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mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Shebang II", Oren Ambarchi

I found "Shebang", a lovely little EP thing, on Tidal and was immediately enraptured by the second track, a dark and atmospheric cauldron of unpredictably roiling bass and jazz noises. Like a band all simultaneously woke up from a nap.

youtube.com/watch?v=RbO4Z3hqlk

The whole album (a playlist is linked on YouTube, or orenambarchi.bandcamp.com/albu on Bandcamp) is honestly really worth a listen, it flows well and "II" extends into a 3-song suite.

11 Oct 2022 at 20:15 | Open on mastodon.social
146 comments
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "It's Gonna Rain, Pt. II", Steve Reich

"It's Gonna Rain" is based on a recording of a San Francisco street preacher and "phasing" (multiple copies of a tape playing at different speeds, drifting in and out of sync).

The first part, which sounds oddly like trance music, Reich exhibited in 1965; he initially withheld this, the more-complex second part, fearing it was imbued with so much chaos its release would be dangerous for the world.

youtube.com/watch?v=957pqIqPE7

What I'm listening to today: "It's Gonna Rain, Pt. II", Steve Reich

"It's Gonna Rain" is based on a recording of a San Francisco street preacher and "phasing" (multiple copies of a tape playing at different speeds, drifting in and out of sync).

The first part, which sounds oddly like trance music, Reich exhibited in 1965; he initially withheld this, the more-complex second part, fearing it was imbued with so much chaos its release would be dangerous for the world.

12 Oct 2022 at 20:06 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "1/2", Brian Eno

This is the start of side 2 of "Ambient I: Music for Airports", Eno's infamous album that coined "ambient music" and made his experimental music forever overshadow his pop work (w/ Roxy Music, David Bowie etc). The songs all utilize Reich-style phasing of long loops; this track is the most complex, and my favorite.

Although MFA is great ambient for many contexts, in my opinion it is not appropriate for airports. Wrong mood.

youtube.com/watch?v=R4S8be2xlD

What I'm listening to today: "1/2", Brian Eno

This is the start of side 2 of "Ambient I: Music for Airports", Eno's infamous album that coined "ambient music" and made his experimental music forever overshadow his pop work (w/ Roxy Music, David Bowie etc). The songs all utilize Reich-style phasing of long loops; this track is the most complex, and my favorite.

13 Oct 2022 at 19:01 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Call Me Maybe Acapella 147 Times Exponentially Layered", Dan Deacon

This is the acapella version of "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen, layered on itself 147 times exponentially increasing. In other words, self-explanatory.

mabsonenterprises.bandcamp.com

(There is a clear line running through Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Brian Eno, Negativland, Plunderphonics, Martin Arnold, "It's Over 9000!"/YTP/YTMND and Neil Cicierega/meme mashups. It's all one artistic tradition.)

What I'm listening to today: "Call Me Maybe Acapella 147 Times Exponentially Layered", Dan Deacon

This is the acapella version of "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen, layered on itself 147 times exponentially increasing. In other words, self-explanatory.

mabsonenterprises.bandcamp.com

14 Oct 2022 at 20:29 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Modular Techno Performance// Verbos + SOMA Pulsar 23 + Digitakt", Raucous Studio

Some classic industrial-flavored dark-trance dance music with a lot of juicy clipping. I would describe it as "hype". It is very easy to imagine this being played in a warehouse or some other very large room full of people so if you have not been able to visit a large room full of people in the last couple years maybe this will be a good simulacrum.

youtube.com/watch?v=YdK8Xj2z5K

What I'm listening to today: "Modular Techno Performance// Verbos + SOMA Pulsar 23 + Digitakt", Raucous Studio

Some classic industrial-flavored dark-trance dance music with a lot of juicy clipping. I would describe it as "hype". It is very easy to imagine this being played in a warehouse or some other very large room full of people so if you have not been able to visit a large room full of people in the last couple years maybe this will be a good simulacrum.

21 Oct 2022 at 20:16 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "AepoK feat. Pit&Gore 〓 Visa 96 ☰ Korg EMX - Electro Set live Electribe", CycLoop

More 90s-style hard rave music: a 10-minute flowing set of various songs played on the EMX-1 groovebox, a precursor to the Volca (but aimed at professional DJs rather than hobbyists). In 2004 when this device was released these sounds would have probably sounded five years out of date, but listening now in 2022 sounding like it's from 1999 only sounds charming.

youtube.com/watch?v=WrM2xCglnZ

What I'm listening to today: "AepoK feat. Pit&Gore 〓 Visa 96 ☰ Korg EMX - Electro Set live Electribe", CycLoop

More 90s-style hard rave music: a 10-minute flowing set of various songs played on the EMX-1 groovebox, a precursor to the Volca (but aimed at professional DJs rather than hobbyists). In 2004 when this device was released these sounds would have probably sounded five years out of date, but listening now in 2022 sounding like it's from 1999 only sounds charming.

24 Oct 2022 at 19:35 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Open Your Mind // First Jam with the MAKENOISE XPO", Jon Gee

So the concept here is real simple: This guy got a new synthesizer and he's trying it out, by feeding in a single semi-randomized sequence (bottom left) and turning knobs. The result is like watching something go in and out of focus, as different knob configs make more or less sonic sense (peaking in hypeness around 2:00).

