Beat-A-Day Track #4: Field Recording from inside a maple sap collecting bucket made during our annual trip to the Cabane à Sucre. I used similar delay and eq effects to some of the first three beats. Added a bass line and then some 808 drums to go with it. Spent a little more time with the arrangement. The bucket had almost an amplifying effect on the sounds around it, but with some low-pass and resonant filtering. 

**This is the forth "beat" for my beat-a-day project for the month of April 2014. As with all the tracks for the project, this beat was made using "Beatmaker 2" on my iPhone 5. The rule is that I have to start with a "field" recording taken somewhere during the course of the day. I can process and edit the file as much or as little as I want and also add other musical elements from the sound libraries in Beatmaker 2. I'm using the AudioMobile iOS sound mapping app (audio-mobile.org) to keep track of the original locations for each field recording and to take a picture of where the sound came from. The beats have all been programmed at 90 BPM.**

April6-SugarShock

April 9 20414 - Shakted

April10 Driving East

April13 Shovelling

In the summer of 2022 Nik Forrest and I began a collaborative sound project; a double lathe-cut record called “Split Solstice.” This project is rooted in our shared interest in the sound of very low frequency (VLF) signals, the normally inaudible electromagnetic waves that result from natural phenomena, including lightning, aurora borealis, and solar flares, as well as the urban electrical grid and other human technologies. We recorded VLF and audio samples simultaneously in Gaspé, Quebec, and Lofoten, Norway, two locations in the Northern hemisphere on June 21st, at the moment of the summer solstice. We exchanged these files and worked with them to make the compositions featured on the A and B sides of the first record. The second record features a selection of original VLF samples from Gaspé and Lofoten.

Track Title for this Side: Source Files (O)

Owen - Split Solstice - Field

In the summer of 2022 Nik Forrest and I began a collaborative sound project; a double lathe-cut record called “Split Solstice.” This project is rooted in our shared interest in the sound of very low frequency (VLF) signals, the normally inaudible electromagnetic waves that result from natural phenomena, including lightning, aurora borealis, and solar flares, as well as the urban electrical grid and other human technologies. We recorded VLF and audio samples simultaneously in Gaspé, Quebec, and Lofoten, Norway, two locations in the Northern hemisphere on June 21st, at the moment of the summer solstice. We exchanged these files and worked with them to make the compositions featured on the A and B sides of the first record. The second record features a selection of original VLF samples from Gaspé and Lofoten.


Owen - Split Solstice Studio BONUS - Mono

In the summer of 2022 Nik Forrest and I began a collaborative sound project; a double lathe-cut record called “Split Solstice.” This project is rooted in our shared interest in the sound of very low frequency (VLF) signals, the normally inaudible electromagnetic waves that result from natural phenomena, including lightning, aurora borealis, and solar flares, as well as the urban electrical grid and other human technologies. We recorded VLF and audio samples simultaneously in Gaspé, Quebec, and Lofoten, Norway, two locations in the Northern hemisphere on June 21st, at the moment of the summer solstice. We exchanged these files and worked with them to make the compositions featured on the A and B sides of the first record. The second record features a selection of original VLF samples from Gaspé and Lofoten.

Track Title for this Side: Lofoten (N)

Nik - Split Solstice Studio - Stereo

In the summer of 2022 Nik Forrest and I began a collaborative sound project; a double lathe-cut record called “Split Solstice.” This project is rooted in our shared interest in the sound of very low frequency (VLF) signals, the normally inaudible electromagnetic waves that result from natural phenomena, including lightning, aurora borealis, and solar flares, as well as the urban electrical grid and other human technologies. We recorded VLF and audio samples simultaneously in Gaspé, Quebec, and Lofoten, Norway, two locations in the Northern hemisphere on June 21st, at the moment of the summer solstice. We exchanged these files and worked with them to make the compositions featured on the A and B sides of the first record. The second record features a selection of original VLF samples from Gaspé and Lofoten.

Track Title for this Side: Source Files (N)

Nik - Split Solstice - Field - Master

In the summer of 2022 Nik Forrest and I began a collaborative sound project; a double lathe-cut record called “Split Solstice.” This project is rooted in our shared interest in the sound of very low frequency (VLF) signals, the normally inaudible electromagnetic waves that result from natural phenomena, including lightning, aurora borealis, and solar flares, as well as the urban electrical grid and other human technologies. We recorded VLF and audio samples simultaneously in Gaspé, Quebec, and Lofoten, Norway, two locations in the Northern hemisphere on June 21st, at the moment of the summer solstice. We exchanged these files and worked with them to make the compositions featured on the A and B sides of the first record. The second record features a selection of original VLF samples from Gaspé and Lofoten.

Track Title for this Side: Lightening (O) - 1. Searching, 2. No Darkness, 3. New Light

Owen - Split Solstice Studio - Stereo

I put this beat together in 2007, with a few MCs in mind who I thought could rap over the track. In the end no one got back to me, but what-evs I say, it stands on its own in my mind. But if you're a budding M.I.A., Missy Elliot or Rakim, well download this track and get back to me with a remix!

