Euclidean sequencer is triggering 2 synths and drum samples over which I play a lydian improvisation on piano. Too rhythmic to be ambient but does have a hypnotic vibe. Hints of Bugge Wesseltoft and Henrik Schwarz perhaps? An iPad creation.

Euclydian

Taking a breather from the iPad, I got the free ‘Lite’ edition of Ableton Live and partnered it with the free ‘Irish Harp’ from Native Instruments, the free Uilleann Pipes and  Autograph Piano from Spitfire LABS, a few other Kontakt instruments (Session Strings v1 and West Africa Percussion) and strummed along on acoustic guitar. Themes were improvised, tidied and mashed together. Was aiming for the ‘Moving Hearts’ vibe.

Harping On

Instrumentation inspired by Bay Area band Ratatet. Composed and virtual instruments recorded on the French Atlantic island of Noirmoutier with an iPad Pro and a Native Instruments A25 Komplete Kontrol two-octave keyboard. Middle-eight chord sequence developed using 4Pocket’s PROGRESSIONS app.

La Noirmoutrine

I’ve wanted to create some pieces inspired by the 3,000 odd megalithic stones at Carnac, Brittany, NW France. When I saw the challenge on the AudioBus Forum to use just the (free) Monolit synthesiser from French developer Bleass, it seemed a perfect alignment. Although I had thought I would use the numerical attributes of the site to inform generative algorithms, this first piece muses that as for the stones, with the passing of time, the purpose of many things we take for granted today will be forgotten.

Carnac #1 ABF Bleass Monolit One Synth Challenge

Orchestral Jazz. Listeners say influences of studio master arrangers like Don Sebesky, David Axelrod, Claus Ogerman, Bob James. Produced on iPad using StaffPad with an Audio staff containing the mixed down Pure piano and rhythm created with Digistix and Bassalicious. Video with score on YouTube https://youtu.be/OhT1R0p1RPE

Steppin’ Out

The rhythm here largely comes from Harmony Bloom driving 3 instances of Arturia Augmented Mallets. The lead voices were played on GeoShred - the iPad touch surface MPE controller and a 1978 Rhodes Mark I Stage Piano. Because I’d done a few harmonically static pieces of late, I took a common jazz progression through different keys for the variations. For fun, I chose a 15 beat phrase length and lastly chose to adopt the definitely unfashionable rondo form where the A theme reappears between variations B, C and D. All done on Ableton. iPads were involved for GeoShred and in early sketching using MIDIStep.

Rondo for Rhodes and GeoShred (Jazz Electronica)

A jazz organ trio plus big band collaboration with guitarist/producer @pbelgium. Mixing and mastering credit to Paul also for making the two of us thousands of miles apart, using different gear, sound like we're playing in the same room - with an orchestra.

Andy: Composer, IK Multimedia B-3X virtual Hammond organ
Initial big band StaffPad sketch

Paul: https://on.soundcloud.com/XAHm0LJYCkD9f9ltzb
Strandberg  Boden Classic NX 6 Nembrini Clon Minotaur, Faceman, Delay3000, IR Loader (York Audio Bassman cab)

Logic Pro Drummer: Tyrell

Mastering: DDMF 6144, MagicDeathEye, MagicVerb, ToneBoosters Barricade

Chillin' With Leo (ft pbelgium) - organ & guitar blues

Pre-MIDI late seventies (c.1979) home studio rendition of Debussy’s Menuet from the Petite Suite. Used a borrowed Korg PS-3200 polyphonic and a home-built monophonic synthesizer bouncing parts between a domestic Sony reel to reel and a JVC cassette deck.

Menuet : Korg PS-3200 - c.1979, Tomita inspired

No Country Fair would be complete without children’s artworks. From the show catalogue in the section for children, the decorated biscuit can be Five Rich Teas (for the 4-6 year olds) or home made biscuits (for the 7-10s). 	
The music partnered here reflects on the dilemma of whether to leave the biscuit as a piece of art and watch it shrivel and wilt or to scoff the thing while it still has a bite. Or you could always leave it as a snack for the “Animal made from fruit and / or vegetables”.

A remix to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first performance of this original work on the 7th March 2009 at the Witham Hall, Barnard Castle. The suite was played by the Teesdale Jazz Quintet with special guest, Alan Barnes on alto, baritone saxophones and clarinet.

TJQ With Alan Barnes - The Decorated Biscuit (2019 Mix)

Sponge Cake, fatless, without filling. Whisked - extremely light in texture but the absence of fat can give a hint almost of rubberiness. This one must be eaten as fresh as possible: it can become stale by the next day. Will it rise, will it sink; will the mixture curdle? Is the oven temperature right – it’s enough to give you the blues.

A remix to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first performance of this original work on the 7th March 2009 at the Witham Hall, Barnard Castle. The suite was played by the Teesdale Jazz Quintet with special guest, Alan Barnes on alto, baritone saxophones and clarinet.

TJQ With Alan Barnes - Fatless Sponge Blues (2019 Mix)

An entry for the Eventide Audio Remix competition. Uses the supplied vocal tracks by James Maddock and Tony Shanahan. All other instruments played / programmed by Andy Honeybone using Cubase and, of course, the Eventide Instant Flanger Mk II plugin.

Eventide – Itchycoo Challenge (AndyHoneybone Remix) Eventide Remix Contest

A piano improvisation influenced by the river setting and imposing château of the French village of Verteuil-sur-Charente. Captured as MIDI data on location, the performance was rendered on iPad using the Church Steinway samples by Richard Luke from the pianobook.co.uk sampling project.  

IPad apps used included NanoStudio2, Virsyn AudioLayer, Audio Damage EOS 2, Ruismaker Mozaic, Audioveek MIDITools, Klevgrand Grand Finale.

A visualisation is also available on YouTube at https://bit.ly/vertpiano

A more technical account of the production process on YouTube ‘Sustain Toolkit for iOS MIDI Apps (iOS Mozaic Scripts)’ https://youtu.be/Htf_1J1wEWw

Verteuil - Improvisation - Solo Piano (iPad Challenge) pianobook-samples-see-description

Multi-instrumentalist into music technology, mobile music production (iPad), improvisation, composition and interesting projects. Videos of my creations are at http://bit.ly/andy_tube and I also have a ‘how to’ music technology channel at https://youtube.com/@andyhoneybone.

Andy Honeybone

Popular tracks