Compression and Yes

More work on my audio compression algorithm today. It appears I'm using a unique algorithm, as I'm using volume tracers and the inversion of those rather than a basic logarithmic boost; I simply trace the volume and boost the signal by the inverse of this trace. A more conventional compressor (indeed, the old version I used to have) simply uses this volume trace to enable or disable the gate, and boosts the signal by a fixed inverse proportion based on what power you want to give it.

This version gives a more analogue sort of feeling, a bit more unpredictable and can be wildly sensitive to the various slope settings for the attack, decay, bite. I might create both anyway, to add more options. The value of being able to code your own audio algorithms is immense!

I worked out that the blips that were plaguing yesterday's version were the harsh digital gate, easy to smooth out.

I've spent most of today tweaking thus. I rarely use compression, but now I'm thinking that it might be useful for bass sounds, for a more consistent mix. I'm growing happier with Burn of God, but the music still isn't balanced how I would like.

God bless my Samson Resolv monitors! These are as good as my Sony MDR-5706 headphones at monitoring. I've had them for years (they don't make them now) so I know how music should sound on them. I've bought a few new (1970s!) albums to listen to today: Genesis' Nursery Cryme, the last of the nice 'prog' era ones for me, and The Story of I by Patrick Moraz, which I've not heard more than two minutes of and look forward to. It seems eccentric. Yes were an amazingly bad band considering the wealth of talent of every one of its many hundreds of members. I can barely think of a good song by them, even their only hit of consequence Only of a Lonely Heart was an awful tuneless song made to sound good by brilliant production. Perhaps this is a harsh judgement given that I've only heard four of their countless albums.

God Infinity, Compression, Karaoke

Had a somewhat torrid night, awoke almost feverish, although I managed to breathe a little more easily than the previous two nights and am less congested. I think I've had some sort of minor virus, which explains the headaches. I hardly slept, then had amazing dreams, at one point the sky was rotating through a circular window and it was filled with strange shapes.

I rose late and started to rework on God Infinity, the most complex track from Burn of God. I'm in the phase of not liking the music again. I've realised that I love a project and work hard on it, then, at its moment of completion, I'm ready to abandon it. I invariably dislike it, and start to become exciting about the next one, which I hope will be better (and generally is). This fact stops me promoting the new work. I'm tired of it, not proud of it, compared to the amazing next project it's always second best, although I may grow to be pleased with it some months or years later. I explained this to Deborah tonight and she suggested that I follow a set of logical rules, a promotion schedule or plan. I've realised that, with our Fall in Green work I'm much more motivated in this regard, perhaps because it's a team and I'm helping her and others. Perhaps this is one reason why solo artists do less well than bands. Isn't it strange that visual artists are rarely bands or teams? The Chapman Brothers and Gilbert and George are notable exceptions.

I arranged the CD artwork for both albums for printing in the day, and started to work on a new compression D.S.P. effect, that is dynamic compression. I rarely use compression, only ever for vocals that demand a certain rigidity, aware that it always, always, harms emotional expression, but it can make lyrics audible that might be inaudible. Lyrics need to be heard and comprehended (unless you're really going for something unusual).

My compression effect in my software, Prometheus, has never been used because it never really worked. I had the idea for a second audio effect based on it today, so was inspired to work on it. The principle is simple; a volume tracer on the wave to compress, then boosting the volume by the inverse of the volume trace.

In the evening I went to a party in a large club. The deejay offered karaoke to everyone but only I, Deb, and Deb's sister sang anything. Nobody else danced either apart from the small children. One lesson of the evening is that The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Tight Fit is inordinately difficult to sing, demanding both a falsetto voice and a bass voice.

I want to feel inspired and well and full of jobs and purpose tomorrow.

War Is Out and Yellow Glasses

A full day, amazing how we can think a project is ended when it's far from it! Started by listing War Is Over on the major music platforms, so this is coming soon. This inspired me to take another listen to Burn of God, my final ear-check and I found a few issues, so have spent a lot of the day working on this, mainly changes to the largest and most complex track, the rock epic God Infinity.

I've also listed both albums on my website and Cornutopia Music, and did a lot of lyric checking. All of the lyrics for War Is Over will be online, and videos or sites that support synchronised lyrics (bouncing ball, anyone?) will be able to use that too.

In other more important news, I'm now wearing yellow safety glasses. I've had headaches since having my eye test last week and I suspect it is the psychological effect of temporarily experiencing clarity during the test, and generally worrying about the potential for headaches. I wondered if any deterioration in my eyes is down to my daylight light bulb, which is lovely and bright, and especially energising in the winter months, but is perhaps too powerful and too white. Perhaps white lights like this, blue phone lights (I don't have a smartphone or tablet or modern screen thing, thankfully), and LEDs, are harming people's eyes. I already mourn the loss of yellow sodium street lights, those wonderful symbols of loving evening. We must preserve and restore them!

I could switch to a 'normal', yellow tinted bulb, but I haven't got one, and at times I like the idea of white light, so I'll keep my light on, but wear yellow tinted safety glasses as a filter. This has the advantage of filtering the computer screen, and protecting me from potential flying debris.

I would now benefit from having glasses and must consider options. I've often wanted them even though I didn't need them. Now I need them, I am unsure if I want them.

Zell

Have finalised the first draft of War is Over, and remain happy with it. Now to try it one other systems. I went to a meeting this morning about a new festival in Crewe this summer, more details coming at some point.

