Music – Cornerman

Dream machines

Everyone has them, dream machines from your younger years which you would have loved to have. For me these are plentiful, mostly electronic music machines. Way before the internet became a real source of information, the go to place where magazines. Sound on Sound, Future Music and Interface (in the Netherlands) and a couple I have forgotten about.

Future music was the one for me, within budget and it had my favorite type of article, “In the studio with”. Lot’s of pictures of the spaces and the gear and info on how they were used. Lot’s of unknown equipment to spot which to me were unknown and very intriguing.

The machines

One of the machines most often featured was the Akai MPC 2000 XL, or the 3000. The 3000 at that time was already out of reach budget wise. But the 2000 XL was still in production and while still expensive, I would in theory, be able to save up the cash with a few summers of holiday work. Dreaming is allowed.

There was however another novelty out at that time, the Nord Modular G1. In a rack and keyboard version. Lot’s of people where after the 303, 909 and 808 as there dream machines and although I would have loved to add those to the list. They weren’t as magical to me as the combination of the MPC & the Nord Modular. Im my mind, these machines would let me build everything I could think of.

Added to this was that some of my favorite artists at the time were in possession of the Nord. I thought I had the magazines laying around somewhere, but I got rid of most of them apart from a few really nostalgic ones. Funnily enough not the ones with the Nord Modular reviews or the interviews featuring one.

I have tried and look for the interviews, didn’t find them. If I am not mistaken Jori Hulkkonen & Christan Vogel had them at the time.

Also Dr Macabre had one, and much later I came across one in an interview with Frank Bretschneider in al lovely combination with an een mooi rack met een Octratrack and a Sherman Filterbank. Very nice combo.

Nostalgic

We all get nostalgic from time to time, and every now and again I look for a Nord G1 keyboard, and it’s always just a bit too big of an expenditure to justify. An MPC 2000 XL is very doable, and it will work. I have had one for quite a while. Until there was a good moment to sell it.

Now you have the MPC One, Live 3, and the new and very fun MPC sample which in a way has the limitations of the 2000 XL, or any of the other older MPC’s which made them so much fun (and to be honest, frustrating at times) So outside of the nostalgic reasons there is not much of a reason trying to get my hands on one.

The Nord Modular, in the other hand, keep lingering in the background, and I will search for one from time to time.

The software side

The Nord Modular is a platform consisting of hardware and software where you build the patches and sent them to the Nord Modular over midi. All the DSP power sits in the Nord Modular. The Nord Modular was built by a small company and the product weighed heavily on them and with the advents of ever more powerful computers the need for a pricey DSP platform subsided. With the rise in software synths, samplers and the like the need for it diminished.

So you not only need the hardware, but also get the software running. And don’t forget the right midi interface to keep things running. You could go for the old windows or Mac machine and the latest official release of the software, match the midi interface from those days and go full retro.

Nowadays there are modern editors re engineered which for some reason I never got up & running. So option one will take up too much space. Option 2 has not successfully been implemented by me. Which makes it a very expensive object for just looking at out of nostalgic reasons. And for that, I can just as well look at pictures.

A solution

Owning old gear for nostalgic reasons and getting it to work, maintaining and using them is a fun hobby on its own. My fear is that the hours I would have to invest into it versus the hours of actual music making with the machines will be too limited. The fun would be mainly in the first bit, getting things to run. In the end the working with the machines might disappoint slightly. These are not sums of money fit for impulse buys. And it would be a shame not to use the stuff.

While not a one on one replacement of the setup, modern solutions are plentiful. I will miss the nostalgic feel, that being said. Lot’s of cool options out there. Modern modular synthesizers in different formats are available, most notably the Eurorack form. Which has been doing lot’s of cool stuff over the last few decades. Software wise we have MAX MSP, PureData, and live coding tools like Tidal Cycles. With a nice controller to go along with it, workflow wise you will get close. And be in modern times.

In the MPC realm there are numerous options, which I previously mentioned. The MPC sample being the machine most closely related to the older machines in workflow, like the MPC 2000 XL.

Then there is the learning curve, time I would rather spent learning MAX MSP. Which is a great environment with endless possibilities. But still, every once in a while, indulging in nostalgia I am searching for these old machines. And in the event of a gigantic price drop, I might still go for this combination.

