May slipping by

 Well, it is. I'm re-reading the Many Coloured Land series and realising how shallow and infantile my own writing is in contrast. I can see how I could improve but I'm quite lazy and set in my ways. Installed a 19" rack drawer beneath my Synthi (but above its keyboard) so I can slide the Lyra in and out. I'd wanted to put her somewhere near but lacked the space - then I remembered that slidey thing. Once the MS20 is back that corner becomes a perfect little musical environment with a very particular flavour. Looking forward to that. 

Played with some of the new paint yesterday, particularly taken with the gold. Soon I'll be ready to order another canvas but these tiny squares are keeping me amused and I've only used 10 of the 25 so lots to go. 

It's raining this morning (Wednesday) so I might get into the studio, but first I'm going to have another search for that missing Antarctica CD - I have the case but the CD ain't in it!

Bought a load of Hawkwind albums for a pal in the States who wanted them in 24-bit 96kHz format - sent them then discovered the format was slightly wrong and he has no way to convert them. So doing that this morning (Tuesday, 31st) and sending again. One of Tony Sawford's suggestions was the marvellous EZ CD Audio Converter which can do anything to anything. 
What else to record? Well, I did that interview for Andy G/Audion then revised it a few times, probably cos it's so rare anyone asks me questions these days that I wanted to give quality answers. Made me think too, which is good. Was our 34th wedding anniversary and mum's 82nd birthday. Mum, Janet and Lisa drove to Workington to look at a grave but I really didn't feel like over 4 hours in the back of a car while someone else drove, not given my vomit record lately and the volume of my family's chat.

Did a bit of work on novel too, not new chapters but a first run through some recent ones to make sure everything lines up. It seems to be working well at the moment with only a few outstanding questions I hope to resolve on the next pass. Some Synthi fun and work on a piece for Don but otherwise not much in the way of music produced. Pat going down for some Jubilee shite on Thursday, which will give me lots of lovely free contiguous time (and curry).  I think we're walking tomorrow. 

RIP Vangelis

 Oh no, it just gets worse. I hope Roedelius is feeling OK as I really can't bear to lose another musical hero right now. Vangelis was the absolute master of expressive symphonic cinematic majestic anthemic music and a performer like no other. I'm currently playing Mask, which I never managed to get on CD. The vinyl has held up pretty well - the few small patches of fungus not doing any great damage... also managed to get hold of the Tegos Tapes, which I never thought I would, but turns out Tony Sawford had it, of course. I also ordered Dragon on CD even though it was £30. Mad eh?
No reply from Picko yet but hopefully he's just mulling and may send in a track, would like to think so.

I heard the Vangelis news whilst on top of Glaramara, which was better than hearing it on top of Kate O'Mara, I imagine. Here are some pix. 

And the inner shot from SOS 

Hmm, a couple of crackles on Mask side 2 but still not too bad. Dear old vinyl!

Got a reply from Picko and a copy of his fab new album. Turns out we're both on that AWAL distribution thing, although I know almost nothing about it still. Hoping he'll do a track for the Tony thing - sent him mine, which is becoming a bit too complicated now. May go back to mix 3 ;)

Pat getting some progress with specialist so we're hopeful things will start to improve over the next 6 months. Booked to see Suzanne Cianni in June with Paul L and John Hickey, Tim not fancying it or working. Another nice trip into Manchester on train. Dunno where we're walking this week. Should work on novel and try out new paints but doing a lot of sitting around...

Mystery Solved!

