KVR Audio

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 5:27 pm

i always think of telling a coherent story over the duration of the piece, one with a satisfying (if, perhaps, unconventional) dramatic arc: intro, buildup, tension, release, resolution.

so when i began thinking about this challenge (a one-minute sbugi piece that made use of existing audio), i homed in on barnadine's short sweet song, because it is a complete statement in itself (a story). i had to add silence between phrases to make it longer, then i enclosed it in sonic parentheses.

starting a new electronic piece is always an act of great mystery for me. i never really know what i'm doing until i'm nearly finished. i often create and discard many versions until what i'm getting at reveals itself.

cheers,

rachMiel

Scoops · Post by **Scoops** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 6:44 pm

I think for any comp I do, it either clicks, or it doesnt.

I started to do Frankenstein. I had written a midi file to play the samples that I pulled from the graveyard. It sounded real cheesy. I was also a bit reluctanat to release this to the contest because I really didnt think it fit into the requirements of the contest. So I scrapped it.

So then I just pullled alot of stuff from the graveyard. I reversed just about everything. Some pitch shifting here, and some time stretching there, but once I got in the groove, it took about 2 hours.

My big problem is, once I get in that groove and come up with an end product, I get real anxious and post it before I master it, or before it's really ready. I should learn to let it sit and age for a week, and rework it if necessary, before I release it.

Scoops

emdot_ambient · Post by **emdot_ambient** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 6:58 pm

I just realized how far behind I am on reviews.

This should bring me up to date with the exception of one .ogg only entry, which I'll have to wait till I get home to listen to. The disadvantage to non-universal formats like .ogg is that some of us listen to the entries from work to take advantage of broadband access. Unfortunately, corporate policies here disallow me installing non-authorized programs on this machine, like programs that can decode .ogg files.

Anyway, here are my review updates:

Bitshift -- Covering UTM's Covers: Very interesting approach. Nothing particularly scary, but I'm intrigued by the results. Nice little bit-o-work here . . . too bad the end just goes CHOP! Or was that the scary part?

Farlukar -- Stitched: Definitely a scary stitch job here. Very tactile. Love the mix. It has a raw physicality that really enhances the dangerous sound content. Good job!

Wopelks -- Don't Talk To The Walking Deadmen, Mary!: Well, it's certainly a very disturbing piece. This reminds me of some twisted cross between free jazz and musique concrete. To be honest, the first few times I listened to this it felt very random and undirected. However, with repeated listens, the madness behind the mayhem became apparent. The wind-up to the ending is also particularly effective, something that seems fairly hard for people to do with a song so short.

Mystahr -- Scary ZomioniSphere: Throbbing Gristle meets The Residents meets Merzbow . . . or something just as threatening. Yikes!

Barnadine -- I don't think these are my legs...: Oh, nicely disjointed and evolving. One of the few entries that manages some compositional development in the limited space available. Extremely nice mix of sounds with an edgy and haunted quality. The epiano works particularly well . . . great stuff!

Patrick -- DeathMarch: Mmm, like the mix with that beat off to one side and everything else reverberating like it's in some empty old factory. I wish there was a little more resolution here, though. This one suffers from the time limit. Sounded like you had just got things going when it suddenly ended. Like what you have here, though. Don't know why but it reminds me of some of William Gibson's writings.

Rachmiel -- flown: I love your approach here. Focusing on one vox track as opposed to many various graveyard parts allowed you to create a unified whole and focus on atmosphere and mood. Clever choice. The results are very good, though the ending like so many others is a bit rushed: more mysterious than spooky but it's still a very worthy effort. Good job.

emdot_ambient · Post by **emdot_ambient** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 7:02 pm

Scoops wrote:...I started to do Frankenstein. I had written a midi file to play the samples that I pulled from the graveyard. It sounded real cheesy. I was also a bit reluctanat to release this to the contest because I really didnt think it fit into the requirements of the contest. So I scrapped it.

Actually if all the sounds were from old songs, then you were well within the requirements of the contest. But cheesy was definitely a quality worth scraping a piece for, unless you were after cheesy in the first place:D

Scoops wrote:My big problem is, once I get in that groove and come up with an end product, I get real anxious and post it before I master it, or before it's really ready...

Patience, young padawan.

