Latch Music's Ezine #12
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* "The Zine" content is contributed by Dave Latchaw and colleagues who use the Internet to promote their musical projects. You can check out previous issues at "The Zine" Archives.
- Article: "Synthesizers, Samples and Loops - Oh My!" by Dave Latchaw
- Guest Artist: Sirk - Cool sonic adventures from Norway.
- Featured Web Site: ghostland.com
- Featured Web Video: Chick Corea
- CD Pick: Michael Brecker "The Nearness Of You"
Synthesizers, Samples and Loops - Oh My!
by Dave Latchaw
Creating and recording music is constantly getting easier and more affordable through the use of technology. This is both a blessing and a curse. It's great for artists to be able to record and document their musical growth and use the Internet for their distribution. However, this same technology gives the hobbyist those opportunities as well. This creates a tremendous amount of very average music on-line, along with a lot of great and varied music. Finding cool music becomes a lot like panning for gold. One has to traverse through a fair amount of muck to find that gem of an artist or composition. The music consumer should continue to demand a high level of craft from all artists in every genre. The purist musician should not be all righteous and dismiss the use of electronic technology in the creation of music. Three of my favorite tools to create music are Synthesizers, Samples and Loops.
The synthesizer is a logical extension of using electronic technology to create a different palette of sound for expression. In the right hands, it can make a valid and vital contribution to music composition. A keyboardist can approach the synthesizer as a more portable means of bringing their piano or organ playing to a greater range of audiences. Having a portable means to make music is really handy, but that isn't the only thing that the synthesizer is cool for. For a musician creating their own vision, the keyboard can be a powerful tool for developing their own sounds and approach to playing. Check out these two keyboardists who are continuously raising the standard of synthesis, Joe Zawinul and Scott Kinsey.
Samples are great because they give an artist the ability to access familiar sounds, and develop totally new sounds from those familiar sounds. Acoustic musicians tend to get pretty defensive when it comes to samples. Nothing is going to compare to a real orchestra playing your music, but as a composer, if you want to write symphonic music, samples are an economical way to work with a similar palette. The sounds have gotten good enough for the music to stand alone, but it is not an orchestra, it is something cool but different. Very few people are connected enough or have enough money to have a full blown orchestra at their fingertips. The use of samples also makes creating music more accessible to more people. The novice can now make sounds at a sonically accepted level which is wonderful, but this doesn't mean that the novice is making great music just because they are using technology. One still has to develop a level of knowledge and understanding to make the music complete. Nothing can get past the hours of practicing and tweeking sounds and layers. You need that time and study to gather a collection of sounds to be expressive with. Samples are a great tool for making music, but they will only be as interesting as the person using them.
Loops are cool because you can use them to create a sonic collage. Interesting combinations of loops can create a trance-like effect. You can create a futuristic direction in sound, yet keep it grounded in a tribal hypnotic groove. I am surprised by the number of people that dismiss using loops as a basis for composition. To me, these people tend to be very narrow in scope. I feel that loops are one of many ways to go about being creative and expressive. Computers, synthesizers, samples and loops are just tools for creating music. They are great fun and very satisfying in their own way. Remember, just because you put a person in front of a piano, it doesn't mean he is going to make great music. The same holds true if you put him in front of a computer with synthesizers, samples and loops!
Demand a high level of craft in all musical endeavors. It is cool if you are an acoustic musician and don't dig electronic music, but please at least have enough sense to realize that it's just a new and different way of doing things!
Sirk
#1 On which Internet sites can people check out your projects and find out more about you?
Mainly on MP3.com: www.mp3.com/Sirk, but there is also much music and some CD's available here: besonic.com and www.musicbuilder.com/Sirk.
#2 How would you describe your music?
Down tempo and ambient with eyes and ears open for all kinds of musical influences.
#3 What is your composition process?
Most often I just play around with sounds/samples that I like, and when I have something to start with I try to build other melodies and atmospheres into it. Hopefully you never guess what you'll get during a tune, just from hearing the intro!!
#4 How did you develop the multi-cultural influence in your music?
I've listened to a lot of world music for a long time. I must admit that I am just scratching the surface of Indian music today, but I'm very fascinated, and a lot of the most exciting music of today is coming out of the meeting of east and west I think. Just listen to Sandhya Sanjana's projects on MP3.com!
