Let's dive into the ocean, without a single movement, deeper and deeper until the light is rare. Sinking, surrounded by the glowing jellyfish dancing around me.


Patch notes « Glowing jellyfish dance» 10/05/2021 °°°

° Hermod generating clock for Marbles, modulating with 2 LFOs Ripples Frequency and resonance.
° Marbles generating trigs for Rings 1 and 2 and Tides. Creating fixed melody for Rings 1 & 2 and Plaits. Length at 8.
° Rings 1, polyphony on 4 notes, modal resonator mode, main output split into Strymon El Capistan and Clouds.
° Clouds generating some stereo down pitched delay from Rings 1 main output.
° Rings 1, polyphony on 4 notes, modal resonator mode, main output into Ripples.
° Ripples frequency and resonance modulated by Hermod, low pass mode, attenuated output into Pico DSP in stereo delay. Frequency adjusted manually during the recording
° Pico DSP in stereo delay mode, output directly into the mixer
° Tides receiving trigs from Marbles, generating the envelope for Plaits.
° Utopia adjusting CV level from Marbles to Plaits.
° Plaits generating the deep bass sound and melody. Two operator FM mode. Main output directly into the mixer
° Beads playing the guitar part in freeze mode. Recording mode set to Cold Digital. Time parameter is randomized internally. Size, shape and intensity are adjusted during the recording. All wet signal, reverb pushed to 3.30pm
° Gibson ES 330 played into Beads through Strymon Flint.
° Externally mixed on Mackie 1202-VLZ3. Recorded and mastered in Ableton Live.

Glowing jellyfish dance

Patch notes « far away from the shore » recorded 07/11/2021 at Oleron Island, France °°°

Generative peace of music, where Marbles generated melody. Since Marbles doesn't remember the sequences he generate when you switch it off, I like to start in the morning to get enough time to create a patch I like. Today my 5 years old daughter helped me to start this one. I recorded it just before bed time after a few attempts.

I'm still exploring the vast variety of sounds Ensemble oscillator can produce and I really like it. Once again I tried to incorporate some Moog Subharmonicon sequence post-recording but I once again failed :D 

I listened this track a lot before publishing it and I still find it very relaxing. Lots of layers of sound to discover, very slow rhythm : perfectly adapted to find sleep after a long day. Cheers.

° Marbles brain of the patch, generating melodies for Rings x 2, length adjusted manually during the recording, Plaits and Ensemble oscillator. X1, X2 et X3 sending V/OCT, Y used as a slow LFO, modulating Arbhar Scan parameter
°  Hermod used to control play/stop and command the BPM
° Rings 1 used as bass, audio directly to the mixer
° Rings 2 used to play the main melody, audio duplicated into Beads, Pico DSP and Arbhar
° Plaits used to second the bass line, « pair of classic waveforms » mode, modulated by tides, both audio to Clouds
° Ensemble Oscillator used as a background drone, Root parameter modulated by marble X1 output, audio to A138s mixer. Twist, Warp, Cross FM and Balance adjusted during the recording
° Tides modulating modulating POSITION parameter on Rings 1, generating envelope for plaits
° Beads not in FREEZE mode, recording in COLD DIGITAL mode from Rings 2 in stereo, pitched at 3.20 o’clock, long reverse play mode, low density and round shaped modulation, stereo output to the mixer
° Clouds in Resonestor mode (Parasite firmware), generating stereo signal, output to A138s
° Arbhar used realtime recording of one layer, pitch up to the max, high intensity (2 o’clock), 70% reverse play chance, length and spray at 50%, scan modulated by Marbles, audio directly to the external mixer (no more space on the internal mixers)
° Pico DSP in Reverb mode (light blue), Reverb time at 3 o’clock, Tone at 5 o’clock
° Utilities : Links, Black Stereo mixer, A138s mixer
° Externally mixed on Mackie 1202-VLZ3. Recorded and mastered in Ableton Live.

Far away from the shore

Nebulae are gigantic clouds of dust and gaz, most of them are light-years large. Those astronomical objects are nearly impossible to see with human eyes. The picture illustrating this track is M27, discovered in 1764 by Charles Messier. It is the first planetary nebula observed in the history of astronomy. The distance from earth is around 1250 light-years. I took the image with a 400mm focal length telescope in my backyard.

