Not dead project

Hello, 2012 !!

I know... it's now the end of the year and I haven't written anything since 2011.
Not because I didn't work on this project, but because I have maturing ideas and making different plans.
So.. I decided to make many changes and move forward to bring this project out of the studio. How?

Since I bought the Docking station for the laptop, I believed the machine would work with it, but unfortunately, there was too much delay between the sound backgrounds and the drums, and the beat was running out on the 8th bar.
If you lost this chapter, read here:
http://wavdj.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/update.html

What to do !? If I can not use the Drums of the machine, I will not use but I will not drop this project and abandon everything only because the drums are going out of synch, so I decided to not use the drums of the machine and this will let me with only the background sounds wish now... are complete tracks made on Ableton projected to be overdub with the sounds of the kaossilator into a mixer ;)

I have many ideas, but I am writing this now to let you know that this project has only just begun.

Next, I have 108 new tracks (backgrounds) to work on in Ableton and set up to upload into the machine. From there, I will return to leave more information. Until then,
Keep it experimental and ... mental ;)

Settings...

Machine settings

If you read the chapters before, you know that I lost all the settings of the machine and all the loops and samples I had uploaded to the software before, so I had to recreate everything from scratch. However, this time I approached it differently.

I did (again) new tracks on Ableton to work in a machine as sound support, but this is all about evolution, so I have made things different now.

Instead, I made background sounds (sound textures) in Ableton and uploaded them into the software. This time, I started to create proper music styles and produce tracks with spaces in between, so I could use the Kaossilator sounds without them crashing.

I still need to make the new drum patterns in the machine. The first row is already made because I was producing some Dubstep last time and I wanted to listen to how it would sound, so I made some changes in the drum patterns on the machine in the first row, the other ones will come with time ;)

This setting will be changed, but for now, this is how I have the machine set up:

These are the styles I have decided to make...

1- DUBSTEP ----  (I can do 30 tracks of each music style, and I can do 6 different drum patterns for the 30  music styles in the machine only. ) Still, the only ones I have worked a bit with are the drum patterns of the machine

2- INDUSTRIAL

 Most parts of these samples and loops are taken from the first textures I did in Ableton on the first experiments with the machine ;)

3- PSY TRANCE

 Thanks, Mark Grey (Soundmagus), my friend, for the samples and QPA Qubensis psy audio. You guys are brilliant, but I have work, and I know now that I have a very unique psy trance sound thanks to your loops and samples.
This is a process ongoing ;) Thank you ;)

4- FSOL

 This sample was taken from some EPs. I cut the samples from the tracks and uploaded the best parts.

 ( for me)In the machine to loop and work on top.
HAA, Yes, you can call remix ;)
Samples were taken from various sources.

5- TRAX

This is experimental, industrial, mental, etc, and something more ;)
All the tracks I have uploaded (approximately 6) are my original compositions, produced using Ableton and intended to be part of a live mix with the machine. (You will know more in the video.)

6- AMBIENT

This is what I'm still working on, and I am not sure what I will do, but time will tell me... will he?




******************************************************************

1 * DUBSTEP

1-PUMPING-  125BPM
2-VACUM-    120BPM
3-COOL-     140BPM
4-FOOTSTEPS-140BPM
5-VOCUSTEP- 140BPM
6-RINGRING- 140BPM

******************************************************************

2 *INDUSTRIAL

1-IND18- 110BPM
2-IND16- 110BPM
3-IND21- 110BPM
4-IND9-  110BPM
5-IND8-  110BPM
6-IND10- 100BPM


******************************************************************

3 *PSY TRANCE

1-PSY-BASIC-2-       148BPM
2-PSY-FRED-            148BPM
3-PSY-FREDBNK2- 148BPM
4-PSY-FREDBNK3- 148BPM
5-PSY-FREDBNK4- 148BPM
6-PSY-FREDBNK5- 148BPM
7-PSY-FREDBNK-  145BPM

