Fairground

New track

I've written a new track called 'Fairground', composed using the Sonic Washing Machine. I think I might need to take the Michael Andrews CD out of the player.

Sonic Racing Car Video

Finished an edit of the Sonic Racing Car footage from Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham during Gamecity 2007. Thanks to Stephen & Lindsay Jelly for the source material, to all those who agreed to be filmed and also Iain Finlay for camera work.

All sounds recorded from Donington Racecourse during a F3 Race trial.

Update

Haven't written anything on this blog for a while. Been working on multiple sonic machine projects and need to tie up some loose ends.

Sonic Washing Machine
Still not 100% finished the refill. Produced some more patches. Reason had been updated to version 4 and I'm attempting to develop a version that will utilize the new devices. I'd like to finish it soon as it would be nice for it to be one of the first refills released for this version.

Will be exhibiting the live show again soon with a few tweaks.


Sonic Racing Car
I've been playing with the sounds and I'm looking to test it at an exhibition soon. Rather than develop a custom controller I'm using a joystick to trigger sounds and control parameters.

Vinyl (Working title)
This is a new piece which will use the sounds of multiple record players. It's looking at 'unwanted noice' that occurs when using turntables. This time I'm focusing more on developing work for exhibition purposes rather than to create more refills.

'Jaws' theme tune

I thought I'd explore another way of generating music from the sonic washing machine by using it to play pre-made MIDI files. I was very impressed by the singing tesla coil on youtube and especially like the way it handled the theme tune to the movie 'Jaws' by John Williams.

I searched for a MIDI file of the piece and soon found a copy which had be sequenced by someone called JThor. Using Reason I was easily able to import the MIDI file and then chose some suitable samples to fit the material. Importing pre-made sequenced material is obviously easier than recording or programming it yourself. I suppose I could have produced something more homemade, but felt no desire to re-invent the wheel. It did take a very long time to tweak the samples to get the desired result, so I kind of feel justified in my actions.

I did not attempt to re-create all the orchestral instruments, as I wanted some of the washing machine's personality to shine through. I did however want it to be recognisable so modelled some sounds to be similar such as using a high pitched tone for the flute and low rumbles for the bass strings.

This mini project throws up some interesting questions. I'd like to be able to add it to my myspace site, but as I am not John Williams the original composer, or JThor who sequenced the MIDI file then do I have any rights as the 'samples re-mixer' (if that can even be a phrase). I have contacted the MCPS-PRS (which exists to collect and pay royalties to musicians when their music is used) in order to find out.

Sonic Washing Drum Machine

I have created a drum machine as part of the forthcoming Sonic Washing Machine refill. It uses the Redrum device to map selected samples, which can then be used to produce drum patterns. It's very quick to produce beats so I've made a quick track called 'Washing Drum Machine' which can be heard on my myspace http://www.myspace.com/sonicmachines.

Some of the sounds are a bit quiet, but running it through a compressor sorts that out.

I've also produced another skin called 'SWM Lighting' (above pic) to give it an indivudal look. It's inspired by the recent weather which is forcing me to stay in and work on Reason, instead of going outside to play in my vegetable patch.

Sonic skins!

I've nearly finished the SWM refill. I've built new patches, written demo tracks and generally tidied things up a bit so it looks more organised. I've also finished 2 'skins' ('original' and 'retro green' for the Combinator backdrops (see pic).

Although the skins are entirely cosmetic, I think the instrument benefits from having an individual look that reflects it's physical characteristics, whilst demonstrating a creative side. The display panel is extracted from a photograph of the Hotpoint WDM73, the text is recreated from logos and displays on the machine.

This is how it will appear to anyone using it in Propellerheads Reason 3. You can also see in the picture the controls for using the multiple mic patches.

Propellerheads release Abbey Road Keyboards refill

I'm very much in awe of a recent release by Propellerheads. While I've been busy recording washing machines and racing cars, the masters of hypersampling have been working on a refill called Abbey Road Keyboards. It contains 7 classic instruments from Abbey Road Studios including the legendary 'Mrs. Mills' piano and the 'Challen Studio Piano'.

The results sound amazing and some demo tracks as well as individual instruments can be heard on the Propellerheads site here.

I think what makes this collection so special is they have captured the sound of such unique instruments that have incredible personality and are so recognisable. The demo of the Mellotron flute sounds warm and faithful, it's just waiting to burst into 'Strawberry Fields Forever'. It seems strange that a tape based sampler has been transformed into a digital instrument, but the result is incredible. My personal favourite is the 'Schiedmayer Celeste' which sounds very distinct and would definately stand out in a mix.

Included in the guide are some excellent diagrams of how they made the recordings which show mic models, positions and distances. Very useful.

Click to enlarge

The Producers Conference

Had an excellent experience last week when Propellerheads came to town to deliver 'The Producers Conference' at Confetti Studios in Nottingham.

