Spivkurl

I can think of very few received comments which were quite this positive and encouraging, and I thank you for it. The list of qualities which you expect from a song of mine - "creativity, inventiveness, extravaganza, healthy dose of craziness and sarcasm with loads of entertaining spirit" - they give me a lot of hope that I succeed in my intentions. It doesn't get much better than that!

Since these field recordings were open air and crowded, they are not prime in any way, yet they still add some atmosphere and interest to an electronic song. I'd love to have better equipment for this sort of thing. My digital recorder is much better suited for small rooms. It does also seem good for EVP recording as well, since I picked up one of those in the local clinic waiting room.

I appreciate you stopping by to listen and to encourage!

Thanks my friend for taking a listen to something like this. I know a lot of people have trouble with longer songs, and a similar amount of people can't stand trance!

Happy that you liked the synths! Since the bass was kind of in two parts, it took me a while to get the modular tuned just right. It didn't help that I composed the bass part, and then right after that we had record heat. The analog oscillators are sensitive to temperature, so the scaling was totally different when I went back to commit it to audio. Turned out though.

The vocals were from varied sources, so it made sense to process them quite a bit differently. The field recordings were definitely the big challenge in this respect, since they were just made with a little pocket digital recorder... no fidelity, lots of background noise.

I'm glad it was a good listen! Thank you, and have a nice day!

Wow, you hit up a track from over two years ago! That hardly ever happens! This tells me that you actually like music! I respect that!

From the point of view of the songwriter and sole musician, this song is very melancholy, but that is for more personal and subjective reasons. I am really glad that people can find it upbeat!

It is definitely one of my more pop type of songs, and I'm sure you'll agree if you check out my catalog. I would not normally try this hard for range of performance, and I am big on performance!

Thank you for listening and for your comment!

Hey Robbie! Thanks for taking a listen! I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out, and also happy that it is finished... these long songs can be a real strain on the ears.

My new friends are taking me where they want me to go, even if they don't go with me... soon they will be with me always, as long as they don't get angry.

Ha ha, that "too strong" part worked all too well. So true though.

Thanks again! Hopefully I'll have another new song soon, or at least a finished album to share.

Bleep, every time that a comment from you arrives, I always find myself eager to respond. Since I try to do those things in the order they are received, sometimes it takes a little while. It does not mean that I was any less eager!

Depeche Mode is definitely an old favorite of mine, though I seem to listen to them less often these days. I know when my wife goes half a bottle of the wagon, we often end up listening to a bunch of their singles. We've been wanting to make a cover album, which would probably include a couple of DM tracks. My personal favorite album of theirs is "Ultra."

You should get a prize for being the only one to identify my new friend as a mushroom! Yes, it is effective most assuredly. I have watched for them on my forest walks for about twenty years, and finally began locating them in late August. With the last patch found, I realised that I had been seeing them in previous years, but had mistaken them for something else. I guess that it is best to err on the side of caution, and wait for experience to catch up with interest.

Trance-like aspects are definitely something which I would admit to having as part of my signature. The types of trance music (and types of trances) which I am influenced by change through the years, but they seem ever present. Even my first album in 2004 had some of my weak attempts to induce trance.

Details are all important in music to me, most especially electronic music. Even a simple performance on an acoustic instrument can impart many minute details, even without intent. A lot of digitally based sound creation methods can be lacking in these sorts of details, which some might call mistakes and remove completely. There is a satisfying challenge in giving this sort of performance "quirk" in a digital method.

Thank you for coming to listen to this one, and leaving your friendly words! Have an excellent full moon!

"I love spotting a Spivkurl" - I wonder if that's how the locals feel when they are driving and see me pop out of a forest out of nowhere. Doubt it!

I do love the feeling of not knowing what to expect, which adds to the challenge of living life in a city. I used to know what to expect around here, and it was a comfort. Now I know what to expect, and it's a load of bollocks. So I change my perception by expecting sniper fire or a nuclear detonation... sad but true.

The Manchester scene was definitely a big influence on me, especially early on. Joy Division, New Order, Bee Gees all had their place in my heart... in reverse chronological order. Never been too into guns, since if I were to kill I would go all out, Bonnie and Clyde style... good reason not to get started. I've had my love affairs with alcohol (still do) and amphetamine (in the past).

