Hovering Over The Face Of The Waters

A place for sound freaks lashing out from the dark. 

So there's all kinds of stuff on this page, but after months of schizophrenic debates about who was playing with who and who took the lead while doing it, finally, the decision was made: all my alter egos got together and decided to form a band. From 2020 on new tracks are created under the moniker Gruppo Infernal. Only pure MMTJ tracks will still be named as such. 

Gruppo Infernal still relies on my work as Me, my Thumb and Jack, an ongoing quest for a liberating approach to sound creation where the human body acts as an oscillator amplifying the natural 50hz hum. Direct live recording, improvisations and delay loops only using analog filters and effects. No editing, no overdubs. Gruppo Infernal adds digital treatment to this original sound material. 

UnterPitch was an alter ego using samples & synths.
Bleached Coffins was a one-off project using guitars.

earliest work when I was still a pup:
https://blindsightrecords.bandcamp.com/album/throbbing-flip-out

see also Vasco Morais Pag. 1 to 9 (all played and composed by me)
https://vascoribeiromorais.bandcamp.com/?from=viewsite_dashboard
https://vascoribeiromorais.bandcamp.com/album/animal-print-bikini-try-on-haul

Thanks for lending an ear.

for different sounds see also:
https://soundcloud.com/delichtmorbidebrigade
https://soundcloud.com/thefactsoffiction
https://soundcloud.com/bint-4
https://soundcloud.com/rgmb-1

I am a composer and producer of instrumental music in several genres, including ambient soundscapes, electronica, orchestral and chamber music.  

Musical influences include John Coltrane, Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Holst, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Tangerine Dream, Robert Prince, Frank Zappa, Brian Eno, Heinrich Ignaz, Franz von Biber.

My Method of Composing and Producing
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I'm sharing my method of composing and producing music recordings in case other composer-producers like me might find ideas worth exploring in their own work. I use this method for Classical, Avant-Pop or Neo-Folk Instrumental genres, not for Ambient and Soundscape pieces. Non-composers might find this explanation interesting, but having a bit of music theory background will definitely help. I consider myself a humble learner when it comes to music theory. 

I owe a debt of gratitude to British musician and educator Gareth Green, whose Music Matters online courses and free YouTube lessons have taught me so much over the past few years. Thanks to his instruction, I’ve moved from struggling to compose music by trial and error to something more enjoyable and productive. The knowledge I've gained has taken my work in new and expanding directions. As the saying goes, “Theory is not a cage — it’s a map. It doesn’t make the journey for you, but it keeps you from getting lost.” 

When I start a new piece, I begin by choosing a key, and picking a scale drawn from one of these sources:
 
1) Western Tonal / Functional Harmony - major or minor chords I II III IV V VI VII
2) Modal Harmony - Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.
3) Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns" 
4) Messiaen’s "Seven Modes of Limited Transposition" 

For many pieces, I also decide on a progression, one as a simple as I IV V, or something more elaborate.  

Next I create a "scales and progressions" piano track in my DAW (digital audio workstation software) and enter the chords I to VII in my chosen key. These harmonized scales serve as a basis for writing multipart harmonies and finding pivot chords for key modulations. 

At the start, I know what instruments I want to use, making adjustments along the way. I tend to write chord parts first, then melodies created through a mix of improvisation and direct input in the DAW. Sometimes I start with a melody.

I develop melodies and variations of a phrase by some combination of: a) passing it from one instrument to another, transposing it by an interval that sounds pleasing, b) reversing it, c) inverting it around the tonic (first) note of the scale. These are well-known methods. 

After completing a section, I choose another scale and maybe a new key and repeat the process until I have a draft of the entire piece. Then I export a recording and listen to it “offline”, take notes of errors and new ideas, and incorporate them back into the piece. Often this “compose / listen / compose” cycle is repeated many times. These iterative cycles include adding new ideas, polishing transitions between sections, changing the arrangement, and incorporating expressive details like accents, and articulations (staccato, sustain, portato etc.). I’m often working several different pieces at once. 

Last is mixing and mastering: balancing the loudness between instruments and adjusting elements like reverb, compression, and equalization. I tend to mix as I compose, even though many producers frown on that approach. I find mixing as I go helps me envision the completed piece and make adjustments to the choice of instruments; it self-inspires me when the piece is starting to sound good.  At the end I do a final mix, but as the saying goes, “A mix is never finished — it’s surrendered.”

In the end, this method gives me a basis for exploration and creativity and helps me stay focused. The goal is always to make a piece of music that feels expressive, cohesive, and emotionally resonant.

Hello
srp which lives in Japan. I write freely.
Please hear.

Composer of ambient, electronic music. Piano and synths. Thanks for stopping by.

Incidental Music For Eyelid Movies (IMforEM). That's the style of music I write and record. It's music to be watched with your eyes closed.

When I was 14 and trying to learn to play guitar no one told me about A440 tuning. I knew how to tune the guitar string to string, but wasn't aware that records and what I heard on the radio had a standard. I soon became frustrated trying to play along with what I heard and began making up my own music. Still at it.

More of my work can be found at https://incidentalmusicforeyelidmovies.bandcamp.com/ and everything (the good, the bad and the ugly) is at https://archive.org/details/@keith_q.

Hovering Over The Face Of The Waters

Keith Quillen (IMforEM)