The XPO is based around stereo so headphones recommended.

youtube.com/watch?v=JBNEgcV-2t

What I'm listening to today: "Open Your Mind // First Jam with the MAKENOISE XPO", Jon Gee

So the concept here is real simple: This guy got a new synthesizer and he's trying it out, by feeding in a single semi-randomized sequence (bottom left) and turning knobs. The result is like watching something go in and out of focus, as different knob configs make more or less sonic sense (peaking in hypeness around 2:00).

25 Oct 2022 at 21:28 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Unstability", Hidenobu Ito

One of the best ever songs from the early 00s "Glitch" genre was this track by this mostly-forgotten artist from the soundtrack of Boogiepop Phantom, a mostly-forgotten anime. Several cut-up synth lines (or maybe just a Reaktor script?) collide together and spill ruptured tonal organs all over the floor.

The bass in this YouTube rip is unfortunately a little de-emphasized, so subwoofer or headphones recommended.

youtube.com/watch?v=aPt4zmYRCy

What I'm listening to today: "Unstability", Hidenobu Ito

One of the best ever songs from the early 00s "Glitch" genre was this track by this mostly-forgotten artist from the soundtrack of Boogiepop Phantom, a mostly-forgotten anime. Several cut-up synth lines (or maybe just a Reaktor script?) collide together and spill ruptured tonal organs all over the floor.

26 Oct 2022 at 19:37 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Mutable Marbles experiment., eastern drone swedgling.", Jonny Riddles

"Marbles" is a randomness generator for modular racks, but for structured randomness, it's designed to make values cluster. Here it's being used to pilot timbres of hypnotic clanging noises—like gongs swinging in the wind somewhere distant at the edge of your hearing, but made of metal not of this world, gritty and distorted.

Warning, the mix is biased a bit to left ear.

youtube.com/watch?v=yaJT6mvNUw

What I'm listening to today: "Mutable Marbles experiment., eastern drone swedgling.", Jonny Riddles

"Marbles" is a randomness generator for modular racks, but for structured randomness, it's designed to make values cluster. Here it's being used to pilot timbres of hypnotic clanging noises—like gongs swinging in the wind somewhere distant at the edge of your hearing, but made of metal not of this world, gritty and distorted.

27 Oct 2022 at 19:09 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Tribute", Guano Apes

The Guano Apes were a nu-metal one-hit-wonder on German radio in the late 90s. This isn't their hit; it's their album's final track, where they cut loose and made something really *weird*, starting with funky metal then… devolving? I can't describe it. There's a sense of dread, the vocalist is trying to communicate something she seems to think is very important but doesn't quite have the English skills to get across.

youtube.com/watch?v=wNJhSs9Q0S

What I'm listening to today: "Tribute", Guano Apes

The Guano Apes were a nu-metal one-hit-wonder on German radio in the late 90s. This isn't their hit; it's their album's final track, where they cut loose and made something really *weird*, starting with funky metal then… devolving? I can't describe it. There's a sense of dread, the vocalist is trying to communicate something she seems to think is very important but doesn't quite have the English skills to get across.

28 Oct 2022 at 19:02 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Ondes Sonores", Jean François Lavielle

Some good focused modular ambient. Chaotic windchime sounds, skittering against a quiet but driving beat that gives the piece a good backbone.

youtube.com/watch?v=I1nW5HYLNU

29 Oct 2022 at 21:22 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Shell Fish", Cool Breeze Rack

This is a low-tempo, slightly unsettling VCV rack patch with some interesting dynamics shifts, but what's interesting about it is all of the multiple melody lines appear to be sequenced by random generators. Despite this the brain does a startlingly convincing job of seeing patterns in the chaos even if it knows there is no pattern. This is the true power of randomly selected notes.

Video image is a still.

youtube.com/watch?v=YUzZmFrTGB

What I'm listening to today: "Shell Fish", Cool Breeze Rack

This is a low-tempo, slightly unsettling VCV rack patch with some interesting dynamics shifts, but what's interesting about it is all of the multiple melody lines appear to be sequenced by random generators. Despite this the brain does a startlingly convincing job of seeing patterns in the chaos even if it knows there is no pattern. This is the true power of randomly selected notes.

30 Oct 2022 at 18:49 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Soma DVINA / Make Noise Strega / 0-CTRL", Jon Gee

Chill, dreamy and atmospheric. Here Jon combines my favorite echo/feedback/hiss device (the Strega) with a new device from SOMA which is actually not a synthesizer but is sort of a two-stringed duxianqin [Vietnamese monochord]. (SOMA say they were inspired by Persian and Hindustani instruments.) Jon uses all this to create bowed-string and synth-tone sounds drifting in and out of aural fog.

youtube.com/watch?v=B0Pr_BQQWb

What I'm listening to today: "Soma DVINA / Make Noise Strega / 0-CTRL", Jon Gee

Chill, dreamy and atmospheric. Here Jon combines my favorite echo/feedback/hiss device (the Strega) with a new device from SOMA which is actually not a synthesizer but is sort of a two-stringed duxianqin [Vietnamese monochord]. (SOMA say they were inspired by Persian and Hindustani instruments.) Jon uses all this to create bowed-string and synth-tone sounds drifting in and out of aural fog.

