Erasing the Fine Line Between Clever and Stupid
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 … Continue reading
Remember two days ago when I waxed poetic about Stepic, the amazing new step sequencer I got? Remember how I was fawning over those 80s Tangerine Dream soundtrack bass lines? Remember how I said that you’d likely hear more tracks with that kind of thing? Well, here we are. This is darn close (if not massively over the line) into pastiche territory. If I played this without comment for a Tangerine Dream fan, I suspect … Continue reading
The most notable thing about this track may be that it was my third attempt for the night. I’ve done that several nights this month, but sometimes nothing’s hitting. Or it hits but fizzles almost immediately because there’s nowhere to go. But on this project, that initial sound you hear grabbed me by the neck and shook me around until I agreed that this would be the track. I mean that sound. It’s just… nasty. … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading