My Time Zone

After quite a long time I’m finally back (though don’t know for how long). I really wanted to take part in the project # 0055 but couldn’t find enough free time last week.

About the process. First I wanted to use the contact microphone, but I really wasn’t happy with the recording so I simply recorded it via the integral Zoom H4 microphones. I like using Ableton Sampler in such cases when there is almost no “musical” or “harmonical” element in the basic material. I put the clock recording into Sampler and used just a small piece, with the loop playing back and forth. I also added a nice Toraverb by D16 (actually my friends :-).  This was the basic soundscape which I later transformed in the Gleetchlab 3.0.

Finally I used the Gleetchlab transformed tracks + the original clock recording and created a final track in Ableton Live. I used some EQ to get the final effect.

Drops

First of all I wanted to find a “musical element” in the running water. It doesn’t mean that I think that e.g. a stream doesn’t have a musical potential. But I wanted to get something more. I made my “running water” experiment in my workshop where I sometimes build things, so it’s a rather messy place.

See more pictures

I found a rather long PVC pipe. First I glued a contact microphone to it, but I wasn’t really happy with the results. Than I placed the ZOOM H4 recorder at the top of the pipe and started pouring water down the pipe. First the bottom was sealed with the Styrofoam and later the water was landing on the metal bowl. Than I was happy with the results cause the pipe work kind of a natural resonator (resembling a bit resonator effects in Ableton Live).

What is more. first I wanted to upload just the field recording, cause it was quite nice itself. Later I played with it a bit a made a soundscape using just the sounds recorded in the workshop. But still, most of the sounds were unchanged (except from a bit of EQ). I also looped things a bit.

I uploaded the original field recording. You can download it and use it. It’s CC licence.
http://soundcloud.com/bojanix/water-plastic-pipe

More details on the Disquiet Junto

Garbage

I’m not sure if I managed to reach the goal I wanted to reach. But I had a crazy weekend and decided to upload the version of the track I’ve managed to produce so far. I hope it’s good enough and I haven’t failed. It’s up to you to assess the whole thing :-)

I used 4 items from the temporary dust bin (I put most of the stuff there and after that I sort things and put them into the big containers you can see in the track photo): a bottle (from a small Polish brewery), a can, a plastic bag and yoghurt container. I tried to make the sounds recognisable, but sometimes (especially in the case of the can and yoghurt container), you really have to listen carefully (especially in the second part of the track). The whole track has the background which is a plastic bag recorded with a contact microphone which was glued to it (I call it improvised background). The bottle sounds are obvious.

[Update: Thanks for the comments. Man people hear “the sea and the horns of the ships”. This is awesome! If anybody likes to make a video, please contact me ASAP!]

More details: Disquiet Junto

RGB Interaction | Disquiet Junto

Disquiet Junto Project 0015: RGB Interaction

I decided to use the 3 samples that I recorded using a contact microphone.
Please watch the short film showing how the samples were recorded:

First I used a RED sheet of paper. I glued the contact microphone to the paper and recorded 22.5 seconds of the rain (it was an impulse because it started to rain when I got an idea)

Later i glued the contact microphone to the GREEN glass and played the glass with a bow. I recorded 30 seconds of a nice tune which later became some kind of soundscape.

The last part was a preparation of a simple BLUE instrument. I used a BLUE ice-cream box. I drilled two holes and put a plastic rod through the holes. Than I used the BLUE rubber band as some kind of strings. I recorded 27 seconds of me playing the rubber strings.

Of course the recordings were a bit longer so I had to cut them to the proper length.

The three samples became the only material for the whole track. Finally I made a track using Ableton Live.

More details on the Disquiet Junto
Please also CHECK my label: www.ETALABEL.com

HDD Crash | New Begining

I had a Hard Drive crash on my MacBook. I’ve already bought a new one, but I am waiting for the Snow Leopard to come.

Still, I decided not to cry for a very long time. I unpacked my old analogue stuff and started recording with my TASCAM 4-track tape recorder. I use KP3 as a looper and effect processor. I also use some analogue BOSS pedals and other strange instruments. One of them is a sheet of paper with a contact microphone. Please check the photos :-) Please come back to listen to the sounds (soon)…

Soundscapes | No laptop

I started thinking if I can still record an interesting soundscape without a laptop. OK, I used the laptop to edit the recording, but the original recording was made without the laptop.

I used old CASIO VL-1 to record 2 tones. The first one was recorded on the Philips cassette Memo Recorder, the second tone was recorded using a contact microphone on the Zoom H4, and than the recording was transferred to the NOKIA C3 Touch and Type mobile phone. The tones were recorded outside at midnight. I played the third tone manually.

Later after I made the film, I decided to record it once more. And than it started to rain. I decided to edit the “rainy” version in Ableton Live.

It was a nice experience! What do you think about it? Please let me know.

And don’t forget to support ChoP!