my ambient jams

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

i've always been completely enamored by ambient music, ambient noise, etc. i used to do a lot of this stuff in the past but just haven't had the time or head space to get anything new going for awhile... bummer, but that's life! anyways, my girlfriend and i are working on a art/sound installation and it pushed me to make something new. *forgot to add a link to her stuff - www.gabriellesilverlight.com (her site needs an overhaul and she'll probably get to it in the next week?)

i posted this on my blog so it's kind of old news, but it's a mobile which has 8 speakers/light sensors attached to different hanging cast aluminum pieces. there will be 8 loops constantly playing which are amplitude (volume) controlled by the sensors. light = quiet, dark = loud. it'll mostly be quiet and the recording i made does not accurately reflect that, but it was just an idea i was toying around with... this is one of the things that has taken hold of my time recently, but the install date is on tuesday so things should be getting back to normal pretty soon.

i'll post some of my other tunes up sporadically if anyone's interested!

[soundcloud]http://soundcloud.com/smallsoundbigsound/mobile-sounds[/soundcloud]

[jrmy]

Beyootiful stuff! Ambient, shoegazy, dreamy... I'd love to check it out in person, to see how it works/changes in the space... such a cool concept.

[kbit]

This is beautiful. Are you following a specific chord progression or was it a more improvised type thing?

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

re: improvised - what specifically are you referring to?
each of the 8 loops ranges from around :30 long to 5 minutes long, so the way they overlap creates an ever-changing landscape. i've always been interested in this approach to making ambient music, as it feels very natural; even when using loops.

[theactionindex]

I absolutely love it. Very soothing.

I'm always intrigued by the different approaches used in creating ambient music, so I'm super excited to hear more of what you're doing!

[kbit]

re: improvised - what specifically are you referring to?
each of the 8 loops ranges from around :30 long to 5 minutes long, so the way they overlap creates an ever-changing landscape. i've always been interested in this approach to making ambient music, as it feels very natural; even when using loops.

I meant the part on the keys. But from this post it sounds like it was a loop?

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

yeah it's two separate loops - both are using a sample of some music that i recorded years ago on a nice piano at a nice recording studio.

the chord progression: a simple 7 chord progression with nice spread voicings similar to what guitarists play. all of the /'s indicate the root note, rather than a true slash chord. Eb/G, Eb, F-/Ab, C-/G, Ab, Eb/G, Bb7
the melody line: a very simple 15 note melody. (some of the other layers are variations)

they are different lengths, so the two line up approximately with every 8 chord progressions / 7 melodies.

[kbit]

I love the timing of it all, & I couldn't tell from one listen that the loops lined up like that but it sounds incredible either way.

[Bellyheart]

Tell your girlfriend to make me a pimp goblet. Those rule.

[hclapp219]

This sounds awesome! How will it be lit? Or will it just be in natural daylight... It would be awesome to have a sound mobile that only came on at night to keep evil spirits/monsters away.

Also, just bought tickets to see your band at the Black Cat in DC!

[Bellyheart]

^just saw the flyers for that show at the Circle Takes the Square/Pg.99 show that happened during the hurricane.

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

This sounds awesome! How will it be lit? Or will it just be in natural daylight... It would be awesome to have a sound mobile that only came on at night to keep evil spirits/monsters away.

Also, just bought tickets to see your band at the Black Cat in DC!

there will be 3 spotlights around it. it will work in daylight as well, just differently - you'd need to really move your hand over the LDR rather than just casting a shadow from the spotlights. there will be a few different sensitivities so that some will work better in the daylight, some at night. it's sort of a balancing act, just like the mobile!

badass! let's chill afterwards!

[coldbrightsunlight]

That sounds really nice, and it's also a really cool idea as an interactive piece as well.

[ashdown]

love it

[univalve]

I could Listen to this stuff over hours. So Great!