"An Email From Sun Ra" by Blind River Jr

Submitted for the March Challenge 4 for Brian Funk's Music Production Club, prompts provided by mrtorian

Conceived, recorded, mixed & mastered Mar 23-27 2023 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa, NY and on East 70th St, NYC. Koala samples recorded on 19 Aug 2019 in the New York Burger Bar bathroom in Massapequa, NY. Some drum sounds from 10 Mar 2019, Massapequa, NY.

©2023 Jim Lemanowicz

Voice, Jay Turser Mustang, Zoom MS-70CDR pedal, Nobels ODR-1, Arturia Wurli V, Ableton Live 11, Ableton/M4L devices, (including Color Limiter, Vector Delay, Reverb, Random, Scale, Arpeggiator, Beat Repeat, Buffer Shuffler, Designer Drums - Carbonized), and iPhone Koala app.

The original prompt from mrtorian

Word Prompt: Dog Tried
I am dog tired but that has been said. Has ''dog tried'' been said? Maybe but for sure now!

Musical Prompt: make a 1/4 or 1/8  note alternating octave bass-line interesting. We all love them and maybe default to them, and they are amazing. As with the above, what's something that's not been done or done to death?

This track was originally released under the artist name "Blind River Jr."

An Email From Sun Ra (MPC March #4)

Conceived, recorded, mixed & mastered Mar 29 - Apr 02 2023 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa, NY and on East 70th St, NYC. Some lyrics based on Short Faces (poem from 21 Sep 2017).

©2017, 2023 Jim Lemanowicz

Voice, Jay Turser Mustang, Brian Funk's 100 Year Old Piano, Ableton Live 11, Ableton/M4L devices, (including Vector Delay, Reverb, Random, Scale, Beat Repeat, Buffer Shuffler, Designer Drums - Carbonized, Spectral Blur, Harmonic Filter, Pitch Hack), nylon string guitar, cuatro, electric piano, Operator bass

---- for what it is worth, here is the prompt I used for this - I came up with this ----

Marchapril Week 0 "Grupo Madí"

Word Prompt: How do you know that time is passing?

Musical Prompt: Give your music an irregular shape.

Grupo Madí - a Buenos Aires art movement of the 1940s, focused on playing with traditional conventions of Western art. For instance, irregularly-shaped canvases.

This track was originally released under the artist name "Blind River Jr."

Bring Your Own Debris

Second

Conceived, recorded 01 May 2023 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa, NY. 

Two tracks of Piano V3, Ableton Live & native devices, Arturia FX. Notes generated on iPad/Audiobus.

This has been recorded for Brian Funk's MPC (Music Production Club), in response to the following prompt by Brian - "Try to make a piece of music each day from May 1-7." 

Photo taken 11 Sep 2017, Massapequa, NY

©2023 Jim Lemanowicz

This track was originally released under the artist name "Our Quiet Fog."

Leave Your Corset At The Door

Conceived, recorded 02 May 2023 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa, NY. 

Two tracks of Piano V3, Ableton Live & native devices, Arturia FX.

This has been recorded for Brian Funk's MPC (Music Production Club), in response to the following prompt by Brian - "Try to make a piece of music each day from May 1-7." 

Photo taken 11 Sep 2017, Massapequa, NY

©2023 Jim Lemanowicz

This track was originally released under the artist name "Our Quiet Fog."

A Cucumber And An Invitation

"Blurred Tofu Vision" by Our Quiet Fog

Conceived, recorded 03 May 2023 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa, NY. 

Two tracks of Piano V3, Ableton Live & native devices, iZotope & Valhalla effects.

This has been recorded for Brian Funk's MPC (Music Production Club), in response to the following prompt by Brian - "Try to make a piece of music each day from May 1-7." 

Photo taken 11 Sep 2017, Massapequa, NY

©2023 Jim Lemanowicz

This track was originally released under the artist name "Our Quiet Fog."

Blurred Tofu Vision

Conceived, recorded 04 May 2023 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa, NY. 

