LawrenceMinute0043:
Sick as a dog, throw me a bone.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
JKT035 - Trials and Tribulations
This one goes out to an old friend of mine who's in a bit of a dilemma regarding his love life. What to do?
JeffMinute035: Confusion,Love&Psychologists
Oh, and i've been listening today to this album Stax of Funk, would love to figure out how to really emulate that old-school sound of motown-esque soul...
JeffMinute035: Confusion,Love&Psychologists
Oh, and i've been listening today to this album Stax of Funk, would love to figure out how to really emulate that old-school sound of motown-esque soul...
Monday, December 17, 2007
JKT034 - One more thrown into the void
JeffMinute034: untitled
Lately been recording vocals just one time through - figure that if I do this enough, sort of force myself to accept what comes out as a final version, eventually my ad-libbing of vocals will improve. As it is though it's pretty pitiful. Anyway, I like the rest of the mix etc., but forgive the nonsensical words.
Lately been recording vocals just one time through - figure that if I do this enough, sort of force myself to accept what comes out as a final version, eventually my ad-libbing of vocals will improve. As it is though it's pretty pitiful. Anyway, I like the rest of the mix etc., but forgive the nonsensical words.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
JKT033 - Late Night
Nice! There is now a night train connecting Noord Brabant (the province i live in) with the rest of the country! Already came in handy for me tonight, just 2 days after going into service.
Umm, this is a minute made to counter my minute from Thursday.
JeffMinute033: Old school improv
Umm, this is a minute made to counter my minute from Thursday.
JeffMinute033: Old school improv
Rats!
LawrenceMinute0041:
LawrenceNotes:
Damn... i inadvertently deleted a post again. Here it is once more. Crappy guitar minute.
LawrenceNotes:
Damn... i inadvertently deleted a post again. Here it is once more. Crappy guitar minute.
Down south
LawrenceMinute0040:
LawrenceNotes:
Well how about that. I found this lying around. I started working on it a couple of days ago but i never finished it. I layered a random sample on top of it and thought: let us be done with it!
LawrenceNotes:
Well how about that. I found this lying around. I started working on it a couple of days ago but i never finished it. I layered a random sample on top of it and thought: let us be done with it!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
-=3x3=-
LawrenceMinute0039:
LawrenceNotes:
Boy oh boy! Hope i'm not cheating here. A sample is resynthesized thrice to prespecified pitches on different octaves. Various sample playback and effect parameters are being modulated on each note. There is a lot going on but speaking from a strict technical stance only nine notes are being triggered - uhm... well, ten actually (i miscounted somewhere). Tell me what you think, jeff. Is my method provided for in the rule-book or do i lose by default? Because that would suck fuckballs, it would.
LawrenceNotes:
Boy oh boy! Hope i'm not cheating here. A sample is resynthesized thrice to prespecified pitches on different octaves. Various sample playback and effect parameters are being modulated on each note. There is a lot going on but speaking from a strict technical stance only nine notes are being triggered - uhm... well, ten actually (i miscounted somewhere). Tell me what you think, jeff. Is my method provided for in the rule-book or do i lose by default? Because that would suck fuckballs, it would.
A tough assignment
Tonight there's a strange and difficult assignment. Make a minute of music out of some extraordinarily basic building blocks. The following notes:
C
D
Eb
each note played a maximum of 3 times, in any octave, for any length you wish. Have them overlap if you want, or run them through all sorts of effects. No percussion though - just the notes themselves (unless you can fake some sort of percussion by using the notes themselves.
So we're each trying to make a 1 minute song out of 3 notes repeated 3 times each. Nothing else.
C
D
Eb
each note played a maximum of 3 times, in any octave, for any length you wish. Have them overlap if you want, or run them through all sorts of effects. No percussion though - just the notes themselves (unless you can fake some sort of percussion by using the notes themselves.
So we're each trying to make a 1 minute song out of 3 notes repeated 3 times each. Nothing else.
Friday, December 14, 2007
JKT031 - Sound & Fiurie
In this episode, Jeff rages against the immovable machine that is Lawrence. "Post some minutes, ya damn bum!" he screams, but the machine rumbles on. Ok, i'm being rough on lawrence, he has a lot going on at the moment. But when he has some free time, the minutes will flow once more like sweet water to the desert of our ears. Good luck doing all of that crap!
JeffMinute031: Loud and messy
Just to elaborate, we've been talking lately about how we've just gotta go ahead and post crappy minutes. That's the spirit of this whole thing - just stick a minute up there every day, regardless of how good or bad they are. So anyway, this one's like that - single takes of every instrument (including the crappy nonsensical improvised-on-the-spot vocals), thrown out there hoping that it will either stick to the wall or hit the fan. It's amazing how some distortion and good mastering plugins can make a messy ball of crap sound somewhat like a real song.
JeffMinute031: Loud and messy
Just to elaborate, we've been talking lately about how we've just gotta go ahead and post crappy minutes. That's the spirit of this whole thing - just stick a minute up there every day, regardless of how good or bad they are. So anyway, this one's like that - single takes of every instrument (including the crappy nonsensical improvised-on-the-spot vocals), thrown out there hoping that it will either stick to the wall or hit the fan. It's amazing how some distortion and good mastering plugins can make a messy ball of crap sound somewhat like a real song.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
JKT030 - Random 4 minutes from the old west
yeehaw. round up your horses, it's gonna be a long night fellas.
JeffMinute030: Random music from the old west
All layers of guitar recorded at once thanks to a DL-4 looping pedal. Nice piece of hardware, that.
Actually, listening to this the next morning, it sounds to me like it lies halfway between music out of a spaghetti western and one of those cheesy 1960's Valley of the Dolls type low-budget sleazefests. Like this!:
JeffMinute030: Random music from the old west
All layers of guitar recorded at once thanks to a DL-4 looping pedal. Nice piece of hardware, that.
Actually, listening to this the next morning, it sounds to me like it lies halfway between music out of a spaghetti western and one of those cheesy 1960's Valley of the Dolls type low-budget sleazefests. Like this!:
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
JKT029 - ambient lullaby
JeffMinute029: Ambient Lullaby
I've been listening a lot to this band called Stars of the Lid - they're a duo colocated in brussels and california who make some really incredible music that isn't quite ambient and isn't quite orchestral. I dunno, it's strange but beautiful. I sort of see them as the heirs of both Brian Eno and Philip Glass, and the things they pull off are really spectacular.
Anyway, Jon (of lightwires) came over last night to work on some new tunes, and for some reason we ended up recording this whole thing randomly. It was far too soothing for me though - something about that rhythmic rumble actually made me fall asleep right there at the keyboard while i was trying to record a drum track.
The aforementioned rhythmic rumble comes from playing some random guitar notes through a Line 6 DL-4 looping pedal and just tweaking it like crazy. The rest is from my sitar. It's about 4 minutes long, so be patient.
I've been listening a lot to this band called Stars of the Lid - they're a duo colocated in brussels and california who make some really incredible music that isn't quite ambient and isn't quite orchestral. I dunno, it's strange but beautiful. I sort of see them as the heirs of both Brian Eno and Philip Glass, and the things they pull off are really spectacular.
Anyway, Jon (of lightwires) came over last night to work on some new tunes, and for some reason we ended up recording this whole thing randomly. It was far too soothing for me though - something about that rhythmic rumble actually made me fall asleep right there at the keyboard while i was trying to record a drum track.
The aforementioned rhythmic rumble comes from playing some random guitar notes through a Line 6 DL-4 looping pedal and just tweaking it like crazy. The rest is from my sitar. It's about 4 minutes long, so be patient.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
BREAKING: shaman voodoo hoe-down turns into sad, sad man!
LawrenceMinute0038:
LawrenceNotes:
This starts out as a shaman voodoo hoe-down in witchita and then turns into a sad, sad man who is an embaressement to us all who stoops to a new low and in vain tries to sell his organs to a bible salesman.
LawrenceNotes:
This starts out as a shaman voodoo hoe-down in witchita and then turns into a sad, sad man who is an embaressement to us all who stoops to a new low and in vain tries to sell his organs to a bible salesman.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Well...