Max patching – working on my library the expert sleepers edition

Max MSP is getting some more attention lately as I am working more with my Eurorack and have some expert sleepers modules which would be ideal combining with Max.

The expert sleepers setup consists of the ES-9, an audio interface with 16 inputs and outputs, for audio & CV signals. As it is a DC coupled interface, I also have the ES-5 which add a few DC coupled outputs and the ESX-8CV expander adding CV outputs.

Lot’s of in’s and out to play with. So the first new patch I have been building is a simple communications block for this configuration. So I can make the best use of all these in and outputs. Then the possibilities are infinite, designing sequencers, audio manglers, loopers and so on.

All the while learning Max MSP

I have been working on this patch by asking Claude how to do it and adjusting things along the way. I am finetuning it at the moment. If it’s finished I will share it to my repository. If I produce any music with my future Max patches. I will share it as well. Might be a nice combination publishing the patch & the music. Something to think about.

The patch consists of a few independent parts, first a few parts delivered by Expert Sleepers for the 2 expanders, you can find them here Expert Sleepers Max externals.

The rest is build around these eternals, and the logic around the in and outputs, It has been fun using AI as a teacher and help me analyze each step in the building process. It’s a lot faster, only worry I have, will I internalize it just as well as with a more traditional way of learning, i.e. read a lot of manuals, tech docs and trial and error. Time will tell, and with pretty “boring” and basic things like interfacing which is arguably less fun it’s nice to make some fast progress.

Future ideas

The main idea is integration of my Eurorack, sending CV information to the Eurorack and getting audio in and make loops, edits and sequencing. Which will vary per patch idea. Next up is finishing a looper. For now this is a start.

Working on various things, without a plan, is hard.

Trying to get into a rhythm again isn’t that easy, while I am pretty good at sticking to things I am in an irregular state at the moment. Most of the time I work on projects with a goal in mind. Without trying to get to the goals in the most efficient way.

Meant to leave room for happy accidents, new ideas and changes in goals altogether. It still holds a lot of benefits, having goals. It keeps momentum going.

Having no goals, which I don’t really have at the moment, keeps me from gaining momentum. Which for me at least is a basic need for consistency. Even a vague goal is good enough. But at the moment the goals are not there.

Working on various things, mostly technical.

Now when this happens, it’s hard to rely on just showing up consistently as a clear driver is absent. Luckily there is always something to do. Stuff, things, which as a byproduct, result in ideas.

Unfortunately I tend to lean towards reading manuals, figuring out how things work or trying to sort out technical issues. Which is my comfort zone when having no goals or guidance.

Reading about how inspiration strikes it tends to happen while working on your skills and improving the flow of your process. Which is true, but I have a knack for leaning towards learning more and not playing around and just going with the flow.

So I end up with a lot of notes of how things work and theoretical knowledge and not with some recordings for the archive which later can (and will be used) for finished tracks.

That is a problem.

Play mode

I have not yet figured out how to get into play mode. Which for me, should be grasping a device, or a few and just start jamming and recording, all the while forgetting time and space. I just don’t get into play mode that often. For some reason.

I just need to find a way to just play around more. It happens, but mostly when I don’t have any instruments around, resulting in things ending up in notebooks for later recording, which may or may not happen. In an ideal world I would have just recorded everything.

Keep playing!

Creativity is Infinite

Infinity is a concept and very real at the same time. All things creative are infinite, whatever it is you do in the creatie realm, you can always think of new ways to do things. Exploring new options, paths and forms.

This is exciting and daunting at the same time. As I have limited my set of musical tools as well as limiting my design framework the possibilities seem even bigger than before.

As my brain is thinking more and more about new ways to operate within the limitations. My brain really loves limits.

It’s really cool but I have no idea how I can manage this into finished projects, albums, Ep’s or songs. Part of the fun and part of my anxiety.

All hard things are well worth doing, it’s finding ways around your fear and make sure you get things done. I am slowly getting better at it. Infinity has a lot of energy in the concept, the word or meaning.

Infinity as energy

For me the best way to look at it is as energy, the sheer idea of infinity gives me the energy to work on my projects. It just gives that extra boost whenever I am stuck, however slow my progress is the meat thought of going back and work some more just lights up my mind. This works for me and might work for you as well.

