Live on Mixlr (and a bit of ‘geeking-out’)

As you possibly know, I’ve been considering playing some of my stuff live in order to give me (and hopefully, listeners) a new perspective on my music and to promote my tunes a bit more. I also said that I was going to document the process, as I learn and/or make mistakes….so here it is (be warned: this post contains some really mundane info about my…ahem…’equipment’). I’m not sure I’m any closer to actually taking my stuff out to venues yet, but I have, at least, found a way to play my music as a performance.

I’ve recently spent a few days trying to work out some practicalities: how to recreate sequenced parts (about 80% of the music) for instance; without just sitting there and pressing ‘play’. Ableton Live is now my chosen method of recording and, as its name suggests, it is equally adept at facilitating some forms of live performance. That was its whole selling-point back in the day. Another issue was how to route the computer and the live instrumentation (such as Monotrons, my synth and bass guitar) in order to use the multiple effects my tracks rely on whilst being able to retain ‘hands-on’ control for live tweaking. Then there was the issue of streaming the audio to Mixlr.com.

Well I seem to have worked it out. The more technical adept amongst you would probably have a solution to all of this instantly. It took me a bit longer. Two days of re-arranging, trying-out and occasional frustration. But the set-up is now complete, I think. Well, except for a decent clip controller such as the Launchpad (I bought an app for the iPad which purportedly does the same, but its reliability is really erratic….not exactly what you want for a live situation). Anyway, I can’t afford to spend anything at the moment, so the Launchpad will have to wait.

So, this is the primitive and Heath-Robinson-style set-up:

• iMac running Live (if I ever need to do a gig, I’ll use the MacBook instead, but for streaming from home, I need the laptop to connect to Mixlr at the moment). With clips triggered manually on the fly.
• Keyboard controller connected to iMac.
• Monotrons chained together.
• Alesis Fusion as a stand-alone synth/sampler and for some sequencing duties.
• Bass guitars fed through the mixer.
• Multi-fx connected to the mixer’s sends.
• iPad for Korg MS20 sounds.

All of this is fed through my tiny Behringer mixer and then routed into the Macbook via a Tascam i/o interface. The only issue I’ve encountered is a bit of interference from the Mac (or it could be my wireless router) when using the multi-fx.

So, this gives me the means to use Live and to tweak effects settings/clips and the mix using the mouse (at the moment, though I’ll use the controllers when I get the Launchpad or similar). There’s probably easier, more straight-forward ways of doing this, but it works for me.
This is what it all looks like at present:

The mixer is full to capacity! But this layout does make it easy to twiddle, tweak and play everything from the same spot (while maintaining a degree of tidiness!).

As for Mixlr….I recommend it. At first it seemed a little bit awkward to stream using their dedicated free software (you have to download this if you wish to broadcast. It didn’t display correctly and I couldn’t make head nor tail of it. Then I realised I had some system fonts missing on my computer. Once I’d installed these, the text appeared correctly and it was easy. Not exactly rocket-science….or even GCSE Science…..but it challenged me! The site itself looks very slick and I get the impression there’s quite a bit of beta testing going on, but it works ok. It’d be nice to have more of my networking friends on there, but I hope that’ll come in time.

So, the plan is to present a series of hour-long ‘gigs’ on Mixlr with a different tracklist from my albums for each gig, also some cover versions of my favourite music and anything else I fancy doing…..synthy improv (‘Symprov?’), noise, radiophonic-style stuff, that kind of thing. I am sincerely hoping people tune-in to listen, or I’m gonna feel like a complete dick.

I did a little test (three tracks) which you can listen to HERE. A few mistakes, a bit of sound-balancing needed; but I’m quite happy with the sound quality in general.

 

 

The ‘Live’ Computer Musician…???

