Do All Modular Drums Sound RUBBISH??? (pt ii)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2024
- With this preparatory experiment for a forthcoming collaboration I think we're inching closer to kicking off production on my album. Here's some links.
I used loads of #ericasynths today: www.ericasynth...
...and the main interface into my computer, the truly wonderful ES9 by #expertsleepers : www.expert-sle...
DIVORCEWARE:
A Korg like you've never seen before: / b6soq4pa_98
Deckard's Next Dream: black-corporat...
Suzanne Ciani and her Buchla: • Suzanne Ciani On Modul...
Andrew Huang's gateway drugs: • HOW TO GET STARTED WIT...
Look Mum No Computer (but a whole bunch of Elka filters): • GAMEBOY MEGAMACHINE #1...
MINIMALISM & STEVE:
THAT Scene: • Tangerine Dream - Love...
It's Gonna Rain: • Steve Reich - It's Gon...
Music For A Large Ensemble: • Reich: Music For A Lar...
Six Pianos: • Steve Reich and Musici...
brilliant! very impressed with your ideology and the jam itself. I must say i find the making of this pretty inspirational. I seem to have slipped into a Roland coma of late. Now, back to the drawing board!
Music for 18 Musicians changed my life. Can't recomend listening and reading up at least a littel about Steve enough. Had the fortune to see a world premiere of one of his new pieces a few years ago.
Regarding Reich’s phasing - cutting one sequence by 1/16th certainly gives nice and very musical results. However, Reich’s original concept comes from tempo manipulation where one track gradually drifts out of sync and then generates very interesting “in between” rhytms that are almost impossible to program or come up with. Its easily achievable with slightly time-stretching one of two identical audio clips and having them loop. But imagine being able to do this in CV or MIDI and to control when and by how much they go out of phase by being able to make one sequence go faster by just 0,1BPM, then lock them again once you find an interesting rhythm and them have them drift again until you again you find an interesting rhythm, etc - all the while being able to modulate timbre, waveshape, filter cutoff, amplitude, osc octave range - to bring out different elements hidden in that particular sequence. I think Tempi by Make Noise should allow something like that.
It's actually quite simple in modular; just use two sequencers with precise oscillators for the clocks at the same frequencey and synced. Then turn of the sync and add a slight offset to the frequency of the second oscillator with say a bouncing pitch wheel (the return spring is very useful for this sort of thing) and when having skipped a step sync the oscillators again if you want to stay there for a while.
I haven’t thought of the springy pitch wheel and using oscs for syncing the clocks. Great tip, thanx! Any particulars oscs that have the required low frequency precision that you can recommend?
Kamil Peteraj yes his earlier experiments were much more tempo phased than phrase phased. And this is something I’m looking into creating on the modular. And for my album.
@@kamilpeteraj762 Any decent tracking VCOs that go low enough should be fine; I've only done it in 5U with a pair of dot com Q106 and Q960. I set one to the rate that I wanted, added 5V to both, then tuned the second one by ear to match and then removed the 5V CV offset and got the sequencers running. With a scope or a bit more patience there would have probably been easier methods but it worked for that proof of concept.
Indeed! Same exact phrase, played by 2 or more players, one gradually sped up, then often "held" in place after a certain offset in paired speeds has been achieved... yielding cool polyrhythm-like relations.... then the "other" player speeding up (on cue), doing the same thing. Eventually (with lots of strategy) all meeting in the same spot, after enough "ramp up and hold" moves have been done. Totally different than 15/16 and 4/4 (a polymeter), overlapping (which is obviously super cool, in it's own right). A great "modern-ish" version of "percussion phase" is JONNY GREENWOOD's "CONVERGENCE," which was in his BODY SONG score, and then re-used a few years later (w/some strings added) to THERE WILL BE BLOOD: th-cam.com/video/hUWSl-kOyLI/w-d-xo.html
To be serious for a moment, this is absolutely fantastic music, it gives me the same feelings I had when I scored a bunch of cassette tapes at a flea market some 25 years ago, that introduced me to Peter Gabriel, Jean-Michel Jarre and other wonderful things that I don't know the name of. I was already a fan of your music, Christian, but this just kicked it up several notches!
