Halif

HEAR YE! HEAR YE! At this time of growth and change, turmoil and revelation, the great proclamation must be heard: ALL IS WELL (End communication)

I'm not very vociferous with my opinions for the most part, but for what it's worth: I don't like animal testing. At all. For anything. I don't care what discovery could come out of it. It is an abomination.

Hey PsillyBean! I sent you a message through Soundcloud regarding that track you posted. It is very compelling. Are you planning on putting together an album of full-length pieces at some point? I would buy it.

I tend to agree with this, SallyD. Repression doesn't work. There are more substances ('classic' and novel) available now than I've ever seen before, and many of them are stronger and less understood than anything a plant produces.

I've been working on something completely different from my usual vibe. It's a kind of RnB style instrumental thing. Chill, tinkling pianos, simple beat. It's fun to try and branch out a bit. Have a listen if ye would like: http://soundcloud.com/tepalom/stage-child

Plus one. I think it's heart-warming that there are people who care so well for their furry friends. Ballzac: You gave that little guy years and years of happiness which will never be forgotten.

^I'm polishing it right now to make it more aerodynamic in preparation (I'm referring to the frisbee, of course)

Very interesting thread. I use a software tracker called Renoise, which is a bit hard to get into but offers great flexibility with minimal samples. I gathered some free-to-use sample sets from the net (303 hats, snares, and kicks) and some VSTs (virtual instruments) like basic synthesizers, and just recycle the same samples over and over using lots of filters so it doesn't sound too samey. I also use my phone to record any noises which are interesting when I'm out and about. You wouldn't believe what everyday sounds have made it into some of my tracks in a completely unrecognisable form (usually as percussion devices). I have a keyboard controller with 88 keys. It's huge and heavy, and for the first three years I kept wondering why on Earth I bought this big monster when something half the size would have sufficed, but now I like having access to such a range of octaves at once. For percussion I like to program a simple breakbeat note by note using my basic percussion samples and then render it into a static wave file, which I then cut up and play around with in Goldwave (a wave file editor). Then the bits go into my tracker and get tossed liked a noisy salad and filtered and layered and whatnot until it sounds interesting to me. My biggest challenge is making good use of high/low pass filters to balance out the channels, because I tend to go for tracks with lots of low end and high range contrast, and the low end often drowns out the mid-range frequencies. I try to make up for the low-end production values by keep tracks short and relatively melodious. Here's one I prepared earlier http://soundcloud.com/tepalom/dawn

Thanks! I'm using a tracker called Renoise. I don't think it's especially popular. It has a steep learning curve but is very flexible once you get into it. It has lots of great inbuilt filters so you can get creative with even a fairly limited sample set.

I had a listen to some of the tracks on your Soundcloud page and was immediately impressed by the production quality! I have some nice AKG monitor headphones which will show up anything out of place, and there was nothing there that sounded unbalanced to me. Very well put together tracks

hehe that's my excuse too! But there's truth in it, because as I say there are no end of amazingly produced techno/house/dubstep tracks out there, but they often sound pretty generic and just don't get any emotional response from me. And I'm very happy if you get a Boards of Canada vibe from the tunes. I loved their albums (still do). Thanks to everyone who had a listen. There will be more soonish. I'm always working on something - it keeps me out of trouble

I have removed old tracks and put some new ones on Soundcloud, so here's a link if anyone is interested in hearing some amateur electronic music which isn't dubstep or house. If you do have a listen, don't expect anything like you'd hear in a club, or anything remotely professional sounding. I just like melodies and emotive tunes. Through the 90s I listened to Orbital, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Future Sound of London, and others. I like lots of different types of music, not only electronic. Most of the 2000s I spent listening to jazz fusion, light rock, and pop. I am a big Steely Dan fan. But I'll listen to almost anything. I've really enjoyed listening to the stuff that some of the SAB users have put on Soundcloud. There's some really good stuff on there which is so much more interesting and inspiring than the stuff you get on mainstream radio or TV. For anyone who's new to the forum, or who hasn't had a listen, check out Howling Cloud's tracks on Soundcloud. I like hearing different and/or new things. I especially like stuff which is either melodic or atmospheric (or both). These days I'm either getting too old or my ears are damaged or something, but I generally can't handle fast and aggressive electronic stuff with heaps of exploding, distorting FX and screaming or repetitive vocal samples. As far as fast and intense electronic goes, I think I maxed out with Venetian Snares in early to mid-2000s. That was the last time I could devote time to having my ears shredded by super fast, chaotic percussion - totally worth it in the case of Venetian Snares because he's made some of the most disturbing and memorable stuff I've ever heard, but I can't handle it any more. Soooooo anyway, here's a track and a link to more if anyone's interested: http://soundcloud.com/tepalom/divide-demo http://soundcloud.com/tepalom

