Making Repair Radio Talk

Repair  Radio Talk 

                

 Some of the Synthesizers we used to compose "Radio Talk" are the Synclavier PSMT, a custom Analogue Solutions Concusor Modular, Roland System 100m, Arp 2600, Roland Jupiter-8, Oberheim OB-8, OBX, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 and E-mu Emulator II.

We had a lot of fun in the Sessions for this EP. The Synclavier was the main sampler of choice for drums, pads, strings, stabs and experimental samples. Much of these sounds were made in our own environment using mics, found objects combined with analog modular synths and then all sampled and edited within the Synclavier for each track. The Arp 2600 and Roland 100m was a great sound source for making some drum sounds.

The Roland System 100m and Analogue Solutions Concussor played a very large role in all of the sounds actually. We decided to go back to using Control Voltage Step Sequencers as a source of inspiration for melody, the Bass Line, and using to trigger off the filters for sound processing. The Step Sequencer was also working to control the Oberhiem OBX and Jupiter-8's filter and Volume ENVs. So this became a pretty elaborate process. The Emulator II, OB-8 and PPG were great for additional layers over top of the backbone of this mixes.

 

 

Shiriyazaki

The concept for this track involves the observance of the Tsunami in Japan from the perspective of the Shiriyazaki Lighthouse along the Japanese coastline.  A fascinating place really and a milieu that evokes serenity and peace - until devastation hits.  The ambient tech track builds tension with this experience in mind, while imparting a sentiment for the vastness of nature and the weight of calamity.

 

The EMU SP-1200 was used for this track.

While many would describe the 26.04 kHz sampling rate, 12 bit resolution and 10 seconds of memory limitations on the SP-1200, these were essential in the making of the track - Shiriyazaki.   With the limitation of sample time and the challenge to sustain notes, the initial focus was to lengthen trails and carefully apply effects…  However, as with most of the machines used on this compilation, the more time spent manipulating the sounds, the greater the result. 

By using  'Multipitch'  and 'Tune/Decay'  several artefacts in the sampled elements were created via the SP-1200's circuitry.  These  artefacts contribute to the color and sometimes the tone of the samples used all of which was welcomed on Shiriyazaki. 

This heavy black box has been a reliable source of great sound and sequencing for over a decade - long live the SP-1200!

Calst (a.k.a Darren Healy)

Repair - Radio Talk

Available now on:

Beatport

Repair "Radio Talk" Video and EP Out Now

Video Filmed and Edited by Mass Transit Film in Toronto.

Merry Xmas from Obsolete Components

                            
                 happy holidays to everyone and thanks for the support in 2011!

Linn Drum - alternate sounds demonstration tape (3rd edition)

Obsolete Components - Volume 2

Available now on:

iTunes

Beatport

WhatPeoplePlay

Mark Thibideau - Lag Time Generator Video

OC V2 - Hexbydecimal

During the initial discussions of our volume 2 compilation it was agreed that we would write our tracks entirely based on one synthesizer.  

I chose the Ensoniq Mirage.

I’m not sure what I was smoking when I said that.  It’s not that it’s impossible to compose a 5+ minute song on a mono, 8 bit  sampler (basically equal to an original NES), with a maximum of 16 samples,  at an overall maximum sampling time of 6.5 seconds at a whopping 10khz...  it just means that certain sacrifices need to be considered like, high end, sample length, polyphony, structure, timing, etc... and since it uses blocks of memory, one shouldn’t expect sample truncation or looping points to be accurate either.

 

Fortunately I had 2 rack mount Mirages to work with.  

For those who truly know this machine, they know it can so effortlessly have a magical, dirty yet warm characteristic that is all it’s own.  

However, personally I think I may have set my expectations a bit too high when I originally envisioned what my track could be.  

Initially, I began to writing my track at a faster tempo (something a little more techno oriented). H owever, I found that the 2 Mirages would frequently drift in and out of midi timing.  When I slowed the tempo down though, they seemed to play nicely together. 

Another issue I faced was the overall mix.  Having only 2 mono outputs made it very difficult to EQ an entire mix and it didn’t help that every sample had to be very short and at a low sample rate.  This killed all the high end in my song.  Though is is possible to adjust the sample rate for each sample, the downside of that is when you increase the sample rate, you need to be even more stingy with your sample time.  Also, it would have been difficult for me to incorporate effects on an entire mix.  