Infinity as energy is applicable on a lot of (hard) things you need, or want to do. It just gives an extra incentive. By making the process of creativity an infinite one, I seem to get into a zone, or flow state. Which I love to be in. I achieve this the easiest with running and exercising, coding and writing. Music is getting there.

There are other concepts or words you can use to build up a mantra for releasing positive energy into your system and get going. I have managed to add it to my daily meditation practice. This makes sure I think about the concept of infinity everyday. This way it becomes an automated response whenever I need a dose of energy.

Give it a try.

Have a great day!

Creative work – finding space & energy for a routine

In my last post I was talking about my need to scale things down a bit and make sure I get into a habit of working on my creative projects, making music being one of them but not just the single thing I like to work on. Especially given my brain damage, when I can’t digest noise and sound I have to have alternative projects to work on.

Mostly my planning involves fixed moments for working on one of my creative projects or outlets. This doesn’t always work and I tend to fall into the short term attention grabbers when I can’t work on the thing I planned.

So I was looking for a new way to plan my projects and still maintain consistency. I have started categorizing my activities into sections. From things I can do most of the days, even when my cognitive energy is low, to activities I need to be in the best possible form, from a cognitive perspective. Basically I made a list from low energy consumption to high energy consuming activities.

While this seems like a thing which is primarily important for people with problems such as myself. Everyone has limits to their cognitive (and psychological) energy on any given day.

Also everyone experiences fluctuations in their energy, from day to day. I think it can help to acknowledge this and have some sort of idea what the things are that you require a lot of cognitive energy for.

Knowing yourself

Maybe a bit of an open door, but knowing yourself and what your energy levels are is very important in day to day life. Knowing how to recharge yourself and knowing when it’s time to take some rest is key. A lot of people are in the dark about that. As they live their lives under a constant pressure from work, life and other impulses they feel they can’t control.

It’s hard carving out the time to figure out how your cognitive energy is and how to know when your are pushing yourself into the red. This can be the start of a learning experience for anyone. And a very useful one. Just reset for a couple of days. Or longer if you feel this is necessary, and possible.

Reset periods are important, rest is essential. So cramming as much as possible into a holiday period might not be the best option. A lot of people who are good at their job, art, or other activity, take long periods of time off. To rest and think about their next steps. It’s a luxury maybe but it’s more productive in the long run. But in our own time and with the free time we have we can all carve out time to rest and reflect to the best of our abilities.

Also knowing what to focus on makes for better results. In the end the return on time invested is bigger.

Getting back into it.

I have been resting more and being more offline more the last couple of months. Which has helped towards more focus. I also have dedicated more time towards reading, meditation, exercise and mental wellness.

I let go of my timeline and start thinking about where I need to improve. My skills in the creative things I want to do is the main thing I want to improve.

So I have switched from getting output done towards the learning process and finish things when they are ready in my eyes. Not comparing things anymore.
It also set me out on a more Japanese way of thinking, imperfection, focus on learning skills and doing things mindfully and with attention.

Now I am slowly getting back into it. Finding more space and energy for doing the things I love.

Quality first

Our systems put productivity first, rather than skills and quality. This is counterproductive. As we all know, but the day to day hectic schedules and target driven processes in most industries lack the room for a quality focussed approach. Still for your own (creative) work, you can do this. Say no more often and make sure the focus remains on building skills, and putting out the best work possible.

By no means this is perfection, as perfection is a dangerous thing. Perfection kills many great idea. As a concept it’s a good idea. Striving towards the perfect end result is great, as long as you realize you have to finish things as well. As long as learning and focussing on the process of making the art, doing the work is there. The end results will get better and better.

New ideas and a fresh perspective for 2025

It’s been a minute since my last post on here. I have been working on some new ideas and projects which are smaller in scope and easier to work on for me. My last few projects were way too big in scope and very complicated to get out to the world, for me personally at least.

Going into the new year I am putting no pressure on timelines and the focus is going to be on the process. With the goals as guidance. Whatever gets finished, gets finished. I don’t know how my energy will be and this way I will loose the frustration if I don’t reach my goals. I am pretty good in shaking these feelings of frustration but if I can avoid them I will.

My ideas so far are focussed on learning my tools. The output is less important, up until now I was focussed on the end result and I wanted to get there as fast as possible. The problem is that I didn’t get to know my tools, and time was lost in searching for ways to get my ideas out. I am turning this around, I will let my learning process dictate the ideas I can work on and finish.

So how I am going about getting my learning process in the right shape for me. Let’s see.

Consistency

The most important thing in getting better at anything, which I lack in making music, working on it consistently. All other things I ever got any good at, I worked on in a continuous way. With music, somehow that has always been an issue. I think because I have always done music as a hobby, as an outlet. And never had any intention of releasing anything. This has somewhat changed and I have had periods of consistency in working on music. I have already talked about not viewing it as a hobby anymore, but more as a project. Which has been somewhat successful in getting more consistency in me working on music.

But this has not been enough to get anything going in a way I can easily get my ideas translated into music. Which is always an approximation because you can never get it to sound exactly as it sounds in your head, well at least I can’t.

So more consistent in learning my tools and fixed amount of hours, and getting the work in is the most important for this year.

Minimizing the set of tools

I don’t have a big set of gear, but nevertheless it’s too much. It’s too much to learn in a year. I have always been looking for new gear and interesting ways to use it. The problem is I tend to switch way too much between the tools. One day I make music with these 3 devices, the next day it’s a totally different set of tools.

I have to make a few decisions on what I am going to use and not change it anymore. I have been contemplating selling everything else, but that’s not how I want to gather the discipline.

Small goals

The last few years I have been working on one big project, which is cool as thinking about concepts and sketching is a very nice way to gather my thoughts and make sure I can work on music when I can’t stand sound. Which is pretty often unfortunately, but it also holds me back. Simply because of the size and scope.

I now have to define smaller projects, things I can actually finish and be in line towards the bigger goals. defining a growth path for myself with smaller, manageable milestones.

I am hoping this will make it easier to maintain the workflow, consistency and eventually leads to results.

Moving forward

I have always been doubtful on my musical skillset, the amount of deleted or abandoned projects in my folders is pretty large. I intend to work on releasing more music, whether it’s finished or not. Just to see if I can let it go and call something a demo, work in progress, or finished product and share it.

How I don’t know yet, as the landscape for releasing your creative output is constantly shifting. But this will be something to think about in the future. I am also working on a new format to talk about my music on here. Writing more about the process and progress and the tools I use and am learning how to use. I have not yet found a way to do this and keep it fun to read.

But I will, until next time.

Reflecting on 2024 and moving forward in 2025

As the year’s end is upon us, it’s time to reflect on the year and think about the goals and processes for next year. I am not one for reminiscing but it’s always good to learn from your mistakes and take a good notion of all things that went great, mediocre or downright bad.

I am a firm believer in this quote of Thomas Edison, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

The key to this is that you learn from your mistakes, and a lot of people have no way to learn from their failures as they have no process in place to document any of the steps they take. Even in creative professions and hobby’s (Which I don’t do anymore really, I look at most things in terms of projects. Which leads to better results and ultimately more fun) it is very important to find out what works for you, and how you can build a better process.

Consistency is key, which I have always known and experienced in running, my revalidation process and day to day life. I have not really applied it to hobby’s and creative projects I did until a few years ago.

This year the consistency in music making has gone up, and the biggest improvement in the process is the new creative space. Which has had a very positive impact on everything in the short spaces it’s finished. Next year this will make an even bigger impact.

I have not met my goals this year but I have learned how to be consistent and better at working on the mundane tasks that every creative process and project have, I have organized my output better, done some more in taking notes on ideas and making sure I have a way to find them when I need them. The whole process is much more in sync. All in all I am pretty happy about 2024.

2025

So next year, I have some ideas which I will finalize next week, I am not sure which I will pursue first, it’s a bit random at the moment so I might take January as the month to get the list of ideas in order and set up the environment and plan on how to execute them. Besides music I need some alternative projects so I can switch between activities when I am not able to do music. As my brain damage is an unpredictable factor in everything.

So I need alternatives, so writing, coding and drawing are good contenders as these things can be done most of the time. Projects in these areas also need consistency so I will plan them regardless. It sounds like a lot and maybe it is. But I am giving it a good go.

