Backstage

ilex early access

The context of release ‘ilex’ is threefold (creative and imaginative reader might find connections with three tracks featuring on the release, but there was no intent to connect them to this numerological aspect). Firstly, the fires are burning through Europe. The earth is getting indeed hotter. One can close their eyes and focus on the present.

Secondly, that present, existing and running at the time of composition and production, writing the music: the (not too unusually) hot summer on a Dalmatian island — sunny, salty, and seafull attack on the senses which force the body to stay still in the shade, avoid work, read fantasy books and cool it down in the clear fresh water from time to time. The spectre of immanent apocalypse keeps lurking in the shadow of the mind and demands time, however, it poses eternal question of human existance: why? What for? In the tiny speck of time that we exist in grand scheme of the planet or universe. We are irrelevant! We are, however, bringing the self-managing planet Gaia on the brink of destruction (RIP James Lovelock)

And thirdly: the history, in a book. Called Inside Computer Music, where authors start the indepth research of nine contemporary computer music compositions with John Chowning, his famous invention of frequency modulation synthesis and his work ‘Stria’. The book goes deep into historical context but is also quite thorough in technical details of synthesis in question (and other works). A detail from the former is interesting, namely, how early days of computer music were extremely exclusivistic since very few engineer-composers had access to rare computing power of mainframe computers. Plus, work (composition-programming) was non-realtime and tedious because of very little space for experimentation. In contrast, using nothing but laptop and headphones, plus a 4G mobile network, one can whip up FM synthesis algos on a whim in something like SuperCollider. It is thus this complex plethorda of technology, society and a dying planet that are setting the diverse colors of this release. “Can we do it?””

This release comes complete with source code for SuperCollider for each of the tracks. Both source and recordings are published under conditions of Peer Production Licence (also known as Attribution, ShareAlike and NonCapitalist licence, in some circles).

Kindly supported by patrons on Patreon and other attentive listeners who keep paying back (and forward) for peer-produced and commons-enriching cultural works. Thank you!

source code and full repository: https://git.tmp.si/luka/ilex/

release page: https://lukaprincic.bandcamp.com/album/ilex/

ilex is released under conditions of Peer Production Licence. See file LICENCE for complete legal code.

Image Snatchers 3 early access

Credits

Luka Prinčič · music, production, arrangements, mix
GlitterAid · words&vocals on Gucci guči & Neodvisne ženske Pt.1
DeeDeeVoid, Musée-Cunt · words&vocals on Neodvisne ženske Pt.1
Gospod Magdalenca · words on Neodvisne ženske Pt.1
Aaron Goldbody · keyboards on So Many Men

Samuel Aubert / OpenMastering · mastering
Tina Ivezić · design
Maruša Hren · USB booklet, printing, bookmaking

Andrej Pervanje · production assistant & promotion
Luka T. Zagoričnik · production assistant
Sabrina Železnik · promotion assistance

Liner notes

0: I’m a disco-nnected package of recordings whose origins are pluralistic and contextually wide. My main problem is that the contained tracks were recently made for a stage show, where they helped to make the performers’ bodies and their actions be understood as a commentary and critique and a source of pleasure at the same time. Without the images and live experiences of particular nuances I run the danger of being read differently as intended. I emerge from a feminist, critical, performative, queer, drag, transgressive, thought and laughter-provoking technoburlesque context.

1: I was originally written with lyrics about women who are empowered to achieve anything, who can light “their baby on fire”, invariably satisfy his needs or be by his side even when in danger or fear. But perhaps most importantly I’m all the women at the same time, they are all in me, we are one, and we share our history. I speculate: we share a common history of oppression based on our gender, and a community of all the women in me makes us stronger and less vulnerable. Performed and recorded by Chaka I was moderately popular, until Whitney pushed it higher in the charts. I now serve as a groovy accompaniment to an unstriptease – a multi-transformation on stage that comes with roller skates included.

2: I don’t wanna stay with just one man / I wanna sell for what’s around / Feels like heaven every night / Being here with someone new / A physical thrill, a beautiful smile / And wonderful muscles too / So many men, so little time! Originally I was a song about a woman’s desire for male bodies all nights all year: “instead of ‘I love you, I want you, you’re the man of my dreams’ I want the opposite. I want ‘I wake up next to this man and say, “Who are you?”’ It’s so naughty but nice and everyone’ll love it.” Two men wrote about sexual objectification of male bodies – a story is then a male fantasy instead of a female one. However I present a different twist to read the music: too many men to write music by women, so little time to create women’s sound.