LawrenceMinute0037:
LawrenceNotes:
Worked on this for a couple of days. When i started this i kind of wanted to do a full song but i guess what i came up with works better as a minute.
LawrenceNotes:
Worked on this for a couple of days. When i started this i kind of wanted to do a full song but i guess what i came up with works better as a minute.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
JKT028 - Just an idea
I've been playing this videogame at night, hence the lack of recent musical work. It's funny, I haven't really played any games for.. a year? Two? It's really been quite a while. I went over to a friend's house last week though and messed around for a bit with this game called Oblivion on his PS3, and it was just intriguing enough that when I came home that night I downloaded it for myself, for the PC.
Anyway, I don't generally play games because as soon as I start them I kinda go nuts about them for a little while and then get fed up or disgusted with them for one reason or another. Plus they take up valuable time in my life that I could be using to make some good music or do something actually worthwhile. I'm still waiting for that to happen with this game. It's pretty damn addictive.
Well anyway, been having this sort of song idea in my head for a few days, woke up this morning and took the laptop/guitar into the bathroom to record the idea quickly.
JeffMinute028: Just an idea
Think it might be a nice song in the end, unfortunately the acoustics of the room made the guitar a bit boomy so you can't hear the beauty of the main guitar part - there's a little high note that's descending 1/2 step by 1/2 step that sounds really nice, I think.
Anyway, I don't generally play games because as soon as I start them I kinda go nuts about them for a little while and then get fed up or disgusted with them for one reason or another. Plus they take up valuable time in my life that I could be using to make some good music or do something actually worthwhile. I'm still waiting for that to happen with this game. It's pretty damn addictive.
Well anyway, been having this sort of song idea in my head for a few days, woke up this morning and took the laptop/guitar into the bathroom to record the idea quickly.
JeffMinute028: Just an idea
Think it might be a nice song in the end, unfortunately the acoustics of the room made the guitar a bit boomy so you can't hear the beauty of the main guitar part - there's a little high note that's descending 1/2 step by 1/2 step that sounds really nice, I think.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Threaded - 005 (test vocals added)
Just a rough sketch of the vocals, more to get an idea for the eventual form than to actually sound good.
Threaded005a: vocaltest
Just recorded them quickly really late at night so couldn't properly sing loud during the chorus. Will sound much better once that part's sung nice and loud instead of late-night falsetto. A few spoken notes on how it should be sung are in there as well, it's a nice quick way of leaving myself ideas on what to do.
Well anyway, it sounds crappy but it gets a melody in place and gives me the correct sort of sound to redo the instrumental parts around. Once the instruments are all completed, I'll delete these temp vocals and record the final ones. I think that unless you're lucky enough to get a great vocal track right at the beginning, it often comes in handy to do a temp track like this, just so you can build the song and then really have something to sing along to properly at the end.
Threaded005a: vocaltest
Just recorded them quickly really late at night so couldn't properly sing loud during the chorus. Will sound much better once that part's sung nice and loud instead of late-night falsetto. A few spoken notes on how it should be sung are in there as well, it's a nice quick way of leaving myself ideas on what to do.
Well anyway, it sounds crappy but it gets a melody in place and gives me the correct sort of sound to redo the instrumental parts around. Once the instruments are all completed, I'll delete these temp vocals and record the final ones. I think that unless you're lucky enough to get a great vocal track right at the beginning, it often comes in handy to do a temp track like this, just so you can build the song and then really have something to sing along to properly at the end.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Threaded - 004 (bass/drums revisited)
Redid the bass/drum track to go with the guitars i recorded. This is just a sample with the chorus section so you can hear the tambourine (quite soft, panned to the left). Little bit of tambourine during a chorus fills it up and provides an almost subconscious rise in the energy of a song section.
Threaded004a: new bass/drum sample
There's also a bit of synth atmosphere in the background of the whole thing that fills up the emptiness a bit. Anyway, here it is combined with the guitar, and without the click track.
Threaded004b: instrumental
Now just have to record some vocals (and probably redo some guitars, I think it could use some more energy here and there, and playing style has a lot to do with that. It's still a rough mix, I think the drums/bass might need to be a bit quieter in the end. But it's really like an oil painting in progress - you do it layer by layer, then go back and paint over layers that you're not satisfied with. That's how I do it anyway..
Threaded004a: new bass/drum sample
There's also a bit of synth atmosphere in the background of the whole thing that fills up the emptiness a bit. Anyway, here it is combined with the guitar, and without the click track.
Threaded004b: instrumental
Now just have to record some vocals (and probably redo some guitars, I think it could use some more energy here and there, and playing style has a lot to do with that. It's still a rough mix, I think the drums/bass might need to be a bit quieter in the end. But it's really like an oil painting in progress - you do it layer by layer, then go back and paint over layers that you're not satisfied with. That's how I do it anyway..
Saturday, December 1, 2007
The story of an obnoxious clown
LawrenceMinute0036: the obnoxious clown
LawrenceNotes:
I don't know how it happened but i strayed so far off from my original idea that it scares me. How could it ever turn into this? I guess it just started spiralling out of control. It's a little longer (lengthwise that is) to make up for the past few days of silence. Anyway the vocals were tough on the voice. As a matter of fact you can hear the transition from a relatively clear voice to a very hoarse voice quite well. Kinda made it hard to do. So vocals are pretty terrible. Maybe i'll do 'm again tomorrow. But then again probably not so that's why i'm posting it. Do you understand even vaguely what i'm talking about here? I'm not sure what i'm writing anymore. I'm really tired. I'll go to bed now thank you. Good night.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Threaded - 003 (a very good place to start)
Well, forget all that crap about building a good foundation as the first step. Err, it'll come in handy in the future I'm sure, but for the moment it seemed wise to start over with a guitar track or two. Thought it might be nice to begin the song with a nice slow build that kind of set the scene for the main riff. Recorded my acoustic/electric, playing all the way through the song with a click track supplied by Reason. (oh, and i changed the tempo to 130bpm just to speed it up a bit) Here's what it sounded like:
Threaded003a: GuitarIntro(dry)
After that it seemed like it could use a second guitar, so I just set up another track and recorded using the exact same equipment:
Threaded003b: DualGuitarIntro(dry)
You'll notice that in order to make the sounds of both guitars distinct, I panned one to the left and one to the right a bit. Little interesting tidbit: a sound panned to one side or the other in a musical mix will sound louder than it actually is, like the directional sense of our auditory neurons picks out this irregularity and emphasizes it for us. So if you have some instrumental part that you want to sound louder or otherwise stand out, just pan it to one side a bit - you'll be surprised at how much more distinct it sounds without changing the volume one bit.
The song sounds like it should sort of be a rock song in a way, so i ran each guitar track through its own instance of Guitar Rig 2:
(For the left track I used the preset "Stevie's Rhythm" and for the right used something that I think was called "British Garage" or something.) Here are the two tracks together - i think that adding some amp simulation/distortion really makes it sound like a real song coming together, especially during the buildup.
Threaded003c: DualGuitarIntro(Wet)
Alright - tomorrow just gotta put together some bass/drums (or reuse the existing ones) and patch it all together. Maybe some atmospherics too. Vocals will come later.
Threaded003a: GuitarIntro(dry)
After that it seemed like it could use a second guitar, so I just set up another track and recorded using the exact same equipment:
Threaded003b: DualGuitarIntro(dry)
You'll notice that in order to make the sounds of both guitars distinct, I panned one to the left and one to the right a bit. Little interesting tidbit: a sound panned to one side or the other in a musical mix will sound louder than it actually is, like the directional sense of our auditory neurons picks out this irregularity and emphasizes it for us. So if you have some instrumental part that you want to sound louder or otherwise stand out, just pan it to one side a bit - you'll be surprised at how much more distinct it sounds without changing the volume one bit.
The song sounds like it should sort of be a rock song in a way, so i ran each guitar track through its own instance of Guitar Rig 2:
(For the left track I used the preset "Stevie's Rhythm" and for the right used something that I think was called "British Garage" or something.) Here are the two tracks together - i think that adding some amp simulation/distortion really makes it sound like a real song coming together, especially during the buildup.
