Your music on the modular, as well as with Florist, have been recommended to me by TH-cam's clever and probably scary algorithms. It's very validating to see someone at the top of their game in both synthesis and songwriting, two things that my mind separates and compartmentalizes as if they can't coexist. I really like your decision to fade out the primary sequence and end the performance with bubbling ambience. So dynamic. Such great work, always looking forward to more!
Thanks so much! I got into modular synthesis as a way to take my mind off of writing lyrics and the type of songwriting that I do so much of, but still make music that "communicates". Now having both in my life just makes my love and appreciate them more.
I keep coming back to this piece, and not for the technology.. but the spirit. With electronic music it is sometimes hard to separate the technology from the artist - would I sound like AE if I had access to their Max/MSP patches? - but here.. here it feels more clear. I own almost all these modules, yet what you do with them is touches on a level of beauty I've never reached (in my own opinion, at least). Soo good. Thank you, Emily.
I just now recently found you by the tiny desk concert you did with florist. I can't be happier that I found that video. At first I only listened all the florist songs (who are so damn good by the way) but I just found out that you do these synth, modulation and sound design things. I am happy you make these great things and you are a great inspiration. Ps:you are my spirit animal ( ˶ ❛ ꁞ ❛ ˶ )
What an absolutely stunning piece of work! The fact that you are using a new modular instrument is somewhat irrelevant, the composition and aesthetic is quite lovely. Please continue... Laars D.
Is the Tempi providing the clock to sequence pressure points? Do you find the Lo-Fi Junky ot be essential for ambient patches? Is there any other module that can reproduce what the Lo-Fi Junky can?
Yep Tempi is clocking pretty much everything. Though the burts of notes running up and down the scale are coming from me manually turning the knobs on pressure points while holding an active step. I quantize with a uScale and I believe for this patch, a C maj scale. The LFJ for me is pretty irreplaceable because I use it in just about every patch. It has a unique character and the compressor is a nice addition. I don't think vibrato is essential for ambient pieces, but my personal taste is that I always love to hear it and I think it creates a certain kind of ambient that I really like. The LFJ is doing a lot of tone work for this piece but the 4ms DLD doing stereo delay is really I think what makes the patch. You can also get a vibrato effect by patching an LFO into the FM of your VCO. Just make sure that if your oscillator doesn't have an attenuator for the FM, you run the LFO through one first because if not the result will be very extreme. But before the Lo-Fi was released that's what I did for my modulation. And I still patch a lot in the FM inputs with either noise or some kind of modulation to make regular waves a little more interesting sounding. Check out the Alright Devices Chronoblob. I've had my eye on one for a while and still will probably get one eventually. If you are unsure about dedicating the HP for the Lo-Fi Junky but want some kind of vibrato/chorus effect in a dedicated module, and like making ambient patches, that seems like a really great option. And it's also a delay which in my opinion you can't have enough of : ) -mle
Thanks for the reply! I have a Z-DSP on order which will do O.K. for much of the delay jobs I think ,but the only distortion effect modules I have are the bitcrushing algos on the Disting and the Pico DSP. I'll have to look at getting the Lo-Fi module I think. Your ambient patches are excellent!
