...:::...time out...be back soon...:::...

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NICOLAS JAAR

The interval between concept and the materialization of that concept never existed for me. From the time I started making electronic music when I was 14, experimentation was the creation. The programs were too complex to allow me to think of an idea and materialize it. I would be in front of a synthesizer for hours, changing the knobs until I got something. At first, being blindfolded by innocence, experimentation allowed me to do some pretty crazy things like using 4 compressors in one audio track or long percussive gated reverb pieces. I had no conception of limitations. Maybe that is what I first liked about music.

Four years later, now that I have finally understood what a saturator actually does and why a “c” sounds so good with an “e” flat; the innocent blindfolded aspect of music has left me and it's a nightmare. Simply "understanding" has been a difficult thing to overcome. For awhile, I listened to my "old" stuff and thought that I had something there that I would never be able to reach: a lost craziness, a natural avant-gardeness (for once). Creation now is going back to that time frame - no label, no making songs, just basically messing around - and putting it all into a digestible little box. It's leaving music through music. Here, the interface between different stages of one's creation is just as important as the actual process of making a track.

I have submitted two songs to the process series that show what I am talking about. One is from 4 or 5 years ago (unsigned and unmastered). The other I made more recently and will come out on Wolf + Lamb later this year. Hopefully these demonstrate the process between instants of creation and how that has affected my present understanding of interval and time.

The track "Deleuze's Will", made a few days ago, was done in a few hours and mastered the next day. A few things about it: The main piano melody was found while improvising. This is what made me want to make the song; it inspired me enough to want to adorn it. I instantly transcribed it to midi notes using my keyboard. For the beat; my dream is always to create one, big, fat wheel of sound, that churns as if it was one element and not separate hits (like kick, snare, hihat). That is, of course, extremely hard to do, so the closer I get to it, the happier I am. Something else that is important for me, in every song, is that it doesn’t sound electronic or organic. It has to be right in the middle. I feel that the hardest thing during the process of making music is not falling into a genre (like how a piano with a beat can quickly sound loungy) That is why the melody is extremely important. Melody has to be able to create its own present and be detached enough from the past so that it continues to move forward.

The song "New York" on the other hand, done 5 years ago, was the first song I ever made after buying Propellerhead Reason. I was at the time in Salzburg, Austria.

download: nicolas jaar - process part 083 (deleuze's will)
download: nicolas jaar - process part 083 (new york)

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RICHARD J. VALEO

For this musical exploration, entitled Days, I decided to strip my composition processes and production methods down to the bare minimum.

To begin with I limited the amount of time that I would spend on each composition. This forced me to under-think everything, thusly creating music that had immediacy to it. I wanted the compositions to have a naiveté to them. I wanted the compositions to impart the memory and feelings that a person has when they hear a new melody for the first time.

To add more depth to the project I used this as an opportunity to re-explore music composition without the aid of complicated sequencing tricks. It was all just playing of melodies and rhythms into a midi sequencer.

I kept the initial musical idea of each composition in mind during the entire production cycle for each piece. This prevented me from getting bored and loosing the initial excitement that was created when I first played the music. By doing so I was able to work quickly and complete the composition at an accelerated rate.

Another aspect of the project was that improvisation was used as a central part of the compositional structure. The general form for each song was created using a MIDI sequencer, but the final recorded version was a combination of improvised performance and structured composition. It was this paring of improvisation and composition that allowed this series of compositions to stay fresh and novel.

In addition to the compositional parameters, I operated under a strict set of sound source and production constraints. The following is the list of those limitations.

The Rules

1. Limited and constant sound sources are to be used in each composition.

- Allen & Heath 16 channel mixing board
- Clavia Nordlead 2
- Elektron Machinedrum
- Yamaha TX81X
- Line6 Delay pedal
- Alesis Midiverb 4
- Alesis Bitterman pedal
- Korg Monopoly

2. Once all hardware sound sources are used, additional computer-based sources are allowed, with the stipulation that they are treated as hardware sources.This means they are used on individual inputs and outputs from the computer's sound card and mixed in the analog mixer as audio.

