Exit Signs - Week #30
By Matthew Flook on July 27, 2014 8:44 pm
Pinscape rehearsals have recently kicked into high gear, and I have appropriately spent many hours re-programming our set, mapping MIDI controllers, and practicing the performance. With the live rig in front of me so often this past month, it seemed appropriate to record some passes using this exact setup… which (for some reason) is not my usual approach in the studio.
So, here I am with the Livid Base and KMI QuNeo controllers at my fingertips, mapped to an assortment of way-cool effects in Ableton. Time to whip up a quick drum loop and go to town. I record a couple minutes of various glitch-based effects improvisation on top of the drums, straight into an Ableton audio track set to "Resampling" for its input. And while I love Ableton Live for its sound design and performance features, I'm still more comfortable in Cubase for programming and sequencing - so it's time to export this take, move back over to my normal studio area, and load up a new project file.
The glitch-drums are quickly layered with some more rhythms I come up with on the Maschine Studio's pads, and a bassline and synth melody practically fall into my lap at this stage. But lest we get too comfortable with this groove, as the halfway mark calls for a harmonic change with more expressive bass and snappier drums. This is what we've been working towards; the sparkling synth tones dancing with the few sun rays barely reaching their way into my otherwise dim studio… but - as they always do - the light and sound must fade out.
Key equipment/software used for production:
- Ableton Live + MIDI controller rig
- Novation V-Station synth plug-in
- Steinberg Retrologue synth plug-in
- Steinberg Prologue synth plug-in
- Korg MS-20 Mini analog synth
- Native Instruments Maschine Studio
- ValhallaDSP ValhallaRoom effect plug-in
Key: C Major
BPM: 105
Time Signature: 4/4
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