PROCESS
Headphones required.
The melody is 5 patterns repeated 3 times on a guitar, played live with a touch of boost, delay and reverb.
The rhythm is built from a royalty-free drum construction kit for ACID called “Black Paint Weathered Beat.” There’s a 1-measure intro and a 4-measure pattern, and both repeat 3 times. Track runs at 79.582 BPM, which yielded three 5-measure sections + a couple beats for a fade-out in exactly 1:30.
The drones are pads from a dug-out-of-a-drawer BOSS DR-5 played through an octave generator, delay and reverb. The drone has 6 parts, each recorded separately then assembled in ACID into a pattern that repeats 3 times. The 3D section in the end splits the drones into 2 tracks – one with the I and V, the other with the II, III, VI and majVII parts. It’s meant to swirl like a river.
Mixed/Mastered in ACID. “3D” achieved via manipulation of volume, pan and VST reverb parameters. To try to simulate distance, the on-board reverb’s Dry, Wet, Early Out and High Attenuation Frequency were given separate envelopes across respective tracks. There wasn’t much plan to it – I set automation levels until something in each section felt like motion. Since I was never going to achieve any kind of 5.1 or surround thing with my rig, I just tried to keep it simple.
And pretty.
KEY / TUNINGS
D
Standard tuning, 1/2 step down (my usual M.O.), capo 3 (“C” chord form for D key).
TITLE
Part of a line from the poem “Away One Year” by Gregory Corso (1960).
IMAGE
Brooklyn Bridge Park, DUMBO, 06 August 2013
RIG:
Jolie (Gibson ES-335, cherry red), BOSS DR-5 Dr. Rhythm, Electro-Harmonix POG2 octave generator, Strymon BlueSky reverberator, SmallSound/BigSound Mini Fuck Overdrive, Ibanez Tube Screamer TS808, TC Electronic FlashBack delay/looper, Vox AC-15, Sennheiser MD421-II Mic, MOTU 828MK-2 firewire interface, Sony Acid DAW
PROJECT:
Part 1: Three simultaneous segments: a drone, a beat, and a melodic fragment.
Part 2: Each of those three segments will repeat consistently for the length of the finished track.
Part 3: Manipulate them to simulate three-dimensional motion for someone listening to the track on headphones. You can do this by using stereo effects, volume shifts, filters, or any other technological means.
Part 4: The track will last one minute and thirty seconds. For the first 30 seconds, the drone and the beat will remain consistent, but the melodic fragment will move around in 3D. For the second 30 seconds, only the beat will move around, and for the final 30 seconds, only the drone will move around.
More on this 88th Disquiet Junto project, which explores 3D sound, at:
disquiet.com/2013/09/05/disquiet0088-3d/
More details on the Disquiet Junto at:
soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/