I would also like to connect with other creative people to learn from them and maybe help them grow and build the right process for them to build a better working environment and process. I have no idea how I am going to do this but it’s something I have been thinking about.

Moving forward is the most important, moving forward can only be done when learning from the past.

Slow and steady

Progress, I am a little late with this weeks update and I have nothing big to report other than I have been going thru boxes and cleaning everything out I have no use for anymore. Which helps with creating space for other things. Mainly mentally as I have postponed this tedious task for a long time. Not finished yet but I am getting there one box at a time.

I have however maintained my weekly minimal hours I have set for working on music or music related things. This mainly being connecting everything up with cables and re arranging everything a few times. I am not there yet workflow wise.

It has been fun discovering how a space influences my thinking on future stuff I want to do. As it is not only a music making space but also needs to be a home office, writing and reading room and in the future once my movements improve a space for drawing. A swift way to transform the space is vital in that respect.

It’s a work in progress, slow and steady. More news on this and other topics next week. See you next week.

Wiring everything up

Building the creative space is entering it’s final stages. I have set some of my equipment up and after some back and forth I have decided on a semi permanent set up.

What I am working on at the moment is wiring everything up as nice as possible. Which is a bit of a laborious task. And while I like tinkering, wiring is not one of my favorite things to do. Considering incorporating a patchbay into it all for flexibility. But getting my head around how I want it is not that easy.

The best way for me is if I can use everything in Ableton at route it however I want it. But that needs some figuring out. To be continued.

That was most of my week, however I have been doing some manual reading as well, mainly my beloved Machinedrum, which I need to dive into some more. I really love all the Elektron machines and I have some part of the sequencer in my head, there is still lots out there with triggers, LFO’s and all sorts.

Simply reading the manual is a bit of a dry exercise but I hope some of it sticks.
That was pretty much all I have done this week. I hope to finish the work on the studio before the end of this year and I can start sharing some music next year.

Creative space, progress and Max MSP 9

It’s been a few weeks since my last blog, been recovering from my marathon and had a pretty busy schedule where music making and learning about music took a bit of a backseat.

The creative space is almost done, unfortunately delivery of some parts has been delayed so the finishing touches can’t be completed. Hopefully at the end of next week we will be finished and I can start furnishing the space. Which is about time as I am done getting everything out of storage and setting up everything if I want to do something. It’s costing me too much energy and takes the fun out of it.

A little bit of wait but then my working space is there.

Max MSP 9

The new release of Max MSP came as a bit of a surprise to me. I am nowhere near an expert on Max but this update seems like a big step forward, especially in Jitter and the addition af Ableton’s ABL library for DSP, which allows for the direct use of Ableton effects in Max.

Also there is a code box where you can work on code for Gen, javascript and other stuff in Max. I am not there yet as my skillset is lacking bit these additions seem very cool and useful.

It’s a never-ending tool for making musical productions, with visuals, instruments and so on.

Besides all this work on Max, all the learning resources and help stuff has been updated, integrated in max and redesigned on the website. It’s the perfect starting point for anyone wanting to start and learn Max MSP. I have said it before it’s a big learning curve. At least for me, but it’s very rewarding and can be used for anything you can think of. Especially for building your own musical and visual environments and in interaction with hardware in a way that is custom to you.

It is overwhelming at first, by doing it opens up more and more avenues for creativity as you go along. I am looking forward to learning more and diving into this new version.

Some other thoughts

The state of the world is not great at the moment, rising far right autocracy and the devastating effects of global warming are taking a toll on a lot of people. Not to mention the ongoing wars around the globe and the dangers of more conflict looming every day. Sometimes it’s very hard to focus on the things you want to do in life and work on. I have that exact same problem.

But as I am limited severely in energy I need to focus on what I can control and work on. For me meditation works very well. I have mentioned the benefits of meditation more often but this is as good a time as any to talk about it again.

As it brings me right back into the here and now. It’s only 12 minutes a day for 5 days per week. So you can even skip two days, and maintain this for a few months, at first you will not notice the benefits. But after some time and keep the 5 times a week going and you will start to feel a shift. And for me this was a real eye opener.

More about this and about the science behind it in the excellent book Peak mind by Amish Jha

Give it a go and keep at it, see you all next time.