******************************************************************

4 *FSOL

1-FSOL- 120BPM
2-FSOL- 120BPM
3-FSOL- 120BPM - MOVE 2 DRUM 5
4-FSOL- 120BPM
(REMOVE)
5-FSOL- 119BPM
6-FSOL- 120BPM-EXP
7-FSOL- 120BPM-EXP

******************************************************************

5*TRAX

1-COMUNICACA-        110BPM
2-FIRE PLACE-              110BPM
3-HOSPITALMENT-      110BPM
4-LIQUID MORPHINE- 110BPM
5-TICK TOCK-              110BPM
6-DEAD INDUSTRY-   100BPM
7-CHRISNAS-             100BPM - PLAY W DRUM 6
8-KIKA-                      120BPM - PLAY W DRUM 5 (SPEED UP)
9-TRANSMISSION MISSION- 120BPM - PLAY W DRUM 5 (SPEED UP)

******************************************************************

11*AMBIENT

1- AMB1- 128bpm
2- AMB2- 120bpm
3- AMB3- 120bpm
4- DRON1-116bpm
5- DRON2- 86bpm


 Ok, next I will start the video chapters.

Release and video

The release and video are out now.

So... did you think it was all over?

Did I just give up?

Never.. Nop.. rian de rian, na pa do nada !!

After numerous workarounds, I made several changes to the music sounds, and I contacted a friend to create a video for the release.

The release is now for download in all major download stores.

DaDa Project - Electric City (EP)

You can download the release from here:

http://download.trancemoon.com/artist/300504/dada-project.html

The video was produced by Seamus (FilterKik Media)
http://www.filterkikmedia.com 

and have (by now) 9.992 views

This release ended up being released by the Lua Records label, as NCP Records was still in the development stages and couldn't afford to publish the release.

Finish tracks & label website

Finlay, the tracks are finished (some).

Unfortunately, the tracks I uploaded to Send Space before were deleted. This happened because I didn't open a proper account. I just uploaded the tracks, and after some time, if you don't open an account, they delete your files.

The tracks I uploaded were the body of all the construction, so you didn't miss much. Anyway, you can still listen to some of that work in the videos I upload and have posted on this blog.

NOW... Things have changed!

The tracks do not sound the same; they are more polished, and I have finished and mastered some of them.

PLUS... I created a label for experimental music artists (like me), the label is called:

N.C.P Records
(No Commercial Potential Records)

I have created this label page on the Bandcamp page for artists, and have uploaded the finalised tracks:
http://ncprecords.bandcamp.com/

There are 5 tracks on there for now, and these ones I call (electric city - opus 1/2/3/4/5)

I cannot say that the following tracks I will compose will be in the same vein as these ones, but I will try to keep the style so I can have a shelf too... ha ha ha ha ha.

I hope you enjoy it ;)

Live Demonstration - Video

Here is how it all works...
WAVDJ vm108 + Kaossilator.

This is not a proper life. I did this with one hand only and wish I didn't need help at all.
(The other hand was filming the thing)

In this video, I didn't include the Korg melody, the sound bend from the wheel, and I didn't have much flexibility to work as I do with the Kaossilator PLUS. This is a very short demonstration. Usually, this track takes 10 to 15 minutes from start to finish and is a progressive thing.
In this case, it is a rapid demonstration, but it works!

So... off we go then :



Questions ??
Please... do it!

Altered States Opus 5 - Video

Altered States Opus 5 - Video

Track on: 19/01/2010

Video on: 30/09/2010
13:06 Minutes/sec. Track

Equipment:

WAVDJ VM108 + Kaossilator

The sounds in the tracks are progressive. This is live music and is not made on the computer, will take time to have all the tracks constructed.

I am making this fractal video to see how it works and because I always can send a message with the music.

To make these images, it take a long time and patience. The videos take lots of images too, so I will be short of images soon unless I get a different program to make fractals with different scripts.

I think is a good idea to have images and video at the same time. A big projector will be good.

The first video (altered states opus 4) was about art in Dadaism.

This one is about Albert Hofmann and Timothy Leary.

The images will tell you :)

Music, again, is a minimal progressive (live) 

Please note that this is only the first track I am posting.

