I just finished setting up my integrated hardware and software system for performing and for recording the performance on up to 32 tracks. I tested and tried everything thoroughly, and feel confident that I can easily do an afternoon of live sound design.
I recorded a little solo improvisation and Midwinter meditation, using everything I perform with which does not need a microphone: My “Cork City Gamelan” percussion samples and drones made from them in the introduction, and mainly my new modular Synthesizer together with some granular synthesis throughout the rest of the piece. The source for the granulation is one of the stretched sample drones.
Entrainment And Resolution is a self-imposed directive for improvisation and it is part of my live repertoire. This take is a little under 12 minutes long. There are three short movements with no breaks: Introduction, Entrainment and Resolution. I published it on my Soundcloud page. Enjoy, and have a Cool Yule!
The D.I.Y. Geek Info:
The Hub of my Performance set-up is an AudioMulch patch on my computer. It is an alternative to using a DAW for working in a more free form way, more suitable for improvisation. The BPM clock in AudioMulch becomes the system-wide MIDI clock. Like in a DAW, effects can synchronize to the BPM clock.
A Max/MSP patch reads the MIDI clock and sends beats and algorithmically composed musical gestures to a synthesizer module which converts them to voltages for feeding into a patch on my synthesizer.
For performance, I interact with the synthesizer directly. I play the samples and granular synthesis effects in AudioMulch via small MIDI controllers. I use delay and quantize effects in AudioMulch… and because the BPM clock is also the MIDI clock… to which the synth beats are synchronized… increasing the speed of the effects in AudioMulch speeds up the synthesizer beats in perfect synchronization.
For making live noises along with it all, I have two microphones attached to my Audio Interface. I am trying to make a habit of always recording EVERYTHING I play in AudioMulch.