I traded my Eric synths drum seq for a Varigate8 +. I felt I was just trying to mimic what I could do in the box. It only took a lot longer! So I bought the Malekko , also the voltage block and Basimilus Iteritas, Plonk, Akemie's Taiko...Now it's happy accidents all over! I love that about modular ! Every time I put it on something unexpected comes out. To me that is what I'm missing in the box and really the reason to go modular. For me that is. Thanks for you videos Christian.
I love where you're headed with your take on modular, Christian! I look forward to seeing much more of that! And Reich and Glass and the likes are right up my alley.
Recently I did an experiment with modular and 2 pianos improvising live over a synth ostinato. You'd have loved it!
How do you find the discipline to create music with all that gear and not just play/mess around all day with it? I can't stop myself just spending the day being a Jean Michel Jarre tribute act!
@@detroitfunk313 Possibly the best incentive!
dETROITfUNK indeed, when you make these investments you need to make a return. The modular was used widely on Albion NEO so earned its keep that month!
My like it!! Nice compositional ideas in there too....
Christian this track is sounding great. What a jam!
Thanks, just created the contextual from it and amazing how these things evolve.
Love the mid dog walk narratives in your videos!
Good morning Christian this is a beautiful homage, and I can understand you can fully go into this the whole day to get the best setup. Keep up that very creative work and glad you have shared. Have a great sunday. Cheers Ray (Floatwithme)
Wow, this is beautiful jam session. You definitely should make more videos like this and call it “jam session Mondays”
Huge thanks!
AAAaaaaarrrrgh THIS LOOKS LIKE SO MUCH FUN! I'm staunchly refraining from buying into your modules of Sodom, you devil, but you're making it seem so titillating and pleasurable. We're going to build a house for fuck's sake! Maybe I'll sell my incredibly valuable VHS collection... Yes, if I sell that, maybe I can get a couple of nice filters. Just the filters. They done things up a bit when I'm working in the box; I have some great VST synths and a Crumar Bit 1 besides... although... a sequencer is a must, isn't it? That plasma drive sounds cool. Oooh, it's like a Tesla coil!?
Maybe we could become van dwellers...
that last piece, the whole thing, sounds marvelous! great stuff and as always, very informative
Thanks so much, very kind!
(Just emerging from three weeks of severe respiratory virus pneumonia hell shit. Apologies...) This is fucking glorious! You the king! Seriously. Fuck yes! Your finesse with sonic detail is well frankly stratospheric. This feels more and more like a privileged entree into the world of a master. Well... obviously, but you know... wow! Thank you from all of us. This channel is going off to the point of it being like us Jacks getting a chance to climb the beanstalk to your ogre god cloudy kingdom. [Having said that, now I'm going to be a bit of a dick, presumptuousness wise... ] Would it be impolite to suggest that in the 29 minute version of this track, that it might be maybe perhaps really cool, at maybe 26 minutes in, to rip off Philip Glass's lame yet oddly sublime bass line from 'The Glass Mix' of 'Hey Music Lover', here... th-cam.com/video/sl0QRuI1AhA/w-d-xo.html It's just that, if it could cut through, it would go so deliciously with this. (My apologies for intruding, but jesus this is so bloody inspiring. [Oh... and your mentioning of "fart", might we expect some Look Mum modular additions to your beast rack... 'fart' wise. ..? Every time I see the latest instalment of his wall sized Sega Mega Machine, I think "I'd love to see Santa Claus buying a completed one of these for Christian!". Evil, I know, but you could always build a loft. (Now back to sleep and fucking IV drip fun... Eugh!)
Excellent! I think you could actually just leave the drums off of this piece and it would be perfect. In fact the kick interferes with the bass line and makes it sound out of tune. Great video. Thanks!
Beautiful!!! I found the drums a bit overpowering at the beginning of the jam, but then it all kinda melted together in a wonderful way!
Haha, divorceware is back! 🤣 I’m lucky enough to own a Prologue, but that retro futuristic Minilogue is quite tempting!! Loved the jam, felt like there were some Air vibes going on in there.
That was magic! Can these jams be made available on soundcloud or Bandcamp please?! :)
The Deckard's Dream is awesome. Played one at Knobcon last year. That used with a polyphonic aftertouch controller was Glorious!