I have plans to make different music, not just the minimal, ambient, industrial, and experimental, I am doing at the moment.

Enjoy it ;)

Altered Stated Opus 5

(Industrial Ambient)

DOWNLOAD

http://www.sendspace.com/file/weebte

Altered States Opus 4 - Video

Altered States Opus 4

19/01/2010
13:47 Minutes/sec. Track

Equipment:

WAVDJ VM108 + Kaossilator

This is my first experience with music and visuals.

I produced the music, the video, and some of the sculptures and drawings.

All the other images are Dadaist art and photos.

(NOTE:) For a better viewing experience, change the video settings to *48P and wait 5 minutes for the video to upload completely. Then click play.

I hope you enjoy it.

Altered Stated Opus 4

(Industrial Ambient)

DOWNLOAD

http://www.sendspace.com/file/251mlp

 

 

Altered States Opus 3

Altered States Opus 3

19/01/2010
10:52 Minutes/sec. Track

Equipment:

WAVDJ VM108 + Kaossilator

The sounds in the tracks are progressive. This is live music, not created on a computer, and will take time to construct all the tracks.

In this track, you can listen to what is called Improvisation (as all the tracks I do), but in this case, the start sounds go off-beat.
Don't be scared, it's not like that for long and again, it has a nice mental effect ;)

On this track, I added some bass again.
This is (possibly) one of the most expressive tracks from this lot of tracks I did on this date, but your comment will say if it's true or not.

The background for this track is very tricky as it sounds off tempo but is precisely at the exact (bpm) and makes a vibraphone sound very weird ;)

Altered Stated Opus 3

(Industrial Ambient)

DOWNLOAD

http://www.sendspace.com/file/paomdu

LEAVE YOUR COMMENT

Thank you

Altered States Opus 1

 Altered states, opus 1

19/01/2010
10:18 minutes/ sec track

Equipment:

WAVDJ VM108 + Kaossilator

Write this to be better explained and easy to read... The sounds in the tracks are progressive. This is live music and is not created on a computer; it will take time to construct all the tracks.

 This is the first track with both machines, WAVDJ and KAOSSILATOR.

At this point, I was doing an experiment with the sounds at the start.

If you can be aware, the sounds will be out of tempo... but not!

This creates an extraordinary effect on the music, as after the beat starts, you will feel like the sounds are out of tempo. However, after a few seconds, you will notice that the sounds are connecting fine.

This is a mind game in the music that I would like to play more with ;)

On the other hand, I can change this by starting the tracks with the drums and then stopping the drums after a few seconds, adding some sounds.

After leaving the sounds play for some time, if I switch the drums again, they will start on tempo.

Mental music tricks.

Altered states, opus 1

(Industrial ambient)

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/bk5ian

LEAVE YOUR COMMENT
Thank you

Chapter 18 - Resume

 Track Structure Resume

Expanding on this, it is challenging for some people to understand what I am really talking about.
That's why I like resumes!
It's where you read the important things at once and dont need to go into the whole story.

This is the resume of the Track Structure.

1- Drums
2- Background
3- Kaossilator

Drums

1 drum loop (64 or 128 bars)
These drum loops all include percussion and were created using the software program.
* Read more about the drums here
http://wavdj.blogspot.com/2009/12/chapter-4-drum-loops.html

Background

This consists of a sound or noise looping at the same tempo as the drums.
This background is totally independent of the drums and can be used with other drums (how far the drums are from the exact bpm)
Because this part of the WAVDJ machine does not loop, I have to import the sounds into Ableton and then place them at the same BPM, include more sounds, add voices, and loop the sound for around 10 minutes to provide enough space for improvisations.
* Read more about the FX part of the WAVDJ here, where the background loops are stored
http://wavdj.blogspot.com/2009/12/chapter-8-sound-fx.html

* Read about the backgrounds here
http://wavdj.blogspot.com/2010/01/chapter-14-background-sounds.html

Kaossilator

I pre-choose a group of 6-7 sounds that are similar to the background music playing.
Now I just start creating :)

Having the 2 parts of the wavdj (drums & FX - background sounds) and the kaossilator working at the same time, I  can take sounds off and put them on again, through the mixer of the wavdj

Many things have changed, and new ideas have emerged since I started writing this blog.
I created two tracks in Ableton with no drums and imported them to WavDJ. Then, I made two drum loops to accompany the tracks, but this time, I used the WavDJ software to produce the drums.

