Friday again

Well, well. Gear4music agreed they cocked up with my MakeNoise skiff so it's going back - times like this I really miss the library as printing the label means a trip into Leyland. Annoyingly, I've seen several OP-1s second hand after buying mine - from Gear4music also second hand, but mis-sold as 'B Stock'. Could have had my money back but was hooked by then... Oh well.

Seem to be getting more interesting gig offers now I've decided not to do any more. Isn't that fecking typical? This one was at a Modular Meets next year and might have been fun, but hey. I agreed to do them a video instead. :)

Got some fun Eurorack stuff coming for review but probably not enough for a column next time, will miss a month. Not ideal if it coincides with Synthfest though.

Recent new music that's good: Gaudi - Magnetic. Surprisingly proggy for the old Dubmeister. Yonder - Pearl Diver is wonderful, a bandcamp discovery. Very ambient and lovely. Headshock - Hooppler is a cracker too. Better than Seacrow, I think, although I've not listened to the old crow as much. Also got Tom Waits' Bone Machine but only played it once so far.

Forcing myself to read my friend's book. I've got past the difficult early chapters with the non-stop poo and pee jokes. I will try my best to finish it. Read bit about the company that publishes it and it seems you don't get any expert help, editors etc. And you have to publicise it yourself.

Was gonna treat the Synthi to some new pins - then discovered they've gone up. A tenner each now!! Feck.

Right, have got beer and I plan to use it!

https://wilyepeyote.bandcamp.com/track/arakazim

Did

Another post about inertia

Yeah, I'm yawning too.
Saturday.
Was meant to go to Modular Meets today, had totally decided and everything. Then I stayed home and got trashed again with Tim. A bit of a pattern here isn't there? In other news, I started reading a book written by a friend of mine, an actual published book. But I'm struggling with it after just one chapter.

Recorded some good stuff. Forty something minutes of it.

Sunday. Tony came.
Monday. Pat off with baby. Did lots of book work, some work on Hooppler - 45 mins and now mixed pretty darn hot actually.

Listened to a performance of Eroica symphony entirely from memory. Really enjoyed it, very flowing and great to see the musicians interact. Would love to hear the 7th symphony done the same way.
 The 3rd quatsi later, I think. To follow Glass/Shankar thing I saw with tea. Run out of beer!

My Synthi from a different angle than usual.

Glad to be not doing...

... reviews of the 'new' Roland stuff. I really struggled to think of anything interesting to say about the TR-09 and there's a TR-08 now for someone to evaluate. Seems that now I've 'let go' I can be content and realise that there is almost no new stuff emerging that interests me. Even a bit. Talk about lack of imagination... yet there are cool things out there. The Lyra-8 continues to delight me every time I touch her thanks to possessing all the necessary attributes of a classic electronic instrument. I wonder if Tony's machine, which will be more powerful, flexible and have a wider sonic palette, will have quite the same wonky magic? From what I've heard so far it will have more qualities associated with a regular analogue synth but with a whole set of alternate thought processes over the top. I'm pretty optimistic it will be groovy. Saving my pennies, fortunately an easy task, although buying the odd little thing, such as the OP-1 aerial.

https://wilyepeyote.bandcamp.com/track/profundis-2
(I may delete this and incorporate into collection 'the night hours' which I seem to have accidentally created from recent ambient stuff)

Wheee - we have a floor! Can't stand on it until tomorrow though. Will have to levitate.
Wheee2 - the finishing off guy is here! Sadly he noticed that some of the plugs that have been fitted don't work. I never tested them all...
Wheee3 - Tony brought my Synthi (and Smallstone) back. Itching to get into the studio and try but I'm waiting for workman dude to be done.
Sent in a review (the only module one I have left) this morning. Got a couple more ready to be sent once I get approval for doing them. Could take executive decision I guess...

OP1 aerial is great - sampled some Radio 3 and made a groovy new instrument within minutes.

And I started using my Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/BX3PjraDkSB/ 

Simplicity

You know, finally, I'm getting there. Minimalism I mean. Not totally, still too much hands on and messing, but finally forcing myself to obey my will rather than my whims.

Recorded a mellow demo of Tony's SRE chorus. Inevitably I added Lyra and the looper caught it. Eventide Pitch Factor in there of course.

The bandcamp version is longer and has had some Pro 2 overdubs. You may consider the video to be the pure one pass version and may prefer it on that basis. Begorrah

Weird that these last few days people have started buying stuff from my bandcamp site. One guy has bought so many individual things he could've got the bumper set for the same amount, but I feel like I shouldn't leap in and tell him since it might seem odd or pushy. Good when someone does that though, suggests they get it, all this stuff, and I'm not just some madman. Well.

rejected for obvious reasons, experimenting with different light levels.

Musing for a brew zing

I often ask myself: is this creativity? Or is it simply what any being, finding itself alive, might do? How am I to answer this? Or anything else for that matter.

Wow, that's the kind of gibberish I write when Pat's away and I'm on the sauce! Definitely overdue starting a new novel - but 'the book' must come first.

I got a Pressure Points. Considered getting a pair but will see how I get on with one. I realised today that I could really use it with Morphagene - it will let me preset combinations of slices, tunings and start points, with the pressure part controlling the gene size, at least that's the plan. Could sequence that stuff but a direct selection seems more desirable. Oddly, the 3 fixed voltages for each pad seem to fluctuate. Wonder if that means my power supply is close to capacity?
In other news, dunno if related, my Synthi died. Took it to Tony who pointed out the fried part which sadly he didn't have. Dunno what other damage might have been caused at this stage or the cause - have some suspicions but let's see what Tony discovers before I voice them. Had a cool demo of a beast in progress. Very exciting to see it growing.
Ordered a MakeNoise skiff because it was heavily discounted due to not having an AC adapter. Sorta gambling that I can get one. Got an update to say they don't know when they'll send it as it depends on them being able to find it. Sigh.
Tomorrow it's the door men. Supposedly tiles on Friday but we'll see.

Oh, I weakened and bought the FM aerial for the OP-1. Thought the carry case too expensive though.

Not mine but pretty all the same. Slightly jealous of Tim's System 100m. The new BSP looks fab too.

Small Victories

I have whined here before, like a total old saddo, about my encounter with UPS and their stubborn insistence that I pay to receive a part for fix my synth. Well, I stuck to my guns and sent in a claim to HMRC ... which seems to have prompted a full refund from UPS. Yay! No apology mind you, but since DSI completely refunded my payment too, my little adventure trying to get the Pro 2's filters to work properly has only cost me in time, energy and possibly grey hairs.

In other news, went for my 'random health check for old gits' and was pronounced fit and hale. I think my pulse was 60BPM so I'll be trying to record something at that tempo today. The nurse didn't offer to stick her finger up my bottom and I didn't ask (even thought it crossed my mind). She did look into my ear though and I'm off to see the doc next week to start investigating my tinnitus.

Pat away for weekend now so I'll be getting the beer in soon, once electrician has been and done a very tiny bit more. Work now stalled until we find a replacement for the tiles we'd chosen. Yes, I'm fed up. Also about to spend more money getting wall sorted/rerouted and extending the garden to make up for the lost area of lawn. Last SOS payments should come in handy after all!

Hardly any time to play with OP-1. Been cracking on with book chapters. Not today though.

I'm reading the Wind in the Willows, which is marvellous. Not sure why I never did before, missed it as a child in favour of Willard Price books, oddly enough.

I resisted doing a video. Instead I took the OP-1 and recorded my recent tape noodles into the Morphagene. That's enough for a new process and it produced this:

https://wilyepeyote.bandcamp.com/album/thatthing

Fridays!