"In this livestream two Novation stalwarts, Ehsan Gelsi and -CALC- will battle it out, performing individually, using Novation’s powerhouse analogue mono-synth Bass Station II as the main feature. Both will perform live and then run through the techniques used, looking at how to use the killer AFX mode and checking out how the Bass Station II can form the centre point for any set-up.
"A simple demo of the Bass Station II voice and overlay editors now available in Patch Base for Mac and iPad. You can fully edit every voice and overlay (AFX Mode) parameter, visualize everything, and even access some hidden parameters on the Bass Station II
"Bass Station 2 is a fantastic way to process sound sources using the external input. Bass Station 2 is especially powerful when processing external sounds when in AFX mode. Here we’re shaping the signal of a live drum-break with some wild results!"
"Warp Records celebrate their 30th anniversary with three-day NTS Radio takeover, including exclusive mixes and giveaways.
For the past 30 years, UK based label Warp Records have been consistently setting the bar in the electronic music world, always pushing the boundaries of the genre and thrilling music fans worldwide.
Founded by Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell in the back of a record store in Sheffield in 1989, Warp has become the pioneer of its genre with a unique yet reliable catalogue of electronic music. Responsible for bringing to the world the likes of Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher and Nightmares on Wax, plus loads more, Warp have also more recently ventured into film, art installations and their own online independent record store, Bleep.com.
This weekend, Warp are set to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Partnering with NTS, they’ll bring together their legendary roster with a packed out 100-hour schedule of music, including exclusive mixes, tributes and giveaways.
As part of the celebrations and in honour of the release of our recent Bass Station AFX update, listeners will have the chance to get their hands on a very limited edition Warp Records x Aphex Twin x Novation Bass Station II, 1 of only 5 made. For a chance to win, simply sign up for the WXAXRXP mailing list following the link below [bottom of page here].
We’ve also compiled a selection of our favourite Warp releases spanning the past thirty years. With so many releases, we could have kept this list going on for ages, but here are ten particular highlights from the past three decades chosen by some of the team over at Novation HQ:
"A quick look at the excellent AFX mode, playing it live and with the arpeggiator and sequencer. Plus how to program an overlay with 25 sounds in one preset using the new overlay function in AFX mode."
"What's up everybody? Today we're going to be checking out the 4.14 update to the Novation Bass Station 2. Here are a few sounds from the AFX Mode Presets. Let's check it out."
Fresh back from a little servicing love, the Roland Juno 106 and RE201 tape echo get back on the bench for a workout.
Based around a simple sequence from Launchpad Pro into the Bass Station 2 (using the marvellous AFX mode) the 106 is feeding loops into the Chase Bliss Blooper pedal.
Octatrack holding the rhythm section in check.
"-CALC- revisits the classic Bass Station II analogue synth, with a live stream focused on sound design. -CALC- will cover some of the more interesting and unusual features that this beast of a monosynth has to offer, including a look at programming the powerful AFX mode, releasing the 3rd Oscillator, paraphonic control and exploring the very powerful and programmable envelopes."
"Is the AFX Station a Bass Station II in new clothes? Of course! But don't let that stop us checking out the innovation and versatility in this fat and compact monosynth from Novation.
"So much fun with BS2 and its #AFX mode. All sounds are coming directly from the #BassStation2 using its internal sequencer and heavy live tweaking of various parameters. Just added a little ambient drone afterwards using #Mononoke synth on the iPad."
Got the BS 2 for a short time so I`ve decided to check how it looks now with the newest 4.14 firmware. It is just some fun with the features. Beside 2 Echo`s from Ableton Live there`s no comression or external FX just the usual limiting at the end of the chain.
"Wanted to demo some more grounded ways of using this wonderfully deep feature, hope it gets you thinking differently about the tools at your fingertips."
"Strands is the working title for a series of audiovisual compositions based on the idea of animated, generative, graphic scores. Last year I composed six of these scores written in Javascript for Parking Ramp Project, a performance installation in a seven-level parking ramp with a large cast reflecting on transience, migration, and stability commissioned by Guggenheim fellow, Pramila Vasudevan. While Parking Ramp Project was composed for a trio, Strands is specifically composed for a soloist.
Rain is a new movement in the series and the first that I have produced with video of the animated score. Currently there are five movements in the piece. I performed the first four recently at the ISSTA conference in Cork, Ireland. The visual part of the piece is meant to be read like music but without the use of key or time signatures. Each time the piece is played the visuals are regenerated, so it is never performed the same way twice.
The musician may interpret the visuals in many ways. For example, in Rain lines are animated from the top of the screen to the bottom. Where the line appears horizontally is roughly regarded as pitch and as the line animates the sound is modulated. The lines also vary in weight. Heavier lines are louder and lower in pitch while thinner lines are quieter, generally higher, and sometimes altered with a high-pass filter.
I performed Rain using the Novation Bass Station II, which has a feature (AFX mode overlays) that allows for each note to have entirely different parameters. With this technique I was able to map different timbres to the keybed and use this variety in texture as another way to interpret the score. Keep an eye out for more of these. It is my intent to make videos for all five of the movements and perhaps add one or two more to the series.
"Generator is the next piece in the Strands series. These audiovisual compositions illustrate the interpretation of animated, generative, graphic scores written in Javascript. Generator is made up of connected line segments that that go from left to right, up, or down, but never in reverse. The weight and length of each segment is consistent across the width of the screen and changes once a new set of segments starts again from the left.
I interpret each set of segments as an arpeggio. The tempo of each arpeggio is decided by the segment length. Shorter segments, drawn more quickly, are paired with faster arpeggios. As the line segments wander up and down I generally interpret the Y axis as pitch, but because the direction of each segment is random the pitches are not exact representations of the paths that are displayed; neither is it the intent to exactly follow the visuals. Instead, musicians interpret the score so that human qualities contrast the computer generated visuals.
The aesthetics of the pieces in this series, both visually and sonically, are secondary to the objectives. First that the scores are composed for the purpose of being read by musician(s). Secondly, the artist(s) have space to improvise within their interpretations. Thirdly (in addition to interpretation) aleatoric elements make the pieces significantly different from one performance to the next. Finally, although the performances vary, distinct characteristics identify each piece.
The objectives of these pieces lead to music that is often atonal and/or atemporal. After about a dozen rehearsals, performances, and recordings with a trio and as a soloist it has become apparent that tonality and timing often do emerge. For example, in Generator the tempi of the arpeggios change with each animated progression from left to right. Arbitrary rests are interspersed with random lengths. This amounts to timing without time signatures. And, since the pitches are left up to the artist the notes performed may or may not be in key. In my performance I chose to use a variety of intervals and scales leading up to the chromatic scale at the conclusion.
"What a better way to start a new synth friendship by messing around with #afxmode on the #BassStation2? Sequenced by #riffer on the iPad, added kick with #playbeat and a touch of master glitching with #glitchcore. Sorry for the mess!"
