Whereabouts

Last year was the first time I didn't upload any new audio for y'all since I started doing this in 2003 (holy crap, it's been 20 YEARS). I stopped recording my synth rack looper jams, and I started using those ideas as the basis for new tracks. Bought myself the new Reason (from 8 to 12) in April, but after month of failing to update Windows to be compatible for it, I resorted to a factory reset and lost some important files and...yea, no working DAW for over 1/2 the year.

The +4 upgrade opened a new level of mixing for me, and I have two brand new tunes up right now which represent my new crispiness. They'll make the rounds on other streaming services later (gotta show my peeps here some love first).

Howabouts

Before realizing this is my 20th year of membership here (just a 13 year old wanting to share something original), I had been thinking about going back through my library (now over 200 songs deep), selecting ~20 songs at a time (based on the year / application), and remixing them using my updated utilities. I'll release them as albums along the way, and they may even contain some old demoes that get released for the first time. That's the plan, anyways.

I will probably only release my jams like this from now on:

I'm tired of dealing with Logic. Back to working with Reason.

Just added some more songs to this 2003 playlist

I was in the middle of a jam with my looped pedal, and I wanted to capture some of it because (I thought) it sounded pretty cool. I grabbed my phone and then this happened:

Here's a clip from one of my improv looping sessions. Forgot to record it in Logic, so figured I'd post it here.

(skip to 4:30 for the solo bit)

As the title implies, this was all created with two synths (Roland Juno D / Novation Ultravoa) and a looper pedal (Boss RC-30 Loop Station). I've posted a few of my impromptu recordings up here last year, but this is the first uncut video I've produced. It's about 17 unadultered minutes of musical meanderin - a jam, loop, solo and repeat process. I do not have a song in mind when I start these loops. I just keep playing and see what happens...

I'd like to get some feedback on ways to improve my setup. What I'm essentially looking for is more channels/tracks to manage my loops. With my Boss RC-30 I only have two channels, but each channel can have as many layers as I want. What I am currently unable to do is remove the middle layer of my loops. I've seen sequencers that work with pre-recorded/programmed tracks in a DAW like ableton, but I don't want to lose the live aspect of what I'm doing. I'm thinking a 16 track sequencer type thing should do the trick, but I haven't been able to find any gear that fits my need...

Throwback videos of my oldest songs to the images of space light years away (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html).

The story:

One of the down-sides of having a (fuller than) full time job is not having as much time to make music. One of the up-sides is getting real paid, enough to buy sweet new gear. Of course, owning the gear means nothing without knowing how to use it...

I am finally getting the hang of my Boss RC-30 Loop Pedal. The real breakthrough came when I found out I could run both my Roland Juno-D and Novation Ultranova through the pedal at the same time. The result is some really funky solo-synth action. It is certainly an interesting twist to the music I have uploaded in the past. It is undoubtedly a lot more raw, which equates to something both less polished and filled with more emotion. Running a composition through the computer always de-humanizes it, and it is something I have grown all too accustomed with. Learning to live with blemishes has been tough, but the occasional accidental is rarely noticed to the un-trained ear and never really hurt anyone ;)

Listening to these is a pleasant reminder that I need to work on my keyboard chops. However, I never get tired of combining all sorts of different sounds and morphing them into something that is truly unique and my own.

The setup:

The tunes:

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/572742

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/574421

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/574617

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/577480

The best review I've ever left was for this song

Because it led to a collab with this person

On this song

I've been writing/playing music for a while now, and this has to be one of my proudest moments...There's just something about hearing a song you've written being performed by someone else and making it better than you ever imagined. Miss LadyArsenic is already working on another one of my tunes, I have an old songwriting buddy that is about to get the same DAW as me, plus I just started playing in a less-than-serious but still brutally awesome metal band.

Collabs all around!

And putting my foot in my mouth. Two things I excel in.

I'll buy that other loop pedal eventually. Then I just need to learn how to use it...