31 Oct 2022 at 19:05 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Guess The Picture", DSP Kills

A fun, peppy jam that seems to be trying to hit as many different electronic music genres within three minutes as possible, but especially seems to love timbres from IDM and jungle. Created on an absolute nuclear control panel of a modular setup, but it's orchestrated from a PC running some sort of tracker so it's structured more like a complex mixed/prerecorded piece than typical live modular. I like the bass.

youtube.com/watch?v=JoOQPhMxYG

What I'm listening to today: "Guess The Picture", DSP Kills

A fun, peppy jam that seems to be trying to hit as many different electronic music genres within three minutes as possible, but especially seems to love timbres from IDM and jungle. Created on an absolute nuclear control panel of a modular setup, but it's orchestrated from a PC running some sort of tracker so it's structured more like a complex mixed/prerecorded piece than typical live modular. I like the bass.

1 Nov 2022 at 19:53 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "3x NYMPHES and 1 spare hour to shoot a video", Dimitra Manthou

As the title says, a synth designer/cofounder at Dreadbox had a slow afternoon one day, so she grabbed a Nymphes and over an hour dubbed it on itself 3 times to make this strange little song. It's short but it turned out really compelling, there's a fascinating mood to it. It tastes to me like aluminum.

youtube.com/watch?v=J_HPzhfxg9

2 Nov 2022 at 19:15 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "SynthCone VISMUTH with Universe Zen Audio VOSKHOD-2 -=|=- DRONE DARK AMBIENT", GIPNOZER

If you've been following this thread you'll notice I keep returning to tracks that consist entirely of ominous howling, and this is for a simple reason, which is that I *really like* ominous howling. This is a great 10-minute track depicting the constant approach of an enormous swarm of invisible insects, punctuated by periodic electric squealing.

youtube.com/watch?v=hPX3Nq5znV

What I'm listening to today: "SynthCone VISMUTH with Universe Zen Audio VOSKHOD-2 -=|=- DRONE DARK AMBIENT", GIPNOZER

If you've been following this thread you'll notice I keep returning to tracks that consist entirely of ominous howling, and this is for a simple reason, which is that I *really like* ominous howling. This is a great 10-minute track depicting the constant approach of an enormous swarm of invisible insects, punctuated by periodic electric squealing.

3 Nov 2022 at 19:08 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Finding Beauty in Distortion", Raucous Studio

Six minutes of meditative "weird noises" based around using an analog implementation of an OR gate as a distortion filter. Mostly very quiet actually, but full of lovely subtle moments. A good demonstration of how one can perceive rhythm in otherwise ambient works through simple things like a repeating click or a phaser pedal.

Headphones recommended.

youtube.com/watch?v=ACIjT_hHuy

4 Nov 2022 at 19:07 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "L.E.S. Artistes", Santigold

The late 00s had a wealth of excellent female producer/songwriter/singers (Janelle Monae, Robyn etc) and among that group Santigold never quite got the attention she deserved, I thought. She's still releasing albums but her first album still stands out to me for its unusual synth accents and the first track, "L.E.S. Artistes", a basically perfect pop song that delivers unforgettably catchy funk from moment one.

youtube.com/watch?v=cz0Qb5ws98

What I'm listening to today: "L.E.S. Artistes", Santigold

The late 00s had a wealth of excellent female producer/songwriter/singers (Janelle Monae, Robyn etc) and among that group Santigold never quite got the attention she deserved, I thought. She's still releasing albums but her first album still stands out to me for its unusual synth accents and the first track, "L.E.S. Artistes", a basically perfect pop song that delivers unforgettably catchy funk from moment one.

7 Nov 2022 at 20:23 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Les Artisans", Theoreme

This album's from 2021 but what it makes me think of more than anything else is like old Einstürzende Neubauten or Swans songs with industrial-sounding (in the sense of "like a factory") bass sounds and clanging beats and prose being intoned in a low voice, except that in this one woman intoning the prose is speaking French instead of German. Anyway, I liked it. The first track on here is the best:

mapledeathrecords.bandcamp.com

What I'm listening to today: "Les Artisans", Theoreme

This album's from 2021 but what it makes me think of more than anything else is like old Einstürzende Neubauten or Swans songs with industrial-sounding (in the sense of "like a factory") bass sounds and clanging beats and prose being intoned in a low voice, except that in this one woman intoning the prose is speaking French instead of German. Anyway, I liked it. The first track on here is the best:

8 Nov 2022 at 22:06 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Les Artistes", Rachid Taha

So if you have Spotify or Tidal or one of those other big unethical streaming sites, a weird thing you can do is search for a song by name, click "play" from the search page and it will *play all the search results alphabetically*, which sounds like it should not work but is sometimes startlingly effective.

Anyway here's some jamming French rockabilly by an Algerian singer / social activist. Guess how I found it

youtube.com/watch?v=zSA1F9D0RH

What I'm listening to today: "Les Artistes", Rachid Taha

So if you have Spotify or Tidal or one of those other big unethical streaming sites, a weird thing you can do is search for a song by name, click "play" from the search page and it will *play all the search results alphabetically*, which sounds like it should not work but is sometimes startlingly effective.

