This set was my second foray into the world of Found Sound composition.
Found Sound means that the music was constructed entirely from material recorded in the environment with a microphone (specifically from my Europe/Africa/Canada/US holiday in 2005, using a small stereo mic to record the sounds around me to Hi-MD).
The sounds were edited and morphed in Ableton Live (versions 4&5) to create beats, pads, fx and so on. The resulting mix probably bears little resemblance to the material on which it was based, but for me as a composer it was (and still is) a great way to re-experience the sounds and emotions I felt at the various sampled locations and a cheap way to relive my enjoyable holiday experiences while I save up for the return trip :).
A big thanks to Miles from Radio Active for supplying a nice clean recording of this New Zealand Music Month mix. Cheers Miles.
And lastly, if you're considering doing some Found Sound mixes of your own, may I strongly recommend that you do not attempt to do your recordings on a Sony Hi-MD. I lost over half of my material when I backed up over 4 gigs worth of compressed ATRAC files to a DVD in an internet cafe in Berlin. When I got back to NZ I was highly dismayed to discover that the files were locked and could only be opened on that one machine, located over 18000 kilometres away, in Berlin. Boo Sony :(.
Tracklisting:
- 1
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- Intro (Pastiche of recordings from Fes, Morocco/Africa)
- 0:01:50
-
Being a tourist is hard work, but sometimes it's all worth it, and Fes is definitely one of those places that you never forget.
- 2
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- Fes
- 0:06:36
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Dinnertime in Fes, remixed into beats and pieces.
- 3
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- AC877.1 (Frankfurt/Germany to Toronto/Canada)
- 0:03:53
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Ambient interlude at 35000 feet. Includes live interview.
- 4
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- AC877.2 (Frankfurt/Germany to Toronto/Canada)
- 0:09:24
-
Deep groove driven by clicks and the voices of 747 pilots.
- 5
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- Interlude (U-Bahn, Berlin/Germany)
- 0:01:35
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Riding the efficient German underground, while Kindern play with musical toys in the background.
- 6
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- Home in Berlin (Berlin/Germany)
- 0:07:08
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Breakbeats and pads accompany my memories of a week in the fabulous German Hauptstadt.