Quick-Edge Sounds 3

‘Quick-Edge Sounds 3’ is (for now) the final piece in the ‘Slow-Edge Sounds, Quick-Edge Sounds’ series. In a sense, it is the opposite of the previous ‘Slow-Edge Sounds 3’. In this latest piece, the primary focus is on the shakuhachi part, which includes various forms of ‘quick’ articulation (sharp breath attacks, finger hits, tonguing and the like), as well as long, sustained tones and microtonal shifts. The electronics, generated by what I think of as my ‘Bastl Mini-Modular system’, is mostly pointillistic and rather sparse and commences very softly, positioned in the sonic background. This contrasts with the reduced shakuhachi lines and relatively dense electronic texture of ‘Slow-Edge Sounds 3’.

Compositionally, the piece (a structured improvisation) is also a formal experiment. The final tone echoes, in mirror form and at a lower dynamic level, the opening tone of the piece. As a result, the end links to the beginning, and the recording can be played back repeatedly as a continuous cycle. In this sense, it would be possible to start listening anywhere in the piece, and let it run as long as desired, provided that at least one complete cycle is heard. The piece then becomes highly ambient, without necessarily being driven by a feeling of causality.

As usual in this series, the recording is a single take, with no multitracking or editing. The instruments used are as follows:

Shakuhachi: jiari 1.9 shaku (an unusual length, C# fundamental) by Tom Deaver, ca. 1990. By 1992, this instrument had found its way into my possession, and I use it occasionally, when this unusual pitch is appropriate. I decided to allow it to appear here, in this series of pieces.
Synthesizer: I am very much a fan of the miniature instruments by Bastl, particularly when they are combined with one another. One of my favourite combinations is my ‘Bastl Mini-Modular’: Kastle 1.5, Kastle BDrum and SoftPop (v.1) spliced together and interconnected, using cv and audio signals from the Kastle 1.5 and BDrum as modulation and audio signals within the SoftPop. (Specifically, in this piece a quasi-random cv from the Kastle 1.5 is modulating the frequency of the SoftPop VCO2, and a further quasi-random frequency sine wave with sharp attack and rapid decay from the BDrum is creating filter FM.) A Korg Pandora Mini effects processor and a small tuner (circuit-bent to act as a source of audio-rate square waves of precise frequency, as well as being a tuning aid) round out the setup. The resulting instrument is a highly idiosyncratic, quirky, powerful, yet highly-portable (and battery-operated) miniature modular synthesizer. (Please note: I am not affiliated with Bastl and receive no kickback for advertising etc; I just like their instruments.)

A photo of the shakuhachi and synthesizer appears at the end of the video. Not visible is a volume pedal, which I used to fade the electronic texture in and out while playing the shakuhachi.

Enjoy!

Jim F.