2021Project:Ideas

Electronic synthpop idea reliving summer festivals on a cold grey March day...

ProjectNumber5RoughMix12:3:21

NewStudioProject3Ruffmix12:3:21

Little Tune, made in a day. Basically, got up, thought about going to work in boring jobs, turned alarm off. Got up, made the duvet day phone call, put on 'the Cough'. Had some breakfast and went to studio. K messed around with a guitar riff, had a record of stuff, he wrote some lyrics, had a bit more of a record. Did some keys and rudiment drum programming. Had a quick mix. All done by 5.30. Think we went to the cinema that evening, had a pizza. Perfect day. Wish it was always like that...... (an yes, not brill recording, production (like we even thought about that) but it was just a quick idea one uninspired day) think it was the day John Major resigned, maybe that had something to do with it :-)

Standby (tune in a day DAB/Pandemusic) Mix from Archives c1999

Sad song this, written about yr nearest and dearest getting old, and trying to help. But the 'state' gets involved and before you know where you are there is a whole lot of people providing help, poking their noses in, getting in the way, forcing opinions. An the really scary thing is, none of us  are used to that, we live in a culture that says that when people get ill we pass it on to the 'professionals' and we hide away and don't face up to our responsibilities. So this is a little story of a father who gets ill, goes through the whole nhs hospital, social worker, care home thang. Everyone gets distressed, lots walk away, the rest just try and make sure he gets the right care. But its a fight, and a loosing fight. And its about dignity, and enjoying the last few years or months of someones life and making them feel appreciated and counted. Its about dignity. For Len, and for all those who helped make his last days good, and for the rest of you..go and rethink :-)

Horses by DAB Band(from archives 2001)

Old mix I did years ago, but I like to upload this one now and again, see what sort of reaction it gets. I always loved the lyrics on this, really made me think. Was so difficult then to get the vocal separated from the backing, did a lot of eq ing! Married the track with loops from GSH and guitar by ZZZZZZ. Made with trusty old k2000 sampler, basic Logic, mixed on my old analogue desk, zoom delay and quadraverb 1980s reverb unit, and mastered to dat.....the days before Bounce, everything took so long, but was maybe better as had more time to think and consider. Mixed a track to DAT the other day instead of bouncing in the computer. It took longer but was shocked at how much better the definition was, esp top high and bottom end. Mmm, been banging on about this for a while, analogue vs digital, old vs new, need to do some more dat mixes and compare. Thanks to Fluke Amazing band for the borrow of the sample.

PDM:  RevolutionNOtTV Gill Scott Heron Remix 1999 ft Fluke Sample

Been fiddling with this on and off since last winter, never pleased with the mixes I started overlaying one of them with some of the original tracks, beefing up certain bits or not as case was. Obviously a tiny bit of latency seemed to thicken up the sound, be interesting to hear what it sounds like on here.
FX trusty Quadraverb chorus strings, daisy chained to 2nd Qverb with holmes plate. Zoom pingpong delay on guitars helped. K2000 for some cymbals and percussion,  Yamaha motif for electric piano sound. Other sounds made out of snippets of audio, used Dep 5 to make FX noises.

Nylo

Diary Notes 17/4/14. I have always loved this song  since I heard it, tho only heard it 2 years ago. And from then on it was on replay in my van all summer as I was driving between festivals, willing my van to get over the mud, an get out again, became my 'lucky' track to play when I encountered difficult festival conditions. Jus turned it up loud, wound the windows down, crossed my fingers and revved the hell out of my lovely van. Loved the engineering, vocal fx. Have done a remix here, tried to pay some homage with some fx too. Was a challenge working with the vocal, trying to get the backing to either disappear or blend as appropriate.  Really enjoyed doing this, for better or worse. Comments welcome. Nb, and yes there is some distortion on this, am experimenting, getting fed up with compression treading too heavily. I am mixing in the box at the mo as converter to my old analogue desk was causing way too much noise with Imac...got too difficult chasing earth loops, buying new bits of cable. It didn't work and the noise level was too much to work with so my much loved Allen Heath GS3 desk is now just a routing device for getting in hardware synths an fx. But am really missing that riding the faders thing (and also its basic but great sounding EQ), its just not the same with digital stuff....or is it just me? Where is the warmth? Was listening to excellent radio 2 show tonight Huey Morgan show. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zqcjd   
He plays a lot of old funk and good tunes. There is so much air in those recordings, it all breathes. I think it maybe something that we are losing at the mo, too much comp, so hence a bit of an experiment with levels, just letting it happen, bit of distortion never hurt no one....:-)
Ps: Real shame I can't credit this track, but its illegal, I do not have permission. Thanks Alan, wish I had met you, wish you had heard this.

