#expert sleepers

[nommix]

expert sleepers disting mk4 & befaco muxlicer

[cygnusred]

eurorack 2x2 custom rack w/ MN system cartesian skiff.

[palsen]

In Voltage

I didn’t want to dive into the ocean of modular synthesis. For many years I resisted. I thought the practice was all about experimenting and jamming – all about the live session in itself. And for me, the things that come first in all of this, are songwriting, composition, arrangement, structure, mixing, and postproduction such as mastering.

And while I enjoy sound design very much, and regard it as an important part in the making of music, I thought Eurorack modular systems primarily made noises that was hard to integrate into more conventional tracks. And then it’s not possible to save presets.

But now I’m thinking: why not have both? I can still do my old routines, and at the same time care for a little ecosystem with an ephemeral nature on the side. I could set limits.

So I’m building a basic synth voice, something in that direction. The modular rack is made of dedicated modules (more or less) and has many modulation possibilities. It kind of goes like this: VCO > MIX > VCF > VCA > ENV > LFO.

I don’t want to use multifunctional toolboxes, such as Expert Sleepers Disting or advanced generators as Make Noise Maths to begin with. I don’t want a computer to do everything – that would defeat the purpose of a modular system (although a couple of combined utility functions are alright, like Mutable Instruments Kinks or Intellijel Triatt ). I’m not putting a self-contained, semi-modular synth – like a Moog Mother-32 or an Arturia MiniBrute 2 – as a starting point, because I want building blocks; different exchangeable modules. (I’m, however, using an Elektron Analog Keys to control everything and then some.) For the modular system will grow, evolve organically, and stuff will be supplemented or replaced.

From the get-go, the the modular is mainly Doepfer, but it will be customized with other equivalent modules or upgrades. I’d like to say I’m expanding slowly to get a chance to thoroughly understand the modules and how they interact with each other, but to tell you the truth, this configuration has really exploded. But I guess, and hope, it will cool down. It takes time and perhaps it’s the process per se that is the point.

Another agenda is to acquire used modules on the secondhand market, as far as possible. I want to be able to try out and then sell, if it doesn’t fit without losing too much money. This approach has been working great with the exception of a friend of mine whom is building a uBraids for me.

P.S. Ableton Live 10 is officially released today.

[cygnusred]

patch

[thenewobjective]

Andrew Ostler ~ Dots on a Disk of Snow / The Blind Sublime

Andrew Ostler is a sonic chameleon, but it’s hard to understand how much of a chameleon he is without going through his back catalogue.  After Electronic Sound magazine named Ostler one of their “50 Key Modular Artists,” he released a saxophone heavy, synthesizer free set, only to return to electronics on last year’s Dots on a Disk of Snow; which makes this year’s The Blind Sublime, a sacred set…

Andrew Ostler ~ Dots on a Disk of Snow / The Blind Sublime

[alephstudio]

[alephstudio]

[alephstudio]