Galloway Transition
Finally the dust is settling on a very busy period, so busy to the extent that participating in this blog and regular web antics has been a difficulty. Work has simmered down to acceptable gentle levels, and personal life has done much the same opening doors to time for regular practice, composition and mixing. And releases. This I am looking forward to!
In what has felt like a blink of an eye I have moved residence! The Pink Tank is no more. My studio and all my junk (much of which has been thrown or recycled this time) hasn’t gone too far as I’ve remained in Armidale. I am now located at Galloway Street. I shall get some images up soon, but for now you can take my word that it is a lovely leafy and quiet area on South Hill. The space is a little larger than the flat, being a big old house with odd rooms and shrouded back yard. I’ve already spent time setting up the studio, placing important sound absorbing material up in the room and placing the speakers in the best possible position for audio bliss. The results have been impressive! I think I’m getting a better sound than the Pink Tank: a clearer stereo image, and much clearer and deeper sub. It’s a joy to work on music in there.
Some regular coaching with Ruth Strutt has me feeling a lot more confident in singing technique. We’re working specifically on ironing out old bad habits of constriction, and exploring the possibilities of the baritone part of my voice. For the first time ever I’ve really enjoyed singing low and resonant, opting for an octave down when I used to opt for an octave up. Ruth is also getting a sense for how high I can go, which can be up to a G#6 (or 5?) in full body voice, and even higher using a proper blend technique (mixing body with falsetto). I’m still slowly working toward doing vocal recordings for my songs (for which there are many to do), but this now feels easier than ever. There are a few outstanding recordings that need doing for Alex Strain and Beatslaughter that are motivating me as goals.
I’ve a new toy: which I’ve dubbed Loopzilla. This a Boss RC-50, brand new. It effectively means that I can do away with the studio-computer as a tool for live guitar looping (so no more lugging fragile computer bits to venues). I can layer and loop audio on the fly, very similar to the tape-loop Frippertronics approach. I’ve already recorded some interesting melodic textures using this device, which seem to spill out of my hands intuitively in layers and overdubs. I’m keen to test it out in a live situation, mostly likely with Iain MacKay with his electro/acoustic drums. And there will be no doubt more additions to a growing library of delicate ambient guitar pieces, possibly evolving into a separate release project.
Speaking of Iain, we’re working on a little film project. He’s put together a rough montage of abstract time-lapse imagery. I shall be viewing this and deriving some sort of soundtrack applicable to the visuals that he can further edit into some sort of cohesive work. Think psychedelic gardens…
