run! hide! more terrible moognase music!

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martin
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run! hide! more terrible moognase music!

Post by martin » Fri Jul 27, 2007 7:13 pm

hello, moog friends,

in case anybody likes the moog sound of yesteryear, i put up some new songs i made with my prodigy.

click here -> http://www.moognase.com

they kind of describe my impressions of a few weeks' stay in iceland, a fun and amazing place full of sulphuric steam, excellent fish, vikings, crazy cars and moon-like landscapes.

icelandic coins have pictures of fish on them. this has nothing to do with anything, but i thought i'd mention it anyway, just in case anyone was wondering how icelandic money looks like.

anyway, please kick back and enjoy the fish...

martin

:wink:

earsmack
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Post by earsmack » Sat Jul 28, 2007 8:10 am

Martin,

Just downloaded all of them (as I've done in the past) and as I start to listen I realize I have put you in the category of "I'll listen/buy to whatever he puts out"...there are not many artists that fall into this category for me. So the point is - great work - as always! keep it up!
Minimoog Voyager Performer Edition + LP Stage II + Sub37 + Model D reissue + CP-251 + VX-351

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till
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Post by till » Sun Jul 29, 2007 5:07 am

Yes, Island is something very special. It feels like you are on a different planet there. Black sand at the "beaches". Colourful mountains. Hot lakes surrounded by glaciers. And no sign of humans if you are off the tourist's routes.

I was inspired too to do some tracks when I came home from my Island trip in summer 1987. And yes, I own a Moog Prodigy for more then 25 years.

I got 74 track of Martin here.
And these are again very special.
keep on turning these Moog knobs

Sequence:
Prodigy * minimoog '79 * Voyager * MF102 * MF103 * MF104z * MP201 * Taurus 3 * Minitaur * Sub Phatty * MF105 * Minimoog 2017+ MUSE * One 16

martin
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Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2004 1:39 pm

Post by martin » Mon Jul 30, 2007 1:42 am

thanks for listening!
74 track
aaargh, already? about time i should go on a holiday already!

:wink:

till, have you got those tracks online anywhere?

martin

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till
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Post by till » Mon Jul 30, 2007 11:23 am

martin wrote:till, have you got those tracks online anywhere?
No. it would be illegal and not fair to do so. But if you missing some of your own songs, please contact me: ***@***
Last edited by till on Wed Aug 01, 2007 3:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
keep on turning these Moog knobs

Sequence:
Prodigy * minimoog '79 * Voyager * MF102 * MF103 * MF104z * MP201 * Taurus 3 * Minitaur * Sub Phatty * MF105 * Minimoog 2017+ MUSE * One 16

martin
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Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2004 1:39 pm

Post by martin » Mon Jul 30, 2007 12:02 pm

hehe, i was referring to your own ones. i keep good track of my schlepp!

but thanks!

:wink:

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till
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Post by till » Wed Aug 01, 2007 3:13 pm

Martin, I got some of my music here:
http://qwave.de
and here:
http://el-ka.synthmusic.info/index_en.php
keep on turning these Moog knobs

Sequence:
Prodigy * minimoog '79 * Voyager * MF102 * MF103 * MF104z * MP201 * Taurus 3 * Minitaur * Sub Phatty * MF105 * Minimoog 2017+ MUSE * One 16

PHC
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Post by PHC » Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:53 am

Nice tracks martin. Iceland must be a weird place, have to check it out sometime ;-)

Can you share some tips on creating this flute-like sound that comes in near the end of Alftavatn?

martin
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Post by martin » Fri Aug 03, 2007 2:28 pm

thanks for listening!

:D

@PHC

the flute-like sound is made like this:

- 1 oscillator with a square wave pitched high
- some subtle vibrato
- filter about 3/4 open, with variations during playing
- no resonance
- a good helping of portamento (glide)
- soft attack time
- soft release time
- sustain 100%

@till,

very nice music, till! exceptional!
i love the old-school electronics you play. the music is impressive and fun to listen to.

martin

earsmack
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Post by earsmack » Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:46 pm

Hey martin,

How about a little info on how you record this stuff (assuming you haven't already spilled those beans?)