Starting the event Danny McMillan showed the crowd that you need to think 'big' in order to get a big sound. Racing through the Redrum machine he quickly laid down simple drum patterns, added EQ units, then produced multiple duplications on individual channels to create a thick blend of percussive hits. Some of the copies were laden with distortion, creating the option of a dry/wet mix. After a bit of tweaking he had a very respectable result with numerous options of adjustment.

Second on was James Bernard who clearly demonstrated that we didn't need to all sit twiddling our thumbs waiting for Reason 4. A man clearly obsessed with multi-band processing, he impressed the crowd using his box of tricks including a homemade 8 band compressor which gave staggering results in a before/after test. James proves that if Reason doesn't already have it, you can always make it yourself. I say 'thank God James has already done it so we don't have to'.

Last but not least Kurt "Peff" Kurasaki gave an impressive talk on synthesizer technology and how musicians can get more out of Reason by understanding 'how things work'. Of most interest to myself was his demonstrations using CV control. At one point Peff was using the LFO on a Subtractor synth to modulate a volume fader on a mixer. This is the kind of technique that will really help me to develop my instruments, as I previously thought I was restricted to only using samplers and the effects units. I was quite inspired.

Overall it was a very useful experience. I'm a big Reason fan and was looking forward to the event, although expecting a masterclass in dance music creation. I was really pleasantly suprised when all 3 speakers took such an experimental approach and demonstrated some really innovative approaches and techniques to using Reason which I can use to develop this project.

Sonic Machines on MySpace

Setup a myspace account for hosting Sonic Machines. It's easier to add tracks and pics and is generally better for musicians. It will fill the gap till I get my website going.

http://www.myspace.com/sonicmachines

I'll still try and keep this blog up to date as it's easier to write with than the one on Myspace.

Sonic Washing Machine live performance

Transition: Surface Gallery, Nottingham.
1st -5th May 2007

Photo by Simon Cruickshank



The Sonic Washing Machine was finally unveiled to the public with opportunities during the week for participants to try out the instrument. There was also a live performance on the opening night.

Performance Setlist:

Beep
Industrial
Programme C: 40 degrees

SWM tracks for Transition finished!

---------- Rear View ---------- ----------- Front View -----------


------------ Snare closeup ------------

* Click on images to enlarge

Above are screenshots from the finished SWM Combinator instrument for the Transition exhibition. I've finished choosing the sounds, I've rehearsed the tracks and I'm happy with the results. The 3 patches are 'Industrial', 'Original' and 'Beep'. The Get-in starts tommorow so I'll have to de-rig this evening.

The 'Hexakick'

The 'Hexakick' is based on a Roland KD-8 electronic kick pad. This one really is to save money as it only has a single trigger. However I do really like the fact that we made it hexagon shape at it matches the Hexapad.

Seems to stand up to a good beating, it happily accomodates a double kick pedal, easy to carry. I can't fault it really, could possibly do with a coat of paint.

The 'Hexapad'

The Hexapad will be the main percussive controller for the Sonic Washing Machine. The initial reason for constructing something 'homemade' was to reduce the risk of expensive equipment being stolen. However, the design has led to something quite revolutionary as it no longer compares to the traditional design of an electronic drumpad.

Electronic drumkits such as Roland V-Drums use a separate pad for each component (e.g. snare, toms, kick), they isolate individual sounds and try to prevent 'crosstalk'. The Heaxapad is different because it encourages blending sounds together, creating hybrids. It can even be played like a primitive mixer.


Construction process

• 11 transducer mics are embedded into cylindrical indents in the surface of the face.
• Holes are drilled to allow the mics to be connected to phono sockets on the rear.
• The mics are secured with a strong glue before a sheet of adhesive foam is added for protection. Then the shotblast rubber is fused with the foam to give the required bounce.
• Finally the sides are added, creating a shell to give it increased depth.

I'm very pleased with the result. It completely changes my way of playing and will be a huge asset to the instrument.

Sonic Racing Car begins

I had an opportunity to visit Donington racetrack on 19th April to record some racing car sounds for the forthcoming instrument 'Sonic Racing Car'. Special thanks to Lindsay Jelly and her son Stephen who made this happen during a very busy Formula 3 test day .

There was lots of action both on the track and in the pits. Lindsay focused on capturing some video footage on a HDV camcorder whilst I did some recording using the Edirol R09. Tried a number of mics including the Beyerdynamic MCE86.2 which was incredibly sensitive.

Got some really good sounds of cars pulling into the pits and lots of whirrs and bangs and clanking. I didn't attempt a full multi-track recording as there wasn't really time and I need more preparation. Eventually I'm hoping to do a similar style recording to the washing machine using multiple mics recording specific areas.

Despite being in the middle of finishing the washing machine I felt this was an opportunity not to be missed.

