Pigments

Gold Obelisk

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 they’d be trying to figure out which album it didn’t make it on. Now, amazingly, I only used Stepic on two tracks in this piece, … 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

Wintry Mix

The first real winter storm of the season has arrived. In an effort to get one more exercise session in prior to the snow and ice showing up, Olive and I went to the dog park right after breakfast, and it started snowing while we were there. I wasn’t expecting anything to stick, much less stay frozen for long, but the buildup was surprisingly fast and by the time we got back home, I was already having a few traction issues driving the truck.2Later in the day, I would experiment with 4×4 mode on … Continue reading

We Use Power

Note: This post was written in 2025 and backdated to appear on the day I wrote and published the track. Back to the land of ambient techno and another chance to open that bag of tricks I’ve been wanting to try. Earlier in the month, I went all in on an Orb-style track with The Match Went Out, and had really been enjoying listening to it when the opportunity presented itself. I wanted to revisit that genre, though not necessarily in exactly the same way. One of my favorite sources for public domain audio and video1Well, in theory. Some of … Continue reading

Moxie’s Meadow

Note: This post was written in 2025 and backdated to appear on the day I wrote and published the track. I don’t have a ton to say about this one. I think it was probably started with me intending to do a Lo-Fi track, and it certainly fits the formula for one, but it seems a little too… sweet? Nice? Neither of those fit, because I’ve heard Lo-Fi that would warrant those terms. Maybe it’s just not nostalgic enough. Another of my pieces that are a bit more than a sketch but not quite a real thing. I never know … Continue reading