k o y l - Mutant Guitars & Deviant Electronics

AbsTrack 04: 1st track with Bass & Beats

Hi there,

Here is the 4th AbsTrack, but the 1st of this kind: The 1st one including beats & bass.

There’s quite a lot of things to say about it so here it is right now… so you can listen while reading if you wish:

Until now, the kind of material I released was in the same vein than my previous project “Le Principe d’Inconstance” (100% improvised with only a guitar, effect pedals and loopers).
Part of the reason why it was so is that I needed time to sharpen what I had in mind for this project and I also need to figure out how to make it a reality.
The other reason is I wanted to document the development of this new project and leave a trace of where it came from.

I struggled quite a long time, did a lot of experiences to know how to mix and try to find the right balance between guitars & electronics.

Until recently, I was not 100% happy with the results but not totally unhappy as well like when you feel good about something but you know deep inside there’s more to it…

But what I was really unhappy about was the process, and it tooks a bit of time to realize why: I was FUCKING BORED of using that damned Mousepad all the time !!! And when I say “bored”, I mean that it was really killing my creativity and my will to make music.

Once I realized this, it was pretty obvious that I had to rely less on the computer and going back to something which gives me the sensation to PLAY music.
That’s why I decided to buy some hardware gear. And since the main thing that I was struggling with was Beat making (basically because if you do beats with your head rather than with your ears & guts, they just won’t groove !), I gathered infos about Drum Machines with the idea of buying one that could be programmed in a natural way.

Some friends told me about the Elektron MachineDrum, telling me it was a live oriented and very instinctive instrument.
I then discovered that Elektron also makes a Sampler, The Octatrack, which includes an 8-Tracks sequencer. Since my work has always been about using things in a way that they were not conceived for (call it Hacking… or Subversion.), this machine seemed perfect.
So I purchased one and after 3 days of learning how to use it (and only scratching the surface of its infinite possibilities really..), I made a track in a week ! …Me who has worked on some tracks for months without being able to finish them… What a change !

So here is this new AbsTrack, the 1st one including electronics thanks to the Octatrack.
It’s again an improvisation but this time, it does not only include a guitar but also Beats and Bass. Everything is programmed/played live.
There’s no computer involved (except for recording the guitar and output of the Octatrack).

At the beginning, it sounds just like my previous improvisations on top of a beat plus a very minimal bassline… but after a while the beats and bass get busier and I start to mangle the guitar loops with the Octatrack which gives quite interesting and new results…

It’s actually the 2nd improv I ever did with that machine and I’m far from mastering it all so I had to cut out the (sometimes long) moments when I was like “Damn ! How I’m supposed to do that already ???”. But apart from that, like the previous improvs, nothing was added after.

Since I have the Octatrack, I have started to work on composed tracks in a very efficient & statisfaying way so I’m going to pace down the release of AbsTracks in order to concentrate more on composed tracks.
I’d like to release a 1st EP as soon as possible… :)

I’ll be releasing another improv made with the Octatrack soon though…

I also plan to do live shows with only guitars, my pedalboard (which has changed quite a lot) and the Octatrack only. No computer. No staring at a screen.

koyl

AbsTrack 03: “8-Bit Wonderland”

Hello !

It’s been a while eh ?

Sorry about that 2-months blackout. Winter sent my way a big bag of sicknesses (including being almost totally deaf from one ear…) during the whole time… Not fun at all.

The positive side of this is I had a lot of time to think about things and discover new aw-inspiring music. Now I know way better where this project is going, but more important, I found out HOW to go there… I’m in the middle of lots of changes technically speaking and what is already coming out is pretty exciting… and it’s only the beginning !

Prepare yourself for changes because the new music will drift more and more apart from what I did with Le Principe d’Inconstance…

We will go there smoothly though, starting with this new abstract called “8 bit Wonderland“.

Like both previous AbsTracks, this one is 100% improvised and made only on guitar… or should I write “guitarS” ?
Because yes, there’s 2 guitars on it and 2 guitar players !

