Exposition III - Try It... You Might Like It
Once we had agreed to start again, I wasn’t sure what to do musically. I still had the compulsion, the need, to write and play music. Mostly, I would occupy myself with writing–without notation–short classical pieces for piano. I also tried writing–with notation–a few pieces for ensembles.
I also tried playing guitar again. I tried playing twelve string guitar. I tried playing guitar with foot triggered synthesizers. I rented a cello, which I started learning to play (bowing technique is hard AF, by the way).
It took about six to eight months of this exploration.
One day, I was playing organ, and I hooked up a bunch of synthesizer modules to it–a Roland JP-08 and a Dave Smith Tetra, to be specific. While experimenting with sounds, I found myself playing a melody. It was kind of a sad melody, with a ethereal feel to it. I had these foot pedals–the KMI 12 Step– that could be midi’d up to my iPad, and using that, I could create a spacious pad sound while still playing the synths. Before I knew it, I had song.
And there it was. It was like... chemistry.
In short order, I had started writing more instrumentals like this...electronic, moody, sometimes slow, kind of like a soundtrack to a movie, but always, they had emotion. Just like the songs I used to write, they had some modicum of feeling.
When I started, I had these little synth modules, and the iPad, and mixer, precariously balanced on my Nord organ. Once I figured out the additional pieces I needed (like an effects pedal), I whipped out the graph paper notebook and designed a custom rack that I could place right on top of the organ.
Mind you, the organ is only being used as a MIDI controller at this point, but that is not meant diminutively. Quite to the contrary, it is essential. The ergonomics, the feel of the waterfall keys, the three MIDI zones...these things are central to the way I’ve developed playing for the past five or six years. The sound and content might be different, but the technique has remained the same.
So I went into the basement, and built a rack to put on top of the organ. It fits three synth modules, a small keyboard synthesizer, an iPad, a MIDI switch, a multi effects pedal, and a mixer.
Once presented some of the new material, Ian also refreshed his rig. First, from the old House of Leaves days, he got the Roland SPD-S drum pad sampler out of mothballs, and made it the centerpiece. He replaced the kick drum with a bass amp, which in turn amplified the drum sampler. He then augmented the electronics with an acoustic snare, low tom, hi hat, and ride.
Over the past year, we have been working on a pile of new songs, refining our sound. We played just a few shows, but started getting into the habit of periodically recording. That way, we have a process of feedback, and refinement, and we can release online the material we like.
That’s how we came to be Ether Grove.
