From Che Sent Wed, May 20th 1998, 00:15
From Che Sent Wed, May 20th 1998, 00:15
At 08:57 PM 5/19/98 -0500, xxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xxx wrote: >it is far easier to record a keyboard part into a sequencer than to step-enter or otherwise program the notes. >now, i'm not saying that ae are recording everything live at once, obviously they are recording many tracks of things into the sequencer and editing. but unless ae are doing something far different (and far more tedious) than other musicians, it all starts with playing live keyboard parts into the sequencer. as for techno artists getting crisp and rhythmically precise beats, one can quantize a played part into an exact pattern. another element of liveness in ae's recent works that is often overlooked is the fact that not all the percussion is looping throughout the tracks...often things playing a fairly steady rhythm will slip up or mutate into something else. take for example the remix they did for spacetime continuum, the kick and snare parts do not always fall in the same place; it sounds a bit live and sloppy. It really depends on the composer. Step time isn't any more tedious than playing live if you're experienced (I find that older people have more trouble with step-time because they didn't grow up w/ computers). I sometimes step things in, sometimes play things in, it all depends how I'm feeling. I used to own a recording studio in partnership with Chris Brann of Wamdue Productions, and we were in several bands together. Chris is an incredible keyboard player, far more skilled than I'll ever be. However, when composing Chris would step EVERYTHING into his sequencer. I asked him why. He said that it was faster - he could capture what he felt the first time. His sense of timing was such that he knew how many 1/384ths of a measure to put between notes. Unfuckingbelievable. Chris started using a sequencer when he was 12, so it was as natural as playing a keyboard to him. I don't think you can use your own experience to predict how Autechre use their equipment. My guess would be that they do some things in unorthodox ways. Che