Involved :
° Hermod & Marbles
° Rings x 2
° Plaits
° Tides
° Beads
° Arbhar
° Clouds
° Ensemble oscillator
° Pico DSP
° Fx Aid
° Riples

° Ukulele and shaker (percussion)

Patch notes « Nebulae » recorded on the 09/21/2021

° Marbles, brain for everything except the main melody handled by Hermod. Clocked by Hermod. T1 is activating SEED on Beads, T2 is triggering Rings 1, T3 is triggering Tides to generate a envelope for Plaits. X1 provides V/OCT to Root parameter of Ensemble Oscillator, X2 generating notes for Rings 1, X3 generating notes for Plaits.
° Hermod is providing clock, melody and LFOs to the setup. Different LFOs on ° Ensemble Oscillator for Balance and CrossFM parameters. STRUM and V/OCT on Rings 2 (main melody) and Ripples Frequency V/OCT parameter. Melody is separated in 3 sequences of 64 steps each, switched manually during the recording.
° Rings 1  ODD output is attenuated and sent to FX AID for some shimmer reverb, EVEN output is going to Beads.
° Tides is generating a envelope for Plaits
° Plaits is going to Pico DSP for some reverb
° Beads is sometimes activating SEED and playing some short parts of Rings 1, stereo outs to the mixer
° Pico DSP in reverb mode for Plaits, stereo outs going to the mixer
° Rings 2 is playing the main melody, ODD output going to Clouds in Looping delay mode (Parasite)
° Clouds mono output to Ripples
° Ensemble oscillator is animating a background drone, parameters are unplugged and manually played at the end
° Arbhar is granulating a single layer of recorded noises and Ukulele notes, Scan parameter is modulated by UTOPIA
° UTOPIA is providing 2 LFOs for Ensemble Oscillator Twist parameter  and Scan parameter of Arbhar

Nebulae

I recorded a while ago a little stream close to where I live. It was during the spring season 2018.  For this track, I plugged my Telecaster directly  to the modular using Mutable Instruments Ears. 

I "recorded" the first layer of music with the Mimeophon, It's pretty strange to play live music that makes sense in this module, you can loop forever but at the same time it's still a delay ;)I changed parameters after establishing a proper loop and getting my hands off the guitar of course.

Then I used 4ms Tapographic delay the same way to record a second layer while listening to the first one and drowned it into a reverb ... Not so easy :D I did a lot of tries to get something decent.

I finally added the "little stream" recording ... I hope you'll find the result relaxing. I like the imperfect raw sound of the guitar recording and the progressive delay invasion.

Cheers.

The Stream

It's been a while, I know ... I've been experimenting all this time with different modules on my rack without getting anything good enough to publish.

I just added "Lubadh" from Instruo on the 24th of march and this is the first track with this fantastic module.

Be safe, take care and I hope you will spend a relaxing moment listening to this one. Cheers.

Cloudy sky's regatta

"Perihelion is the point in the trajectory of a celestial object in heliocentric orbit that is closest to the Sun."

Continuing my astronomical series, Perihelion earth/sun represent the closest distance between those two objects. Because yes, we are constantly traveling through space at 107.000 Km/h, the sun is rotating the center of the galaxy at 850.000 Km/h and our galaxy is traveling at about 630Km/s. So, stay "still" and enjoy this 8mn20s track if you can ;) Cheers.

Patch notes « Perihelion » recorded on the 08/10/2022, Oleron Island.

Hermod, master clock, midi interface with OP-Z, LFOs
Marbles generating global melody for the modular synth on 3 voices, clocked by Hermod
Rings 1 main melody generated by Marble
Rings 2 alternative melody generated by Marbles, triggered by Ears and his contact microphone
Ensemble oscillator playing the bass line, generated by Marbles enveloped by Tides and Quad VCA
Plaits playing complementary bass line, generated by Marbles, enveloped by Tides and Quad VCA
Beads processing Plaits audio
FX AID 1 processing Ensemble oscillator, reverb
FX AID 2 processing Rings 1, tremolo into reverb
Tides generating envelopes for Plaits and Ensemble Oscillator with some shifting
Utopia generating LFO for Rings 1 « Position » parameter
Clouds in Resonestor mode processing Rings 2 audio
Mimeophon processing Clouds stereo audio

LemonDrop (from 1010music) generating background drone sound, 3 layers total, played manually during the recording
OP-Z clocked by Hermod, playing  3 audio tracks on 4 patterns

Track visual : I'm experimenting with "Midjourney" service to generate visual art associated to my music. The operating mode is a bit strange but I do love the results and the totally geek and unfriendly interface :D

Perihelion

A short piece of music to welcome the fall season. Tomorrow is the first day of autumn 2022 and the days are getting shorter. 

Weissenborn lap acoustic guitar, Open D tuning, recorded with a stereo matched pair of Rode NT5 microphones (AB setup with 15° angle) at 50cm. Mastered in Ableton live.

Autumn light

Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by humans, and is driven primarily by the availability of food. It occurs mainly in the northern hemisphere, where birds are funneled onto specific routes by natural barriers such as the Mediterranean Sea or the Caribbean Sea.

Migration of species such as storks, turtle doves, and swallows was recorded as many as 3,000 years ago by Ancient Greek authors, including Homer and Aristotle, and in the Book of Job. (from Wikipedia)

A special note for the humans still hunting those birds despite the current context : F*CK *FF ! (from me)

°°° Patch notes « The great migration » recorded on the 10/22/2022, Oleron Island.

° Hermod, master clock, modulations source and playing the bass notes
° Marbles generating melodies for the rest of the modular synth on 3 voices, clocked by Hermod, played manually during the recording with Length (from 5 to 12) and X Bias. Y is providing a LFO for Arbhar Scan parameter (C#, B, F#, Eb, Ab)
° Rings 1 and Rings 2 playing X1 and X2 notes from Marbles
° Tides is creating a envelop for Plait
° Plaits is generating sound for the bass line, AUX output to FX AID in reverb mode
° Arbhar is playing 6 layers of dry electric guitar (Gibson SG) and 1 layer of whistling, scan parameter moved by Marble y output, layers played manually at the beginning and ending of the recording, layer OMEGA is selecting the samples for the rest of the time. Output of Arbhar divided into Tapographic delay and Pico DSP in analog delay mode.
° Mimeophon is receiving audio from the Left output of A-138-s mixer and proceeding a glitchy sound, Hermod modulating the Rate parameter on s short range.
° A-138s mixer supporting 2 rings and stereo outputs of Pico DSP
° Beads in delay mode with randomized Time parameter, pretty high density, square shape, no reverb for most of the time and wet all the way, taking audio from the left output of A-138s mixer.

°°° Visual art for the track generated with Midjourney AI from a text prompt ("birds migrating during autumn season, flying birds, black red dark blue ink drawing, very detailed, high quality"), multiple version generated, the selected one was remastered using a specific option.

The great migration

The idea here was to start from a very simple VCO signal, not very interesting or pleasant, then evolving into something that sound still raw but much elaborate with the help of delays and granular synthesis.

Marbles is generating 3 different instruments melodies, Plaits and Tides are the main instruments playing raw triangle waves evolving into much complex waveforms after some time. Effects are giving live to the track, two independent complex delays, Beads generating rhythmic melody and Clouds slightly modifying Plaits sound. Lots of parameters are touched and adjusted during the one shot recording of this track. Rings is doing the bass line generated by Marbles.

Visual art for the track generated by Midjourney AI from a text prompt.

I hope you will enjoy the result.

Cheers.

Voltage Controlled Oscillator

Do I record my music with a precise idea in mind for a title or a meaning : absolutely not. But after having listened to the song several times, I like to associate it with an idea or a theme. 

As I recorded this one on an island, I immediately thought of the problems of climate change and rising waters. In about 40 years, according to the most realistic scenarios, a large part of the island will be under water.

Of course, you are free to think of something else, something more positive while listening to this one and that's what I wish you ;)

The image associated with this title was generated by an artificial intelligence to which I gave a sentence to interpret. After several attempts and versions, I selected this one.

°°° Recorded 10/30/22 / Oléron Island, France °°°

Instruments involved, Marbles, Rings, Plaits, Tapographic delay, Mimeophon, FX Aid reverb, Arbhar, Gibson SG, OP-Z, Lemon Drop. Intro and main part recorded with two different patches.

Surrounded by the Ocean

Interlude #1, recorded on the 1st of December 2022

I decided to share my acoustic explorations with different guitars.
This is in DADGAD tuning, played on a Taylor Nylon series. 
I hope you'll like it.

I used Midjourney AI to generate the track visual art. After some tries and tweaking, I ended with this version. Then a pinch  of Photoshop for the final touch.

Interlude #1  Path to winter

Last track of 2022. Probably. Have fun for the holiday season. Stay safe.

"Il porta ce gros coquillage qu'il venait de trouver sur le sable à son oreille. Ferma les yeux. Un léger sourire se dessina alors sur son visage. Il semblait maintenant ailleurs, comme si son esprit planait au loin, effleurant la crête des vagues. Le vent et les oiseaux comme seuls compagnons."

°° Instruments involved : Plaits, rings x 2, Arbhar, Beads, Ensemble oscillator, Mimeophon, FX aid x 2, Tapographic delay, Lubadh, Lemon Drop.

°° Visual art for the track : generated by AI Dall-E-2. After (too) many tries using Midjourney AI, literally hours of wandering, I asked DALL-E-2 (OPEN AI) to generate this portrait.

Waves in a seashell

"Marble music machine"

Happy new year 2023. This particular patch has been wired for 15 days. I finally recorded it on the 21th of January. It celebrates the arrival of "Data Bender" module in my synth family. 

I'll try to keep the music coming in 2023 and I hope you will spend some time with me listening to those new tracks. Stay safe, take care, Cheers ! 

°°° 

Visual art for the track from Midjourney AI stimulated by a text prompt.

M.M.M.