And by that I mean the mystery of my ideas and character appearing in another novel. I finally worked out who David Graham is - an author I know and very probably did indeed give permission to. I know, I know, what a fuzzy-brained idiot! Anyway, there's an acknowledgement at the back, which I finally reached. Admit I skipped over quite a few bits (and all the gay stuff) - hadn't realised he was that way inclined (actually he might not be, could just be attempting to seize the zitegeist or whatever it is). Anyway, I guess this also solves the mystery of why I had it on my Kindle, hoho. ;)

Took mum to specialist bloke who told her she's not well enough to operate on, so will have to live with her hernia. She seemed pleased that the operation was a no-no. Sun's out and I really do have a few garden chores to do, but not feeling all that great generally so it can wait. Tim came round and we had a pleasant afternoon, although somewhat curtailed by Pat being unhappy. Later we had an almost-row, which is rare. Unfortunately, I'd indulged in some variable-strength shortbread so kinda spoke my mind more than usual. Afterwards we seemed to reach some kind of uneasy truce but I guess the topic of how we spend our post-horse retirement together still needs proper resolution. 

Sunday and it was the Polypores gig, along with Preston Field Audio (I think that's the name). Tim and I had a great time, thoroughly enjoyed both sets (esp the Polyp Lyra/looper/reverb bits) then went for a Thai meal from that place that was thankfully back on form. Think I got ripped off at the Plau though - £15 for two pints! Stopped at Continental for another one on way home and all was well. Pat seemingly mellow but talking about going south for a couple of days sometime this week. I do sometimes worry that she wants me to be someone else, dearly wish I could wean her off reading the Daily Fucking Mail online. 

Monday and it's a bit rainy. I'm going to work on Tony's track today - Andy sent me the guitar parts and they're fabulous, as always. So good that I'm going to try and have a section with almost nothing else. Playing the Jonathan Bree CD that arrived yesterday - lots of cool spooky songs on first listen. Got the new Ott too but not heard any yet. OK, now I have and it's very good indeed - also it's precisely everything, every box ticked, that a lot of people will have been hoping for.

I worked on the track, managed to slot in the guitar although no idea if it totally lines up as it's free-floating audio. It sounds so nice I decided to use it twice - and for that I'll need all guitar parts (4) separately. I also want to streamline the backing as it's too cluttered and that dry percussive sound that I was filtering in Logic should be removed if I can. All down to what's in the BB and how I divided everything up. If it comes to it I'll redo the sequence from scratch. Still not convinced the tempo actually was 84BPM but I'll make a loop in Logic and confirm what it really was/is.

Wednesday and I think this track for Tony (the quiet man) is done. Working on it and making endless tweaks in Logic has reminded me I could never do what Dean does - I don't have the skills or patience to endlessly work to perfect something, hence my love of doing everything live as a performance. I doubt I'll be going back to DAW too often. My final mix doesn't sound quite as loud as it did in the studio but maybe that's OK given the title. Will play through a few times and see. Walking tomorrow...

Synthi comes home

 I'm driving up tomorrow to get the Synthi, DFAM, DRM-1 and maybe something else (sorta losing track). I want the Synthi for the special track for Tony S (provisional title the Quiet Man). Andy Boland has agreed to do some of his lyrical magic on guitar and I have a couple of places that need (i) Synthi wibbles (ii) string synth swooshes. Will wait until Andy does his bit. 

Today I did some tidying with a view to finding the MN handle - which I found almost right away in a drawer, possibly the only drawer of six I didn't look in. Ah well. 

Ah bugger, can't have all the MS20 mods I wanted as the new MS20 doesn't have much spare power for all the extra circuitry. Looks like my ring mod will have to be external and there's no capacity for the PWM pot. Arse. 

Here's a weird coincidence - reading a Kindle book by David Graham called The Screaming. I just encountered a character called Dai Williams - not an uncommon name of course - but he has a curious habit of  'zoning out' - somehing he calls (get this) hocus focus. My Dai Williams zoned out and called it bogus focus, which is strangely close. I will read on with interest...

Wednesday and I had the rather brilliant idea of putting the Blofeld in the Weird Corner - messing with processing 505 through Biscuit, some more minor tweaks to that little setup and already it's a limited but powerful array of instruments. When the MS20 comes back will be even better. Why on earth didn't Korg fit a MIDI out to the MS20? Using Keystep anyway and it's good. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cda4PJiKsLY/

So far have failed to contact David Graham, might add a message in the novel I'm currently writing to see if it gets through in whatever weird form of osmosis is going on. Got a hint today that my week alone in June will be a week puppy-minding. Hey ho. Walking tomorrow.