Threaded003c: DualGuitarIntro(Wet)
Alright - tomorrow just gotta put together some bass/drums (or reuse the existing ones) and patch it all together. Maybe some atmospherics too. Vocals will come later.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Threaded - 002 (bass/drums)
Threaded002: 1st Verse - Bass/Drums
Building a song's like building a house. Good to start with the foundation. Actually, that's bullshit - sometimes I start with just a vocal and build a song around that, or just some keyboard loop or something. But on the whole, starting with bass and drums means that you have a solid rhythmic base on which to build things.
So this is just a basic bass and drum track for the first verse. It's all built in Reason 3.0:
Which is great because for a crappy drummer like me, I can program in the drums with mouseclicks (or play them on the keyboard and then adjust it all so it's quantized [oh, for those of you new to this, to quantize something means to adjust it so that it is rhythmically accurate. When playing something live, you might hit a snare drum just a few fractions of a second late, or your whole beat might not stay at the same tempo all the way through the song. Quantizing the notes means that they are right on the beats. Overquantizing can lead to a mechanical feel, so sometimes when adjusting things I only choose to quantize 75% of the notes in order to keep it somehow organic]) and then adjust the tempo later.
The song's starting at 120bpm, but I think i might speed it up a little bit before recording actual guitar or vocals or other audio.
If you're interested, I'm at the moment using the "FreshB MX" drumkit from the Reason Drum Kits refill, and the bass is the "Macca Beatle Bass" instrument in the Reason Factory Sound Bank.
Well, it's simple, but it's the beginnings of the song. Gotta start somewhere.
Building a song's like building a house. Good to start with the foundation. Actually, that's bullshit - sometimes I start with just a vocal and build a song around that, or just some keyboard loop or something. But on the whole, starting with bass and drums means that you have a solid rhythmic base on which to build things.
So this is just a basic bass and drum track for the first verse. It's all built in Reason 3.0:
Which is great because for a crappy drummer like me, I can program in the drums with mouseclicks (or play them on the keyboard and then adjust it all so it's quantized [oh, for those of you new to this, to quantize something means to adjust it so that it is rhythmically accurate. When playing something live, you might hit a snare drum just a few fractions of a second late, or your whole beat might not stay at the same tempo all the way through the song. Quantizing the notes means that they are right on the beats. Overquantizing can lead to a mechanical feel, so sometimes when adjusting things I only choose to quantize 75% of the notes in order to keep it somehow organic]) and then adjust the tempo later.
The song's starting at 120bpm, but I think i might speed it up a little bit before recording actual guitar or vocals or other audio.
If you're interested, I'm at the moment using the "FreshB MX" drumkit from the Reason Drum Kits refill, and the bass is the "Macca Beatle Bass" instrument in the Reason Factory Sound Bank.
Well, it's simple, but it's the beginnings of the song. Gotta start somewhere.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Threaded - 001 (idea)
This song idea sort of occurred to me on Sunday morning, and I thought it might be interesting to post the evolution of the song from idea to finished recording here on the old blog. So if all goes well, over the next week or two I'll post some updates with sounds and notes on how I'm creating them and putting it all together.
Anyway, here's the idea - just basic guitar and melody, it might change a lot by the end. But then again, it might not. I dunno. For the moment I'm calling the song Threaded, but don't know exactly why. That'll probably change too.
Threaded001: Idea
Anyway, here's the idea - just basic guitar and melody, it might change a lot by the end. But then again, it might not. I dunno. For the moment I'm calling the song Threaded, but don't know exactly why. That'll probably change too.
Threaded001: Idea
Monday, November 26, 2007
Good luck to you dear sir.
LawrenceMinute0035:
LawrenceNotes:
Something i stomped out in no time. Basically a lot of variations on one groove.
LawrenceNotes:
Something i stomped out in no time. Basically a lot of variations on one groove.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
THE COMMONERS FINAL STAND!
LawrenceMinute0033:
LawrenceNotes:
So i thought today i would work on a minute that i could finish tomorrow. You know let JEFF do the work today IN TERms of the minutes to be made. This seemed like a plausible VIEW however i didn't like the minute i was working on. So i decided to get it over WITH and post it today. GO and listen to it so you can get it over with too. Well, I'm going to bed and OGLE at a beautiful woman in my deeply depraved dreams. Let the truth be heard! Power to the masses!
LawrenceNotes:
So i thought today i would work on a minute that i could finish tomorrow. You know let JEFF do the work today IN TERms of the minutes to be made. This seemed like a plausible VIEW however i didn't like the minute i was working on. So i decided to get it over WITH and post it today. GO and listen to it so you can get it over with too. Well, I'm going to bed and OGLE at a beautiful woman in my deeply depraved dreams. Let the truth be heard! Power to the masses!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
A minute's minute
LawrenceMinute0032:
LawrenceNotes:
Jeff asked me to make today's minute as he is not feeling very well this evening. I myself am really quite tired tonight so nothing elaborate today. Just another noisy experiment. Basically it's granular playback of the Fukuoka vulcano music with lots of modulation on every conceiveable parameter and the sum of that being routed into some crazy feedbacking resonators. Anyway... a minute has been made... now we can lose that haunted glint in our eyes... we can all lay ourselves to rest.
LawrenceNotes:
Jeff asked me to make today's minute as he is not feeling very well this evening. I myself am really quite tired tonight so nothing elaborate today. Just another noisy experiment. Basically it's granular playback of the Fukuoka vulcano music with lots of modulation on every conceiveable parameter and the sum of that being routed into some crazy feedbacking resonators. Anyway... a minute has been made... now we can lose that haunted glint in our eyes... we can all lay ourselves to rest.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
jazz minute
Just a simple looped bassline, just trying to play with dynamics. Soft -> Louder -> Soft again.
JeffMinute025: a random walk
JeffMinute025: a random walk
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Hot excentric millionaire chick
LawrenceMinute0031:
LawrenceNotes:
Well, i was going for a song that would appeal to hot chicks. This is what came from it. My gut tells me there is still something missing from the second part. I dunno what though. Anyway i was going for something happy and hopeful just to remind us that there is a land of sushi waiting for us behind the rainbow. Is it maybe a little too happy? Well, whatever it may be i'm going to bed. If there are any hot excentric millionaire chicks that need my loveseed let me know.
LawrenceNotes:
Well, i was going for a song that would appeal to hot chicks. This is what came from it. My gut tells me there is still something missing from the second part. I dunno what though. Anyway i was going for something happy and hopeful just to remind us that there is a land of sushi waiting for us behind the rainbow. Is it maybe a little too happy? Well, whatever it may be i'm going to bed. If there are any hot excentric millionaire chicks that need my loveseed let me know.
LateNight
Couldn't be bothered to actually set up any microphones or anything - just recorded this directly into the little tiny built-in mic on the laptop. Hence the hiss of the CPU fan, brought to you directly through the motherboard. Sortof improvised this once, then rerecorded it a few times to get a take that sounded ok. Quiet melodica in the background.
JeffMinute024:Late Night Randomness
JeffMinute024:Late Night Randomness
Saturday, November 17, 2007
A weird weird minute
LawrenceMinute0030: aloofness abounds tonight
LawrenceNotes:
Here's a minute that takes no heed of your needs and desires as a listener or a human being. It is a minute that simply does not care. Beware... take care...
LawrenceNotes:
Here's a minute that takes no heed of your needs and desires as a listener or a human being. It is a minute that simply does not care. Beware... take care...
Friday, November 16, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
JKT023 - Exhaustion
This minute sort of longs for the lazy restful days that I'm nt getting all that many of lately. What do you hear in it?
JeffMinute023:
JeffMinute023:
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Celebration of autumn
LawrenceMinute0028:
LawrenceNotes:
Hmmm... i dunno if this track is suited for continuation. It's just a synthesizer hooked up to a sequencer and me farting around with it for a while. This kind of reminds me of a tree in fall releasing it's colorful leaves from its old rusty branches slowly into wind. It was done very quickly. Gotsta sleep!
LawrenceNotes:
Hmmm... i dunno if this track is suited for continuation. It's just a synthesizer hooked up to a sequencer and me farting around with it for a while. This kind of reminds me of a tree in fall releasing it's colorful leaves from its old rusty branches slowly into wind. It was done very quickly. Gotsta sleep!