Sources:

- The main groove comes from from "Summer in the City" by Quincy Jones, from the 1973 album You've Got it Bad Girl (organ player: Eddie Louis). This riff has been sampled quite a few times by other artists, notably the Pharcyde on their track "Passin' Me By" from 1992's Bizarre Ride II, and Nightmares On Wax's track "Night's Introlude" from 1995's Smokers Delight. I actually played this riff on my own Hammond organ in my home studio, with a Leslie speaker that I purchased through Craigslist. The riff came to me as I heard the sound of my organ transformed once plugged through the Leslie -- it was as though interacting with the technology raised a sonic memory for me. I figured out the riff on the keys, not really sure where I was remembering it from. I used to work at a hair salon in Montreal called Coupe Bizzarre. I answered the phone and took appointments. I was also in charge of choosing what CDs to play on our in house system (a practice that is now illegal, but this is another copyright story….). Smokers' Delight by "Nightmares on Wax" was one of my favorites, and track 1 ("Nights Introlude ") of this 1995 album uses the Jones sample extensively. I had never heard the original Quincy Jones track before acquiring the CD re-issue of You've Got it Bad Girl this past June (2009).

- The "wind" sound comes from an Ensoniq ESQ-1 synthesizer that I found at the Écocentre de La Petite-Patrie 1100 rue des Carrières, Montreal, which is a place that I also find tons of records, including others used on this album. Residents of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie are required to bring scraps from demolitions to this location, along with all household hazardous goods. This includes batteries, CRT televisions, vinyl records and lots of other goodies, including the occasional piece of vintage audio gear, such as the ESQ-1, and the odd Electronic Organ (Hammond, Yamaha, etc…sometimes with early Roland drum machines attached!).

- The first vocal sample, I have to admit, comes from a record that I have misplaced. I've looked, I swear. The singer is named Demis Roussos. The song was a minor international hit for him -- "Goodbye my love, goodbye." Roussos was once a member of a band called "Aphrodite's child" in the 60's. "Goodbye my love, goodbye" seems to have been released by Roussos on a solo album in the early 70s, but I can't find reliable information. Those reading though the notes provided with each track on this album will recognize this is a common problem for me, but I'm working on my record keeping practices, and promise to update this site as I find the records I have lost in my collection.

- The drums were played by myself in my basement, sampled, cleaned-up, layered, looped and delayed. I started playing the drums 2+ years ago because I was starting to get tired of searching for perfect drum breaks within my record collection. Perhaps this also has something to do with its increasingly unmanageable size in terms of record quantity….

- The kind of squiggly synthesizer motif was something I played on the ESQ, recording the riff in MIDI on my computer, editing and quantizing the elements, and then sending it back to the ESQ as a loop. The ESQ doesn't have many pre-set sounds that I like, but this is definitely one of them.

- The "Come to Me" sample, like Roussos, also came from a disco record I purchased at the Écocentre de La Petite-Patrie. But I can't find this record either. In trying to remember, I thought the sample was Diana Ross - but I was wrong (I had this feeling all along). Having some 2000 records in my collection, many that I have not even listened to yet, not to mention the 45s! --I had to search for the lyrics on Google - and then I found / remembered that it was France Joli's disco track "Come to Me" that I had sampled while working on the track 2 years ago. In "googling" her, I found out that she is from Montreal! The song was released in 1979 - her official website - http://francejoli.com. Born in 1963 - she was 16 when the single went to #1 on the Billboard disco charts. It's an excellent song, super catchy, and definitely worth listening to in its entirety. I passed the sample through a "cosmonaut voice" filter, which is what makes it sound "walkie-talkie-like".

- The arpeggiated synth sound comes also from a preset sound on the Ensoniq ESQ. I played the riff live, edited and quantized the MIDI notes, and then played it back to the synth, running the audio output though two Moogerfooger pedals - an analog delay combined with a ring modulator. I may also have used a Moogerfooger Freqbox as well, but I can't remember now.

01 Hear The Wind

This is a track that I put on my last album, "and he flew toward it". The track had been featured in some dance work that I had done with Montreal-based choreographer George Stamos in the past. We remounted the show (entitled "The Reservoir") in the fall of 2008, combining it with a new work choreographed by Stamos entitled "Pneumatic". The combined "Reservoir/Pneumatic" show premiered at the Dancemakers festival in the fall in Toronto, and then at L'Agora de la dance in Montreal in October. I was the main composer for this 60 minute show, in collaboration with an incredible sound artist from Montreal named Jackie Gallant. The latter used an electronic drum kit that she had assembled, that could play back any type of sampled sounds, drums or otherwise. The new version of "Moi Non Plus" features Jackie's contributions to the original beat I prepared. All drums sounds were played by Jackie through her sample-kit. I don't know the source of her sounds, but knowing Jackie I wouldn't be surprised if at least one or two were created through samples pulled off the Fleetwood Mac album "Tusk".

