RibboMan And The Maniacs
26 July 2009 Filed in: Music | Alternate
controllers
Listen to RibboMan and the Maniacs, a “ribbon extravaganza”
This is another example of using a ribbon controller to play midi notes.
This is a song featuring only hardware synths, actually it involves the use of a single synth: a Nord/Clavia G2. It is the first time I use only one synth for a song but, of course, the G2 has many aces up its sleeve!
As you can see from the diagram, the G2 is triggered from both its keyboard and a Doepfer R2M ribbon controller. In both cases midi data are first sent to LMSO, for retuning them and then to the sound engine.
The featured tuning system is "Septimal Heaven" by X.J.Scott, the same I used in 2007 for another piece called "Septimal Klezmer".
The long solo was recorded in a single take, then cut and interspersed among short refrain sections to add variety to an otherwise static “ribbon extravaganza”.
The “voco-bass” plus “voco-choir” accompaniment is doubled at times with a G2 brassy patch to add timbral variety.
The “wild” ribbon solo has not been edited to preserve what I think is its freshness. It’s far from being perfectly tuned and/or rhythmically correct but I like it as it is because it sounds “true”, not “doctored”.
Enjoy!