Free Jazz!

Here's a goof - Plumbutter and double Double Knots providing drums/percussion, the Plumbutter is running through Beads for simulated snare and kick drum improvisation. Then I overdubbed my Mother-32 through various effects, including the Fairfield Circuitry Randy's Revenge and Malekko Charlie Foxtrot, and concluded with some upright bass. There is no art to this, just fun.

Very cool!

Hi Baltergeist,

Ha, ha, now that's a nice modern piece of Jazz :-) Interesting Jazz with modular, yeah that rocks!

Thank you very much for sharing this and kind regards, Garfield.

Thank you both! Beads is such a great module.

Great tunes here. Somehow I long for the Plumbutter and especially the Double Knot again (both of which I used to have).

Thank you! For me, there is a timbre to both Ciat-Lonbarde and Lorre-Mill gear that I couldn't get out of my eurorack set-up. At this point I have a bare-bones euro system that I use primarily as a mixer and effects send. The only voices are a 2hp Bell and a Morphagene, everything else is either a utility or effect (characterizing things like MATHS and Batumi as utilities), with one basic sequencer, a Varigate 4+. I also find the CL/LM gear really conducive to what I do since it isn't really ambient/generative, and definitely isn't any type of EDM. It sucks that Peter moved to Berlin and new CL pieces are so expensive now. They weren't cheap to begin with, but it's kind of nuts now. I feel very fortunate I picked up my pieces when I did.

Yep, the C-L stuff is pretty unique, mainly due to the different ideas lurking inside them. The best description I can think of would be that what you get from them is sortakinda like they were created by someone using Don Buchla's design sensibilities, but the sound production hardware has more in common with Stanley Lunetta's uniquely raucous circuitry. As such, Peter B.'s (and the Lorre-Mill stuff, which is a continuation of that) instruments are very unique in how they splice those very different sonic paradigms together.

Often caustic and chaotic, but capable of sublime beauty in the right hands. There are a few adepts out there who can really wring some magic out of them.

I didn't know Peter B. had moved to Berlin. Just checked the prices, the Plumbutter is going for EUR 1600, pretty steep but CL instruments have a high resale value (I sold mine for 1300 euros). If had more space and funds for music gear I'd definitely buy a Plumbutter and a Double Knot again. I sold both to make room and money for the eurorack project. I have no regrets though a double-Double Knot is on my shopping list. It's more affordable and is the ideal West Coast percussion-synth for me. I've been missing my v1 eversince I had to let it go.

EDITED Mar 30th 2021, 11:59

It's a big jump in price for those of us in the US, but you're right. Resale value is good, for sure.

Here's another with upright, a little less skronky.

It's a big jump in price for those of us in the US, but you're right. Resale value is good, for sure.

Here's another with upright, a little less skronky.

-- baltergeist

Wow, this is way more musical than most anything I did on the PB and the DK. Really like your tunes. As for my earlier shenanigans with these “esoteric” machines, here’s some of my PB and DK output:

https://aphewgoodman.bandcamp.com/album/nanaversum

EDITED Mar 30th 2021, 15:00

Very kind of you, thank you! Checking yours out!

Great stuff there!

EDITED Mar 30th 2021, 16:05

The little less skronky one (Monday32921) is exceptional! When you first posted the original one (Free) I was a little taken aback when you referred to it as a "goof" because as I was listening, to me, it was so serious and spot on, but I completely understand where you a coming from and how "goof" is appropriate. Really nice the both of them.

@cmb_ is right, Monday32921 is a 10 out of 10, I want an album of that!

Thank you both, incredibly kind!

And.... I am slowly working on an album of such pieces. I've even gone so far as to get new strings for the upright for the first time in over a decade, though I've yet to install them. I'm also going to see if I can afford to pay someone to do some Peter Brötzmann/John Zorn-style sax on a few things. We shall see!

Here's another one, with additional percussion. Plumbutter through Beads providing the twinkly tones. I've sourced a sax player so the new record is definitely in the works now.

Hi Baltergeist,

You got some nice percussion sounds there, I love that. Can't wait for your tracks with some "touch of sax" to it :-)

This is interesting and curious material if I may describe it like that, really interesting for the listener! Thanks a lot for sharing this and kind regards, Garfield.

Here's another with upright, a little less skronky.

-- baltergeist

Five stars mon ami this is stunning!

Another great tune, looking forward to the album 🎷

Thank you all! I'm excited for sure. It will be a year, probably, before it's out in the world (money is funny when you're doing things DIY), but it's in progress.

I received the first sax takes yesterday and I'm absolutely stoked. I think it's going to turn out really well. Unfortunately, my wife also lost her job, so we're down to one income for the foreseeable future. That's going to put a crimp in things, but at least it's well and truly started, however long it takes to finish it.

Great news about the first takes, bummer about the wife's job but sounds like you are committed to persevere and I look forward to hearing the final project.

I'll second @cmb_, we're sending good vibes @baltergeist!

Thank you both! We'll be alright, just need to tighten the belts for a bit. We're in a better position than so many others over the past year or so.

Hey, if you want some modular sax instead of acoustic, I'd be down to help with the tracks. I like working with physical modeling of brass sounds on the modular and it would fit nicely with the concept.

I really like the recordings. I'd be interested to hear more about how you set up the percussion via Beads. I'm very much into modular jazz (I have some stuff up on YouTube which might fall under this category), so very curious about your percussion in terms of sequencing, and processing etc.

Hi Para, thank you!

In Free and Monday, I have two Lorre-Mill Double Knot v2s synced and providing clock to a Ciat-Lonbarde Plumbutter 2 via the 'Steam' sequencer. The sequencer then triggers the PB's snare and gongues. The Plumbutter then goes through Beads. The rate of the DK clock is modulated by one envelope on one of the DKs, so that gives things a little variation rhythmically. In Beads, I usually have the size knob around midnight, the feeback somewhere between 2 and 3 o'clock, and then have the attenurandomizers somewhere to the right. I use the reverb here and there. It's all seasoning to taste, though. I rarely use an external trigger for seeding and don't use freeze much. That said, I have barely scratched all that Beads can do.

But is your Bead's mix fully wet or do you allow for the incoming sound to pass through? Checking your bandcamp as well, different direction, but I like it, although I'm more interested in your jazz work.

Ah, gotcha. It is not full-wet on those two. Mix, if I recall correctly, was around midnight. The idea was for Beads to help simulate flams/drags and variation in attack strength. A slightly rightward turn of the pitch attenurandomizer helps with this too.

Depending on what I'm doing, however, I will go full-wet with Beads. It really just depends, and I rarely set out with anything specific planned. Those pieces are all improvisation on top of improvisation on top of improvisation.

So an unsteady stream of snare and gongue hits, enhanced by small grains here and there, of said sounds, re-pitched, and extended or shortened?

And am I right to assume you have the setting of Density towards the random side ?

Btw, do you use the same handle on Youtube? I'd like to check out your stuff too!

So an unsteady stream of snare and gongue hits, enhanced by small grains here and there, of said sounds, re-pitched, and extended or shortened?

And am I right to assume you have the setting of Density towards the random side ?
-- ParanormalPatroler

Exactly, yes!

Btw, do you use the same handle on Youtube? I'd like to check out your stuff too!
-- baltergeist

I have some gigs up as Konstantine via the Copenhagen Powwow group, from a few years back. And probably a concert or two from Basic Electricity in Berlin. I'll see if I can dig up some links with the jazzier stuff and send them over via PM. I also have some older videos up on Instagram.

Awesome, thank you!