A few pedal repairs, listening to a bunch of Doomtree records, Sleep show tonight…
Somehow I still feel like I’m getting nowhere. <shrug emoji> <grimace emoji>
What’s your musical weekend been like?
Category: MUSIC
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A little synth, a little bass…
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New Synth Day
The day itself was last Thursday, but I haven’t done much more than flip it on and noodle around until today.
This is an Akai AX-60, a six-voice analog synthesizer built in the mid- to late-80s. My first purpose in getting it was for pads for Night Mode and other stuff, but of course it will make all kinds of great bass, lead, key, string, and brass sounds.
I’m already in love with the arpeggiator; it has a mode that arpeggiates the notes in the order they’re played so it’s very musical and responsive. I feel like I could base an entire record around just that.
There’s a song for the new h&s record that I’d planned to layer a Micron sound and a digital B3-type sound for, but I’m starting to wonder if it would be better to write a pseudo-B3 patch on the Akai for it. Worth a shot, at least.
Some time this weekend I’m going to go through the manual and figure out saving presets, splits, and the rest of the deeper features that may not have a single-function hardware control.
<arpeggiates off into infinity>
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SHAUN McCABE FOREVER | Various Artists
A ton of outstanding Nebraska artists* put this album together in memory of Shaun McCabe, who recently died from complications stemming from Cystic Fibrosis.
* Including our own Cory Kibler, Manny Coon, and The Golden Age, and friends in Ideal Cleaners/Halfwit, Her Flyaway Manner/Brendan McGinn, The Machete Archive, Good With Guns, and The Killigans
Mr. Furious Records is proud to share this work in Shaun’s honor. Please listen and support if you can.
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DS Shows – One More Plus The Details
3 March 2018, Saturday – Dark Satellites at minibar, Kansas City MO, with The Show Is The Rainbow and AKAFDM. $5, 21+, doors at 9 show at 10.
(THE SHOW IS THE RAINBOW!!!!)
8 March 2018, Thursday – Dark Satellites at Replay Lounge, Lawrence KS, with Hyperbor and Hidden Planets. $3, show at 10.
23 April 2018, Monday – Dark Satellites at minibar, Kansas City MO, with Americas (Chico CA) and Antiphony (Santa Rosa, CA)
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Dark Satellites KC/Lawrence Shows Announced
3 March 2018, Saturday – Dark Satellites at minibar, Kansas City MO, with The Show Is The Rainbow
8 March 2018, Thursday – Dark Satellites at Replay Lounge, Lawrence KS, with Hyperbor and Hidden Planets
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Furious Sound Studio B Open
In other words, a synthesizer and an iPad in a bedroom.
The signal path is: Korg MS-20 mini main out > various pedals > MS-20 External Signal Processor > iPad headphone jack breakout box I built > HarmonicDog MultiTrack DAW running on an iPad mini.
I’m going to make at least a couple Night Mode albums with this rig, and recorded a track for one earlier this afternoon.
GarageBand highpasses and compresses any signal coming in through the headphone jack, even on its “Clean” setting, so it wasn’t suitable for me for serious recording. The HarmonicDog app does nicely, once “Measurement Mode” is turned off in the iPad Settings app.
The breakout box + iPad make a decent field/remote recording rig as well, because the box can accept 1/4″ mono, mic, 1/8″ stereo, and 1/8″ mono cables. I could take a guitar, a decent dynamic mic (like my EV RE320), and the iPad to a cabin in the woods and make my “Nebraska,” no problem. Even a basic full band record, with some combination of minimalist mic techniques and/or pre-mixing before the breakout box, would be possible.
It will be a lot of fun to be able to pause whatever massive recording or soldering project I have going and make a synth song on a whim.
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Mars Lights Bass Reamping
Drew and I reamped all the Mars Lights bass tracks Friday night.
Sounded pretty huge.We were short on good mics for bass cabs when we were doing the main tracks, so we recorded a DI bass signal. Friday we ran that signal back out from ProTools through the bass gear.
Not everything in the picture was on. Signal chain was ProTools > Empress Compressor > Falcon Heavy > LS-2 (signal split) > two amps: Music Man 65 and Traynor Bass Master.
I also got a vocal track down – first one since before Thanksgiving, when I got sick – so massive progress on the double LP this week. \m/
My bass rig is now back at home for recording h&s tracks.
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Upcoming Dark Satellites Shows in KC/Lawrence
27 Jan 2018, Saturday – Dark Satellites at minibar, Kansas City MO, with In’ Ere and Shoebox Money. Doors at 9, show at 9 (yes, allegedly), 21+, $5
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This is what editing 61 sax solo takes looks like
Wild.
I’m about halfway through updating the h&s mixes to kind of see where we’re at, post-recording-guitars. I think bass is up next, provided I can coordinate gear with the Mars Lights mixing process. (We need bass gear for that too, to re-amp my DI signals.)
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The Best Music We Heard In 2017
Here is the best music we heard in the past year. Most, but not all, was released in 2017.
Top 14 (in random order)
The People’s Punk Band, “The People’s Punk Band” (2017) – I don’t think this record has gotten enough local love; it’s smart, it’s angry, and it sounds great. https://peoplespunkband.bandcamp.com/album/the-peoples-punk-band-ppb 
Mastodon, “Emperor of Sand” (2017) – Mastodon successfully re-incorporate the excursions and experiments of their last two albums with their classic prog-thrash, firing on all cylinders from start to finish. There’s not much else to say; this record is pure catharsis to play, including the theme of losing a family member to cancer. 