My god.. Forgive me.
This is truly terrible. I can't keep my eyes open though, i'm falling asleep as i'm trying to make music. anyway, apologies.
JeffMinute022: so goddamn tired my fingers won't work for me
JeffMinute022: so goddamn tired my fingers won't work for me
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Da beatz of Jeff's heart
LawrenceMinute0027: Da beatz of Jeff's heart
LawrenceNotes:
God, i'm tired. I'm not sure if this is finished yet. I don't think so but let's wait and see if i feel inclined to work on it some more tomorrow. Now it's time to set this unit's system to hibernation mode for a while.
Anyway when i first heard the beat i had envisioned a different sound for it. Kind of hard, minimal and aggressive. Somewhere in the proces it inadvertently became mellowish. So then just to make it even more laidback i slowed it down just a tad. I like the title though.
LawrenceNotes:
God, i'm tired. I'm not sure if this is finished yet. I don't think so but let's wait and see if i feel inclined to work on it some more tomorrow. Now it's time to set this unit's system to hibernation mode for a while.
Anyway when i first heard the beat i had envisioned a different sound for it. Kind of hard, minimal and aggressive. Somewhere in the proces it inadvertently became mellowish. So then just to make it even more laidback i slowed it down just a tad. I like the title though.
The NEW guidelines
Right... the rules of the game have changed. Can i do this you dare to wonder? Yes, i can - now shut your goddamn trap before i come over there and tear you a second one. This week it will be done like this:
- On the uneven days we will both create a track which we will post here on the blog.
- On the even days we will make a minute using the track that the other supplied.
Yesterday's material will be used to craft today's minutes. Tomorrow i will decide what type of track needs to be made for Thursday's minutes.
To be sure: one can alter the supplied track to some extent. The only real rule here is: apply discretion.
Boat drinks everyone.
- On the uneven days we will both create a track which we will post here on the blog.
- On the even days we will make a minute using the track that the other supplied.
Yesterday's material will be used to craft today's minutes. Tomorrow i will decide what type of track needs to be made for Thursday's minutes.
To be sure: one can alter the supplied track to some extent. The only real rule here is: apply discretion.
Boat drinks everyone.
Monday, November 12, 2007
The beatz of my heart
A miscalculation led to this being 2 minutes long instead of 1... And crap, it's kinda boring compared to yours. But it's a beat!
JeffMinute021: Beatz 4 Lawrencio
JeffMinute021: Beatz 4 Lawrencio
Here come da beatzzzzzz
Cut around 1 minute.
LawrenceMinute0026: Chew on this for a while whydontcha?
Here's another version. Ya might prefer this one:
LawrenceMinute0026: Chew on this for a while whywontcha?
LawrenceMinute0026: Chew on this for a while whydontcha?
Here's another version. Ya might prefer this one:
LawrenceMinute0026: Chew on this for a while whywontcha?
Video Experiment
Just a quickly thrown together bit of video as a test - can the right music make pretty much any moving image somehow evocative of a feeling or emotion? All footage chosen fairly randomly from archive.org .
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Guidelines
This week is: 'do whatever you please week just make sure there's a minute awaiting every other day.'
Saturday, November 10, 2007
The Crush of Normality Parts I to III
JeffMinute020: Parts I-III - I: Going to work, II: working, III: life begins anew. Or something like that.
I wish i had mixed those kids' voices in a bit better - they're a bit loud, i think they overwhelm the music in a way i didn't intend.. Oh well. Enjoy!
I wish i had mixed those kids' voices in a bit better - they're a bit loud, i think they overwhelm the music in a way i didn't intend.. Oh well. Enjoy!
Friday, November 9, 2007
The Crush of Normality Parts I to III
LawrenceMinute0025: Part I through III - The Ogre chronicles
LawrenceNotes:
I started working on my minute around 3:00 am last night and to be honest i was half asleep when i was doing it. The result is pretty poor. If i feel like it and find the time i'll work on it some more.
LawrenceNotes:
I started working on my minute around 3:00 am last night and to be honest i was half asleep when i was doing it. The result is pretty poor. If i feel like it and find the time i'll work on it some more.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The Crush of Normality - Parts I & II
Minute II = the struggle to succeed, methodical craft and workmanship involved in striving towards a dream. Building towards minute III, the great awakening of hope.
JeffMinute019: Hard at work -> the struggle for innovation
JeffMinute019: Hard at work -> the struggle for innovation
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The Crush of Normality - Parts I & II
LawrenceMinute0024: Adding Part II - Our ogrish hero stands around and picks his nose
LawrenceNotes:
Jeff, i'm doing it all wrong! I'm glad i decided i would just continue my own stupid minute instead of butchering your minute. Anyhoo i don't think my minutes reflect this weeks theme at all.
You haven't stipulated how this adding procedure should be blog-a-fied. I simply 'forged forward' and posted the whole thing as it is right now (instead of only posting the second minute). This made sense particularly because i've made some changes to the first minute as well. The second part now makes more sense i think.
LawrenceNotes:
Jeff, i'm doing it all wrong! I'm glad i decided i would just continue my own stupid minute instead of butchering your minute. Anyhoo i don't think my minutes reflect this weeks theme at all.
You haven't stipulated how this adding procedure should be blog-a-fied. I simply 'forged forward' and posted the whole thing as it is right now (instead of only posting the second minute). This made sense particularly because i've made some changes to the first minute as well. The second part now makes more sense i think.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
The Crush of Normality - Part I
Well, I briefly tried continuing Lawrence's minute, but found that my mood didn't quite suit the spirit of creating something vibrant. So here's my intro minute - dreary style.
JeffMinute18: going to your job deep in the sewers beneath a now lifeless city
JeffMinute18: going to your job deep in the sewers beneath a now lifeless city
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Crush Of Normality - Part I
LawrenceMinute0023: Part I - How the big fat ogre gently wept
LawrenceNotes:
It's getting late Jeff. No time to call you today - but i will tomorrow. In the meantime you can listen to this minute. I hope you didn't have a terrible evening. But hey... cheer up... grapes and toga's await!
ps. How do i label this?
LawrenceNotes:
It's getting late Jeff. No time to call you today - but i will tomorrow. In the meantime you can listen to this minute. I hope you didn't have a terrible evening. But hey... cheer up... grapes and toga's await!
ps. How do i label this?
Sunday, November 4, 2007
The Crush Of Normality
Well, I'm back. Had an amazing time in Japan, it's gonna be a bit rough to find myself in the office tomorrow morning. Anyway, no sense in dwelling on that - a new week of minutes awaits! I think it's my turn to define the rules for the week, so here goes:
I could really use a lift, so that's what the minutes this week will be about - minutes that somehow lift us up out of the dreary realities that await us in our daily lives. Actually, how about a set of minutes that tell a sort of narrative? We've got six minutes to work with, so I propose this:
Minute 1 & 2 - Each of us creates a minute that expresses despair and hopelessness. The crushing monotony of everyday life.
Minutes 3 & 4 - We each create a minute that somehow expresses the struggle we experience while trying to rise above our situations and change our lives for the better.
Minutes 5 & 6 - We create minutes that lift us out of the dreariness and into the light of joyful self realization.
So 3 sets of minutes - depressing, struggling, uplifting! We'll each make one every other day, and the creator of minute 1 will be determined by the flip of a coin. Ready? Ok, Lawrence is heads, I'm tails. Ok... shit Lawrence, looks like you win - you cool with that? Making minutes on Monday Wednesday Friday?
-jeff
I could really use a lift, so that's what the minutes this week will be about - minutes that somehow lift us up out of the dreary realities that await us in our daily lives. Actually, how about a set of minutes that tell a sort of narrative? We've got six minutes to work with, so I propose this:
Minute 1 & 2 - Each of us creates a minute that expresses despair and hopelessness. The crushing monotony of everyday life.
Minutes 3 & 4 - We each create a minute that somehow expresses the struggle we experience while trying to rise above our situations and change our lives for the better.
Minutes 5 & 6 - We create minutes that lift us out of the dreariness and into the light of joyful self realization.
