small changes: pianola

video upload by Expert Sleepers

"We're delighted to announce 'pianola' by small changes.

small changes is the alter ego of Electrum Modular.

Their thoughtful and beautifully presented videos on modular synth composition have delighted us for some time, and their frequent use of the Expert Sleepers disting EX module made them an obvious choice for an Expert Sleepers label release.

'pianola' focusses specifically on Electrum Modular's interest in the work of minimalist composers, some well known and some less so.

Available in physical form as a limited edition cassette.

Each track on the album has its own video explaining the patch and compositional process in detail:

See Minimalism for Modular Electrum Modular for additional videos.

minimalism for modular #6: melodic expansion/contraction with pamela

video upload by Electrum Modular

"You don’t need a fancy sequencer to do minimalist-style additive sequencing. Here’s a trick that involves a module that’s in a lot of people’s racks: Pamela’s New Workout.
Also announcing my new album – 'pianola,' by 'small changes' (my artist name). It’s a collection of minimalist pieces produced on the modular, all featuring piano multisamples on the Disting EX. It’s now available on Bandcamp:"

Minimalism for Modular #5: Hans Otte's Book of Sounds

video upload by Electrum Modular

"An introduction to the ethereal music of Hans Otte, via a modular interpretation of two parts (2 and 7) from his Book of Sounds (1979-82).

Also contains several ideas for generative/aleatory sequencing in a modular system: in particular, decoupling pitch and gate, combining a multi-channel sample player (Disting EX) with a sequencer that has per-step gate outputs (0-Ctrl), and using a series of probabilistic gates (Missed Opportunities) to distribute/alternate pitch variations.

0:00 Introduction
1:41 First patch (Book of Sounds, part 7)
6:28 Second patch (Book of Sounds, part 2)

For those new to Hans Otte’s music, I would recommend his own rendition of The Book of Sounds:



And this 1995 album, Aquarian Music: • Siebengesang (Seven-Song)

PSP Pianoverb free download: https://www.pspaudioware.com/products...



Alexander Holm's Salamander Grand Piano, downsized by j_e_f_f_g, and reformatted for the Disting: https://app.box.com/s/rxl1nz0zv5hl62c...

A special thank you to Silvia Otte, for generously providing the photographs of her late father.

'Le Sacrifice: Introduction' from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, played by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski (78rpm record, His Master's Voice, 1939):
https://archive.org/details/78_first-...

Processed through a bandpass filter, with frequency boost around 3mHZ, and combined with filtered white noise, etc. to create the vintage radio effect

Images of Hans Otte’s “On Earth” (Edition Kölnischer Kunstverein II):
https://archive.org/details/cd_editio...

Sources:
Amy C. Beal, American Experimental Music in West Germany from the Zero Hour to Reunification (University of California Press, 2006) – in particular, for the reference to Otte’s wartime experience.
Ingo Ahmels, Hans Otte: Klang Der Klänge (Schott Musik International, 2006)

Modules used:
Expert Sleepers' Disting EX and Disting Mk4
QuBit Bloom
Dnipro's Metamorph
Cutelab’s Missed Opportunities
Tesseract’s Sweet Sixteen Faderbank
Tesseract’s Step Fader II
ALM's Pamela's New Workout
ALM’s MFX
Doepfer’s Sequential Switch (A-151)
Low Gain Electronic’s Shortbus
Intellijel’s Quad VCA
Behringer Neutron
Make Noise’s 0-Ctrl"

minimalism for modular #4: sample + hold + phase

video upload by Electrum Modular

"Tiny changes over time are essential to minimalist (and ambient) pieces. This video demonstrates how to create gradually evolving sequences with a sequencer and a “sample and hold” that are NOT perfectly synchronized. Any sequencer and “sample and hold” will work! Detailed patch notes included.

