The Art of Jim

Melancholy

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:11:38 +0000

Thought I’d take a a quick look tonight at the more expressive side of generative music . . . both melodically and harmonically. Interesting how expressive it can be, and each time it renders, expressive in a different way . . . different shadings, different contours and articulations.

My wife Linda is out of town, and it’s getting pretty lonely on this end. The word melancholy came to mind.

Here’s two different iterations . . .

melancholy

melancholy – iteration 2

Harp Alone

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:44:30 +0000

I’ve really come to believe in the value of ambient music. Not just any. But, and maybe it’s an oxymoron . . . ambient music with some thought and consideration put behind it.

And that’s not to say that the simplest of ideas is lacking. That’s only to say that mindless is mindless. Thoughtful construction is something quite different.

This excerpt will be available as an extended track in the near future. I think it warrants that. It takes advantage of some new generative techniques I’ve been working with, and I believe they bear good results. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be here.

Mostly, this is a nice relaxation exercise. Please enjoy. We all need this, regardless of whether we choose to admit it or not . . .

As always, I highly recommend headphones.

ambient harp

in peace

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 22:34:38 +0000

There is overwhelming calm in the desert. Often in the midst of incredible forces of nature.

I have found the same calm in the midst of current uncertainty. Overwhelming calm that has no grounding in logic. These are interesting times, these.

This short excerpt best explains the feeling . . .

in peace

Fusion

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:38:20 +0000

Here’s a very short clip that’s probably the edgiest I’ve done using generative means, and probably the farthest away from the heart of the software I’m using to program all of the music I’ve posted here. But the cool thing is, it works!

Headphones, and dial up to 11 . . .

fusion

Duets

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:23:03 +0000

Have been taking a look at ways in which I can create better formal structure. Somewhat in the traditional sense, but also allowing flexibility in approaching how that structure plays out.

This is a first example. Four duos, each of which has a harmonic set which is fixed, but which renders randomly. Four duos, each of which enters at random with each iteration of the piece.

I used somewhat odd pairings in the instrumentation just for the sake of clarity while putting this all together . . .

duets

Happy Holidays One and All

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:20:54 +0000

It’s been quite a year, this 2009. All things considered, one to continue to give thanks for, all the way to its end. We’ve been blessed with the riches of family and continue to enjoy those abundant blessings as we approach these most special of holidays, this year, and always.

And so, please enjoy this holiday gift in the spirit it is intended . . . an extended (about 40 minute) ambient mix that covers most of the holiday favorites i can think of, at least at the moment . . . all together in one glorious melange. Its highest purpose is to offer a wonderful bit of background for the season . . . not the focus of attention, but just an ambience to help bathe in the joy of the moment.

My very best wishes for a holiday season this year and always that is everything that you wish it to be.

An Ambient Christmas 2009

A Gift Of Christmas

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:33:32 +0000

It occurred to me sometime this afternoon that, if I ever really had a memory, then it’s something of a shadow of its former self. Linda and I were putting up the Christmas tree, and as we were trimming it, I was desperately trying to remember Christmases past . . . starting with last year, and going backwards from there. It got hard, and really fuzzy in a hurry.

That bothered me for a few moments, until i could reconcile that I could remember the people in my Christmases past, and I could remember the feelings. The feelings of Christmas.

And so, I’d like to share a small Christmas gift with you. A meditation where I hope you can close your eyes for just a few moments and begin to take in those feelings of your Christmases past.

I hope they are good ones. Happy Holidays.

meditation on a christmas remembered

Unexpected Fog

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:05:03 +0000

This is a new technique I’ve started working with. It’s new on a few levels.

One, I’m taking the generative scripting down to an intervallic level, and creating sets of pitch classes that can combine in as random or controlled a way as I like. I like something in between the two opposite extremes.

Second, I’m starting to look at randomly bringing voices in and out of “focus” with some pretty extreme reverb algorithms.

It’s a start. I like the result.

unexpected fog

Relax – It’s All Good

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:21:45 +0000

Here’s a segment of something a little bit more extended than most of the other clips I’ve uploaded here.

It’s a nice breakthrough for me, as it begins to show that, certainly with something more of an ambient nature, generative tools can come through and produce something really quite remarkable.

I’ve enjoyed programming this one . . . hope you enjoy listening as well!

atmospheres

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:58:19 +0000

I just had the good fortune of completing a soundtrack for a corporate short video, and I was reminded of the sheer pleasure of just doing it, and getting your hands dirty.

It was on a tight leash in terms of turnaround time, and I found myself reverting to using the basic skills I know best . . . using the tools I know best: technical composition in whatever medium best suits the task, and my ear.

I love, absolutely love investigating the use of algorithmic tools to support this process. And at least in my studies to date, it can provide some fascinating results. It can also support processes that for any given individual – are either deficient, or otherwise slow in producing. That’s the output part.

The input can be, and is to my mind, another story. It’s not about a flash of inspiration that leads to quick development. It is more about inspiration that leads to translating that thought into a process that has tight enough parameters that will bring a quasi-predictable result in pursuit of a compositional goal. That can often take an enormous amount of time.

The results are often amazing, and surely different upon each rendering. But a quick solution to a musical problem? Not so far.

At any rate, I loved this project. It brought back some perspective that came at just the right moment. It reminded me that composing is just composing, or said another way . . . sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.