Great patching Emily👌. Could you recommend a starting core set of modules? Your earlier modular setup was quite a bit smaller than what you have now - what modules did you start with? There are so many competing options - your music is great. Cheers Tom
Thanks Tom! Compared to all the modules I have now, I have only kept a small handful of the ones that I originally started with. I had never touched a eurorack system before and had no idea how I was going to interact with it, what my work flow would be, what sounds I liked to get and methods I liked to get them with. I think part of the process no matter what is going to be trading out some modules that you don't always get along with, but thought you would like. My advice for someone wanting to get into eurorack who likes the patches and kind of music that I make would be to get a VCO and a Mutable Instruments Rings (the make noise STO sounds great and is fairly versatile, Rings is my favorite module by far and sounds just so beautiful and musical), an LFO source (i like the Batumi the best because it provides 4 separate LFOs can also do some random, or act as sort of a sequencer, but the Whimsical Raps Just Friends is probably the best all around modulation/envelope module. it can do everything!), one dual VCA (Intellijel uVCA or Make Noise Optomix, very different but both nice) to learn about that, which is a fundamental part of synthesis that I think everyone should understand, and finally a sequencer to make melodies. I think the Make Noise Rene is probably my favorite sequencer, but the Intellijel Metropolis also seems really great and feature packed. Something with 6 or more steps and built in quantization will help a lot to keep things interesting but still simple. If you started with a 3u 104hp skiff and put those modules in, you would still have some room for more secondary things down the line like filters, maybe another sequencer, quantizer, effects, rhythmic things, the list is endless! I think the most helpful thing for me, aside from beginning and experimenting with my own modules, is watching videos that you like and just checking out what everyone is using. Here is my modular grid so you can see all the modules I have (sort of in flux right now as I am in the process of moving somethings around) www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/293791 Hope that is helpful and sorry for talking your ear off! -E
Very cool!!!! Hope you don't mind my asking, Emily (or anyone) what's a modular rig like that run roughly? About $30k or so? I'm looking to get into it!
no google plus thanks! oh no not nearly that expensive. on modulargrid.net you can plan your rack with specific modules and it tells you the total cost. i think mine comes out to be around $8k, but I buy everything used which saves around 20%. muffwiggler.com is a great place to find used modules and other gear (you have to make an account first). I spent around $900-$1000 initially and then over the course of a year worked my way up to what I have now. That would be my advice for anyone starting from scratch, to get to know what you like before you go big. Also- the Make Noise Shared System (around $3800?), I think would be fun if someone wants to buy a full system right away. All of their modules are amazing in my opinion.. then you can sell out the ones you don't use as much in the future and replace with other brands or whatever... Good luck!
Emily, could you elaborate a bit on the core melody? You credit Pressure Points (driven by Brains?), but I'm hearing more than four notes. Are you quantizing the output and playing with the knob values over the course of this piece? Also, what's clocking the driver of the melody (Pressure Points)? Tempi?
I was going to buy one of those but wasnt sure how i'd incorporate it into the type of music i want to make. Have u used in any of the music you've released? also...i'm a huge admirer of you & the epoch btw :~)
Cool thank you : ) ! The FM is a fun little synth. It is powerful but unfortunately the tiny keys and interface make it kind of a bother to program. There are nice presets on it though. I have used it very minimally on Florist recordings, nothing centric to a song or anything like that though. The most play time it has gotten is probably during long car rides on tour just having fun and passing the time heh..
Beautiful. Question, what is driving Pressure Points through its 4 note loop? And I really like the bass melody you've worked out. It rest periodically, is that just cleaver sleep mode programming in Rene? I find your videos very inspirational. Oh, last question: I might start contributing similar videos to the TH-cam community (I did say you were inspirational :) ) -- how did you record this? More the audio (direct to a recorder and then overlaid with the video in some editor like Final Cut or Premier?).
Thanks for listening - so glad you like it and are inspired to make your own videos! I am starting to forget exactly how this patch was routed (ahh impermanence.. one of my favorite aspects of modular synths), but PP was almost certainly being clocked by Tempi. I always use that module for all my main clocking for the base of a patch. Rene is being clocked by Tempi as well but I send things to the mod inputs (usually attenuated) as well as sometimes random pulses to get that skipped kind of effect. Another technique that I love is giving a sequencer and LFO to advance it in bursts, and then you can modulate the LFO to give it variety etc etc... but my sequencer are rarely ever just being clocked by a steady gate :-) For the recording, there are a number of ways you can approach it, but what I do is record the video on my iPhone and simultaneously record the audio to my computer from the modular via 4 - outputs from the synth K-Mix and then stereo outs into my audio interface into Logic. Then I line up the audio in Final Cut and that's basically it. The only reason why I go from the mixer to a separate interface though is because I already have one for non modular recording and my synth is set up usually away from my computer. But the K-Mix could do the job on its own since it doubles as an interface. Happy patching!
