, FLUX:FX, Auria, and AudioShare. Both were made on different days a month or so ago and have been sitting in AudioShare awaiting their moment in the sun. Today I put them both into Auria and collaged/arranged them as you hear here. (hee hee I said ‘hear here’ hee hee)
Peace out tracklings.
Grant
June 18, 2016
Day 294: Friday 17 June 2016
Indus Valley Sunday:
An Ambient Beatscape made from a simple combination of iMPC Pro, Shoom, and Auria.
I had difficulty today getting any results; I made three tracks but ended up throwing away two of them and even this one had to be rearranged several times until it finally swam into focus.
Grant
June 16, 2016
Day 293: Thursday 16 June 2016
Occasional Meanderings #1:
It’s been a while since I used my keyboard controllers and did a little electric piano stuff.
Not that I claim any real skills on the keys, but hey if I took anything from the punk/post-punk years it’s the idea that heart and passion and guts are more important than technical skills, you can accomplish a lot with a little. With luck.
You should certainly never let a lack of skills stop you moving, the skills will develop as you go if you give yourself a chance.
I began with Korg’s Module (my favourite iOS electric piano), I jammed it into Auria using the MicroBrute as a midi controller (the keys are small and it’s only 2 octaves but it will do in a pinch). Next I copied the audio to another two tracks, raising one by an octave and lowering the other by an octave, then panning them left and right and mixing them low, just to add a frisson of textural complexity.
I mixed this down to AudioShare and ran it through ApeFilter, reloaded it to Auria and mixed it in to add to the texture.
I had already cut out a few choice moments and added them to two different tracks with different echo effects, now I added a track with occasional hits that I had recorded with the MicroBrute earlier in the day (keep an ear out for more of these which I will be making to load into drum machines soon).
The final touch was the pièce de résistance which finally gave the track room to breathe and gave it life. I loaded it into my favourite Dedalus preset at 0.75 sample ratio.
Oh yeah, I like it slow. I always have a tendency to play too fast it seems 🙂
PS This is a nice example of how I like to work; a combination of jamming/improvisation and careful construction/collage. The balance between the two varying day by day and track by track.
Grant
June 15, 2016
Day 292: Weds 15 June 2016
It Doesn’t Phase Me:
A sort of Ambient piece today. I began with PhaseRings loaded in Auria and jammed 3 tracks with variations in sound and scales, but all within the one custom composition in PhaseRings. Then I loaded Phase84 and jammed 2 tracks of that with different sounds. Finally I mixed it down to AudioShare and ran it through Dedalus at 0.5 sample ratio.