Bank Holiday (apparently)

And also our 28th wedding anniversary and my mum's 76th birthday. Perhaps I'll remember this weekend best for the Headshock session on Saturday in which we started late and without direction and accidentally stumbled onto 30 mins of ultra-cool music.

It turns out that to use the modular with our stuff isn't going to be too easy because of the time it takes to set anything up and break it down. I resorted to capturing sections in the looper, which worked very well. Also enjoyed giving the Microgranny 2 another good workout and of course the Synthi never disappoints. Freaky and avante garde were the results with Tim really enjoying the new Roland stuff.

Oh, last weekend's gig was OK actually. Considering it was totally off the cuff, it only started to feel limp towards the end when I started to wonder what time it was, how much I should still do.
Here's the raw link. Yes, everyone spells my name wrong...

What else? Well, I still have lots of work to do but am having a nice relaxed weekend in which I'll even do some gardening. Took some photos Saturday morning and Mr Picko introduced me to Luminance HDR...

Quite impressive results, probably wouldn't use it all the time but it sure makes an average photo look good.

The sun is still shining!

Concrete

Gig tomorrow in Preston, will set up to see what the minimum might be. Not taking sh-101 I think, just the blofeld and sampler to play, have A4 and drum machine too which is more than enough.

Part of an idea in its early stages
https://soundcloud.com/smokyfrog/bloink

So I know what I'm going to do, which is keep it simple - one long track, 30 mins long, can do another of 10 mins or so if need to fill 40 mins.
The MIcrogranny 2 is spectacular. For disturbing vocal loops and random voice nonsense it's gonna be brill, combining with the rc-505, its input adding a bit of reverb, sorry mental notes spilling out. Gig will be:
Blofeld through DD-20
Analog Four
Electribe Sampler
Microgranny 2
Roland RC-505 (on send so Blofeld and Microgranny 2 can be captured. Well, everything. Could do with mixer with alt sends but little Alesis is small and works...

UV it loves

I'm either a pioneer or a stubborn survivor ;)

Real Synthesizers

And by that I mean the kind of synthesizers you associate with making new sounds - sounds you've genuinely never heard before. Yes, that's what I think put eurorack where it is today. It's way more than the old 'patched out Minimoog' idea thanks to the diversity and sheer quality of its modules.
I've done tricks with just two modules recently that have actually got me excited.

So anyway, I bought some new modules including the special edition Wasp filter. I'll have to stop soon as I may be out of cash.

And they're really doing it, remaking the Minimoog Model D, as they always should have done. So much for my 'instrument as investment' idea. Still happy I've got one though.

Sonic Weekend

Yay, survived another. For me the best yet. Hadn't been looking forward to it - long drive, time away, work to do etc. etc. but in the end the atmosphere was brilliant, the place spacious and the music really turned me on this time. We were lucky in being able to set up a Dronespace which was presided over by the genial recording maester Scott. Basically we hardly left. Whatsmore, the drones we did were good - real good. I've droned by myself of course but this was different, better, much better. We all added our bits and the thing moved, evolved and just filled the time without any sense of urgency. Even a very stoned and shroomy string interlude from yours truly kinda worked, although the random chords slightly after showed just how far gone into Shroomland I was.
Great seeing everyone again, the main recordings were fab (I think I was on one) and actually more in focus than ever before. Lots of love to Marc and Ann for their awesomeness.

I could go on, but this ain't really a diary and there's not too much value in recording the weirdies of satnav driving in Wales, the case of the broken lamp, the reality shifts, the early Toyah, the halving of Darth Vader and the reed crosses. It wouldn't make sense to even try.

I agreed to do a gig this month. I bought a new module and spotted another I want.
Today I contacted lots of modular people, sampled some 70s porn on an 8-bit sampler, threw grapes at magpies. Then I hung some CDs on the line as that's meant to intimidate them. I'm told mothballs are good too as it a high-powered water pistol. So that's my life!

Oh and boys and girls, if you're reading this and prize your teeth, get an electric toothbrush.