So 3 sets of minutes - depressing, struggling, uplifting! We'll each make one every other day, and the creator of minute 1 will be determined by the flip of a coin. Ready? Ok, Lawrence is heads, I'm tails. Ok... shit Lawrence, looks like you win - you cool with that? Making minutes on Monday Wednesday Friday?
-jeff
Jeff where art thou?
New minutes will come when you resurface Jeff. I cannot sail this ship alone. That much has become painfully apparent this week. I need your magic now, du. Can you make it work for me?
Friday, November 2, 2007
Japan-in-a-dishpan 4: the minute we must never mention again. ever.
LawrenceMinute0022:
LawrenceNotes:
Skip it. Seriously.
[Edit] Jeff urged me to listen to this again and hot-diggety-damn... it's actually a pretty nifty minute. I made this in half an hour by randomly tweaking some samples - with the sound off. The ending is really neat. Does it bring back memories of sweet Japan when you hear this?
LawrenceNotes:
Skip it. Seriously.
[Edit] Jeff urged me to listen to this again and hot-diggety-damn... it's actually a pretty nifty minute. I made this in half an hour by randomly tweaking some samples - with the sound off. The ending is really neat. Does it bring back memories of sweet Japan when you hear this?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
nooooooo!!!!
Yes, i know... no new minute today. Well the story is that since tuesday my right underarm is hurting like a son of a bitch. I'm afraid that it might be a bad case of RSI. Because of the pain i had no choice but to give it rest. That means i haven't been doing much of anything lately. Right now i'm at my job learning to use the mouse with my left hand. This really sucks because if it is RSI i don't think it will ever go away. Hopefully it will improve a lot. I don't know what i'm talking about though. Anyway that is the story behind the lack of posting. Jeff, i owe you a bottle of wine.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Japan-in-a-dishpan: Minute 3
LawrenceMinute0021:
LawrenceNotes:
The latest news from Japan is that Jeff is away for a couple of days. Roaming the Japanese land ever searching for a heart of gold. That means ipso facto: no more sounds for me! We'll have to see what happens these next few days. I'll try to keep up the posting.
Mainly i mashed up the super awesome volcano music that Jeff supplied for this minute. Added some beats and a bass. There are some tuning issues however. Quite bad here and there actually, but generally bearable - at least to my busted ears. Will work on it some more if i feel like it.
Anyway i was planning on making a minute that celebrates the beautiful women of japan. Judging by Jeff's words there are quite a few in the good region of Fukuoka. So in the next few days i might try something to that effect. Who knows though... maybe more noisy stuff awaits!
LawrenceNotes:
The latest news from Japan is that Jeff is away for a couple of days. Roaming the Japanese land ever searching for a heart of gold. That means ipso facto: no more sounds for me! We'll have to see what happens these next few days. I'll try to keep up the posting.
Mainly i mashed up the super awesome volcano music that Jeff supplied for this minute. Added some beats and a bass. There are some tuning issues however. Quite bad here and there actually, but generally bearable - at least to my busted ears. Will work on it some more if i feel like it.
Anyway i was planning on making a minute that celebrates the beautiful women of japan. Judging by Jeff's words there are quite a few in the good region of Fukuoka. So in the next few days i might try something to that effect. Who knows though... maybe more noisy stuff awaits!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Finally, more sounds from Japan
Sorry 'bout the late posting, was up in the mountains for a few days at some hot springs. No internet, no mobile signal. Sounds, however, were sampled. The first is pretty simple - just the sound of me walking down a gravel country road in kimono and old-school japanese wooden sandals:
FukuokaSound006 - Clogs on road:
FukuokaSound007: Announcement on Bridge
FukuokaSound008 - Cheezy music from the Volcano Museum (google maps - see where this sound was recorded):
FukuokaSound006 - Clogs on road:
FukuokaSound007: Announcement on Bridge
FukuokaSound008 - Cheezy music from the Volcano Museum (google maps - see where this sound was recorded):
Saturday, October 27, 2007
the intermission minute
Yipes! I'm looking at the time and it ain't lookin' pretty. This means i won't be able to use any of your sounds today, Jeff. I'll make it up to you later though! In the meantime you can listen to this. I was programming some stuff in Reaktor and when i thought it sounded interesting i recorded it. Today's intermission minute are these bits and pieces patched together. This is just raw output of this idea i'm working on but it's far from finished so well... hear fer yerself.
LawrenceMinute0020: aloof sequencer
LawrenceMinute0020: aloof sequencer
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Japan-in-a-dishpan: Minute 2
LawrenceMinute0019: transgression
LawrenceNotes:
Mankinds transgression into a new form of being...
Developed from the Fukuoka-files 3 to 5.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Bonus material - Chapter 01 - find out how it all started!
Well, look at that - bonus material! It's the story behind the battle: how it all started. For some reason there is no mention of either UltraJeff-Pan or MechaGodzilla and also a lot of new plotlines are introduced that apparently play no role whatsoever in the battle itself. What can i say? There were script problems from day one...
Anyway this is kind of stupid i guess. I used today's Fukuoka ingredient number uno and started layering effects on top of it until it was no longer recognizable. I took a liking to the result. It's kind of trippy. I sprinkled some random monster movie samples on top and there you have it: today's bonus material.
LawrenceMinute0018: UltraJeff-pan vs. MechaGodzilla! Chapter 01 - Leading into the fight
Anyway this is kind of stupid i guess. I used today's Fukuoka ingredient number uno and started layering effects on top of it until it was no longer recognizable. I took a liking to the result. It's kind of trippy. I sprinkled some random monster movie samples on top and there you have it: today's bonus material.
LawrenceMinute0018: UltraJeff-pan vs. MechaGodzilla! Chapter 01 - Leading into the fight
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Japan-in-a-dishpan: Minute 1
LawrenceMinute0017: UltraJeff-pan vs. MechaGodzilla! Chapter 02 - The battle
LawrenceNotes:
This here minute depicts the epic battle between UltraJeff-Pan and MechaGodzilla. Apparantly aliens had built MechaGodzilla to conquer earth. But not if UltraJeff-Pan could help it!
So we start out with MechaGodzilla and UltraJeff-Pan duking it out tearing up Fukuoka as they go along. All of the sudden they pause for a moment and look each other in the eyes. Can they not be friends instead of enemies? Can this not be a world of love instead of hate? But then UltraJeff-Pan zaps MechaGodzilla with his Ultra Attack Beam striking a fatal blow. The rest of the minute is UltraJeff-Pan shaking his fists in the air and doing his gloating dance while MechaGodzilla's smoldering and lifeless remains are lying at his feet.
Barring the two FutureBeats i made in Reaktor everything came from the two building blocks Jeff supplied on monday. Of course the samples were first duely mangled, maimed and twisted before use. Jeff wouldn't want it any other way. Sick bastard.
More Ingredients for the mix: FukuokaSounds
Monday, October 22, 2007
Minute 17 - The Building Blocks
In japan now, recording bits of interesting noise now and then as per lawrence's experimental instructions! I'm going to have more interesting things later in the week, but for now here are few moist tidbits.
1.JeffIngredient017a: Walking into a japanese electronics chain. Big Camera, methinks.
2.JeffIngredient017b: Sounds from the subway. Not all that interesting, but i thought that maybe parts of it could be sliced into nifty noises.
Good luck lawrence! Better samples shall follow...
1.JeffIngredient017a: Walking into a japanese electronics chain. Big Camera, methinks.
2.JeffIngredient017b: Sounds from the subway. Not all that interesting, but i thought that maybe parts of it could be sliced into nifty noises.
Good luck lawrence! Better samples shall follow...
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Japan-in-a-dishpan: This weeks guidelines - a quick overview
Very tired right now. So here's a quick overview of this weeks guidelines. Might add more later if i feel so inclined. Because JapanJeff is right now riding his bike and eating all the sushi he can eat (you bastard!), we're going to have 'Japan-in-a-dishpan' week here at The Daily Minute.
Basically how i envision it is as follows. JapanJeff will post audio-fragments of his adventures. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday it is my task to somehow use those recordings in my minutes for that day. It should be noted that this puts an extra strain on JapanJeff. He can't go around haphazzardly recording everything. He is responsible for the material i have to work with so he should aspire to search for interesting dynamic sounds that can somehow be crafted into something else.
