New Circuit Bent Track

A new track has just gone up on soundcloud...

Blue Argos is made entirely with circuit bent/ lo-fi gear namely;

a circuit bent blue Argos/Chad Valley type toy keyboard with a recorded sequence looped by a midi trigger, a circuit bent casio sa5 for the drone, a modded casio VL1 midi triggered using Highly Liquid's Midi Retrofit and drums from a tr505 (modding in progress!)

Circuit Bent Modular Fusion

Another new track up on soundcloud...



All the modular and circuit bent voices, and their modulations, were synchronised with a midi clock from a Doepfer A190.

There's quite a lot of low end activity, so for your stereo enjoyement, I would recommend a decent set of speakers, or headphones!

3 New tracks...

Why we love Doepfer

On Saturday I spent another enjoyable and enlightening couple of hours at Scheneiders Test Salon in London. This time the event was hosted by Andreas Schneider himself loosely centring the theme 'Why we love Doepfer'.

Many strange noises were made and much modular banter was had.

Thanks to all the participants and organisers. I came away with lots of ideas and a fab poster, and would definitely recommend the next event to anyone with an interest.

Doepfer A100 modulating circuit bent belcat

A self running patch was set up with a Doepfer A100 modulating a circuit bent Belcat Delay pedal using the A101.9 Universal Vactrol Module. Both sections of the module were used controlled by two LFO's on different cycle rates. Sound source was a Hin Hon EE.

There is a another post about the circuit bending the belcat here...

And photo below showing new added inputs for vactrol control.

New NB Tracks on Soundcloud

Two new tracks up on Soundcloud...!





Both tracks made  with a Doepfer a100 played with hands and feet using foot switches and foot controller, various circuit bent toys being modulated by a combination of Midi (using highly liquids diy controllers) and 555 timed vactrols, EHX electric mitsress, and EHX Man. Mixed and aranged using an analog Mackie mixer and Logic Pro.

Recorded Portsmouth 2013.

Neal beard and his machines hope you enjoy listening to their musical collaborations.

Doepfer A100 modulating Circuit Bent Barbie Karaoke

Several years ago I started circuit bending a Barbie Karaoke machine using schematics from the amazing casperelectronics.

Then I became a Dad again and the project was shelved! But having recently aquired a Doepfer A101.9 module it occurred to me I could use this to control all parameters of the Circuit Bent Barbie with my Doepfer A100 when I eventually get to finish it...

Here's a quick test of an LFO modulating tape speed.

Schneider's Buero Berlin

Whilst on a recent holiday in Berlin I made a pilgrimage to the legendary Schneider's Buero; but first I had to find it. Not an easy task!

Once inside the staff were all really friendly, knowledgeable and able to advise, whilst also allowing me space to experiment on my own. I went there with a shopping list, expecting to have to pick and choose depending on what was in stock. They had everything on it!

Could this be the hotline to the London test salon...?

You want hardware? They got it!

Even the ceiling is cool.

My daughter loved this Doepfer LMK2+ housed in an old piano.

Summing up: if you're into analog synths and you're in Berlin,  Germany, or even Europe, I'd definitely make a trip there. In fact I'd like to take another trip to Berlin, just go to Schneider's. It's a unique place with a fantastic vibe, great staff,  great gear, and an ethos that exudes enthusiasm and passion for what they do. Long live Schneiders!

Industrial dystopia sends us back to the womb

A new track...

Recorded Portsmouth 2013.

'Industrial dystopia sends us back to the womb' is a drone/noise/ambient piece made with a small Doepfer A100 system.

No midi sequencing, just good old fashioned knob twiddling...

Recorded in mono, then converted to stereo in Logic with manipulation to create a wider field.

Schneiders Test Salon Modular Synthesis Workshop

On Saturday I spent a enjoyable and enlightening couple of hours at Scheneiders Test Salon in London.

The event was organised by Simon Lynch to help publicise all the salon has to offer, and give folks a hands on introduction to different modules, and styles of synthesis. He began by demonstrating a selection of different systems - subtractive, analogue FM, digital wave table, which we were then allowed to knob-turn, twist and bend to our hearts content.