And afterwards
https://paulnagle.bandcamp.com/track/ode-to-granny-o

The Bukowski stops here

Charles Bukowski serves the same purpose as punk rock, or myself doing karaoke.
His 'purpose' could be to remind any budding artist that talent isn't everything, and hey, chin up, keep at it because grey people can be feted too. It's a comfort, isn't it boys and girls? I based this sudden insight on one book of 'poems', bought for reasons I cannot recall, but which, after a quick skim, seems to make my own feeble limericks appear, well, fractionally less feeble. In my opinion, ephemeral though that is.

So today has mostly been Monday. I booked tickets for Hawkwind, or rather Tony did, then I discovered Tim Blake has left the band, which was probably the only reason I was going. Well, apart from Tony asking. And it being a Monday, the gig, as well as today.

I read some more today. Bukowski, that is. Today being Thursday. It's pretentious twaddle of exactly the type beloved of that Other Worlds festival I attended in Blackpool. That said, get stoned and it's tolerable. Some of it. I really think so. I could probably knock some up.

Twaddle
Widdle, waddle, woddle
Hamster, how do you
do
what you do
the noo
no don't rhyme
just
toss
off
toss it off
and think of Selina Scott
not the other guy
jumpers, bumpers and terminal slumpers
obviously.
An orange or unruly hedgerow
Twaddle
I know
Some point or other


For April
the sun was bright today
for April
the clothes were white today
but I'm not going down that road
self-aware
Red Adaire
the little mouse
on the stair
but I'm not going down that road
except I'm on it,
been on it
on and on it
I know how this goes
but I'm not going down that road
the sun was bright today
for April.


If only I was 13 again,
it would all
make
sense
recurring dreams
stringent creams
Buko doesn't rhyme
which makes
him
smarter
than
what's with the random new line
thing
me
anyway?

Friday morning now, I've a load of writing to do so let's hope the day isn't too pleasant. Fuck that, sun you're most welcome!

Excellent day (Friday). Worked on novel and two review things came in, played with one and it's very cool. Started some arrangement on new hs track, needs editing down and maybe some overdubs.
https://soundcloud.com/smokyfrog/mofoblitz

Wondering what the odds are I'll make Clit hero tonight to see Dreadzone. Series 5 GoT awaits.

Been North, came back

Yes, I actually left the house for a few days to go visit Sequentix HQ and eat lots of curry. I should go out more often to try and clear the fog and tar from my brain, not that my brain shines too brightly in the light of two such powerful intellects. But hey!

Got my Eventide pedals done - turned out to be more work than expected as the ribbons needed de-soldering. Hopefully they'll be OK now and I can sell the Pitchfactor, since I rarely use it.

PRS came in - not bad too. As well as the usual Ch5 weirdo and psycho stuff there was a decent payment for BBC1 primetime. Yes, Crimewatch. I should have guessed. Anyway, in the position to treat myself to something, just no particular idea which something. Will see if owt fun turns up for review or perhaps just buy more euro, although I seem to have enough given how rarely I touch it. Colin's Synthi double clone sounded awesome, so perhaps I'll get mine some upgrades.

Live album sold pretty well (for me) so doing the obvious stuff appeals to people - who'd have guessed?

This morning I sent in a review so will have a day taking it easy. Need some new walking boots so perhaps a trip out is in order. Wotta life!

Live album done

I'd planned to release the whole gig but in the end, there were sections where I went off the boil. So this is most of the gig plus a bunch of bonus studio stuff woven seamlessly in. Well, only one of the studio tracks is 'arranged', the other two are still played live so I think it works as a thing. It was helped to sound sweeter by Andy Pickford's sympathetic mastering and of course none of it could have happened without Phil Booth. I feel like some chump at an awards ceremony blabbering on. Anyway, it's here

https://paulnagle.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-l-dopa

I'm uploading with Distrokid too but that's turned out quite disappointing. It transpires you have NO control over album pricing unless your albums have tracks less than 10 mins each. So I've priced each track as low as Distrokid will allow and put the lowest album price too ($2.99) to see what happens.

Been a fairly busy few days, tidying up one outstanding review (awaiting bug fixes and a new feature) and getting stuck in with the current one. I may go see Colin next week so he can gloat about having Florian Schneider buy him a beer at Superbooth, rubbing it in that I should have gone. I should, I know. Will see how work goes before I decide about the trip.