Hypercycle Sunday Drive
This song grew out of some experimentation with a delightful little VST called Hypercyclic, available free for Windows, Mac and Linux from Plugin Boutique. It’s not a regular arpeggiator, no! One of its stated features is “for mangling…MIDI”, and eventually I ended up with a pulsating little white noice rhythm which blossomed into this piece.
The Voices in my Head
This tune features the “Random Choir” patch from the MuTools DAW built-in synth. Choir patches generally come as approximations of phrases such as “Ooo”, “Eee” and “Ahh”. This patch triggers a different phrase with each keypress, and the effect can be mesmerizing.
Slice of Cheese
A delightfully poppy lick supported by a slappy synth bass churns up a groovy slice o’ cheese!
Poking the Machine
It all started out with a drum pattern captured from the vintage Korg i3 synth and played by GarageBand on the Mac. From there I built it up with a percolating bass line, twinkling arpeggiator strikes and a catchy little melody you’ll be whistling all day long.
Yamahamburger
This tune is a spotlight on a vintage piece of gear in my TranSan studio, a piece which has been part of my setup for many, many years. The Yamaha TX81Z is a FM (Frequency Modulation) synthesizer from 1987 and can be heard in many songs of the era. “Yamahamburger” is a few layers of modern sound sprinkled with generous helpings of the presets LatelyBass, Sitar, HiStrings, NylonGuitar and BaadBreath.
Soundcheck Swing
Here is a tune that’s been percolating on my back burner for nearly two decades! It’s a jazzy little swing piece that I frequently used for soundchecks at live performances. Now I’ve finally gotten around to recording it, and in TranSan style.
StarDust ’97
This tune was inspired by a gorgeous guitar sample available in the iOS SampleTank add-on pack “American Acoustic”. Sprinkle some “stardust” arpeggiator and you’ve got a moderate-tempo, laid-back pop song perfect for graceful movements or time-lapse video.
Kyle’s Red-Tipped Lazer Gun
The plan for this one was initially a straight-forward rock song, but the synth bass took it in a slightly different direction. What’s with the name? Well, the drummer preset I used on GarageBand was “Kyle”, and incidentally my firstborn nephew is named Kyle. The “red tipped lazer gun” is for the initials of my second-born nephew, RTLG.
The Future is Sci-Fi
Whenever my partner & I watch Enterprise, I find myself regularly skipping through the opening title sequence. I guess I’m hardwired to expect orchestral music in a Star Trek theme. So he suggested that I compose my own replacement for it. And here it is.
From Dusk Until Dawn
Sometimes you just have one o’ those weeks. You know the kind. The ones that can wind you up so bad… Here’s a relaxing tune to help you uncoil your tension.