"Déjà le jour déclinait. Même par temps maussade, le spectacle de l’Océan m’attirait. Le chant hypnotique  du vent et des vagues est toujours réparateur."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

I recorded this piece of music in November 2022 and I did not share it for some reason. I used my beloved Taylor guitar to record several layers into Blooper, fun fact, this guitar is always tuned in DADGAD (it's been nearly 10 years). The modular synthesizer is also part of the dance, with a "brass sintrument" sound and all the effects.
I hope you will enjoy it.

Le chant du vent

Do you remember when we thought everything was easy?
Do you remember the time when we thought everything was ours?
do you remember the time when we thought we could inflict anything on our planet without consequences?

Well it looks like it's over.

°°°

Here is a glitchy piece of music I made yesterday. I was setting the music studio back in place after a short trip, then I couldn't resist the urge to test if everything was ok. Obviously, I had the war in Ukraine in mind but also, the fact that humanity just can't stop destroying itself and in the process, damage everything that is part of our environment.

Maybe one day a sister of the artificial intelligence who created the illustration for this piece of music will find a way to get rid of humanity and all its mistakes.

Easy

A short piece from my current experiments.

Generative piece of music using Marbles, Rings x 2 (one of them in FM mode), Beads, Data bender (synced) and Tapographic delay (synced). Clocked by Hermod.

Intersections

"The sequoia, wise guardian of the forest, silently observes the folly of men, bearing witness to their ephemeral existence and the importance of preserving nature, the source of life and wisdom."

Welcome to my new module "Hector" from Polyeffects : now, my two racks are full !! ;)Instruments involved, virtual Rings and Marbles from Hector, Plaits, Mimeophon, Data Bender, Tapographic delay, Lubadh, OP-1.

Visual art and text introduction for the track generated by AI under my guidance.

Sequoia

°°° Deep Forest

Envision yourself deep within a forest, solitary and free, gazing up at the tree crowns, forgetting briefly life's bustling spree.

°°°

Recorded Apr 17th 2023 on Oléron Island, France.

Deep Forest

I enjoy watching artists create paintings by pouring liquid acrylic paints onto a canvas and, by mastering the randomness of the process, producing extraordinary landscapes and textures, organic structures that provide instant visual pleasure. This is somewhat what motivates my approach to creating an ambient music piece, a highly intuitive approach oriented towards auditory satisfaction.

Anyway, I also try to create textures and atmospheres that add up and form a cocoon in which it is easy to settle for a few minutes and forget the tumult of daily life. Although most of the sounds I create are synthetic in nature, I enjoy giving them an organic resonance, as if they were coming from existing instruments.

°°° Chromatic waves, recorded on the 7th of May 2023 on Oléron Island, France.

Instruments involved :
° Mutable instruments Rings x 2
° Mutable instruments Plaits
° Instruo Arbhar
° Instruo Lubadh
° Mutable instruments Beads
° Make Noise Mimeophon
° Mutable instruments Marbles
° Square Hermod
° QU-bit Data Bender
° Poly Hector
° FX aid x 2
° Erica Synth Pico DSP

External instruments recorded on Lubadh :

° OP-1
° Lemon Drop

This track has been recorded in one take, without any post-production sound layering.

Chromatic waves

It's not the first time I've used the Moog Subharmonicon (i bought mine in 2020) to create a piece of music, but each time I'm confronted with the same dilemma: the sounds are beautiful, but using the polyrhythmic sequencer is challenging. As a result, I often struggle with creating tracks that don't sound too repetitive, and sometimes I end up giving up on the process altogether.

This time, I limited my gear to the Subharmonicon, El Capistan pedal from Strymon, and recorded around 7 minutes of the Moog alone. I tried to use every trick possible to limit the repetitive aspect of what you can produce with this instrument.

The next day, I recorded 3 additional layers of sound using the OP-1 first and then the Lemon Drop granular synthesizer. I really love the textures that El Capistan is able to provide, and I finally had some fun mastering the entire track.

I hope you enjoy the journey. By the way, the art cover for the track is not a picture of a Subharmonicon; it's just how an AI imagines it. :D Cheers!"


°°° "Nocinomrahbus" recorded on the 9th and 10th of May 2023 °°°

Instruments involved : 

° Moog Subharmonicon
° Strymon El Capistan
° OP-1
° Lemon Drop Granular synthesizer

Additional reverb added in Ableton Live on the Subharmonicon recording.

°°° Edit 05/14/2023 : I remastered the track with more compression allowing me to boost the overall volume of the track °°°

Nocinomrahbus

Weissenborn / Lapsteel, Op-1 and KaossPad

October14

The full moon periods are magical; the amplification of the moon shine by snow and ice put the scenery of the north into an intense blue light.This is konwn as "blue moon".

Blue moon

Modern-boring-world escape generator. Welcome.

PascalMusic

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