Performance with electronics portfolio

the process I undertook for this project was mainly about discovering new ways to make music defined by electronics that would not normally come naturally to me, for example I came into this project with my only use of electronics for performance being guitar pedals and multi effects boards, mostly being used for digital distortion and reverbs. I had experience using the Boss GT-1 multi-effects processor so I wanted to include that in some way, but I mostly focused on learning new instrumentation and incorporating that in with my already existing knowledge. I wanted to explore new and different options, for example focusing on synth textures and new ways to incorporate sequencers and drums in a non-traditional way.

development

I initially began with the TR-8, which can be heard throughout the whole track as a sort of blend between a rhythmical device and a soundscaping tool. I started learning with it by experimenting with different preset drum sounds and rhythms. I found myself struggling with how to develop this style of using the TR-8 in interesting ways, which led me to begin adjusting the effects parameters with reverbs and delays, as well as using stopped back, minimalistic sounds. this somewhat changed my approach to the TR-8 and made me view it less as a typical sequencer and more as a wider tool capable of interesting sounds and ambience.

I used the kick sound as the main pulse of the song, rarely ever dropping it back, I did this to keep a sense of rhythm throughout the track, especially in the more stripped back sections that would otherwise lose the pulse. to achieve the sound I wanted, I tuned the kick down and had a reverb put on it, but other than that I kept it fairly unprocessed compared to other elements of the kick.

I experimented with using the toms in a short sequence with heavy delay and reverb to create an effect that sounded like they were bouncing around the track, this was achievable with the parameters already in the TR-8, I would slowly introduce and take away this sound at different points in the track to create dynamics and keep it sounding fresh. this paired well with my use of the snare as an occasional hit to emphasize a certain moment, I also added heavy delay and reverb to this to make it fit in with rest of the kit. the occasional hit-hat hit and crash cymbal swell was treated in the same way as the towns, however much less frequently, being more used to signify moments in the songs and add differentiation during more stripped back sections.

I then wanted to add some guitars that got sent through my Boss-GT1 multi effects processor, experimenting with multiple different reverbs and delays to create an airy sound, I also experimented with different things in the multi effects such as pitch bending and Wah pedals to create unique and interesting tones, however I mostly ended up relying on just the reverb and delay effects combined with a fuzz pedal to achieve my desired tone. I began with using the guitars in a shoe gaze style, focusing on lots of layers to create a large, washing sound that encompassed the whole track, but I found that made the other elements such as the TR-8 hard to pick out and did more taking away from the track than adding to it in the end. I then instead opted to use the guitars more as occasional motif’s and additional textures instead of being the main focus of the track, I often played small runs or chards at the end of phrases played by the main synths, this further adds to the atmosphere that builds throughout the track, giving much more depth and variation of sounds.

I used a combination of timed delays and reverbs to create the guitar sound, combining this with harmonics and scratching the strings created a very interesting texture throughout the track, and the guitar acted more percussive in the end, supporting the rhythms of the TR-8, especially in the final section of the track where the drums get more intense, pairing this with delayed scratching of the strings created a very interesting percussive texture.

I also attempted to use the looping feature within the GT-1, which was varied in its results, initially I used it to loop an arpeggiated chord throughout the track, however this proved to end up sounding messy and out of place compared to the synths, which I would rather be the focus of the track. I also attempted to use it to loop reverb tails, much alike to what is common in dub music, but this also proved to sound messy and out of place in the ambient atmosphere and I decided to just use delays instead of this.

I also experimented with the synths present in studio 109, namely the Korg Minilogue, and the Elektron. I took a similar approach as with the TR-8 beginning with initially just auditioning different preset sounds, mainly focusing on pad based sounds and other similar tools, especially with the electron. through this I couldn’t exactly find the sounds I was looking for to create a piece that I liked, so I found a preset sound that was as close as I could get to a sound I thought worked and then I began to change the parameters during playing, for example, and as you can hear at certain points in the track, I would change the oscillator rates on the synths to create a sort of ‘rising and falling’ feel to the melodies as they were being played.

I Used the Minologue for more light and subtle melodies and notes throughout the track to give context to the much larger Elektron synth, I also used changing oscillator rates and shapes on both oscillators to create dynamic and changing textures while I was playing, also adding a ‘rising and falling’ feeling like with the elektron. I initially tried to utilize the minilogue as more of a lead synth but found it hard to get a texture that didn’t feel too jarring and clash with the elektron. I also took a similar approach to learning with the minilogue as I initially just auditioned the preset sounds until I found one that worked nicely with the production before adding extra effects and changing parameters.

There was also a few other routes explored before settling on my final choice of instrumentation, for example, I managed to get hold of a ‘Benidub DS01 Dub Siren’ which is commonly used in modern dub DJ sets and reggae production, some examples are artists such as ‘Jah Shaka’ and his ‘Dub salute’ series which prominently features the siren, and ‘Jah warrior’ who also heavily uses it in his productions. which I thought could create some good sounding effects for the background of the track, but I found this to be quite difficult and any effects I attempted to add really took away from the original sound of the dub siren, thus I decided not to use it in the track.