Allen Toussaint FromaWhisper: PDM ReWorkMix: The Showers of April rough mix/ideas

def Lemon Jelly influenced at the time, messed around with samplers, and real musicians... and David Attenborough

Dog In My Backyard. Original mash up ft Howlin Wolf and others...

Made this basic idea years ago, on iPad, garage band, in France. Full of cold parked up in the mountains in the trusty hire car, heating full on, full of fever and slept. Woke, and made a little idea. Worked on it this summer, overlaying and embellishing.

MarchMiniBeeFinalMix14:7:23

Diary mix, summer so very short on studio time. Playing with garage band on iPad when I get a spare couple of minutes, taking samples seeing what happens. FX very basic on GB but discovered that audio tracks have funny little 'fx' settings. Tried small room setting and whacked compression right. As predicted it pumped the sound, but also interfered with everything else, not sure why, no signal paths to follow. Anyway quite liked the interference altho uncontrollable. Am liking these little sketch ideas, whether they translate into the logic beast when I get time remains to be seen.

Stratford: The birthplace of William Shatner? iPad sketches garage band comp experiment

made on my iPad, in a tent, in far north scotland. I got into recording off our little radio, just tuning into stations, taking samples through garage band and then working the samples into a little tune. So this features a great broadcast from the isles, also Nina Simone chord and some other stuff, mangled into garage band, in a tent, whilst the weather raged all around. Abbey Road? Canvas more like.
Also features sounds from Lotte Globe sculpture garden and Fergus Stewart bowls, thank you for trustingly letting me hit and record your work. 

I feel like a hug tonight: iPad sketches Scotland may 2014

debs remix, first draft
So, Debs sent me a couple of acappella songs sung into her phone, one of which was this famous song. Not the best audio quality, lots of eq to try and unbox the sound, but she has such a beautiful voice. It ended up as a bit of a remix, reimagining, not pleasing to some of the more traditionalists, but hey, there you go....its good to try these things.
Pic: This was that Mega hot day at Cropredy Fairport Festival 2022, we were so thrilled to have finally got our stall there after years of trying but we didn't bank on working in 40 degrees, with a wood oven.

Black Is The Colour: Reworked (1stRoughMIX9:12:23DebsBlack)

Another archive track, programmed drums off sr16 and K2000, took ages as always, but like the cymbals on this. Remember when we were doing this and it sounded nothing like anything we were hearing, hopefully thats changed now.  Nice lyrics, and so prophetic.....still waiting :-)

Still Waiting Archive 1999

Diary mix: Bit of an idea, found an accordion sample I liked, messed around with some logic orchestral stuff, see where it goes later in the week when I have some more time. Loving K2000 orchestral percussion, timps, celeste esp, such great machines, just have to try and keep them going. TX7 doing some random arpeggiator stuff, mallet sound, other K2 doing bass sound with hammond backing it up, electric pianos off logic and motif. Drums bits of loops cut up, need some careful going through.
Photo, took this on north coast Scotland at sculptor Lotte Globes house one of her amazing sculpted art installations, a pond she made in her garden filled with her 'made' individually glazed ceramic pebbles and surrounded with her vivid blue turquoise tiles. Then on the boring drive home I messed with the photo and another one taken on top of Quinag, melding them together, I wanted to get a blend of the big sky landscape thing that happens there.
Title, watched jk rowling a casual vacancy, not sure who wrote the music but was inspiring, esp the first episode title sequence, must find out who its by, loved the blend of electronic and orchestral, have tried to do that here.
Postscript: looks like we will have super fast fly broad band here in the next couple of weeks. Am so excited, has been so difficult last couple of years trying to get stuff up on soundcloud and to listen and respond. Whoa, twenny first Cent here we go....:-)

A VACANT CASUALTY March8th2015

Final mix with a bit of Glue and EQ, mixed to Dat then uploaded into Logic for mastering. Annoyingly I couldn't loose the vinyl scratch on the accordion sample although I looked long and hard at the waveforms and removed most of them that particular one evaded me, could hear it, couldn't see it. 
Photo taken at Sandwood Bay Scotland last May, a good remote place to get away to, very spiritual, not quiet tho, that sea roars in with amazing noise.

