Monday, 1 August 2016

Here’s something I did using Ableton Push 2

In Ableton as with many DAWs you can ‘slice’ a sample into many different parts, creating a palette of sounds from which new sounds and patterns can be created. Very often people use intros to a pre-existing track, or the entire song, even. For this one I used a field recording: this means sounds recorded outside of a studio, in the place where the sounds ‘naturally’ occur.

I tend to find myself making field recordings around building sites (!). This one I recorded on 29th Sept 2011, I think I was in Summertown in Oxford. 

Sliced up into Ableton, and using the Push 2 controller, I’m able to re-imagine the sounds in rhythmic and harmonic ways. I made this track in minutes, then went back to pick up and tweak the arrangement. It’s rough, but you can see here how you can take a general field recording of construction and turn it into a musical piece. I haven’t gone overboard with either the quantisation or the melodic content, instead just content to noodle with the sounds I had.

The original field recording was about 30 seconds but sliced up and playing around with the sections I have made a 3 minute piece. Listen to the sliced version before the original, it’s more interesting that way!

Building Site Slice

Building Site:higher Vol:hammering:rhythmic

Had a go using Ableton Push 2 to slice up a track - I chose 'Leave Them All Behind' ! I only used the organ intro, the first drum fill, and the first guitar entry. Great fun, endless fun...

Leave Them All Mashed Up

First sound spotted in doing a recce at OVADA in Oxford for a performance piece on 7th March

OVADA timer

22nd May 2012. 09:21am
Sample Rate : 48000 Hz
Rec Format : WAV 16-bit             
File : XY Mic      
Centre of factory floor next to 'build area' hand tool finishing.
Orig Code: 0522 092155 1


Factory centre near 'build area' ambience.1- Omni microphone recording

4am: Distant thunder and close rain, by a window in a hotel on the outskirts of Chicago

Chicago Rainy Window

Found this the other day - my acoustic version of Beck 'Lonesome Tears'. One of my favourite tracks ever, from one of my most favourite albums ever 'Sea Changes' (2002). And an by an artist I really admire. I recorded this really simply - two tracks really on Logic Express (!) back in 2009. I never usually do covers, but: I just love this track and its string arrangement. Something of a glorious mystery to me was how the outro string section on the original was always rising - a shepherd effect or something. I wanted to get closer to it and try to understand it. So I did this as an exercise really, it wasn't meant to be released. Getting the outro drove me mad! But I still had fun doing it. I only had two instruments and I think you need three, I later found out. :)When I came across it the other day it felt just right, so - enjoy for these melancholy times...

Loz Acoustic Arrangement of Beck 'Lonesome Tears'

Recording of the busker Marion playing a Kings of Leon song in Oxford City Centre, adding a new layer of significance to their lyrics as he does.

Popular tracks by Laurence Colbert