I'm back with the Apache Blackgrass. Had a quick stop on the left coast to watch the waves decay. Now I'm back at the control deck locked in with the MPC One, looking out a window facing west towards the Rocky Mountains. Using my imagination to visualize the whole house surrounding me is a spaceship traveling far. Come along for the journey!
The other day I bought a golden MPC One. The last MPC I had was a 1000 model, and it has been out of commision for several years. The 1000 had grey pads. These new MPCs have buttons that light up in a multitude of colors. It speaks to the early 90s translucent phone with green light up buttons side of me, and I like that.
Here's a fun loopable section of the first beat I made on the new MPC One!
The melody that comes in at 0:30 is a prayer to Eric B. and Rakim's "My Melody." I played it on a Casio MT-100 to get the vibe right!
Something about the effervescence of Hip Hop in the early days blended with the wondermint of students in science class circa 1979 really inspires me and moves my soul.
Written and performed by Oak Lonetree Produced, mixed, and mastered by Will C.
There are some instances of head-related transfer function (HRTF) spatialization techniques within this mix. Headphones are recommended to best experience the expanded stereo properties of this mixing technique.
original soundtrack music composed by: Keiichi Suzuki, Hirokazu Tanaka, Hiroshi Kanazu, and Toshiyuki Ueno this version performed, mixed, and mastered by Will C.
I always wondered what that crunchy sound in the song was. Turns out, it's a triggered sample of a cash register!
There are some instances of head-related transfer function (HRTF) spatialization techniques within this mix. Headphones are recommended to best experience the expanded stereo properties of this mixing technique.
original soundtrack music composed by: Keiichi Suzuki, Hirokazu Tanaka, Hiroshi Kanazu, and Toshiyuki Ueno this version performed, mixed, and mastered by Will C.
What a time to be alive! Archival footage of the early 1980s arcade game era. Time traveling back to the days of Pac Man & Defender. Approximately 1981-1983.
Featured music: "At The Ice Arcade Cold Phasin' 'Em" from Spark In The Dark
"Right Where I Belong" is a new song by Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys) & Jim James (My Morning Jacket), released alongside the new Brian Wilson documentary "Long Promised Road."
A new Brian Wilson song is a real treat and cause for celebration. Yesterday I had a fun time picking apart the chords and singing a shortened version of the tune, piano and voice style. If you haven't yet, go watch the fantastic film!
"Right Where I Belong" Cover by Will C. Originally written and performed by Brian Wilson & Jim James "Long Promised Road" directed by Brent Wilson
Starts with segments from the cult classic film "Rad," and then shifts into some more obscure and lost-to-VHS fuzzy memories. Music: "Air Man" by Will C.
"Other Shores, Other Worlds" is a new song, but the familiar feeling it evokes is drawing from a forever cycling vibration the cosmos are sending out even right now, at this very moment.
Composed on a long lost to time, recently resurrected Synergy I synthesizer. In its heyday, this unique instrument was used extensively by music icon Wendy Carlos, whose credits include film scoring for Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" and "A Clockwork Orange," as well as "TRON." The Synergy was a contemporary of the Nintendo Entertainment System, and sure enough, sounds are loaded onto the synthesizer via old school video-game style cartridges.Β
This is "Dr. Andonut's Lab" from the Super Nintendo game Earthbound (MOTHER 2) soundtrack, only it's entirely played on acoustic guitar.
Extended to 30 minutes in length for studying, meditation, and / or zone out purposes.
At the beginning, you hear me pluck the opening chord. An acoustic guitar can't sustain infinitely, so I ran the plucked chord through a compressor with a long release and rode the gain dial, then I duplicated the resulting processed chord, continuously adding fades to make the chord sustain throughout. I was surprised how much the resulting sound resembled an organ drone. If you listen closely, you can hear an audio book on the immune system playing in the other room that accidentally was picked up on the microphone used to record the guitar.
These days, the Synergy is a super rare synthesizer to come across in the wild. Originally produced in 1982, it is estimated that less than 100 are still in operation across the globe. Interestingly, it ran off cartridges, something it had in common with the Super Nintendo!
Recently, I had the opportunity to recreate some of my favorite music fromEarthBound on a Synergy. This video demonstrates some of the sound textures the synthesizer is capable of, while showcasing a beloved soundtrack through a unique lens.