At this point I was left with a decision to either create a very minimal, dirty song or multitrack the Mirages to really show off some of their capabilities.  I did my best to meet in the middle.  

Whenever possible, I attempted to group certain sounds and track them together or in some cases, record a sound individually. 

The Mirage is actually pretty amazing at creating certain sounds.  A few notable would be rich pad type sounds (thanks to it’s Curtis filter) and cool sounding dirty drum loops.  

One other unique element of the Mirage is the fact that it only has a 2 character LED display and the parameters need to be programmed in hexadecimal. There is no data slider so, you must use the up and down buttons to step through the values of each parameter.  

Overall, this track more or less ended up writing itself.  After hitting so many limitations I began to feel a little cursed so, I decided to step back and try to work within the confines of the machines temperamental capabilities.  Hence the title “Hexbydecimal”.

OC V2 - Lag Time Generator / ARP 2600

Mark Thibideau - LAG TIME GENERATOR

My long journey with the ARP 2600 began in the early 90’s.
After finding out that Depeche Mode used one and my favorite producers (Flood) had one, I knew that I eventually wanted to own one of these machines. Upon the first time I played with the 2600 i knew I was going to have this machine for a long time. It made so many strange sounds that my other synths couldn’t do, and with the offering of modular patching, my head could explode from sound making possibilities. The Arp synth offers a aggressive and big sound that can scream at you, commanding attention.
For lag time generator, I used this synth for all sounds, drums and even a lot of the processing ( built in spring reverb and processing through the preamp, filter and ring mod).
Making music with this machine is always fun and interesting. always getting sounds that are unexpected and unique.

Mark

OC V2 "Foraup"

When I was a young boy/man, I drove motorcycles. I had two Yamaha 125cc motocross off-road machines, and a 400cc road bike. I enjoyed the feeling of acceleration by being thrust through open space.
There was a feeling of solitude and peace, as I was so carefully wrapped in leather and plastic. When driving, I was enveloped in the rising and falling pitch of the engine vibrating through my skinny 16 year old body.
One day this solitude was interrupted by a minivan. Traffic had backed up considerably &, as I turned the corner, it had just begun to rain. I was an inexperienced rider and applied the brakes too quickly and began to slide on the newly slippery oil soaked pavement. In slow motion, I began to gently lay the bike on the road but not before rear ending the back of that minivan. The motorcycle fell to the left and the gas tank split my femur in half.
I was rescued by that poor minivan driver, and a group of military personnel, who happened to be driving behind me. They held my leg in place on the highway until the ambulance arrived. I was in shock, shivering and shaking. They saved my life. Right next to the femur there exists a large vein, which when severed by a splintered bone, can cause one to bleed to death within minutes.

I am pretty lucky.
These days I get my kicks in different ways.
love, Jakob
(Obsolete Components)

"Foraup" is being released as part of Obsolete Components 2nd techno music compilation "volume 2" on November 28th 2011. Available on Itunes, Beatport, and What People Play.
All sounds derived from a Yamaha DX100 FM synthesizer, serial number #23160.

Roland gear is attracted to my studio

A new addition to my studio

soundcraft

OC VOL II /Electric Lairs /Glitterbug

Electric Lairs 

 "Electric Lairs" is entirely based on the Yamaha CS15. No other sound sources have been used. Besides EQs on the channels, I only used some reverb, tape delay and a little bit of compression on the bass drum part. Also, I didn't sequence it, all parts are played live and recorded and mixed in Logic Studio.

I love the CS15, and it's one of the synths that has stayed with me throughout all studio changes. Generally, I don't really like to keep a lot of things around, and I believe in "traveling instruments"- I buy something, use it for a year or two, and let it go again to replace it with something new. I love the idea that especially vintage instruments travelled through the hands of generations of musicians and were an inspiration to many. Very few instruments actually remain with me for longer periods. 

 My CS15 is one of these instruments that I will never let go of. Mine also has a bit of a sad story, since before me it was owned by Christian Morgenstern, who suddenly died in 2003. A mutual friend, Falko Brocksieper, was asked by Christians parents to take apart and sell off his studio after he passed away, and Falko asked me if I would maybe like to have this very particular one. I took it and loved it ever since.