It’s a track I recorded this summer with fellow guitarist Venom-T (we choosed him a nickname to protect this innocents and keep the children safe).
We recorded several improvisations with more or less success (and lots of Pizzas) but this one definitely standed out: It’s an unconscious homage to a little device that may have costs you your good grades, girlfriends, your parents understanding and support: The Gameboy.

It’s also a wink to 8 bit music….

Here’s its interesting little story:

We were just playing for the fun of it and, between 2 improvs, Venom-T was toying with this little riff that reminded me of the Mario Bros games music and I said: “let’s start the next improv with that riff !”
And we did… and what came out was like a time machine going back through the 80′s to the end of the 70s… Do you remember the “Knight Rider” (or K2000 in France) TV show ? And that sequence with the helicopter in Pink Floyd’s The Wall ? Well, it’s all in there !

And what’s really strange about this is Venom-T was not even born yet. He didn’t grew up being surrounded by those sounds… Strange…

So here’s this new track, in all its imperfect glory, but displaying 2 very different playing styles. (You’ll probably have no problem telling who plays what…).

Next AbsTrack will come very soon, and will be the first step into what this project will really be about: Mutant Guitars & Deviant Electronics…

Talk to you soon !
koyl

Security Note: No computer, or eletronic devices of any kind was hurt during the process.

“Boucherie fine” in Podcast #43 by The Berliner Broadcast Facility

“Boucherie fine” has been chosen by The Berliner Broadcast Facility for their Podcast #43 alongside tracks by Jean Jean, Gâtechien, Hazel-Rah, SonoreFiction/Husher and Owun.

Click on this picture to check it out (free download available as well):

Thanks a lot to the Berliner Broadcast Facilty team !

k o y l

AbsTrack number 2: “Boucherie fine”

AbsTrack number 2 is here !

It’s called “Boucherie fine“ (which is how butcher/meat shops are called in France. It can also be translated as “Subtle slaughter”) and it’s again a solo free improv made exclusively on guitar + effect pedals.

Find it in this picture:

I pushed the mixing process a bit further for this one so be sure to listen to it with good headphones for a better, in-depth experience… :)

I don’t really have much more to say about it except that this improv is probably one of the most balanced improv I ever did.
AbsTrack N°1 was pretty static and based around a single theme, this one goes through a lot of changes and moods.

Enjoy !

k o y l

1st AbsTrack is available !

So here we are, this is the 1st post on this brand new website to announce the release of the 1st AbsTrack !

It’s called “Are we really more than just grains in the sand ?” and it’s hidden somewhere in this picture…

Are we really more than just grains in the sand ?

What is an “AbsTrack” ? You ask… It’s how I chose to call the free tracks I’ll be releasing on a regular basis, hence the explanation in the About section:

AbsTracks are more informal tracks that I release on a more regular basis (about once a month). They are usually more experimental & raw sounding and consist of improvisations, sketches, experiments etc… You get the picture.
The idea here for me is to make music without too much consideration for the result: It’s the only way to allow the real novelty to happen and in that regard, it’s a great source of ideas & sounds which feeds the making of the “traditional” albums greatly.

And as suggested: In addition to these AbsTracks, I’ll also be working on more elaborated tracks and release them as albums.

I encourage you to read the About section to know more about all this.

Now back to this very 1st AbsTrack:

It’s one of the last improvisations I did with my previous project setup. (I’ve got 2 more like these that I plan to release as well.)

This one has something of a rainy day/melancholic/jazzy/monotonous feel … The result of a summer without sun and heat maybe ?

It’s all improvised and recorded live using only a guitar + effect pedals as sound sources.

This improv relies a lot on using a paper cutter placed under the strings. I also used a tuning I never ever used before so I felt quite lost most of the time but it helped me concentrating on what was going out of the speakers rather than thinking in terms of notes and scales.

Definitely an interesting experience… It’s always nice to remember that the most important things in making music is your ears, not your fingers…

k o y l