I can think of two local electronic artists (well, it’s three actually, but two ‘acts’: the brilliant Jewellers and Alone) who play live and do it well. I’ve also seen the likes of LFO and The Orb play live (with massive lighting and back-projections) and I know Squarepusher gives good gig…….but I have issues with whether I can actually play live. I think there must be lots of electronic musicians who consider this at times….hopefully you’ll recognize some of these issues (below):-

I’ve been thinking about doing gigs for…well, years. It’d be great to take the music out to a new audience and to blast my tunes through a big rig. Yes, earth-shattering bass, dramatic swells and the sugar-rush that loudness brings.

However….. I’ve also been talking myself out of it for years. Why? Well, practicalities, for one.

Contrary to what I occasionally state, rather tongue-in-cheekily, I do actually play some bits on my tracks. Mostly synth, but sometimes bass guitar (I’m no Jaco Pastorius…or even John Entwistle. I was brought up in the shadow of Peter Hook, so my ‘technique’, if there is one, straddles basslines and melody lines). Now, this wouldn’t be so much of a problem, as such. Except I often layer played basslines and synthlines simultaneously within a track.

Then there’s the issue of ‘what is live’? I could go on for hours about the merits of sequencing and sampling, etc. (Don’t worry, I won’t) But most of my music relies on me just pushing buttons….. I don’t sing, I only ‘play’ bits and pieces. So, where’s the performance? People go to gigs to see live music, natch. Where’s the fun in watching some bloke stood over a laptop pushing a few buttons? It ain’t exactly visual, is it. I’ve bought an iPad app which pretty well mimics midi controllers/clip launchers like the Akai APCs and Novation Launchpad as a means of acquainting myself with this more ‘live’ form of button-pushing. My intention is to buy an APC if I get to grips with this way of working; it could help allay the above concerns.

(I never really reconciled myself with DJ culture, where it’s totally acceptable for an electronic musician to just stand there, aloof, nodding his or her head.)

Then there’s the venue….. I could be totally wrong on this; but most cities don’t seem to have bona-fide (boney-fido?) electronic nights. Cardiff hasn’t, I’m sure (though I’m not hip enough to know that for sure really!).

Now, despite all these internal arguments, I do think I’m gonna do some live stuff in 2013. My list of things I’m going to need: back-projected video/animation; an APC or Launchpad; a set of tracks I know inside out (therefore, lots of rehearsal!): the help of friends; a venue with a sympathetic ear; Valium. I can concentrate on many of these things in the coming months.

And so the next 6 months or so will be spent honing, refining, learning something new, playing. Oh, and buying (tsk). I may even document it all here…..or there.

Rainy ol’ Town….Rainy ol’ Town….

Well, I’m in the midst of a week away from work and guess what? No, you’re wrong. It’s raining. And it’s grey. And it’s colder than it’s been for a few weeks.

So, as I’m sat ensconced in the warmth and comfort of my domestic bubble, with nothing urgent to do, I thought I’d introduce you to my forthcoming album properly. Not a track-by-track breakdown as such. Just a few wee words to say what, why and how.

Now, I realise that only a fraction of the people who will download the album actually read this (and that the number of people who download it are a mere micron in numbers…. but that’s not the point). The point is that those of you who read this will possibly download the album and that’s enough for me. Besides, you know how I like rambling on about myself and particularly my music….any excuse.

So, ‘El Lissitzky’, what’s it all about Alfie?

Well, firstly, I’ll mention that there’s a shed-load of extras included in the download. A large digi-booklet of the usual sleevenote-type of things, plus excerpts from this blog which have some relevance to the album. There’s a storming remix of one of the tracks, “Hollow Point” by Douglas Deep (aka SK123, aka Macerator, aka the very talented Steve Kelly), many thanks to him for that. There’s an incidental track of mine called “Summerisle”, which started out as a song for the album, then became a more soundtracky kinda deal but then didn’t quite fit in with the overall tracklist, so it’s now a bonus track. Finally, there’s this video for the album track “Fatty Pork” which has had some radio-play already.

So, that’s upped the file size, I know. But I hope it represents some value for money. Or if you’re not paying (which is fine; a download is enough as far as I’m concerned), it represents something for nothing.