I am a firm believer that "we are all on drugs all the time." Food is either drugs or medicine (drugs). Oxygen gets you high. The water we drink is inundated with various chemical substances, most often including steroids, cocaine, and pharmas. If you eat meat or dairy, then those can have some wild stuff interlaced, most recently ketamine. So, hey, if someone doesn't like drugs, it's probably time to go be a tibetan monk or something.

I'm happy you enjoyed the unusual take on trance. There were points where I was bouncing about and not wanting the ride to end. At a point, when working on songs of this length, it gets a bit taxing. Hearing it all the way through over and over again eats up time like almost nothing else!

Thank you for listening and leaving your consistently entertaining comments!

"Spivkurl goes mainstream" it sounds like a funny name for an album! But seriously, I just enjoy making trance pretty often, to the point where it infects a lot of the other styles of DAW based music I do. All the more reason to rely upon my computer less, right?

I like doing fun electronic styles with weird vocal clips and field recordings mixed in. It seems that even if the music is a bit bland or standard, those things can add a lot of interest, sometimes one of a kind interest.

The ripped samples still have not been identified by any listeners, which does not surprise me... but the gymnopilus reference in my description has been identified, which does surprise me.

I always enjoy reading your comments, even on other people's songs. I appreciate that people like yourself would even bother listening to my stuff, and that fact alone makes this site pretty freakin cool! Thanks for your input! Have a good day!

I don't understand why, but I've tried to reply to your comment several times at this point... it keep tripping some sort of security issue on the server.

Suffice it to say that your comment is much appreciated! It's good to have you hear to listen to my stuff! Thanks!

Ha ha... I guess I was pretty happy in a way, when I did this, and the influences were pretty hardcore. That park is a freakin far cry from the chill times of twenty five years ago when we all sat in a circle tripping and smoking, and discussing who got the first hit off the pipe. Life is so different now... I'm lucky if, when I go out to the parks, I do not see someone get arrested or close to a flat out battle. Life is hard all over, hence the HARD in hardcore. We'll all make it through! Thank you for listening and leaving your words! Good to hear from you!

Hello Domenico! It is always great to hear a comment from you my friend!

I would agree wholeheartedly that the drum beat is repetitive, and it is so since the only thing I changed with the drum machine during the performance was the volume. Otherwise it is the same short loop throughout, one which I made quite a while ago. The volume was changed for one reason only, because the drums were what was causing the envelope follower to react, which caused a bunch of other things to happen in patched items down the line. This change in volume adjusted how the threshold was triggered for the gate and trigger outputs, essentially switching the items down the line to a "half time" rhythm. Basically, only the loudest drums were tripping the trigger, rather than all hits.

I didn't make a selection of drum beats for this one, so definitely it would be repetitive without any changes.

Regarding your question about the vocal distortion... I added a multiband overdrive to the sections written "there doesn't seem to be a record filed." This was intended to be in the original live video, and I was toggling it manually, but I had a monitoring mistake which made it not happen live. All of the other parts are just the natural saturation of the transistor preamp that I designed for the condenser. I too like the way that microphone breaks up when I speak very close. It can be an expressive mic, since getting further away creates a very different tone. I use that mic on almost everything these days... :)

Thank you for taking a listen and leaving your words! Have a good day!

Ha ha, gabba... now there's something you don't hear brought up every day! I try to avoid "brown note" and similar situations, since I would hate to be asked to clean it up. Plus life is hard enough as it is!

Happy to hear that you think it has some power to it. It's been taking all of my self control to keep plugging away at this album. Hopefully I am within a song or two. The record heat in the past couple of weeks did not help at all!

Just thought I'd take a minute to respond here, and return the favor before I finish making seed milk. Thanks for listening friend!

Your words are not taken lightly my friend!

Technically, part of my background is orchestral, but I did not fit in with the idea of playing classical tunes and being chastised by teachers when I did something "wrong." My cellos were always borrowed from the school, since I was low income. I would love to have one again. I remember how satisfying it was playing pizzicato on the cello, or switching to the back of the bow. It is a lovely instrument.

