Octatrackers, Octafolk, Octawizards, Octanoobs, Octapros, Octawranglers and Octatrack users of any kind, how about a challenge/excercise in which you focus only (within the scope of this Lab) on the Octatrack for 1 year?
Here is the idea:
For the challenge you are only permitted to use the Octatrack to finish the work(s), you are free to use anything else for source samples, but no midi sequencing of other gear*, no DAW or external fx, no fancy mastering or post processing other than normalise, trim and fades of finished work(s).
The rules are supposed to be strict in order to encourage participants to really explore the limitations of working solely within the Octatrack and hopefully learn new things and overcome any limitations by creative means.
You can use the Octatrack in any capacity as long as all the sounds and fx come from it and it only, so you could for example use it to *midi sequence an exteral device which is going to be sampled into the Octatrack. You are free to use whatever instruments or sound sources you please for live input, and any midi controller that you want to use is fine also.
It goes without saying that (unless you really want to) you are not required to use the just the Octatrack in all of your musical endeavours for the whole year, but for anything relating to this challenge it is mandatory.
Guidelines and ideas:
Since the purpose of the challenge is to use only the Octatrack it is encouraged and recommend to stray outside of usual working methods and comfort zones, however you choose to interpret this is entirely up to you, but some examples could be:
Work within different genres than you usually do.
Use functions of the Octatrack that you might not have yet explored.
Limit yourself to using only 1 sample for all of the 8 tracks.
Remix your own or others works.
Use unusual sound sources for source samples or live input resampling, good examples of this could be radio or random youtube video or a podcast etc.
Do a piece or pieces based soley around percussion with no melodic elements.
Do a piece or pieces with no percussion.
Themed ideas - weather, film soundtrack, game soundtrack, nature, space, etc etc.
Use different time signatures and tempos.
Use as many samples or as few as you want to.
Use just 1 track.
Use just pickup machines.
Use different samples/slices on every step.
Use just plays free tracks.
Use just trc random.
Continuously evolve a single or multiple work(s) over the whole year, in whatever way you fancy.
Obviously this list is not exhaustive and you can come up with many of your own ideas, it is a good idea to document ideas before and after each work, even if only briefly to keep track of things, and remember to name the project(s) both when saved and in your documentation, as well as the date and duration of time you spent. The documentation is for you to keep and you don’t need to share it, it can be a handwritten or digital document, even video and photos.
It is also encouraged to RTFM, watch tutorial and performance videos of the Octatrack, scour the forum and any guides and tips threads etc. You can also reference older Octatrack challenges both on this forum and the old forum Here
You can do as much or as little as you wish to, it should not be viewed as a chore but as a way to expand your horizons and it goes without saying that any cheating is only cheating yourself, it isn’t a competition and the only prize is the journey.
So, this thread can serve as a general discussion of the idea if there is any interest to participate, then a new thread can be started with the title, rules and submissions.
Anyone interested?
Edit: Short version - use only the Octatrack for this Lab, the duration is 1 year (start date TBC) you can use as many of the 8 internal tracks and inputs as you want to, you can use midi sequencing to get samples from your synths etc but sample them not use them live, you can use the inputs and recorder machines but all the audio must come from Octatrack only, you can use the Octatrack to master your recordings but no exteral fx, eq or compression or mastering. There is no requirement to get lots of work done but if you want to you can, there is no requirement to document your work but if you want to it is welcomed, the idea is to simply explore the Octatrack for a year and push it and yourself.
Edit: 5th March 2019 - files and docs here https://www.elektronauts.com/uploads/default/original/3X/5/2/520515543149e1cc6fd07e0f671c2bccf9904c9e.zip
Count to ten before posting next time!