I Lost Today
Recorded some time ago with CoolEdit Pro. Me and my old Martin 0017 plus assorted DSP manipulations of acoustic snippets. Inspired by old rural folk blues but with modern effects.

I LostToday

A song I wrote and recorded on my Tascam 488 sometime in the mid-90's.  
Ambient bird sounds - SCI Pro One
Other synthesizer - SCI MultiTrak
Acoustic guitar - Martin 0017
Electric guitar - Gibson L6-S w/Korg G-3 guitar processor
Percussion - Korg S3 Rhythm workstation

Math Without Tears

Ephemera

Illusory

Science Fiction Thematic: The War with the Newts by Karel Čapek

From Čapek’s satirical science fantasy novel about colonialism.  As the formerly enslaved newts broadcast their demands on the world via radio, they find time to intersperse assorted amphibian-themed musical interludes.  Here are my interpretations of the imaginary musical works listed in the novel.
“The March of the Tritons” a portion of the soundtrack from the imaginary monster film Poseidon.

Haunting The Space Age

March of Tritons - from "The War with the Newts" by Karel Čapek

Science Fiction Thematic: The War with the Newts by Karel Čapek

From Čapek’s satirical science fantasy novel about colonialism.  As the formerly enslaved newts broadcast their demands on the world via radio, they find time to intersperse assorted amphibian-themed musical interludes.  Here are my interpretations of the imaginary musical works listed in the novel.
“Salamandria, valse érotique”.
A Newt mating song where the Oboe represents the male salamander, and the Flute, the female – who, of course, has the last word.

Salamandria, valse érotique - from "The War With The Newts" by Karel Čapek

Get out your neuronic roadmap and take an archeaopsychic journey into the shadowed Triassic waters of J. G Ballard's  "The Drowned World".  
©2016

Science Fiction Thematic: The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard

Science Fiction Thematic: Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys

     From 1960, a meditation on life and death from Latvian SciFi author Algis Budrys.
    Scientist Edward Hawks creates a device that can teleport clones to the Moon.  The purpose of these duplicates is to explore the secrets of a deadly alien artifact(BDO) that, once entered, offers no exit and kills entrants in unexpected ways. Hawks enlists the aid of steely adventurer, Al Barker, as the experiences of the clone can be transmitted back to the clonee in an isolation chamber—but all volunteers have gone insane after experiencing death by proxy!  Does Al do it for the Thrill of it all, or for the Prestige?  One of my all-time favorites.

    Recorded in 7/4, it begins with a slightly jaunty melody that quickly devolves into a more ominous atmosphere.  The center section converts to a 4 over 7 procession backed by quirky arpeggios in Just C intonation with scattered clone screaming accompaniment.  The ending is a bittersweet, slightly off-kilter 10 over 7 rhapsody to represent the lunar conclusion.  The clones of Hawks and Barker complete the death machine maze, but cannot return to Earth to confront their originals.  Hawks, ever the scientist, stoically waits for the air in his suit to run out, while Barker, the stubborn thrill seeker, marches off to find a way back to Earth.

Thanks for listening! 


Science Fiction Thematic: Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys

Insubstantial Priorities – A meditation on personal responsibility in a musical layer-cake format.  Sounds and sequences composed on the E-Mu XL-7 Command Station.

Insubstantial Priorities

Sea Souls

Requiem for a Siren
    I have always been interested in using synthesizers to emulate human voices. I’ve had some success with choir sounds and “talking” sounds created using simple triangle waveforms and bandpass and formant filters.  Using voice samples is a bit different as they already contain the required frequencies, etc.  Using a complex filter on samples seems to simply ruin what is already there.  But I did discover a few small items to add dynamism to looped samples.  
    Luckily, the E-mu Command Station that I have allows for considerable modulation possibilities.  I found that adding a slight negative velocity modulation to the volume and filter attack segments gives a bit more flexibility while playing.  Soft velocity uses the “normal” attack while higher velocities trim it.  Adding an auxilliary envelope (the amount controlled by velocity) to fine pitch simulates slight rising and falling intonation.  I also add vibrato depth to aftertouch ( just mono on the E-mu) while simultaneously decreasing the rate from a “normal” delayed LFO.  I’m still playing with these parameters (and others) and their amounts, but I’ve used them here in this composition.  This is simply what the title says – funeral music for and by mythological sirens.
    Created entirely on an E-mu XL-7 Command Station with X Lead and Composer ROM’s and then recorded into CoolEdit Pro v1.2a.
Thanks for listening!

Copyright 2019 Alan M. Kaim

Requiem For A Siren

Way back in the paleo-electronic age before the internet, I used to get my news from NPR on the radio and - the real truth! - from supermarket tabloids like the Weekly World News and National Enquirer.  Back then, there were two-headed calves in every barn, everyone was having sex with aliens, and it wasn’t unusual to find body parts of deceased celebrities cluttering up small town museums in the American Midwest.  I used to have my favorite article hanging above my workbench.  “Chicken Faced Boy Found In Hen House”  which showcased a poorly air-brushed photo (before the days of Photoshop) of a kid with a beak for a nose.  What an awe inspiring time to be alive!
     Be that as it may, sometime in the 1990’s, after years of exposure to this toxic journalism, I was inspired to write “Two-Headed Hitler Babies” but never got around to recording a decent version.   Everything except for vocals was produced on the E-Mu.  The bridge was inspired by Dmitri Tiompkin’s excellent creepy soundtrack to 1951’s “The Thing From Another World”.  Incidentally, this song was inspired by the likes of “They Saved Hitler’s Brain” rather than any current witchhunting.

Two-Headed Hitler Babies

Jazzy, slightly latin-sounding, 60'sish background music. Nominally in 11/4. Polyrhythmic dance music aiming to please. Pointed and inspirational.

Alan M. Kaim

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