Hey Pat of the analogous hair-free ballz! I like your posts, and I hope you're feeling better now (be it smoked-up or smoke-free). I hope that you post again, even if that means expiring with a "tainted" corpse which happily rolls its way back into the earth!

Another meet-up would be a chance for me to redeem myself for my previous no-show and follow through with the promises of bringing cactus cuttings and a frisbee

hey, why not promote it if it sounds cool like this?!

Marrying the spontaneity of musical creation with the rigid structure of the technological template is indeed a tricky balancing act. I start most of my tracks by noodling on my keyboard (as in electronic piano, not computer keyboard - although I do sometimes 'play' that 'instrument', too) with an organ VST, because there is something fundamental about the sounds an organ produces. From that, I apply filters and any kind of crazy digital manipulations to get a sound that sits right with my ears.

Very, very yes. We may be on different frequencies, but methinks we're dialling in to the same channel. I will follow you on the cloud. And here's my musical response. (By the way, good to see you've dropped the dread) http://soundcloud.com/tepalom/go-home-not-ready-yet

Well said, Anodyne.

Wowzers yo! I have so much to say on this topic that I don't know where to start.... me thinks it's time to write some kind of article! To the word processor, Batman! And I mustn't forget my rubber gimp suit and gas mask - because one must be correctly attired in order to present an image which is congruent with that created by the media. Imagine the confusion it could cause if I claimed to be a user of super-potent stimulants, but then appeared to be a normal person who wears normal clothes and speaks normally! That simply wouldn't do at all

Thanks for posting an interesting link! It's good to see some progress, for sure. Personally, what I would find really exciting to see is a move away from excessive tinkering and commercialisation of something which is already perfect in its natural form, and a move towards relaxing of laws regarding home cultivation for personal use. There are certainly some interesting possibilities in the production of tinctures/extracts with isolated alkaloids for targeted treatment, so people can receive specific benefits without getting the full spectrum of effects. It's just the branding and marketing silliness that I find kind of dubious.

I am very disappointed to announce that I will not be able to make it to the meet up at the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne tomorrow. I was really looking forward to it, and had promised to bring along some cactus cuttings for newbies or anyone who wanted them. Yesterday I had a health scare (overdose, to be perfectly blunt) and am not in a good state. I feel that I'll be able to make a recovery but I have to face up to months of gross neglect of my own physical and mental well-being, and this will require time and rest. I hope that at some point in the future I'll be able to meet some of the forum members whose posts I've learned so much from and also enjoyed reading. As for the cactus cuttings: I will most likely post a giveaway thread in the trading section of the forum sometime soon. Sorry to anyone who was looking forward to scoring a nice bit of cactus cutting tomorrow, or playing with the frisbee I said I'd bring.

Thank you. You're absolutely right that life is precious. I've lost sight of that at times and neglected to take care of myself, but I have decided to make the best of this experience and will not take my health for granted. I'm extremely lucky to have been given a second chance.

I shall attend the gathering in Botanical Gardens this Sunday. I shall bring a frisbee. I will not, however, bring apple strudel or any other variant thereof.

Congratulations, Ashes! Amazing how quickly things move along these days. A couple of dates, a movie here, a coffee there ... and the next thing you know, you have a beautiful little bundle of joy popping out! (I'm talking about the cactus pup)

I think Datura metel is probably the most attractive plant I've ever seen. Not just the flower but the foliage as well. I don't think I've ever stared at a plant more. The word 'enchanting' comes to mind. Thanks to those who posted photos. They're all amazingly healthy looking plants.