Two tracks of Piano V3, Ableton Live & native devices, iZotope & Valhalla effects.

This has been recorded for Brian Funk's MPC (Music Production Club), in response to the following prompt by Brian - "Try to make a piece of music each day from May 1-7." 

Photo taken 11 Sep 2017, Massapequa, NY

©2023 Jim Lemanowicz

This track was originally released under the artist name "Our Quiet Fog."

Gorgonzola Has Landed

Conceived, recorded 05 May 2023 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa, NY. 

Two tracks of Piano V3, Ableton Live & native devices, Inspired By Nature's Bouncy Notes, and a ChowDSP effect.

This has been recorded for Brian Funk's MPC (Music Production Club), in response to the following prompt by Brian - "Try to make a piece of music each day from May 1-7." 

Photo taken 11 Sep 2017, Massapequa, NY

©2023 Jim Lemanowicz

This track was originally released under the artist name "Our Quiet Fog."

Baby Plutonium

Conceived, recorded 06 May 2023 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa, NY. 

Two tracks of Piano V3, Ableton Live & native device/effects.

This has been recorded for Brian Funk's MPC (Music Production Club), in response to the following prompt by Brian - "Try to make a piece of music each day from May 1-7." 

Photo taken 11 Sep 2017, Massapequa, NY

©2023 Jim Lemanowicz

This track was originally released under the artist name "Our Quiet Fog."

All-Night Octopus

Conceived, recorded 07 May 2023 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa, NY. 

Two tracks of Piano V3, Ableton Live & native device/effects.

This has been recorded for Brian Funk's MPC (Music Production Club), in response to the following prompt by Brian - "Try to make a piece of music each day from May 1-7." 

Photo taken 11 Sep 2017, Massapequa, NY

©2023 Jim Lemanowicz

This track was originally released under the artist name "Our Quiet Fog."

ReturnOfTheSonOfTheVirginThrob

Available now - https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/uncategorized/brian-funk-casio-sk-1-ableton-live-pack

The Casio SK-1 is beloved by musicians for its vintage charm and unique lo-fi sounds. Those flavors are perfectly captured in the Casio SK-1 Ableton Live Pack. In addition, the SK-1’s sound is taken to new modern levels with the power of Ableton Live. As one of the first affordable sampling keyboards, the 1985 Casio SK-1 is still loved by musicians and producers today. There’s a charm and nostalgia to the SK-1’s lo-fi sound.

I’ve sampled all the sounds the SK-1 has to offer: the 8 Presets, 11 Additive Synth sounds detailed in the manual, the 11 Rhythm Patterns, each individual drum sound, and even the noises from the power button and switches, as well as wire noises when plugging a cable into its input.

Each of the SK-1’s instruments and additive synth patches were multi-sampled to ensure the authenticity of the original sound. I built them into complex Instrument racks that give you control to take the sounds to new modern levels. You can sculpt the ADSR envelop to create everything from pads and plucks to basses and leads. There’s a low pass filter and envelop to build movement into the sounds. The vibrato control was carefully dialled in to mimic the SK-1’s own vibrato setting. For some additional sound design power, I’ve added tremolo, delay, and reverb.

Each instrument has an initialized preset for pure SK-1 goodness, a pluck/stab preset for punchy and percussive notes, a pad/swell preset for long evolving textures and foundations, and a special custom preset for even more sonic diversity.

Part of the charm of the SK-1 is its old-school drum sounds. I sampled each individual drum hit to create a playable drum rack. The pads labelled “OG” are the original sounds from the SK-1. The other pads are processed copies of those sounds that give you even more rhythmic options.

The nonmusical noises of the SK-1 are also part of the experience, so I sampled them too. Pops and blips from the power switch make for interesting percussion sounds. There are even some cable buzz sounds from when a cable is inserted into the SK-1’s line input.

The Casio SK-1 FX rack allows you to use the same effects in the instrument racks on any sound you like. Quickly add vibrato, tremolo, delay, and reverb to any sound in any project. Then dial the effects in to taste.