He is allowed to post as many fragments as he wants as long as he feels that they could lead to interesting results. Even though we respect that he's on vacation we do encourage him to post music if he makes any. It would be interesting to hear if his surroundings have a direct influence on his creative output. I wonder what JapanJeff sounds like...
Basically how i envision it is as follows. JapanJeff will post audio-fragments of his adventures. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday it is my task to somehow use those recordings in my minutes for that day. It should be noted that this puts an extra strain on JapanJeff. He can't go around haphazzardly recording everything. He is responsible for the material i have to work with so he should aspire to search for interesting dynamic sounds that can somehow be crafted into something else.
He is allowed to post as many fragments as he wants as long as he feels that they could lead to interesting results. Even though we respect that he's on vacation we do encourage him to post music if he makes any. It would be interesting to hear if his surroundings have a direct influence on his creative output. I wonder what JapanJeff sounds like...
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Fibonacci week - 21/4: the ultimate Fibonacci minute?
LawrenceMinute0016:
LawrenceNotes:
It's the last and final Fibonacci minute. It's extremely late. I started working on this minute only a few hours ago so it was kind of rushed. Not sure how this will sound to me tomorrow. Anyway i deemed it necessary to end our Fibonacci extravaganza in style. So instead of using only 21/4 time i added all the other Fibonacci times signatures as well!
LawrenceNotes:
It's the last and final Fibonacci minute. It's extremely late. I started working on this minute only a few hours ago so it was kind of rushed. Not sure how this will sound to me tomorrow. Anyway i deemed it necessary to end our Fibonacci extravaganza in style. So instead of using only 21/4 time i added all the other Fibonacci times signatures as well!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Fibonacci week - 13/4
JeffMinute016: From the airport in Seoul
JeffNotes:
I don't understand Korean, but I think she's saying something about taking care when stepping off the moving walkway. Oh, and 13/4 is a bloody difficult time signature.
JeffNotes:
I don't understand Korean, but I think she's saying something about taking care when stepping off the moving walkway. Oh, and 13/4 is a bloody difficult time signature.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Fibonacci week - 8/4: The continuation minute
LawrenceMinute0015:
LawrenceNotes:
Well it's time for my contribution. It's Fibonacci week this week at The Daily Minute and if you've kept up you'll know today is 8/4 day. Realizing that Jeff's post yesterday and mine the day before couldn't be topped i decided i would do something minimal tonight. Just to avoid ruining this Fibonacci mood we've got going on. I wanted to do something that would blend in with it's surrounding minutes so that we can have a nicely rounded package when the week is done. I love how our minutes explore this concept of beauty in nature. Well here is a minute that hopes to connect the previous minutes to the forthcoming minutes!
Okay, well i have been yanking your chain here a little bit. It's actually a very rowdy minute. Not very befitting of our Fibonacci-week. I actually did want to do another soundscape sort of thing. What i had sounded terrible though and it was getting late. So then I thought: 'screw this!' and very quickly manufactured this piece of lamentable dribble. That's what you get when i become ornery. Sorry! Oh, how i fear the guilt-trip that Jeff is going to lay on me...
LawrenceNotes:
Well it's time for my contribution. It's Fibonacci week this week at The Daily Minute and if you've kept up you'll know today is 8/4 day. Realizing that Jeff's post yesterday and mine the day before couldn't be topped i decided i would do something minimal tonight. Just to avoid ruining this Fibonacci mood we've got going on. I wanted to do something that would blend in with it's surrounding minutes so that we can have a nicely rounded package when the week is done. I love how our minutes explore this concept of beauty in nature. Well here is a minute that hopes to connect the previous minutes to the forthcoming minutes!
Okay, well i have been yanking your chain here a little bit. It's actually a very rowdy minute. Not very befitting of our Fibonacci-week. I actually did want to do another soundscape sort of thing. What i had sounded terrible though and it was getting late. So then I thought: 'screw this!' and very quickly manufactured this piece of lamentable dribble. That's what you get when i become ornery. Sorry! Oh, how i fear the guilt-trip that Jeff is going to lay on me...
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Fibonacci week - 5/4: Shame and embarrassment
JeffMinute015: lame and unfinished
JeffNotes:
Geez. It's already noon the next day and I haven't posted my minute from yesterday. According to the rules of the game, that means I owe Lawrence a bottle of wine. Well, so be it! There is an explanation though, however lame it may be.
See, I was working on this minute last night, and at some point I fell asleep there at the computer. My body just knocked itself out, told me it was time for unconsciousness and did what needed to be done. Then in the morning I woke up with drool on my face and that horrible panicky feeling you get when you realize that you didn't set your alarm. Had to throw on some clothes and run out the door in a rush, hence the lack of uploaded minute.
Anyway, I was planning on doing a whole lot more with this one - still am, actually. Perhaps the only benefit that I can see coming out of this is that if you're interested, it shows a bit of what the process is like when i create music - the minute's rough, unmixed, loose and messy. Usually I do a minute like writing a short story or something - blurt it all out just to get the ideas down, then edit away until a cleaner form starts to appear. Anyway, this is an unfinished minute. And even if it were finished, it would still be a huge letdown after lawrence's minute of genius yesterday. At any rate, more will follow.
Oh, and that voice at the beginning is the train conductor saying that we've arrived in Eindhoven, the city where I work. Was frantically clicking away on the laptop trying to make changes when the train was arriving this morning.
JeffNotes:
Geez. It's already noon the next day and I haven't posted my minute from yesterday. According to the rules of the game, that means I owe Lawrence a bottle of wine. Well, so be it! There is an explanation though, however lame it may be.
See, I was working on this minute last night, and at some point I fell asleep there at the computer. My body just knocked itself out, told me it was time for unconsciousness and did what needed to be done. Then in the morning I woke up with drool on my face and that horrible panicky feeling you get when you realize that you didn't set your alarm. Had to throw on some clothes and run out the door in a rush, hence the lack of uploaded minute.
Anyway, I was planning on doing a whole lot more with this one - still am, actually. Perhaps the only benefit that I can see coming out of this is that if you're interested, it shows a bit of what the process is like when i create music - the minute's rough, unmixed, loose and messy. Usually I do a minute like writing a short story or something - blurt it all out just to get the ideas down, then edit away until a cleaner form starts to appear. Anyway, this is an unfinished minute. And even if it were finished, it would still be a huge letdown after lawrence's minute of genius yesterday. At any rate, more will follow.
Oh, and that voice at the beginning is the train conductor saying that we've arrived in Eindhoven, the city where I work. Was frantically clicking away on the laptop trying to make changes when the train was arriving this morning.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Fibonacci week - 3/4: the whitney files
Here is the second minute in the Fibonacci series. The third requirement for this week's minutes states:
Now i thought about this for a while and it occured to me that when we think of beauty in nature we often think of static, mathematical, graceful and elegant structures such as the one Jeff posted earlier this week. When i think of nature though i think of a primal force violently forging connections and ripping them apart again. Things are in a state of perpetual change - creation and disintegration. We live in a world of conflict and struggle. This to me is the essence of nature.
In a way my minute is an attempt to portray that chaotic struggle. I had the formation of rocks in mind: minerals crystallizing from magma at temperatures between 600Cº and 1200Cº, and from the surface to depths of 30 kilometres or more. Extrusive rocks resulting from magma reaching the surface either as lava or fragmental ejecta. My minute portrays how matter can explosively combine leaving a bang and how it can slowly disintegrate again after that.
To evoke such a complex thought i felt i had to do something a little different today. Instead of doing an ordenary musical minute i worked on an audio-visual minute. The inversion of John Whitney's ideas concerning music and animation that Jim Bumgardner came up with suited my purpose well. You can find his awesome implemented flash version here.
Whitney was particularly interested in converting musical ideas into animation. He made a number of films based around the simple idea of harmonic relationships. Here's an apt quote from the man himself i found on Bumgardner's site:
Following Bumgardner i replaced graphical elements with musical elements and worked out a patch that would assign a triggering frequency to the base element and then a frequency to every other element which is a multiple of the base frequency. Because today's fibonacci number is 3 i used only multiples of three. This particular configuration leads to some really interesting patterns. How the elements combine and fall apart in an ordered yet chaotic fashion - at least to me - resonates with my earlier thoughts.
