This is a piece of music that I have heard loads of times in film, TV, documentaries but until recently I still didn’t know who the composer was or the name of the piece, then by accident if found it on Youtube. Now finally I have been able to do my version of it and in what seems to be a record breaking time for me of about 10 hours. It was made using mainly an Arturia Origin digital hardware modular synth which seems to be my main weapon of choice at the moment and was aided and abetted by an Eventide Pitchfactor, Strymon El Capistan, EHX Cathedral and Line 6 M13.
In keeping with the watery, fishy theme, the video is of some of the more unusual sea creatures and mostly synchronised (sort of but ran out of unique shots and had to time stretch some to make them fit).
I’m pleased to welcome Jeff Knapp to Classitronic and add him to the list of current artists.
Jeff came to my attention when he posted some of his works on the Classitronic soundcloud group, which I’m glad he did. Jeff is based in Los Angeles, California, USA. A visual effects expert by day and avid electronic music in his spare time and he has produced some very good Bach interpretations using an all software Mac based home studio.
You can read and hear more about him on his artist page and here are some of his works below.
Its been a while since I updated the website and during this time I came across Mike Leghorn on soundcloud.com.
Mike is a bit different to the normal guys here in that many of his works are original compositions as well as reinterpretation of existing material, all of which are both exciting and well produced.
He has produced a set of Bach arrangements call Bach in Technicolor which we have here.
Well, it feel like its being a an eternity since I put out anything but after a complete studio refit, change of working technique and a lot of work I finally have done Stravinsky’s Petrushka. A dry run for not only sussing out the new studio kit but also for my re-run with “The Rite of Spring” which I started, stopped, started, shelved and finally gave up on software instruments in favour of hardware.
This is a selected highlights from the full 22 minute piece, I intend to release it on an album in 2011 along with the “Rite” once it is done so there may well be changes that I do after I have had time to re-assess it.
It was done with all hardware including DOT.com/DoepferAnalogue modular, Arturia Origin, Creamware Prodyssey and Pro-12, Roland V-Synth GT, Digitech Timebender, EHX Cathedral and Small Stone Phaser, Line 6 M13 Stompbox modeller, Eventide Modfactor and PitchFactor with Cubase 5 running on i7 PC and Windows 7 64bit.
The whole piece was adapted from the 3 part piano version with the Shrovetide Fair and Charlatans Booths added at the beginning again adapted from a piano version. The whole piece took about 4 months of evenings and weekend work to put together.
“I Was born on October, 16th 1962 in Balvi (Latvia).
In music took a great interest since the childhood. As the musician, has made the first steps at children’s musical school of the town of Balvi.
After five years of studying of physics and mathematics at Daugavpils State University has made sharp “turn” in a music and theatre direction.
As the actor worked at theatre (the Daugavpils State Theatre, theater group CHEMODAN), acted in film.
Wrote music to drama performances, acted with different groups (DZINTARS, OVERNIGHT SENSATION, RUSSKIJ KVAS). After acquaintance to computer technologies becomes their active supporter and starts the “classical” project.
Now lives in London, where actively co-operates with electronic groups and works over solo projects.”
I’m really looking forward to hearing more from Igor, i really like CARMINA BURANA part II which you’ll find on his soundcloud area, its great fun track and sounds brilliant, a great Classitronic track I ever i heard one.
A week or so ago David posted his interpretation of Prokofiev’s vision fugitives opus 22 section 7 on the Classitronic soundcloud group, its only been today that I have finally had the chance to really listen to it, which i have done several times and it really grown on me.
This is what David says of the piece “Synthesizers used were an Arrick Modular, Oberheim Matrix6, Waldorf MicrowaveXT, Prophet8, Nord Lead2X & Yamaha TX816.
This track is a slowed down version of the seventh segment of the piano opus. The timbre are arbitrary and of course nothing like a piano. Purely straight out of my head.”
As David says it’s nothing like a piano and all the better for it, and excellent orchestration of the sounds gives it s whole new character (note to self, I wouldn’t make a good music critic as I find it difficult to describe in words how a piece like this sounds, I prefer to listen to the music and go on the journey it takes me in my mind rather than write about it).
Very well done and looking forward to hearing more in the future.
Yes, well we can see who’s been up burning the midnight oil again in front of a load of knobs and wires !.
Another amazing piece of programing from Alastair Symon and his modular synth, this time its Pavane by Gabriel Fauré and don’t forget folks there ain’t no computers driving this, just good old fashioned analogue sequencers, which is no mean feat.
Alastair summarises up the the set up like this “It uses three Analogue Solutions Oberkorn 3 and a Synthesizers.com Q960. There are also several sequential switches in use as well as the Moon Modular M563 Trigger Sequencer driving the Analogue Solutions drum modules.”
But other than the shear technical brilliance, it sounds really beautiful and haunting and sounds suit the mood of the music very well, well done Alastair !.
After a bit of a long wait I have finally got around the starting some new works. I have started my interpretation of Stravinskys The Rite of Spring, the first part, the introduction is here and hopefully (time allowing) the rest should be coming along in the not too distantant future.
It’s certainly an interesting piece and allows for a lot of creative sound design and placement, I’m looking forward to working on it and as soon as i have something it will be posted here.
It’s been a slow week with not a lot happening and I’m struggling over sounds for a new piece I’m working on and then comes along Alastair and just stuns us all this amazing piece by Satie and what is more amazing is that the synth is playing itself, no computer, no midi control just hardware step sequencers, gate and triggers.
God knows how long he spent setting up all the sequencers, gates and triggers but result is really really good and just goes to show what can be done with a lot of skill, patience and time. It also shows that modular systems are still amazing synths and not relics of a bygone era, you couldn’t do this on any other synth without the aid of a computer.
Its got a great feel to it, you’d would swear blind that a computer was behind it all but watch all the sequence lights and listen and you can see the parts playing along. Its very impressive and the sounds he used has already given me ideas for what I struggling with at the moment.
Anyway this is what Alastair says about the piece.
“This is another of Satie’s beautiful melodies done using just analog sequencers. It uses the Synthesizers.com Q119 and Q960 and the Analogue Solutions Oberkorn 3 as well as the MoonModular M563 trigger sequencer. It also uses MoonModulars M564 and Club of the Knobs C962B sequential switches. The M564 is used to switch the gate busses and the COTK is used to play the three rows of the Oberkorn and then 16 steps of the Q119. The M563 is used to control the timing of the bass and chords. Trying to synchronise the three step sequencers, two sequential switches and the trigger sequencer with the rows shifting at different rates proved to be very challenging. The only effect used apart from the Modcan digital delay is some reverb.”
I think even Iaso Tomita would be impressed by this, it certainly blows the rest of us away. What next from Alastair?, I don’t know but I think that it will be pretty amazing.
Just completed my latest piece, this time it’s my take on Sibelius Intermezzo from Karelia Suite Op.11
The style is well, I would call it Classitronic for want of a better word, it certainly is influenced by Tomita style I like very much, and like many of these projects I do it developed a life of it’s own, so now it’s time to let it out in to the wild and see what happens .
The gear used to make this included Malström, Thor, Minimoog V2, Jupiter 8V, Battery 3 and Omnisphere soft synths, and was arranged and mixed in Cubase 4 and took about 2 weeks of evening and weekend work to complete.