Questions ??

Next, I will post a detailed Zoom of these three elements and explain exactly how I am working and what I am doing with the WaveDJ and the Kaossilator.

Hello Friends

 Hi Friends

The reason I am contacting you now is that I have some tracks nearly ready, and I would like to show them to you and listen to your opinions.
Who's best to do that ?? YOU!

I know it can be painful, but I can handle some earplugs just in case :)

Meanwhile, this was intended to draw your attention and keep you involved in the project's progress.
Until then, please keep reading, as I am close to the end of the first round of tracks.

Speak soon and thank you for paying some attention to the weird shit I do :)

Chapter 15 - Add Instruments

New Instruments Experiments.

I had a friend visit me during a weekend, he is a shy musician but has a lot of instruments, including lots of drums (as it is a drummer:)

My friend brought me a Micro Korg.

The Micro Korg
It's perfect, but too limited to work.
It's nice to take some sounds, but just that!
It's a vocoder too, which is beneficial for voices as well as specific sounds. It can make a very original effect in the music.
It's perfect equipment for live performances, but not in the style of the music I try to make here.
It's more of a (techno-minded) music machine.

a Mixer

The Mixer
Here we connected everything.

and a Kaoss Pad

The Kaoss pad
It can be beneficial to add some final effects to the overall music or make slight variations in the final sound played. He can make some extra sounds on top and other special effects.
With Kaoss pad, I think it's good just to make some minimal changes in the total sound, but it's the only one I can see included as 1 more instrument.

For now, my friend has left me the Kaoss Pad for me to have a try, but he will take it back in some months' time.
I end up not using this much.

Chapter 9 - Drums pad

Drums Pad

Apart from the drum loops in WAVDJ, the drum pads are one of the cool features of the machine.

They are 6 (pad) buttons
1- Tom 1
2- Tom 2
3- Crash
4- Hi Hats
5- Snare
6- Bass Drum

Very friendly and helpful, but it has an audio latency.

When pressed, the pads give the sound late (as happens with the Korg, too)
I click the button and 1 second later, the sound is heard.
No way to make something with this...

If this were working as it should be, it would be great fun.
Again, after I know the machine very well, it is possible to play around with these faulty buttons too, it's just a matter of time ;)

I can understand why this WAVDJ was discontinued! :(

Chapter 7 - Display

LCD Display

This part of the machine is not very useful.
The only information displayed on the LCD is numbers showing the time the machine is on, and has a (kind of) spiral that shows the tempo just moving over and over, don't stop.
This is what I call a display with useless information !!

This other part of the machine is where the music blocks are supposed to be written. Copy and paste them into the software if I were interested in making music and recording the patterns into the program. I do not want to work that way!

This can be useful if I were doing tracks in the software program, but I saved myself from that nightmare.

My plan is to use the machine to play the music, not the software program to make the music ;)

Basically, I can create a pattern and record it in blocks, and then play it all together.

This is the main point of this music program, which is outdated and no longer helpful.

Chapter 4 - The Drum Loops

 The Drum Loops

  While I was waiting to get my hands on the kaossilator, I started reconstructing some drum loops using the machine's software.

