Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

[steubig]

btw, a friend had a post with some morton feldman quotes. in the course of the conversation, my friend said this (which i think is pretty cool):

“The real work is in the work. You become you through time and repetition and slogging and solving problems.”

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

possibly.

i would probably need a bit more clarification from you on that.

my contention is to record and document and put it out into the world. to me, the only statement is “this is what i’m doing.” my hope is that people listen and find it interesting; buying is probably third or fourth on the list and never expected. if i’m lucky, someone will contact me and we’ll discover some common ground.

i have friends who are slightly younger (3-4 years) who are adamant about not letting full sets get up on youtube. i have other friends who are older (10 years) and unconcerned about that—they want it out there.

I probably see recordings as “moments captured in time” of a “musical event\journey”
This is what I did\happened at this exact moment, here I am sharing it with you.

In hopes that it will interest or connect me with someone...somewhere....somehow.....making money with originals is a thing of the past. (To a certain extent....but that’s a whole other topic.)

It is the philosophy of my trio that we do it for us with ZERO COMPROMISES, document the present and share everything for “name your price” on our bandcamp.

I put it out, let’s go forward. F^&* the haters.

(Hope I’m making sense.....)

 

[monsterthompson]

I think that there is a generational divide (not necessarily based simply on age, though with a strong correlation to it) regarding the view of “content” available online. I think the more you lived in a world with limited distributed content the more content appears as a statement documenting a specific point in time. The quality of the content could make it a beacon with influence stretching forward in time, but because of the limited distribution of content in prior years, documents became breadcrumbs and trail markers along a path, with some viewing the directional trends through the rear view as a trajectory for future endeavors.

The modern era has allowed a more fluid exchange of ideas in a more immediate fashion. Older content required more time to be distributed, consumed, analyzed, critiqued, and responded to. In that regard, a live performance gave a more immediate, community experience. If it was good or bad, a crowd responded to let you know. Modern content production and distribution allows for that community experience to happen in real time.

This is where the line gets blurry in the modern era. You could argue that there are live streams for community vs. manicure and produced content as a statement. I have only had my experience of living with a delineation between these two things. I cannot see the world through the eyes of someone who developed with the blurrier lines. Perhaps the lines aren’t blurry to them at all, but my perception isn't attuned to the characteristics they use to draw a dividing line.

 

[steubig]

I probably see recordings as “moments captured in time” of a “musical event\journey”
This is what I did\happened at this exact moment, here I am sharing it with you.

In hopes that it will interest or connect me with someone...somewhere....somehow.....making money with originals is a thing of the past. (To a certain extent....but that’s a whole other topic.)

absolutely.

the snapshot thing totally aligns with my thinking on this.

It is the philosophy of my trio that we do it for us with ZERO COMPROMISES, document the present and share everything for “name your price” on our bandcamp.

I put it out, let’s go forward. F^&* the haters.

(Hope I’m making sense.....)

cinema verite, if you will.

makes complete sense to me.

 

[emjazz]

btw, a friend had a post with some morton feldman quotes. in the course of the conversation, my friend this (which i think is pretty cool):

“The real work is in the work. You become you through time and repetition and slogging and solving problems.”

This is a Feldman quote? This is 100% how I feel, and I wish this was the first thing to be said to every music student everywhere.

 

[monsterthompson]

It would be wonderful to have a coffee shop we could all go sit in for an afternoon, to beat up a few of these ideas.

 

[steubig]

This is a Feldman quote? This is 100% how I feel, and I wish this was the first thing to be said to every music student everywhere.

nope, it’s my friend/colleague tom.

and music students should totally hear this.

 

[steubig]

It would be wonderful to have a coffee shop we could all go sit in for an afternoon, to beat up a few of these ideas.

digital multi-time-zone salon/coffee shop.

 

[dukeorock]

Interesting thread going! Love hearing everyone’s perspective.

pardon me going off the rails a little, but I stumbled onto this band this morning and wound up listening to them for hours. I almost apologize because it has little to do with anything discussed here, but it’s the most punk rock thing I’ve heard in a long time. Maybe someone will even like it

 

[lordradish]

possibly.

i would probably need a bit more clarification from you on that.

my contention is to record and document and put it out into the world. to me, the only statement is “this is what i’m doing.” my hope is that people listen and find it interesting; buying is probably third or fourth on the list and never expected. if i’m lucky, someone will contact me and we’ll discover some common ground.

i have friends who are slightly younger (3-4 years) who are adamant about not letting full sets get up on youtube. i have other friends who are older (10 years) and unconcerned about that—they want it out there.

I'm kind of in the middle of that demographic. But to hit on what you said, a few posts up, yes, I am going to have to reconsider, given the lack of gigging opportunities (and it's not like, even if this pandemic wasn't happening, I'd have a lot of opportunities). I think if I can manage to be more productive, I'll have more things that I find are good enough. I'm sure I'll struggle with this for a while.

