If until July 3rd you feel like Alan Stivell himself, Native Instruments is giving away a not bad Irish harp.
Kontakt 7. Library.
“Whether you’re keeping things traditional or warping sounds further, IRISH HARP offers warm, lush, rich tones captured from a 34-string neo-Irish harp. With a range of scales, phrases, effects, and controls, it’s got all you need to craft authentic and unique performances for composing, beatmaking, and everything in between.”
A Limb is a well-known Second Life musician (maybe some knows as Mich Reblack), but he also has a real life, and he plays in several bands. Of the various bands he plays in, my favorite is ZAÄAR. a Belgian collective born from a rib of NEPTUNIAN MAXIMALISM, the cosmic free-jazz orchestra that in the last two years catalyzed the attention of those in love with psychedelic music, experimental drone doom and space ambient.
Below is a short story about ZAÄAR , straight from the A Limb lips during a conference in Second Life.
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Hello and welcome to my ZAÄAR conference and mini-concert.
I will start by playing recordings of several bands linked to ZAÄAR, then Magická Džungl’a, our first album, while giving some explanations about its creation. Then I’ll play a 20 minutes (maybe more) concert in free improv, using the instruments I used for the album recording.
So at the origin of ZAÄAR is another project called Lab’OMFI. It was a multimedia collective that welcomed all artists who wanted to experiment with improvisation.
The creator and main leader of this group was Jean Jacques Duerinckx, a formidable saxophonist who played among others with some of the best improvisers: Lol Coxhill, John Russell, Paul Rutherford, Dan Warburton, Michel Doneda. He is also involved in the Belgian electro-acoustic scene.
He also played on a Zohara album, published on Tzadik (John Zorn’s label)
I was very interested by improv, Specially Jean Jacque’s approach (I always incorporated some improvisation in all my earlier projects, but until then it was not an end in itself) and became a member of this collective almost from the start.
I played synths and iPad apps using granular synthesis. I’ll give some more infos about it later
Other future ZAÄAR members also joined Lab’OMFI for more or less long durations: Hugues Philippe Desrosiers (bass) and Guillaume Cazalet CZLT (guitar and trumpet).
After a while, Guillaume Cazalet left the band to found his own, Neptunian Maximalism, an excellent free doom psychedelic drone metal band. JJ Duerinckx joined this new project very soon, as well as the drummer Sébastien Schmit who later will become the drummer of ZAÄAR. And I was invited to join too some months later. Sébastien left the group almost immediately when I arrived, but all the links were made!
Neptunian Maximalism made 8 albums already (some live ones), and toured in France, Germany, Holland, Denmark… We prepare now a tour passing by Duisburg, Paris, London and more to be announced
Let’s come back shortly to Lab’OMFI. The problem with such open groups is that, very often, unwanted people who are not in phase with the spirit of the collective impose themselves, and sabotage the rehearsals. After a while we got tired of this formula.
A little before the confinement, Lab’OMFI was abandoned to make room for LamaPhi, a core group of a dozen artists, the most motivated to really work on improv.
LamaPhi performed in the streets during the whole confinement, even in winter 😀 . About 20 events. Most of them were filmed. You can watch them here:
Now the effective ZAÄAR story.
In the first days of January 2020, Philippe Desrosiers (Lab’OMFI’s bassist) called me.
He said “I’m trying to organise an improv concert in St Gilles (Brussels), February 1st, with Jean Jacques Duerinckx (sax), Guillaume Cazalet (Vocals, trumpet, flutes, percs) and Sébastien Schmit (Drums, percs). Would you be interested to join?
I answered yes of course. I can’t say “no”… Then he told me “It’s a very narrow place, you’ll see. We’ll have to get organized…”
Indeed it was narrow. The place was a hairdressing salon!
… but a very special one. It’s called Espace Moss, and Moussa, the hairdresser is a contemporary art lover. So he decided to use his salon as an art gallery.
It sounds weird but it’s a great idea, from my opinion. Even when you visit a museum, you rarely have one hour to devote to watch a single artwork. In a hairdresser salon, you are even obliged to sit and watch.
Of course Moussa makes arty haircuts too 😉
A hair salon is usually not very large. But the artist invited by Moussa was Yoel Pytowski, an architect, who re-designed the whole shop interior by adding walls, transforming the shop in a sort of middle-east market one-way street. So it was even more narrow.