3. If a sample is needed a software sampler can be used. See rule #2 for stipulations.

4. Once a composition is started it has to be completed before starting a new one.

5. To complete the composition each song will be performed live and a 2 track recording will be captured in the computer.

6. Once a composition is completed it can not be gone back to. The exception is that an edit can be done in post production.

7. If the mix is incorrect or needs to be fixed, this too should be done in post production.

8. The composition title is the name and time of the day on which the composition is created. Notes and annotations are allowed in titles.

9. Once a composition is completed the patches and settings on the hardware will be erased.

Over the course of 2 and a half weeks I completed 4 compositions, totaling approximately 20 minutes of music.

The song titles in this series are as follows, and are in the order that they were completed. On some of the songs there is extended 'silence' before the song starts. This is intentional and is supposed to be there.

1. Saturday Morning (5:26)
2. Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri [Sunday edit] (4:41)
3. Wed / Thurs [dk moon] (6:29)
4. Monday Night (3:32)

For these compositions I draw inspiration from the concepts and compositions first explored by like of Eric Satie, John Cage, Luigi Russolo, Brian Eno, Steve Reich, as well as countless other current luminaries of the sonorous arts.

download: richard j. valeo - process part 082 (days ep)

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JACOPO CARRERAS

A Search for Parallelism

The question is how to import an Historical fact in music, actually my way of performing music, and to relate to contemporary living.

I searched first for an Historical fact, which, if following a scientific approach to History, IS not an isolated event in time. It should be considered more as the event horizon of a continuous flow (Time). To "catch" a fact is not easy, also because I needed to relate this fact to our horizons. Following a parallelist historical approach, for me one of the most important things happened in the first half of the 20th century has been the developing blocks of computer science, for example the building of the first computer, in 1936 by a German Engineer. Why this is related to our times is apparently obvious, though indeed it is NOT what one expects. In fact the historical parallelism lies in the distribution of technology between masses, and not in the building of the first mechanical computing machine. The parallelism in this case, lies between the second industrial revolution, end of 19th century, the Micro Chip Revolution at the end of the 20th century, and its consequent diffusion among us, consumers.

What is quite clear among historians is the relationship between the first mass distributed technology revolution and the consequent World Wars. What is not clear is where WE are going, and our relationship with the computer revolution.

To do this I hacked the material from the Audio tour guide to the first built computer reproduction which lies in the German Technology museum of Berlin.

To process the piece I used solely my plug-ins, in a typical Bau style, just to stay in theme, and recorded the piece as a live performance.

By live I mean there is absolutely NO editing of audio material. I captured the vocal parts (in English, French, German, Polish and Turkish) directly from a web browser, straight into a software sequencer, which hosted also my plug-ins, processed these signals, and played around with a synth and a drum machine.

Each of the generating elements (audio material) is strictly related in a chronological way, first the voices (30s), then the computer processing (40s-50s), then a Quasi Moog synth sound (60s), poppy drum beats (60s/70s) and a psychedelic organ (70s-now).

This was my score.

The LSP (Live Signal Processing) is done by a Ring Modulator, a Tape Delay emulator, a Reverb and a Granular Delay, all VSTs made by me.

I hope this is clear enough.

It took me some time to hack the material, in fact first I wanted to use some Political speeches, but I found it boring, then I thought that maybe what really changed my life in the last ten years, is exactly with what I am writing this piece of Digital DATA.

To find material, recorded material on this, yes this is what took me so long. The actual composition took only the duration of the piece times three, because this is the number of performances I made, before I liked the "output".

download: jacopo carreras - process part 081 (micro-mass)

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ADRIAAN VANKEERBERGEN

Weeks passed by to think what this mix would sound like. A first sketch was made with records I would never take with me at a night out. Think Madteo, Vladislav Delay, Mils.,... But it had lack of consistency and the mixing was a little difficult.

