AETHERPHON, global theremin family

Carvin,

I'm looking forward to hearing your work.  Studio work is a lot harder 
than it looks, isn't it? :-)  30 takes....sounds like when I do vocals.

-----
DAVID VESEL -- synthetic music for humans
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Spellbound, a brief program of music for theremin
Sunday 10PM-12AM http://spellbound.purplenote.com

carvin knowles wrote:
> My Thereministas!
> 
> I don't often contribute to the discussion
> here....usually because I just don't have much to add
> to the conversation. But I thought I'd share my recent
> theremin experiences with you guys.
> 
> I've been in the studio for nearly a year, working on
> my newest album with my longtime collaborator Adam
> Pike: it's called "Pareidolia."  The project was
> conceived as an all electronic dance album that
> features analog instruments such as my two Moogs, a
> Prophet Pro-One, and my Roland Juno syths....and
> whatever other old boxes we could get our hands on.
> So, of course, I had to play my (Big Briar) theremin
> on several of the pieces.
> 
> While I've occaisionally recorded with my Etherwave,
> most of my experience has been the live-with-DJ club
> thing. The difference is startling. When you are used
> to clubbing it, you improv and let your ears lead you.
> No thinking allowed. In the studio, you rehearse a
> part over and over and then record take after take
> until you get it like you want it.
> 
> Some of the songs came naturally. The parts are
> logical and supported by the arrangement and I could
> just "feel" it. Others were just noises and
> therepercussion. 
> 
> But last week, we were recording the theremin solo on 
> a track with the line "Only what you do matters."
> Appropriate, no? The part is straightforward and
> follows the changes, moving up a minor chord and back
> down a diminshed. I played a long legato phrase with a
> repeat. Yet it took over 30 takes. During the course
> of recording, the tuning on my box drifted, first
> contracting by about four inches, then opening up by
> over a foot. Sometimes this would happen during the
> recording, so that the tuning on the repeat was
> different.
> 
> After the first few tries, I began anticipating the
> change in tuning across the repeat. But that only made
> things worse. For over an hour, the first part was
> perfect but the repeat always sounded wrong.
> 
> The more frustrated I got, the less cooperative the
> instrument became. We took a break for about 20
> minutes, then came back to it. Then we immediately got
> two good takes which we will use doubled. 
> 
> Part of my problem may have been that I recorded it
> with minimal delay. Usually, I let the delay blur the
> edges of my playing, so this was like working without
> a net. But that doesn't explain the crazy atmospheric
> changes in my induction. 
> 
> Still....on playback the part sounded agressive and
> pretty rockin! All the hard work and frustration payed
> off with some mean, hard oscillations!
> 
> Just off the top of my head, I can tell you that I
> play theremin on five of the tracks on the album.
> Maybe more. We are nearing the final mix on this
> project, so it's all starting to become a blur to
> me.....
> 
> I hope we can release this thing soon. I want you all
> to year it!
> 
> Peace
> 
> Carvin
> 
> 
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