I've spent an hour or two working on my board game idea, which evolved into something like Go, crossed with a cellular automaton. One problem is that, on a triangular board, the centre square, and thus the first turn, is too powerful. Avoiding that wouldn't solve the problem (say, by blocking the centre) because I suspect that the first turn would remain too powerful. Ideally, the game mechanic itself would make up for this. I will explore a few options.

Here is an image of the test board. The solid triangles are power-cells, like food for the cellular growth.

The other cells can be placed, or move, or capture; but movement and capture are, in practice, rarely part of the game. The game turns into one of territory blocking. I can sense an intelligence and strategy when playing, but I suspect that the initial placements determine the outcome to a great degree. I'm working on rule variations now and will share full details when it is ready. I call the game Zell at the moment.

This is a temporary distraction. War is Over is as good as complete. We will order some CD copies, which are expensive and might remain unsold, yet, it is more important now than ever to make music physical and real, special. Digital music is somewhat valueless. I want to make art, and that means something people can hold that is rare and precious due to its rarity; its physical, as well as musical, beauty.

Next; the Apocalypse of Clowns music, but I'm very tired of music and have had a headache every day for the past several days. I must rest, and will change direction for a few days. I might revisit my old short stories to assemble. I'm a better writer now than I was when I wrote them, but we all improve, and many of those stories are not published or published in many different collections. Several of them have won prizes in competitions. Thinking about it, they're some of the most successful things I've done, but I need to check them through, have them properly proofread and then get them out there.

War is Over Finale

I'd hoped to finish the War is Over album today, and it is largely done. This has been a lot of hard work for a mere 18 minutes of music. Each track has been extended and augmented somehow, usually with some sort of lead in to blend it with the others. I love adding sounds that evoke images, a scene, a world. This is my aim and my way of working; vision vision! This craft takes essential time and lots of listening, as well as recording. I've used a huge soundscape of special effects and live recordings from all of the place. My experience as a sound effect recordist (not to mention my 2000+ strong library of self-made sound effects) is incredibly useful.

The remaining track today was the finale to the album, and I added some rock guitars to it, reflecting the dramatic Viking opening. These lead into an extended piano solo with improvised variations on the main theme. This is a little scrappy from a technical piano playing point of view, and part of me would like something more perfect or ideal, yet, this reflects the sort of playing I love and play often; it's about live expression, the expression of instant emotion, embodying the piano in a sort of love-symbiosis. I've decided to let this music run raw without edits or changes. I've recorded a lot of my piano music over the years, since Cycles & Shadows, but I tend to pull back to make it as neat as I could, but at the expense of the drama and expressiveness that fills my live playing when I'm at my most energetic and at the limits of control.

This track, the finale at the end of Struck Lucifers, will be one of the first recordings of this sort of playing. A few other tracks have been raw takes like this; One Sided Duet, The Love Reliquary tunes, Notes from Space, are all examples, but those pieces are relatively slow and full of a certain Romantic feeling. It must be my destiny to play more complex work of power. In piano I must work on timing, the accuracy of different finger pressures and timings when playing chords, and large spatial movements.

In guitar, I am just beginning to learn scales. War is Over, along with Burn of God, will be my first albums to include live guitar.

War is Over Artwork

Exhausted and with a headache, something of a regular occurance for the past week. I must have done two day's work today. I remembered at 4pm that I had a copy of a newspaper from V-J Day and used some of the imagery for the War is Over artwork. I now have 8 pages and inside and outside tray artwork in draft.

I also designed a board game last night, a simple strategy game inspired by the look of the Star Trek game Kadis-kot. I've made a board and the rules, I'll post them at some point.

Now to rest with part two of The Birthday Party, the Harold Pinter play. It's remarkable that I find myself watching it, a few days after dreaming of the Northern Irish actor in it (having not thought of either thing in over a decade); he was in my dream of the chef and the doves.

More War is Over

I've spent two full days working on the War is Over music. It's amazing that it's taking me so long considering the music is written, mostly recorded, and mostly produced. One problem is that the music isn't very long, our poems are not the length of ordinary songs; consider the lyrical content of songs, how sparse it is, how repetitive. If the lyrics of a song were merely spoken, most songs would be under a minute long. Our tracks are about two minutes. The length isn't that material, but an EP demands six tracks at most, so this has created problems because I don't want a really short album. We must be showcasing our work; there is some pressure of quality. I don't really want two full albums.

This has led to some extraordinary measures; a lot more music in between, and complex arrangements to segue these together into a coherent scene, a journey, as I prefer. All six (well seven, I'm merging two) tracks are done, but there is space at the end for more; I want to re-emphasise the main theme. I must do my best, but not obsess so long as to harm the creation of future work.

I've had enough of music today, so I'll stop now and work on the the album art.

Struck Lucifers

A trip to the Macc Art Lounge on Saturday, but largely it was 'a day off' to pull back and rethink recent music work. This was a necessary restorative. My mind and body had been packed together too densely, feeling exactly like plasticine, when the athlete is more like a sponge made from a light fluid, something like Galliano, a light alcohol with a hint of vanilla. I needed to refluidify and find again the spark essence of art. I am now keen to get this music complete and move on.

Yesterday I continued work on the music for Struck Lucifers. A complex poem which is about post war Britain, the V.E. Day clean-up and more. I find it difficult due to the cerebral mood. The track must end with something great and extraordinary. As an artist, I am only as useful to the world as the work I produce (aren't we all?) I must prove my current state of ability and utility. We've also decided to press some CDs with an 8-page booklet, so more visual art is needed for this project. I want it done by the 8th.