Film Music Idea: A Vacant Casualty Final Mix Glue EQ 17:3:15

sorry, haven't got time...off to see Chic....good times :-)

19 (happiness Is....super Fast Broadband)

Diary Mix: May9/15 something I am working on at mo, live performance by James at Woodford Halse, Grand Central Blues Night, basic stems, one vocal, one guitar and some amazing looper stuff on another track. Not much to go on, no bpm so I ended up taking lots of tiny snippets from the performance, making sounds, and working a new mix. Ended up as usual with lots of tracks, but most are the original organic recording, just really messed around with. Added a really basic drum loop that seemed to fit, bit of basic synth stuff but tried to make most of the track from the 'found sounds' on the original live recording, do justice to the vocal performance. Quite liking the horns, love that atmospheric sound they give. Work in progress, hope to get it better
Good news today, my beloved SH1000 has been at the doctors for a couple of months. Had a call yesterday, the tuning had been fixed, all 3 octaves are now pitch perfect instead of the 5 or so notes that was all I had. But, there was another problem, permanent sustain had appeared, another fault...ah, what to do? To keep throwing money at a very old fairly budget analogue synth or go with it? Anyway, we got there and the problem had sorted itself out (unless you turn a certain knob up to 11...so don't do it). It now sounds fantastic and so in tune, all glorious 40 notes or so! Am very happy, and Dep 5 is also fixed, back in my rack, wow, what a reverb. New fixed toys, more sounds to play with, right result today, big thanks to Roland Vintage Gear Genius John Bright, thank you, what a hero.


JAMES GILLESPIE: NO CAUSE: Pandemusic Project (Original) ROUGH MIX: May9/2015

Really liked the original Rickie Lee Jones song, took a small sample and crafted a song around it. Bit influenced by Steve Hillage William Orbit and a big Bass sound supplying a lot of the harmonic sense. Enjoyed making a lot of the sounds on K2000 using partials waveforms.

Ball Bust ft Rickie Lee Jones Sample DAB song

Cheeky Accordion Track, Practise in C Major: Play Along

Lil experimental practise track I made up for my accordion practise 

Dubstep Accordion Practice Track

Its a Dog. In Your Back Yard. Various samples, made a while ago on hardware, K2000 is king. Always.

Christmas Dog 2

Old track, realised that two favourite tracks on compilation soul cd were in the same key but different bpms. Worked for hours taking the samples, early time stretching and knitting in to the final mix. All done on Kurzweill K2000 with some basic Apple Logic 8 track audio recording helped along with adat 8 track tape. Took so long, became such a challenge, hours an hours listening and editing. The end result? A little piece of history, all the different elements dont totally meld, its very much shoved together but as a diary piece brings back those heady early 2000 days, long sunny summer evenings when we would finish working about 10pm and wander up to our little thatched pub in the village to laugh drink and celebrate with all our friends. Special times, maybe captured here in spite of all this mixes mistakes. 10% interest rates, the UK was very different....good and bad....discuss.

Dance To The Music/Lady Marmalade Pandemusic Remix

Just found some random some samples from a The the track I really liked featuring Sinead O Connor. Working in Logic at this time, took some samples, messed around. A friend showed me how to make an arpeggio instrument in the very scary Environment Window one afternoon. Was amazing, and I was off, arpeggiating everything in earshot. Got right back into midi manipulating as well, pitch changing, slowing down/speeding up etc. Many lost afternoons over the next few days. This is the result, quirky, experimental, reflecting a time of great learning and putting it all to the test. Hopefully it sounds ok too.

The the REMIX Pandemusic ft Sinead O Connor Kingdom of the Rain

Started this years ago, really wanted to mesh these two so important tracks together. proved difficult with the samples and lost concentration, moved on so this is as far as I got. Its not great, but there was a bit of an idea and at the time loved the idea. maybe try and find the original files (mmmm, what computer of the last 25 years is that?...somewhere in 'the house') and do some more. Or leave the originals well alone, some things should be left to rest in peace.

