For the love of Musique Concrete

There was a thread about musique concrete at ohpeewon that I want to resurrect, kinf of.


I have this “side project” of mine where I do stuff with the OP-1 heavily inspired by musique concrete where I use the OP-1 without any synced beat or anything, I just use it as a tape recorder to lay down a (mess of) textures and sounds. Sampling from the radio at different speeds and in reverse as well as straight foreward. Laying down some “plinks and plonks” and also recording other stuff with the line in or built in mic. Overdubbing back and forth until I am done.

So I guess I want to encourage other people to try doing this and share it in this thread. Or of you are already doing similar stuff please share it! And or discuss whatever related to the subject. Like: Am I right to call what I am doing as musique concrete? This is my latest effort:

https://soundcloud.com/riber-ory-slomen/a-girl-in-every-port

Also, will those boobs be banned from Soundcloud?


I started working on something like this for the old thread. I stuck my OP-1 in the closet with the rickety, loudly vibrating AC unit (apartment, they ‘fixed’ it once by adjusting some water pipe iirc, it started up soon).


Everything changed the day my microphone died :frowning:

I made a recording of it with my Zoom the other day, though, for the Ambient Online One Sample Dare #22 (I won 21, so I get to choose what we use for the next one :smiley: ). I can’t participate, so I might have a go at this sort of thing soon, but I’m moving soon so it might take me a while.

Thanks for bringing it up again.

Wow! That was a nice track that you won with! Gratz! How did you make it? Is it one sample that is reworked in all sorts of ways?

Thanks! yeah, just one sample, and process it however you like for each track. I mostly used chains of effects, and some Paul Stretch to the sample for one track.

this is great. i still do this shit with 1/4" tape so maybe need to up my game to the 21st century! :smiley:
(heres my soundcloud if yr interested in some of my old sounds) Assembler/Responder | Free Listening on SoundCloud

I’m a big proponent of the genre. I have a couple of tracks inspired by Lynch’s “Black Lodge” theme from Twin Peaks / Fire Walk With Me.

Here’s a couple of tracks.

https://soundcloud.com/unflattered/sets/songs-from-i-and-leland

Awesome stuff guys, thanks for sharing!


Did you use your OP-1 for those tracks @Unflattered?

And amazing that you are working with 1/4" tape @thenordheimtrust!! Must be a difficult but rewarding process? Do you slice and join the tape?

@Slomen “Booth” is OP-1 & Samplr. “Planks” is entirely OP-1, but everything tracked into Cubasis via a FocusRite iTrack Dock.

Thanks for listening.

Awesome stuff guys, thanks for sharing!

Did you use your OP-1 for those tracks @Unflattered?

And amazing that you are working with 1/4" tape @thenordheimtrust!! Must be a difficult but rewarding process? Do you slice and join the tape?

thanks. yeah, i should pull a few of those old creations out… that is if the adhesive kept them together! here is a pic of me working with tape and splicing it just last week. http://instagram.com/p/twrxkDInhL

Wow @thenordheimtrust that is almost too cool! At least for school! And yes you should pull those old creations out!

Spot on my interests here, I’m a big fan of Tom Dissevelt, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Pierre Henry etc etc…


The OP-1 tracks posted here sound great!

Sadly nothing to contribute of my own just yet, but is anyone else familiar with the London group Sculpture?
One guy playing tape loops, CD player, and one guy manipulating zeotrope animations. Believe they also use an OP-1 these days too…

http://vimeo.com/54168416

Also has anyone played with the Berna software? It recreates a 1950’s electronic studio set up.

http://www.giorgiosancristoforo.net/softwares/berna
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Spot on my interests here, I'm a big fan of Tom Dissevelt, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Pierre Henry etc etc..

The OP-1 tracks posted here sound great!

Sadly nothing to contribute of my own just yet, but is anyone else familiar with the London group Sculpture?
One guy playing tape loops, CD player, and one guy manipulating zeotrope animations. Believe they also use an OP-1 these days too....

http://vimeo.com/54168416

Also has anyone played with the Berna software? It recreates a 1950's electronic studio set up.

http://www.giorgiosancristoforo.net/softwares/berna

these guys are great! man, this is blowing my mind!
Berna is a lot of fun. I used it in conjunction with my ipad and loops for a soundtrack a few years back.

New Sculpture live broadcast, this time via the boiler room, and they’re clearly using the OP-1 as part of the set.


Nice.


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If I ever get my hands on an OP-1, which hopefully is soon (waiting for the christmas sales to appear), I am for sure gonna join in on this thread.

Here’s a nice one w/ OP-1 & Samplr, using audio from an old skit tape I did in the early aughts, along w/ an Erroll Garner piano loop.

https://soundcloud.com/unflattered/barnes-plaza-at-bronx-ny

@unflattered


That Booth track is particularly great, and very thematically faithful :slight_smile:

@johnl thanks, cap’n!

@Unflattered really nice! (wish it went on longer :slight_smile: