This spooky sound was created in Ableton Live using a variety of processing. The main device responsible is Pluggo’s Feedback Network. I ran a modulated synth pad into it, then removed all of the dry signal after automating several parameters. I re-sampled the results then pitched it all down two octaves being careful to filter out inaudible low frequencies. Finally, over the top I added a ping pong delay so the audio swirls around the stereo spectrum adding to the disturbing qualities of the sound.
Absolutely nothing is distinguishable in these samples after all the processing that has been applied. My goal was to make a sequence of random samples sound as nasty as possible by applying down sampling, bit reduction, and distortion, then bring it back into something tolerable by applying some resonance filters and reverberation.
I automated the frequency and dry mix of the resonator so I could create some Theremin like pitch sweeping as well as bring in and out the noise of the bit reduced samples throughout the piece. What I ended up with is a palate of odd textures and diffused noise suitable for frightening the neighbors on a chilly Autumn evening.
I captured this Minneapolis skyway busking regular playing a mean version of Moonshadow by Cat Stevens on his accordion today during my lunch break.
Sadly it is approaching that time of year when Minnesotans start to abandon the sidewalks in favor of walking between buildings in rectangular tubes suspended above the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
A restaurant named Adelita’s near my house has one dollar ninety nine cent twenty five Ounce Bud Light taps on Thursday nights. They also have great food. Tonight I met a few mates there including Kevin, Justin, Nils and his wife Sarah for seventy five or so ounces of um… “beer” with delicious tacos and tamals (flautas shown).
Here’s a recording of us all cheersing each other. Since the glasses clinking had a serious transient I added some compression, which brought up the background sounds of Mexican music and soccer announcers.
I programmed this beat and ran it through some pretty thick filtering followed by compression with a touch of delay automated in here and there for a few dub effects. Another technique I used to get some different fills going in the pattern was to add a MIDI arpeggiator and turn it on at certain moments to change the feel. The arpeggiator was programmed to randomize the notes in the sequence using specific note durations. I alternated between eighth notes and thirty-second notes.
Arpeggiating at eighth notes slowed down the feel of the beat since the high hat pattern was programmed in sixteenths, while arpeggiating the pattern to thirty-seconds created some simulated fancy fill work. These techniques can be hit or miss, so whenever I use them to produce I generally render the track several times with the random behaviors enabled then scour the output for “gems”. Finally I collect the “gems” and use them as fills selectively. Another example of unnatural selection at work.