Thursday, July 31, 2014

Accents - 310714

Sponsored by "Electronic etc."

Completed editing the various 78 clips in AA3. Because I want to do a mash-up between two different tracks, and yet have a semi-coherent "storyline", I ran up a quick spreadsheet in OpenOffice Calc with the file names and a textual transcript of the files. I used the spreadsheet to determine the order of the files in the final mix. I know, a spreadsheet. It's just my way of doing the William S. Burroughs cut-up method...;-)

The order seems to be pretty OK, so tomorrow I will create a CE5 project file for the track and insert the various files in order. After that, I'll just have to compose a musical "bed" for the track. Seeemples.

More work tomorrow.

Regards,


djp

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Accents - 300714

Sponsored by "Elbow".

You may be aware that part of my creative process when working on an album is to stockpile a load of working titles for potential tracks. I have no idea what was going through my head a while back when I proposed to call a track for this album ACCENTS, but that's not a bad thing, because it now means I can do what I like with the title, without being tied to any legacy preconceptions.

As part of my project working on the 78s, I came across a number of "novelty" records. A number of these were "comedic" spoken-word monologues delivered in thick Irish brogues (is there any other kind?). So I decided to take two of these tracks, cut-up the monologues in AA3 and mash them together to see what I come up with. Hopefully I can find a lyrical point to this, otherwise it's just me feck-acting about...;-).

I have one track done so far, and I plan to do another one tomorrow.

I may do a simple drum and bass backing for the track, but that's for the future.

More work tomorrow.

Regards,


djp

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

I Am A Shadow Of Your Former Self - 290714

Sponsored by "Editors".

Completed adding a number of 78 "elements" to the track in CE5. Spent way too much time playing around with the various wav clips, but I think it's pretty sorted now, so I'll leave it for mixing/mastering at some date in the future.

Of course, I only went and did that stupid thing that happens in CE5 where I drag the transport panel off the screen and can't retrieve it. Pain in the bum. One can live with it other than for the fact that the transport panel also contains the L/R location indicators, which I normally use when rendering a master wav file, but it seems that CE5 will include in a mix anything that hasn't specifically been switched off, regardless of location. This seems to include delays which trail way past the end of the relevant wav clip. Will have to take that on trust then.

More work tomorrow, with an idea for a brand new track...

Regards,


djp

Monday, July 28, 2014

A Accident/I Am A Shadow Of Your Former Self - 280714

Sponsored by "Dummy".

I was off on holidays/family business in the UK last week. Came back on Saturday night, absolutely wiped. Did very little yesterday apart from mooching around the house. And holidays are supposed to be a time where the body is refreshed and restored to its optimal physical condition? As if...;-).

Before going on holidays, I'd finished sampling all those 78s. I've been left with over 6 and a half hours of audio recorded at 45 rpm. I think I have worked out how to resample it to equate, more-or-less, to 78 rpm - there may be some issues with pitch, but I'll have to get over that in due course. Still, I'll have a shipload of audio to go through to see if there is anything really useful in it.

In order to get cracking on with the project after my break, I had a look at A ACCIDENT, which I'd decided just needed a bit of 78 "business" to finish off. I opened up one of my 78 files in 45 rpm in AA3 and edited a clip which included the stylus connecting with the vinyl. I inserted it into the relevant project file in CE5. I edited a segment of that clip, which is essentially the run-in section without the "contact" and repeated that a number of times. Then I took the first, unedited, clip, reversed it and repeated that clip a number of times also. All the vinyl elements are treated differently using various VST plugins. The track is pretty much ready to mix/master now. It's going to be a track on an EP, so it's not going to be High Art, alright...?;-).

I also had a look at ...SHADOW... for potential 78 treatment. It doesn't need a huge amount of vinyl input. I took another clip from the same 78 files, which included a musical intro, and inserted it in various locations in the relevant CE5 project file. The clip had to be detuned by two semi-tones to fit with the rest of the track. This may well be my "rule-of-thumb" for the future. The clip is not going to work in all circumstances, so it's really a question of finding the best-sounding locations. I may look for other clips to fill out the track. Not sure if this track will actually make the album. Probably will, at this stage. Got to finish it first, of course.

