CITY OF GLASS

It's been sometime...
[Please listen with headphones for a better sonic ride :) Thanks!]

An ambient sound art piece made up by sampling kitchen wares, faulty cables,
synths, guitar drones and piano.



CITY OF GLASS

I closed my eyes
And got carried away by darkness
When I opened them again
I was standing in a city made of glass
The only people I saw
Were my own distorted reflections...

In Conversation With Rain [s o n i c b r a t]

Have you ever watched the rain from the comfort of shelter, and these little tear drops hit helplessly on your window pane... as if they are yearning for you?

Today it rained magnificently. The rain washed our land as it cleansed our tired souls, sending whispers that slipped into our concrete lives impishly. I had a conversation with the rain. But it ended abruptly. A mindless improvisation in response to what the rain told me; with no form nor structure, just reactions. It's an imperfect track that's random... but I guess that's the beauty of it...

A home brewed DIY minimalistic video clip of the track, using my mini casio digital camera, oh well... :) Do listen with headphones, thank you!

THE UNSPOKEN TALE OF RAIN

It tapped on my window
Asking to be let in...
Told me a tale of tomorrow
And slipped away unseen...

Some Updates: s o n i c b r a t

Phase II had ended. So while we try to find a new direction for Phase III, we are on a hiatus. Taking a break from it for awhile. As you can see we will be updating on our own little ventures in synths, gears, softwares... music and sounds. So while being away, we will continue to load snippets of stuffs here.

I have been meddling a bit with my Doepfer A100 Modular system. Hooking up my "modularly modded" Roland SH101 to it. I am still quite new to this but I am definitely having fun, the old way :). I have yet to record stuffs down due to work commitments. But here's some pictures for tease. Will upload a demo track once I've done so.

WEEK 4: s o n i c b r a t

HIGHWAY FELO-DE-SE

Tempo: 120 Bpm
Key: E

This time round I did not use any gear recordings, just samples provided and some soft-synth sound-scaping using Reaktor 5. I've used a couple of LDT's samples, 2 guitar samples and one vocal sample of Eric's. I've pitched them, stretched them, ring modulated them, reversing them till they are just drones. Only Eric's bass guitar sample was left untouched with a little tidying and eq to clean the sample up plus time corrections; and the rest I've used mine... using the guitar synth sample I've provided in Week4, reversing and pitching it all the way up to underlay as the ethereal drone in the back ground. The bass drone get a stereo spread and the square arp get's ring modulated in one track and gated (plus getting the cracking residues of a crackle removal plug-in) in another to get the glitchy clicks. I've also used samples I've provided in the past weeks for the drums. Final touch ups were done by adding Reaktor 5 synths drones, reversing them and such. The loops were edited, warped and got a make over using Sound Forge, mixed on Acid, and mastered on Sound Forge. And here it is, a whiney IDM piece again.

WEEK 4: s o n i c b r a t [contributor]

Tempo: 120 bpm
Key: E

These are my samples created using only KORG Triton ST88. Everything was played and recorded (sequenced) on the Triton... nothing done outside of it and all sounds were designed on the Triton itself. This project has led me to exploring this workhorse in a way I wouldn't usually (due to the nature of my work). Effects and filters (on board) were employed as a design to play with the sound and timbre. Have fun guys.

WEEK 4: s o n i c b r a t [NOTES]

Hello everyone. We have come to the final week of Phase 2. What to expect? Well, in this final week, all 3 of us will be supplying samples/loops in the Key of E and tempo 120bpm. At the same time, all 3 of us will be using these samples to cut a track each. So that's 3 different renditions of the same set of samples. Take it as a show down between us 3 or simply interpretations of music. I am sure it will be interesting to see what music can be churned out of 3 different individuals, using the same set of samples/loops. Stay tuned.

WEEK 3: s o n i c b r a t [contributor]

Tempo: 115 Bpm
Key: E

So here's my samples. Created solely using my old trusty KORG TRITON ST88. All parts are played and sequenced, including filtering on the Triton itself. The drum beats were played and recorded, not using arpeggiators. The vocal samples are old recording samples of mine, warped on Max/Msp. All samples are kept dry and uneffected unless filtering intended. Anyway, for the fun of it, I've placed the dry samples all together to hear how it sounds. So here's the mix track of all my samples (minus vocals):

KORGATRONICS

Do listen with a pair of headphones for better listening experience :)

Have fun Eric!

WEEK 2: S o n i c b r a t [contributor]

Tempo: 80 Bpm
Key: D

Samples created on KORG Triton ST88, GlitchedDrums created using a church bell sample and gunshot sample, glitched using Reaktor 5; normal drums created using Reaktor 5 Grooveboxes... I've kept it dry and uneffected so that LDT may chop it up and screw up my samples as he like... All yours, LDT.

WEEK 1: s o n i c b r a t

MECHANICAL DREAM



PLEASE LISTEN WITH A HEADPHONES FOR FULL EFFECTS...

Gears used: Doepfer A-100 modular system; Juno-106; KORG Triton ST88
Softwares: Plogue Bidule; Reaktor 5
Samples: Provided by LDT and Eric (refer to previous posts)

A glitchy experimental electronic IDM piece... well, I tried many versions and somehow the samples provided by LDT and Eric seem to work best this way.