Pack Contents:

21 Instrument Racks with 83 Presets.
2 Drum Racks
2 Audio Effect Racks
11 SK-1 Rhythms

Total Number Of Files:

36
699.2 MB

Software Requirements:

Ableton Live 10.1 Intro or higher

Casio SK-1

Brian Funk - Casio SK-1 Ableton Live Pack

Available now - https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/uncategorized/brian-funk-80s-vhs-synths-ableton-live-pack

Synthesizer sounds recorded straight to VCR tapes and sampled into Ableton Live! 58 Ableton Live instrument racks made from samples of various analog and digital synthesizers.

There’s something about older recordings that just takes you back in time. Maybe it’s the production techniques that time-stamp certain songs, or maybe it’s the recording medium and equipment itself that captures the feeling of the old days. I wanted to create a collection of instruments that sound like they came right out of a time machine. I grew up in the 80’s, watching MTV and VHS tapes; so the mission of this project is to bring back the sounds of my childhood.

The 80’s VHS Synths Ableton Live Pack is a combination of all of these elements! It’s a collection of 80’s style synth presets, programmed on analog and digital synthesizers, recorded to VHS tape and then resampled into Ableton Live.

The synths were recorded onto VHS tapes with an old VCR, and then imported into Ableton Live. The VHS samples were used to create the instruments in this collection.
 
Pack Contents:

58 Ableton Live Instrument Rack Presets
Multi-sampled from VHS Tapes

Total Number Of Files:

58
164.9 MB

Software Requirements:

Ableton Live Standard 9.6 or higher

80s VHS Synths

Brian Funk - 80's VHS Synths Ableton Live Pack

Available now - https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/uncategorized/brian-funk-coin-op-8-bit-ableton-live-chip-tune-template-abletone-template

COIN-OP is an Ableton Live Template for creating authentic retro video game music. Simply open the project and start making old-school video game music! The project is loaded with instruments and effects for composing and performing 8-bit style music.

There’s something special about the music from old-school video games. For many of us, those simple sound chips provided the soundtrack to our youth. Today, hearing those sounds immediately fills me with warm nostalgia. COIN-OP is a fully loaded Ableton Live Template that will get you creating authentic retro chip tunes in no time.

COIN-OP has everything you need to start making retro video game-style music. The Ableton Live Project is filled with drums, percussion, samples, instruments, and effects. Everything is all set up and ready for action.

COIN-OP is ready to go for making classic chip tunes music. Of course, you can also use any of the sounds in any project you like. But the real fun is in using to create music in the style of some of your favorite old games. Have fun!

Pack Contents:

Ableton Live 8-Bit Chip Tune Template
5 FX Racks
7 Instrument Racks

Total Number Of Files:

377
119.7 MB

Software Requirements:

Ableton Live 9.7 Standard

COIN-OP

Brian Funk - COIN-OP 8-Bit Ableton Live Chip Tune Template

Available now https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/presets/brian-funk-super-8-bit-ableton-live-pack

The classic sounds of 1980s and early 1990s video game music for Ableton Live.

The Super 8 Bit Ableton Live Pack contains 150 instruments and effects created from samples of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Gameboy, Super Nintendo, and Sega Genesis.

Everything from pure chip instruments and drum sounds to wildly diverse glitch noises and complex arpeggiators and grimy leads.

Combined with the power of Ableton Live, the classic sounds are taken to new levels impossible on the original hardware they were sampled from.

Pack Contents:

17 Instruments of Pure 8-bit Waveforms
103 Complex-Multi-Layered Instrument Racks
20 Drums & Percussion Instruments
10 Audio & MIDI FX Racks
2 Ableton Live Sets With Instruments & Effects
7 Song EP Made Entirely With Instruments From The Super 8 Bit Pack
7 Ableton Live Sets Used to Create The Songs From The 7 Song EP
Requires Ableton Live 9 Standard or Suite

Total Number Of Files:

728
263.2 MB

Software Requirements:

Ableton Live 9 Standard or Above

Super 8 Bit EP

Brian Funk - Super 8-Bit Ableton Live Pack

Available now https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/presets/brian-funk-vcr-wave-ableton-live-pack

Dripping with nostalgia and lo-fi charm, these 40 Instruments were made by recording Teenage Engineering’s OP-1’s Dr. Wave synth to a VHS tape.