I’ve never been a person that has locked himself up for a whole summer period to learn ‘how to mix proper’. I even rarely mix, since I haven’t got turntables at my place. The music itself does the trick far more for me, the joy to have found something old in the dusted crates in the record store, or a delivery arriving at last.

In the eventual mix, the intention was to take some of my most menacing techno records and other obscurities, having the atmosphere kept dark, all build round the Heib track. It could be seen as a well oiled steam locomotive, dangerously coming closer. That Heib track was for me, and still is, the arise of a new musical path I discovered. Pure, deep and raw.

Another lifec hanging record is the Tadeo one, first heard played out by Marcel Dettmann. But as I think now it ‘belongs’ to Dettmann, I slightly changed the way it comes in, to make it more personal. Little surprise for me last week, I found the ‘I Called You’ record, in condition having endured a couple of world wars, but I’m a happy person having it now, and so it’s included here. During the mix some little snippets come in to disappear right away, but their appearance add some more value in the whole, making it a coherent system. As you might notice, some edits were done too, simple yet effective.

Doing long transitions at times makes the multiple spherical waves and basses conflict with each other, disturbing the phase characteristics of the both tracks. The most ideal mix would be one with only loops, gradually shifting, creating an incomprehensible soundscape of stabbing synths and wobbling basses. Pan Sonic’s ‘Hapatus’ comes very close to my perfect night out...

download: adriaan vankeerbergen - process part 080

(in alphabetical order)

Acid Kings & Crystal Bois - Can You Handle The Acid? (Acid Kings Remix) (Sex Tags Mania)
Adriaan Vankeerbergen - Replace 3 (Unsigned)
AGF - Cognitive Modules Party II (AGF Production)
AGF - Letters Make No Meaning (Weapons No War Germs No Disease) (AGF Production)
Antti Rannisto - Shared Space (Sleeparchive)
Claro Intelecto - Hunt You Down (Modern Love)
D. Diggler - Lubricated (Raum...musik)
David Wulle & Andy Garcia - Untitled (B1) (Docile Recordings)
Dean & Deluca - Chapter 1 (A1) (M-Plant)
Ellen Allien - Go (Marcel Dettmann Remix) (Bpitch Control)
Heib - Rock Steady (Senior Solution Management)
Iesope Drift - Vamasi (Seico Corp Recordings)
Jan Jelinek - Rock In The Video Age (~Scape)
Johannes Heil - Feirern Part 1 (Kanzleramt)
Kangding Ray - Konstruktiv (Raster-Noton)
Lil Louis & The World - I Called You (A Series Of Events) (Epic)
Marcel Dettmann - Clime (MDR)
Marcel Dettmann - Corebox (MDR)
Marcel Fengler - Early Glow (Ostgut Ton)
Marcel Fengler - Yaki (Ostgut Ton)
O Yuki Conjugate - Niobium (NB) (Robert Hampson Remix) (Staalplaat)
Obelix - Urban Myth (Mosaic)
Object - Gordon Takes A Brake (Foton) (Isolation Edit by Adriaan Vankeerbergen)
Pär Grindvik - Continue In My Words (Dettmann/Klock Remix) (Spectral Sound)
Peter Van Hoesen - Increments (Lan Muzic)
Pom Pom - 31 (D1) (Pom Pom)
Popol Vuh - Nachts: Schnee (Mika Vainio Remix) (Editions Mego)
Samuli Kemppi - Neliöavaruus (Pakkas-Levyt)
Samuli Kemppi - Välitila (Pakkas-Levyt)
Sean Deason - Notch (Matrix Records Detroit)
Sleeparchive - Research (Sleeparchive)
Tadeo - Reflection Nebula 056n (Apnea)
TBA - Train (Max Ernst)
Tobias. - Beat Study 1 (Wagon Repair)
Y.Ann - Part 4 (Un Kit De Survie) (U Mohol

paradox solutions...
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...:::...it seems there is this paradox: i've been moving (not like a vector with direction, but...) with an intention and desire and sometimes it seems as though this is impossible without grasping for things with a clenched-jaw and white-knuckled grip...and it's not as though these things are even so well formed that i could call them by a name, but it's more a feeling of imminence and agitation that seem to present themselves with a persistent hum (i remember a childhood sound of lazy summers...). was there ever a time when people had time?

