I added some delay to spread the stereo spectrum on this synthesizer drone of a low frequency fifith interval. During the recording you can hear the cutoff frequency changing as I turned the knob for it. On my most often used synth, the Korg MS2000 that was used for this recording, the surface around the cutoff frequency knob has been polished smooth from wear. I use it much more frequently than the modulation wheel or pitch wheel. I love knobs.
Synthesizer Fifths Drone
I bought this instrument for a bargain price at a music store quite some time ago. It’s an inexpensive Japanese made version of a melodica. They sound a lot like harmonicas, but has a keyboard to play the notes. Hohner makes the most popular versions of this instrument, but I really like the gravelly tone of this one that I recorded during a session on August 2, 2006.
Pianica
I stumbled across this gem, that was recorded during a jam session between myself on Rhodes, Nils Westdal on bass, and Kyle Herskovitz (DJ Zenrock) on turntables. This session happened more than four years ago on March 11, 2004.
I couldn’t stop myself from messing about with it until I got this simple 0:22 second arrangement. I automated a filter on the Rhodes as well as running it through an amp modeling plugin and then topped it off with a touch of ping pong delay.
The main thing that attracted me to this archive was the skillful turntablism of Mr. Herskovitz. I have been fortunate to work with him off an on for more than a decade. Kyle is the most talented, creative and dedicated DJ and turntablist I have ever heard or worked with, so I have included a solo snippet of his track from this session so you can hear some of his magic on its own.
By the way, the photo is from a video installation we produced. It was performed during a show at the convention center in Minneapolis on a co-bill with Keston and Westdal and Zenrock last year.
Zhiguly
Zhiguly Scratch
As you may know, Nils Westdal and I make up the production team, Keston and Westdal. We have a variety of production techniques, but no matter how we are working, we end up with dozens of ideas that don’t get fully developed.
Every so often we review these ideas and consider revisiting pieces that are interesting, but most of the time they collect virtual dust on backup drives. Here’s an example of one of the ideas that have been sitting in limbo; in this case, since October 6, 2005.
I took the liberty of minimally arranging the parts and mixing the instruments, but I have added no processing. The entire mix is in mono with no panning or EQ. The bass guitar is running through an outboard phaser, so I soloed it for the outro so you can hear how that sounds.
Unfinished Idea X.5
Today I was digging through my recording archives and came across a nice example of me running my Rhodes through a wah wah pedal with a little overdrive on it. So not being one to leave well enough alone, I sequenced the recording into a short phrase at 90 bpm.
I started by pitching a couple of the chords to create a progression, then added some delay and reverb to give it a nice cinematic ambiance. Perhaps I’ll build a track out it at some point. It reminds me of something from the soundtrack for the Fantastic Planet. By the way, the image is a photo of one of my Rhodes electric pianos. I own three of these very special instruments. Two of them I use for live performances, while the suitcase model in the photo stays put in my studio.
Rhodes Wah Wah