Phase Ghost wrote:
My initial plans were to use all analog sequencing, but I soon realized I'd need an entire 9u case with sequencing modules to do what I wanted.
(sad to see the old thread archived as 'haunted', but i guess it was halloween.)
yes this is true, i think 9U minimum for a real sequencing set-up.
when i started i used software sequencing thinking i would rather spend my money on quality boutique modules till i realised that while interesting, they didnt actually sound any better or do much more than i could do with cheaper seperate modules and configure them how i wanted, and the one thing that really wasnt being tried in the modular world was innovative sequencing.
this is because most people seemto have one of two mindsets,
- sequencing modules are boring, if you have the choice between an A155 and an AFG, there is no contest, and you can always sequence with a computer anyway, so why waste all that valuable space in your rig, and money. (which is where i started)
or - sequencing itself is boring, why do i want to sequence anyway, i'm making drones and deep soundscapes etc..
so i decided to go against the grain and see what could be done with analogue sequencing. i'm so glad i did, i find it fascinating. half my rig is a sequencing system. the sound producing and shaping modules are still capable of drones or techno, or whatever floats your boat, so if i want to experiment with that side of things i can, but its how that all fits with the sequencing thats got me buzzing.
i can start with the absolute simplest of sequences. i have 4 rows of 8 steps and at the moment i have only two note values per row and one of them is always C (of course this can be tranposed later in the chain)
eg row one C and F#, row two C and E etc.
so my entire palette ois only 5 notes, however these notes can be added together and subtracted because they are not notes, theyre voltages. so from these 5 notes i can construct an almost unlimited no of scales by combining the rows in different ways, (eg row one + row two - row three + row four, also i can add or subtract an offset to any of the rows.)
but its rhythmically where it gets interesting, if i only have one trigger per row, say row one has a trigger on step three, row two has a trigger on step five etc... but i run the 4 sequences in lots of different ways, eg. polyrhythmically, directionally, intermittently etc, with delays on some rows etc. and with other sequential switches later in the chain, i can produce the most complex of rhythms from the most simple few elements.
add to this the ability to control the sequences through feedback from various points later in the complex chain. (eg. say everytime a rimshot and a bass note occur at the same time, sequence one is stopped, sequence two is reversed) i can very quickly produce a very complex piece of music, and the creativity comes from how you imagine the chain of events.
so when i write music now, i dont think ' i will have a snare drum on beat 3, and a bass note on the 16th before the kick, an offbeat hi-hat' - i imagine a system of future interactions of basic elements, and then try to accomodate the chain of events.
its a completely different way to make music for me, based on how the universe works, a few basic building blocks creating infinite complexity through systems.
at the moment i'm imagining systems to make techno, but i could do anything i wanted, its all still in an early form..the future seems limitless.