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Modulisme Session 077

by 3 Year Itch Birthday Session v.5

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1.
A Cultured Robot is from a series of compositions for a duo of Moffenzeef Modular System (plus ARP 2600) and Marimba (plus Crotales), all inspired by a re-reading of Asimov’s brilliant ‘Robot’ short-stories, Most of the stories are set on isolated space stations, and focus on discussions between different robots and the robot psychologist Dr.Susan Calvin. As the stories progress, Robots become more and more sophisticated, and autonomous, to the point where their intelligence takes them beyond that of their human creators, and they become what could be called ‘cultured robots’. My main tool in creating this piece was the Moffenzeef System, which is a self contained percussion modular system with a really unique sound. Most of the modules use old digital chips, and my favourite module: ‘ Dial-up’ generates sound using a chip from an old dial-up modem, when I controll it with the ‘MITØ’ sequencer and the ‘DEVIANT’ Random Modulator it really takes on a life of it’s own and start to chatter like a robot - almost like it has a mind of it’s own!
2.
Prepared Piano + Aluphone + Kalimba + Buchla 200 & 73/75 Serge Synthesizers + Voices
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Often or mostly the titles of my music pieces are not logically explainable or have an immediately comprehensible background. Rather, they are puns or vague allusions that buzz through my cerebral convolutions (or my emotional center the belly) during the process of creating the music. In this case (Verhangenes Vergangenes), it is the allusion to the past, which in my life has very likely lasted longer than my future will be; and in this past, many memories are no longer concretely graspable or have clear contours, but are only discernible in a whole shrouded by mists of thought and images with blurred outlines. A mass that is veiled as if by a curtain. Why the past is almost omnipresent for me in this piece, I can hardly explain. I suspect that it is like most music, namely that certain frequencies trigger certain memories. Human beings store experiences, certain smells, sounds or feelings. These come out again from tim to time, same in music when certain frequencies reach us…
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Rituals de Transformation (2022) is a 2 channel stereo work created by Eoppolo in his home studio Galerie Sonore. Synthesizers such as the Buchla Music Easel, Moog Grandmother, Yamaha S90, TG77 and TX802 were used along with a modular system that features modules such as Mutable Instrument’s Elements, the Serge NTO oscillator and Waveshaper and the Verbos Complex and Harmonic Oscillators. In addition to hardware synthesis, Eoppolo uses software such as ApeSoft’s Idensity Granular Synthesis IOS app and GRM Tools Complete music creation software along with Logic Pro X. https://modulisme.info/session/22
7.
I had a 15 minute arpeggio jam made with my new Moog Grandmother. I improvised some snare hits and vocal exclamations. Wherever it felt empty, I added a drum machine kick from the Yamaha RY9. Left and right panned egg shakers blur the hit. All sounded very well, but elsewhere I had a generative passage from messing around with the patching on the Moog. What if I replaced the hacked up arpeggios with this? Great, but a bit thin…so I add a held bass note on the Moog. The mystery (miracle?) of these elements working together made me excited. I had to mix, and just as I did, I got invited to contribute here. Perfect timing.
8.
Knorr is what my mom used in the soup, seems to taste really good! An EMS (Electronic Music Studios) Aks (England 1969) & a Robin Wood (Cornwall barn) custom built VCS3 “The Putney” were used for the sounds. Excerpts from the Karlheinz Stockhausen Lecture on May 6, 1972 in Allied artists (London) Lecture 5 - [Part 1/3] Karlheinz Stockhausen - Four Criteria of Electronic Music (1972) Oxford Union. https://modulisme.info/session/57
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Traces began as an exploration of melodic ideas for use in a short opera I was asked to compose for the NYC collective, Experiments in Opera. None of the ideas in this study ended up in the final vocal work but I later found the incorporation of the breath-controlled acoustic melodica to be quite refreshing and a good balance to the machine-controlled melodies generated by my BugBrand/Buchla hybrid setup. The piece begins with a low frequency rhythmic interplay between sound and silence, then adds pitch intervals as the low pass filter opens up. The piece then evolves into an exploration of different scales, ending with gamelan degung inspired melodies. https://modulisme.info/session/40
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This Eurorack track is the result of random patching and tweaking until the results were satisfying enough to hit the record button. Primary modules used include Macbeth dual oscillator, Piston Honda, Frames, Erbverb, & As290. https://modulisme.info/session/31
13.
Telstar channels three CV-controlled FM radios through a variety of processing and effects. The combination of the 281e and 292e brings envelope control of the pulses generated from Trommelmaschine and Time & Triggers. Pulses are synchronized via MIDI clock with outboard looping via Blooper and Habit by Chase Bliss. Spawned in real-time from wild sources out of mid-air and in homage to early satellite communications systems. https://modulisme.info/session/11
14.
I’m focusing on LFOs and randomness, inspired by a patch by Todd Barton called "Krell Muzak“. Main sound sources: 262v, 261e, 258v. Main modulation source: self-modulated 281e. https://modulisme.info/session/19
15.
« Hysteresis » is conceived as a path, a linear form around which elements dialogue, clashing, superimposing or counter-pointing one another like many disturbing and opposing events in different magnetic materials would. The result is an assembly of different regimes more or less stable, more or less in friction, in reaction, repelling or attracting each other, being able to switch from one to the other under the effect of a disturbance, moving away from us, taking another path, perhaps a period, a reversible variation, or not...
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“Apparition IV” is an excerpt of a larger exploration into the interplay of drones and pulses and allowing one form to morph into another. This multitrack composition was recorded in the summer of 2020 mostly using an ARP Avatar that has been modified to add modular patch-points. Layers were built up one track at a time, starting with a drone created by cross-modulating one oscillator's pulse width with the raw output of the other oscillator. Looping envelopes were used to create pulses of varying shapes, and a final layer was added with a Chroma Polaris, using free-running LFOs to create an ever-changing counterrhythm.
17.
We spent one week residency at EMS in Stockholm, one of the oldest electronic music studios in Europe. We researched data from the cosmos, especially from the brightest stars in the cosmos. We collected information from satellites and resource websites on the size of the biggest stars in our galaxy, their distance from the earth and also their rotation speed. We translated this information into data that could be manipulated with electronic musical instruments. We then wrote graphic scores using these parameters to play them live on the modular synthesizers (Serge and Buchla) available in the EMS studios. "Aldebaran Magnitude 0,95" was composed from materials collected during our residency at EMS in 2017, we then operated in October 2022 a mixing of the collected materials, hours of recordings, specifically those made with the Serge, a quasi-living modular instrument with wild and unstable granular and electric sounds, which we condensed into a 10min composition, creating a musical moment close to the phenomenon of solar emissions coming from the different stars of the cosmos.
18.
High frequency signal generators and function generators sending signals in the lower regions of the AM radio frequency range are broadcast to an open channel on AM/transistor radios allowing them to modulate the internal resonator oscillators of the radios. In some sections of the piece, radios are further modulated by the performative use of the amplitude control antennae on a theremin.

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Modulisme is celebrating 3 years of existence, offering six volumes gathering some of our favorite friends.
This is our 5th installment...

P.S.: As always you’ll see pictures and may read some valuable infos when visiting our platform:

modulisme.info/session/77

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released December 17, 2022

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Modulisme Marseille, France

Modulisme (translates Modularism) is a media supporting leftfield Electronic music (giving priority to Modular Synthesis but not only). Providing ressources/interviews, a radio program aired via 7 antennas, and above all label-like streaming music for you to listen to… ... more

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