When I read about Karlheinz Stockhausen's Helicopter Quartet it seemed like a concept that wouldn't be realised, yet this version from 2012 isn't the first performance. That happened in 1995, only two years after it was written.
Think I ended up thinking about how 20bpm differs from 10bpm than considering what 10 beats per minute means and feels like. Rather than thinking about the instance of how the down beat of 10 bpm differs from, say, 20 bpm,
In the process I noticed that Ableton Live will only go down to 20bpm and the Ohmboyz delay said 80bpm. Ten beats per minute just is. So. Very. Slow.
It took me a while to settle on an approach for this Junto. On Saturday I started reminding myself of a chord progression on the ukulele and ended up playing arpeggios. This helped to pick the six-note sequences on the four strings of my electric uke in 3/4 time signature.
The track was recorded in a single take, then I've added two delays to flesh it out.
The video was shot on Friday morning when I couldn’t sleep. I guess this happens often enough that on the morning I heard the sprinklers and went back to the house to get my camera. I’ve often admired the way the floodlight projects the gum tree onto a screen of water created by the sprinklers.
As shown, I rolled a 13 and a 14. Notes were DCAGAF, beats were a half note then two quarter notes.
Then I thought I'd roll four 10-sided dice to determine tempo, getting 99 and 93. That led to 192bpm but the track has a halftime feel, I think.
This track was recorded quickly using a Jomox kick and the 707's high hats through chorus and Space Echo pedals.
I played the chords on my MIDI guitar and ran them through an Oddity pad, before adding a bassline.
The track opens with D minor but I decided to experiment with a bassline in G, as I remembered that I find those two chords hard to distinguish.
The result, like Dungeons and Dragons, doesn't really resolve.
And, again like D&D, I found myself in a daydream every time I'd hit play. If there hadn't been a deadline of Monday night, I mightn't have ever exported this result.
The Juntos responding to the imprisonment of Bassel have been among the most poignant, particularly the one that drew on his letter from prison in Syria.
Rupert Lally put together this compilation from Junto tracks and all the proceeds go to a memorial fund hosted in Bassel's name by Creative Commons.
This software has been good for my mixing, which has increasingly relied on using headphones since I realised the room I use needs treatment and I was overcompensating the lower frequencies.
Hopefully I've moved on from muddy sounding mixes like this one.
I bought a pair of HD600 after reading a few reviews and decided to draw the line at paying the extra $80.
The Sennheisers are a nice pair of headphones. I found the packaging over the top but there is a sense they provide extra detail, although they aren't as comfortable to wear as my cheaper cans.
The other headphones I have are AKG K240s, which are closed and get a bit hot around the ears in warmer months.
These AKGs are mostly used while recording but provide a very flat and somewhat clinical response, although there is a sense the higher frequencies can vary from how a mix will sound over speakers.
I also have several pairs of Grado headphones, their SR60 and SR60i and a pair of Alessandro Grado that my brother thought were rubbish and gave to me.
I used these last pair lots in recent years and like them for comfort and the flattering warm mid-range.
I'd had a conversation with my son earlier in the week about composing music that uses overlapping time signatures.
It's one of those techniques that I return to from time to time, particularly using a 4/4 drum beat with a 3/4 bassline.
This song adds a 5/4 drum beat and a 7/8 organ part.
The looped vocal introduces each part. The lyric about three accompanies the 3/4 303-style part, then discusses five as the drums begin, before mentioning seven with the organ.
The lyrics were quickly written and recorded. I think I could spend more time de-essing them though.