Sources:

- The parts of "Moi Non Plus", that were retained for the Reservoir-Pneumatic Remix include

- A shaker/high hat sort of sound from a Roland R-8 Human Rhythm Composer drum machine. I passed the sound through a delay effect before mixing it into the track. I sold this drum machine not too long ago for the paltry sum of $250. I don't know what I was thinking, except that I was planning on creating more of my own drum sounds, through learning to play the drum kit I had recently purchased and put into the basement. I use the kit often, including on many tracks for "Calling the Voice-O-Graph." But the R-8 had some excellent "dance music" drum sounds, including the mighty TR-808 kit drum sound. I should have kept that wonderful box.

- There is a Hammond Organ riff, played by myself.
The "beep, beep, beep….beep, beep" part was sequenced in Protools. The sample used was a short, high pitched sine wave sound lifted from a Donna Summer cover of the Serge Gainsbourg/Jane Birkin song "Je t'Aime…Moi Non Plus" off the soundtrack to a 1978 disco film, "Thank God it's Friday."

- The TR-808 kick drum sound is also deep in the mix. I took this sound from the aforementioned Roland R-8 drum machine.

02 Moi Non Plus (Reservoir-Pneumatic Remix)

I'm a big fan of Metric, and especially Emily Haines, who is a phenomenal singer, performer and songwriter. Anybody listening to my works should head over to Itunes or wherever and purchase a copy of one of Metric's releases (or maybe one of Haines' solo efforts--see the description for "Reading in Bed" elsewhere on this site). Metric's latest album, "Fantasies" is incredible from start to finish, and worth every penny one might pay to purchase the album, or seeing the band in concert (which I did last Oct 17th 2009 here in Montreal).

"Poster of a Girl" is a pretty hard-rocking song from Metric's second album "Live it Out". I created my own arrangement, which is obviously a lot softer, and I'm not even sure I got all the chords right, but it sounds good to me. Emily, if you're out there, please take this cover version for what it's worth - as the the highest form of musical complement.

Sources:

- The main keyboard part I played myself, using a Fender Rhodes soft synth run on my computer, through the program "Live". I played the track, recording MIDI information from my keyboard as I went, quantized the best parts and sequenced together the whole thing. The heavy delay and reverb effects where added during the recording process, as opposed to afterwards. Playing the song the way I do requires hearing the delay and reacting to it while creating the keyboard part.

- Vocals were recorded at the same time as playing the original keyboard track, recording the take in Protools and then fixing up a few glitches afterwards. I probably added some compression to the vocals, and may have layered two copies of the vocal track together to "fatten" up the sound of my voice, but I didn't add any particular effects in the way that I do elsewhere on this record.

- The drums were added after the recording was created. I played along to what I had built, recording all the while. I then samples and sequenced the best parts, adding delay where necessary, especially to the snare drum.

03 Poster Of A Girl (Reverbed Version)

© A2Z 2007

"Anna Friz is a sound and radio artist who divides her time between Montreal and Toronto. For the past eight years she has predominantly created self-reflexive radio for broadcast, installation of performance, where radio is the source, subject and medium of the work. Anna has broadcast and performed across Canada, and in the US, Mexico, and across Europe. She is working on a PhD in Communications and Culture at York University, Toronto."

Produced by A2Z
Mastered by Harris Newman

Montreal 2007

This album explores the sampling practices of a group of sound artists. Seven composers (in one case a duo) each contributed a piece of digitized sound to the project. All samples were collected around Montreal, Canada. These audio files were compiled onto CD-R and redistributed to every participant. Each composer then produced a track drawing on this sample-pool exclusively for source material.

This intervention counters the assertion that increased control is paramount to users of digital audio technology. Although extraordinary editing precision is currently possible when compared to the days of magnetic tape -- copying, pasting and processing audio is still about responsive listening. This is due to the affective dimension of sound -- its fleeting presence as vibrations of the ear drum. For recorded audio must always be converted into moving air molecules in order to be experienced. Praise be to the woofers and the tweeters.

For more information, including interviews with the participants, please see: http://selectedsounds.org

05 The Organ Dreams of Leaving the Grinder

Selections from improvised Selfie Orchestra set - recorded at La Friche Belle de Mai, Marseilles, France, May 18 2019. Presented as part of the GMEM Les Musiques Festival. Immersive sound and video installation featuring data sonification and photogrammetric mapping. Photo credit: Mélissa Mathieu.

Around The Corner

Resonance

Selfie Orchestra

Selections from improvised Selfie Orchestra set - recorded at La Friche Belle de Mai, Marseilles, France, May 18 2019. Presented as part of the GMEM Les Musiques Festival. Immersive sound and video installation featuring data sonification and photogrammetric mapping. Photo credit: Mélissa Mathieu.
*This track was also remixed below.

Crowd Monster

Crowd Monster with side chain compression and kick drum, to demonstrate potential aleatoric compositional technique where addition of beat could be controlled by data.

owenchapman

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