I was hoping to do some internet radio DJ sets myself again, but the current state of FL Studio made it very difficult, so I set the idea aside for now. There recent additions of tempo automation are pretty much broken in my opinion, since they are based on the grid... Either the audio will stretch to a tempo, or the grid will - so either way, the results are not predictable. The clip will end in a totally different place than where it was when it began. Annoying!

Thank you for noticing my dedication... in all reality, my lack of dedication to music is mainly due to my dedication to many different aspirations. I could spend all day in the studio or practising instruments, but then my garden would wither, I would stop eating, I wouldn't know anything about native plants or fungus, I would stop adding to my blog, and I would have no time for local activism, and and and, well you get the idea. Even as it is, I have no time or energy for local friendships. :)

I honestly wish so much that I could bundle up! We have had many days around and above 31 degrees C in the past week, and today is supposed to be about the worst. We've had maybe .2 cm of rain the past several weeks. It's getting bad, especially with the wildfire smoke and ozone. There are air quality warnings today. I've been watering the garden before sunrise just for safety of myself and the plants.

Don't mean to complain, it's just forefront in my mind. One of those times where I stop believing that winter will come. At least we are getting a bumper crop of tomatoes!

But, don't worry - A song like this is not exactly meant for enjoyment in the conventional sense. It is simply self expression and carrying on the "work" of others. I should have a slightly more conventional tune finished soon.

Thanks for always being there to listen and give your support!

Ha ha, I hear what you are saying there... Ironically, I was the one giving out freebies on this day, and the lyrics were mostly inspired by listening to people talk about the salvation army while they basked in the pipe smoke.

'91 was the only actual rave I have ever been to, though it was technically a christian festival rave. Still some thumping old school stuff. Though some of the concerts I've seen were a lot like rave's, such as NIN around '93-'94 and again around 2000... plus skinny puppy always has that frantic dance vibe.

The frantic nature of this song is definitely due in part to coming home with an idea, hooking things up, and then pressing record. It's hard to get that sort of feeling when I'm doing DAW based work.

Thanks for stopping by to listen and comment! Have a good one!

Ha ha, my brain itches too, but I think it's just the wildfire smoke!

I appreciate you listening out of your comfort zone so often! I know that this isn't a commonly accepted "song" in the strictest sense. I'm working to do my best within the confines of my physical reality, since I am just one person. Computers tend to make me pretend that I have more arms and legs than I actually have, plus a couple of brains.

I think the next track I put out will have a bit more commonplace acceptance, but we'll see.

Thanks for taking a listen my friend!

Thank you Bleep for the continued attention to this track! I had not really thought of hardcore as a specific genre for this track, but it seems like some people agree in that respect. Much of the industrial which I listen to has many parallels with hardcore techno.

It has been a good feeling working towards my goal of being able to do "my sort" of music, but do it all live and in the moment. Before this past year, most of the live things I did on my own were very abstract and simple. One could probably use those words to describe this as well, but I know differently.

I hope to improve my video work, but I am just doing what I can with what I have. I like incorporating my gear that is build with super bright LED displays, since the flashing of the different colors blend with my ever-present smoke to create a bit of an old school light show. Technically can't smoke at most concerts any more, but still sometimes the bands will use smoke machines for that sort of effect.

I've been to distracted to spend much time in the studio lately, but did get a bit of recording done yesterday. Hopefully that will turn into some kind of psychedelic item in the near future.

Thanks again for playing this one!

Thanks for taking a listen!

I kind of took it in the hardstyle direction with this mix, just for the fun of it. I have always had a special place in heart for a good hardcore track.

I was pretty happy with the vocal part around 1:34, after I realized what I had done. Glad it came across well!

I appreciate your words my friend!

As an old school espresso drinker, from the age of eleven, I can understand where you are coming from! I have moved away from it a bit, to try and limit my addiction, and due to not being able to get a decent machine. It's all aeropress or hand poured drip now, and I even go a day or two without lately!

Those vocal parts you mention are indeed mysterious, and I'll leave it that way. Mistake, or maybe not...

I'm glad it gave you a jolt! The frantic nature is due to trying to get a good recording right after the initial inspiration. It's the nature of the beast. All thanks go to the messes up people I ran into at the park!

I really just don't feel the impulse to record lately unless the impulse is from a new idea. Things such as this.

Thank you for listening my friend! I'm glad you stopped by!

The true and recognizable drums are all from a single sequence built on the Zoom RT-123 (blue version). Thank you for listening!