Anyway, we found some place to install our instruments. When we started playing, the shop was full of people drinking and making noise. But despite this they listened and enjoyed the concert.
The name of the event was called “A Triptych In Sound” because we played 3 improv sessions during the evening. It was rather audacious, because the ability to concentrate during improv is strongly solicited.
But to our surprise we made the good connections right away, and it lasted until the last note. I had only played once with the drummer, and rarely with the bassist, but it was as if we had been playing together all our lives, and our three sessions were quite excellent, full of groove and creativity.
Hmm, the special homemade fruit alcohols served by beautiful fairies were free for the musicians. Maybe it helped too.
So when we left the event we were very happy and satisfied of ourselves.
Sadly, some days later started a quarrel. I was not involved in it, and don’t want to give you details about it. But after this argument, I didn’t give much chance for this band’s future…
… and then COVID arrived, so our musical activities fell into hibernation. The concert became a pleasant but already distant memory
But it’s not finished of course…
In February of 2021, we suddenly got an e-mail from Guillaume. It said: “Hey, maybe you didn’t notice, but I recorded the concert with my pocket digital recorder. I spent months cleaning and masterising the tracks. I think it sounds good. If you’re ok, I already have agreements with 2 disc companies so that a double vinyl album could be published this year. What do you think?”.
The album art was ready too (made by Peter Kľúčik – Untitled). Everyone agreed.
Personally I consider Guillaume to be a true mixing genius. Getting an album that sounds so good out of a concert recorded in the middle of a noisy crowd, in a reverberating room, with the only internal microphone of a pocket recorder, is a real miracle.
… and 2 Neptunian Maximalism albums were made the same way. We never went into a studio. It’s simply concerts and rehearsals recordings…
I think what makes the strength of this band is the bass and drums sections. They are both flexible and reliable. They can range from pure noise to rock funk rhythmics, while keeping a full coherence. It makes the improvisations of the other members very comfortable and it is very inspiring
Guillaume is a very skilled guitarist. But in this band he abandons his favourite instrument to devote himself to the flutes, the voice and the trumpet. He is very interested in occult sciences, religions and cults of the past, voodoo,… So you often hear throat singing, murmurs or readings of texts in unknown languages. All this was handled by its many effects pedals. For the most recent concerts, he gave up the effects and it still sounds awesome, more than ever.
On my side, I often use an iPad app called “Samplr“.This allows me to record what other musicians are playing, to select live very short excerpts and then to process these sounds with effects, to loop them, etc. That’s why it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish myself from other musicians, because I use the same sounds.
I also use a modular synth application called miRack. It is a kind of equivalent of Reaktor, for iPad. It is possible to build your own synths or your own effects. It produces some great experimental sounds.
And finally I also play the MicroFreak, a small synth that is also very experimental, with touch sensitive keys.
So now everyone reconciled, we started rehearsing for more concerts, and noticed the magic was still there when we played together. And now we have already new recordings for more albums. A new one is planned for the end of this year.
The first album was out November 5th, 2021 in a 2×12″LP Vinyl format in Gatefold Sleeve, Ltd 700 (350 Yellow, 350 Green) – Available on Bandcamp of course.
As with cheap sound cards, the market for small desktop monitors is so crowded as to make a reasoned choice based on the technical characteristics is almost impossible, and it all boils down to ok, this speaker looks nice on my desk or not. Yet choosing a monitor is critical, that’s where you’ll hear your sound from, and the monitor should give you a representative sonic spectrum.
But, what are monitor speakers? In a nutshell, monitor speakers are loudspeakers that we use specifically for audio and music production. They’re called monitor speakers or studio monitors because they’re used for monitoring – critical listening during recording, mixing, and mastering. You said nothing.
After having searched without results among billions of offers and catalogues, only one thing was clear to me: it is not possible to make a good monitor without spending at least 350-400 euro, a midwoofer of at least 4″ is needed, plus a good dome tweeter. These are my references.
So, I looked at a few DIY projects, all of which promise marvels and stratospheric listening, but in the end concreteness won (thank goodness) and I looked at a catalog I know well, that of Dibirama (the best in Italy, but certainly there is something equivalent in every country).
The owner is a nice person, I explained my needs to him and he gave me the instructions and the necessary components for my dream monitors. It’s not that things were simpler here also, the catalog is endless, but at least one address has arrived.