#5 Which artists inspire you to be creative, and why?
Brian Eno
An obvious influence! Both for inventing ambient
in the way I love it, and for the 4 playful humoristic pop albums.
2 albums: Music for airports and Another Green World
Velvet Underground
The perfect mix of rock and avant garde
art. Mostly hammering out 3 chords, but still adventurous and emotional!
2 albums: Velvet Underground w.Nico (The banana cover),and Live 1969.
Radiohead
Especially for breaking out of the format and
into new territories on their last two CD's. I'm still working with Kid A
discovering new delights after 9 months!
2 albums: Ok Computer and Kid A.
"The bristol scene" (Massive Attack, Tricky and Portishead)
That slow suggestive beat with a big freedom to
put anything on top of it! It has been very important for me the last two years as Sirk!
3 albums: Blue lines, Dummy and Maxxinquaye.
Finally a bit of namedropping: Tom Waits, Bowie,
Can, Kraftwerk, Jan Garbarek, Miles Davis and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
#6 What was your punk rock experience of the 80's like, and how does it affect what you are doing musically today?
First I must say that my career as a punk musician is as good as non-existing! I didn't even have the technical skills to be a bassist in a punk band!! But I attended lots and lots of concerts, and loved the whole thing. It was the energy I think. Although it doesn't affect the music of Sirk much today, I think the artist community on MP3 sites have some of the same energy and idealism. This wonderful e-zine is also some kind of science fiction version of the fanzine from the punk era isn't it?
#7 How did your mp3.com collaborations with Sandhya Sanjana, Walk Skip Run Glide, and Indofunk develop, and do you have any other collaborations that you are working on?
Christopher Wing (Walk Skip Run Glide) shall have the whole honour for this, he invited me to help him out with some vocal samples from Sandhya, and after the relatively successful result of this, Indofunk asked me to do something with their music. I believe there will be more coloborations with all three of these artists, and at the moment there is a vocalist called Christy working on one of my tunes.
#8 Where do you see the future of music on the Internet going?
I really don't know!! But I guess that after a while we will be left with some big commercial MP3 sites that have to make money in some way. My hope is that income from advertising and sponsors will give these sites a possibility to maintain something like the payback for playback that MP3.Com has now, because I don't think people are willing to pay anything for downloads by us happy amateurs.
ghostland.com
For anyone who is into progressive music, ghostland.com is a nifty place to spend some time. They have great a newswire feature covering a broad range of topics, and tour information about various progressive bands and artists. I also found the definitions of progressive music and it's sub-genres cool to check out. There is a collection of interviews that range from Mike Keneally to Dream Theater. ghostland.com provides some interesting editorials about progressive music, and I found the band and musician list useful. Check it out!
Chick Corea
Being a piano player, it is always great fun for me to hear Chick Corea talk about music and hear him play his music. Chick Corea's web site is the destination for this month's web video. Links to the videos are located in the "NEWS & EVENTS" section. There are two great video clips available for download. One is of Chick Corea's New Trio. Chick talks about the trio and trio music, and there are comments from bassist Avishai Cohen and drummer Jeff Ballard. You also get to check them out playing live in a small club setting. Great new music from Chick. The other video is Chick Corea with the London Philharmonic. You get to hear him talk about his orchestral work and see him rehearse with the orchestra. There is even a moment where Sir George Martin gives Chick comments about his orchestration. You will need a real player to check out these clips.
Michael Brecker
"The Nearness Of You"
Michael Brecker has assembled a tremendous band for this wonderful collection of ballads. Michael Brecker is on saxophone, Pat Metheny on guitars, Herbie Hancock on piano, Charlie Haden on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and James Taylor sings on two tracks as a special guest. Playing ballads can be deceptively difficult. To really make them happen is a huge challenge. This collection of artists and tunes has set the standard on how to interpret ballads. The ensemble playing and arrangements are worth a lot of study. This band has achieved a level of playing and expression that can only come with years of playing together, mutual respect, and inspiration. A must listen.
Tracks for "The Nearness Of You"
- Chan's Song
- Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
- Nascente
- Midnight Mood
- The Nearness Of You
- Incandescence
- Sometimes I See
- My Ship
- Always
- Seven Days
- I Can See Your Dreams
Click here to learn more about "The Nearness Of You"
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