Innovative sounds & recording methods

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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Martin Walker »

Ian Shaw wrote:Hi All
This post has prompted me to hastily put up a Bandcamp site featuring my more experimental stuff, as, like others, I have no work at the moment.
So far I have put up one track that was made entirely from photo & image files from various places.More to follow. Here it is if anyone is interested:

https://shadowofmyformerself.bandcamp.com/releases

Oh, lovely inventive work Ian - it's a treat to hear some 'different' yet 'musical' sounds in experimental work, rather than an industrial cacophony. I suspect this also makes it easier to dance to ;)

Martin
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Ian Shaw »

Thanks Martin,

I have to say that working with dancers led to the most inspiring times I've had. They are so open to anything you give them as long as they have plenty of audio cues to work with.

I've put up a couple more pieces now

All the best

Ian
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Martin Walker »

Unique Circle Guitar equipped with a spinning disc for picks

Now here's a novel idea that actually worked out well:

Image

"Musician Anthony Dickens has created a unique guitar equipped with a mechanical step sequencer allowing it to create a wide variety of different sounds, textures and rhythms that would be impossible on a conventional electric guitar.

Thanks to a motor-driven spinning disc in the body of the guitar, rotating at up to 250 beats-per-minute under the strings. The guitar has 128 slots for guitar picks to be placed in, and these strike the strings instead of a player’s pick hand. To add even more scope to the music, the force the picks strike the strings can be set by the musician."

Now click here to see it and hear it in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dtrvc6 ... e=emb_logo

Martin
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Drew Stephenson »

Fascinating device. Now if someone could just automate the left hand as well I could get the hang of this guitar thing...
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Martin Walker »

Watch Simone Giertz building a Musical Instrument out Of Teeth

Image

This one is a bit weird, even for me, and Simon's project goal gets a little morphed en route as well, but hey it's still lots of fun, AND it uses the dadamachines Automat! 8-)

It's also well worth a watch if only to hear a large theatre audience clacking their teeth rather than clapping their hands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83yXCMH ... e=emb_logo

Martin
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Martin Walker »

ELECTRONICOS FANTASTICOS! 電磁祭囃子 in NEO TOKYO 2020

Well things don't get much more innovative than this crew!
tokyo.jpg
Now click here to experience the full majesty and madness:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0VYsiMtrNE

Here's the full lineup:

Ei Wada - CRTelecaster
Maiko Aoyama - TV Drums
Akira Ataka - Barcoder
Manami Tada - Emergency Beller
Rika Kawashima - Telelele
Sampei Yamaguchi - TV O-daiko
Etsuko Ichihara - TV O-daiko
Sonosuke Yamamoto - Electric Fan Harp
Kitsu Kaori - Vocal


And thanks to ManFromGlass (Eric) for bringing this one to my attention!

Martin
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Drew Stephenson »

Brilliantly nuts!
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Drew Stephenson »

I've seen similar things before but I don't think this has been shared here already:
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/01/ ... 35f46e0b0b
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Martin Walker »

Brilliant! 8-)
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Arpangel »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=471gwai3yaM

Another great video from Hainbach, shows how tape is still the best when changing playback speeds, you get a solidity with tape, and no digital artefacts, and it sounds great with slowed down effects.
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Martin Walker »

IMITATING A XYLOPHONE

"A man who can imitate a xylophone with his bare hands demonstrates the machine that allows him to do it faster."

xylophone.jpg
Here's a novel and rather fun instrument based on specific human voice enhancement.

The video is only 1:07 in length, so don't worry too much about the awkward delivery of the initial description by someone from the black & white film era who is obviously 'unaccustomed to public speaking'. It's worth persevering, if only to hear his statement "I was in a backyard entertaining a friend with my hands" :D

Click here to view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjABuQslkqs

Martin

(Thanks to Eric/ManFromGlass for bringing this one to my attention)
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Drew Stephenson »

I still can't work out what he's actually doing?
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by n o i s e f l e ur »

He's using his mouth as a resonant cavity - try it yourself by tapping on your teeth and opening your mouth to different "shapes".

You can even try this in the backyard with a friend . . . :p
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Drew Stephenson »

I was sitting there doing that last night thinking 'thank God I haven't got my webcam plugged in!' :)
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by ManFromGlass »

That’s why you need “a friend” perhaps
:think:
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by N i g e l »

Zil-o-phone / zye-lo-phone, that could be the big debate for 2021 !
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by N i g e l »

"Yesterday" film was on the TV tonight. Nice film to watch again but this time I picked up on the recording of claps .

