electronic music
Starting in 2018 I began to become interested (obsessed?) in making electronic music. For years I had been listening to ambient electronic on various Internet radio stations, sometimes just having the music playing in the house 24/7. I love the head space it puts me in. Not that I became disinterested in other genres of music - far from it. It's just that I had been writing, performing and following the same old music for so long that nothing seemed new or fresh to me.
Also, in 2014 I was diagnosed with cancer in my throat. I ended up losing my left vocal nerve that controls my vocal cord on the left side, so I am only able to use my voice for talking now - no more singing. I was looking for new ways to create music, other than the singer-songwriter stuff I had been doing for so long.
Electronic music was where I ended up. I love how I can create beautiful musical soundscapes that are every bit as expressive as the words I used to write and sing. I have even been experimenting with using my voice in some of the music - not rapping, but more like spoken word poetry put to music. I like where it is taking me.
The main tools I am using right now are the Ableton Live 10 Suite, the Ableton Push 2 controller, and an AKAI Professional MPK 225 controller/keyboard, a Arturia Beatstep Pro, VCV Rack (which is a virtual Eurorack modular synth DAW,) and Bitwig Studio (I LOVE LOVE LOVE Bitwig Studio!!!!!) My synth hardware includes the Moog DFAM, Subharmonicon, and Mother32, a Berringer 2600, some additional Berringer filters, envelopes, VCAs, Sequencer and LFO, and a couple of racks of AE Modular modules by Tangible Waves. I connect everything up as a hybrid system using an Expert Sleepers ES-9 audio interface module. The laptop that I use to run everything on is a dual-boot Windows/Linux system with an dedicated NVidia graphics card, a terabyte solid state drive, and 32GB of RAM. Even though I have to use Windows in order to run Ableton, I much prefer my Linux environment for the superior performance and stability. Everything I use, except the Ableton products, runs on both platforms. My Linux operating system is the Ubuntu 20.04 (Kubuntu) release, which runs the KDE Plasma Desktop, with the Ubuntu Studio environment installed on top. This setup works wonderfully for recording due to the Linux low latency kernel, and the flexible Jack Audio Connection Kit which allows me to route MIDI and audio between multiple software applications and hardware.
Other interests I have that relate to electronic music are that I like to "Live Code" music using Tidal Cycles, FoxDot, Sonic PI and SuperCollider. If you're not familiar with this type of music or performance, Google or search YouTube for the terms "Live Coding" or "Algorave" (or any of the live coding softwares I just mentioned.
I am also very interested in, and am learning how to create music using the graphical music coding software PureData and Max for Live.
Lastly, I'm learning (slowly but surely) C++ and currently working on a very basic virtual synth plugin that I can use in my DAW, using the C++ with the JUCE framework.
Lastly, lastly, I am about to try soldering my very first DIY module based on a design I found online. The person who designed it very generously filmed a YouTube video of how to make it, and provided a parts list and circuit diagram. Its only a simple oscillator module, but I'm excited to try and make it.
I hope you enjoy my music. Please feel free to reach out if you'd like to collaborate or just want to talk shop.
- Jeff
Also, in 2014 I was diagnosed with cancer in my throat. I ended up losing my left vocal nerve that controls my vocal cord on the left side, so I am only able to use my voice for talking now - no more singing. I was looking for new ways to create music, other than the singer-songwriter stuff I had been doing for so long.
Electronic music was where I ended up. I love how I can create beautiful musical soundscapes that are every bit as expressive as the words I used to write and sing. I have even been experimenting with using my voice in some of the music - not rapping, but more like spoken word poetry put to music. I like where it is taking me.
The main tools I am using right now are the Ableton Live 10 Suite, the Ableton Push 2 controller, and an AKAI Professional MPK 225 controller/keyboard, a Arturia Beatstep Pro, VCV Rack (which is a virtual Eurorack modular synth DAW,) and Bitwig Studio (I LOVE LOVE LOVE Bitwig Studio!!!!!) My synth hardware includes the Moog DFAM, Subharmonicon, and Mother32, a Berringer 2600, some additional Berringer filters, envelopes, VCAs, Sequencer and LFO, and a couple of racks of AE Modular modules by Tangible Waves. I connect everything up as a hybrid system using an Expert Sleepers ES-9 audio interface module. The laptop that I use to run everything on is a dual-boot Windows/Linux system with an dedicated NVidia graphics card, a terabyte solid state drive, and 32GB of RAM. Even though I have to use Windows in order to run Ableton, I much prefer my Linux environment for the superior performance and stability. Everything I use, except the Ableton products, runs on both platforms. My Linux operating system is the Ubuntu 20.04 (Kubuntu) release, which runs the KDE Plasma Desktop, with the Ubuntu Studio environment installed on top. This setup works wonderfully for recording due to the Linux low latency kernel, and the flexible Jack Audio Connection Kit which allows me to route MIDI and audio between multiple software applications and hardware.
Other interests I have that relate to electronic music are that I like to "Live Code" music using Tidal Cycles, FoxDot, Sonic PI and SuperCollider. If you're not familiar with this type of music or performance, Google or search YouTube for the terms "Live Coding" or "Algorave" (or any of the live coding softwares I just mentioned.
I am also very interested in, and am learning how to create music using the graphical music coding software PureData and Max for Live.
Lastly, I'm learning (slowly but surely) C++ and currently working on a very basic virtual synth plugin that I can use in my DAW, using the C++ with the JUCE framework.
Lastly, lastly, I am about to try soldering my very first DIY module based on a design I found online. The person who designed it very generously filmed a YouTube video of how to make it, and provided a parts list and circuit diagram. Its only a simple oscillator module, but I'm excited to try and make it.
I hope you enjoy my music. Please feel free to reach out if you'd like to collaborate or just want to talk shop.
- Jeff
