This may be the most involved project I have done in the last couple of years. It was born from a simple goal - create a full album length ambient piece in multiple parts, using a wide variety of synthesizers and synthesis techniques, but not using midi note programming or sequencers. It's four pieces with a common melodic theme and blended together. I used almost all of my synths including my modular rig and a guitar.
Part One is a brief intro that gives you the flavor of the whole piece.
Part Two has a complex foundational drone from my modular rack and uses six oscillators, each tuned to a different note within the E Dorian scale. They are all running through filters or being modulated in other ways. Each oscillator is faded in and out using slow asynchronous LFOs on the mixer's VCA creating a very unpredictable combination of sounds and textures. This is a "self-playing" or "generative" patch. Other sounds are layered on top and come from the ASM Hydrasynth, Korg Kronos, Novation Summit, and Moog Taurus Pedals.
Part Three uses a base drone from the Waldorf Iridium in a low register and features a few solo sections using that same sound played in a higher register. I made extensive use of the Waldorf's amazing Mod Matrix and set up about 25 different modulations of all different kinds of sound parameters. This is also a generative patch. Part Three also feature solo sections on electric guitar, Moog Subsequent 37, Korg Kronos and Novation Summit.
Part Four has a foundation pad from the Prophet Rev 2 which is played on its keyboard and expression pedal controlling Filter Cutoff. Additional bass, pad sounds and solos are layered on from the ASM Hydrasynth and Korg Kronos.
Again, no midi note programming or sequencers were used to record this, so each track, section, solo here is recorded "live".
All images are from the NASA website and are public domain. They're freakin amazing to look at, especially with the Ken Burns treatment. Enjoy!