What software? How do you track it? Do you just play one track a time? Is it all improvised? Do you write any of this out? Walk us through the process if you might.

Thanks!
Minimoog Voyager Performer Edition + LP Stage II + Sub37 + Model D reissue + CP-251 + VX-351

martin
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Post by martin » Sat Aug 04, 2007 5:58 am

sure, no problem!

i think i'd start by first fiddling around to find a good backing, based on the way i'd be feeling that day.

the backing could either be a drone with some harmonics or a sequence. then i'd add effects to that. then some bass, usually 2 bass sounds. one left, one right. if it's only one bass sound, that one goes in the center.

i use a yamaha qy70 for sequencing, syncing with the korg multitracker.

while the drone or sequence is playing, i sing something that fits the feeling. i then play the melody i was just singing. i sing bass, melody and effects voices.

the melody is usually based on traditional modes, or something i made up.

then, if applicable come the effects voices, which i prepare by voicing or singing them.

the latter is fun, like making zap or wind noises. the idea behind the voicing is that you get an idea of what sounds good and feels attached to the tracks already present. sometimes it takes a bunch of takes to fine-tune it. that takes a lot of practice! be warned...

then i'd record that voice with the moog. my singing is just kind of 'placeholder'. i never record my real singing - the technique works great because singing means that you feel very honestly what you sing. am i making sense? when singing, i memorize the melodies until i'm ready to record, and the moog is properly warmed up.

then i add some effects, usually a bit of reverb or echo.

sometimes i will jam more or less aimlessly on my kantele or the moog. (you can listen to a short experimental jam under "work in progress" on my site).

after the aimlessness, i usually come up with something usable, and then i play it on a multitracker, the very reliable and user-friendly korg d3200, which, by the way, has wooden sides!

in the process, i like to leave some space for surprises (and i'm lazy), so that means i don't compose every note. a lot of it is 'planned improvisation', meaning that you have a melody (or a mode) in mind, but can meander and variate, kind of like a comedian will adjust a routine to an audience. similar to that, any melody can either bomb, hit spot-on, or even go way better than planned!

at the end i transfer my files into audacity, trim here, cut there and normalize, like a barber. some fade-ins or outs and silencing of intros or silent passages etc. takes place. that's it!

the whole thing can take between an hour and four, after which i stop and do something else.

:wink:

martin

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hieronymous
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Post by hieronymous » Sat Aug 04, 2007 5:25 pm

Thanks Martin - it's always nice to hear an artist talk about the creative process.

Do you ever have days when no matter what you do nothing good comes out of it?

earsmack
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Post by earsmack » Sat Aug 04, 2007 8:22 pm

Thanks Martin...good explanation. I agree with hieronymous.

And all your Moog stuff is a Prodigy, huh? For some reason I assumed Voyager.
Minimoog Voyager Performer Edition + LP Stage II + Sub37 + Model D reissue + CP-251 + VX-351

martin
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Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2004 1:39 pm

Post by martin » Sun Aug 05, 2007 2:43 am

Do you ever have days when no matter what you do nothing good comes out of it?
yes, of course. when i'm sick, really tired, or when it's tax time.

yes, all of it's prodigy. i used to own a voyager though.

with a brand new voyager you get a lot less tuning issues. it sounded 'cleaner' to me, but had less of the strange je-ne-sais-quoi that the prodigy has. i don't know what it is. i tend to call it 'color'.

i'm pretty sure you can achieve similar results on a little phatty, too. to me, they all sound a little bit different. my prodigy's sound has a lot of character, and it is just so easy to use. it's a true fish & chips synth!

martin

Ghost
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Post by Ghost » Thu Aug 09, 2007 8:32 pm

Wow, this music is really beautiful, i'm not really sure what else to say! Very emotional and uplifting sounds.

I am new to the synth world, just got myself a LP 2 months ago (i come from guitar/bass background), and the little bit of surreal magic you have in your music is exactly what seduced me about the analog synths.

You can't help but let your mind wander when you listen to these songs, really great work.

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