Wow!! nice progress Christian. I’ve been putting different kinds of noise through my Erica PD this weekend as well. I found that the low end from a carefully sculpted feedback loop created with a digital reverb is beautifully enhanced by that plasma distortion. The source instrument for the feedback loop, by the way, some notes from Stefingo Unosson’s Hoveflute instrument you featured this week.
Heya! Your video made my weekend! A whole new world opens up (again). This is the 2nd video I watch of you, the 1st being the orchestra session over at the Spitfire Audio channel.
Love the dogs A LOT, too!! ❤️ Can I come and visit and learn from you? 😂 Looking so forward to check out all your other videos here!! 🤩 Take care!
Very very nice indeed. David Harrow recently performed In C on several laptops running Ableton Live, and is just about to release his version physically.
Look Mum No Computer is like a mad scientist TH-cam musician, I'm a little bit in love with him.
Quality sounds going on here. Concur that the drums and bassline seem pretty static and clumsy in comparison to the Reichesque melodic stuff.
Often lowpassing/distorting/adding verb (especially spring reverb to the snare) to modular drums can give them some more impact, energy and distinctive space in a track.
Christian, where did you get that modular case from? It's hugeeee!
Awesome, beastly, masterful. This is so sublime. After listening to this, um, frankly miserly 😄 (!) three-minute version endlessly, I look forward to paying for the full three hour long track on iTunes. There is so much to listen to. (Are you sure it's only going to be one album??? I'm not convinced. Unless it's one of the longest ever albums released!) Oh, and if I can get out of my hospital bed, I'm going down to the bookies to place a bet on Nils Frahm as your likely collaborator.
Beautiful exercise of TD 80's Berlin School, I love the intricate sequencer that moving around and so. You now are ready for a TD OST, look for a director....
This was absolutely brilliant!
Great video. I'm working with an MPC live to sequence , just a monolog for bass and a crappy old MC505 for drums + my Maton, a few strymon and pedals, rack compressor etc , still finding it very useful. Thanks again for your generosity, I really need to buy that Spitfire sample pack by way of a thankyou. LOL, it was the TD soundtrack for "the Keep" that sang to me, loved the score for Risky Business as well : ] The cycling theme (cant remember the name) was superb.
With phasing and sound has a little bit of the spirit of King Crimson's Discipline mixed in there Chris don't you think?
I say that with awe and respect!
I like the pulses you made with the DFAM & think that’s a better approach with modular rather than the drum machine/breakbeat route. Also prefer non clocked randomness
Wonderful hommage, nice and brief as well! Bummer your Wurlitzer broke down...
Listening to your beat Beyoncé might have liked 17 years ago, I wonder what you think of groove boxes?
Loving the content Christian - always watch. Odd query - do you ever talk about your setup ergonomics? I can't stop struggling with the keyboard in front of me in addition to the computer keyboard, mouse, monitor... ugh. I always seem to be a little *uncomfortable* when working. If you're looking for an idea for an upcoming video... :)
Related: what are those stands/racks/shelves you keep all the synths on?
May I recommend mutable instruments marbles for drum programming. It adds such a nice touch of randomization to your drum patterns, also don't be afraid to effect your drums with lots of automation!
Bobbing head test passed. Excellent work on that track.
Nice to see. Maybe you should try going outside the ordinary 3,5 minutes of music? This genre benefits from long repetitive intros and slow build.
If you're looking for inspiration from the 70s you may look into the German electronic (and non-electronic) kraut scene with e.g. Cluster (Moebius & Roedelius). The latter also made a record with Lloyd Cole 2013 (Selected Studies vol. 1 [anything called “studies” should be disqualified, but anyway]), that actually are pretty nice listening. Lloyd being a modular fan as well since many years.
Great piece at the end and as always, very interesting. Still to be convinced modular results are greater than the sum of the parts but so what - that's me (hm might've been a bit hasty selling the Seq)
No the Jomox Kick Bass drum is super awesome! But feed it through compressor and distortion with touch of reverb and watch out for madness.
Exceptionally inspirational :)
Great stuff, I feel a hard hitting techno track on its way...
