Vocoder / Modular Dreamscape

[ChamomileShark]

https://markdaltongriffiths.bandcamp.co ... riend-2021

I originally recorded a version of the track in 2008, the non vocoder parts created on the Wiard 300 Series and MXR Pitch transposer. I was always unhappy with the vocoded part so I finally re-recorded that in 2021 and re-mixed the synthesiser parts.

The original notes for the track read "The text for the track came from a dream recorded 30/6/2007. It is only a part that appears to deal with the fragmentation of the self into a number of personas, hero, scientist, servant and victim. It’s no co-incidence that the personas are within a graphic novel, they are literally “paper thin”."

The spoke text is something like:

"I was in a garden

I thought I had lost my friend, I was afraid I had lost him.

And then I found him, finally, trapped in a black and white graphic novel.

He was a between the wars butler, but he cannot remember who he used to be before.

He was part of an expedition to Africa with an aristocratic group, but the expedition had failed.

His face appears in one panel.

Yet another scene panel shows one of expedition members, Werner von Braun, dead in the plane crash,

Now my friend appears as superman, but he is only in the garden we started from.

Now he can only exist as a fantasy figure, in this one place.

[ecamburn]

Really evocative sounds. Eerie. I dig the squelchy sounds in the background that come in and out. Really creative.

[ChamomileShark]

Thank you!

[justin3am]

Very unsettling! I love it.
What did you use on your voice for the vocoded parts? It's very intelligible.
Wiard 300+Pitch Transposer sounds really nice!

[ChamomileShark]

hi there Justin! The vocoder was a Roland SVC350. I turned off the ensemble (which is on by default) and the carrier was a single oscillator set to pulse wave. I've found having multiple oscillators, leaving the ensemble on results in less clarity.

[justin3am]

Nice! I was going to guess Roland SVC or VP. I totally agree. When using a diffuse carrier, it's often necessary to mix some of the unprocessed signal to get clarity back. Single osc with lots of harmonics is good. I've also had some really good luck using fuzz guitar as a carrier.

[ChamomileShark]

It also works well with white noise/ random. I have a second track that used that.

[synthgeek]

Excellent stuff, I really enjoyed this.

[ChamomileShark]

thanks!