I just stumbled upon a new way to perform in Ableton. This is just a proof of concept, but given a prepared MIDI-Clip you could find some interesting results… Think of Instrument-Racks. Kind of remxing your MIDI via Mouse.
Ok. It’s actually just for fun, but picture the potential. So please send me your compositions for cursor & select boxes!
My dear friend and Dåbermann-mate @sundur is a classic example for having waaay too much potential, but holding back his arts somehow. I just found myself listening to a very short snippet of him again and again. Simply because I couldn’t explain what was going on there.
He’s a true sound-wizard and listening to these snippets, I honestly hope that his craft will continue to take shape!
While the world holds its breath, watching the horrible things happening in Japan, I suggest some emotional digestion. If possible. On Soundcloud, i follow 3 Japanese; listening to their songs & sounds now, is stirring for me. Like history puts over new meaning to these songs. Now i don’t want to put you in a depressive mood, but i felt the need to post these.
First, start this first piece of Makoto Okuda, then play the Youtube-Video at the same time. (Fullscreen works best)
Then, play the next two side-by-side. The piece by Shinichiroa presents the sound of some untroubled times in japan, while Rintaro Iwashita’s Fog Alert is also very close to today’s mood. The two played together, with today’s perspective, deliver this diffuse disturbance I’m feeling right now.
3 pieces by 3 Japanese affected by this catastrophies remind us, that behind every number in the news, there is a personality. With own feelings, their expression, ups and downs. Lets think of them sending strength in these days.
When I first stumbled across Kitkaliitto on Soundcloud I immediatly liked their style. And it struck me: “Man, these guys are a little bit like a finnish version of Dåbermann.” 3 guys, collaborating on electronic tracks. Maybe we differ a bit in approach and sound palette, but this is still my picture of them.
Some time ago, Tommi asked if he could remix Morgenschillgit, which I gladly agreed to. Well, what can I say, the result is now online, and i really like it. Especially how they kept the chord progression in an really abstract form. I like how it slowly evolves and the vocals remind me in parts of Tobias Lilja (which is said to be a compliment) . Thanks a lot guys, you are awesome!
Exciting! Actually it excited me that much, that there will be some thing more sometime. One will see…
As announced earlier, last friday I had my first real solo-performance with material that matters to me.
It took place at an exhibition opening of my friend Lilli. The thought behind the performance was to try to convey the atmosphere of her book “Todkehlchen”. In my way of interpreting it, it is a silently drawn book about death, loneliness and friendship. About wood, flesh and beauty.
Performance-wise I am quite satisfied with the result. I really did not have much time to prepare and rehearse, so what you hear is the first time I ever played this set in this form. So to say, some kind of prepared improvisation (excluding this one part, that is obviously triggered clips). Feel free to download and share, feedback is always appreciated!
Thanks to Lilli for having me and to all friends who came. You made it a memorable evening!
Now, everything would be fine at this point – but without me knowing, at the same day a college of mine died at the age of 27. He just finished his studies, married this year and had a little son. Although I knew him just for about a month, I really liked him a lot.
When I read the message the next day, it seemed ironic, having played a performance around the topic of death the day before. (“Todkehlchen” translates to little death-throat; a pun on the german name for the readbreast bird) While I can’t change what happened, I still want to dedicate this recording to you, Julian, rest in peace my friend!
It has been a little silent here for a while. I moved to a new city and took some time to clear out my musical head. Slowly, the engines are starting again…
The first manifestation of this process will be a performance, that will accompany the exhibtion of Lilli Gärtner’s illustration diploma. I took a deep look at her works and digested its atmosphere. In the performance, I will try to mirror this atmosphere musically.
So if you are in Leipzig or near, come by and listen!
I did an Interrail-Trip in March/April 2010. Travelling from Aachen through Belgium, France, Switzerland and Italy to Greece. By train. In Greece i travelled a bit around (Peloponnes, Athens and Tessaloniki) and then went to Istanbul. The way home was through Bukarest, Budapest, Vienna and Innsbruck. Really a great trip for me, it finally gave me the last kick to liberate my head from this internet-thing here. I saw lots of great places and met many great people. And i collected sounds. And since three months i always wanted to put a cut together, that represents my journey in sound. Like watching a photo-album with the ears. Or listening to a documentary without the picture.
I don’t know if this is of any value to anyone out there. I can remember these moments where some relative took out a video-camera and showed videos from last holiday in southern france or such. For them it was very exciting, i mean the shaky camera, the non-action going on there. But obviously holiday-movies are only pleasure to those who actually participated. So please let me know if it is boring
But one part of travelling for me was always to be at some place, sit and listen. It is the sound.
Though you could listen through the widget above, i recommend going to the Soundcloud-page, where you can see all timed comments, guiding you through my journey. Have fun (or not)!
Ps. if you nevertheless want to see some pictures, try this link..
What you see above is the trailer of a russian documentary, that I will contribute sound and music to. We are still in the beginning of our workflow, but it is a very nice team around russian director Sergey Kachkin and the romanian film-producer Andra Matresu. I am really looking forward to compose music, that is inspired by the pictures and the mood of the film. Long russian streets. Cold russian winters.
A melancholic love poem in modern times of Russia – this documentary unfolds around a married couple at the age of fifty. He is a truck driver. She is his woman tending for love. Nobody knows when the situation will change until one of the family member dies…
There is a small town in Belgium, called Neerpelt, where they have this wonderful place: Klankenbos, which translates to “Soundforest”. Initiated by musica.be, they invite sound-artists to contribute installations to the forest. So visitors can go around and experience sound in new ways.
Just to give an example: there is a glass-cube in the forest, which you can only access through an underground tunnel. Being there, it isolates you from the environmental forest-sounds to bring awareness to what you normally don’t take attention to. The concept is inspired by John Cage’s famous piece 4:33, which is basically 4 minutes and 33 seconds of musical silence.
Another one: A giant flute. In fact so big, that you can go into it. You close the big steel-door behind you and a huge fan starts “blowing” air on the opening of the flute. The created sound is of such a low frequency (maybe around 20-30Hz) that you literally stand inside of the wave and physically feel how the sound goes through your body. Impressive.
There are many more installations, so if you happen to be around that area, it is definetely worth a visit! Check their website: musica.be or flip through the Klankenbos Info-PDF.
There is a small wooden cottage called RadioForest, which was initially created to broadcast the moods of the wood. Now it is a place for workshops and several installations. For example, they have soundscapes being played within the wooden walls of the building. You have to approach with your ear to listen to soundscapes evolving around the topic of “forest”.
This is where Dåbermann comes into place: we were invited to contribute such a soundscape to the collection. Instead of just delivering it, we went to Klankenbos to have an improvised session right in that setting. Besides of some instruments, we used just sounds we collected earlier in the forest.
It was a very nice experience, these are the kinds of places we Dåbermen like. So if you happen to be in Klankenbos next time, you will probably listen to our Radioforest Soundscape there. Enjoy!
(If you don’t want to take on the travel cost, download the file and listen at home
Actually this is a repost taken from our Dåberlog. Feel free to subscribe/follow over there.
