Creative Computing Project - I Say Concrete Without a French Accent?

This piece explores the different musical outcomes brought about by the use of different equipment and associated techniques. The entire work is bound by the music concrete ideology and was created only from the sounds of food preparation equipment.

Part 1
This section follows the journey of a food preparer using traditional music concrete techniques. The microwave’s whirring sooths the user to a relaxed then they are roused by the chaotic beeping of several timers and the boiling of the kettle. Processing includes reverb, delay, flanger, varispeed and compression. The style of the result is inspired by pioneering concréte artists such as Pierre Henry and Pierre Schaeffer.

Part 2
Sounds of a microwave, kettle, beaters, glass jar and bowl are intensely processed using unpredictable software such as Soundhack and Fscape and sequenced in Pro Tools and Reason. This part draws inspiration from modern electronic artists from the “IDM” subgenre.

Part 3
A return to the style and techniques of classic 50s concrete as in part 1. The dishes are washed, however one cannot resist making music with the sounds of the glasses and cutlery while undertaking this task. The main sounds used are running water, a gas stove being lit, the ringing of a struck knife and the sound of a glass being played percussively.

I Say Concrete Without a French Accent? mp3

Score

Screenshot of Pro Tools session for part 2.

AA Recording Project - The Notorious Daughters 'Rain'

I recorded this three piece band on 2nd June. I put the drums in the live room in order to use a room mic, and the guitar amp in the dead room to isolate it. The bass was DIed and the vocals were overdubbed in the control room.

After auditioning the U87s, I chose the AKG C414s as overheads. We pulled the resonant skin off the kick drum to get cleaner tone as we weren't happy with the timbre we obtained with the skin on. Standard mic configurations were used on the rest of the kit including an sm57 on snare, beta52 on kick and beta56s on toms. An sm57 and an md421 were used on guitar amps and the guitar track was doubled a second time with identical settings and mic configuration to achieve the uniform and symmetrical wall of noise common in 90s grunge.

In the mix I applied EQ and compression judiciously to every track. The room mic was gated slightly with the snare in to particularly give it room. I aimed to fit the kick underneath the bass guitar using EQ and also used a compressor on the bass that was triggered by the kick in order to help clean up the low end.

Rain

Week 12 Forum - Scratch Tutorials, Windowlicker

We watched some special features from the "Scratch" documentary. Many of the segments were amusing in some ways, however there were interesting parts. The tutorial on how to rock a party was quite enlightening because I've always wondered what the DJ is actually supposed to do at a party other than play some records. There is obviously much skill in tempo matching, especially in realtime. It was quite a show of skill to watch the DJ keep two records in time that are both getting faster at different rates.

My other favourite part of the session was the Windowlicker video clip which I hadn't seen before. I love the way that although I assume the video tries to parody other videos that try to sell music with sex, it includes all the same glossy production techniques. It's great to see to two guys fail miserably and embarass themselves while picking up chicks. Also fantastic is the use of the exaggerated limousine shot which corresponds to a glitchy effect that is in the style of Aphex Twin but also sounds like a crash with skidding. And everyone loves to see a happy man dance. Many of the events work well with the music and increase the satirical effect.

Reference: Steven Whittington. "Week 12 Music Technology Forum - Scratch Special Features and Video Clips". Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, 5  June 2008.

Week 11 Forum - Philosophy of Music/Environmental Discussion

This week we discussed the philosophy of music which quickly led to a discussion of the environment in general.

Generally I think I kind of overlook the impact my music making has on the environment and take the attitude of "I need it, therefore no point in stressing about it's impact". I found another guy's blog interesting with a kind of existentialist vibe. But I disagree - I believe in right and wrong and I think everyone makes a difference. I do think it's slightly strange that we always assume we know what is good and bad. Meursault was so addictive.