Each element gets it's own pitch-sequence, a random generated amplitude within a defined range and an envelope. These parameters are used to control a sine-oscillator. The audio of the oscillators combined is fed into an echo/delay effect.
Simultaneously these parameters are being fed into a display unit. There is a graphical element for each musical element. Each graphical element follows a given trajectory with a set speed. When they cross the starting line they trigger their corresponding note. The caterpillar movement of the elements is my own little design.
To record it i used one of those nifty programs they have nowadays that allow you to record anything happening on your computer screen. I have had a hard time striking a balance between size and quality. I ended up with a file of 8 mb but the quality is pretty bad. If i find out how i'll upload a better one.
Let me end on one last thought. Rocks and their formation may seem pretty static to us. But that is merely because we humans are simply too small and we live too short a life to appreciate the immense forces that are at play here. To really appreciate it you must behold it from afar and live a million years. Blinking your eyes should last a century. This minute even though it's just a minute actually represents vasts and vasts amounts of time. Remember that when you listen to it ;-)
Well without further ado i present you the Fibonacci minute #2:
The Fibonacci sequence gives rise to some of the most beautiful forms in nature - requirement 3 is that our minutes attempt to convey some of that same beauty. Grace & elegance are our watchwords here [...]
Now i thought about this for a while and it occured to me that when we think of beauty in nature we often think of static, mathematical, graceful and elegant structures such as the one Jeff posted earlier this week. When i think of nature though i think of a primal force violently forging connections and ripping them apart again. Things are in a state of perpetual change - creation and disintegration. We live in a world of conflict and struggle. This to me is the essence of nature.
In a way my minute is an attempt to portray that chaotic struggle. I had the formation of rocks in mind: minerals crystallizing from magma at temperatures between 600Cº and 1200Cº, and from the surface to depths of 30 kilometres or more. Extrusive rocks resulting from magma reaching the surface either as lava or fragmental ejecta. My minute portrays how matter can explosively combine leaving a bang and how it can slowly disintegrate again after that.
To evoke such a complex thought i felt i had to do something a little different today. Instead of doing an ordenary musical minute i worked on an audio-visual minute. The inversion of John Whitney's ideas concerning music and animation that Jim Bumgardner came up with suited my purpose well. You can find his awesome implemented flash version here.
Whitney was particularly interested in converting musical ideas into animation. He made a number of films based around the simple idea of harmonic relationships. Here's an apt quote from the man himself i found on Bumgardner's site:
An early intuition about how to control total dynamics led me to activate all graphic elements through a motion function that advances each element differentially. For example, if one element were set to move at a given rate, the next element might be moved at two times that rate. Then the third would move at three times that rate and so on. Each element would move at a different rate and in a different direction within the field of action. So long as all elements obey a rule of direction and rate, and none drifts aimlessly or randomly, then pattern configurations form and reform. This is harmonic resonance, and it echoes musical harmony, stated in explicit terms. I tried this procedure in several films, and was gratified by the consistency of the confirmation it demonstrated.
– John Whitney, “Digital Harmony”, pp. 38
Following Bumgardner i replaced graphical elements with musical elements and worked out a patch that would assign a triggering frequency to the base element and then a frequency to every other element which is a multiple of the base frequency. Because today's fibonacci number is 3 i used only multiples of three. This particular configuration leads to some really interesting patterns. How the elements combine and fall apart in an ordered yet chaotic fashion - at least to me - resonates with my earlier thoughts.
Each element gets it's own pitch-sequence, a random generated amplitude within a defined range and an envelope. These parameters are used to control a sine-oscillator. The audio of the oscillators combined is fed into an echo/delay effect.
Simultaneously these parameters are being fed into a display unit. There is a graphical element for each musical element. Each graphical element follows a given trajectory with a set speed. When they cross the starting line they trigger their corresponding note. The caterpillar movement of the elements is my own little design.
To record it i used one of those nifty programs they have nowadays that allow you to record anything happening on your computer screen. I have had a hard time striking a balance between size and quality. I ended up with a file of 8 mb but the quality is pretty bad. If i find out how i'll upload a better one.
Let me end on one last thought. Rocks and their formation may seem pretty static to us. But that is merely because we humans are simply too small and we live too short a life to appreciate the immense forces that are at play here. To really appreciate it you must behold it from afar and live a million years. Blinking your eyes should last a century. This minute even though it's just a minute actually represents vasts and vasts amounts of time. Remember that when you listen to it ;-)
Well without further ado i present you the Fibonacci minute #2:
Monday, October 15, 2007
Fibonacci week - 2/4
JeffMinute014: Fibonacci001
Is this 2/4? or 4/4? How does one tell the difference in the absence of a beat? I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to theory.
Is this 2/4? or 4/4? How does one tell the difference in the absence of a beat? I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to theory.
Moving the Goalposts
Ok, so Lawrence & I have been talking, and we think we're going to try something a little different around here just to mix it up a little bit. Here's the scoop:
As you know, we make minutes. That's just what we do, 6 days a week, and on the 7th day we rest. This is all fine and dandy, but we've been at it for two weeks now and were thinking we might switch things up a bit. Henceforth day 7 is not simply our day of rest - it is also a day of sober contemplation and planning.
See, we're gonna take turns. Every other Sunday one of us will assume the role of Kommandant and will lay down the rules that govern the next week of minutes. These rules will, as always, be enforced with an iron fist (e.g. the ability to lay serious guilt trips on one another). There's only one fundamental precept: every day must bring with it a new minute.
Soooo... with that in mind, here's the concept for Week III. Ready?
So - today I begin! Stay tuned.
As you know, we make minutes. That's just what we do, 6 days a week, and on the 7th day we rest. This is all fine and dandy, but we've been at it for two weeks now and were thinking we might switch things up a bit. Henceforth day 7 is not simply our day of rest - it is also a day of sober contemplation and planning.
See, we're gonna take turns. Every other Sunday one of us will assume the role of Kommandant and will lay down the rules that govern the next week of minutes. These rules will, as always, be enforced with an iron fist (e.g. the ability to lay serious guilt trips on one another). There's only one fundamental precept: every day must bring with it a new minute.
Soooo... with that in mind, here's the concept for Week III. Ready?
- Alternating minutes. Day 1 (monday) will be done by Jeff, Day 2 by Lawrence and so on and so forth until Saturday. Alternating days will give us each a bit more time to work, because requirement 2 is difficult.
- Fibonacci sequence. This is Fibonacci week here in minuteland, and each day as the sun rises the sequence moves on to the next step. What does this mean? It means our time signatures are determined by Fibonacci numbers (skipping 1, conveniently) - I'll start with something in 2/4 time, Lawrence does the Tuesday minute in 3/4 time, Wednesday = 5/4 time, Thursday 8/4 time, Friday 13/4, Saturday a real challenge at 21/4 (is that even possible? Well if there's anyone that can pull off 21/4, it's Lawrence).
- The Fibonacci sequence gives rise to some of the most beautiful forms in nature - requirement 3 is that our minutes attempt to convey some of that same beauty. Grace & elegance are our watchwords here, not spine-crushing beatz. Emulate this:
So - today I begin! Stay tuned.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Week 2 upshot!
Week 2 has come to a close, and to tell the truth I'm pretty happy with how things went! Not a bad week. Lawrence & I have done some talking and are planning on unveiling a new set of operational guidelines tomorrow, so things may soon be a bit different around here.
Our goals, however, remain constant! Give to the world a new minute each day, a minute to chase the doldrums away. And so on. Stay tuned for our upcoming paradigm shift.
-jeff
Our goals, however, remain constant! Give to the world a new minute each day, a minute to chase the doldrums away. And so on. Stay tuned for our upcoming paradigm shift.
-jeff
One of these!
LawrenceMinute0013: Pimenco where art thou?
LawrenceNotes:
SHAMBUCK MCGIGGLES
JeffMinute0013:
JeffNotes:
the gig went well! man, damn shame you weren't there... perhaps we hang out sunday night though? anyway, this minute came about after having a long slow drive back from the show. should really fade out in the end instead of the abrupt ending, but perhaps that's a change to make in the future. g'night..
