I ran a workshop with the kindergarten class my daughter attends, and we created a sound together using Wavetable in Ableton. The children chose two sound waves, an envelope and a reverb.

They chose the square wave and a wave derived from a piano, a slow attack and fast release, and a sports hall reverb.

It created a really interesting harsh sound, but with a lot of character. They all got to play around with the sound on a small keyboard, which inspired this simple composition using only the sound they created.

KC Sound

I ran a second workshop with another kindergarten class, and we created a sound together using Wavetable in Ableton. The children chose two sound waves, an envelope and a reverb.

They chose the sine wave and a wave derived from a piano, a fast attack and slow release, and a sports hall reverb.

It creates a lively sound with a long tail. They all got to play around with the sound on a small keyboard, which inspired this simple composition using only the sound they created.

KB Sound

I ran a workshop a kindergarten class, and we created a sound together using Wavetable in Ableton. The children chose two sound waves, an envelope and a reverb.

They chose the sawtooth wave and a wave derived from a trombone, a fast attack and fast release, and a sports hall reverb.

It created a nice stabby synth sound. They all got to play around with it on a small keyboard. This inspired this simple composition using only the sound they created, with just a little effect added to the base line.

KA Sound

A longer concept piece exploring the aftermath of destruction and human fragility. Written for my Berklee coursework exploring Sonic Signatures. It includes many of the signature sounds and ideas I have been working on the past year.

Future directions I would like to look into include more repurposed sampled sounds, real instrument recordings, more advanced work with arpeggios, and generative music using elements of chance.

Aftermath

An exercise in generative compositions for my Berklee course, using some generative techniques in Ableton Live. Basically I built the sounds and some MIDI clips and just activated the tracks in turn, and let the software 'play'.

Notable elements...

- The electronic piano chords are randomly generated based on the F# Phrygian mode within a set number of octaves, and with unique timings.
- The sound of me and my daughter stomping around a parking lot was resampled to create a somewhat random drum beat using Follow Actions.
- The pad and string sound compete against one another, as the pad dominates when the 'drums' are quiet (using a compression side-chain) and the string sound dominated when the drums are noisy (using a gate side-chain).

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/89964047@N07/8181225923

Magneten Stomp

Playing with form and a very simple motif on piano that I return to, slightly recoloured, at the end of the track.

Where Colors Collide

Another piece for my Berklee course, which is built using clips from a 10-minute improvisation on piano and keyboard.

Improsync

This is the final track produced for my Berklee course. It is inspired by chapter 17 (titled 'The Aspen Stakeout') in Bill Browder's book 'Freezing Order'. The first part expresses the calm and beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Browder and his family retreat to Aspen, and time slows down. This reminded me of my own honeymoon in Zermatt (Switzerland), another beautiful mountain resort. However, as the rain begins to fall in sheets, Browder realises he is never completely safe, as he is chased by lawyers wanting to deliver a subpoena to him in person; Lawyers who work for the russians, and and are seeking to discredit him after he uncovered a 230 million dollar fraud.

Aspen / Sheets of Rain

This is my final project for my Ableton course in Sampling at Berklee. It is a reflection of the environment in which it was created - a methodical improvisation on a train, slow improvisation at night with a MIDI controller, and the need to find some peace and slow down in a city that keeps moving.

I am often drawn to this contrast between mediation and methodical 'slow work', and the busy city that bustles and grows.

For this track, everything is built using my own samples, except for one synth. The pounding sound is intended to mimic a pile driver smashing into the ground, a construction noise I hear in Nordhavn. This sound reflects off other buildings at different rates as you move through the area. For this track, I recreated it using samples of me hitting glass and wood. The other parts are mostly very short vocal samples turned into instruments using Ableton's sampler.

The Quiet City

The tracks I upload are mostly unpolished works and side projects. I am in the process of figuring out where I want to take my music, and what my signature sound is. Some of that process involves coursework, and often a lot of different sounds and techniques. If you have a project in mind that needs sound, do send me a message with some details.

Arffrank

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