9 Nov 2022 at 20:38 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "THE LIZ", Armani Caesar

Armani Caesar is a new rapper from Buffalo NY with a distinct and really satisfying musical aesthetic. Her rap style evokes 90s rappers like Lil Kim and Foxy Brown, her production evokes Dan the Automator and Kool Keith. I'm making comparisons to old stuff but this isn't retro, it feels like she picked up where those artists left off. She has two good albums in the last two years, both of them named "THE LIZ".

youtube.com/watch?v=y--563E_-M

What I'm listening to today: "THE LIZ", Armani Caesar

Armani Caesar is a new rapper from Buffalo NY with a distinct and really satisfying musical aesthetic. Her rap style evokes 90s rappers like Lil Kim and Foxy Brown, her production evokes Dan the Automator and Kool Keith. I'm making comparisons to old stuff but this isn't retro, it feels like she picked up where those artists left off. She has two good albums in the last two years, both of them named "THE LIZ".

10 Nov 2022 at 20:18 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Communiqué: Approach Spiral", Michael Shrieve

Awhile back I posted a music link here and someone said it gave them "Approach Spiral vibes". I didn't know what that was but it turns out in 1984 the drummer for Santana released an album of chill electronic music. This track features what I guess 80s Americans would have called a "world music" beat, 12 minutes long with a slow but increasingly intense build, and the vibes are excellent.

youtube.com/watch?v=jqZzBtIN30

What I'm listening to today: "Communiqué: Approach Spiral", Michael Shrieve

Awhile back I posted a music link here and someone said it gave them "Approach Spiral vibes". I didn't know what that was but it turns out in 1984 the drummer for Santana released an album of chill electronic music. This track features what I guess 80s Americans would have called a "world music" beat, 12 minutes long with a slow but increasingly intense build, and the vibes are excellent.

14 Nov 2022 at 20:25 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Celestial Soda Pop", Ray Lynch

This album, "Deep Breakfast" was self-produced/self-released by Ray Lynch in 1984, before "techno" was a word; back then it would have been sold as "New Age". Things were fuzzier then.

I heard this song in the 7th grade. I hadn't awakened into musical consciousness yet, so the only way I knew then to explain the extremely deep impression it left on me was "this is the best Final Fantasy overworld music ever".

youtube.com/watch?v=9YtOWeAKTl

What I'm listening to today: "Celestial Soda Pop", Ray Lynch

This album, "Deep Breakfast" was self-produced/self-released by Ray Lynch in 1984, before "techno" was a word; back then it would have been sold as "New Age". Things were fuzzier then.

I heard this song in the 7th grade. I hadn't awakened into musical consciousness yet, so the only way I knew then to explain the extremely deep impression it left on me was "this is the best Final Fantasy overworld music ever".

15 Nov 2022 at 20:00 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Korg Wavestate relax", Ondřej Štěpánek

This is someone's synth jam with Korg's Minilogue-ized Wavestation equivalent; it's recorded last year, but has a deliciously early-90s vibe to it. The piece feels like it's building toward something, but stays quiet and slow right to the end; I get the sense of a song from a movie soundtrack, an early establishing scene, laying down leitmotifs that will pay off in tense and action-packed scenes later.

youtube.com/watch?v=Fsc-_qbOrd

What I'm listening to today: "Korg Wavestate relax", Ondřej Štěpánek

This is someone's synth jam with Korg's Minilogue-ized Wavestation equivalent; it's recorded last year, but has a deliciously early-90s vibe to it. The piece feels like it's building toward something, but stays quiet and slow right to the end; I get the sense of a song from a movie soundtrack, an early establishing scene, laying down leitmotifs that will pay off in tense and action-packed scenes later.

16 Nov 2022 at 21:02 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Children", Robert Miles

It wasn't easy to be a techno fan in Texas in 1995. The Chemical Brothers and "electronica" were still a couple years off so the rock station gave me nothing to work with. My only sources were college radio and, occasionally, 104.1, the soft rock station, which targeted moms but because it played pop *occasionally* would allow dance tracks into its lineup. Occasionally this meant true synth bangers, like "Children".

youtube.com/watch?v=LafSIzwdo-

What I'm listening to today: "Children", Robert Miles

It wasn't easy to be a techno fan in Texas in 1995. The Chemical Brothers and "electronica" were still a couple years off so the rock station gave me nothing to work with. My only sources were college radio and, occasionally, 104.1, the soft rock station, which targeted moms but because it played pop *occasionally* would allow dance tracks into its lineup. Occasionally this meant true synth bangers, like "Children".

17 Nov 2022 at 20:04 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Full Performance (Live on KEXP)", Hania Rani

About a month ago this lady and her synthesizers did a live set on a Seattle radio station. The first six or so minutes are some basic chill 90s style ambient synths, but then she starts layering in piano and singing and from that point to the end it feels like she's banging on your heart with a hammer.

The final minutes are an interview, so you'll probably want to stop the video around 26:00.

youtube.com/watch?v=_3EuiU1qdp

What I'm listening to today: "Full Performance (Live on KEXP)", Hania Rani

About a month ago this lady and her synthesizers did a live set on a Seattle radio station. The first six or so minutes are some basic chill 90s style ambient synths, but then she starts layering in piano and singing and from that point to the end it feels like she's banging on your heart with a hammer.

18 Nov 2022 at 20:18 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Triple Kastle", alloutofsync

The Bastl Kastle is a lovely toy-like palmtop instrument that mocks the entire expensive idiom of modular synths by costing like $60, running off 3 AA batteries and yet sounding like it contains an entire universe of glitchy noise.