Mad road-trip tonight, then more work tomorrow.

Regards,


djp


Wednesday, July 9, 2014

78s and all...

So, today I have been doing something rather unusual...

...sampling old 78s to see if there is anything worth using on this project.

The 78s came into my possession via my wife's family. As you can imagine, they're in rag order having been stored in a wooden box for many decades (as in, these were never played on anything other than a gramophone), and they're an odd mixture of musical hall acts, "standard" ballads and instrumental pieces.






I'm sampling them via my old Sony hi-fi turntable which only takes power from the amplifier, so I've had to drag the whole lot down from the attic for the purpose. The audio signal is recorded onto the Tascam 2488 with the turntable playing at 45 rpm. I'll speed them up in AA3 in due course.

Excuse the mess...


There must be close to 100 discs here, so this is going to take me an age to complete.

You may know that I'm not a great fan of vinyl - this whole upsurge of interest in the format just strikes me as being a vain attempt to recapture one's youth (buy a Sodastream and a Raleigh Chopper, why don'tcha...?) - but I have an absolute phobia about 78s. And here's why...

...back when I was a kid, in the town in which I grew up, we had an empty shop space which my mother would occasionally rent out to various wannabe business-types. When things were quiet and the space was empty, it would be used as a "communication centre" for the annual carnival. A PA system and turntable would be set up in the shop window and records would be played for several hours during the day. I even got a go on the turntable myself from time to time. The records generally came from a neighbour's daughter's collection and other sources and were generally the pop music of the late 60s/early 70s, with an unhealthy smattering of showband/country & Irish music thrown in for "good" measure.

One evening, I was sifting through the pile of discs when I came across on old 78 of Johnny Ray. I have no idea what the song was - I can only recall that it was on the Philips label (back in the day when that type of thing mattered...). I put on the record without giving it that much attention.

Boy was I in for a shock. The disc had been pressed off-centre and yawed from side to side ferociously, with the sound from the disc varying in pitch at an alarming rate. And there was poor Johnny, with his hearing-aid and all, sounding like he was scared to death, trying to sing while riding on a rollercoaster. It was a most unpleasant and frightening experience for me - it felt like Johnny had been trapped forever within the grooves of the 78, howling in varispeed agony.

I haven't played a 78 from that day to this.

I have to say that playing the discs today hasn't been quite as unpleasant as I'd feared. Yes, old scratchy vinyl played at the wrong speed sounds just as awful as you might imagine. But I'm thinking of all the people who were involved in the production of these discs:- composers, musicians, singers, studio techs, label owners, people in the pressing plants. All dead now. Not to mention the people who sold the discs - some were sold in bicycle shops for heaven's sake. All dead now.

Pretty much like the record industry, when you think of it.

These people deserve to be remembered and respected (although I'm sure some of them were disreputable in their various ways - no matter...).

Regards,


djp

Iye - 06 & 070714

Sponsored by "Cousin Silas" and "David Bowie".

I had two sessions with this track during the week, but due to technical problems with the internet I wasn't able to blog about them at the tine. Communication problems are sorted now (apparently...), so watch me catch up with meself big-time stylee...

060714

Programmed some MIDI drum parts in CE5 using the Roland Juno-D/Phonic Firefly/HALion One StereoGM/Kore Player Sky Kit. Some interesting Latin percussion stuff going on...

070714

Edited the MIDI drum parts in CE5. Also programmed/edited some melodic MIDI parts in CE5 using the Yamaha DX100/Phonic Firefly/Kore Player Morning Sun/FM8/Minimogue VA Big Drift. Tracked these parts in audio via the Behringer Xenyx 1202 mixer.

Track sounds mighty now. More work required in the future.

Regards,


djp