I ended up selecting the instruments that I did due to their versatility in creating ambient sound, especially the elektron and the minilogue, both of these synths have a vast library of pre built sounds mostly consisting of pads and soundscapes that I could freely tweak to make into my desired tones, this also rings true for the Boss GT-1 Effects processor as with it you can tweak the processing to very far degrees, for example I was able to push the reverb and delay times incredibly far, as well as use a built in looping feature on the board itself, the combination of these aspects could easily turn the guitar into an almost pad like sound, perfect for the track and style I was going for.

(inspirations) lots of inspiration from mostly more ambient and experimental scenes. for example, ‘Music for self esteem’ by BoD [包家巷] had a heavy influence on how I used the TR-8 especially. the track ‘My best friend in Berlin’ had a really interesting way of blending instrumentation with a sequencer in a different non traditional way. I modeled a lot of the reversed drum sounds on this and especially how well it pairs with synths while keeping the rhythm and percussion interesting and unique.

I also took a lot of inspiration from the percussion and effects commonly used in Jamaican dub music, namely artists like ‘Jah shaka’ and ‘Scientist’. there is a heavy use of reverbs and delays with extremely long tails and a heavy amount of feedback in these artists works, this heavily influenced my approach to the toms and cymbals on my percussion sound.

The album ‘The best Dub album in the world’ had a very heavy influence on my sound, the way the bongos are processed and fed through effects throughout this album especially influenced the way I approached my tom sound and the way I attempted to use reverb tails and delays during my development and experimentation for the creation of this track. whilst a lot the direct sounds from dub were not used in the final cut of the track, it still had a very heavy influence on how I went about my sounds and processes.

I also used a lot of synth textures on the Electron that I attempted to model around a lot of the songs used in the ‘Dune’ film series, the wideness and atmosphere in those tracks really inspired my approach to my synth modeling. specifically the track ‘Worm Ride’ by Hans zimmer has a lot of large ambience from synthesizers in the track to create a bed. I researched what synths were used in the work, namely the u-he Dark Zebra, the Expressive E Osmose and a few analog synths like the Roland 700. while I couldn’t find the exact synths I researched what sounds were capable and typical on them and did my best to recreate said tones using the synths parameters and especially envelope shaping to really change the tones into what I wanted.

For a specific reverb sound, I researched many different artists but I was specifically inspired by Grimes and her song ‘Genesis’ the song features airy vocals and heavily reverted synth textures which presents a really interesting sonic quality throughout the tack, and that type of river paired with heavy delays heavily shaped my approach towards my synth textures.

when I approached the recording for my track, I did it in multiple different sessions, choosing to build up layers gradually, starting with the TR-8 in just a practice room, recorded straight into my laptop with a Scarlett 2i2 input. I then went on to use studio 109 to record the Korg and the Elektron over the top of the already tracked percussion using multiple tracks and layers to build up the atmosphere as I recorded it. I approached the whole creation of the track in conjunction with the recording process, using the already recorded sections as building blocks for the rest of the instrumentation, further helping the track gain an atmosphere.

I had to do some research on how to get the 109 synths to be tracked into the DAW using the patch bay in the studio, which took quite a few attempts, but I got it working in the end, being able to record them while in one take, keeping the performance as live as possible and avoiding making it sound choppy and not smooth and natural, especially with the amount of reverbs and pad sounds I was using. I attempted to do as much of the recording in single, long takes as possible due to the amount of effects I was using on the instruments.

I believe I can input a lot of the skills I learned from this module into my future practice, for example, my use of the Boss-GT1 guitar pedal for guitar tones has been expanded into using multi effects to create interesting textures and sounds to add into my usually distortion heavy performance style. I also learned a lot from attempting to incorporate the looping feature, although I did not use it in the final draft I believe that feature has a lot of scope for making some guitar based music of repeating arpeggiated chords, this paired with some timed delays could turn just purely guitar into a whole song on its own.

I would also like to introduce the use of a dub siren into a lot of my work, even tough I did not include it in the final draft of this performance, I learned a lot with it and I believe it could be a part of my further music practice, especially when correctly using it with reverbs in musical styles that suit and elevate it much more than ambient music does. for example, I occasionally do vinyl dj sets and I believe using a siren through the mixer would be a perfect way to incorporate it into my future performance.

Overall the process of creating this track has showed me a lot of new and different ways to use electronics to create music, and I will further be using what I’ve learned in my future practice.

bibliography and discography

‘Music for self esteem’ – BoD (2020) – https://baojiaxiang.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-self-esteem

‘Dune: Part Two (original motion picture soundtrack)’ – Hans Zimmer (2024)

‘The best Dub album in the world’ – Scientist (1980) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPDrlYDs7mI

‘Genisis’ – Grimes (2012)