You™ · Post by **You™** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 7:55 pm

emdot is back from the dead. Feeling better?

emdot_ambient · Post by **emdot_ambient** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 8:13 pm

You™ wrote:emdot is back from the dead. Feeling better?

Every day, in every way I'm getting better and...
*cough!* *hack!* *cough!*
...Eeeeeew! Phlegm is really gross.

Slowly getting better. Yes, thank you.

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:54 am

> scoops: My big problem is, once I get in that groove and come up with an end product, I get real anxious and post it before I master it, or before it's really ready. I should learn to let it sit and age for a week, and rework it if necessary, before I release it.

i am so with you on this ...

i think it's a blessing/curse for creative people, the intense excitement that comes from being onto something.

in terms of whether one should let music produced in the white (red?) heat of excitement sit for a while before honing, mastering ... i think it depends. a more improvisational approach to composition would call for *not* letting it sit. a more studied approach would want it to sit and mature.

it's a great skill: to know when something is finished.

rachMiel

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 1:03 am

beardedone, grave fruit: a shambling groove backs a rich layering of wobbled instrumental and vocal lines, all in their final throes of delusionary sonic disorder (dsd).

rachMiel

farlukar · Post by **farlukar** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:25 pm

emdot_ambient wrote:Unfortunately, corporate policies here disallow me installing non-authorized programs on this machine, like programs that can decode .ogg files.

XMPlay doesn't need to be installed, you just copy the files somewhere and it works. And if that still counts as "installing", you could even run it off a floppy

Oh, and THXK! for the review!

mystahr · Post by **mystahr** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:09 am

Barnadine wrote: Another orgasmic swell, built out of static and metal this time. Love where it's headed post-coitus, would like to see those last few seconds extended upon.

Indeed those were some interesting seconds that deserve more exploration (if I can recreate it properly as it was caused by stop feeding audio to an FX, which at this point I think is the gidrah, in combination with ohmygod). Thanks

Rachmiel wrote:mystahr - truly disturbing, like nails on an electrified chalkboard ... sent through a blasphemous resonator. music for an electrocution?

thanks, I tried my best to get as creepy as can be

Scoops wrote:Log: TimeDate:224540D26
While taking a shower today, something odd happened. As I washed the soap from my face, I noticed that ionized zombie goo started to come out of the shower head. Fortunately for me, I had my ionosphere turned on.

pfew

emdot-ambient wrote: Throbbing Gristle meets The Residents meets Merzbow . . . or something just as threatening. Yikes!

I every so often get that TG reference without ever really hearing them myself, time to investigate a bit more, but all three are unknown I must confess, except for knowing their name and fame. So thank you

Now.....

Common peeps, more entries, no excuses

You™ · Post by **You™** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:51 pm

mystahr wrote:...Common peeps, more entries, no excuses

Sorry, wrong holiday...

Beardedone · Post by **Beardedone** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 3:36 pm

beardedone, grave fruit: a shambling groove backs a rich layering of wobbled instrumental and vocal lines, all in their final throes of delusionary sonic disorder (dsd).

DSD Cool! Thanks Rachmiel!

thomekk · Post by **thomekk** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:26 pm

Barnadine wrote:Hmm, lowest turn-out in a while. Intimidating theme? People still perfecting their masterpieces?

Mmmh, I like the theme and I like the idea of having special defaults (to reduce universalism

)
So what's wrong? Don't know! I started one track with several graveyard-samples, but I wasn't satisfied with the result - to keep it simple.
I did a creepy tune with cygnus (already posted in one of the cygnus-threads), probably will post this at the end of the month in case there wouldn't have come out other ideas, yeah and I would rework it/combine it with Xanders and Barnadines vocals. Let's see.

All the best

Markleford · Post by **Markleford** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:32 pm

Maybe folks are just using the extra time: I know I am! I did have half an entry done a week ago, but scrapped it.

Or maybe the restrictions and concept just doesn't resonate with the majority populace. It's definitely designed to bring most people out of their comfort zones and learn something new. The Halloween theme is usually the alternate contest, but is taking center stage this year for some reason or other.

Or maybe the rumors are true and we've killed the contests for good.

- m

rachmiel · Post by **rachmiel** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:36 pm

> KvR Contest List and Radio: http://www.markleford.com/kvr/

the link for my entry (fLown) is broken. i think all the others are okay.

rachMiel

october ordeal ... GOSSIP