Marvin Gay Gill Scott Heron MarvinanGill Bits of a Rough Idea(Archive)

Lullaby. With loud bits.
First remix I attempted a few years ago, picked up on the stems on a remix competition. Loved reworking this, making new sounds, playing with my newest acquisition an old Roland SH100, no midi, no program saving ability of sounds, just plug it in and play along.

LAMB Remix: ZZZZBABYSHEEPButterfFyEffectMix

Quick idea, rough, unmixed, loving Logic step FX, playing with samples from field recordings at folk festival sessions. Trying to work vocal in but not there yet, v tricky timing. Made this little tune way up in the White Mountains Crete, working with samples. Originally I wanted this to be the backing for Polly Parker vocal but it proved too difficult to work in timing wise so ended up with this. Don't mind it, kinda like the weird piano sample, recorded at Bromyard on when I messed about on mate Tims little portable acoustic piano that he wheeled about at the festival, lovely sweet dull (in a good way) sound. Pic, our mate at Anapoli and his horse that he rides bareback in the traditional mountain way. Its called Pirate, apparently the same word in Greek?

Warwick 2018Polly2:11

Reworking of a very old song from Ireland. It comes from the north but I first heard this sung by an old man in Doolin, swaying on his sticks late one night in a noisy packed bar, all suddenly silent and listening, could have heard a pin drop. Anyway, looked up the spec on Wikip and turns out that the song is  traced back to 17th c poet from County Clare. Like to think that those origins still survive, hence still being sung on the west coast. I love the way Shamoozey http://www.looperman.com/users/profile/818593 sings this, plenty of emotion, what a voice. I have tried to do his performance justice with some more modern studio fx and some different harmonies. Guess I was thinking of those big brooding west coast skies, rain coming in, wind getting up, hopes and dreams....or at least finding the nearest bar for a guinness! I also used a snippet of vocal from this guys mum, from Belgrade, another amazing singer http://www.looperman.com/users/profile/321956 So much talent out there.....Love it :-) Thanks for listening, comments really welcome. Photo taken on the border to Donegal, was a fair day, found a mates long lost ancestral small holding hidden in the hills, deserted now, had to ask at several pub/shops to try and find the location as he only had vague directions from his dad who was now living for many years in London, and knowing his dad would never return he asked us to try and find the place and take a few photos. We drove down several miles of tracks, then came across a tiny hamlet, a few houses, the ever thriving pub/shop and a church. A mile or so after we found where our friend's family came from, a deserted and dilapidated farm cottage overlooking a small lake surrounded by hills. Not a bad place to be. Most moving was the churchyard, nearly every gravestone bore the same family name, hundreds of years, being in one place. Many generations lived and died there. Now its completely deserted, just a few sheep grazing, its very quiet and peaceful, all that history gently settling back into the landscape. Makes you think....

Carrickfergus: Traditional Irish Tune feat Shamoozey Vocals: Pandemusic Original Remix:26/9/12

Strange track this: So, life always goes on. Yup. But stuff gets in the way. Our festival season is short, we always joke with friends and family, please don't have a crisis, or die, during the summer because we will struggle. But we had that crisis last August, a brother dead, a funeral to sort, hopefully be there, all the time that festival diary ticking on. Yes, we just made it, funeral, grieving, but not really any time to think about. Straight on to the next festival, new site, new people, and tho everyone was lovely, sympathetic, understanding, they couldn't really. Made a lot of samples at Shrewsbury the night before driving back to the funeral. It was a tight call, finish trading, break down the stall, up early the next morning, made the crematorium with 8 mins to go. Next day it was business as usual, cash n carry, planning staff, shopping and the next festival. Didn't really have a chance to process so made this tune later as a way to catch up. Used lots of samples I took the night before the funeral, at the festival, and radio stuff too. Its a work, progress? mmmm, time will tell. Thanks for listening.