And now, despite it being Friday, I'm off to Longridge to take my mum to some doctor thing... hope to get some studio time tomorrow to finish off Tony Sawford's tribute track, assuming Andy gets me the guitar parts by then. Splendid!

RIP Klaus Schulze

 We did Illgill Head this week - a very long walk over drab, empty countryside. On the drive back, I was ill - and Tony had to drive while I vomited in the passenger seat (into a bag with a hole). Think it was a bug I picked up from Pat which picked a weird time to leap out at me - fortunately at the end of the walk rather than in the middle. Throughout the journey we played the music of Klaus Schulze, which Tony thought was mine, or at least he says he's definitely heard me noodle in a similar fashion. I still don't think I can properly sum up the essence of Schulze since he produced so much output, so much of it varied but, to me at least, always with that special thread of Schulzian uniqueness. His was simple music in most senses yet when he was really on form, perfect, deep, satisfying and very personal and intimate. Of all those who have influenced me, I think it was the individualism, the singular human character and the dogged pursuit of his own path that counts the most. Long form, radio-unfriendly, often unchanging and relentless, Klaus made these qualities into a kind of alchemy - it worked for him but so often defied analysis. That might be why I've struggled to pile in with any kind of meaningful tribute - the answer is in the music but never on the written page. 

Anyway, yesterday Pete came and picked up his modular case. I had forgotten removing the handle, or rather forgotten where I'd put it. I know it was hanging around for ages and I thought I put it near the case but the damn thing was elusive yesterday. Tony (the other one) has fixed/modified most of my gear so I'll go up next week and get it - particularly looking forward to getting the Synthi back with its new knobs and range switch for VCO2 (it will go even slower than VCO3 now if required). Awaiting new knobs for the DFAM as Thonk sent wrong ones - the idiot who fitted the previous lot destroyed all the shafts meaning I had to get the lot replaced. Ouch! Only the MS20 and Wasp Deluxe await work, which is fine by me - the MS20 mods might be better than Korg's as Tony is going to think about what I want and do it his way. Oh, and I had some ideas for Tony's (yet another one) tribute album and recorded some sketchy sequences on the Jupiter, Supiter, Model D and Freak. Some Schulze influences definitely leaking through - just need to get into the right frame of mind for a very long noodle over the top. And some Synthi wibbles, I mean why not?

Saturday today, hopefully a Headshock sesh but we might sit in the sun and drink beer, also good. ;)

Tim and I did a thing yesterday (Corrandula) which snaked around the BB from the bottom left corner, each of us contributing in turn, only listening to the previously-recorded cell. I then did a 20-odd min mix, Tim a more reserved half as long. It's possible that, as always, we still have that elusive third perfect mix to make - something that's been occupying my thoughts of late. I *think* that some kind of arrange window organisation is what's required for all these BB recordings - a means of laying them out in a definitive version kinda thing. Yes, I know what you're saying, a fecking DAW like Logic does this. And it may be that the obvious answer is, indeed, the answer. 

Today (Sunday) I really should work on that ANT song Don sent. Will see how I feel when I get home from mum's - also want to work on novel which I haven't touched in a week. I wonder how many times in blogs I write about things I should do? Should also look for that MN case handle.  

In the end I did a bit more on Tony's tribute and did a mix to listen to. It's getting longer but I'm no longer sure the opening sequence should be the opening but could close it, if I can add some suitable melodic stuff to complete it. We'll see. Bank Holiday today so I hope for another day of the same. Tony posted a pic of the updated DFAM - he even cleaned off the superglue I foolishly got everywhere trying to hold those broken shafts together. Given the duff stuff I've swapped (that broken MI module, JD-XA mod wheel and now the DFAM), remind me only to swap stuff very selectively in future, with people I know well.