Ambient jam w/ Soma Cosmos, Take 5, Polymoon, Marantz cassette tape piano, and guitar

video upload by Jay Hosking

"A live, semi-improvised track performed entirely on hardware.

A common feature of many of my songs is a sort of upward progression in dynamics; so here, I wanted to try to do something different, a soundscape that flowed from one palette to another, its feelings moving laterally instead of vertically. This approach was inspired by the Soma Cosmos and having the feedback (loop decay) set below 1.0, so that the loops gently cascade out over time and allow for new loops to take over. I love the effect. I love the Cosmos.

For audio fodder, I had recorded an improv piano piece the night before to cassette tape, and found myself using it for more than just notes/snippets, instead following its chord progression at the end here. For live sound generation, I used the Take 5—I really love the warm pads it can do—and a baritone guitar through compression, reverb, and an amp simulator. Switching the Cosmos off and on, I let the guitar take the lead in the first section, and the piano and synth in the second, with the instruments switching roles into the loop. I love that the Cosmos's on/off is silent!

Thanks for listening.

Fender Jaguar Baritone into Union Lab into Union C-Verb into Strymon Iridium - Electric guitar
Marantz PMD430 - Cassette with piano on it
Mackie Mix5 - Mixer
Meris Polymoon - Delay/reverb on everything out of the mixer
Soma Labs Cosmos - Looping

Written, performed and recorded live to a stereo output, with EQ, compression, and limiting on the master.

https://jayhosking.bandcamp.com"