Wow, that was not on my list for 2025. Okay, there is an art installation currently touring in England, Jimmy Cauty's ESTATE (https://l-13.org/projects/jimmy-cauty/estate/). It is descibed as an dystopian model village experience, featuring four concrete tower blocks at 1:24 scale in a big shipping container. You can walk through the shipping container and look through the windows into the flats of the tower blocks. One of them, called Iceni Heights (http://iceniheights.org) holds a pirate radio station and on the internet this is represented by an RasPi2 with an icecast server, streaming random music from the sd card 24/7. Musicians donated songs and mixes to be played there and well, I've been offered by LD50 (check out her stuff at https://303.co.uk/) and of course, I had to chip in, too! This is so cool. So, if you listen to the stream on the tower blocks website (or here http://iceni.303.co.uk:9000/stream) you might listen to the liveset I recorded 2024 at Rock Harz Open Air.
New year, new stuff, new goals. Or not, I don't know. I'm currently not so sure where to proceed from this. I still have a few older pieces I need to finalize and upload to Funkwhale. Something I wanted to do last year and then we all caught influenca and stayed in bed all december long. It's something that comes up quite often: I wanted to do things but then life happened. Well, you don't stop life from happening, do you?
If life allows, I'd like to attend GPN23 this year. I will also go to Rockharz Open Air 2025 as it is tradition. You might hear me playing on the campground. Or listen to the recording afterwards. Also, if I can make it happen, I'd like to visit the MRMCD in Darmstadt this year, but that's a bit iffy.
So, if everything goes as expected, you can technically meet and listen to me at:
Well, TECHNICALLY we always come 2 days earlier to Rock Harz to put up our tent. You will probably meet me there from the 30.06. on but well... things can happen. Life, for example.
I want myself to improve in what I do. Last year at Rockharz was the first time I used the Volca Sampe 2 as an additional drum computer to the T-8, adding 808 and 909 percussions. It worked out very well and I want to further include this. My goal is to have at least a ride cymbal available for driving parts. The RD-6 has a Cymbal but that is a bit... trashy? I dunno. I'd love to add a real 909 (the Behringer RD-9 for example) but for one they come as big devices and two they all need 18V/1A to work and I currently have no way producing this on the go. Yes, I know, there is also the boutique Roland TR-09 which comes with Mini USB and a battery compartment. But to be honest: My fingers are too big for the controls. Heck, I struggle with the T-8 at this point!
So, my first goal is to include the Volca Sample more and put samples on it which I really need. It comes with 10 sample slots and so far I used like 3 or 4 of them. I also bought a Roland S-1 and want to use it to add more background flavor. I experimented with that and it worked well for me, but I need way more training. Choo choo, here comes the Synth train! My third and last goal is to find a mixing solution I feel comfortable with. Until now I used the Moukeys whenever I needed an external mixer. They work okay but they "just" mix signals together. No Send/Return for effects. No filters. The Korg Volca Mix solves this but the unit is noisy as fuck and I'm not sure if I can work around it. For now it will be part of my setup. It has one effect bus and I'm not sure what to add to it. The Volca Sample could use a compressor. But I don't need an FX channel for that, just throw the compressor directly between the sample and the mix input. The S-1 does not have any form of distortion, so I could use the FX to add some of it. My first experiments were... not so great. You can fuck up a drum computer or a 303 with a high gain distortion and it sounds awesome. A bit of overdrive always adds character, too. But for any reason this doesn't work so well with the S-1.
Okay, long story short:
When I play all this in a live set like some raving madman, I'll be satisfied. MAYBE then I feel comfortable enough to go playing as an artist for example in the GPN lounge. And not like an underground raver in the parking lot. Although, the parking lot was fun last year!
Well, summer is over, let's see what I've done so far. GPN 22 was... rainy-wet but fun. I was mostly outside but to keep my equipment secure I played in the underground car park in front of the back entrance. Sadly I fucked up the recording levels and thus everything I recorded was clipped and not in a fun way. No recordings from GPN this year. Sorry.
I also was at Rock Harz Open Air and no, I was not booked to play Acid House on stage at a Metal Festival. Of course not. Instead I was sitting in our camp with my friends and randomly put synths out of my tent whenever I felt about it. At one point I recorded a nice little session, I put it into the SynthTrain album: https://funkwhale.apps.phentr0pulse.de/library/tracks/4/ This years Rock Harz taught me a few things. First: I have to use headphones! I made the mistake and used the speakers on the main output to monitor what I play. When everybody is talking I sometimes was unable to hear the beats and missed the bar timings. If you hear a drop and feel like WTF is this, what happened here?, then you found one of these instances. Then: Even if I feel like I'm too lazy to get up one more time because I forgot to grab the midi clock, I should do it anyway. Makes stuff so much easier! And finally: There are a few synths who absolutely don't like daylight. The Korg Volca Sample 2 for example is NOT one of these. Whenever I try to figure out which step keys are lit on my Roland T-8 and which are not (because the look the same in sunlight), the Volcas eyeburning bright red step LEDs go pew-pew-pew like little lasers. But take the Novation Circuit Tracks for example. I had a few times where I was unsure if it was switched on yet.
What am I taking from this summer? Well, doing stuff live in the sun is great but I need some kind of portable shadow solution because not every gear provides enough visibility in daylight. Don't sleep on the midi clock, it is great. Use headphones. Hydrate properly. And watch them recording levels.
What's next? Uh, the year still has like 10 weeks or something, maybe I do a little home studio recording? I don't think it is a good idea sitting outside with my gear in freezing or rainy weather. I could do a youtube video. I don't know. But I think I'll do something before the year ends. Just for the finale, you know?
This will be the first time I'm at GPN (Gulaschprogrammiernacht) in Karlsruhe. And it will be the first time I do music for strangers. Not officially, I just sit down somewhere and play for Dave (who will do POI stuff) and random people passing by who happen to be able to listen and maybe stop... or not, I don't know. I'm nervous but hey, I'm sure everything will be fine. The GPN will be from May 30th to June 2nd 2024 and you can read everything about it at https://entropia.de/GPN22/en
I will bring the Roland T-8 and possibly the Korg Volca Sample2. I didn't make up my mind yet but when you see me with a Roland TB-3 as well, my insecurity won over.
Hey, I'm Momo and this is great! I think. Or at least it will be.