Turning to audio effects to find new directions in evolving work
Took the night off from film work to revisit music I’ve worked on earlier this year. Typically I spend at least an hour three or more nights a week working on improvisational music with little concern for where these musical starting points might wind up. They’re just a way to unwind and let go, for the most part, although they sometimes become the seeds of important new work.
There were several really simple improvisations I recorded over the summer months using an electric piano (one of my favorite improvising instruments) as a melodic starting point. Tonight I found myself reaching back to some of the effects-driven work I did a decade or more ago to find new layers in those simple improvisations.
The effects used rarely matter. Generally in this type of revision I look to effects I haven’t used in a long time, and those which have so many layers of complexity that they invite a “what happens when I twist this knob?” approach.
What I love about working in digital media is the non-destructive nature of layering in such effects, as well as the malleability with which effects chains can be re-ordered, selectively turned on and off, and generally have their controls manipulated and recorded in real-time to create endless sonic variations.
This still falls under the heading of wood-shedding, so its not likely I’ll be sharing any of this soon. But for now, it’s a lot of fun, and in the long run, contributes to my notion of process in all of my work.