KVR Audio

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 3:47 am

I don't know why but this track evokes images of an electric blanket I found in the trash once.

http://www.3amnoise.net/my_shitty_expression.mp3
http://soundcloud.com/justin3am/my-shitty-expression

All the synth parts come from U-he synths; Ace, Bazille and Zebra. I processed some of those sounds with my Eurorack modular (Make Noise QMMG, Phonogene, Doepfer BBD and TipTop Z-DSP) other parts I processed with Guitar Rig.

I tried to do this as another one take jam but I was having trouble sampling the xylophone riff in realtime... I know... when am I gonna get my shit together?! The xylophone I used is a toy, it never occurred to me that it might not be in tune.

I think it works. I recorded into my Octatrack and used the scene functions to do all the time stretching/granular stuff.

The drums come from an MFB-503 which I sequenced and processed with the Octatrack.

Enjoy!

experimental.crow · Post by **experimental.crow** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:04 am

eminently approachable , and deeply affecting ...

fateamenabletochange · Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:06 am

awesome....weird sounds tailing away, and stuff that is big and so clear and just hangs in the air, visceral drums

Bronto Scorpio · Post by **Bronto Scorpio** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:15 am

Awesome! I always loved your music but this is even better than the rest! Really brilliant again!

Cheers
Dennis

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:23 am

Thanks for listening guys.
@famc, I'm glad the mix works for you. The drums were a big concern since they are so dry compared to everything else.
@Herr Scorpio, I did a lot of stuff that I wouldn't normally do on this one. I was worried that the reverb was a little too much.

jancivil · Post by **jancivil** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:35 am

weel, for a change, I wanted this to be much longer...

very nice, with a few surprises for sure.

abstractcats · Post by **abstractcats** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:47 am

Nice! Could be modern abstract Pink Floyd. Thanks for allowing download as well

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:53 am

jancivil wrote:weel, for a change, I wanted this to be much longer...

Ha! Well, it easily could have been much longer.

Before I started editing there was another 20min of material. I think it says what it needs to though. I may use the the scraps for something more abstract and drawn out.

Thanks!

jancivil · Post by **jancivil** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 6:52 am

I hear a real snare drum, like a concert snare drum in a growing 'military'-type cadence where that second snare enters, and I start hearing orchestrally. Once it settles into that 'I' (One) it really seems expansive...

there is a piano sound with a rhodes bark I really go for in the midst of this.

some of these longer things people do, I get itchy... you can tell in my music my restlessness, I have trouble sitting still with music. Some things I would have to take drugs to listen to all of.

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 7:06 am

I really held back on the drums with this one. I'll probably experiment with that a bit. I tried a bunch of things that didn't work and kinda settled. I have some ideas but they'll have to wait.

The 'piano' sounds (speaking of sounds that fight against a mix) come from three variations of an FM patch I made with Bazille. I really like that tone. Heavily influenced by Autechre and Aphex Twin.

When I have an evolving sound that just keeps spitting out interesting/surprising stuff, it's hard for me to edit down to a reasonable length. I always wonder if it gets tedious for people who don't have context from the creation of that sound. Not that it would impact the way I do things, those sounds are for me after all.

I just wonder if people hear the same things I hear.

tatsama · Post by **tatsama** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 7:08 am

enjoyed this very much..great spacious mix ? any omnisphere sounds in this ? top work.

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 7:51 am

No Omnisphere on this one.

It breaks down like this...

Main drums - I used the midi sequencer in my OctaTrack to trigger sounds from the MFB-503, the outputs of the 503 go to the inputs on the OT which processes each drum sound individually. The drums are routed to the Cue outs of the OT and into my audio interface.

Xylophone - I recorded the xylophone directly into the OctaTrack using an AKG 414 and a Tampa preamp. All the granular bell-like sounds and breathing are a result of manipulating that recording with the OT. I used ValhallaDSP's VRoom as a send.

Random synth percussion (before the main drums kick in) - U-He's ACE provides the original sound source, which I processed with my modular synth.
Rhythmic clicks - Also starts with ACE, processed with Guitar Rig, using the Tape Echo.

'Piano' - I layered 3 instances of U-He's Bazille and fed them similar note sequences. Each instance is a variation of a simple two operator FM patch. These are all bussed together with VRoom used as a send. There are two parts where I feed this through the Ohboys delay for a sweeping filter effect.

Filter sequence synth - A simple patch from Zebra.

I used McDSPs Channel G on every channel for EQ and compression. I used DMGs COMPassion on the drum bus.

The 2-mix was processed with my UBK Fatso.

tatsama · Post by **tatsama** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:41 am

great job justin3am

Lunatic_Machinist · Post by **Lunatic_Machinist** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:38 am

the beginning with all the background noise is just amazingly beautiful, wow.
The e-piano-ish parts and the somewhat airy mood later on made me think of polyslax. the rattling percussive noise invokes a somewhat foresty or at least nighttime wildlife atmosphere, though, with owls and stuff. great piece! a bit unexpected to come from you, too.

the beginning parts are a definite standout for me, totally love the atmosphere there

fateamenabletochange · Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:57 am

justin3am wrote:
The 2-mix was processed with my UBK Fatso.

killer secret weapon you have there.....really interesting rundown thanks, tis amazing how the disparate elements gel

3am - my shitty expression (analog trash blanket)