Teenage Engineering’s OP-1 has a number of great synth engines. Among my favorites is Dr. Wave, which uses “frequency domain synthesis.” I went on a deep dive synthesizing sounds using Dr. Wave and recording long single notes of the patches I came up with. After that, I made the ultimate sacrifice and recorded those sounds over my VHS copy of Pump Up the Volume, starring Christian Slater. Once I recorded the samples from the VCR back into Ableton Live, I began building the Instrument Racks.

My first impression of the sounds was delight by what the VCR had done to them. Each sound had a new haze over it.

Some of them must have crossed worn parts of the VHS tape, as they contained some extra noises and pitch fluctuation. I built a two-chained Instrument Rack to house the samples. You get control over the a Low Pass Filter, its Envelop, and the ADSR Envelop. The first chain contains the synth sample, the second chain has a sample of blank tape with characteristic VCR noise, hum, and hiss.

You can adjust how much extra VCR Noise you want, and if you go into the VCR Noise Chain, you can filter out some of the low hums and even create a phasing filter using the LFO controls.

If the natural degradation of the VCR transfer isn’t enough, I built a separate Audio Effect Rack to help you emphasize the nostalgia or add it to any other sounds in your production. VHS HEALTH allows you to add pitch drifting, distortions, chorusing, and delays to the sounds. It’s great for adding just a little health VHS quality or emulating a nearly broken VCR sound.


Pack Contents:

40 Ableton Live Instrument Racks
1 Ableton Live Audio Effect Rack
Lush and glorious sound of VHS in your music
Samples of Teenage Engineering OP-1's Dr. Wave synth recorded to VHS tape. 

Total Number Of Files:

41
115.7 MB 

Software Requirements:

Ableton Live Standard 10.1

May 2020

Brian Funk - VCR Wave Ableton Live Pack

If you're into Squarepusher, Burial, Autechre, Black Dog and Aphex Twin, you might dig this.
Also available on https://unfinishedmonkeyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/umr66-oberons-wake
Contains a preset from Ableton Live sound pack "Dream Lullabye" designed by Brian Funk.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYAshPaYccIk7q0cuIhlkRg
https://brianfunk.com/

Oberon's Wake

03 - Under Fiery Skies[ Master 1 - Hentopan ]

Under Fiery Skies

If you're into Squarepusher, Burial, Autechre, Black Dog and Aphex Twin, you might dig this.
Also available on https://unfinishedmonkeyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/umr66-oberons-wake
Contains preset from Ableton Live sound pack "Dream Lullabye" designed by Brian Funk.
https://brianfunk.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYAshPaYccIk7q0cuIhlkRg

01 - Boötids  [ Master 1 - Hentopan ]

Boötids

Making music is about being surprised.
https://www.patreon.com/blisterpop
Linktree for more - https://linktr.ee/blisterpop

Scaradise

Where the old school troubadour meets the postmodern sound poet
When the underground busker travels in the same body as the wicked professor.

Scaradise is the alter ego of Belgian visual artist and musician Kristof Wynants. A legendary double bass machine who rolled and roamed with Traag Verstand, Kit and Caboodle, Dump Brothers, Last of the Albinos and Sidi Caravan and now provides fine bassline artillery for artists as Equinox, the Peacekeeper, Antwerp Deadheadz, October Rust, Blauwe Mist, Flamboyant and Sara Della Santa. The other side of this musical coin is hybrid electronica with a breeze of rock blowing through. A unique universe where every song is a mystical abstract egg that incorporates echoes from before we were here. 

Resistance is futile!

Synth Presets, Sounds & Music Production Courses

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