Diva

Agile Gossip

Another day, another Stepic track. Seriously, this thing is amazing. I’m obviously in that new love phase, but the more I learn, the more capable and deep I realize this thing really is. One of the features I mentioned when I first got it a few days ago is the ability to sequence MIDI control change messages. I was really excited about that, except I could never get it to work. After an email exchange with the author, I determined that the problem lies with Digital Performer. Apparently it doesn’t support “legacy” MIDI messages for VST3 plugins.1If you don’t know … Continue reading

Random Strudels

I bought a new tool. Yes, I buy a lot of tools, and most of them end up gathering digital dust when the newness wears off. In this case, though, I think I may have stumbled upon something that not only isn’t available in any of my other tools, but goes so far beyond what I expect that it could fundamentally change how I write certain tracks. The tool is called Stepic, and it’s a step sequencer. Here’s where it gets fun. Step sequencers aren’t new. They go back to the very beginnings of electronic music and are, in general, … Continue reading

I Don’t Remember

After a bit of faffing about, I wasn’t getting any traction and decided to pull out the “inspiration bag of tricks” box. Modern software like Scaler and other “AI” type tools has provided a lot of ways to avoid needing any sort of formal music training or theory. I have basic to intermediate theory, but most of what I do is instinctual. It’s actually very similar to my command of the English language. I learned the formal rules a long time ago, but wouldn’t be able to diagram a sentence these days. I know when grammar is correct, though, because … Continue reading

Apanthropinization

This is a “throw stuff at it” seat-of-my-pants piece. I know I was initialy going for something in a very early Kraftwerk style, but it ended up being something else. Something hybrid I suppose. It feels a little more 80s than 70s. I probably tried pivoting to a Lo-Fi track at some point, but that didn’t take either. So without a strong temporal anchor and no real hook to exploit, this is more of an exploration of textures and variations. Examples are that the sharp arpeggio that shows up first is actually the same synth patch as the more “fat … Continue reading

Invisible Biscuit

I’m behind on blogging again – this post is being written on the 24th, so the next few entries will probably be a bit short. In part, this is due to the natural fading of memory, but it’s also because some of the next few days feature music where there’s really just not a lot to say about anything. Today’s track is apparently the third thing I tried to write. I opened the two aborted projects to see how I felt about them now. The first may actually have some potential, but I know I dopped it because it was … Continue reading