I like it a lot, and it sounds really really great when you plug it in to speakers. My only problem (that might be more from my own mentality than anything else) is that because it's so small and toylike, I don't use it nearly as often as my other "real" synths. I am trying to patch it into the modular more, but right now it's something that gets picked up for fun or thrown in my bag to have on a trip.
Yeah, I mostly feel the same. I usually just plug it into my computer and control it with Ableton rather than using the built in sequencer, there's so many more possibilities that way imo. By that way I'm a big fan of your work in Florist, can't wait to see what you come up with next.
I'm Japanese and 15years old. I found you from Tiny Desk Concert.You are very excellent.
Thank you! : )
Your music on the modular, as well as with Florist, have been recommended to me by TH-cam's clever and probably scary algorithms. It's very validating to see someone at the top of their game in both synthesis and songwriting, two things that my mind separates and compartmentalizes as if they can't coexist. I really like your decision to fade out the primary sequence and end the performance with bubbling ambience. So dynamic. Such great work, always looking forward to more!
Thanks so much! I got into modular synthesis as a way to take my mind off of writing lyrics and the type of songwriting that I do so much of, but still make music that "communicates". Now having both in my life just makes my love and appreciate them more.
Florist
Wonderful stuff. Consistently my favourite use of Eurorack. Thanks Emily.
thx knobs : )
Emily, we need more!! Gorgeous sounds, keep me coming back.
I keep coming back to this piece, and not for the technology.. but the spirit. With electronic music it is sometimes hard to separate the technology from the artist - would I sound like AE if I had access to their Max/MSP patches? - but here.. here it feels more clear. I own almost all these modules, yet what you do with them is touches on a level of beauty I've never reached (in my own opinion, at least). Soo good. Thank you, Emily.
Why are you so talented 😭..I really love your work with Florist, it just really inspires me to make music. Thanks for existing 😊
Been really into florist for a while, saw you all in DC last summer. And now I see this?? Really great stuff, I'm very excited to dive in.
I just now recently found you by the tiny desk concert you did with florist. I can't be happier that I found that video. At first I only listened all the florist songs (who are so damn good by the way) but I just found out that you do these synth, modulation and sound design things. I am happy you make these great things and you are a great inspiration. Ps:you are my spirit animal ( ˶ ❛ ꁞ ❛ ˶ )
Still one of my all time favorite pieces
Lovely case, lovely sounds! I can imagine this going on with subtle changes for over an hour. All the best.
my favourite sinth Player and songwriter! you are a gift of god.
Sounds great. Really reinvigorates my interest in ambient music.
This is really good! Very calming and relaxing to listen to. Love it :)
Beautiful! The scratchy output cables just add to the ambience!
Can't get enough of the sounds you've created here, magical :)
This music has soul in it almost so much its like using higher ends in place of voices, feels, meaningful.
thank you so much for posting all of these
such beautiful work
Came for the vibes and left with inspiration, subscribed!
This is really cool. Found your band a few weeks ago, been listening everyday since. Keep making great music. :)
Thanks : )
This is really excellent!
the first half gives me a tycho vibe, this is brilliant!
amazing amazing incredible!! great work emily!
Absolute gold Il be using some of your tracks from the audio library very fitting for the type of film I make!
Loving the soundscapes thanks!
What an absolutely stunning piece of work! The fact that you are using a new modular instrument is somewhat irrelevant, the composition and aesthetic is quite lovely. Please continue... Laars D.
So beautiful, thanks for sharing :)
Volca as a picture frame, like it ...great music
This is really great. Thank you.
You have 1 more sub. Great work, keep it up. Cheers!
Amazing work Emily.
Thank you : )
damn you go crazy every time
LOVE IT❤
Beautiful!
gorgeous patch!!!
This is really cool.
Nice music the ending reminded me of Brian Eno and rainbow dome music by steve hillage
Very pleasing melody. Nap time......zzzz
beautiful.
this is so cool !!!! nice vid :~
This is fantastic
Thanks! I really love all of your work. Will there be any more OM-1s available in the future?