i feel like i have been falling for a long while now and still the ground seems so far away. perhaps it is only my perspective and think: well, maybe i am flying instead (i put my parachute away...)?

it seems the psyche needs sleep and reading manhole 69 again recently has given me ground to spring from. in the story: an experiment to eliminate sleep goes horribly wrong and ends with the subjects suffering from catatonic seizures. the central hypothesis of this short story is that the mind cannot endure continual consciousness, particularly self-consciousness, and reacts by shutting down. they could “no longer contain the idea of their own identity”.

i've been dreaming lately. i run to bed at night. i've been needing it (not sleep, but dreams...). they have been emotional, visual, spatial...but most of all reactive and i've been practicing responses to these heavy-lidded interactions. i pull them into reality. perhaps i look for them in day-to-day life...patching over routine. i try to make things "not new, necessarily, but more". armed with my imagination, i apply pressure to the mundane and send out micro-pulsations that disturb and re-align my daily patterns...

neri oxman has been an inspiration lately. she writes of her work: repetition is not the response to local conditions and therefore we have to move towards custom fit solutions. nature does not differentiate between material, structure and performance. just think of what happens when you break a leg but are still meant to walk. the inner structure of bones adapts to this sudden rupture and the material (calcium) comes together in the weakest point in order to optimize material and structural performance. it's all about integration.

strengths and weaknesses change in time. or maybe it is more in how we learn how to apply them that one supercedes the other? regardless, i like to think about how to thicken those points of connections...disperse the load-bearing moments that are in danger of collapsing...and create things so beautiful that they look like they could only have walked right out of a dream...:::...

download: 080529-modyfier part01

soulphiction – reclap (kalabrese remix) : may 2008 on sonar kollektiv
matchbox – upad aah : apr 2008 on kindisch
guillaume & the coutu dumonts – god dman the whole shebang : apr 2008 on karat
mri – not : may 2008 on resopal schallware
henrik schwarz & kuniyuki – the session feat. yoshihiro tsukahara : may 2008 on mule musiq
move d & benjamin brunn – honey : may 2008 on smallville records
the viewers – streethorn : may 2008 on audiomatique recordings
notic nastic & patrick graser – i’m very close : may 2008 on liebe detail
konque – sinking basement : apr 2008 on konque
reference – exo : may 2008 on beretta grey
robert babicz – dark flower : apr 2008 on audiomatique recordings
braincell – absorb (grindvik remix) : may 2008 on harthouse
loco dice – consequently eccentric and delicate : may 2008 on desolate

download: 080529-modyfier part02

und – fox in the box (skylark mix) : may 2008 on rebirth
morten sorensen – start something : apr 2008 on tirk
myomi – sun in my eyes (paul wooford dub) : may 2008 on southern fried records
chelonis r. jones & marc romboy – helen cornell (2000 and one dub) : apr 2008 on systematic
quarion – vibrations : may 2008 on drumpoet community
milton jackson & sei a – jinzou (manuel tur remix) : may 2008 on urbantorque
roberto rodriguez – ride with me feat. max c. : may 2008 on compost
loco dice – pimp jackson is talking now!!! : may 2008 on desolate
robosonic – kaput in hollywood : jun 2008 on discomafia
morten sorensen – woo hoo : apr 2008 on tirk
martin buttrich – cruise control : may 2008 on planet e communications
booka shade – charlotte (dubfire remix) : may 2008 on get physical music
miss fitz – drifting on : may 2008 on contexterrior

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GREGORY SHIFF

The process here is, I believe, a fairly typical one of putting together music that is exciting in the studio, running through it a few times to get the general flow, and then having things go a bit haywire during the actual performance. Ultimately then, how much does the process affect the final substance of the music? I think that’s hard to pin-down. But when I listen back to this show, it most definitely is a musical snapshot of my emotions at the time.

