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Newly released on the split-notes label, a 9-track record of beautifully sculpted xenharmonic electronic music by composer and poet müesk: Eventual
Eventual is full of these atmospheric and evocative pieces which often defy normal expectations of structure, rhythm and tonality in delightful ways. The download also includes a short collection of poems.
Next Xen, a compilation album of music using alternative tunings, has just been released on the split-notes label!
The album features myself (Sevish), Banaphshu with Kraig Grady, Brendan Byrnes (ft. Louis Lopez), Carlos Devizia, Tony Dubshot, Jacky Ligon, Miekko, John Moriarty, Mosstone, Steve Mueske, Mythshifter, Robin Perry, Joseph Post, Carlo Serafini, Tall Kite, Elaine Walker, and Ozan Yarman (Ph.D.)
This free album is a snapshot of the online microtonal music community at the start of 2016 and shows a variety of approaches to groove-based microtonal/xenharmonic music. Check out the included liner notes to find out more about each artist and their approach to microtonality. If this is your first experience with microtonal music, then listen well and welcome to the madness!!
An example of a microtonal chord progression in 22edo (22 equal divisions of the octave, aka 22-tone equal temperament). These harmonies would be impossible to reproduce accurately using standard Western tuning, Arabic intonation, or basically any other traditional intonation. But with the new intonation systems that are popular within the xenharmonic scene, you might hear something new.
The tempo and velocity is controlled by a drunk walk using the drunk object in Max/MSP (Max 4 Live). Sound designs using Xen-Arts IVOR and FMTS2.
I’ve been following Dolores Catherino’s beautiful microtonal music for quite a while and it’s fascinating to get a look into her musical space. Everybody has a different approach to microtonality and hers is certainly different to mine. There are some very cool pieces of kit on display, like the Starr Labs Microzone U-648, H-Pi Tonal Plexus, Haken Continuum Fingerboard, and ROLI Seaboard.
This video also serves as a very inspiring introduction to why one would start using microtonal scales to push music into the future.
She also mentions that we could extend frequencies up above and beyond the range of human hearing (i.e. above 20kHz) with future advancements in sample rate fidelity and loudspeaker design. While it remains to be seen if this would have an effect on our perception of the music, it’s very interesting food for thought.
Here’s an improvisation from a few years back, warts and all. It’s a microtonal piano piece.
I like to think that the machines were here on Earth since the beginning, and they were just waiting for the right time to show themselves to humans. They were making music in 12,000 BC and it sounded just like this new xenharmonic release over on the Dubbhism netlabel!
Strictly Binkie is all about self-generating modular dubbs (how many b’s are appropriate here)?!
You know how we roll… Free will is for losers, intelligent robots are taking over our planet. Hollywood and Silly Con Valley have been warning us for years, but Dubbhism is not sleeping on this. We bring you the next step in dubb: the Dubbularity. Big fat fully automated, self-generating, self-programming dubbs for the Kurzweil Generation.
Mixed by Binkieman, a dutch dub artist who’s custom built modular robosynth spits out weird algorithms, encrypted electronic messages, nasty basses and reverb-soaked rimshots. Bang the Binkie drum!!
Release page: http://www.dubbhism.com/2015/09/out-now-binkieman-strictly-binkie.html
Download: http://www.dubbhism.net/netlabel/dubbhism-netlabel-022-binkieman-strictly-binkie.rar
Just hit play and then keep reading.
ILEVENS describe themselves as a psych-pop band.
So what, you say? Well compared to other acts who are working within this style, you might (if you’re like me) notice something you just can’t put your finger on with the sound. Something sounds almost brighter, deeper, richer… What is that?
Take a closer look at the guitar. There are way too many frets on that damn thing. What’s going on?
Well ILEVENS are playing in a new intonational system that abandons traditional musical values. In other words, this music is microtonal. They’re using a system with 22 steps in an octave.
Shit, somebody has finally done it! Somebody has finally made microtonal music that’s not all theory and MIDI trumpet sounds!
ILEVENS’ frontman Brendan Byrnes isn’t just the handsome face of the band but also a bit of a mastermind for bringing this group and this sound into existence.
You see, it’s now very clear that having depths of knowledge about microtonality (read: the future of music) isn’t enough to get people interested in this style. You need to have the ability to write clearly, play with enthusiasm, and have fun. ILEVENS do this to such a high degree that it becomes “music” first and foremost and “a whole new paradigm of musical intonation” second. That’s the way things should be. That’s how we can show the world what microtonal music can do.
Brendan also made the rather mesmerising Micropangaea album a couple years ago, so if you’re getting into ILEVENS then this is recommended listening too.
My piece Guano Sequence was featured in a compilation album from the music blog Can This Even Be Called Music?
There are some really far out sounds on this album, so check it out! Can This Even Be Called Music promotes unique underground bands and genres by reviewing their music, art, and lyrics. Dave Tremblay, who founded the blog, is even a microtonal musician in his own right!
Last weekend I put on a live stream about making microtonal music in Ableton Live. While there were a few technical issues, I did manage to get my head into a spacey improvisation in the Bohlen-Pierce scale. The improvisation was played with my AXiS-49 by C-Thru Music (a company which unfortunately went out of business recently).
The Bohlen-Pierce scale provides an exciting alternative to the Western 12-tone equal temperament. Instead of using major (4:5:6) and minor (10:12:15) triads as the basis of its harmony, it uses 3:5:7 and 5:7:9 “triads”. The ratios refer to the frequencies of the notes which form its harmony. To my ear, BP is spaced out, sparse and atmospheric. It sounds alien but it makes sense in its own weird way.
Actually the chords that are in the background of my improvisation don’t use the 3:5:7 or 5:7:9 chords, but to my ear they still capture that unmistakable BP sound. Definitely a great xenharmonic scale to go back to now and again.
If you want to hear more, you’ll find a plethora of Bohlen-Pierce recordings on YouTube.
For more reading, check out the Bohlen-Pierce site!
And just for good measure, here’s another Bohlen-Pierce track that I wrote way back in 2010.
Just for fun I’ll will be live streaming my next music making session. Tune in here:
http://www.twitch.tv/sevishmusic/
Sunday 2:30am UTC
There will be live chat so we can discuss approaches to microtonal composition, sound design, audio engineering etc. Just follow the link to start watching. You’ll need to sign up for a free Twitch.tv account to get on the chat, and I hope you’ll do that so I can have some company while making noises.
I’ll be working on some new stuff, and maybe also creating some synth sound designs to be used later. I’m happy to load up the songs from Rhythm and Xen if you want to see how they were made. Never tried anything like this before so let’s do something new!