A few recordings I did for #jamuary 2025. I am doing one every other day, too much going on to do one per day, even with no mastering (just normalized loudness)

For just the ambient tracks, see also: https://soundcloud.com/francois_dion/sets/selected-ambient-jams

For all the other tracks, see:
https://soundcloud.com/francois_dion/sets/selected-nonambient-jams

Jamuary 2025

A selection of NonAmbient Jams from my Jamuary compositions

Selected NonAmbient Jams

A selection for Ether Diver OPM (Other People's Music), featuring the closing track from "Candy Store" (https://soundcloud.com/francois_dion/sets/candy-store) and two tracks from "Selected NonAmbient Jams" (https://soundcloud.com/francois_dion/sets/selected-nonambient-jams)

This is the 9th track of the upcoming album "Candy Store". It is called "She Sells Seashells", in reference to the field recording used, the surf sounds and seagulls.

The album is called "Candy Store", as it really digs far and wide in the palette of synthesizers and other sound generating instruments.

Each track combines a more "traditional" instrument, with many synthesizers. In this case, the melody is played on a guitar, with the full ambient treatment of delay and reverb. The melody also morphs into something played on a grand piano using dulcimer hammers, with again the ambient treatment. After doing the track with a synth bass, I went back and redid the bass line with an electric bass, as it worked better with the ambient guitar.

The rest of the arrangement is done using vintage synthesizers from Roland, Kawai, Yamaha and Korg. Once more, analog drums complete the track.

Candy Store

She Sells Seashells

A little jam for #jamuary. bass and drum patterns preprogrammed, sequenced live, live filtering, along with pads through a looper and live melody.

Right hand plays the melody, left hand sequences the drums, filter / resonance on the bass (sequenced before hand) and pitch bending

jamuary 1 2025

Another jam for #jamuary. bass and TR909 drum patterns preprogrammed, sequenced live, live synths with arpeggiator, no quantizing. Step sequenced filter, multiple echo/delay units used to beef up the sound. This one is also 120bpm, but in C# minor

jamuary 3 2025

My 3rd track for #jamuary. I am doing one every other day, as each track takes quite a bit of work. For this one, I decided to go with something as far from my usual compositions in that I stayed away from techno, electronica and electroacoustic music. This one is inspired by the question "what would it sound like if I started a jazz band?"
Funk influence and I couldn't stay away from extreme reverb to do some pad sounds. I also am using an arpeggiator and some repetition, as that's familiar territory for me.

jamuary 5 2025

4th track for #jamuary2025, going half speed from the previous jams and into ambient music. A good bit of layering going on with some Roland Jupiter 8 (JP08), Korg M1, Solina string ensemble. Judicious use of delays and reverbs, texture experimentations.

I ended up doing two takes on this one, the first the recorder was armed, but forgot to get it rolling... Decades into this and I still forget sometimes.

Randonneur (jamuary 7)

5th track for #jamuary2025, returning to full speed from the first two jams but continuing the ambient mood from the 4th track. Lead is done on a videogame like square wave, complemented by a Crumar Bit 99, an Elka, a (B)Arp 2600 and a Yamaha SY77. Bassline (listen with headphones if you can) is the Korg MS-20.

jamuary 9 2025

The 6th track for #jamuary2025 was inspired by my "Radio Interference" album released 30 years ago. Embracing artifacts we normally try to hide, this incorporates mechanical noise (Radio Interference was using RF and EMFs) along with tape hiss and flutter to give the track both a vintage and experimental avantgarde feel. The track was recorded on an 8 track multitrack digital recorder in an old school process, track by track with final mixdown done straight to tape.

The Hammond Novachord used on "Candy Store" is back to play the haunting accompaniment, while the Crumar Bit 99 from the previous jam (jamuary 9) provides special sound effects. Drums are Roland TR-606 and Roger Linn's original Adrenalinn (also processing the TR-606). The Mellotron like flute is played on the Sequential Circuit Six-Trak and bounced to tape.  But the unsung hero instrument here is the Roland TB-303 in a dual role here, the electronic bassist in the first half and the screaming banshee in the second.

Craft Pundit (Jamuary 11)

The 7th track for #jamuary2025. A snow storm got me stuck at home for the weekend, while fires are raging on the west coast. This was the context in which I composed and produced this track, and why I actually named this instead of the usual "jamuary X 2025" format I've used on previous tracks. Because of the ice, I was also able to spend a ridiculous amount of time on this one, especially as far as composition, sound design and arrangement goes (but still ran out of time to do the mastering, so it is a raw mix, mostly)

Continuing from the previous track is the use of filter on the bass line (Moog instead of TB-303) and distortion (fire) on some analog synths (done with a Roland Space Echo RE200, Boss DS-1), in this case contrasting some of the digital synth ice (Korg Prophecy, Sequential Circuits Prophet VS). Other synths include a Solina string ensemble, an Octave Cat, a Minikorg, a Jupiter 8 (JP08) and a Vocoder. Finally, the improv lead is played on a Sequential Circuits Six Trak.

Fire and Ice (Jamuary 13)

The 14th track for #jamuary2025 and this one grooves quite a bit. Recorded to multitrack, then mastered to Type II chrome tape. I used my good old Sequential Circuit Drumtrak drum machine, augmented with a few other classic drum machines from the 80s. A Sequential Prophet VS, an Octave Cat and a Korg M1 provide support, along with a General Instruments PSG chip (I also used a TI chip on another track for Jamuary).

Since I was able to work on this on a Sunday and finish on a Monday (like the Fire and Ice Jamuary 13 track https://soundcloud.com/francois_dion/fire-and-ice-jamuary-13?in=francois_dion/sets/jamuary-2025), it gave me a lot more time to refine the song and experiment a bit more on chord progressions and using more inversions and suspended chords. Enjoy!

Some Monday (Jamuary 27)

Canadian Polyglot and polymath living in North Carolina, Francois is Head of Dion Research by day, & artist, maker of instruments & effects, musician, photographer & sound engineer by night.

His interest in music started at a very young age when he studied classical piano and electronics, both of these things would be quite influential on his future work.

He started composing electronic music as a kid in the early 80s and experimenting with sampling on an Apple //e, and would later use the Amiga, Apple IIgs and on the PC, the Gravis Ultrasound wavetable soundcard, and would publish soundbanks for it. Today, most of his music is done without computers, on modular synths and effects built by him, along with some commercial synths and effects.

From 1988 to 1997, he hosted a show on electronic music from its beginning in the early 20th century all the way to modern electronica, and the history of it and the technology that enabled it. He also did a stint at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Videoway / Videotron in Montreal.

In parallel with that, he would continue releasing music through various media, including digital media before MP3 files (through MP2 and ADPCM WAV files on Hyperreal, IUMA etc). In those 30 years to now, he has produced an average of ~1 album (EP or full) a year

Fire and Ice (Jamuary 13)

Francois Dion