Thanks to all the participants and organisers.  I came away on a modular high, and would definitely recommend the next event to anyone with an interest.

The salon is also open to individual users. There is a film about how it works here.

Synthesis of a crappy keyboard

A new Neal Beard and his Machines track...

Recorded Portsmouth 2013.

Yes, it's meant to sound like this!

Bass, melody, and noise from a Doepfer A100. Drums Yamaha DD10.

For filtering I used Doepfer's A124 Wasp module, which created lots of unusual glitchy type effects. The audio was also split and overdriven through several VCA's across the stereo field.

New tracks in Progress

Two new tracks in progress:

A composition called Crappy Cat V,VI,I,ii in C (although I think I might rename this Crappy Keyboard Synthesis V, IV, I and ii in C) and an improvisation called Back to the Womb.

Both tracks created using an A100 and a circuit bent Yamaha DD10. The A112 sample was of my daughter.

Nearly, but not quite finished...

Bowie and Beyond: A Music Fan's Guide to Berlin

Slightly off piste for Neal Beard, but I just heard about this programme coming up on BBC6 - Bowie and Beyond: A Music Fan's Guide to Berlin.

feedback

I've always been a big Bowie fan, especially of his Eno-Fripp-electronica-infused-Berlin-era, so this programme piqued my interest, especially as I'm due to go to Berlin in a few weeks.

Blurb below...

Here writer and broadcaster Danny Robins looks at what has made the German capital into a rock n roll mecca, exploring the cultural and social forces that have shaped the city's rich musical history from Weimar times, via the Bowie years, to the techno revolution of the 90s and the still vibrant present day music scene.


Danny follows in Bowie and Iggy's footsteps, on a guided tour with former recording engineer Thilo Schmied, who takes him around some of the pair's old haunts and shows him round the legendary Hansa studios where they recorded, in the shadow of the wall and within shooting range of the East German border guards. Bowie and Iggy inspired a creative influx of bands and singers in subsequent decades. Danny meets producer Gareth Jones, who worked with Depeche Mode and Nick Cave at Hansa, and Mute Records founder Daniel Miller, still a resident of Berlin.

Noise: A Human History

Noise: A Human History 

This new series coming up on radio four sounds interesting... I like the title anyhow!

A bit more about the series below-

Noise: A Human History is a thirty-part series for BBC Radio 4, starting Monday 18 March, 2013. We hope it will be a vivid and richly textured exploration of the role of sound in the past 100,000 years of human history. Recorded on location around the world, it will take us from the shamanistic trance-music of our cave-dwelling ancestors, the babel of ancient Rome, the massacre of noisy cats in pre-revolutionary Paris, and the sonic assaults of trench warfare, right through to our struggle to find calm in the cacophony of a modern metropolis. This is not about sound in the abstract: it is about sound as a matter of life and death, pain and pleasure, feeling and intellect. People, and their past behaviours, are at the heart of it. The series is written and presented by Professor David Hendy from the University of Sussex and made in collaboration with the British Library’s Sound Archive. The book of the series will be published by Profile Books in March, 2013.

The Bells

The Bells (a song for Trotty) - a new track now up on Soundcloud!

Multiple Outputs in Logic

When I started making music as Neal Beard and his Machines my idea was to not use any software instruments at all; all the sounds were made outside of the the computer, and Logic was to be used solely to sequence MIDI (for my external machines), and then record the music made by the machines (and me) back in.

My interest in using lo-fi samplers; kids toys, my c64 and latterly my Doepfer A112, has caused me to become interested in the idea of using higher spec samplers and loopers to mimic the way tape was used in early electronic music. Ideally I'd like to get something like an EHX2880 or a Sp404sx but samplers that run at 16bit 44mhz are expensive!

Which has led me back to Logic and it's EXS24 plug in. I have experimented with it in the past, but felt it's sounds trapped inside the computer, so rendering them soulesss and un-sculptable, and not part of the Neal Beard sound.