LawrenceNotes:
SHAMBUCK MCGIGGLES
JeffMinute0013:
JeffNotes:
the gig went well! man, damn shame you weren't there... perhaps we hang out sunday night though? anyway, this minute came about after having a long slow drive back from the show. should really fade out in the end instead of the abrupt ending, but perhaps that's a change to make in the future. g'night..
Saturday, October 13, 2007
12 - exhaustion
JeffMinute012:
JeffNotes:
my god. so tired i'm actually typing with my eyes closed. i am seriously exhausted. must buy some drink tomorrow. ok, that's my dream mind typing. time to sleep.
LawrenceMinute0012:
LawrenceNotes:
I've been working on a patch the whole day for my minute but seeing the patch ain't done yet i started rummaging through the ol' dusty archives and dug up this golden oldie. It's my first experiment with looping!
JeffNotes:
my god. so tired i'm actually typing with my eyes closed. i am seriously exhausted. must buy some drink tomorrow. ok, that's my dream mind typing. time to sleep.
LawrenceMinute0012:
LawrenceNotes:
I've been working on a patch the whole day for my minute but seeing the patch ain't done yet i started rummaging through the ol' dusty archives and dug up this golden oldie. It's my first experiment with looping!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Turning it up to 11
JeffMinute011:
JeffNotes:
This minute is brought to you by the makers of the 7/4 time signature.
LawrenceMinute0011:
LawrenceNotes:
I was working on the last bits of today's minute when i decided to check if Jeff had posted anything already. He had so i checked it out. Quite frankly it was the most amazing minute i have ever heard! Unfortunately my computer couldn't handle the sheer awesomeness of it all and crashed at about 80% of the song.
This is why i lost some of the later changes made to my minute. Because it's getting late already i figured i wouldn't bother redoing it. Instead seeing Jeff told me a little recording secret that those fat cat producers don't want you to know about i thought i would try it out for myself.
Basically the whole idea boils down to recording vocals at a comfortable pitch and then repitching them to the wanted key by slowing down or speeding up the play-back rate. I sang some random (and really stupid might i add) lyrics and then pitched it down. Unfortunately it didn't turn out as magical as Jeff's previous endeavor did. In fact i sound like a damn fool! Hear this mess for yourselves!
[Later that day:] I just realized something! Jeff recorded his in 7/4 time. Mine is just a boring ol' 4 to the floor... however... the loop is 7 measures long! Isn't that bizar? What i did is less obvious to the ear but when i started working on this minute it was a deliberate choice. We both independently felt the need to use this magical number in our compositions on the same day!
JeffNotes:
This minute is brought to you by the makers of the 7/4 time signature.
LawrenceMinute0011:
LawrenceNotes:
I was working on the last bits of today's minute when i decided to check if Jeff had posted anything already. He had so i checked it out. Quite frankly it was the most amazing minute i have ever heard! Unfortunately my computer couldn't handle the sheer awesomeness of it all and crashed at about 80% of the song.
This is why i lost some of the later changes made to my minute. Because it's getting late already i figured i wouldn't bother redoing it. Instead seeing Jeff told me a little recording secret that those fat cat producers don't want you to know about i thought i would try it out for myself.
Basically the whole idea boils down to recording vocals at a comfortable pitch and then repitching them to the wanted key by slowing down or speeding up the play-back rate. I sang some random (and really stupid might i add) lyrics and then pitched it down. Unfortunately it didn't turn out as magical as Jeff's previous endeavor did. In fact i sound like a damn fool! Hear this mess for yourselves!
[Later that day:] I just realized something! Jeff recorded his in 7/4 time. Mine is just a boring ol' 4 to the floor... however... the loop is 7 measures long! Isn't that bizar? What i did is less obvious to the ear but when i started working on this minute it was a deliberate choice. We both independently felt the need to use this magical number in our compositions on the same day!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
My oh my - it's the tenth entry
Yay! We've reached the second digit!
LawrenceMinute0010:
JeffMinute0010:
JeffNotes:
Damn, fell asleep doing this last night, just woke up and have no time to fnish! Oh well, maybe i'll work on it later, make it into a real song. Nonsensical lyrics as usual.
LawrenceMinute0010:
JeffMinute0010:
JeffNotes:
Damn, fell asleep doing this last night, just woke up and have no time to fnish! Oh well, maybe i'll work on it later, make it into a real song. Nonsensical lyrics as usual.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Minutes! Get them while they're still fresh!
LawrenceMinute0009: beware of the ultra-cheese!
LawrenceNotes:
God... that panflute... what was i thinking!?
JeffMinute0009: sweet dreams
JeffNotes:
Well, this one sort of expresses what I should be doing right now, consider it's 6:48am and I'm still sitting here in front of the computer. Gonna be a long day...
Crap! I just listened to this and realized it sounds just like that Ray LaMontagne song, what's it called?... umm... Be Here Now. Err, except mine sounds crappier. But it's like exactly the same sort of song, what a disappointment. Here, check this out, I'm a total subconscious plagiarist:
LawrenceNotes:
God... that panflute... what was i thinking!?
JeffMinute0009: sweet dreams
JeffNotes:
Well, this one sort of expresses what I should be doing right now, consider it's 6:48am and I'm still sitting here in front of the computer. Gonna be a long day...
Crap! I just listened to this and realized it sounds just like that Ray LaMontagne song, what's it called?... umm... Be Here Now. Err, except mine sounds crappier. But it's like exactly the same sort of song, what a disappointment. Here, check this out, I'm a total subconscious plagiarist:
My god, it's even in the same key! How freeky. Seriously, I wasn't intending to do this when I started, I just recorded the 1st guitar part pretty randomly, then thought it would sound cool with some piano on top. Then once that was in there I just thought it could use some high breathy strings, i used these samples I have of cello harmonics being played.
It's seriously so strange to be absorbed in making something like this for a while, then suddenly listen to the finished piece and realize that you've unwittingly ripped off another song almost note-for-note. May be hard to believe, but I honestly didn't mean to do this...
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Monday minutes...
LawrenceMinute0008: loud and obnoxious
LawrenceNotes:
I suspect that this week won't be a good week minutewise and this minute reflects that. There's a lot of stuff i need to do and unfortunately i can't record a minute in six minutes and make it sound awesome like Jeff can. MinuteForcast: cold and cloudy.
JeffMinute0008: soft and sweet
JeffNotes:
how laid back and relaxed can hip-hop get? more chilled out than this, I'm sure, but I'm still learning. (oh, and i meant to say breeze through the boards, not breathe. can't be bothered to rerecord these minutes though. Quantity over quality, the motto goes.)
LawrenceNotes:
I suspect that this week won't be a good week minutewise and this minute reflects that. There's a lot of stuff i need to do and unfortunately i can't record a minute in six minutes and make it sound awesome like Jeff can. MinuteForcast: cold and cloudy.
JeffMinute0008: soft and sweet
JeffNotes:
how laid back and relaxed can hip-hop get? more chilled out than this, I'm sure, but I'm still learning. (oh, and i meant to say breeze through the boards, not breathe. can't be bothered to rerecord these minutes though. Quantity over quality, the motto goes.)
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Week 1 Roundup!
1 week and 14 minutes behind us! There have been some crappy minutes (see minute 7) and some great ones (I'm quite fond of Lawrence's 2nd and 6th minutes actually), but the best part, at least for me, is just getting into the habit of being musically creative on a daily basis. Strangely satisfying.
Anyway, prepare yourselves! More minutes are on the way!
-jeff
Well time for me to chime in. This past week has given us some good minutes. Jeff's psycho-pr0n and his venture into the realm of polyrythm are my personal favs. Oh, and I've also taken quite a shine to his quiet minute #5. I guess my efforts have been okay so far bar my 0007. Let's see what next week brings!
-lawrence
Anyway, prepare yourselves! More minutes are on the way!
-jeff
Well time for me to chime in. This past week has given us some good minutes. Jeff's psycho-pr0n and his venture into the realm of polyrythm are my personal favs. Oh, and I've also taken quite a shine to his quiet minute #5. I guess my efforts have been okay so far bar my 0007. Let's see what next week brings!
-lawrence
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