The CS15 basically does not sound like anything I have ever heard elsewhere. It's noisy, it's dark, it's unpredictable and it sounds of electricity to it's very core. It's not a necessarily a very pleasant synth, but it has character and patina, it's a sound universe on it's own, more so than pretty much any other synth I have ever put my hands on. That might also be one of the reasons why many people actually can't really relate to it; it's also quite hard to program since a lot of parameters work and sound totally differently than one expects. 

And here some pictures of the baby that this track came to life through (Photos taken by Ronni Shendar):

Glitterbug

OC VOL II / Partial / Matt Thibideau

Partial

I made the track Partial using our newly fixed Synclavier PSMT system. It has 32 voices of stereo sampling, 16 voices of FM synthesis, the full blown sequencing and re-synthesis system. Things can get really complex .

I decided to work with it because, even though it samples, it has this massive sound and adds a great quality to everything you sample into it. This is due to the very expensive military grade convertors and Analog VCA's on every voice card. There are very few modern hardware samplers that enable you to record at 100khz.

This machine has become one of my main go to samplers in recent projects including the song Partial for OC II.

Partial was entirely composed internally with the Synclavier's sequencer and mixed in an analog environment. I used samples I recorded from a vintage buchla modular synthesizer that resides at OCAD. It's a very different synthesizer that can sound FM in some ways. I took many samples of the recordings and shaped all of the sounds within the synclavier to make up everything from the drum sounds to chords and pads. Enjoy!

Matt Thibideau

Matt Thibideau on UR Wedding (Berlin)

u_r_wedding on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

eclipsemusic.eu

What a great label from Italy, check it out!

Lots of great free mixes and artist releases...

Label
http://www.eclipsemusic.eu

Night Drive
http://www.eclipsemusic.eu/2009/+blog/?p=499

Ceremony (for Binny and Eric)
http://www.eclipsemusic.eu/2009/+blog/?p=541

future music

Matt Thibideau Live PA rehearsal 2011

it's raining outside, perfect day for perfecting the set

clocks

Mixed Up

  Obsolete Components Mix Compilation by obsoletecomponents
Another mix compilation of our catalog for you to enjoy
This is Matt Thibideau's approach at DJing.I added some extra drum parts from a wonderful E-mu Sp-1200. Enjoy!
1. Night Drive, Archive 1, Matt Thibideau
2. Key Maps, OC Vol.1, Mark Thibideau & Scott Stanley
3. Tilta-Whirl, Archive 4, Mark Thibideau
4. Carriers, OC Vol.1, Matt Thibideau, Scott Stanley
5. Jumbled Mass, Archive 4, Mark Thibideau
6. The Slow Club, Archive 1, Matt Thibideau
7. Chrome Type II, OC Vol.1, Jakob Thiesen
8. SH, OC Vol.1, Scott Stanley
9. Tape 5A, Tapes 1-8, Students
10. Tape 5A Tapes 1-8, Coordinates Remix
11. Discreet Voices, OC Vol.1, Coordinates
12. Into Winter, Archive 3, Scott Stanley
13. Six, OC Vol.1, Matt Thibideau & Scott Stanley
14. Clocks, Archive 2, Jakob Thiesen

Obsolete Components mix by Eric Downer

Please take some time to enjoy listening to this Obsolete Components DJ mix by Eric Downer.
Its free, so download it and put it on your Ipod, or play it loud on your speakers.

This is a mix of some of the available tracks from our records. Artists included: Scott Stanley, Students, Matt Thibideau, Jakob Thiesen, Repair and Mark Thibideau.

Enjoy!!!

Obsolete Components Mix by DJ Eric Downer by obsoletecomponents
 

Parallels (Ensoniq DP4)

 


This is a great machine for modifying sound. It has four independent efx processors that can be configured in a multitude of ways to make new combinations of efx. The flexibility and modular architecture of this machine actually makes it cross over into the synthesis category, which is why I am posting about it here. The sound is warm and deep, and has a bit of hiss to remind you that you aren't using a plugin.

https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~dattorro/DP4.htm

The exact unit used in these tracks has recently undergone a memory chip swap on one of the processors by John R. Southern (www.hardwerke.ca). He was gracious enough to invite me over to his facility as he did it, and he documented the procedure on the web for others. In the process, I learned a lot about DSP, RAM and how these efx processors work. You can find his project-log link below.

http://zope.hardwerke.ca/projects/resources/electronic-music/manufacturers/ensoniq/dp-4/systems/dp-15079/log

happy tweaking,

-jakob