This, That, And The Other Thing...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
Someone in a previous thread (or perhaps it was on Twitter; I feel like Shamann said it) wondered out loud if the new Brian Eno record would be considered “good” if some random unknown schmoe put it out. I’ve listened to it three times now, and I think that’s still an interesting question. There are some tracks on it that are very obviously Eno, that only he could have come up with. About half of it is, in my opinion, extremely good. The other half could be described as “groundbreaking and challenging” or “aimless wanking,” depending on who was doing the describing. In any event, I don’t know any more than I did before I heard it, but I enjoy most of it enough to want to hear it again and wonder how it was made, and really, how often can you say that about a new record?
Unrelated: the mailman brought me a Korg Monotron today. (In a rather blinding slice of circular logic, I purchased it with the gift certificate I got this month from Amazon Associates, which was exactly enough. So you guys actually bought it for me, in a roundabout sort of way. So thanks!)
After fooling about for a few minutes, I decided to track it on the song I was working on today. So I laid down some little noinks and wheedles in the spots where such things go, and then I remarked to a friend on iChat that I just made a $60 track. It only makes one sound; that sound is useful. Once. If that’s worth $60 to you, then by all means pick one up. Just be sure to do it via the Amazon link provided so I can get a Stylophone next quarter.
For what it’s worth, I’m kidding a bit. There’s a filter in, which will actually be useful with the CMU-800.
17 comments
bill rieflin and i were sitting around today working on a remix when i pulled out my monotron and said "hey, we should slap this on there!" of course, we'd just put down some live synthi wankery, so the monotron paled a bit in comparison.
I like the Monotron. True - it has very limited uses for my needs... but the times I need it, it is perfect.
For me, it is one of those things I just decide to mess about with for an hour some random day and record it all for resampling later. Some of the session will be "playing" it... the other part of the session will be running audio through it (my faves are usually non-musical, ie: found sound recordings from around the house)). Most gets scrapped, but I will always find a couple gems in the whole session that made it worth it.
I've actually gotten a fair enough ( more than $60 worth ) of sounds out of it, but IMO it's the kind of thing you need to treat as a component rather than using the raw source as-is. The best fun has been things like running a Gakken into the filter, then routing the output through the gate in of an ER-1, then through Eos maybe.
If you're thinking, this or a Gakken, the filter on the Monotron is way better. Also, they're quite hackable - add a little arduino board and you've got midi support.
I say so many things, it gets hard to keep track.
I'm blasé on the Eno record, but I've only listened to it once. As I listened, I actually found myself wishing it had been one of Eno's vocal albums. But, that Pork Magazine interview gave me several good laughs, so I'm feeling more charitable about the whole thing now.
It always surprises me just how small the Monotron is.
I played with the Monotron in Tokyo and decided I would tire of it quickly. New Eno, I listened to the samples and nothing grabbed me. No hooks or melodies that I could find.
Brian Eno vs. Unknown Schmo... The latter doesnt have to navigate 30 years of fan expectation, he has a clean slate and perhaps an easier time surprising listeners.
Then again... Eno almost sells itself
Eno proba
'Someone wondered out loud if the new INSERT FAMOUS ARTIST NAME HERE record would be considered "good" if some random unknown schmoe put it out.'
This is something everyone should think about. If only people would put their ears first.
There was an interesting interview with Eno on NPR on Sunday (available on NPR.org). He talks a lot about the process of making the album. Liane Hansen is a bit irritating, but if you can put up with her it's worth a listen. Of course, the Oblique Strategies were involved, but there are some other cool ideas for improvising with other musicians. As Brian says, the trick with improvising is often getting people NOT to play....
That's a fairly common problem, in my experience. I used to go to a weekly jam night in Chicago that a good friend/occasional bandmate hosted, and aside from the group of people that regularly played together anyhow, it was basically 5-6 people soloing at the same time for hours on end.
The Chicago indie-rock iteration of Dixieland, for all intents and purposes, but that description gives it far too much credit. The front-line players (guitarist, singer, saxophonist) very rarely want to give the back-line players or each other any room. This speaks to the general mentality of instrument choice, I think, as to whether you choose to play a solo instrument or something more fitting in an ensemble setting. It's a reflection of your general personality type, with the caveat that people that want to play music in front of an audience are all narcissistic to some degree.
-CR
The LFO speed, and other characteristics of the Monotron sound, are very dependent on the voltage. And there is no voltage regulator in there, as far as I know - or it doesn't work very well if there is. And the voltage also changes when the filter is self-oscillating.
In other words, when the battery in the Korg Monotron starts dying, the whole thing freaks out. And it is beautiful. You're going to want to record this. And maybe keep some nearly dead AAAs on hand to get the Monotron back into this state.
I can't play a melody on the Monotron to save my life, and from what I can tell from various unlistenable YouTube videos, I am not alone. But the filter is simply glorious.
I hope you get enough coin for the Stylophone Beatbox also.
Korgs HI synthesis filter is not full of techno so I'm glad to hear they got it on point with the Monotron Filter.
Do I smell a Monotron mod cooking to work with the CMU cv outs? Cause I know midifying it would just make the shit too easy to make music with :)
How is the self noise when processing external signals? There were some complaints on various edm-wankfests that it was noisey enough to require some top end rolloff.
It's noisy, but not really better or worse than any other average analog synth. I've definitely heard worse. Hell, I own worse. Way worse.
-CR
The unknown schmoe in Eno's shoes.
Makes me think what would the world be like if Kanye made 909's and heartbreaks, or fuckin 727's and heartbreaks instead of saying 808's.
Than again the schmoe is unknown for a reason.. Im sure Eno's YEARS of experience, knowledge, blood, sweat and EARS had NOTHING do with it sounding good... yes that was sarcasm for those who couldn't smell it through the hipster book..
Until they come up with a VST/AU that sounds as fat as the real thing we are left sampling from our Monotron jam sessions.
I'm sure I'm not the only one that would enjoy a Monotron with MIDI. Nevertheless, the best $60 I ever spent. Except for maybe Kombinat...
Yeah, I know Kombinat is even cheaper at $49... a steal.
Speaking of which, any plans for a Kombinat update? Not that it is needed. Maybe just the new AD UI refresh?
Korg has posted the schematic for the Monotron. Available here -> http://www.korg-datastorage.jp/Manual/monotron_sch.pdf
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