The mid-woofer choosen is a Scan Speak 12W/8524G00, the tweeter a Seas 22TFF, both for their excellent features and value for money.
Then you have to think about the acoustic box, because the speakers and the crossover filter will have to be placed somewhere.
We said desktop speakers, the size as usual matters. Therefore, excluding horns or transmission line systems for obvious reasons (the dimension), the most appropriate choice seems to be that of a speaker loaded in DCAAV, (double chamber reflex) we certainly cannot miss the low frequencies. This makes the crate a little more difficult to make, but nothing impossible.
The acoustic box must be designed on the basis of the characteristics of the chosen speakers, it is not that a box is made by chance. Different software are available which allow to simulate the complete system with different types of load.
Turn, pull, spring, cut, mill, here are the cutting planes of the panels that are used to make this monitor (wood thickness 19 mm)
Next we need the filter that will divide the frequencies between the speakers.
It will be something like this:
Obviously you will have to build a pair of all. Don’t skimp on coils and capacitors, they directly affect the sound quality.
As for colors, woods and connectors you can indulge yourself, there is no rule apart from your personal taste.
If instead of looking on shops for the components by yourself you think it’s better to buy a ready kit, I’m sorry to say that this particular case for now is not yet available. But in need, the very kind Diego Sartori of Dibirama will be happy to help you compose the kit of all the components necessary for speakers and filters. Ask for Yuna III.
A possible designSuggested distance between the basement and hoof is 18-20 mm (the speaker is a double reflex, it also emits sound from the lower part, don’t plug the bottom hole).
This isn’t the easiest kit to make carpentry side, it’s a real monitor with amazing performance that will give you satisfaction. Pair them with a good amp, they deserve it.
Impossible to expect more from a speaker big as an A4 sheet. Have fun!
Tia uses this combined real video/virtual video formula that works a lot, is informative and interesting. Yesterday’s concert on the roof of the Hexagons was excellent, good music, good people, friends. Perfect.
Like those times you feel like you’re in the right place at the right time.
There isn’t much more to say. Listen to good music, it’s good for mind and body. Hope to see Tia-san on the roof of Hexagons again. Always welcome.
The location of the event, The Hexagons, is hosted in Museum Island and is open to anyone who wants a place where and can play in a context other than the classic “club” or “opening” one, The stress of competition does not exist here, and we are not interested in having crowds but on good music. Peace, love and coffee.
This is a long story, which began many years ago when there were no CDs and vinyl objects called LPs were used to listen to music. I had several of these LPs, including some from a band that fascinated and frightened me at the same time.
This band was called Tangerine Dream, and it explored territories unknown to me, because electronic music was little known and to make it you needed tools that were unattainable for me, even if only for the cost.
Tangerine Dream performing at Coventry Cathedral, Warwickshire, 4th October 1975. Left to right: Edgar Froese (1944 – 2015), Christopher Franke and Peter Baumann. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Their leader, Edgar Froese, seemed to me to be shady and diabolical, and the music evoked strange echoes inside me.
But damn Phaedra was really fascinating.
The band has changed a lot over the years, also due to its longevity (it has been active since 1967, incredible), with ups and downs as is normal.
In 2015 Edgard Froese died, but the band continued its history under the guidance of Thorsten Quaeschning, who was in Tangerine Dream since 2005.
Thorsten is truly a special person. I’ve never seen someone as dedicated to music as he is, the live performances prove it. I once asked him what the trick was, it’s impossible to play electronic music live like he does, and the answer was disarming: Livio, I love music. I play hours every day and I live for the music. That’s all.
It is from him that I first heard about this Quantum Gate, during a online event called Behind closed doors with.... Idea was very simple: we go on stage and we let that music talk, live. LIVE? After two concerts, was clear for me that something exceptional was happening.
This is live jam session… dropped jaw. Let’s face it, shiller seems like a poor guy, but yet look at the esteem and gratitude at the end of the session, So it’s done. Softly, with kindness.