The most interesting thing that I heard in forum was Steven's comment about an aboriginal group that decreased its palette of tools because it didn't need as many in a new location. Forgot that that was possible - doesn't seem to be the Western way. We have such an obsession with hoarding resources and increasing everything we can. I don't think we could ever stop now (without some kind of crisis) but it doesn't seem very worthwhile because it obviously doesn't actually make us happy. But also I agree with Steven that technology has got us into this mess and hopefully it can get us out.

References: 

• Steven Whittington. "Week 11 Music Technology Forum - Philosophy of Music". Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, 29 May 2008.
  
• David Harris. "Week 11 Music Technology Forum - Philosophy of Music". Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, 29May 2008.
  

Week 10 Creative Computing - Meta Synth

Here is my Metasynth soundwork

There are several sections that I composed using the image synth and the effects room.

Part 1

Used the image synth's sampler instrument loaded with quote samples

Sequenced a piece using the colours to pan the sound

Part 2

Used the image synth with it's default instrument and a pitch scale based on harmonic series.

Much smudging was used to create cloudy ambience

Bleeps created on a second layer using the tool that creates repeated notes

Part 3

I used reverb, compression and intertia on part 5 to create a pad sound and then used the harmonics effect to add extra interest

Part 4

"Come" sample was resonant filtered in stereo then turned into a beat using the delightful "shuffler".

Part 5

Used some "grain" and "stereoecho" to freak out the straight rhythms of part 4 and then used inertia to make the hits ring. Reminds me of the first track of Confield by Autechre.

Week 10 Audio Arts - Acoustic Guitar

U87 Omni mono 2 inches from 14th fret

I like this as a more low-fi option. It might require bass roll-off to be usable. The harmonics of the notes seem to stand out while the picking is very suppressed. Lacks punchiness and definition but is warm and soft, a little dull.

NT4 at 12th fret 30cm back

Small diaphragm condenser is less coloured and provides a quality hi-fi stereo field with lots of pick attack. Coincident pair of identical mics makes for a natural image. Would suite a solo situation due to large natural sound.

SM57 on the neck (right) + U87 Omni 2 inches from 12th fret (left)

Interesting how the thin, inarticulate 57 tone provides a bit of interest to the larger Neumann which also includes the pick attack. Lacks clarity and sounds thin, SM57 on neck picks up unwanted fret buzz.

NT4 (revoiced) layered with U87 omni (as above)

I really like the way the revoiced guitar (NT4, left) sits above the original (U87 right) track. The Neumann's smooth rich tone fills out the brighter NT4. Separate panning of the NT4's capsules adds depth. Nice rich stereo field would provide a good bed for an acoustic track.

Bonus: C414 30cm from sound hole, NT5 close to neck at 10th fret

I like the way there seems to be a clear image that separates the percussive strumming and the ringing of the steel strings. Emphasizes harshness of steel strings, a little thin.

Week 10 Music Technology Forum - Turntablism

This weeks forum presentation was the DVD documentary "Scratch" about the history of turntablism. Steven introduced the DVD by explaining that the turntable had actually been used as a musical instrument long before "turntablism", one example of this is in early pre-magnetic tape music concrete where vinyl recordings were mixed and rerecorded.

I found the DVD very interesting. I never realized the extent of the DJ "solo" culture - I only knew them as accompanists to rappers with the occasional flourish of a complex scratch. The DMC world championships seem to hold considerable prestige for many.

The amount of musical exploration that has been created by experimentation with a former domestic playback device is extremely amazing and I think that this illustrates that interesting music can  gleaned from all kinds of areas if someone is willing to take the time to study it as the early DJs did. 

The "Amen Break" video was further evidence of this point (and was also very amusing). It's even more impressive that there are entire genres heavily relying on this sample. Perhaps this 5 second recording could be considered their instrument. Many sample maestros write for the same sample just as many composers write for the same instruments.

Reference: Steven Whittington. "Week 10 Music Technology Forum - Turntablism and the Amen Break". Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, 22 May 2008.