All drums are glitched and spliced on Reaktor 5 using the drum samples LDT provided, no other drums were used... eq and ring mod applied. Ambient sounds are created by really really screwing up LDT's synth sounds and Eric's distorting (clipping) guitar samples, thereby creating loops of the clicky buzzy background.

I added some mild sound designs using KORG Triton, glitching Doepfer A-100 sound samples I've created using Reaktor 5 and using a little of Plogue Bidule for additional synthesis. At the end, I added a bass tone using JUNO-106 to juice it up a little... that's it.

See if you can spot the original samples. Not for easy ears, be warned...

WEEK 1: s o n i c b r a t [First Impression]

As the musician of the week, I have received all samples contributions from Eric and LDT and I am excited about cutting a track out from these samples plus my own input. I actually like the clipping and imperfections in Eric's tracks which were accidentally recorded as such. I think it gives a fuzzy unstable feel to it. LDT's drums and eerie tones are inspiring for me. I don't know what I will be coming up with, but stay tune as I work on the track, which will be posted up by this weekend. I've some ideas, but I won't know how they turn out till they are materialized. Till next update...

COMMONTONES PHASE II

Three musicians...
Three minds...
One song...

A weekly affair between the trio. Their first music making effort as an entity rather than solitude contributions. They will be working on a single piece weekly, a song a week, for the entire month of July. This is their next step, something they had in mind for a long time... and finally materializing. This is only the beginning.

PHASE DESCRIPTION:

In PHASE II, one musician will be appointed the "musician of the week" at the beginning of each week. This renders the other two "contributors". At the beginning of each week, the "contributors" will provide short audio samples of their own creations, anything goes (sounds, guitar, synth, etc), uploading to COMMONTONES. The "musician of the week" will collect these samples, and over the course of the week, compose and arrange a piece with the samples, plus his own input. The song will be uploaded here at the end of each week in the month.

This makes three songs, in three weeks, with the trio taking turns to be the "musician of the week". In the final week (week 4), all three will be contributing at the beginning of the week, and all three will be cutting a track from all the samples provided. Rendering three songs by the end of the week and loading them up on COMMONTONES. At the end of the project, there will be 6 songs in total.

Please join us in this journey of creating music on cyber-space.

--------------------------------------------------------------
PHASE SCHEDULE:

WEEK 1:
Musician of the week - Sonicbrat
Contributors - Eric, LDT

WEEK 2:
Musician of the week - LDT
Contributors - Eric, Sonicbrat

WEEK 3:
Musician of the week - Eric
Contributors - LDT, Sonicbrat

WEEK 4:
Musicians of the week - ALL
Contributors - ALL

DAY 31: s o n i c b r a t

"NOTHINGNESS"


Tempo: NA
Colour: Black

Humbucker, Alesis Ineko, Roland XP10, an antique bell, faulty connections and cables.

Looking back at the 31 days, it's been such a journey... A song a day. Sounds crazy but we did it. Thank you Eric and LDT.

DAY 30: s o n i c b r a t

"REVISITING"


Surging deeper and deeper
Lost in an abyss of eternity
Can you hear my silent cry?

Tempo: 70 Bpm
Colour: Shadowy

KORG Triton ST88. A simple song today... short but reflective of my mood. Feel free to comment.

DAY 29: s o n i c b r a t

"STASIS"


As I sat there alone
And people passing by in slow motion
The tug, the change of decision, the look
The hide, the disappointment, the sting
Seemed amplified ten-fold...I'll take it all in
Alone...

Tempo: NA
Colour: Nothingness

Humbucker, Alesis Ineko, Reaktor 5 and some sound designs... It's a noisy droney clicky track, I didn't have enough time to touch it up, so as is... It's been a ride, a few more days to go.

DAY 28: s o n i c b r a t

"MICROBES"


Chemical reactions of microbes communicating.

Tempo: NA
Colour: All

Doepfer A100 Modular System through KORG Kaoss Pad III. Some sound designs. Feel free to comment.

DAY 27: s o n i c b r a t

"A Simple Feeling"


I kept on falling
Again and again...

Tempo: 50 Bpm
Colour: Orange (warmth)

My first taste of using everything Fruity Loop... sounds on board are electronic sounding. As usual, with a little sound design. Feel free to comment.

DAY 26: s o n i c b r a t

"APOLOGIES"


Cuup Song
Rak Khun Maak

Tempo: NA
Colour: Green

KORG Triton ST88 and some sound designs. Feel free to comment.

DAY 25: s o n i c b r a t

"REFLECTIONS"


I reflected...
And I know, I admit... I am.

Tempo: NA
Colour: Soft and Faint

KORG Triton ST88 and some sound design. Soapy times... Catching up on Commontones...

Feel free to comment.

DAY 24: s o n i c b r a t

"Près de Toi [Glitch Remix]"


Tempo: 80 bpm
Colour: Brown

Did a remix of the earlier Plogue Bidule creation "Près de Toi" using Reaktor 5. I used it for Piana gig. I've wanted to develop this piece and this is another stage.

Feel free to comment.

DAY 23: s o n i c b r a t

"Dyspneic"


Tempo: NA
Colour: Cold Blue

KORG Triton ST88, sound designs... all effects processing onboard the Triton.

Feel free to comment.