This is my first post since last summer – but I was not idle – too busy, actually, for spending much time writing articles.<\/p>\n
I built an installation at the Hilltown New Music Festival<\/a>, based on the subject of what was still my most recent post until earlier today.<\/p>\n I then went on to program my own tool kit for Granular Synthesis, which widened the scope of what I can do with my Cork City Gamelan samples – the Cork City Gamelan can now play drones and melodies live.<\/p>\n I also started working with Massimo Davi<\/a> on one of his projects – very exciting, and an important practical learning experience – it snaps me out of my common “self-centric” mode \u2026 which I _do_ enjoy, nevertheless, there _is_ a lot of inspiration to be had from collaborations. It actually works a little like genetics, I reckon, or evolution, even.<\/p>\n But most importantly, I prepared my main music composition and fixed media production project for the year: a substantial piece of work based on Nova Express by William S. Burroughs. I am doing it all with Granular Synthesis. I shall explain in a future article.<\/p>\n My first experience of listening to Granular Synthesis was Riverrun by Barry Truax<\/a> – a 1980s piece of music, but I did not get to hear it until a few years into the current century\u2026 and I knew immediately that I had to learn how to do it.<\/p>\n Riverrun is based on Finnegans Wake (I never knew, and I just double checked it: without apostrophe is actually the correct spelling). For years (decades, even) I had wanted to do something based on Nova Express, and here was THE obvious technique for doing it. Shooting for something on a similar scale, I did several tests and attempts over the years, using all kinds of programs and plug-ins, leading to lots of false starts, however: in order to match and exceed what Truax had done, I needed to program my own tool kit.<\/p>\n I had to learn some basic Max\/MSP patching – a daunting undertaking at first, and I tried to get by for a while using AudioMulch for processing and playback with Max for custom MIDI applications \u2026 but only for a while. The work of Barry Truax was the minimum benchmark for my own efforts, and the minimum requirement for achieving it was to learn MSP processing. The results I achieved took me nicely beyond what Truax did – they HAD to – considering that HE did it over 30 years ago!<\/p>\n I also got permission to use readings of the text as a source for some of the sounds. I don’t believe anybody would have sued me for making “fan art”. Dozens of people publish similar work every week. But there is a feel good factor attached to being able to say something like: “lyrics \u00a9 William S. Burroughs, used by permission” \u2026 and to have offered and paid a token fee for it. It is the “proper way”. I was dealing with a large agency. It took me more than five weeks to get somebody to listen to me, and then I felt I was being put on the spot, being asked to make an offer. Thanks, Bernard<\/a> and Ian<\/a>, for your help with it.<\/p>\n Unusual for my music: this piece has no title yet. Usually, I have at least a tentative or working title before I start sketching or recording. Anyway, it is mainly about control, manipulation, and about the instruments of control.<\/p>\n I made three related pieces along the way and posted them to Soundcloud:<\/p>\n Escalate, Walk Away … And Say Nothing<\/a><\/p>\n Subliminal Entrainment<\/a><\/p>\n Phun with Phil Spector’s voice reading from Nova Express<\/a><\/p>\n enjoy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is my first post since last summer – but I was not idle – too busy, actually, for spending much time writing articles. I built an installation at the Hilltown New Music Festival, based on the subject of what … Continue reading