On stage he is gigantic, What is this Quantum Gate, Thorsten? You will find out for yourself, the answer. Know that there are rules to understand, it’s a special place that Edgard has worked hard on. So I started exploring Tangerine Dream’s music in search of hidden messages, arcane harmonies, rules of composition, secret portals to unknown spaces. Ok, I know, sometimes I’m stupid, it certainly wasn’t that, this was just the easiest way for me
Time ago. I had read about a place where the stories of all the lives that have appeared and will appear on this planet are kept. Immediately in my mind the image of an immense library was formed, where all the papyri with this information were kept. Once I talked about it with a wise friend, who told me Livio, look at the sky every now and then. that is your library.
So, slowly I too learn to be a little wiser, to admire these soundscapes with simplicity, accepting them for what they are and what they say without building endless and even useless stories on top of them, calm down and listen to music, there is no need for anything else
To thank for the teachings and the love that transpires from all this beauty, I wanted to create an installation in a simultaneously real and unreal place like a virtual world can be. There is something further on, much more solid and concrete than one might think.
I have no pretense of explaining to anyone what the Quantum Gate is (also because it could be different for everyone), it’s enough for me to imagine that someone is intrigued and ventures down the road and offers them a shortcut, perhaps when they visit this place.
From presentation of Quantum Gate work: Thorsten Quaeschning, Ulrich Scnauss and Hoshiko Yamane worked together to realize Edgar’s visions and expectations of a conceptual album that attempts to translate quantum physics and philosophy into music. New member Ulrich Schnauss comments: “at the moment hardly any other area of science questions our concept of reality (linearity of time etc.) as profoundly as research in Quantum physics – it’s no surprise therefore that Edgar was drawn to these ideas since he had always aimed at reminding listeners of the existence of ‘unopened doors‘.”
Just surrender :). And smile thinking that Thorsten Quaeschning did a serie of exceptional live concerts called Behind Closed Doors, maybe for tease Edgard (ei look, i am opening doors).
In anycase, Froese himself is credited on all but one track, mostly due to musical sketches he left behind, so he is never dead or missing, he is still really a member of actual Tangerine Dream.
This is the gift of Quantum Gate, printed on The Emerald Tablet. As above, so below.
I will perform at The Hexagons, owned by the Second Life Music Composers Directory, on 27 June at 01:00 PM PDT. I am looking forward to seeing you there.
Tia Rungray LIVE in Second Life Music Composers Directory || 05272023 LIVE MUSIC with “Piano & Noise” in Metaverse & YOUTUBE LIVE └ https://tiarungray.com/live/2023-05-27-sat/
“Audio cable types are some of the most numerous of any cable, with both the consumer and professional space packed with different options for different uses and different generations of technology.” says a extensive guide.
Even in an in-the-box studio you will still need some cables, for example for a microphone or for recording a guitar or keyboard, or anything else that requires a physical connection. Also, you will need USB and MIDI cables. Either way, you’ll soon find yourself in a tangle of cables.
But at least in the digital domain this mess will be mitigated: you don’t need a stereo cable to connect your synths and effects to your DAW, and that’s already a huge step forward in simplification.
Remember Murphy’s Law? If a cable can break, it will and leave you standing awkwardly amidst an eerie hum and not knowing where it’s coming from.
But you may need cables, albeit virtual, even in the digital world. For example, you have a music program that you really like but it doesn’t exist in VST format. How to drive it from your DAW?
I would like to build a monument dedicated to people like Tobias Erichsen, creator of VirtualMIDI. Its utility allows you to quickly create a virtual MIDI cable (more cables if necessary), and thus it will be simple to connect your standalone software (non VST) with a MIDI channel of your DAW and so all events can be recorded and played back even without VST. Really excellent.
Also have a look at all of Tobias’ other utilities, some are really useful even if more complex to use (a MIDI network driver? Really?).
If instead you need to capture an audio stream (for example, a singer who sings remotely on your base station in Skype) you will need an audio router.
Sound threatening? It’s just weird terms, it’s actually as simple as plugging a jack into your mixer or amp. Let’s see how.
Probably the most complete solution is the free and open source Jack Audio Connection Kit, which can handle both MIDI and audio cables.
With Jack2 you can also connect your DAW to OBS, thus opening the door to audio/video performances. If you’re already drooling, hold back.
If, on the other hand, you only need a no-frills audio cable, plug and unplug, probably the simplest and freest solution is that of VB Audio, VB-CABLE Virtual Audio Device.
Cable input, cable output and done. Just connect the right cable to the right place. All audio streams sent to VB-CABLE inputs (Playback Device) will be forwarded to VB-CABLE outputs (Recording Device).