This piece combines three Kastles crosswired to make otherworldly noises unlike anything you've ever heard, although oddly it does remind me a bit of the Earthbound cave music.

youtube.com/watch?v=hrIHd5qAff

What I'm listening to today: "Triple Kastle", alloutofsync

The Bastl Kastle is a lovely toy-like palmtop instrument that mocks the entire expensive idiom of modular synths by costing like $60, running off 3 AA batteries and yet sounding like it contains an entire universe of glitchy noise.

This piece combines three Kastles crosswired to make otherworldly noises unlike anything you've ever heard, although oddly it does remind me a bit of the Earthbound cave music.

28 Nov 2022 at 20:13 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Strega processing LF radio signals", Tom Zicarelli

"Software Defined Radio" is a technique where an untuned radio receiver shovels the bottom 48 kilohertz of the spectrum into a computer's audio-in "raw", at which point bandpass/demodulation are performed in software. In this video an iPad runs SDR with intentionally incorrect demodulation/frequency settings, so the only output is chaotic squealing that a Strega smears into audio ambience.

youtube.com/watch?v=pLFDYwzU56

What I'm listening to today: "Strega processing LF radio signals", Tom Zicarelli

"Software Defined Radio" is a technique where an untuned radio receiver shovels the bottom 48 kilohertz of the spectrum into a computer's audio-in "raw", at which point bandpass/demodulation are performed in software. In this video an iPad runs SDR with intentionally incorrect demodulation/frequency settings, so the only output is chaotic squealing that a Strega smears into audio ambience.

29 Nov 2022 at 20:06 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Every song on Björk's album 'Vespertine' at the same time"

This experiment starts off feeling kind of pointless; all the first 30 seconds do for me is reveal 606 drums and the harpsicord from "Pagan Poetry" stand out well amidst noise.

But then there's a shift, like the floor dropping out under you. Once the song intros are past everything blends, and coalesces into a slowly-mutating, gloriously creepy, shockingly emotional uniform howl.

youtube.com/watch?v=ZsT3-B1zQB

What I'm listening to today: "Every song on Björk's album 'Vespertine' at the same time"

This experiment starts off feeling kind of pointless; all the first 30 seconds do for me is reveal 606 drums and the harpsicord from "Pagan Poetry" stand out well amidst noise.

But then there's a shift, like the floor dropping out under you. Once the song intros are past everything blends, and coalesces into a slowly-mutating, gloriously creepy, shockingly emotional uniform howl.

30 Nov 2022 at 20:05 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Saigon Window // Crunchy Ambient [Live Performance]", Dexba

A flowing 20-minute live set featuring a slightly unusual setup (multiple Meng Qi synths) and, as advertised, a window on a Vietnamese street. Starts with some basically okay distorted chimes and echoing howls but around the seven to ten minute mark it finds an atmospheric groove and from there to the end is a transcendent cosmic journey.

youtube.com/watch?v=BO11wOrGxS

1 Dec 2022 at 20:33 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Twelfth", Daniel M. Karlsson

Karlsson (@t36s) is a composer I've been following for years who constantly produces lovely and intense noise/ambient. This was his Nov 12 entry for the "#Noisevember" event (he's now moved on to Dronecember).

Karlsson explains this track is based on a string physical model (mastodon.social/@t36s@social.o); the model seems to be pushed to (past?) its limit, producing unearthly, sorrowful noise.

Source code included:

danielmkarlsson.bandcamp.com/t

What I'm listening to today: "Twelfth", Daniel M. Karlsson

Karlsson (@t36s) is a composer I've been following for years who constantly produces lovely and intense noise/ambient. This was his Nov 12 entry for the "#Noisevember" event (he's now moved on to Dronecember).

Karlsson explains this track is based on a string physical model (mastodon.social/@t36s@social.o); the model seems to be pushed to (past?) its limit, producing unearthly, sorrowful noise.

2 Dec 2022 at 21:20 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "POCKET OPERATOR ACID RAVE", L҉̵͘P̴̶͘

I've mentioned the Pocket Operator in this thread before, but I don't think I've mentioned how much I love it. It's designed with the aesthetics and sense of play of a toy but you can do serious music production with it. This is demonstrated here via, as the title promises, some absolutely MASSIVE acid rave techno performed live from a PO-33 sampler unit on a tiny calculator-like PCB in the musician's hands.

youtube.com/watch?v=J_1glqhmX-

What I'm listening to today: "POCKET OPERATOR ACID RAVE", L҉̵͘P̴̶͘

I've mentioned the Pocket Operator in this thread before, but I don't think I've mentioned how much I love it. It's designed with the aesthetics and sense of play of a toy but you can do serious music production with it. This is demonstrated here via, as the title promises, some absolutely MASSIVE acid rave techno performed live from a PO-33 sampler unit on a tiny calculator-like PCB in the musician's hands.

3 Dec 2022 at 22:47 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Discovering Ambient with the Verbos Multi-Delay", Raucous Studio

This piece is based on a very simple feedback patch; a signal is amplified into itself, piped first through a delay echo and a bandpass with oscillating boundaries to sculpt the frequencies. It's extremely sparse and mostly quiet and almost nothing in it is intentional— just a man turning knobs to see what happens— but the echoing, moaning chirps are very evocative to me.

youtube.com/watch?v=H_h7YZ-PDi

What I'm listening to today: "Discovering Ambient with the Verbos Multi-Delay", Raucous Studio

This piece is based on a very simple feedback patch; a signal is amplified into itself, piped first through a delay echo and a bandpass with oscillating boundaries to sculpt the frequencies. It's extremely sparse and mostly quiet and almost nothing in it is intentional— just a man turning knobs to see what happens— but the echoing, moaning chirps are very evocative to me.