So, why the title? Here’s an excerpt form the booklet:

“(El Lissitzky’s) artwork was appropriated by The Wake, amongst others, to illustrate their 1985 album ‘Here Comes Everybody’. And it was this album cover which firmly implanted itself in my teenage mind, along with those of New Order, A Certain Ratio, Kraftwerk, etc. Album covers which shared common themes of technology, mechanization, ‘the future’…
It was the aesthetic of Factory Records and particularly of the early Hacienda which influenced me tremendously; everything from their posters to the yellow and black warning chevrons on everything Hacienda-based.
Way ahead of it’s time, The Hacienda’s architect Ben Kelly and the Factory gang toyed with the iconography of 20th Century modernism and industrialism; something which is common place now but, at the time in the 1980s, was like a replay of the avant-garde, a rebirth if you will. A reaction against the ramshackle and untidy aesthetic of punk, the blandness of 80s populism and against the decay and deprivation of 70s and early-80s industrial cities like Manchester. The Hacienda, and Factory in general, were incredibly influential, not just musically, but aesthetically. As John Robb says in the BBC documentary ‘Factory: From Joy Division to Happy Mondays’,
“…all of Manchester, every major city, ended up looking like the Hacienda. Every flat looks like the Hacienda…”
The exterior of Manchester’s Beetham Tower (this album’s cover image, albeit repeated and layered) being a personification of this.“

So, yes, the album’s partly autobiographical. Self-indulgient, most probably.

The music on it bears no resemblance to the music of those Factory bands though….at least, I don’t think it does. It’s more about evoking something (a memory, for me) and getting back some of the excitement I felt for making music in a band and on my own all those years ago. Young people, in their teens and twenties, are so idealistic about their music….there are no grey areas, no unknowns, and the future is not even considered. Well, while I see that as partly naive, partly unrealistic; I also see it as part of the magic and energy of being ‘new’ to it all. That’s what I wanted to experience.

By the way, I’m not sat in a bath-chair with a blanket over my legs, sitting outside the sanitorium, reflecting on a long-lost youth. I just needed to refresh my working-practices and my enthusiasm for making stuff, which admittedly, I’d lost (I had thought about selling all my music kit and taking-up something more…erm….‘sedate’).
Anyway, the album was recorded almost completely in Ableton Live, playing the instruments and recording directly into the computer and using some rather cool virtual synths.

I’m going to stop there and if you’ve read this far, well done. It killed a few minutes, didn’t it?

The album’s available from the 18th June at http://dementio13.com. Hope you can share in the release with me and, if you do download and like it, please tweet the living hell out of it! Thanks…

Still Bubbling Under…

No new ‘official’ releases at the moment, but plenty to keep me busy. I’ve been accustoming myself to some new kit, learning more little tricks on Ableton and knocking out a few experimental tunes.

I did a track a week or so ago, provisionally titled “Sully”, though I wasn’t sure where to go with it once I’d laid the foundations of the track. I decided to put it on Soundcloud to get some feedback/ideas and/or to let someone else play with it. Anyway, somebody did have a play with it; Diane Marie Kloba and Theodore Kloba (whose music is available here) wrote a song around the track, entitled “You Let Me In Your Room”. Here it is:

I really like the quirky post-punk vibe it’s got now.

I’ll probably keep posting some stuff on Soundcloud this week, so keep your eyes and ears open.

Incidentally, my recent album “Crash St” is here if you’ve not yet heard it. It’s a fair example of what I do. If you have bought or downloaded it, please keep tweeting/sharing. It means I get to reach a wider audience. Some of you have already played your part…thanks for that.

February Mailout – ‘Crash St’ Imminent

“Hello again. This is just a reminder to tell you that my new album ‘Crash St’ is available from Thursday 1st March (ie. next Thursday) at http://dementio13.com . I’m really pleased with it and hope you can share in the music.

It’s a pay-what-you-want download, with no minimum price, so you could have it for free. All I ask is that, if you decide to download it and like it, please share links on Twitter and/or Facebook; your recommendations help it reach a wider audience.