3: I’m an unfinished animal, a version in process. I’m an edit, a re-rub of an ’ex-Yu schlager’, sung by Beti Jurkovič in 1963. I myself am a translated cover of the Italian original “La partita di pallone” (Vianello/Rossi). Comparing the lyrics of the original Italian version and the Yugoslav-localized version reveals subtle but important differences. Compared to the original Italian text, where the protagonist appears a victim and powerless asking “why, why”, “I have doubts”, and “If you will cheat on me, I’ll return to my mom”, the Yugoslav version takes on a much more active and emancipated tone, implying a conflict of equals with “I know, I know”, and “If you’re lying, this is the end of us.”

4: I’m an original trap track with autotuned vocals. I’m a local gansta song: ’Gucci speaks (guči)’, but I don’t sell drugs. I am written and performed in the Prekmurje dialect, the only acceptable language spoken in the area between Mura and Rába rivers in Slovenian Pannonia. I travel the world, Milano, Paris, until I come back, because at home is where the money is, where Prada, Armani, and Hugo Boss earn you (self)respect. Gucci speaks to me so I can be the leader in my province. Gucci speaks to you so you can get lost and sad. Long live Gucci, who’s the real Gucci? GlitterAid! Making sense is for the weak, lies can be sold for views and clicks, and I’m the ultimate hymn of late capitalist individualism and sadposting!

5: I’m a remake and an attempt of a subversion of an early 00’s hit by Destiny’s Child. I carry an important message by three drag queens, who call on all women to emancipate and find their own pleasure, despite the precarization of life. I usually support the excellent contemporary urban pop choreography done on the stage by the said drag queens. Despite the male voice I’m a condemnation of sexism and misogyny.

Cover

Download

DOWNLOAD ALL TRACKS IN MP3 FORMAT

The Federation, Mastodon, Toot.Si presentation

(this is a draft version with mainly links and notes)

Problems

(with centralized, closed silos’d social network platforms)

Decentralization and the federation

Mastodon

Mastodon as software:

Moderation, blocking, silencing, suspending

instances:

Administration

 

How to use

AI Dystopia, data-farming…

Turns Me On EP progress report #1

Today I continue to work on the “original mix” (the title track of the EP, as distingished from planned ‘extended club dub’ remix and perhaps an alternative version). I’m working in Renoise and partly enjoying it, partly it is tedious. My task today is to ’embelish’ the vocal with different small announcements, reverberations, and echos. During a work process this feels like a curious mix of creative inspiration and tediousness. I’m going in and falling out of “the flow”. I’m using timeboxing (pomodoro technique). Here’s what I have at 10:58:

 

I hope to finish these details in a few hours, perhaps improve the intro and ‘climax’/conclusion of the track so I can move on to alternative version and, of course, the video (deadline is 1.may, but that’s a bit unrealistic).

Screenshot - 21. 04. 2016 - 11:05:35

wp-1461229626279.jpeg

Rudi Rudi: Hardmcslain

I wrote a quick track for slovenian ‘mixtape label/community’ INN KICK run by Žiga Murko. This is in instrumental hip-hop style and is out under my instrumental hiphop oriented moniker “Rudi Rudi” under which I already wrote an album back 2006. So, if you like the track below check the album here: https://novadeviator.bandcamp.com/album/rudi-rudi (I’ve been thinking to re-issue it on Kamizdat someday).

INN KICK works through a private facebook group, where producers are challenged with a sample pack (collection of samples) every month or so. There are no strict rules on style (I guess “electronic” is good enough) or the way the samples are used. After the deadline the tracks are collected from producers and mixed by a guest producer/DJ into a mixtape (it’s basicaly a seamless mix of tracks) and published online (SoundCloud). This time, the sample pack was a collection of tracks from Die Hard (movies/game).

You can check INN KICK releases here: https://soundcloud.com/innkick (the mixtapes are called BLUNTS).

