Richard Brewster's Synthesizer » New Music

Wavering Drone

Richard — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:54:53 +0000

This was made with the Modular Tetrazzi amplitude-modulating itself and going through a pair of MOTM-490 filters being swept by LFOs. Tetrazzi is controlled … —Read more

Before Tsunami

Richard — Sat, 05 May 2012 19:44:13 +0000

Uses the Modular Tetrazzi as a linear FM modulation source for the Zeroscillator in “no bias” mode. A thick drone arrives from the Synthesis Technology e340 Cloud Generator and later departs.

Tetrazzi Ditti

Richard — Sat, 05 May 2012 19:37:08 +0000

Example use of the Modular Tetrazzi as a sound generator, driven by other modules. In this patch a simple pattern generator drives four MOTM-800 envelope generators, each of which is patched to one Tetrazzi VCA input. The inverted out of the MOTM-800 came in handy to drive two of the VCAs panning in the opposite direction. The pattern generator clock also drives three sample and holds, which patch to the four Tetrazzi VCO CV inputs. With that running I played around with the UPTON, DONTON, UPMOD, and DONMOD pots, and flipped the range switches. The recording is straight from the Tetrazzi VCA outputs. No other processing!

Untitled A

Richard — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:43:23 +0000

Reading about Pierre Schaeffer, founder of musique concrete, and his ideas of acousmatics and the sonorous object.

a) The sonorous object is not the instrument that was played. b) The sonorous object is not the magnetic tape. c) The magnetic tape can contain a number of different sonorous objects. d) But the sonorous object is not a state of mind. Sonorous objects can be clearly described and analyzed.

Listen to this recording. Do you hear sonorous objects? Do the sonorous objects have any reference beyond themselves? To how they were made? To other things that come to your mind when you listen? It is called Untitled A, because otherwise I cannot think how to give a title to a recording unless it either 1) refers to how it was made, 2) refers to something it reminds me of, or 3) is just whimsical nonsense. Schaeffer believed that the sonorous objects can be clearly described and analyzed. I wonder why I’d want to do that. I’d rather just listen.

Broken Silence

Richard — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 01:41:49 +0000

The primary chance parameters are pitch, tempo, loudness and duration. Modules include VCOs, VCAs, VC EGs, VC LFOs, a VC clock divider, sample and holds, and a frequency shifter. No filters or software effects were used. It is a self-running patch recorded directly to MP3.

Gates with Cocoquantus Take One

Richard — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:57:39 +0000

The bright gates patch with the Cocoquantus added to control resonance on the gates and to provide delay/echo. For this take, the initial frequency … —Read more

Gates with Cocoquantus Take Two

Richard — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:54:53 +0000

The bright gates patch with the Cocoquantus added to control resonance on the gates and to provide delay/echo. For this take, the initial frequency … —Read more

Bright Gates

Richard — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:16:32 +0000

This recording is all modular, except for the digital echos. It is also aleatoric, self-playing, using a rhythmic CV generator patch similar to some I have done before, based on the CGS Infinite Melody, Gated Comparator (shifter) and a pair of VC LFOs. Four Clee Resonant Gates act as static filters (not modulated). Encore Frequency Shifter and a MOTM-440 VCF are also employed.

Tetrazzi Dark Drone

Richard — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:18:57 +0000

I’ve had the Tetrazzi Organ for about a week. I have a pretty good understanding how it works now, and I’ve been practicing to come up with playing techniques. It’s oddly named as an organ, since it has no sustain (the salient characteristic of an organ). To get sustain I used the Cocoquantus as a sampler. This recording uses the dolby features of the Cocoquantus, set up to duck the loop mix whenever I play the Tetrazzi. The loops are a sample of the Tetrazzi, pitch-shifted to a very deep bass region, and these provide the slow drone cadence. Over the top of that I improvised on the Tetrazzi. The CGS dual tube VCA adds overtones and sub-octaves, and a pair of Blacet Time Machines follow those.

This is kind of scary sounding. Don’t listen if you’re easily frightened by scary sounds.

Party Horns

Richard — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:38:32 +0000

It was a small party. Cocoquantus + Morphing Terrarium, some envelopes and VCAs, S&H with glide for pitch. The coco quantussy petal controls the … —Read more