The Imperfect / Nov.20.2024
Building Smaller Islands
One of the initial reasons for setting up The Imperfect was to use it as an outlet for my studio diaries…which i used to share, almost daily, on SoundCloud, ie: short posts to share sounds i’m working on in the studio. looking back at this past last year i think i’ve gotten away from this more than i wanted to. the posts here became lengthier than i had anticipated, more involved. those are great, and i have no problem with them, or perhaps in fear of these shorter “here’s a new sound” posts, i thought i needed to provide more “content.” something with more substance. ah, the pointless demands of social media….
as we approach 2025 i’m making a bit of a new year’s resolution to post more of my studio diaries, in between the longer, more in-depth entries.
i’m starting that now.
during the past week i did another massive paring-down of my eurorack modular system. over the past year i have eliminated almost 400hp of modules in an attempt to narrow the scope of the system and have it make more sense to me.
i’ve decided to have the system focus on two things: creating generative melodies and granular/looping processing of both internal and external sounds.
i originally wanted to move everything out of my big studio case into two small Intellijel cases, one for each of these system concepts. in the end there were a handful of modules that could fit in both, or neither, and it was easier, and less expensive, to just reorganize the big case and keep everything where it was.
it’s been refreshing and fun to rediscover my system in this new, more focused way, and i’d like to share the first result, here:
what we have here, for those interested, is, for the most part, the Sdkc Instruments Helical module, a self-playing generative melodic machine, going through a Qu-Bit Data Bender. there is a bunch of modulation from a Xaoc Zadar and Flame C-3 Knob Recorder. the stereo signal goes through a Strymon Magneto for some reverb and delay at the end.
i really like the results… as i often go for.. something that is both pretty and broken. the Data Bender pushes me into that digital degradation territory, away from the tape that i use so much.
in other news, my new EP Ash was released last friday via Nettwerk Records. it is the third and final EP of the trilogy along with Eev and Aer. thank you to those who attended the listening party on Bandcamp and i hope you can all find the time to check it out, along with the other two EPs.
i look forward to sharing more sounds and news of upcoming projects.
The track embedded in this post is inspiring and immersive. Taylor, you're one of very few artists I can think of who manages to coax out of their modular rack a sound palette that, while clearly electronic, nevertheless has the warmth and - pardon the cliche here, but I think it totally fits - "organic" feel of an acoustic sound source. This never gets old.
Lovely music. Pretty and broken. Cool.