Percussive controllers

There was always the option of just having a keyboard to trigger sounds, but having discussed ideas with Andy Love we formed a team including Phil Young to help design and build a percussive controller.

We discussed numerous designs and looked at how it would be played. Some were very elaborate and may be revisited in the future.

I've discovered that there are only so many triggers that can be accessed on the TD-6 without using Roland hardware. This has had an impact on the final design which will probably be a single hexagon shaped pad with 11 embedded triggers. This allows the maximum number of different sounds available from a single surface.

It's all about the sound

I'm building a patch which is sounding very industrial. There's big low thumps for the kick drum and some good sharp hits for the snare. It's great that you can just keep layering sounds and adjusting levels till you get the tone you want.

The Roland TD-6 has 11 availble triggers, but I've worked out that if I can access both head and rim shots I could have up to 20 different sounds available. With a wide variation in velocity sensitivity that should add up to a good choice of audio material.

Patch Development

I'm constructing the sonic washing machine in Reason 3 as a Combinator instrument. This is a great tool as it allows you to build complex sounds using multiple devices.

It's probably best if I layer samples using the NN-XT sampler and include a mixer to give me control over the different elements. I can also assign various effect units to give me more choices.

There are so many different controls for the sampler and I've found out how to create layer alternate sounds and use multiple velocites.

Because I want to focus on creating patches for the live set I will concentrate on sounds that will work when played as a percussive instrument. This means ensure that the 'release' values must be high in order to give the desired sound from a single hit.

Moving forward

There's been some good progress recently. Started designing the custom controller with friends who are helping with the construction. Nothing's final yet, but it's looking percussive. Bought some shotblast rubber for the pad areas.

Sunday: Did a full technical test today by connecting up all the equipment in the chain:

Controller
(Currently drumkit)
\/
Roland TD-6
Drum module
\/
MIDISport 2x2
USB MIDI Interface
\/
PC Laptop
Running 'Reason 3'

After a rather scary half hour of not knowing why it wasn't working at all, I solved a few problems and eventually got a result (big relief). Had some great fun triggering low pitch 'drum spin' sounds using the CY12 C/R cymbal.

Now I just need to develop some really good 'combinator' patches.

Final Sampling

Also I finally got round to collecting the last of the samples at the weekend. This included the opening/closing sounds of the door, the dispenser, on/off switch, buttons and swirling the inside drum.

All samples were taken using an Edirol R09, simple but effective.

Exhibition 1st - 5th May

Had a busy couple of months moving jobs, but I need to finish the sonic washing machine as I shall be exhibiting at the 'Surface Gallery' in Nottingham on 1st - 5th May. This will include a live performance on the opening night for which I am exploring the best methods for controlling the instrument.

I think it will be a combination of MIDI keyboard with modified drumkit & custom built percussion. It's all very exciting!!!

Sonic Wash II - Editing

Having recorded the sounds to separate channels on the multi-track I can now reconstruct the mix in order to begin choosing sequences.

It's interesting to see the differences between the mic recordings. I have boosted the levels to get the maximum amplification of each part. There are 7 independent tracks in total:

Some of the tracks had significant audible noise, especially the one from the mic which was placed outside. I think I can get round this by choosing extracts carefully when it comes to building the instrument.

Sonic Wash II - Recording

The purpose of re-visiting this experiment is to obtain a more detailed recording using additional mics including one located outside.

I'm using the same model and settings as in the first experiment so I may draw comparison at a later date, however unsurprisingly the contents of the drum are different:


Machine:
Model: Hotpoint WD73
Max Spin speed: 1200RPM

Wash:
Programme C: 40 degree wash
Contents of drum: 1 pair of jeans, 4 T-shirts, 11 pairs of socks, 10 pairs of shorts, 2 soap tablets, 1 tablet net.
Duration: Approx 75 mins

Mics & Locations:
1 x Rode NT4 - Channel 1 & 2 (L/R) - Room Mic
1 x Samson Q-Kick - Channel 3 - Drum Mic
1 x Stagg MC07 - Channel 4 - Dispenser Mic
1 x Plate Mic - Channel 5 - Floor Mic (Underneath)
1 x C-Ducer Contact Mic - Channel 6 - Top of machine
1 x AKG C100S - Channel 7 - Pipe Mic (Outside)

The Recording:
As before each mic is recorded to a separate track, only now I'm using more mics and an 8-track recorder. This should give me my most definitive sampled object to date.

Alternating sound

I've found out how to change the velocities of samples and create alternations in Reason. This should make a huge difference to the instruments and give me a wider variety of sounds. I've also now got access to a multi-track recorder that can record onto 8 tracks simultaneously, so I'll have more choice of mics.

Had a play with the washing machine instrument and made some very loud noises which shook my speakers. Should proabably turn things down a bit. Need to find out how to attatch sounds to this blog.