Lullaby for Hamza

I've been doing some sound design for a multi platform interactive game, and this week it went 'live' at a 3 day conference in Brighton. The theme of the game itself is science fiction with technology at the forefront (particularly the early home computing period of the '80s). Part of my brief for this event was to produce a cover of the Robert Wyatt song, Lullaby for Hamza (actually the cover was closer to the Unthanks version). The song formed the climax of a performance/puzzle element, representing the unlocking of a message from a lost team.

I put my Prophet 600 poly synth to good use on the wash of pads, running various layers of it through Eventide Space, Roland RE-201 Space Echo and for added disorientation, the ZVEX Instant Lo-fi Junky. The synth solo was a mix of Moog Voyager via ZVEX Fuzz Factory, and the fantastic Aalto plugin running through voice resynthesis plugin Bit Speek. I spent a lot of time treating the vocals (Becky Randall of black channels - more on that later) to give the feeling that we were hearing a transmission from far way with all the interference and drop outs you would expect. Multiple takes were run through Space Echo, Buchla 200e and bit reduction plugins. Drones and effects were supplied by the Buchla 200e's 'Twisted Waveform Generator'.

Keep ears peeled for a full black channels cover.......



Fort Process

Can't wait to play at this event on the 13th September. Fort Process is a day of experimental sound and art held in the unique Newhaven Fort in Sussex. I'll be performing in the Caponier, found deep beneath the fort down 100's of steps and winding damp tunnels.

For this performance I’ll be using my Buchla Electric Music Box to try and summon the ghosts that are said to dwell in the tunnels of Newhaven Fort.  A ritual of heavy oscillations, otherworldly modulations and whispered incantations.
I'm wondering how it will compare to playing in a 1950s telescope dome.

 

Welcome to Mars music

The musical seed that went on to become The Simonsound is now available to download. Previously only available as a limited edition CD with orders of the book of the same name written by Ken Hollings, the Welcome to Mars music is now up on The Simonsound Bandcamp page.

Heavily influenced by the early electronic music that Ken was introducing me to at the time, and featuring my first modular synthesizer explorations (with a Synthesizer Dot Com system), the music was created for a 12 part radio series broadcast on Resonance FM in 2006. Each episode was performed live, with some musical cues prepared in advance on the day of each transmission. I did my best to weave my music around Ken's deep exploration of mid 20th century science fact and fantasy.

Original radio series blurb..

1947-1959

Ken Hollings presents a live twelve-part series of unscripted reflections on the fantasy of science in the early years of the American Century

With electronic sound production by Simon James

Between 1947 and 1959, the future was written about, discussed and analysed with such confidence that it became a tangible presence. This is a story of weird science, strange events and even stranger beliefs, set in an age when the possibilities for human development seemed almost limitless.


Buchla patching macro and micro update

Some close up Buchla Electric Music Box patching filmed on the fun Harinezumi camera, and using the very lo-fi camera microphone.

More updates coming soon. I've been busy doing lots of Studio Managing for Pier Productions/BBC Radio and a very exciting project that I can't talk about yet.


Walt's Lost Luggage

An alternate reality project I created with Curtis and Emily. More about it here.

At the start of the year I worked with Emily & Curtis to create an alternative reality story based around Walt Disney's theme parks and the Imagineers who designed and created them. We imagined a past where Walt had been secretly planning a UK based Disneyland using the name 'The Simonsound Transit Authority'. In our fantasy world, the project recently came to light when a suitcase of Walt's was found in the attic of a man who used to work in lost property at the Dorchester Hotel (where Walt and his family would stay on visits to Europe) in London in the '60s.

Third Rail Festival

I'm excited to be playing (with black channels) at the new Third Rail Festival in July this year. Setup by the original team behind the Green Man festival, Third Rail will take place on July 5th from noon until 10pm at Thames Prom in Reading.

Find out more and get tickets here.

Oracles video

Really excited to be able to share the video for black channel's Oracles. Its a DIY affair made by myself and Becky with help from Kyle Bean, Curtis James, Emily Macaulay, Ian Helliwell and Rollo. The Quietus premiered it this morning and we are now busy putting our live show together in preparation for some events in the not too distant future. We have an album almost ready and are looking for the right label to work with.

black channels

Wheels That Go

I love the collaborations between puppeteer and film maker Jim Henson and pioneering electronic musician Raymond Scott. Created for a film competition at Montreal's Expo '67, Wheels That Go, explored motion and movement and featured Henson's son Brian.

This next film Paperwork Explosion, for IBM explored the problems of too much information and not enough time and how computers might help readdress the balance. Scott's electronic treatments are perfect for this hectic fast paced montage, with a noticeable contrast between the cachophony pre IBM and the organised rhythms and tones once we start finding out more about their new time saving technology.

More about Scott's electronic sound design company Manhattan Research Inc. here. He was way ahead of his time, building early sequencers and collaborating with Bob Moog to build many more of his own musical inventions.

'Machines should work, people should think'

Toy Drum synthesizer programming

I've been doing a bit of synthesizer programming for Pablo Clements and James Griffith at Toy Drum/Underscore. With a studio full of highly desirable synths, I'm like a kid in a toy shop every time I visit. In the pics below you'll see an EMS Synthi K, Oberheim 4 voice (serial number 001 - rumored to have belonged to Stevie Wonder) , and just in the background a Yamaha CS80 and Macbeth M5N! - good company for my Buchla 200e which I took along for the second session.

Out of shot is Pablo's impressive Eurorack system which got a lot of use during my first session. I sold my Eurorack setup shortly after getting my Buchla 200e as I wanted a nice Polysynth (Sequential Circuits Prophet 600 with latest update), but I always love to have a go on the Make Noise and Intellijel modules.

The sessions were to add some electronic elements to a new project coming soon from Toy Drum.