Categories
Software

Luke Sanger updates Jiffy 16-second looper for Norns


Five years after its inception, Sanger’s Jiffy Looper reaches v.1.2. The 16-second audio looper for the Monome Norns ecosystem is designed to provide a quick and fun looping addition to your app collection.

The recent additions include a complete code overhaul and full midi mapping implementation across all parameters, opening up the usage to those with midi foot pedals and other external controllers.

Fans of Languid Gongue, will already be familiarized with the auditory softcut zones reached by feeding synths into Jiffy whilst manipulating the speed and dub parameters 😉

More Jiffy updates and other new Norns apps are expected from Luke this year. Stay up to date on Jiffy development at llllllll.co and at Github.

Categories
Minimal Review Synth

Egil Kalman – Forest of Tines (Egil Kalman plays the Buchla 200)

Behold the enchanting Buchla symphonies, woven by the mystical hands of Egil Kalman, a maestro of otherworldly melodies. In this magical opus, Kalman guides us through realms where traditional harmonies intertwine with the ethereal. The mystical additive wave folding timbres, originating from the enchanting ELECTRIC MUSIC BOX, Series 200, resonate throughout the very fabric of these compositions.

Bandcamp for the vinyl (only a handful left!) and digital.

Categories
Interview

Interview: Joseph Branciforte (greyfade)

To coincide with his recent record collab with Theo Bleckmann, the gorgeous new ambient record named LP2, we had a chat with Joseph Branciforte – an electronic music magician and owner of possibly the most elegant and spotless record label on the planet – greyfade.

How would you describe your musical style as Joseph Branciforte & Theo Bleckmann?

I’m terrible at this kind of thing, but the writer Philip Sherburne recently described it as “oval reworking meredith monk” — or something to that effect. it’s improvised music created with voice, electronics, Fender Rhodes piano, and different analog & modular synthesizer elements. very texturally focused, but with a compositional bent & harmonic exploration that one might not usually find in traditional “ambient music.”

Can you share some insights into your collaborative creative process? Are you working remotely or in person?

this collaboration began with a series of completely improvised live performances between vocalist Theo Bleckmann and i back in 2018. so the foundation of the music (and the albums LP1 and LP2) has always been the two of us improvising together in a room. that said, I tend to spend a lot of time editing our recorded materials, so there is also an element of meditation/post-production involved, at least on the recordings. that is mostly me alone at my studio, sending versions to Theo to get his thoughts as things progress.

in a couple of instances on LP2, I decided I wanted to orchestrate things more explicitly, so I transcribed the improvisations and wrote some parts that Theo came back in to sing. but that was very much the exception. it’s usually very spontaneously created with a bunch of sifting to find the most compelling bits.

What software and hardware do you use in your music production setup, and how do these tools contribute to your sound? 

I’ve used a lot of different tools throughout the years, but the backbone of my setup for this music is the Fender Rhodes electric piano and a live looping system that I built in max/msp (or, earlier, pure data, back when I was using a critter & guattari organelle). the looping system does some very simple & specific things that I’ve always wanted in a hardware looper, but have never been able to find off-the-shelf. it allows for multiple asynchronous loops to be running simultaneously, all with independent playback speed, playback direction, stop/start points, panning, hpf / lpf cutoff frequencies, and a couple of aux sends. so it’s sort of like a multichannel mixer that has an independent looper on each channel.

using looped materials provides a built-in sense of harmonic & thematic unity, but the ability to vary the loop lengths and zero in on smaller sounds and patterns allows me to really react to what Theo is doing, which is often quite dynamic. it helps move the improvisation forward in interesting and unexpected ways, rather than being locked into a static environment for 45 minutes.

How do you approach sound design and synthesis as a duo, to create unique and distinctive sounds in your tracks?

I’ve known Theo’s music for many years, so the choice of collaborator is probably the most important element of “sound design” in this case. because theo has such a harmonically rich voice & a wide range, I always think in terms of “framing” the voice… moving toward the edges of the spectral canvas… super low and super high frequencies… and keeping my sounds drier and more precise. if I’m always in the middle register and using a bunch of effects, things can get soupy quickly. That informs my choice of sound sources, spectra, envelopes, etc.

Could you talk about your mixing and mastering techniques? What are some of your go-to plugins or effects?

