“The Trembling Ground” – The Sound of Seismicity

Track 3 on "Time Shift" The lyrics of this track are self-explanatory, even for someone who has never been on a mine site. When I wrote it, the lyrics were the easy parts. Expressing the ideas in music was a different challenge altogether. This is how I did it: I expressed the feeling of going … Continue reading “The Trembling Ground” – The Sound of Seismicity

First track on “Time Shift” album: “Groove was in the House”

I've just published the first track on my new album, "Time Shift". The album is the result of a little walk down memory lane in 2022, particularly just before Christmas, remembering the standout things in my former life in South Africa: the local music scene, the wildlife, the wide-open spaces, the sounds that you only … Continue reading First track on “Time Shift” album: “Groove was in the House”

The Most difficult and the Best Result – “Exquisite Machine”

Track 8 of 9 on the album "Painting Music" took major effort. It was the most difficult track on this album and the one of which I'm proudest. I started it on Sept 9, 2022 and finished it on Oct. 6, 2022 - 4 weeks of working on it every day, all day. Doing this … Continue reading The Most difficult and the Best Result – “Exquisite Machine”

Becoming more machine-like: Hirajōshi & Sky – Chris Perry Mix

This track, just released on SoundCloud, is Track 7 of 9 on the album Painting Music. It's a new mix of one of the songs on the album. The song started with two types of sound recordings: the first was made on the “Sky” canvas of Google's experimental “Paint with Music” platform, which is in … Continue reading Becoming more machine-like: Hirajōshi & Sky – Chris Perry Mix

Track 6 on “Painting Music” – “Busted Piano”

Busted Piano is the result of playing around on the Plink platform, and in the video you can see the visualization used on the platform - a moving line, waveform of little blobs. I chose a particularly whiny, mechanical sounding synth for an instrument on Plink. To my ears, it sounded like a badly maintained … Continue reading Track 6 on “Painting Music” – “Busted Piano”

Techno with a Twist – The Making of “Appleblossom Blink”

Track 5 on "Painting Music" - How it was made The melody for Appleblossom Blink started as experiments on “Plink” and “Paint with Music – Paper”, both web audio sound generation platforms. While the "Paper" version of the sounds on "Paint with Musics" are pleasant, the range is quite limited. I therefore created another few … Continue reading Techno with a Twist – The Making of “Appleblossom Blink”

“Swagger & Swing” – Track 4 on “Painting Music

The melody of Swagger & Swing started as notes on the fourth option on the “Paint with Music” platform, the “Street” canvas, which looks like a granite wall or pavement (shown below). This canvas has a more atonal sound than the others, and includes effects like scratching and hissing, which give a more grunge-like effect. I … Continue reading “Swagger & Swing” – Track 4 on “Painting Music

“Water Music” – waves, whale sounds and melancholy wind

Track 3 on "Painting Music" Water Music This track has nothing to do with the 1717 Water Music Suites by George Frideric Handel, though when I chose the name I might have dredged up a memory of it, since it is one of my favourite classical music compositions. I could not resist having some fun … Continue reading “Water Music” – waves, whale sounds and melancholy wind

Track 1 on “Painting Music”: “Hirajōshi & Sky – Luke Garfield Mix”

Cōdae · Hirajoshi and Sky - Luke Garfield Mix (Above: Track #1 on "Painting Music" - "Hirajōshi & Sky - Luke Garfield Mix" Luke Garfield, Sound Engineer, Banana Llama Studios) All the songs in this collection contain small clips or samples of machine-generated musical notes. I used online platforms that produce both sounds and visuals … Continue reading Track 1 on “Painting Music”: “Hirajōshi & Sky – Luke Garfield Mix”