Thank you! Hoping to take more orders some time next month
Lovely session! Cool “modesty panel”, too.
I feel like I need to build a case something like that, I'm currently spreading out too horizontally. Nice sounds too btw :)
Nice sound. Your shadow self is telling you something.
Good vid
Ow yeah, Patch Feb. 25th ... My birthday
This is choice:)
Is the Tempi providing the clock to sequence pressure points? Do you find the Lo-Fi Junky ot be essential for ambient patches? Is there any other module that can reproduce what the Lo-Fi Junky can?
Yep Tempi is clocking pretty much everything. Though the burts of notes running up and down the scale are coming from me manually turning the knobs on pressure points while holding an active step. I quantize with a uScale and I believe for this patch, a C maj scale.
The LFJ for me is pretty irreplaceable because I use it in just about every patch. It has a unique character and the compressor is a nice addition. I don't think vibrato is essential for ambient pieces, but my personal taste is that I always love to hear it and I think it creates a certain kind of ambient that I really like. The LFJ is doing a lot of tone work for this piece but the 4ms DLD doing stereo delay is really I think what makes the patch. You can also get a vibrato effect by patching an LFO into the FM of your VCO. Just make sure that if your oscillator doesn't have an attenuator for the FM, you run the LFO through one first because if not the result will be very extreme. But before the Lo-Fi was released that's what I did for my modulation. And I still patch a lot in the FM inputs with either noise or some kind of modulation to make regular waves a little more interesting sounding.
Check out the Alright Devices Chronoblob. I've had my eye on one for a while and still will probably get one eventually. If you are unsure about dedicating the HP for the Lo-Fi Junky but want some kind of vibrato/chorus effect in a dedicated module, and like making ambient patches, that seems like a really great option. And it's also a delay which in my opinion you can't have enough of : )
-mle
Thanks for the reply! I have a Z-DSP on order which will do O.K. for much of the delay jobs I think ,but the only distortion effect modules I have are the bitcrushing algos on the Disting and the Pico DSP. I'll have to look at getting the Lo-Fi module I think. Your ambient patches are excellent!
Great patching Emily👌. Could you recommend a starting core set of modules? Your earlier modular setup was quite a bit smaller than what you have now - what modules did you start with? There are so many competing options - your music is great. Cheers Tom
Thanks Tom! Compared to all the modules I have now, I have only kept a small handful of the ones that I originally started with. I had never touched a eurorack system before and had no idea how I was going to interact with it, what my work flow would be, what sounds I liked to get and methods I liked to get them with. I think part of the process no matter what is going to be trading out some modules that you don't always get along with, but thought you would like.
My advice for someone wanting to get into eurorack who likes the patches and kind of music that I make would be to get a VCO and a Mutable Instruments Rings (the make noise STO sounds great and is fairly versatile, Rings is my favorite module by far and sounds just so beautiful and musical), an LFO source (i like the Batumi the best because it provides 4 separate LFOs can also do some random, or act as sort of a sequencer, but the Whimsical Raps Just Friends is probably the best all around modulation/envelope module. it can do everything!), one dual VCA (Intellijel uVCA or Make Noise Optomix, very different but both nice) to learn about that, which is a fundamental part of synthesis that I think everyone should understand, and finally a sequencer to make melodies. I think the Make Noise Rene is probably my favorite sequencer, but the Intellijel Metropolis also seems really great and feature packed. Something with 6 or more steps and built in quantization will help a lot to keep things interesting but still simple. If you started with a 3u 104hp skiff and put those modules in, you would still have some room for more secondary things down the line like filters, maybe another sequencer, quantizer, effects, rhythmic things, the list is endless!
I think the most helpful thing for me, aside from beginning and experimenting with my own modules, is watching videos that you like and just checking out what everyone is using. Here is my modular grid so you can see all the modules I have (sort of in flux right now as I am in the process of moving somethings around) www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/293791
Hope that is helpful and sorry for talking your ear off! -E
No drama - ears are fine. Thanks for the info - a really good start. I'll see what's available locally in Australia and start saving my $. Cheers Tom
i dont understand how any of this works... that does not at all change the fact that im sitting here enjoying all of it.