12:00pm SLT: YADLEEN is a composer of electronic dream music and the result is uniquely special. Her compositions can vary tremendously creating an ambience which is purely Yadleen. She also has an emphasis on India which is an extraordinary twisted work for electronic music. https://soundcloud.com/clara-music-1
1:00pm SLT: ECHO STARSHIP Taking its form as mostly a live improvisational music project, Echo Starship is heavily influenced by an experimental/psych spectrum of sounds ranging from Drone, Noise, Ambient, Contemporary Minimalist music and all the way to Post-Rock, Krautrock, IDM, Synth Wave elements. https://transonic-records.bandcamp.com/…/moribund…
2:00pm SLT: A LIMB A Limb is a kind of artistic Frankenstein, exhuming all sorts of music corpses from their graves, stitching an ambient body with funk legs, punk feet, experimental arms, jazz hands, a drone head, inserting a big ethnic music heart and krautrock lungs… then bathing the whole “body” into a dub effects bath, until an electro thunderbolt strikes it and… omg… it’s… alive! Hmm… sometimes science goes too far, but it’s too late to back-pedal… https://soundcloud.com/a-limb/tracks
Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins are what amateur and professional recording engineers and artists use to enhance their audio projects. A plugin is a type of software that works inside another piece of software. Instead of working on its own, you plug it into something else (in our case, the DAW).
If you’ve ever visited a recording studio, you’ve certainly noticed some racks containing objects called effects: they’re the equipment that allows the sound engineer to add details to the instruments, maybe some reverb, an echo, a compressor or a special effect. For a guitarist these are the studio equivalent of the numerous pedals at his feet, and the studio ones are much more refined, precise and expensive.
The chain of effects can actually characterize the sound of an instrument in an important way, the famous case being the sound of the solos of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. Two notes are enough and you recognize it. Or Jimi Hendrix’s Wha Wha, and many other famous examples (and we are talking about just ONE effect).
One of the most famous effects used by Gilmour is a delay called the Binson Echorec, a tape echo from days gone by.
– (left) David tweaking his Binson II unit during A Saucerful of Secrets filmed at Pompeii. (right) David pictured at Earl’s Court, London, UK in May 1973 with a Binsin II and a Binson PE.
That distinctive sound is so desired that many software houses has seen fit to create a replica of the delay in digital format, emulating not only the sound but also the look in the interface.
This delay is just an example, you can find any kind of known and unknown effects, free and paid, in every category and often it will be just how you use effects that will shape your personal sound.
Your DAW’s mixer will allow you to use them freely, even emulating rather refined techniques such as sidechain and parallel compression.
The world of effects is a complex world, just as important as that of tools. Below is a probably partial list of the available audio effects organized by categories.
All we know: lag is a big enemy. For audio even more, it can take up to 30 seconds from when you press Play on your computer to when you can hear what you’re playing inside Second Life.
That’s a big issue, because if your DAW is playing and you want to listen to what your audience is hearing you’ll hear two staggered overlapping streams: one from the DAW, one overdue from the Second Life client.
But there is a rather simple solution: if you have two sound cards, you can use one for the DAW, one for the Second Life client. Most computers have an internal sound card, so there’s no need to buy a second one. Connect the headphones or speakers you use to the output of the second card and set the application and its audio output in the Windows audio routing panel, and finished.
Let’s see how it’s done.
Verify that in your DAW the output is routed to the sound card rendering the mix (in my case, an ESI Maya22)
Open Settings on Windows 10.
Click on System.> Sound.
Under “Other sound options,” click the “App volume and device preferences” option.
Under the “App” section, select the playback device for the app (in my case, device is a Audiobox and app Firestorm) and eventually adjust the volume level for the app you want.
In Second Life, select the sound card you want use for playback in Sound & Media > Output device according to what you set in the Windows control panel (in this example, an Audiobox).
Done…
Click for enlarge
If you have a Switcher Box 2 in 1 out, there is no need to move headphone jack or speaker cables, just switch from A to B and vice versa when needed. Or just download a app as Audio Device Switcher or Audio Switcher to get the same results..
This audio routing feature is very useful for live performances. You can now hear what’s happening in the Second Life client without the DAW audio stream overlay. There are more sophisticated solutions, of course, but this one is free and simple.
