got four more demos, going camping this weekend so ill chill out for a bit. all of these were done on just the ep1320 then brought back to the sp404. sampled in more instrument one shots and a handful of drums/subs this morning, but still most are stock sounds.
this one i used the echo on the melodic stuff, its probably pretty drowned at this stage but it did sound very nice while i was making it
this one i put the reverb on the melodic stuff, its maybe capable of more shimmery reverb than the ep133 reverb, cant be certain unless i hear them side by side
cant really remember what was going on with this one, it came together really quickly. the multisampled jawharp is a great addition
crammed in one last beat before i got way too tired, i was kinda dozing off in the park during this one. i used some of the stock chord samples in this one
thank you very much @m0ld and @hausland ! i really appreciate the kind words! im having a blast
I was playing around with my newly arrived toy last night and managed to strangle some lovely distorted metal guitar tones from the jaw harp samples with copious amounts of compressor and distortion. nothing worth recording yet, but impressed at how ugly the “pretty” sounds can get right in the box with a little abuse.
i was smoking a bowl and thinking about medieval stuff in a slug christ shirt when it occurred to me, “holy smokes im wearing some medieval stuff right now” then i remembered i also have the book that slug christ wrote and illustrated that is also medieval as hell. im an undercover medieval stan i didnt even know
Here’s the transcription of the Latin text and musical notation on the image:
Transcription
Main Text:
Magnae tenebrae terram trahebant. Incidit in vatem et fabrum ferrarium Ethliam, ut iterum lucem et gaudium mundo afferret. Sola musica nunc nos salvare potest, Ethlia cogitabat. Mihi opus est machinarn aedificare, etiam ipse cogitabat. Sic erat ep-1320 medieval natus. Populus gaudebat et canebat. Clerici valde impressi erant et apparatus nos salbavit aiebant. Mox, multi fortes equites longe lateque iter fecerunt, ut omni.
Lyrics:
De populis, et omnibus viris musicia ac nobilis magicis instrumentis musicis lubere posent. Gaudium erat multum et carmen magnum, et multas ac grotas musicas fecerunt.
Translation
Main Text:
The great darkness was drawing the earth. It happened to the prophet and blacksmith Ethliam, that he might once again bring light and joy to the world. Ethliam thought, only music can save us now. “I need to build a machine,” he thought himself. Thus was born the medieval year 1320. The people rejoiced and sang. The clergy were very impressed and said the apparatus saved us. Soon, many brave knights traveled far and wide, so that all…
Lyrics:
Of the peoples, and all the men could delight in music and noble magical instruments. There was great joy and a great song, and they made many and great music.
Musical Notation
Medieval Notation to Standard Western Notation
The musical notation on the manuscript appears to be in neumes, an early form of musical notation used in Gregorian chant. Below is a transcription into standard modern notation:
Line 1:
Notes: G A A B A G F
Modern Notation: Sol La La Si La Sol Fa
Line 2:
Notes: C D D E D C B
Modern Notation: Do Re Re Mi Re Do Si
Line 3:
Notes: E F F G F E D
Modern Notation: Mi Fa Fa Sol Fa Mi Re
Line 4:
Notes: B C C D C B A
Modern Notation: Si Do Do Re Do Si La
Line 5:
Notes: F G G A G F E
Modern Notation: Fa Sol Sol La Sol Fa Mi
Conclusion
The manuscript illustrates a historical narrative with elements of myth, focusing on the theme of music as a savior during dark times.
The medieval notation gives an insight into early music systems, which significantly influenced modern musical structures.
I would have never guessed all of this enthusiasm for the middle ages, out of the blue. Clearly TE know their target audience, and I am not part of it - though I do proudly own an OP-Z and, less so, a KO-33.
I assume there is some kind of overlap because of Lord of the rings, Star Wars and similar tales. I think TE is playing pretty much with the idea of worship. In these pictures, the machine is forged by the blacksmith, It’s used as a book to teach or pray from And the monks use it to worship some obviously higher entity, because they all are looking up. Also, the executive seems to be behind or rather in front of the particular cult, and the machine is multiplied and ready to be distributed. There’s a lot to be interpreted, could be critique, could refer to processes and traditions in the industry, could be just descriptive or tongue in cheek. However, makes ownership a little uneasy before even opening the box.
Upon second glance, Ethia is the teacher with pupils (or rockstar with fans) in the first picture and the blacksmith in the second. The other figure in the second picture seems to be a very impressed queen or princess (or groupie). From there, connection to the fourth picture would be easy but I am still puzzled about the third picture. Maybe the groupie queen gifted it to a monastery or the magic of the artifact attracted spiritual men who founded an order. The multiplying is similar to the bible but also kind of strange to have that stacked in that wagon. Other thoughts?
I love the positive sentiment, but unless TE did a survey of their users regarding which historical time period they love most, I don’t think they’re clairvoyant enough to really know that? My guess is that they know their market well enough to know that, if they sell it, at the very least the die-hards will buy it, and hopefully make some new fans at the same time.
It’s a pretty good thing and market(h)ing. Peculiar, odd, mystique, resonating with a lot of emotionally charged ideas and concepts, as well as spirituality, revelation etc. It’s a riddle with multiple layers and a new machine to explore and to compare with the previous one. Also artwork is great and high quality. Feels good and exciting to explore it. And nowhere it says: buy me I have this and that features. It doesn’t promise to make you happy or fulfill wishes. It is just there and attracts (or repells). And any publicity is good publicity. TE stays on our minds.
a little thought i had today was that the “make whatever sound you want” “killer sound design” “sonic landscape of exploration” marketing buzzwords are incredibly stale at this point, especially when we rarely see anything that unique out of these systems to justify the grandiose descriptions.
if you turn the whole thing on its head you get “make some music with a hurdy gurdy, you wont”
my Galaxy Brain take is that modern interest in medieval stuff makes sense to me given how totally ridiculous much of modern life has become. indulging in the wacky history could be a good way to ease some of the frustration with the modern insanity we gotta deal with. people have been ridiculous forever and its good to be reminded of that.
That is an interesting take, it’s a crazy world nowadays.
To be fair, I also absolutely hate retro gaming music - you know, the Super Mario stuff - and there’s quite a few products out there focussing solely on that. So clearly my perception is off.