4 Dec 2022 at 23:09 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Soma RoAT Exploration N°2", HELL F.O

This is based on the Soma "Rumble of Ancient Times", an opinionated/toy synth. The normal problem of noise synths is they sound cool but wind up just making one undifferentiated drone; the ROAT solves this by making *four* drones (pad-triggered).

Here the ROAT's combined with Korg's desktop drum-modeling synth to make a cool and nicely structured glitch hop jam. "It's just like listening to real music!"

youtube.com/watch?v=TvoolkTIa2

What I'm listening to today: "Soma RoAT Exploration N°2", HELL F.O

This is based on the Soma "Rumble of Ancient Times", an opinionated/toy synth. The normal problem of noise synths is they sound cool but wind up just making one undifferentiated drone; the ROAT solves this by making *four* drones (pad-triggered).

5 Dec 2022 at 20:05 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Soma ROAT Jam - Mélodie d'automne", Sidney Cote Nadon

This one uses *two* Rumble of Ancient Times units plus an Akai sampler to make dance techno with the ROATs' various noise generators providing the sirens, swells and background beepy noises you expect to be drifting in and out in the background of such music. It jams. If you liked whatever "Electro" was in 2008 ("Electroclash"? Was that the same thing?) you'll probably like this.

youtube.com/watch?v=6Sr5JBlofM

What I'm listening to today: "Soma ROAT Jam - Mélodie d'automne", Sidney Cote Nadon

This one uses *two* Rumble of Ancient Times units plus an Akai sampler to make dance techno with the ROATs' various noise generators providing the sirens, swells and background beepy noises you expect to be drifting in and out in the background of such music. It jams. If you liked whatever "Electro" was in 2008 ("Electroclash"? Was that the same thing?) you'll probably like this.

6 Dec 2022 at 21:29 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "random noise 079", glenn clyatt

A bizarre journey back and forth across the border between music and noise, this uses a Bastl Kastle and a chiptune synth to pile together bizarre noises until suddenly the noise coalesces into some pretty cool sounding dance techno!… before just as suddenly slowing down 800% and becoming one of, depending on your mindset,

1. A blissful, psychadelic trip
2. The sound of something crying out in pain

youtube.com/watch?v=mh20zAi3l5

What I'm listening to today: "random noise 079", glenn clyatt

A bizarre journey back and forth across the border between music and noise, this uses a Bastl Kastle and a chiptune synth to pile together bizarre noises until suddenly the noise coalesces into some pretty cool sounding dance techno!… before just as suddenly slowing down 800% and becoming one of, depending on your mindset,

7 Dec 2022 at 21:50 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Koma Krell | 0-Coast | Field Kit | Part Two | Extended Cut", Bottle Makes Music

The "Krell Patch" is a setup various synthesizers make possible to construct, where the closing envelope at the end of one note triggers the start of the next note. The name is a reference to the movie "Forbidden Planet". This Krell is augmented with a synth-controlled radio and a church fellowship hall used for natural echo.

TLDR: This is 12 minutes of beeps.

youtube.com/watch?v=4ECBiZ8P_X

What I'm listening to today: "Koma Krell | 0-Coast | Field Kit | Part Two | Extended Cut", Bottle Makes Music

The "Krell Patch" is a setup various synthesizers make possible to construct, where the closing envelope at the end of one note triggers the start of the next note. The name is a reference to the movie "Forbidden Planet". This Krell is augmented with a synth-controlled radio and a church fellowship hall used for natural echo.

8 Dec 2022 at 20:39 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "live stream #1 … subroom signals", substan

substan posts a lot of chill electronic music on YouTube; I've linked him in this thread before. This is an absolutely lovely two-hour (!) flowing set of chill-beats ambient songs, alternating "music they'd play in a yoga class" and "music to program to" with flavors of acid and dubby clicks-and-cuts floating in and out. Every song in this set individually is a song I'd recommend by itself. Massive

youtube.com/watch?v=tvmciNTS60

What I'm listening to today: "live stream #1 … subroom signals", substan

substan posts a lot of chill electronic music on YouTube; I've linked him in this thread before. This is an absolutely lovely two-hour (!) flowing set of chill-beats ambient songs, alternating "music they'd play in a yoga class" and "music to program to" with flavors of acid and dubby clicks-and-cuts floating in and out. Every song in this set individually is a song I'd recommend by itself. Massive

9 Dec 2022 at 23:19 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Messed up", KUČKA

KUČKA is a singer-songwriter who produces her own tracks and makes lush, grimy* hyperpop. This track is a single off what I think is an upcoming album and it's super intense, it's got a good driving beat and works as both pop and avant-garde sound design.