The piano multisample is Alexander Holm's Salamander Grand Piano, downsized by j_e_f_f_g. I have reformatted the filenames so they work on a Disting - you can download them free from:
https://app.box.com/s/rxl1nz0zv5hl62c...

Modules used:
Expert Sleepers' Disting EX and Disting Mk4
QuBit Bloom
ALM's Pamela's New Workout
Dnipro's Metamorph
Alright Devices' Chronoblob
Intellijel's Scales"

Minimalism for Modular #3: Arvo Part

video upload by Electrum Modular

"There’s a tintinnabuli option hidden in Disting EX’s 'chord engine' algorithm, and it’s led me down the Arvo Part rabbit hole. Here are some ideas on how his unique and beautiful approach to music might be implemented in a modular system.

0:00 Fur Alina
2:31 Arvo Part-inspired piece

This latter piece is inspired by Part’s 'My Heart is in the Highlands' (2000). My favorite version is on this stunning album of guitar renditions of Arvo Part:
https://gunterherbig.bandcamp.com/alb...

NOTE: Although Arvo Part has never called himself a minimalist, and not all music critics embrace the term “Holy Minimalism,” I’m including him in this series on the basis of his return to tonality and to simple processes.

TECHNICAL NOTES FOR DISTING EX USERS:
For tintinnabuli, set the 'Chord Engine' parameters as follows:
7: operation mode: chord
8: harmony mode: SATB
19: Cantus firmus: alto (but here, it’s set to bass; experiment!)
20: Position: select your T-voice (closest or second closest note; above or below)

NOTE: You might be wondering what Disting Mk4 is doing in this patch! It is set to 'Euro to Buchla Converter' (updated version), to convert Bloom’s 0-5V output to the 0-10V needed for Step Fader’s cv inputs. I just realized how useful this algo is for scaling cv!

OTHER IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING TINTINNABULI IN YOUR MODULAR PATCHES:
1. For the M-voice, choose a 'pitch center' that is NOT the root of the T-voice triad
2. Try a different scale or chord
3. Try a lower or higher T-voices ('2nd position, superior/inferior' – or -2/+2)
4. Transpose your T-voice up or down an octave
5. Introduce a second M-voice, transposed up an octave and a third
6. Try a different sequencing of T- and M-voice (e.g., a rest in between them; or have the M-voice precede the T-voice, as in Variationen zur gesundung von Arinuschka)
7. Assign a different timbre to each voice

READING
I’ve found these books particularly useful:
Paul Hillier, Arvo Part (1997)
Leopold Brauneiss and Saale Kareda, ed., Arvo Part in Conversation (2012)
Andrew Shenton, ed., Cambridge Companion to Arvo Part (2012)"

Minimalism for Modular #2: Ann Southam's "Rivers"

video upload by Electrum Modular

"I’ve been playing Ann Southam’s exquisite pieces on the piano for a few months, and have been discovering lots of ideas in them that could be applied to a modular system.

This video is also a tribute to a composer who should be a household name like Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Terry Riley.

0:00 Introduction
1:07 Rivers 1st set
4:22 Rivers 2nd set
7:18 Rivers 3rd set

Previous video in this series: [posted here]
Earlier video on polychords on the Subharmonicon: [posted here]

A great starting point for those curious about Southam is Christina Petrowska-Quilico’s recording – amazingly, the only recording – of Rivers:

CLICK FOR MORE »

Minimalism for Modular #I: Additive Sequencing

Patches for minimalist music #I: additive sequencing video upload by Electrum Modular

"In this new series of videos, I’ll be applying the ideas and techniques of minimalist composers to modular synthesis.

First up: the linear additive process.

Modules used:
Tesseract’s Step Fader II
Expert Sleeper’s Disting EX
ALM’s MFX
ALM’s Pamela’s New Workout

Hapi/xylophone multisamples downloaded (free) from: https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2011...

I’m using Dan Warburton’s terms, from 'A Working Terminology for Minimal Music' (1988) http://www.paristransatlantic.com/mag..."