Random Sampler Experiment 1

Then I got the idea of outputting the EXS24 audio into into my matrices of lo-fi gear to shape and fuck it up, before returning it to Logic for recording.

To do this and avoid creating unwanted feedback loops you really need to have multiple outs. Unfortunately I only have 2 ins and two outs linked to my mixer. My first idea was to use the Mac's internal outs in as two extra outputs.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec07/articles/logictech_1207.htm

http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/production/quick-tip-use-multiple-audio-interfaces-on-mac-os-x/www

Soft Freaked Beat - EXS24 internal soft mix.
Hard Freaked Beat - EXS24 external harware mix.

As you can hear it's not great! The audio out is too weak a signal, and for some reason there is a very high pitched loud hum, possibly a ground loop in there too. With lots of EQ and compression I started to work with it to make a track, which is ok as an experiment, but not ideal for everything!

Bugger it!

The Bells - Music in progess

A new track in progress called The Bells.

It's starting point was to explore metallic sounds in any way I could; through frequency modulation, ring modulation, delays, piezo mikes and drivers, spring reverbs etc.

This idea then became merged with my work as an illustrator on Charles Dickens short story, 'The Chimes'.

Here are the first two mixes. The beat was made by tapping a high hat with fingers and a brush. In the second mix I beefed the bass beat by making a low pass duplicate track and mixing it in, whilst also using it as a side chain of a noise gate on a oscillator making a bass tone.

The Bells - mix 1
The Bells - mix 2

Friend Giskard

Friend Giskard - a new track!

Made using a Doepfer A112 8 bit sampler, various other Doepfer modules, LSDJ midi synced with a LSDJMC2,  a home made matrix mixer with feedback loops, and home made spring reverb. All the panning and envelope manipulation was done with two VCA's and an VCLFO (with a voltage inverter).

I edited the samples using a Mac running Audacity and dumped them to the A112 using a script called MAKEDOEPFER written by a member of the Doepfer forum, which converted my Wav's into sysex files. Thanks to Zoe for this!

The track was inspired by Asimov's character R. Giskard Relentov and the sample was taken from his final speech. You can listen to the whole speech here...

Friend Giskard - The Final Mix?

On a train journey I managed to mix down Friend Giskard to a state I think I'm happy with, or as happy as I'll ever be. The whole thing was done on small headphones with train noise, so I'll sit with it for a bit and play it on a few different stereos. It's possible I might have punched the kick through a bit much, but we'll see!

It ended up being a piece in two movements. The first having abstract atmospheric noises, and even a small melody structured around the four-time kick, and the second having the noises cross into a backdrop of silence building to ambient noise (with a spring reverb fade out.)

Anyhow it's got all the elements I wanted, and I think for me at least it evokes Asimov's writing.

You can listen to it here - Friend Giskard.

Is it finished? I hope so!

Salmper Version 2 - Friend Giskard

During another early morning pre-breakfast session I had the great idea of re-naming the track 'Friend Giskard' in honour of Asimov's robotic literary creation, and so added some manipulated 'The Galaxy' samples from Giskard's final speech, beat mapped my previous audio that was LFO clocked, added the booming bass drum from my ER 1, and a crappy hissy noisy, thus muddying the mix into sludgy mess which you can listen to here...

Things to do:

1.Sort out the mix!

2. Add Star Trek Theremin type Choral Sci-Fi noises.

3. Keep the track emptying into silence, I kind of like that.

4. Possibly add some LSDJ type computer jibber jabber, in sync.

5. Try and focus a feeling of robot thought processes and conversations in sci-fi-deep-space.

6. Finish the damn thing...

Samlper 2013 - Music in Progress

A new type of blogpost for a new year - I've got so many unfinished pieces of music I decided it was about time I started finished some of them, hence this 'music in progress' post, which I hope to be the first of many helping me manage the creative process.

I recorded Samlper 2013 early this morning before the family woke. It's starting point was to make an spatial-sci-fi-soundscape with a limited palette of two 8 bit samples and feedback loops, which then I modulated in three sweeps of stereo-space-time.

Version 2 coming soon...

(and yes I did mean to misspell samlper!)