People on Modular Grid said Mother 32 in a rack is a mistake and I had too much Erica Synths in my rig even though I said I like their sound. Everybody got Mother 32 in the rack so wtf do they know.
HELLSEEKER mother 32 for the filters?
nice and we don't need to be internet friends, happy doing my own thing ;)
Sat here wondering what it would sound like if you spelled your name on the sequencer. 9 letters / 32 spaces. With the "I" needing less space it should work.
I know it’s a rhetorical question. But I downloaded the raw recording from last time. And, no, modular drums need not sound rubbish if you remember that zero VU in the analog domain equals -20 FS peak in the digital domain. Hard clipping by several dB will turn the sweetish sounds to rubbish.
This made me very happy!
Any chance you could keep your setup on modular grid? I’d love to have and up to date version of the Franken-synth to look at
It sounds like the kind of beat Beyonce would likely rejected exactly 17 years ago 😅
You should really check out the newer WMD drum modules. really nice and organic sounding
Every time Christian mentions another TH-cam Channel, I loose a few more weeks of my life! Look Mum No Computer is some of freshest stuff I have seen for a while. I do not dare look at the other channels for now ...
Jesus, less coffee for the dogs otherwise that "hill" will be gone by 2021..
The man who went up a mountain and came down a hill because of the doggos, part two.
Ohhhh....the plasma drive!! Please talk about those a little. #singlesoitssafe
Steve Reichy indeed :) btw, so many mentions - who know(le)s what really happened 17yrs ago...
Hi Christian Im looking for the music from Home , the channel 4 series thanks for any help
Love this, very Electric Counterpoint (Reich/ Metheney) ....
But can modular do more than bleep and bloop farts?
Have a listen to "Different Trains" from Steve Reich - first time I heard a sampler (or sampled material) used for more than to substitute a kick or what have you. Still gives me chills.
Oh, maxi big da Force... Mesa Busten Wit Happiness Seein Yousa
Love that song ❤️
We actually play some phase music from time to time :)
Nice!
You should check out Vivaldi, from the original creator(s) of Opera...doesn't like Amazon Prime Video in HD though.. also Jaga Jazzist
Fucking WOW
This is really something different from Kontakt samples
hey how good is the expert sleepers es9
AMAZING
I could listen to that pattern all day too; in fact I'd like to hear that without Beyonce's drums at all (just a bass drum)
For this kind of thing the more minimal the better.
Great direction for the album.
Are this spitfire audio shirts for sale ?
I always think of section 6 of Music for 18 Musicians with Love on a Real Train. Music for a Large Ensemble makes me think more of Force Majeure and some of the stuff they played on tour between Cyclone and Force Majeure.
The Dream is Always the Same I think is a far more interesting piece in that it actually sounds more like Tangerine Dream and less like a Steve Reich ripoff.
Also interesting to know is that Tony Palmer claimed TD to be classical music due to the contrapuntal nature in an interview in the mid 70s (see th-cam.com/video/6xe4jeGo8SM/w-d-xo.html if you haven't already); that was even before Force Majeure or Stuntman where it really went the 'Reichian' way.
Whilst we're on the subject of TD there's currently a small exhibition in the Barbican music library that might be of interest to some people in the area.
Can some put a Beyonce acapella over this just to see what happens?
If you don’t like modular drums listen to crush by floating points
Trolls, 😋
The answer to your title would be no.
Gelfling Shagger
@@TheCrowHillCo lol.
ZWow
Next time, try and spell your name on the polyend!
Beyoncé called - she decided she likes it.
Braunschweig 😉
There’s a rather good hybrid synth/ sample percussion module you might like.
It’s called
ULTRABEAT. you may have heard of it. 🍸
Proper pronounciation of Steve Reich’s name with a “sh” at the end! 👍 Embarassingly, I was corrected by the man himself when I pronounced it with a “ck” at the end 🤦🏻♂️
...Andrew WANG?
For great drums out of the box why not use a drummer?
I know it’s a rhetorical question. But I downloaded the raw recording from last time. And, no, modular drums need not sound rubbish if you remember that zero VU in the analog domain equals -20 FS peak in the digital domain. Hard clipping by several dB will turn the sweetish sounds to rubbish.