VIBRATING by bassling
Here's part of the three-hour ambient drone soundscape I've edited together for the 2010 RPM Challenge.
You can hear a variety of birdsong along with 'the wires' -- a large-scale aeolian harp built by Alan Lamb and Scott Baker for the Unsound Festival. See http://hghlght.blogspot.com/2009/06/wired-for-sound.html for more on this amazing instrument.
A recording from late 2007 can be heard or downloaded below.
041207PM by bassling
IK Multimedia still suck

Amplitube continues to pox my Cubase. Thankfully it'll boot up though, my RPM Challenge project is coming along. Looks like I'll have a three-hour ambient opus by the end of the month.
RPM Challenge
Just signed up for the RPM Challenge. I'm hoping it will motivate me to finish an album of ambient field recordings.
Funny thing is that when I signed up for the Challenge in 2008, it was to clear my head of some tunes I was playing on the guitar so I could proceed with this project. I was also procrastinating on the Boxgum EP, which has since been released commercially.
Below is a video I made at the end of February in 2008:
Funny thing is that when I signed up for the Challenge in 2008, it was to clear my head of some tunes I was playing on the guitar so I could proceed with this project. I was also procrastinating on the Boxgum EP, which has since been released commercially.
Below is a video I made at the end of February in 2008:
Golden age for music fans
There are a few music commentators discussing the future of music and linking it with video games. The argument that it's more fun to play games than to watch them is a compelling one.
I thought this quote paints an interesting future:
I thought this quote paints an interesting future:
We’re entering a fourth stage in popular music, from (1) pre-rock pop’s distinction between songwriter and performer (think Elvis, the Brill Building system), to (2) rock’s emphasis on musicians writing their own material, to (3) hip-hop’s re-use of existing sonic material, to (4) the current age of audio-games, in which users experience sound by manipulating it — not just with the iPod, but also with games like Rock Band, DJ Hero, and Guitar Hero, and with the audio tools built into the Nintendo DSi, just to name a few examples. (There are similar factors at work in underground and academic music and art cultures, but the focus for me here is on mobile music-making apps, which are significant because of their popularity, because they have made populist numerous activities and approaches to creativity that were previously considered specialized, abstract, experimental, even avant-garde.)
Absynth 5's Alan Lamb preset

Just noticed this Alan Lamb preset in Absynth 5. To my ear it doesn't sound like his work with 'the wires' but it's got a bit of the rattle that he adds on his aeolian harp recordings.
The drone ranger
NGC1313 Spiral Galaxy in Reticulum – Abre Ojos @ Electundra from abre ojos on Vimeo.
Above is a video from Scott Baker, who built an aeolian harp with Alan Lamb outside Wagga Wagga that - like Scott - has been an inspiration to me.
Below is video of my drums vibrating 'the wires' that Scott built with Alan Lamb.
Drum compression
A while ago I found this outline for compressor settings at www.orange-fields.com/widepages/drumscomp
It was useful to me so I thought I'd share. If they're your settings, let me know and I can attribute them to you or remove them if you wish but thanks for the help.
DRUMS - COMPRESSION
(A variety of different settings !)
KICK -
1) To "flatten" = 8:1 or more, short attack 2ms or less.
2) For more "attack" = slow the attack time to let the initial "poke" through.
3) 6:1, Threshold = -3 to -5dB.
4) Between 4:1 & 8:1, attack about 10ms, rel. about 200ms.
5) 10dB gain reduction (maximum !)
SNARE -
1) 3:1, Threshold = -10dB to add "crack".
2) Between 4:1 & 6:1, attack = 5 to 10ms, rel. about 150ms.
3) 10dB gain reduction (maximum !)
OVERHEADS -
1) 2:1 to lengthen signal decays.
TOMS -
1) Between 4:1 & 6:1, attack = 5 to 10ms, rel. about 150ms.
ANY DRUM -
1) 4:1, 5dB gain red. as starting point. Use AUTO (or attack 40 to 50ms, rel. 300 to 500ms.)
It was useful to me so I thought I'd share. If they're your settings, let me know and I can attribute them to you or remove them if you wish but thanks for the help.
DRUMS - COMPRESSION
(A variety of different settings !)
KICK -
1) To "flatten" = 8:1 or more, short attack 2ms or less.
2) For more "attack" = slow the attack time to let the initial "poke" through.
3) 6:1, Threshold = -3 to -5dB.
4) Between 4:1 & 8:1, attack about 10ms, rel. about 200ms.
5) 10dB gain reduction (maximum !)
SNARE -
1) 3:1, Threshold = -10dB to add "crack".
2) Between 4:1 & 6:1, attack = 5 to 10ms, rel. about 150ms.
3) 10dB gain reduction (maximum !)
OVERHEADS -
1) 2:1 to lengthen signal decays.
TOMS -
1) Between 4:1 & 6:1, attack = 5 to 10ms, rel. about 150ms.
ANY DRUM -
1) 4:1, 5dB gain red. as starting point. Use AUTO (or attack 40 to 50ms, rel. 300 to 500ms.)
Living
Tom Cosm - Moving from the studio to live performance using Ableton Live from Delicious on Vimeo.
This is good, I should try and see more stuff like this. Any recommendations?
Going the extra mile
Thanks to Abre Ojos for passing on this blog post:
Going the extra mile for unique timbres
It's a good read and the other topics covered look promising too :)
Going the extra mile for unique timbres
It's a good read and the other topics covered look promising too :)
bassling wants to be free
Five years before Chris Anderson published Free, three years before Radiohead released their album In Rainbows for a donation (of potentially nothing); bassling was inspired by Creative Commons to offer his first LP for free.
Don't wait another five years - download it today!
Don't wait another five years - download it today!
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