Bloggers/DJs have been very complimentary in their reviews:

“…electronic, programmed machine music, bursting at the seams with humanity and soul, imprinted with the traces of its creator…….Dementio13 has mastered the art of creating human music, organic music that breathes, while capitalising on the power and impact of the machine.” (Jan 26, 2012)
Oliver Arditi – oliverarditi.com

Full review at oliverarditi.com/2012/01/26/dementio-13-crash-st

“…his forthcoming Crash St album reveals him to be still moving forward in invigorating and never predictable directions, his exploratory electronica more varied in texture and mood than pretty much any of his contemporaries.” (Jan 31 2012)
Unwashed Territories – unwashedterritories.blogspot.com

Also, there’s a free album of my older stuff over at http://cutmatrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/alt-delete, so help yourself. You don’t even need to join a mailing list to download….no strings.

CRASH ST. PREVIEW:

Thanks,

Paul”

Looking Backward To Go Forward…

Well, that’s virtually it. My summer’s nearly over and I’ll be returning to the day-job with some enthusiasm, but a slightly heavy heart. So it seems like an appropriate moment to take stock and evaluate the last 3 months. And also to mention some completed mini-projects which haven’t seen the light of day yet…but will do soon.

The main production of the summer was The Hobbyist, of course. I have been really heartened and encouraged by the response, from the number of downloads and comments. I’d just like to take this moment to thank all those who downloaded, bought, shared, commented on, or supported the album. Seriously, it’s really made all the difference.

A more recent and, as is my way, a speedier production was the new Cwtch EP, which was only released this week. Marie did a brilliant job on the vocals and, as ever, it was a cinch to get the music recorded around them as a result. Even though we work ‘together’ with 8000 miles, or whatever it is, between us; we still manage to make unified music. It’s a cool way to work.

So, those were the main projects. But I’ve been busy on the remixing front too; most of which haven’t been released yet. Mainly because they are being released as part of other artists’ albums or as bonus tracks. These release times are estimates, but I think they will be available soon-ish:

Remix of Alone‘s track ‘Fizzing’ – it will appear on his new EP which I think will be released in September.

Likewise with Jewellers‘ track ‘Amber’ which I remixed at the beginning of July. I think that might be a bonus track on their EP, around Sept.

I did a re-build of Pinklogik‘s track ‘Playing With Sticks’. Jules is releasing an album of remixes of the track by a variety of artists around December/January and my version will be on there.

Finally, I’ve entered a competition to remix Tara Busch‘s track ‘Rocket Wife’. Not to win of course (nervous cough!), but more as a challenge and because it’s for a good cause (The Bob Moog Foundation). That’s posted, but won’t be made public at the moment.

So, as a result of all this, I’m taking a break from recording for a while. I’m going to concentrate on practise and discipline! I want to try to get my bass-playing up to scratch! So, I’ll be practising and keeping any moments of genius (!) to myself!!! Also, I think I need to make some longer-term plans regarding my music, rather than just letting music ‘escape’ every so often! I think I’ll be back in the saddle after Christmas….that means 2012, basically.

So, thanks again for your support (yes, you!) and thanks for reading.

SnackTracks – A Breakdown

Hopefully, some of you lovely readers will have listened to the new EP. If you’ve downloaded it, many thanks. If you’ve bought it, many, many thanks!

I like to get some insight into the music I listen to, whether its trying to guess what equipment has been used, or trying to surmise what the intentions were. So here’s a breakdown of the tracks, just in case you’re interested in these things.

1. Snackshack

This track was actually first recorded in 1999, so its very old. I was slightly in thrall of DJ Shadow, Wagon Christ and Coldcut at the time; so the original version of the track reflected that. That original version has always been a personal favourite track of mine, with its lolloping beat (drum hits from James Brown’s ‘Funky Drummer’), weird atmospherics and 1960s beat music groove. It reminds me of a particularly good time in my life too. For a laugh, my old mate Neil did a mock-Norwegian rap to it which actually sounded really good; but that was never recorded.
Anyway, the new version, recorded in November 2010, was an attempt to recreate the mood of the original, and beef it up a bit too. The updated version has an insistent sample from Coppolla’s film ‘The Conversation’ (if you’re not familiar with it, check it out, its fantastic) and a couple of other movie samples, as well as a more synthetic feel. The same distorted bass sounds and drumbeats remain.