Another thought... I know everything is so single-track oriented nowadays (meaning, not album-oriented), and I think that for so long, since I've gone the synth/pedalboard/composer route, I've been focused on AN ALBUM. It's like a thing I'm obsessed over, I want a compilation of works, and it's almost like it's holding me back. And it's just something I gotta get past.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

I'm kind of in the middle of that demographic. But to hit on what you said, a few posts up, yes, I am going to have to reconsider, given the lack of gigging opportunities (and it's not like, even if this pandemic wasn't happening, I'd have a lot of opportunities). I think if I can manage to be more productive, I'll have more things that I find are good enough. I'm sure I'll struggle with this for a while.

Another thought... I know everything is so single-track oriented nowadays (meaning, not album-oriented), and I think that for so long, since I've gone the synth/pedalboard/composer route, I've been focused on AN ALBUM. It's like a thing I'm obsessed over, I want a compilation of works, and it's almost like it's holding me back. And it's just something I gotta get past.

How about focusing on an EP....short album type of concept??
Maybe multiple EPs.....each with a specific idea\concept.

Just tossing ideas out.....



Today’s work notes: failed terribly at conceiving a bass only tracks on the SP.
Ahhhh failure, how often we encounter. Haha.

At least I made a drum beat with only sampled bass........not everything I did was complete crap.....ahaha

 

[steubig]

I'm kind of in the middle of that demographic. But to hit on what you said, a few posts up, yes, I am going to have to reconsider, given the lack of gigging opportunities (and it's not like, even if this pandemic wasn't happening, I'd have a lot of opportunities). I think if I can manage to be more productive, I'll have more things that I find are good enough. I'm sure I'll struggle with this for a while.

Another thought... I know everything is so single-track oriented nowadays (meaning, not album-oriented), and I think that for so long, since I've gone the synth/pedalboard/composer route, I've been focused on AN ALBUM. It's like a thing I'm obsessed over, I want a compilation of works, and it's almost like it's holding me back. And it's just something I gotta get past.

i’m gonna key on this last bit. i like to think of things in larger groups. sometimes how large becomes more apparent as the piece unfolds (maybe that one piece spurs the whole). i think it makes sense to do that, but i also think you often need to consider how the whole thing hangs together. so contrasting pieces, fast/slow, active/sparse, loud/soft, that sort of thing (e.g., a four-part symphony with constrasting sections). ime, it sometimes easier to achieve this with small pieces.

 

[Bob_Ross]

Forthcoming.

Okay, I confirmed it works:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Now to actually make some music with it!

 

[Bob_Ross]

A bit more tonal, drone-y, lubricous...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Bob_Ross]

you often need to consider how the whole thing hangs together

I would even go so far as to say you always need to consider how the whole thing hangs together.

Context is king. Meaning/purpose is the glue that cements often disparate ideas -- or distinct notes, gestures, passages -- into "a piece". (Provided of course that meaning/purpose is audible, and not just some poetic conceit or unrelated narrative that the composer/performer decided was what the music was "about".)

But yeah, I think if you grew up with albums they feel like they're these immensely well-crafted objects from start to finish, and it can be daunting to think "how will I ever put together enough material to make an entire album that's worth listening to?" And the answer is: One piece at a time.

 

[monsterthompson]

I just hit some preset on my delay pedal that self oscillated to insanity. I stomped it off, but it was in tails mode. I was running through my mixer and Adam A7X Monitors, which got crazy loud, though seem to still operate fine. Now I need to stop playing to give my ears a rest. There’s no ringing but they aren’t happy.
Play safe out there gang.

 

[dukeorock]

Just spent time playing a bunch of dreamy, floaty nonsense through my Nebulae2 granular gizmo into the Mimeophon. Kinda soothing and enjoyable

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Just spent time playing a bunch of dreamy, floaty nonsense through my Nebulae2 granular gizmo into the Mimeophon. Kinda soothing and enjoyable

I put the doo hickey in the doodad and ,,,,,

 

[lordradish]

i’m gonna key on this last bit. i like to think of things in larger groups. sometimes how large becomes more apparent as the piece unfolds (maybe that one piece spurs the whole). i think it makes sense to do that, but i also think you often need to consider how the whole thing hangs together. so contrasting pieces, fast/slow, active/sparse, loud/soft, that sort of thing (e.g., a four-part symphony with constrasting sections). ime, it sometimes easier to achieve this with small pieces.

I actually have three folders of things that, were I to do an album or EP, would go together. I have thought about the EP thing, too. I've also thought of two long forms as an album, too.

I just gotta s**t or get off the pot, as they say.

 

[hieronymous]

I actually have three folders of things that, were I to do an album or EP, would go together. I have thought about the EP thing, too. I've also thought of two long forms as an album, too.

I just gotta s**t or get off the pot, as they say.

One thing I thought of is that different sites allow for different approaches - I often use Soundcloud to put out a sketch or idea, and then Bandcamp when I have a more defined set of material, like an EP, or maybe "finished produce" is another way to think of it. Putting out the sketch a) lets you gauge the reaction, and b) when it's actually "out there" on the interwebs you may conceive of it differently.