I was very deep into trying to find the right way to present my concept series on The Vacationist. I had this atmosphere in mind, tracks that fit that feeling, a narrative, and this beautiful artwork. It was all quite clear to me, but making sure that was communicated to an audience was proving a bit trickier than I imagined. There was some degree of that internal tension going on during this gig, and yet it captures what I’m trying to do on the label quite well.

The music here is a healthy combination of new ‘live-only’ tracks, some older material, and a few things which will be out later on The Vacationist. In particular, I was test driving the songs from part-two in the series. This EP, “The Ventrilquist & The Mime” was recorded in a couple of different studios in Barcelona, and I think a little Spanish flavor comes through (even if the music was composed by an American and a Scandinavian).

Back in the process side of things, I had been on a long and at times frustrating transition from my old all hardware setup, though a brief all laptop configuration, before landing at my current hybrid environment. This night, I felt as though the equipment I was using had finally faded into the background, and I was once again just feeling and performing the music, not worrying about the various technical details. That way, any craziness that goes on during the performance is purely musical and not because of some malfunctioning gear or user error, and the show just becomes a natural expression. Its really special when something new comes together during my set, something that I’m hearing for the first time (and is obviously new for the audience as well). There is definitely some degree of that happening during this recording.

Also, affecting things are the club itself. This show was recorded at the Arena Club in Berlin. The club is relatively small and sounds good (due to a dedicated sound-man), so the vibe was pretty intimate. It was also a Persona Records party, and it was great to be playing with my label-mates and be among friends. Is that part of the process or the substance? I’m not sure.

download: gregory shiff - process part 079 (live at the arena club)

00:00:00 Service and Reward
05:24:64 Quick Rides
08:22:14 The Walk Home
13:22:50 Red with Freckles
17:53:27 Cranky Mother
21:11:29 Empty Rails
24:00:17 Attraction in Boots
27:32:22 The Vacationist
30:12:09 Blessed
33:44:48 Black Beer Memories
38:01:11 Oil Mist
41:29:27 The Three Sisters
44:51:22 Arrived Not Landed
50:02:35 Trust Her Drones

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PETER VAN HOESEN

the original starting point for this mix was the idea of going back as far as possible into my musical memory. it was to be a search for those first electronic sounds that have somehow influenced me and lead me to the present moment. the resulting selection would then serve as the backbone of the mix.

as it turned out, this was not as easy as i thought it would be. first of all, the first draft of the list (containing about sixty tracks) was decidedly incoherent. an interesting selection it was, but highly unsuitable for mixing purposes. usually i am a stern defender of eclecticism, but it turned out to be impossible to come up with a selection that would made sense to me (let alone to someone else).

so i decided to focus mainly on music with a (direct) relation to the dance floor. this made things easier, as i could then focus the mix towards a clear goal. the final selection is a combination of electronic new wave, early new beat, house and detroit techno. these are the styles that i feel have influenced me more than anything else. the selection stops chronologically in 1994, whereas i originally set out to include 'contemporary' tracks as well. however, i didn't feel like doing a three hour mix, so the remaining part will have to be dealt with another time.

although this mix is mainly about dance music, it's not made with the dance floor in mind. the main approach is one of selection and representation in a much more functional way than i would normally go about when playing for a crowd. no tricks, just the music. at times i felt it was necessary to let the tracks run out completely, leaving the mix to its essential function. the mix is about the tracks, the memories related to them as well as the influence on today's electronic music landscape and my personal musical development. going through my record collection, selecting the tracks, i was transported back to all those particular moments relating to each and every tune. the memory linked to music seems like a very strong and vivid one. places, faces, crowds, clubs, comments, record shops and after parties all came back to mind.

each track has a few lines of additional information, placing it into a (personal) historical perspective. i hope i have all the dates and label info right, if not then please feel free to correct me.

download - peter van hoesen (process part 078)

01 jansen & barbieri: toys, 1985, pan east records
the 'worlds in a small room' album was commisioned by jvc, to accompany a documentary with space shuttle footage. it was originally released in japan only. 'toys' is the second track on the album - dreamy eighties electronic sounds, vaguely vangelis-like (cfr. bladerunner).