For variation I do palm 2 palm, palm to fingers, fingers to fingers but i just didnt think about the marigolds......

film clip : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NpMwpgHmA8

Image
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Drew Stephenson »

I don't think I've seen this one posted before: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/08/ ... 35f46e0b0b
tape drums
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by ManFromGlass »

Nice one, Drew! Brings back memories of the exploratory days of university. Never thought of using drumsticks though.
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Martin Walker »

Wow - well spotted Drew!

That's a great setup capable of totally unique sounds 8-)

Martin
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by N i g e l »

Good sounds, put me in a Duck Rock & Buffalo Gals mindset

Cons: set up cost & maintainance
Pros: responsive, easy to play from stave :)
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by YashN »

This could have been mentioned because I haven't read the whole thread, only caught up with some more recent posts:

1. Hal Chamberlin mentioned using Kurzweil's flagship rack multi-effects, the KSP-8 as a synthesizer - not thinking of it nor using it as an effects on AUX Send, but rather as a Sound Source itself. He says this harkens back to how sounds synthesis was before Moog and Wendy Carlos.

2. Using a Mixer as a Sound Source, much like the above, via feedback of its own internal noise.

The common thing between these two is feedback, except KSP-8 also has some algorithms with internal feedback paths, which you can combine with the external path if you want.

Incidentally, that kind of feature was released for the Kurzweil K2500 end of last Century, encompassing V.A.S.T. in the processing path (using KDFX or not). It's just many people don't know about it. That same feature can be abused to build a huge combination of new algorithms with various methods of flexible routings, with feedback (or not) - that one, noone else knows about.
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Martin Walker »

Great post YashN, and as far as I remember I don't think we've covered self-feedback as a form of synthesis in this thread.

I actually made a purchase several years ago with just such a process in mind - the Jomox T-Resonator II, which incorporates various feedback paths for self-generated sounds - here's a short video of this in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0BXMVEhJso

I recorded a lot of its self-generated sounds in one mammoth session and then featured loads of them in this prog-ish track:

https://yewtreemagic.bandcamp.com/track/back-2-back

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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Folderol »

Very VERY many moons ago I did an experiment with a pair of coils in close proximity to a steel reed. One coil was driven by a small audio amp (valve in those days) and the other coil fed the amp's input. Changing the drive, moving the coils and touching the reed with various items gave some fun results. The most interesting were with the amp just slightly overdriving itself.
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Re: Innovative sounds & recording methods

Post by Rene Asologuitar »

gryfyx wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:16 am Few innovative sounds that I've recorded

1. I bought an (ab)used and damaged midi synth. It gives me some very weird noises to record and edit. Its very unpredictable.

2. It had only been few minutes since a massive rain, ambiance was still wet, I carried a hand held sound recorder(Roland) and sat on a wet highway sidewalk, late at night, and I got some beautiful effects of cars whooshing by.

3. Hit the basketball on the solid tiled ground - record it - do the required filter tweaking and get a unique analog kick(Can try other balls and other flooring for better aural response).

4. I once stood on a rail bridge and recorded the passing train(I was dangerously close to the train, hence I'll not recommend this). Anyhow, I ended up not using it anywhere. It wasnt that good.

5. Place a table fan(run it on slow speed)between source of sound(Voice is recommended) and mic(Large diaphragm mic), get a very interesting stutter.

6. Try speaking anything and record it(Can, actually, take any voice. But it must be spoken one, not a sung one.) - take another track of synth melody - place sidechain compressor over synth melody - define vocal recording as the source for the sidechaining - put some subtle(Very subtle) automation on synth filter cutoff - keep resonance low(Not very low) - set the gain accordingly - and finally let the voice modulate synth sound - synth will start trying to say something. Loud and clear vocals will help.

7. Deep Fry something on the pan - and record the noise - get a nice warm sound effect of rain - pass the recording through some effects like reverb(But very subtle. I repeat, very subtle).

Note:- Let the reverb always be a mushy Utopian gadget for 'Enya' like aliens. Less of it is better, but remember less doesnt mean inaudible.

8. Light a match - record it upclose - trim the middle portion of the sample - shape it into a sustain loop - put no effect at all - no compressor even - although, can use filter to take care of few anomalies like background hiss or any click or glitch - turn the level absolutely down - try mixing this sustain loop into any track or song by bringing up the level - raise the level very carefully so that loop is barely audible - and soon fade back in - and continue fiddling level whenever feel required.

9. I once recorded my fart. Never used it though.

10. And snores.

~How about you? ;)

*****************************
Truly innovative methods.
I am sure there's plenty more to record.
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