I mix with a hybrid setup, using a DAW like pro tools with plugins, plus a variety of outboard gear as inserts, aux sends, or 2-buss processors. I’m a recording engineer by trade, so i really like to pay attention to how sounds are recorded on the way in. For the records with Theo, we tracked his voice with a pretty complicated chain including 3 microphones (chandler redd, aea r84, copperphone), each multed to different compressors, and then his looper and effects chains recorded to their own stereo tracks. so mixing becomes less about inventing a sound, than it is about blending the sources you already captured. it’s a similar approach to my looping setup, where different elements are recorded onto different tracks, which allows some flexibility in mixing.

I like analog tube compressors for voice, like the Chandler rs124, Highland Dynamics bg 2, and Acme Opticom. for the 2-buss, I use a dangerous liaison routing unit with a dangerous s&m, thermionic Phoenix compressor, neve 33609, and API 5550 eq on inserts. I’m a big fan of outboard spring reverbs like the Benson studio tallbird, the Roland space echo’s built-in spring, and other tanks that I have routed through a doepfer eurorack spring reverb module. also a big fan of using guitar pedals when mixing. plugins never really excite me that much, but I use all the regular stuff… uad, fabfilter, soundtoys, etc.

Are you planning on performing this material live?

there are some shows in the works, yes!

What’s next?

I’m currently editing a duo album I recorded with a great Belgian keyboard player named Jozef Dumoulin. jozef really influenced my approach to using the Fender Rhodes piano with effects, and so it’s a real thrill to be able to make an album with him. That should be out sometime later in 2024. 

my record label greyfade is heading into its sixth year and we’ve got at least 3 large-scale records coming out in 2024. one is a project that i produced, arranged, and recorded for Taylor Deupree that will be jointly released by greyfade and his label 12k in April. the other two are follow-up releases from greyfade artists Kenneth Kirschner and Christopher Otto that I recorded and produced. all three projects will arrive in a new album release format that I’ve been working out over the last few months, as an alternative to vinyl and CD.

LP2 is available now on vinyl and digital via the label’s website and Bandcamp.

Categories
Art Culture Experimental

Korg Volca Modular and Mushroom

Mushrooms think, therefore they ambient.

Categories
Documentary Synth

Moog – Documentary

Classic 2004 American documentary film by Hans Fjellestad about electronic instrument pioneer Robert Moog. Nice production and well worth a gander if you missed it the first time around.

Categories
Ambient Review

Cat Tyson Hughes – Roses in the Casement Window

Rounding off an impressive debut year for Quiet Details, we have the gloriously ethereal ‘Roses in the Casement Window’ from Cat Tyson Hughes. The album unfolds like a dream, with Cat’s vocals cascading over deep, undulating bass, creating expansive sonic realms that resonate with emotion and honesty.

Delicate melodies emerge through the clouds of sound, revealing a meticulous layering of textures and harmonies. The combination of vocal and synth harmonies, intertwined with field recordings and electro-acoustic elements, results in a sonic tapestry that is unmistakably Cat’s own. Her ability to weave constant movement and endless layers creates soundscapes that transport the listener to an otherworldly realm.

Out now via Quiet Details bandcamp

Categories
Aesthetics Art Culture Video

You Have to Go Into the Unknown

“Friedrich believed that man should not paint what he saw in the outside world but what he saw inside of himself. Of course, Friedrich’s mind was far from a springtime in bloom so his paintings often focused on cold, dark winters and intensely stark landscapes” – Horses

Categories
Ambient Video

Terry Riley – Morning Corona

Some days (more often than not atm) we just need to whack on some Terry Riley and transport the mind to a tranquil state.

Categories
Ambient Avant Garde Electro-Acoustic Experimental Field Recording Minimal Review

Top Freqs of 2023

Another fine year for music here in the flatlands.
Here are our ten most frequented frequencies of the past 12 months. Go check them out and support the artists!

1. Tape Loop Orchestra – Onde Sinusoi​̈​dale Et Bande Magne​́​tique

2. S. Costa – The Radiant Point

3. Cate Brooks – Easel Studies

4. T.Jervell & ChromaDots – Faksfjord / Fragsfjord

5. Field Lines Cartographer – Tone Maps

6. Elia Piana – Sotto l​’​Albero Tutto Si Copre

7. Anagrams – Blue Voices

8. Night Gestalt – The Staring Night

9. VirusMoto –

10. Sundheim – Glades of Flowering Stone

Categories
Computer Music Documentary Synth

Laurie Spiegel – Waveshaper TV

Excellent 3-part documentary on one of my favourite musicians of modern times, Laurie Speigel