* in the sense of "reminiscent of Grimes"

youtube.com/watch?v=qTRDMKQyPS

10 Dec 2022 at 21:17 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Limited Access", GOLDEN BOY

At some point last week this tab got opened on my browser and I d… I honestly don't remember where it came from. The song in the tab is from an album named "I NEVER MEANT FOR THIS TO HAPPEN" and is frankly pretty hype. As is the wont of Bandcamp electronic musicians, GOLDEN BOY (she/her) seems to be trying to fit as many different club genres into one song as possible. Kinda reminds me of early Prodigy.

deathbysheep.com/track/limited

What I'm listening to today: "Limited Access", GOLDEN BOY

At some point last week this tab got opened on my browser and I d… I honestly don't remember where it came from. The song in the tab is from an album named "I NEVER MEANT FOR THIS TO HAPPEN" and is frankly pretty hype. As is the wont of Bandcamp electronic musicians, GOLDEN BOY (she/her) seems to be trying to fit as many different club genres into one song as possible. Kinda reminds me of early Prodigy.

11 Dec 2022 at 21:35 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "◯" (Vision Creation Newsun part 1), The Boredoms

The Boredoms started off making entire EPs of just screaming, but evolved into a mindblowing mix of psychadelia, surf rock, and Taiko drumming. And screaming. This is their masterpiece, a joyous explosion like the sound of a world being created, cf "Victory over the Sun".

I couldn't find a good single-track rip on YouTube, so this is the whole album. "Oops." Press stop whereever feels right.

youtube.com/watch?v=zdPCt5ZEf4

What I'm listening to today: "◯" (Vision Creation Newsun part 1), The Boredoms

The Boredoms started off making entire EPs of just screaming, but evolved into a mindblowing mix of psychadelia, surf rock, and Taiko drumming. And screaming. This is their masterpiece, a joyous explosion like the sound of a world being created, cf "Victory over the Sun".

19 Dec 2022 at 20:01 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Asozan", OOIOO

OOIOO is the side band organized by Yoshimi P-We, the drummer from the Boredoms. (If you are a millennial hipster: Yes, this is the Yoshimi who allegedly battled the pink robots.) OOIOO usually offer a slightly more structured take on the Boredoms formula, mixing P-We's drumming with funk stylings. This particular track is a longtime frequent re-listen to me; it has a feeling like a dream, something drifting close and away.

youtube.com/watch?v=ekNkMkF9qi

What I'm listening to today: "Asozan", OOIOO

OOIOO is the side band organized by Yoshimi P-We, the drummer from the Boredoms. (If you are a millennial hipster: Yes, this is the Yoshimi who allegedly battled the pink robots.) OOIOO usually offer a slightly more structured take on the Boredoms formula, mixing P-We's drumming with funk stylings. This particular track is a longtime frequent re-listen to me; it has a feeling like a dream, something drifting close and away.

20 Dec 2022 at 20:59 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Super Are", The Boredoms

This is from an album on which every song name begins with "Super".

If I were going to give someone exactly one Boredoms track to listen to it would probably be this one. I mentioned before the Boredoms combine a few different musical styles; this one basically splits them apart and showcases each of them one by one, taking time to savor each flavor, starting with Eno-ish 60s organs and ending with Taiko surf rock.

youtube.com/watch?v=vC2vqPHUw7

What I'm listening to today: "Super Are", The Boredoms

This is from an album on which every song name begins with "Super".

If I were going to give someone exactly one Boredoms track to listen to it would probably be this one. I mentioned before the Boredoms combine a few different musical styles; this one basically splits them apart and showcases each of them one by one, taking time to savor each flavor, starting with Eno-ish 60s organs and ending with Taiko surf rock.

21 Dec 2022 at 20:25 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: July 22, 2009 total solar eclipse, BOADRUM

In the 00s the Boredoms spent a while organizing increasingly complex performance art pieces involving very many drum kits, with the largest being 88 drummers in a giant spiral in a Brooklyn park. In my favorite, they took a boat into the pacific ocean to perform this ecstatic noise music ritual in the umbra of a solar eclipse. The dude next to Yoshimi P-We is Zach Hill of Hella and the Death Grips.

youtube.com/watch?v=WAriDgdd8J

What I'm listening to today: July 22, 2009 total solar eclipse, BOADRUM

In the 00s the Boredoms spent a while organizing increasingly complex performance art pieces involving very many drum kits, with the largest being 88 drummers in a giant spiral in a Brooklyn park. In my favorite, they took a boat into the pacific ocean to perform this ecstatic noise music ritual in the umbra of a solar eclipse. The dude next to Yoshimi P-We is Zach Hill of Hella and the Death Grips.

22 Dec 2022 at 20:02 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "kawasemi Ah", OOIOO

OOIOO released a new album in 2020 that was mostly alternate-version rerecordings of older songs, but one of the new tracks is this song called "kawasemi Ah" with a really good groove. My summary of this song is: kawasemi Ah

ooioojp.bandcamp.com/track/kaw

23 Dec 2022 at 20:08 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Mixed Emotions", Bebe Barron

In 1956, experimental electronic musicians (and married couple) Bebe and Louis Barron composed the score for Forbidden Planet, inspiring a generation.

In 2000, Bebe visited the music lab at UCSB and recorded a new piece. It is *sick*. It seems to be inventing entirely new emotions. It sounds exactly like the music 60s electronic artists would have made if not held back by the friction of contemporary recording.

youtube.com/watch?v=Biqz1r2d_x

What I'm listening to today: "Mixed Emotions", Bebe Barron

In 1956, experimental electronic musicians (and married couple) Bebe and Louis Barron composed the score for Forbidden Planet, inspiring a generation.

