[MedMud/Machinefabriek - noise] head-on collision

[tetraplan]

Hi,

Some weeks ago I promised to post some excerpts from a two-hour improvisation Rutger and I did. It turned out quite noisy.
Here's some clips:
Noise 01 2 minutes, 192kb/s, 2.8MB

Noise02, 4 minutes, 192kb/s, 5.5MB

Noise03 (comb-filtered), 2 minutes, 192kb/s, 2.8MB

This one is a bit longer and works as a self-contained track. From the initial noise a comb-filtered drone emerges which disintegrates into noise again.
Noise04, 8.27 minutes, 192kb/s, 11.6MB.

Sometimes the stereo-image is slightly b0rked, this was because of a cable which was plugged in incorrecty. Messes with the equilibrium. I don't mind- it was great fun, some of the results are very nice and it was a cool introduction to each others way of making music.
We'll be collaborating again later on, with a little more focus.
Rutger's site is here: http://www.machinefabriek.tk

Gear used: Boss digital Delay and Pitch Shifting Delay, Korg Kaos Pad, Ibanez DS7; Cracklebox, radio.
Computer with AudioMulch, Electric Mistress feeding back into mixer for, well, feedback.

Watch your ears,

Groet, Erik

[shamann]

I'm off at the moment, but will return once I've had a listen.

And Rutger has a cracklebox! Fancy.

[shamann]

Fantastic.

In the smaller clips, there is the sense of somewhat tentative improvisation, although I guess it's hard to fully grasp the grander thing in the short bits. But during the longer piece, there are some stretches where you guys really fell into a groove. Some very nice interplay to be heard, and some excellent drone sections.

I can't wait to hear more of what's to come. Agreed, a more focused piece would be a good next step, turn the two styles into an elegant whole.

I hear what you mean about the stereo balance though.

[respirator]

Really interesting. I prefer Noise3 slightly - but all are good. Are you going to do this in front of an audience?

Why more focus? Bring a few more colours to you sound palette and keep the frantic energy - IMHO.

And now I want my Cracklebox - been signed up for ages...

[dystonia_ek]

Some very nice noise here Erik. The first (which made me think in parts of CCCC/Astro) and fourth tracks in particular have an almost psychedelic kind of flow... I find the comb filtering a little excessive at times, though that's just a question of taste I suppose (on the long track it seems to work better), and I find that they all seem to lack low end somewhat. Personally I would have compressed the final mix a little more severely and probably run the whole thing through a little additional saturation/overdrive for that extra little push over the edge.

But, minor comments. It's quality noise, and there can never be enough of that in the world. It's good that more of this sort of thing is creeping in here to corrupt the mainstream masses lately.

[mystahr]

Will listen to the bits in a bit, but I was roaming around rutger's place and saw about the 'kelder-performance' would have been cool to be there (although then again I was driving into england that day)

Some very interesting stuff he's doing

[mystahr]

I must say I loved the 2nd one; great interplay

And the last one is just fantastically inspiring

It only missed a TM1

[tetraplan]

First of all: thanks for the comments. Thanks very much.

In the smaller clips, there is the sense of somewhat tentative improvisation, although I guess it's hard to fully grasp the grander thing in the short bits.

Yes, it was very much a case of "plug everything in and go". No plans, no concept, very intuitive. It's hit and miss, where the misses were a bit meh but the hits hit pretty hard.
The bits I posted are where the energy just soared. There are more places where this happened, but in 90 minutes of recording it's going to be a bit tricky to get the right bits. In context it just works differently.

But during the longer piece, there are some stretches where you guys really fell into a groove. Some very nice interplay to be heard, and some excellent drone sections.

I can't wait to hear more of what's to come. Agreed, a more focused piece would be a good next step, turn the two styles into an elegant whole.

I wonder what's going to happen. It could very well be very quiet instead.

Are you going to do this in front of an audience?

Maybe. Robert from Vance Orchestra organises gigs in Arnhem semi-regularly. He's booked Rutger before, so who knows.

Why more focus? Bring a few more colours to you sound palette and keep the frantic energy - IMHO.

We want to expand on what we've done here, and build a more coherent set. More tension. I think.
Frantic energy is good though.

Some very nice noise here Erik. The first (which made me think in parts of CCCC/Astro) and fourth tracks in particular have an almost psychedelic kind of flow...

//fires up Google to find out more about CCCC/Astro

I find the comb filtering a little excessive at times, though that's just a question of taste I suppose (on the long track it seems to work better), and I find that they all seem to lack low end somewhat.

Mulch's comb-filters are very raw, and tend to dominate the mix. When agitated with noise they get very harsh, and there are sections of the recording where it started to draw attention away from everything else that was going on.
I like it when short bursts of sound are sent through it, though, or when frequency-shifts occur. Like a jet of water hitting thin sheet metal.
And in the last track, everything just falls together. Total alchemy.

Personally I would have compressed the final mix a little more severely and probably run the whole thing through a little additional saturation/overdrive for that extra little push over the edge.

Hmmm, Kjærhus' Classic Master-Limiter squashed everything severely, I have to say. I put it before SoundOut on every project but it hardly ever has to work this hard.
This may be one of the reasons there's little action in the bottom end (apart from short bursts here and there) and all the harshness in the "chainsaw region".
Something to think of for the next session, to be sure.

It's good that more of this sort of thing is creeping in here to corrupt the mainstream masses lately.

Subversion Is The Way.

I must say I loved the 2nd one; great interplay

Bouncing bursts of noise around in what's basically one big feedback-loop is fun! Like a tape-delay, only... weirder.

And the last one is just fantastically inspiring

It certainly is. Thanks.

Thanks again everyone, much appreciated.

Groet, Erik