The 4th series of Synaesthetic Explorations is on... and it's a huge step up !
+ The Series 3 EP is now available & contains a bonus track
Hello,
I hope your summer went well and, if you were on holiday, that getting back to school or work isn’t too hard !
September will be a busy month here, and I’ll have plenty of new music to share with you (Some Arkanist releases are in the pipeline..).
Let’s begin right away with the…
Synaesthetic Explorations Series 3 EP:
It’s now available and includes a 4th Variation that didn’t make it on video. It’s a pretty crazy one that really steers away from ambient. I’d say it kind of sounds like a mix of beatless IDM and free jazz maybe ?
Synaesthetic Explorations Series is here:
As for the previous series, only the 1st video is watchable right away, the next are set as premiere so you can set a reminder and get notified as soon as they are actually available.
A lot of changes are happening with the series 4:
On the audio front, on top of using VST instruments as sound sources, I’m using my own voice. I’ve sung a lot in a song-oriented context in the past but rarely on my ambient stuff. It’s something I want to do a lot more in the future and develop a way to use vocals by mixing traditional singing, techniques used by beatboxers and using effects.
Also, the 2 loopers I’ve used on the previous series (SOMA Cosmos + Glou-Glou Loupé) are joined by Fluss, a granular sampler in the form of an iPad app that was developed for YouTube experimental music star Hainbach.
The way I’m using Fluss here is by collecting bits of my vocals into the app so I can use a granularised version later in the track, thus using it a bit like a sonic time machine. You will hear this in the most obvious way at the end of Variation 3, which ends mainly with pads created with those granular vocals and my live vocals.
I’m also using other apps to treat my voice, and an Electro-Harmonix Super-Ego, which is a pedal that “freezes” (= creates a static sound) the sound coming into it. The result sounds like beds of ghostly voices that work very well in ambient music. The eeriness is reinforced by the fact that the sound is only coming out once I’ve pressed the “freeze” switch, so you’ll see me sing without the sound coming out a few second later.. which looks a bit really strange.
The video side has improved too thanks to me getting some lights and learning more about lighting.
I’ve also got to know Resolume better and, for this series, I’ve used a more varied approach to the effects I’ve used. There are some commonalities but each variation has its own character !
I’ll pause the Synaesthetic Explorations after this series:
As you’ll hopefully notice, I went for a more organic feel with those videos… Things went in the right direction but it’s still not 100% what I’m after. Then I realized, what I really wanted is to have those video effects I’m using projected on me, much like some bands do at live gigs.
So I purchased a projector. My first tests were very promising except that, the projected area is too small because I can’t put the projector far enough in my studio room. So I decided to change the room I’m using and rebuild my studio in a bigger room (no, I don’t live in a castle: this will be in my living room), but in a better, more practical way. This led me to order a Studio Desk online. Sadly, I went into a lot of troubles with UPS and it took 10 days of excruciating efforts to get it delivered.
As I write this, I’m only in the middle of rebuilding the studio and it might take a while to get it in full working order.
I never intended the Synaesthetic Explorations to go on forever at this pace anyway. The idea was to do it until I find my own video style.. and I think the projector is the best option for me. But I wanted to make, at least one series with it before slowing down. Unless I can get the studio ready fast, this won’t be the case.
As I wrote at the beginning, the next newsletter will be for an Arkanist release… a quite special one… :)
Enjoy those videos and see you then.
Peace.