In 2000, Bebe visited the music lab at UCSB and recorded a new piece. It is *sick*. It seems to be inventing entirely new emotions. It sounds exactly like the music 60s electronic artists would have made if not held back by the friction of contemporary recording.

26 Dec 2022 at 20:01 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "La Jet​é​e", Sines of Exquisite Pleasure

I somehow, happily, managed to wedge YouTube in a state this weekend where it recommended me nothing but albums from the early 80s artists self-published on cassette tape. S.O.E.P. was a particularly exciting find from this; their 1981 album "Modular Systems" is *amazing*, but this one serene track from their 1984 tape stands out to me for its retro-invocations of Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Air.

candlefam.bandcamp.com/track/l

What I'm listening to today: "La Jet​é​e", Sines of Exquisite Pleasure

I somehow, happily, managed to wedge YouTube in a state this weekend where it recommended me nothing but albums from the early 80s artists self-published on cassette tape. S.O.E.P. was a particularly exciting find from this; their 1981 album "Modular Systems" is *amazing*, but this one serene track from their 1984 tape stands out to me for its retro-invocations of Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Air.

27 Dec 2022 at 20:53 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "pulsar 23 volca fm jam", clyv

This jam gets some *wonderfully* bizarre noises out of Volca's cheap modern DX-7 clone box, combined with some wonderful grungy noises from using the Pulsar-23 (a drum machine) as a synth voice. Once the (chugging, dirty) beat comes in the overall feeling is pleasantly disorienting, like listening from afar to a rock concert, or perhaps an alien invasion, happening on the far other side of an echoey valley.

youtube.com/watch?v=N5sEjtfmPV

What I'm listening to today: "pulsar 23 volca fm jam", clyv

This jam gets some *wonderfully* bizarre noises out of Volca's cheap modern DX-7 clone box, combined with some wonderful grungy noises from using the Pulsar-23 (a drum machine) as a synth voice. Once the (chugging, dirty) beat comes in the overall feeling is pleasantly disorienting, like listening from afar to a rock concert, or perhaps an alien invasion, happening on the far other side of an echoey valley.

28 Dec 2022 at 20:18 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Spirals & Orbits", Benge

This was recorded this year but is going *hard* in both audio and visuals for the aesthetics of a 60s-70s educational filmreel, all baffling diagrams and radiophonic-workshop abstract noises, video feedback, quiet glimmering echoes on slow oscillator sweeps. As a piece of ambient music it's entrancing.

youtube.com/watch?v=cSNVv2x6QT

29 Dec 2022 at 20:02 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Elysium State", Stardust

The "demoscene" if you're not familiar makes tiny audiovisual programs that push the limits of computer hardware. The community started on 80s hardware, and since wowing on modern GPUs is less challenging they to a large extent stayed on 80s hardware, making them a good chiptune source. Here's a new 2022 demo by Stardust (not to be confused with the 1998 Thomas Bangalter side project).

TLDR Dubstep on a ZX Spectrum

youtube.com/watch?v=eEOv-OCil5

What I'm listening to today: "Elysium State", Stardust

The "demoscene" if you're not familiar makes tiny audiovisual programs that push the limits of computer hardware. The community started on 80s hardware, and since wowing on modern GPUs is less challenging they to a large extent stayed on 80s hardware, making them a good chiptune source. Here's a new 2022 demo by Stardust (not to be confused with the 1998 Thomas Bangalter side project).

30 Dec 2022 at 20:25 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "I Am A Recording", m 10538

The poster of this song claims it's a cassette tape they recorded in 1981, when they were a child, on a toy organ in their parents basement. It definitely sounds like a child hitting random notes, but after a bit something clicks and they hit this powerful, spooky groove. Daniel-Johnston-esque in more ways than the conceptual.

The YouTube summary ends with a strange rant about digital preservation, worth reading.

youtube.com/watch?v=u8Y9vVDyuz

What I'm listening to today: "I Am A Recording", m 10538

The poster of this song claims it's a cassette tape they recorded in 1981, when they were a child, on a toy organ in their parents basement. It definitely sounds like a child hitting random notes, but after a bit something clicks and they hit this powerful, spooky groove. Daniel-Johnston-esque in more ways than the conceptual.

2 Jan 2023 at 22:49 | Open on mastodon.social
mcc replied to mcc

What I'm listening to today: "Almost in tune live play pulsar 23 buchla easel", Amon Tobin

I spend a lot of time listening to bedroom synth jams by YouTube randos and I've gotten *very* used to incredibly hype stuff posted by accounts with 23 subscribers, so when I got to the end of this driving, buzzing techno jam I was shocked to realize THIS rando was Amon Tobin, a Ninja Tune-signed musician I've seen live three times. Apparently he also has synths in his bedroom.

youtube.com/watch?v=xlzb7XnCoA

What I'm listening to today: "Almost in tune live play pulsar 23 buchla easel", Amon Tobin

I spend a lot of time listening to bedroom synth jams by YouTube randos and I've gotten *very* used to incredibly hype stuff posted by accounts with 23 subscribers, so when I got to the end of this driving, buzzing techno jam I was shocked to realize THIS rando was Amon Tobin, a Ninja Tune-signed musician I've seen live three times. Apparently he also has synths in his bedroom.

3 Jan 2023 at 21:00 | Open on mastodon.social
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