WAVDJ has 12 different drum loop button styles:
Funk, techno, rap/hip hop, dance, jazz/blues, rock, country, alternative, pop, reggae, ragtime, world / new age, and March/polka.
Each of these styles has six different drum loop patterns, making a total of 36 configurable drum loop patterns.
This drum loops are made in 64 bars but can be stretch to 128 bars or how long I want hem to go, as I can change the tempo (bpm) wile I do the beats or in real time wile I play.
That means I can create a drum with percussion as long as I want and will continuously loop it at the bpm I want.
 Fine :)

The sound of the Drum loop is limited to 47 Percussion sounds, and there is no way to change these sounds. The only thing I can do with the sounds in the drums is adjust the volume up or down or change the patterns.
I can reconstruct all the drum loops in the machine, or I can delete them all and start from scratch, but that is a very time-consuming process.
The drums sounds are very basic, they have the basic kick, hit-hats,c rash, tom, etc... and the percussions are basic like: ride bell, cowbell, vibraslap, stick, bongo, triangle, etc... but they are all inside of the same drum board and I just can use this instruments... or not, depending of the patterns I create!

You can see the drum part of the software :

And here you have the drums part in the machine, this, as you may have guest, its all working with the software but the main point is to trigger the sounds in the buttons, the software just carry the sound files to the machine, the trick is to put the sounds inside of the software program to be activated any time I click one of this buttons :)
Basic, I click the button and it will play the drum loop I set up in the software ;)

In the case of the drum loops , there is no other way than to reconstruct the drums, beat by beat!
I can not add drum loops from other sources.

  This Drum loop part is versatile, but there is no way to change the sound of each instrument.
The sound of drums and percussion will always remain the same; the beats are different, but the drum sounds are always the same. (
The only way to change this is to have drum style files in  (.sty files) or .osm files, this (.sty files are used by Yamaha korgs) but I have been looking in the web for some time and I dont see a way to get this files with drum loops other than salsa, pop, rock and other styles not applying to me.

ABOUT THE.STY FILES
These files are pre-made with all the sounds and instruments.
I need these files with many more instruments and sounds.
This is the significant limitation of the program (machine)

I uploaded 1 of the .sty files (rock) for reference in case someone can help me out.
If you have any knowledge of this type of file, just let me know:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/f9aqkq

(Link outdated)

Chapter 1

THE MEETING WITH THE BEAST!

I was browsing through a shop in town when I came across a box featuring a software program and a console for creating music. The box's appearance was dated, and it had been on the shelf for a long time.
Examining the box images, this is a program designed to connect to the PC, enabling you to create music using WAV files.
Very plastic-looking.
The price was fine (£15)

I have many music systems at home, including amplifiers, mix CD decks, monitors, and a sound card.
As a DJ/ Music producer, I am passionate about everything related to music, and I have a tendency towards experimentalism and unconventional objects.
I found this a strange music object, so I asked about it, and they told me this was a discontinued product.

I got back home and I did some research on the web, but I didn't find anything about this, apart from some people in forums looking for the original software program.
Without the software, the machine doesn't work !!

So, the next day I get back to the shop and pick one of these machines to see what's happening.
I get a box, come home, and start to install the machine on my music computer.

The program software and machine are from 2001, and no more updates have been made.
The guy from the shop told me that inside the box was an XP driver for the program.
I opened the box, and inside was the original program software, along with a recorded CD containing the XP driver.
This software utilises an outdated ActiveX driver, which is no longer available on the web.

I set up everything, but first, I had to pass some challenges:
The cable of the WAVDJ connecting the machine to the PC is an old Mousse socket, together with a 6-pin socket for image. My PC is not that old and just has a USB mouse connection, so I have to go out and get an adapter.

After that, it was all about making the sound connections and installing the software.
Works fine at first, but has many problems.
The sound sometimes came grumbling, sometimes didn't produce any sound, and later wouldn't start the software, resulting in some stupid errors.
Between all these happenings, I had about a week to experiment and see what I could do with this toy.

The Software program allowed me to change all the FX sound files, as they are all in WAV format.
The drums feature 72 different loop patterns, which can be altered and reconstructed beat by beat.
The software allowed me to construct tracks or change the sounds and rhythms independently on each button.
He has connections in and out, plus a microphone.
The keyboard instruments can all be changed, and there are tooo many to count.
Have a scale with 8 octaves on the keyboard
Interesting things for a toy !!

After the problems start, I decide to put the machine back in a box and set it aside...
Leave it!