Introducing Kolyder's Synaesthetic Explorations video series
A series of videos mixing improvised live-looping performances and visual effects.
Hello,
This newsletter edition will be all about a new series of videos I’m starting with my ambient project K⏣LYDER, called “Synaesthetic Explorations”.
As the name implies, Synaesthetic Explorations will show me performing improvised live-looping soundscapes on visually augmented videos.
A new video will be released every week on YouTube, on Sundays.
This strings of videos will document my journey, from being a total noob at making videos to, hopefully, finding a way to get satisfying results that don’t take an insane amount of time.
The first one was released earlier, today and I’ve set up video 2 & 3 as premiere, so you can go click that “notify me” button to receive a message when they are available (subscribing to the channel might even be a better option !).
SynExp Series 1 / Variation 1 (already available):
SynExp Series 1 / Variation 2 (available in 1 week):
SynExp Series 1 / Variation 3 (available in 2 weeks):
How will this work ?
The videos will be made and released in series. And each series will contain several videos, several “variations”.
A single series will be made with the exact same rig: same instruments & sounds, same live-looping rig and same type of video FXs and software…. but, because every performance is 100% improvised, each “variations” will tell a different story.
A bit like siblings, the variations of the same series will share the same DNA material but will develop in different ways.
Once all the videos from the same series are released, the audio versions of that series will be available on Bandcamp as an EP.
I will only send a newsletter at the start of a new series, hence why it’s important that you either subscribe to K⏣LYDER’s YouTube Channel or click that Notify Me button !
In those newsletters, I’ll add details about the technical aspects and reflect about how it went.
A few words about Series 1:
For this series, I’m using VST plugins instruments as sound sources and the SOMA Laboratory Cosmos alongside the Glou-Glou Loupé as loopers. Everything is routed and mixed through Ableton Live.
One important thing to note about this looping setup is that, because the Cosmos can’t be synchronised externally, I have to do this by ear, which is never 100% accurate. It means I have to be creative and find ways to use one looper for musical phrases while the other is taking care of more textural stuff.
Using VSTs as instruments requires a lot of preparation: I have to choose each sound (I’m using 7 different ones in this series) and make sure they are well balanced. And once this is done, I’m pretty much stuck with those sounds. It’s very different than using a guitar for example, that I can use in different ways just by changing my playing technique, or change its sound by switching a pedal on. Not the case here: 1 Vst plugin = 1 sound = 1 purpose.
I like to be able to access any sound but I don’t really like the restriction in freedom it implies.
The video of this series (especially the very 1st one) are very raw. I just used a colored LED desktop lamp and another light meant for videos. Definitely not the best lighting !
For the video effects I used EboSuite, which is a software running Max/Msp, that allows to make videos within Ableton Live. It’s really cool, been using it for years… but it tends to give the same type of results after a while.
I’ll definitely focus on getting the video aspect better on the next series, both in terms of capture and effects.
What’s the ideas behind all of this ?
When I’ve played gigs, many people who knew my music on records told me that seeing me play live made much more sense, that actually seeing me doing it helped them get what i’m doing in ways that sound-only recordings couldn’t. So in 2023, when everybody is making videos, it was high time for me get onboard.
I didn’t want to make the “gear focused” kind of videos you see everywhere on YouTube. This would probably help with getting some views but I don’t really want this to be about “things” and I don’t want to fire up the analytic brain of the viewers, since the goal of the music is pretty much the opposite.
The whole idea is to find a way to get close to watching me perform on stage: you’d see me doing things while not being 100% able to get what I’m doing.. this balance in between seeing and not seeing is where the magic lies.
It’s not an easy task because you can’t reproduce the mood, the energy of a venue online.. but we’ll see if we can get some virtual equivalent.
The other reason I’m doing this is to explore and expand my live-looping set of tools and techniques. These performance will be a way for me to try out different loopers and different ways to have them work together. I’ll also be using different instruments: other than the sounds, the type of instruments often influence what I can and can’t do performance wise, they also can shift my mindset a lot.
It’ll be great to be able to reflect and make comparison to get a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.
I could do those experiments by myself but I’d rather do them publicly so I can get your feedback. I also often receive messages asking me about my process, and it’s often hard to give a straight and short answer since everything: the gear, the techniques, the instruments, the mindset and mood I’m in, work together in the creation of these soundscapes.
Hopefully, those Synaesthetic Explorations, and the reflections I’ll share in this newsletter will address that in a more satisfying manner.
Whether you’re interested in the creative/technical aspect of this or not, I hope you will enjoy the journey !
See you in about 3 weeks.
PS: I received this a few days ago… it will take a bit of time before it becomes an integral part of my music process, but it certainly will. Then, I’ll tell you more about it. ;)
