Image by Patricksmercy via Flickr

Recently, I started working on two new recording projects that will go on through the winter.

The first is a soundtrack for a film. I can’t divulge too much beyond that, but it is proving to be very inspirational in a different context for me. Composition of sound and scoring film themes for characters and story elements. I find that I can work through an idea for a simple melody based around how I perceive a given character, and expand it to interact with other character themes, sometimes pushing for a harmony that matches the two.

I’m also working on another set of recordings for an online album of electronic music. No set rules around multitracking individual notes this time. No rules around use of samples or sequences. No rules.

I upgraded my Soundcloud channel to allow for several hours of music online and no restrictions on the number of tracks. I also have access to more data around visits which is interesting. Finland, Korea and Japan account for over 15% of my listens! Now that isn’t something I would have been able to achieve without online distribution!

The Kurzweils are getting a good workout in both projects, as well as the Korg MS2000R. Added several iPad synthesizer apps to the mix. I’m also very excited about using the XILS-Lab stuff more extensively on these projects. Also looking forward to involving Universal Audio external DSP processing for compression and EQ and tape saturation. In my first experiments with the tools, the results have been sharp and delicious to the ear. So much so that I have taken up the task of re-mastering Rain from my last release, Monotude. I was never as happy with its low frequency and volume outputs, necessary tradeoffs in previous mixing scenarios. These plugs do better!

In other news, HotNaut has morphed into a bigger discovery tool than just a news display. That’s been exciting as well, but other paying projects have forced it to take a back seat for the fall. I have a few talented hands on board to help and will spend more dedicated time on it through early winter.

Alas, no Palm Springs this winter! Too busy. But I may slip away for a weekend of DR or Miami sun. If I can.

Related articles

• New Book Just Released: “Passport To The Future: The Amazing Life and Music of Electronic Pop Music Pioneer Jean-Jacques Perrey” (prweb.com)
• SoundCloud Announces Native iPad App & Complete Mobile Refresh (prweb.com)
• Escape to sun of Palm Springs (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• SoundCloud and Last.fm APIs Mashed Up into New Music Discovery App (readwriteweb.com)
• From Derek Jarman to Captain Scott: the soundtracks of Simon Fisher Turner (guardian.co.uk)

Monotude is the first track from a new album of electronic music I will release summer of 2011. It draws inspiration from the space in between public and private, between the ears and the headphones, and from both digital and analog synthesis techniques. You can find it on my SoundCloud channel here:  colemanjolley/monotude

The recording process has been interesting, this time around. Over the past 15 years, since my last studio recordings to 24 track tape, I have experimented with all the popular digital audio workstations (DAWs), including Pro Tools, MOTU Digital Performer, Sonar Cakewalk, Emagic/Apple’s Logic and Cubase, eventually settling on Logic Pro as my preferred tool. I’ve traveled back and forth between PC and Mac, eventually selecting the Mac as my preferred platform. Thanks ASIO driver mediocrity!

What I struggled with wasn’t the plethora of choices, though it sure is nice to have a gluttonous amount of available tracks if you want them. Instead, I found myself missing the approach of recording to tape, treating it as an instrument adjunct to the music. Yes, performance is required and one can’t *as easily* go back and fix a bum note on tape (does anybody remember punch-ins?), but more importantly, the feeling of a tape reel running along with you, pacing and contributing as an unseen member. I miss the layering.

After looking into acquiring a 16 track machine to record this new album, the daunting cost of signal processing gear and spending more time with Logic, I decided that what was missing was the approach or attitude of tape. A Monotude, so to speak. So I applied that here, and to all the recordings that will comprise the album.

There will be more to come for this album of music, much of it experimental in nature and not particularly melodic. But I did feel this first track set the tone and explained a lot of what I was inspired by, to the point and without unnecessary embelishment.