Backstage subscribers can listen to my contribution here:

 

rudi rudi: hardmcslain
soundcloud.com/novadeviator/rudi-rudi-hardmcslain-draft/s-CpBgi

ArpArp at 90%

It was somewhat long Sunday in the studio, and I’m excited. It was a new experience writing a track with a ‘synth player’ in mind – how will she play this or that preset, how much time there is to change a program on the instrument and the fact that there is only three octaves on a keyboard (google:microKorg). The track feels very confident in its almost electro sound. I’m imagining it to work well on a dance floor. I like the kind of tight robotic funk of it. There are number of details to be done and fixed: many transitions seem still imprecise, perhaps even hasty, there’s some dynamics to be taken care of (I’d like that velocities – volumes – of hihats vary and change in time), the bassline that comes in second half of the track is all but acceptable, but all in all this seems to be at 90%, and that means I can pretty much start focusing on next track.

The deadlines are looming in, I pretty much need to finish minimum 8 songs till November 1st.

listen:

download arp-arp-141005.ogg

I’m hungry for feedback. Leave a comment or write.

wpid-wp-1412580690505.jpeg

Five to the one & A Boza A Boza

After last post things got pretty intense in Rovinj with all the kids running around and stuff, plus, suddenly we’ve been left without internet for a couple of days. We are now back in Ljubljana, trying to establish a work routine and moving forward in search of words, utterances, letters, sentences, images, mental ambiences… It’s not easy to change a place and find balance quickly enough in order to continue work. But today I came up with two more drafts.

The “5 toys to the 1” track started with “regular” bass melody on every beat, with 5 notes repeating. Since 3 repetition makes 15 beats and not 16, I shortened the pattern to these 15 beats and also created 5 beats as a basic measure (bar?) and created a beat to that. Here’s a result with two variations of a beat.

 

“A Boza A Boza” is something going more into a mellow direction. This is very sketchy and I’m not sure how it will develop and transform in the future (if it will be used at all).

 

We had a little discussion today about if these sketches/drafts have their intensities to the max. The thing is, when I’m starting with some idea then it’s mostly play, trying things out. And I frequently ‘max’ things out, throw layer upon layer, remove some of them and then go on. But it’s important to understand that these sketches will change considerably once it is more clear how many elements there are (vocals! live synth! etc) and what happens in the time-structure.

both tracks in renoise xrns sources in a zip: 5toys_a_boza

Cerebral Space

A short one-hour session this morning. I experimented with ring modulator on bass wobble, also with high-pass filter that at some point removes the “bottom end”. Plus some reverberation on that wobble. Poly-rhythms coming out as the wobble just continues to oscilate at 3/4 and after three patterns (12 bars) it comes back to its original place. On the beat-side, I like the space in-between the various elements (no constant high-hat ride, etc) and the glitchy parts seem quite nice. The spaciousness and the low-end focus gives it some kind of “cerebral” feel.

I’m still on the level of short sketches, no structure yet. It seems like I’m afraid to proceed or lack a real block of time within which I could dive into time-structure (development, breakdowns, etc). And, waiting for lyrics.

Vacation-time-spending just forcibly takes priority.

What do you think about these sketches? Comment below or reply.

download cerebral space [140806] renoise module

Circular Ode & Glitchy Breaks

Yesterday I worked on another version of “circular melodies” as I call them. These are inspired by endlessly rising canon or ‘Canon 5’ by Bach and the further thinking about it as ‘formalized’ by Douglas Hofstadter (this is well summarized here). It’s a boring proof of concept with a simple bassline, that you can listen for good 7 minutes down below. The track goes through 12 minor chords twice. It still got me thinking about the harmonic tensions that are somehow absent from such an endless circulating melody. It becomes more like an atmosphere then real harmonic movement. So I wrote short note:

linearity circularity
is there a peak?
is there a tension?
uniformity give me some contrast,
give us some error!
at least polarity and some chaos.

Then this morning I woke up and started thinking about a possible beginning to the performative version of the project: I heard it in my head – a long slow ambiental build-up, including space echo, delays, arpeggios far away, reverberated, white noise washes, deep pulsations, digital noise, smooth, beatless, rising, building to a climax… and sharp CUT! which then moves to an extremely dry odd-time noise&glitchy break-beat, without a slightlest sight of reverb.

I than quickly sketched the following ‘glitchy breakbeat’, which I consider a test how glitch+clicks could work together with more traditional sound drum programming:
Continue reading →