This Blog is about electronic music, synthesizers and SDIY. Sigma-music can be found on Bandcamp (http://sigma2.bandcamp.com/), CDBaby and several other web streaming/downloading services.
We had a nice evening in Worm/WunderBar with NoodleBar. There was first a hack-a-stylophone workshop led by sound artist Tasos Stamou from Greece and after that the concert in WunderBar.
LAB (Martijn) started with his big modular setup that created huge modular-soundscape which surrounded us all. Very nice indeed! Then performed our Italian modularist Alberto Novell with his eurorack modules. Nice simple and structured performance. I liked very much the contrast between non synced at tightly synced drum parts. Very organic sound! After this performed our workshop leader Tasos Stamou with his interesting mixed electronic and acoustic setup. Demanding but very interesting music with not so usual instruments. The last performer was me as 1/2 Sigma. This concert was recorded so maybe we can listen it someday from web.
In the train from Amsterdam to Rotterdam.
We had a nice and not so expensive Hotel room from Bazar only 200m from WunderBar. Breakfast was included and it was very good.
My Eurorack modular and EMB. The cardbox contains my Modcan frequency shifter!
LAB's modular wall!
Martijn (right) and me.
Alberto Novell with his Eurorack modules.
Tasos with his mixed instruments. Notice the lamp on the table!
I need only one of my Modcan MOTM-size modules on my next gig in NoodleBar. So I made temporary case from an cardboard box. Power comes from an external +-15V supply.
Here is a great fresh interview of Charles Cohen. He speaks about improvisation and listening. Interestingly he refers Duke Ellington how music can be universally accepted:
1. The audience has to have some sense of what is happening physically --> that's why most laptop performances are visually boring
2. Music must be sensual --> love of pure sound
3. The audience has to have some sense that there is a risk in the music --> energy
4. The musicians have to believe what they are doing
Also Pauline Oliveros is referred for deep listening. It's what you are doing with your ears, not what you are doing with your hands.
Cecil Taylor has had a big influence on Charles music. Taylor has said "this music is truth and truth is healing". The process of you expressing yourself is very healing.
I agree with all these points. Please check this video. I hope the extended version of this video appear's very soon.
My first gig as Sigma in Netherlands happens at NoodleBar 26.9.2015. Thanks for Monopoly to giving me this opportunity ! I take with me my Electronic Music Box, Euromodule-rack and EWI controlling the Nord MicroModular. Can't wait to get on stage. Here (http://noodlebar.org/) you can find more information of this happening and the other performers. See you in Rotterdam/Wunderbar 26.9.2015 !
I have been reading Kees Tazelaars book "On The Threshold of Beauty". It is interesting to find out how rich and deep is the history of Dutch electronic music scene. We all know Philips as a technology company but Philips was also of great significance for the development of Dutch electronic music. I like to picturize things so I draw this mind map of the most important composers and studios of this era. If there is only one name that should be mentioned then that would be Dick Raaijmakers. Besides that he composed electronic music he was also a producer and studio-manager. Starting from Philips Research Laboratories he has been involved some way with all these other composers and studios in this map. I think he was also one of the first electronic music popularisers with his alter ego Kid Baltan and the popular electronic music series. Stanley Kubrick contacted him in 1965 and asked if he would be interested to compose music for 2001: A Space Odyssey film. But the composer declined from this offer ! It is interesting that there is no Dutch version of Kraftwerk or Stockhausen even I am sure that both Kraftwerk and Stockhausen checked carefully what these Dutch composers were doing.
My favorite of all these composers is Jan Boerman. He was many years ahead of his time with sound-bank creation/circulation and timbre-composition techniques.
Finally got all the switches for Prodigy. My version of Prodigy has similar switches as MG/Opus/Rogue Moogs. PCB-layouts has been corrected for these switches. I must still source some Alpha 24mm potis for VCF Resonance (50k reverse log), LFO-rate (3M reverse log) and Glide (1M log). VCA and VCF-envelope uses also 1M log potis. All the other potentiometers are Bourns Slimline models. The Volume-pot (5k log) is made from 50k lin potentiometer with some tapering resistor (also a small change to an other fixed resistor value).
I received these from iTead and they look perfect. CV-meter is stuffed with components and it works. Quad VCA channel-1 is stuffed and it also works as supposed. I have found only one minor error. The layout of the mini-jacks must be rotated 90° ccw. Now they don't fit if you do not make little surgely operation. Next I must plan the panels. I probably order them from Front Panel Express (http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/).