Folkfest2019MaryTakesTheBusWELLRuff:stilllearnin

Saw Judy singing at Wickham Festival last year, we all took turns to run out of the stall and go and witness, enjoy, behold her beautiful voice and message. Recordings not great, do no justice to the moment, but made some mishmash anyway. Was an amazing night. Regardless of the fairly rubbish sound recording an interpretation, the message stands. Thank you Judy

JudyCollinsClownbustingVeryRoughMix

tune made under some duress. samples taken, much thought, but too much thought too. Anyway, lil germ of an idea...playing, experimenting, whilst trying to get to grips with life stuff. As usual. Same for all of us. Me, I just make music, works it out for me. Thanks for listening (last conversation I had with my brother, he told me how much he liked stained glass, so this is a little photo in his memory)

PalaeochoraOFFGRIDFolkfest2019

oops, funny how you write stuff. And then....Love an love to everyone. We will All Get Thru This.

My Own Armageddon

Mish mash idea mix, ft Shamoozy on vocals, messed around with his lyrics, made a new one, Ireland, this is I, aint quite familiar. Shoved in some folk fiddle lifts, made some beats, had a play

IRELAND THEN: THIS IS I (aint quite familiar) Original PDM ft Shamoozy

NewMixtest11:5:20

WELCOME GEAR JUNKIES: We never have enough, always lust after stuff. My own studio is cobbled together from 2nd hand not so 'chic' (or fashionable or expensive) stuff. It works for me, an I have a lil rule, if its not been used for 12 months it gets to go to a new home....yeah right. We're gear junkies. Anyway, heres my list, nothing expensive, just stuff bought over the years that works for me...a great sound, ease of programming, fits in with my setup, was a right bargain as unfashionable  etc:
In no particular order:
Tascam DAT 2 trk (mastering), Adat 8 trk, Logic, Ableton, Roland Sh1000, Roland String Machine, SR16, Dep 5, Dep 3, Alesis Quadraverb, Yamaha Motif,
Allan n Heath GS3000, Mackie monitors, Zoom FX, TLAudio compressor an EQ, two Alesis 3630 compressors (lovem), old handmade tape delay, Korg Poly800, Kurzweil K2000 samplers X2, Yamaha silly home keyboard ps something, TX21,  Aphex EQ, Ensonique keyboard, Roland string machine, Yamaha TX7, Yamaha Drum Machine, various guitars (yawn) all got humbugger or something. An got a tambourine also....Hi, thanks for listening, thanks for following.
WISH LIST FOR 2017: roland vocoder, Mutronics mutator, anything Moog, a replacement for my beloved SR16 that gave up, some better ears and a whole lot of understanding bout this music thing....mmmm, guess thats all down to me. HPNY
Welcome to another anonymous Sound Cloud site, full of a load of music made by another noone that you probably will never meet. Some tunes here are really thought about and carefully engineered, others just little ideas posted up, sketches. Makes me wonder, why do we make music, us amateurs? We don't earn a living doing this, we do it for pleasure and through need. How many times have I had a tune in my head, an idea, and the luxury of a day off stretching ahead. All I need to do is to go to my studio and turn it into reality. Do I? No, I find a hundred excuses to not visit that space, from needing to empty the dishwasher, cook the tea, iron the garden...its all mostly mundane. And yet, after hours of using up a precious day off when I do finally make myself go and sit down in front of my monitors and indulge in some glorious tune making it is the biggest reward. Am sure I am not alone in this. A couple of years ago I set myself a discipline of getting up early each morning and spending a couple of hours (a bleary coffee fuelled start) in my studio working. The results were really good, clear head, sense of purpose and a self imposed time limit. I really had to be out of pjs by 8.30, the neighbours were starting to twitch nets and point. Honestly the best music I have made was around the start of 2013, faced with eviction and homelessness, struggling to find somewhere to live the house was gradually dismantled, put into storage, ready for a move. I resisted the studio, hung onto it for as long as possible and even two days before we moved with everything literally in boxes I stayed up late, got up early, put every effort into just getting down another tune...and another...and another. Listening back, I think it has been some of my best work. There was something about being on the brink of losing everything, knowing once we moved that I wouldn't have a studio for a while and the obvious emotional response of leaving our home that made it easier to work. I never found excuses to empty the dishwasher, iron the cat, take the lawn shopping etc....
The purpose of this site for me is part diary, a hope that I can get better thru listening here, a space outside my studio,  and part a chance to listen to other peoples stuff. I love it when people comment, please do if you have anything constructive to say, esp re engineering/mixing/producing. I am always learning and welcome any advice and feedback. Like most people on this site I am a home studioist. i.e. a bottomless pit to chuck money down...Wouldnt have it any other way.

PanDeMsic

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