Hey Mosaic, thank you for stopping by to hear this one!

I've been doing a lot more work in a live and spontaneous manner this year, as was my intention. I choose my instruments, I hook them together, and I record what I do with them. Sometimes there is an intention to begin with, sometimes not, but nothing beyond that really.

It is interesting hearing yourself and others speak about dissecting a track like this, considering only two instruments were used. I suppose I should take it as a compliment of the complexity of what was done with them, especially since they were either built or modified by me.

It is meant to be a bit chill, thoughtful or meditative, rather than some sort of dance or pop track.

I always appreciate hearing from you! Thanks!

Thank you Brado for the awesome comment!

I would fully admit that the focus of this one was not rhythm, despite one of the two instruments being a drum oriented item. People other than those which we call animals seem to forget that rhythm goes far beyond the frequency which humans usually respond to. The frequency of a human audio range sine wave, for example, The rhythm is the swing of the waveform. With mathematics, we can divide it down and reference a tempo, yet this seems unnecessary.

In recent times, there seems to have developed an obsession with rhythms in a very low frequency... rhythms which the majority identifies with dancing. However, dancing is a very personal and subjective thing, and no external force can tell us how or when to dance. You never know what could happen!

Your words have humbled me, and I thank you. There was no specific intent when I recorded this, and as such I can not be held liable for the effects of what I have done. Call it a loop hole, ha ha.

Here's one that is installed here in our city... The carillon's largest bell weighs four tons! The video on this page is made featuring the previous musician who played them. Love and I went and heard the debut concert of the new player earlier this year.

http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/2010/08/10/hearing-bells-at-mayo-clinic-in-rochester-its-the-carillon/

We hear this everyday from our house.

"You are in a zone right now." - I must say that this is a very kind thing to say, and not the sort of reaction I expected from a recording like this. I didn't think that I was in much of a zone, musically, but perhaps this is how it feels? I have been playing out a bit, in the park, under the bridge, and whatever. Also stealing inspiration from random strangers that I meet. It's fun/scary/painful.

This is a super dark time, possibly it will peak on Monday with the solar eclipse/new moon... but it's been a tough mercury retrograde, especially these past several days. The smoke from BC and Washington is hitting us now as well... not to mention the barbecue competition two blocks away! Hopefully I can avoid being disorderly over there for the first time in years (ha ha).

The CD collection you brought up seems familiar, and also enticing. A lot of the artists are familiar. I will have to see what I can find. We do have a record store in town now, so maybe he'll have it, though I doubt it. He seems more into 80's pop/rock/metal. Though he didn't have queensryche "Operation Mindcrime" when I stopped in there a few weeks ago... go figure. I'll find both eventually! Thanks for the recommendation!

I appreciate you stopping by to give some love on youtube as well. Hopefully when my lungs clear up from the smoke and opium season, the recordings will get better. I have the individual tracks from that video as well, so hopefully I can mix a good quality audio of it... as opposed to my crap camera audio. Some of the spot effects were routed wrong, and didn't show up in that version, so I'll need to sort that as well.

Thanks for the awesome comment! Have a good day!

I'm glad you think so as well! I am always trying to do something which I have never done before, or even better to do something which has not been done before at all. I don't always achieve that latter, but it is something to strive for!

I really appreciate you taking a listen and leaving your comment! Have a good day!

Yeah, you are correct, there is a stray horse in there. When it's live, sometimes things like that creep in! In fact the horse ended up on the follow up performance as well, which is why it will probably never show up online.

Can't say I put much thought into the sounds on this song, or the more recent ones. Kind of been focusing and action as opposed to thought. I mean action in a literal way, as in acting to create, and not so much specific to the music or it's composition.

Thank you very much for listening!

Unfortunately, my video equipment is as outdated as most of my other equipment. However, I did record one today, just for you... and whoever else wants to check it out. It's bad quality, and you can only barely see my hand and my modular... but whatever. Spontaneously recorded when I got home today. Entitled "What Kinda Poison?"

https://youtu.be/mu6Yf1OJixo

Also, I have a couple of other studio jams and some gear demos on my channel....

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWnZ2ggoCVi8L6PI5uZ2Cww

Thank you for the inspiration and everything! Have a good day!