Segment of Improvisation from Set Recording

Posted on December 20, 2008 by John CS Keston

This is one of several little magic moments from a recent performance with Nils Westdal. You can hear the Memory Man feedback come in at about twenty five seconds. Since we were limited to using laptops for this performance I was able to include the Memory Man as an external device as described in More Memory Man Madness. One of the good things about laptop sets are that you’re able to focus on improvising arrangements of the material, and freely experiment with processing.

Segment of Improvisation from Photo Exhibit

More Memory Man Madness

Posted on December 17, 2008 by John CS Keston

Finding a new way to use my Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man delay led me to create this sound. By using the device as an external effect on a send track in Ableton Live I’m able to apply the processor to any track in my set.

Normally when I perform I’m juggling the use of multiple keyboards, pedals, software, VSTs and a mixer. Too much activity already to add an external processor into the fray. But for some shows in small venues, dance clubs, or galleries live instruments complicate matters, so my group Keston and Westdal have a laptop set that we do on rare occasions.

Two producers in front of laptops isn’t my idea of an exciting live show, so it’s not our typical modus operandi. Therefore, for a private gallery show that we are playing tomorrow night, I’ve decided to add my Memory Man as a distraction from the trackpad and computer keyboard. This way I can create more sounds like this in the set. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Memory Man Beat

Memory Man Saturation

Posted on December 16, 2008 by John CS Keston

One of my favorite external processors is my Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man delay. It’s mono, only has five hundred fifty milliseconds of decay, but it is one hundred percent analog gratification. My Sequential Circuits running through the Memory Man used to be a consistent part of my live keyboard setup.

I created this sound by setting up the delay as an external effect in Ableton Live then capturing the output in a separate track while adjusting the knobs. This short section was from the end of the recording after the guitar track I was running through it ran out. I had the feedback up pretty high as I manipulated the decay to get this result.

Memory Man Saturation

Sequence of Randomized Pitches and Durations

Posted on December 7, 2008 by John CS Keston

I’ve been researching audio libraries for Processing recently since I will soon be starting the development of a specialized music application for personal use. I considered using MaxMSP, but Processing seems to suit this project a bit better. If you’re not familiar with Processing, it is an IDE designed for designers, artist, musicians, or anyone interested in exploring new ideas. Although it is mostly used for visual projects there are several examples of music software, like Tiction, which I wrote about in an entry titled Sound For Dali’s Melting Clocks. One of the libraries I’m investigating is called jm-Etude. It’s very easy to implement and use, and makes a few of the features in jMusic, a Java music composition project, accessible in Processing. Here’s some audio from a quick sketch designed to create a random sequence of notes. I also randomized the durations from whole notes to sixteenths, excluding tuplets for the time being.