2. F*** You, Purist

This track just kinda happened. I’d not intended to do a vocal track originally, but thought I’d try a spoken-word vocal on there. The lyrics were originally a lot more varied and the vocal was longer as a result, but I cut most of it out in order to make it fit a little better. The theme, as such, is me ranting about the rather self-righteous nature of self-confessed music ‘purists’, who will dismiss music because its of a certain genre, or because its been recorded in a certain way; without actually listening to it! They tend to be a bit obsessive about vintage gear like analogue synths, or classic guitars, or vinyl, as well. Oh…and valves! They’re always ranting on about “warmth”, like some elderly relative constantly feeling the radiators and complaining about the chill. It’s about music and equipment fetishism.
I mean, we’re all music snobs to some extent, but really!
Anyway, the noise on this track is pretty piercing…an FM drone on my Alesis Fusion. The synth bass is a squarewave bass I programmed, and the underlying bassline is my bass guitar through a lowpass filter and a ring modulator.

3. Ohm Song

This was originally a song (ie with vocals) also, but I cut the vocal as the track seemed to have a life of its own as an instrumental. It’s got a lovely upright piano sound from the Fusion, and a tweaked Oberheim preset synth from the Fusion again (I tend to programme most of my own sounds and record my own samples, but there are some expert, and rather cool, preset banks on the Fusion website, so I occasionally use them). Incidentally, the Alesis Fusion is my main instrument for writing/recording…. it pretty much does everything, and because it’s not used by many people (its not one of the more fashionable synths), the tracks always have a slightly different sonic ‘feel’ to other music. Its very underrated, if occasionally a bit unpredictable!

4. The Pit

This track is very recent and has gone through a couple of incarnations. I never intend to make a track actually sound like another artist, I just stick to my guns. But I guess your influences do affect the way you make music, so in retrospect, this has turned out a little bit ‘John Carpenter’! Anyway, repetition that slowly builds and builds is a musical feature which I love. Repetition that slowly builds and builds is a…. oh, you see what I did there?!

5. Under The Bed

A funny one this. The instrumental version had been completed, but the track still didn’t feel right, and I’d been singing along to it. I came up with an odd little lyric; about capturing dreams through drawings and placing them under people’s beds to make them dream those dreams. Er..yes, Paul (backs out of room). Anyway, it seemed to fit. Once I recorded it after a few tries, I still wasn’t happy with the vocal (this is usual for me; I’m no singer!). So I put it through a vocal transformer, and hey, presto! Instant ‘drunk female vocalist’! Enough said.
The instrumentation is fairly simple: strings, synth pad, lead synth and chorused bass guitar (two bass lines).

6. Clinging To The Wind

I really love music which conjures up images for the listener. Movie soundtracks are a big part of my listening habits; and, of course, my music is a reflection of this. So, that this track has elements of John Barry, Ennio Morricone, Roy Budd and Ron Grainer, is inevitable I guess.
A layered theme with dense instrumentation, I think this is a bit excessive sonically, but oddly I’m still quite pleased with it. There’s a distorted bass guitar under there somewhere, and also the bass played as a lead guitar. As a result, it sounds a bit New Order-ish as well, which was unintentional.

Anyway, I hope this has either given you some insight, or made you want to download the EP, or not download it, even!
Bye for now.

Cleanliness – Why Not Stay ‘Dirty’?

What is it with cleanliness? I mean, we cover up our natural odours with totally unnatural ones (alcohol and chocolate, it appears); we try to keep our homes bacteria-free, when bacteria is the foundation of what keeps us healthy (within reason, that is); Christ, we even worry about the germs which exist on our soap dispensers, so we’ve invented soap dispensers which we don’t have to touch to get soap! It’s all a bit ludicrous.