Very cool!!!! Hope you don't mind my asking, Emily (or anyone) what's a modular rig like that run roughly? About $30k or so? I'm looking to get into it!
no google plus thanks! oh no not nearly that expensive. on modulargrid.net you can plan your rack with specific modules and it tells you the total cost. i think mine comes out to be around $8k, but I buy everything used which saves around 20%. muffwiggler.com is a great place to find used modules and other gear (you have to make an account first). I spent around $900-$1000 initially and then over the course of a year worked my way up to what I have now. That would be my advice for anyone starting from scratch, to get to know what you like before you go big. Also- the Make Noise Shared System (around $3800?), I think would be fun if someone wants to buy a full system right away. All of their modules are amazing in my opinion.. then you can sell out the ones you don't use as much in the future and replace with other brands or whatever... Good luck!
That's encouraging. Totally makes sense. Yes, I always buy used too! Thanks so much for the tips!
Emily, could you elaborate a bit on the core melody? You credit Pressure Points (driven by Brains?), but I'm hearing more than four notes. Are you quantizing the output and playing with the knob values over the course of this piece? Also, what's clocking the driver of the melody (Pressure Points)? Tempi?
is that a korg volca's fm i've spotted? o.O
Kira Sands it is!
I was going to buy one of those but wasnt sure how i'd incorporate it into the type of music i want to make. Have u used in any of the music you've released? also...i'm a huge admirer of you & the epoch btw :~)
Cool thank you : ) ! The FM is a fun little synth. It is powerful but unfortunately the tiny keys and interface make it kind of a bother to program. There are nice presets on it though. I have used it very minimally on Florist recordings, nothing centric to a song or anything like that though. The most play time it has gotten is probably during long car rides on tour just having fun and passing the time heh..
Beautiful.
Question, what is driving Pressure Points through its 4 note loop? And I really like the bass melody you've worked out. It rest periodically, is that just cleaver sleep mode programming in Rene?
I find your videos very inspirational. Oh, last question: I might start contributing similar videos to the TH-cam community (I did say you were inspirational :) ) -- how did you record this? More the audio (direct to a recorder and then overlaid with the video in some editor like Final Cut or Premier?).
Thanks for listening - so glad
you like it and are inspired to make your own videos! I am starting to forget exactly how this patch was routed (ahh impermanence.. one of my favorite aspects of modular synths), but PP was almost certainly being clocked by Tempi. I always use that module for all my main clocking for the base of a patch. Rene is being clocked by Tempi as well but I send things to the mod inputs (usually attenuated) as well as sometimes random pulses to get that skipped kind of effect. Another technique that I love is giving a sequencer and LFO to advance it in bursts, and then you can modulate the LFO to give it variety etc etc... but my sequencer are rarely ever just being clocked by a steady gate :-)
For the recording, there are a number of ways you can approach it, but what I do is record the video on my iPhone and simultaneously record the audio to my computer from the modular via 4 - outputs from the synth K-Mix and then stereo outs into my audio interface into Logic. Then I line up the audio in Final Cut and that's basically it. The only reason why I go from the mixer to a separate interface though is because I already have one for non modular recording and my synth is set up usually away from my computer. But the K-Mix could do the job on its own since it doubles as an interface. Happy patching!
Sounds like Tycho
how are you liking the volca fm?
I like it a lot, and it sounds really really great when you plug it in to speakers. My only problem (that might be more from my own mentality than anything else) is that because it's so small and toylike, I don't use it nearly as often as my other "real" synths. I am trying to patch it into the modular more, but right now it's something that gets picked up for fun or thrown in my bag to have on a trip.
Yeah, I mostly feel the same. I usually just plug it into my computer and control it with Ableton rather than using the built in sequencer, there's so many more possibilities that way imo. By that way I'm a big fan of your work in Florist, can't wait to see what you come up with next.
Lovely stuff, well done! :-) But, tell that jerk in the front row to please sit down, I can't see you! ;-)