Jessie Ware, “Glasshouse” (2017) – Regaining her footing after a hit-and-miss sophomore record, Ware’s latest reminds me of nothing more than classic-era Mariah Carey (though obviously with her own voice shining through). The songs are very good and simply produced, with layers of background vocals fulfilling the roles of synths, guitars, and horns, placing the spotlight squarely on her pipes as they span from a whisper to full belt. 
Elder, “Reflections of a Floating World” (2017) – As Elder continues to push into their own kind of heavy prog, I have to admit I haven’t fully absorbed their latest record yet. And that’s part of what makes them a great listen; their songs have both immediacy, and incredible depth to explore. https://beholdtheelder.bandcamp.com/album/reflections-of-a-floating-world 
Prince and the Revolution, “Purple Rain Deluxe” (2017) – There’s a very good double LP’s worth of previously unreleased material in this reissue, like getting a brand new Prince album in 2017. Various edits and mixes of the original Purple Rain material and a DVD round out an excellent deluxe edition. 
Blood Diamond, “Saviours” (2016) – These Dutch thrashers released one of my most-played albums of the year, a forging-together of melody and hellish riffs that stands up to close listening or accompanies work, recreation, or anything else as-needed. https://blooddiamondrocks.bandcamp.com/album/saviours 
Wode, “Servants of the Countercosmos” (2017) – Manchester melodic black metallers Wode get a bit proggy on “Servants…” but not in a weedely-wee sort of way. It’s in the atmosphere and the musical choices; here’s hoping they continue to stake out new sonic territory, and so much the better for us if they do it at their current pace. https://wode.bandcamp.com/album/servants-of-the-countercosmos 
Battalion of Cloudships, “Hollow Parallels / Isolation Variations / Acceptance Live/Long Variations” (2016 / 2014 / 2013) – This ambient master is one of Lawrence, KS’ own and I occasionally buy whiskey from him. An LP is rumored to be finished and being shopped around to local labels. https://bigpharmarecords.bandcamp.com/album/hollow-parallels 
Cosmic Ground, “Live” (2017) – “Live” under-sells this album; it’s an entirely new Cosmic Ground LP (five long pieces) that covers both classic and fresh territory in the realm of ambient, krautrock, and sequenced jams. https://cosmicground.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-ground-live 
Howling Giant, “Black Hole Space Wizard: Parts 1 & 2” (2016, 2017) – Taken together these EPs form an epic listen with one foot in trad/proto metal (those organs!) and one in space. I can’t wait to hear what this group comes up with next; hopefully a record, or even a double. They’ve got that kind of potential. https://howlinggiant.bandcamp.com/album/black-hole-space-wizard-part-2 
Moon Coven, “Moon Coven” (2016) – In the best way, this is RIYL/FFO Uncle Acid and Black Mountain. There’s something to be said for almost endlessly re-playable classic doom. https://mooncoven.bandcamp.com/album/moon-coven-3 
Leon Russell, “Best of Leon Russell” (1976) – Pulled out of a dollar bin somewhere as one of those artists I’ve always intended to get into, Leon Russell’s best caught me from the first note with a swampy bounce not unlike a real life Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem. 
Ka, “Honor Killed The Samurai” (2016) – Creating minimalist post-boom-bap is an avocation for Ka, one of Brooklyn’s (and the world’s) most distinct rappers. I picked up a bunch of his older stuff this year, too. Just know he doesn’t make it to the post office every day. http://brownsvilleka.com/ 
Radiohead, “NOTOK” (2017) – The remastered “OK Computer” sounds great except for being a little loud to my taste; the collection of b-sides and unreleased tracks “NOTOK” effectively gives us a new late-90s Radiohead LP in 2017, which is an amazing gift. Honorable mention:
The War On Drugs “A Deeper Understanding” (2017)
Sufjan Stevens, “Planetarium” (2017)
Spoon, “Hot Thoughts” (2017)
Vokonis, “The Sunken Djinn” (2017)
Pallbearer, “Heartless” (2017)
The New Pornographers, “Whiteout Conditions” (2017)
Hyborian, “Hyborian: Vol. 1” (2017)
HAIM, “Something to Tell You” (2017)
The Afghan Whigs, “In Spades” (2017)
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Suzanne Ciani, “FRKWYS Vol. 13: Sunergy” (2016) -
I’m Done
…with h&s guitars as of today. Now am headed to Denver Thursday to record an EP with Cory.
I’m going to take some time to get the h&s sessions in order and do household stuff I’ve been neglecting before starting the next major phase. (Not sure if the next major phase is bass or vocals.)
The sessions are kind of a mess because the drums were tracked in two sessions at the library six months apart, and my Reaper session template has evolved and improved since I started them (probably close to two years ago). I want to update the effects and routing as if the h&s sessions had been done in my current template, and that’s going to take a lot of note-taking and careful clicking. And I want to get some basic sax settings (compression, close/room mic balance) and drum settings (absolute phase, relative phase, panning) set. It will be worth it when it comes to mixing.
Aww yiss for milestones.
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h&s Guitars; One Song To Go
Sometimes you have to put the keys down first though, to help you decide what guitar pedals to use.
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