02 severed heads: we have come to bless this house, 1986, nettwerk
australian project severed heads remains somewhat obscured within electronic music's rich past. the ep 'dead eyes opened' was released in several formats on different labels, with different tracks each time. 'we have come to bless this house' was released on the 1986 nettwerk version.

03 a split second: flesh, 1986, antler records
for some this track marks the (un)offical start of new beat, an electronic genre that didn't really cross many borders during its few years of existence, but was hugely popular with the belgian club crowd back then. remaining interesting for about two years after its peak, new beat was mainly focused on mixing electronic body music with new wave, synth pop, chicago acid and balearic beats. 'flesh' exemplifies the characteristics of new beat: a slow, grinding beat combined with hypnotic synth lines. an interesting fact is that the original version of 'flesh' was pitched down heavily when played in clubs, thereby creating the bass-heavy kick 'thud' that was so popular back then. this is also how i represented it in this mix.

04 snowy red: euroshima (wardance), 1988, antler records
another new wave/new beat crossover, with the typical elements nicely laid out. the dark, pre-reese bassline made the track stand out at a time when new beat was starting to lose its freshness.

05 public relations: public relations, 1987, another side
the public relations project didn't release much as far as i know, but this track (and the popular 'new beat mind') were solid new beat anthems back then. there's a distinct synth pop influence present in this track, which made it perfect for radio air play. i remember hearing it in shops, bars and on the street - it was everywhere, much like i experienced jungle when i went to london in 1993, hearing those crazy breakbeats all over town.

06 liaisons dangereuses - los niños del parque, 1985, roadrunner
this is a piece of sublime electronic funk with attitude. it's taken from the album 'liaisons dangereuses' on roadrunner. the entire album is worth every penny, presenting a band far ahead of its time.

07 severed heads: dead eyes opened, 1986, nettwerk
by now it will be clear to everyone that i'm a huge severed heads fan. 'dead eyes opened' is one of those tracks appropriated by the new beat movement by pitching it down to a slower, funkier groove than its original intention. it's another fine example of genres and styles meeting and merging.

08 808 state: san fransisco, 1991, ztt
this track is taken from the 'ex:el' album, probably 808 state's opus magnum. this is manchester at its finest, meshing rolling bass lines with exciting breakbeats, crossing styles and coming out on the other side with a big smile.

09 infiniti: techno por favor, 1990, ten records
this track takes this process mix into detroit techno territory, with one of the best tracks on the 'techno 2 - the next generation' compilation. juan atkins (assisted by eddie flashing fowlkes) dashes out a solid dose of machine funk: a hard-hitting detroit bassline, heavy 909 action and a female voice putting techo and its roots in perspective. timeless.

10 mayday: wiggan (re-mix), 1992, buzz
if there's one album i'll be taking with me to that fictional island, it'll be 'relics', released by now-defunct belgian buzz label (fyi, the cd version is much more interesting than the vinyl release). 'wiggan' is another detroit techno classic, there's just so much funk and groove going on with so few elements, it gets to me everytime i hear it. this is derrick may at the top of his game as a producer: raw and refined at the same time.

11 fingers inc: i'm strong, 1987, alleviated/r&s
r&s re-released this in 1990, that's how i picked it up. this larry heard production still stands out when played today, with wild percussion and weird bleeps driving this tune forward. the vocal version features robert owens in excellent shape.

12 blakkat: blakkat medic mix, 1994, bush
this takes us back to the uk, with mark bell in true form. 'blakkat' is a wild-pitch style track that keeps building and grooving along with its excellent sense of composition and production. everything is right there: the beats, the bass, the strobes, the smiles.

13 3mb featuring juan atkins: die kosmischen kuriere, 1993, tresor
deep techno from the detroit-berlin axis. this was the one of the finest moments of the second tresor compilation: lush, jazzy techno, deeply layered, distinctly musical. whenever people tell me that "techno isn't real music" i remain silent, think of this track and smile.