Now, before you start thinking, “What is this, a rant about personal hygiene ?”, I’ll explain. I’m not entirely sure what my point is…or if there is a point to start with! But I’ve been thinking about this a bit.
I’m actually referring to the obsession musicians have with a ‘clean’ sound. Particularly when recording their music. And, yes, I’m generalising; because I am aware that there are many musicians/producers/DJs who favour the noise, dirt, and interference that comes with acoustic and electronic music production. And I’m not referring to the musicians who use vintage kit, distortion and effects to create walls of sound, or fatter chords, or ‘retro’ music, etc.

Let’s start by considering the studio. The modern professional studio is a mystery to me. I’m talking about commercial studios here; soundproofed and stuffed to the gills with electronic boxes and computers which, on their own, are probably worth more than your car. This has always been the case… rooms full of equipment which is state-of-the-art (this was as true in 1973 as it is today); enabling the cleanest, phattest, most polished sound imaginable. Compressors, aural exciters, reverbs, delays, mixers, limiters, filters, eq units fill these rooms, normally accompanied by an engineer who has been trained to use the damned things. And sofas.
The result of using all this to record your music is impressive. It can turn a mediocre piece of amateur music into a professional-sounding, sparkly slice of magnificence. And, most mainstream musicians are striving to achieve this…so, more power to them…. I guess….

However, how often do us musicians who are making music on a budget, without backing….us amateurs, semi-professionals, or ‘unsigned’ artists…..how often do we wish to use the magic of the commercial studio only to emulate our heroes? Not necessarily to mimic them, but just to evoke their music-making process? How much of this is down to the accepted notion that it’s ‘the done thing’? My question is…is it really necessary?

There’s a commonly-held belief that the music industry, as it was and has been since the 1950s, is changing. Not by choice, you understand…no, the industry would rather keep things just as they were, thanks. Making money off the creative endeavors of talent. Playing percentages, hiring & firing, moving only with fashion, perpetuating the status-quo, rejecting innovation for stability. That’s all changing. Apparently.
The “music industry” no longer refers to just major labels or large independents; it now also refers to bedroom musicians, gigging musicians, buskers, DJs and producers who are embracing the punk-ethic…the Do-It-Yourself attitude. Only, now, or for the last 10 years or so, the technology has become available for people to ‘do-it-for-themselves’. Malcolm McLaren espoused it; the acid-house crowd did it underground, the KLF did it, albeit by making the music at home, in order to get a record deal….then they wrote a book about it. But now, we all can do it, for real. And many are doing so.
We, you, they, are the “music industry”.
Who needs distribution when we’ve got sites like Bandcamp? Who needs promotion when we’ve got Twitter and Facebook? Who needs to publish/copyright their music, when ownership has become of secondary importance, when people share, and when Creative Commons exists to protect the artist’s rights without compromising the ability to get the music heard?
And who needs commercial studios when many people can now create, mix and master their own music to a decent quality (in some admittedly rare cases, to an equal quality to that produced in a studio) at home?
Aren’t commercial studios just part of the previously accepted hegemony of the music industry? Or am I being a bit too general? After all, I’ve not experienced the comforts of the studio myself. I’ve never heard a professionally mastered piece of my music. I’ve never played with the toys, or had an engineer to ‘fix’ and polish my music. I’ve never sampled the thrill of the 4am mixing session in plush surroundings, drinking Panamanian coffee, or knocking back a few cold ones on a deep leather sofa while my bandmates snort cocaine off the thigh of a Belgian prostitute…….oh, hold, on….I’m saying this out loud, aren’t I? Got carried away…sorry.

Maybe I’m just envious.

Anyway….my point is: its never been easier to get your music heard…if you’ve got an idea, share it, record it, stick it on Bandcamp, get in touch with a netlabel, Tweet it, post it on Facebook and Youtube. Nothing may happen…… but then again, something might. You’ll have spent nothing but your time and energy, and it will be worth every second.