On my way home

The melody for this piece felt like it "wrote itself". I was playing the piano on my MODX and I just recorded the midi notes and then transferred everything to my DAW. 

This is my first ever release that does not features any of my hardware instruments. I wanted to edit some mistakes I made when I was recording and, at first, I tried the stock piano from bitwig. It was nice but nowhere near the quality of the CFX piano on the MODX. That's where I decided to try Pianoteq. I think it is amazing and the only one that gets close or even exceeds the quality of the CFX piano on the MODX. It is also available for GNU/Linux which is the platform that I use. I bought the Bechstein model. It was one of my three favorites. The other two are the Bosendorfer Imperial and the Kawai KS. I still don't know which one I like the most. I didn't consider the Bosendorfer because it is available as a high quality multi sample from Yamaha. The choice between the Bechstein and the Kawai was like flipping a coin. 

The other synth sounds are from bitwig stock synths. One of them is the first patch I made from scratch using the grid system. It's clear to me that I have some way to go to utilize the incredible features at a musician's disposal but still, it was a good result and a nice experience creating it. 

I hope you like the melody that I felt that fits with the photo. I took that photo many years ago on my way home. 

A secret never told

Similar to my previous release, this is a piece of music that I came up with on the piano many years ago but never got to record it and share it. I didn't have the appropriate equipment to record my acoustic piano back then. 

Now, even though I don't have an acoustic piano anymore (or space anything that big), with all the help that I get from my MODX synthesizer, my other synths (hardware and software) and the computer with a DAW for recording midi and audio and allowing me to process it, I can make it into a finished song. I hope you like it.

You can this piece at the following links: Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp
 

Studio update

My studio is very small; just 4.2sq.m or 45sq.ft

As the pieces of equipment increase, there needs to be some rearrangement.  Therefore, I tried my hand into carpentry and built a couple of desks and a stand. The result is shown in the photo. 

I list below the synthesizers that I have and add a short comment for each one: 

Yamaha MODX6: my workhorse synth. I use it for everything I make. All music starts from this one. Midi is recorded in it first and then transferred to my Digital Audio Workstation. Any other synth is connected to the MODX and is assigned a track. Practically, I use the other synthesizers only for synthesis and I could do with modules only to save space but having the keys is often convenient. Usually, there are two synths connected to and driven by the MODX, which can also provide a wealth of FX to any sound coming in through A/D. 

Korg Wavestate:  this is my second most used synth and features in many of my releases. It is extremely convenient that I have both the hardware synth and the plugin (Native) version which allows me to further edit the sound in my DAW. It is the only synthesizer that I feel that its sound would be very hard to approach with my MODX. Feels really unique. 

Roland Jupiter Xm:  It is a real monster of a virtual analogue synth and further to the models like Jupiter-8, Juno-106, etc., it also has plenty of traditional and novel Roland PCM sounds. However, it hasn't made it into any of my releases yet. For some reason I will always take the midi I have recorded with it and change it to the sound of one of my software plugins. Regardless, I love this and surely, it will feature in my future releases. 

Regarding software synths, I always use SurgeXT which is my top choice. I also have U-he Zebra-2 which is a great synth but if I can get the sound that I want with SurgeXT, I know I will get there quicker. Both are amazing. 

The computer on the photo is my Thinkpad T14 running Ardour on MX Linux.

Three centuries from Gradus ad Parnassum

 

In 1725, i.e. 300 years ago, Johann Joseph Fux released his magnum opus. It was not an oratorio, a requiem or any kind of composition but a treatise on composition itself and specifically the defining aspect of the Baroque Era; the counterpoint. 

His book Gradus ad Parnassum is considered the pinnacle guide to the counterpoint. According to the legend, both Johann Sebastian Bach and Leopold Mozart gave it to their sons to study the counterpoint. There is some irony here because Bach's son, Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, is considered the man who influenced the transition from the Baroque to the Classical era, when the prevalence of the counterpoint diminished.  Same for Mozart, who was himself the pinnacle of the classical era. 

Even today, JS Bach and Vivaldi are considered among the greatest masters and their art of the counterpoint is central to their achievements. 

a piano echoes waves

This is a melody that I played on a piano that my family owned many years ago. After the introduction of synthesizers and electronic means to my workflow, I thought that it would be interesting to combine the two. I don't have a piano any more but use the CFX patches of the Yamaha MODX instead.

My intention was to start with a pure piano sound, continue the same pattern with synthesizers and then return to the original sound of the piano. I found the last part, returning to the piano sound, challenging and didn't manage to get there. Eventually, this piece starts with a lightly distorted piano sound, emulating how an old piano would sound, with a light pad in the background. The piano melody is enriched with synthesized sounds, mostly for the Korg Wavestate, a bit of SurgeXT and more, that follow along until a separate set of patches with arps take over the whole melody. 

I hope you will enjoy the melody.  

You can this piece at the following links: Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp

Pachelbel's Canon in Synth (an experiment)

I have been in love with Pachelbel's Canon in D since I remember myself. This is an attempt to recreate it with electronic music. 

Thoughts on Yamaha MODX6

Instead of workstation, I like to call MODX6 my workhorse synth.There are two reasons for this: (a) it is mediocre as a workstation and definitely cannot be a replacement for a DAW, and (b) it is a fantastic instrument that can perform in all situations I could ever imagine and even more. I couldn't be happier with it.

Recurrent Dreams

 I wanted to make a piece in memory of one of the greatest electronic musicians who passed away last year: Vangelis. Particularly the initial pad, made with the FM-X engine of the Yamaha MODX6, is reminiscent of his sounds even though his pads were known for subtractive (e.g. CS-80) rather than Frequency Modulation (FM) synthesis. 

As the composition progressed, the music began to guide me away from my initial direction with some melodies following even baroque elements. The fusion of repeating patterns, evolving pads from the Yamaha MODX and Roland JD-08, complemented by PCM orchestral and choir sounds, gave birth to the song's title. 

You can find this piece at the following links: Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp

I hope you like it.

Two friends

  This piece comprises a guitar and a violin. As it grows, a small orchestra of cellos, violas,a flute and french horns silently grows in the background but it is always the Two friends playing the guitar and violin that make this melodic discussion grow. The guitar and the violin have been "performed" with a Yamaha MODX6 and the background orchestral sounds are from Miroslav Philarmonic. I hope it brings into the listener's mind a memory of meeting again with a good old friend.

a flute's Emptiness

 

 

The flute is a beautiful instrument. The sound we hear is the air that passes through the empty vacuum inside it. The form of the vacuum and the passing air create all these feelings. 

I borrow this from Chapter-11 of the Tao Te Ching: