Gemini improv

zodiacrobatic-live-set-4

Last night I was experimenting with recording directly into clip slots in Ableton, a method that should prove very useful for sampling and looping in the live performance. In the Session view, you simply record-enable an audio track and then click on the box that would trigger a particular clip to begin recording. Your recorded clip can then be looped or triggered instantly. In the fascination of the moment, using this method for the first time, I recorded a few tracks of melodica playing Gemini. 2 layers are devoted to the static, harmonic accompaniment, moving between and sustaining the tones freely. I shifted the accompaniment to the higher register while placing the melody lower. Different audio effects were applied to the individual tracks, such as Beat Repeat- which adds rhythmic stutters in somewhat unpredictable ways.

zodiacrobatic-live-set-5

Here is a composite of what I recorded:

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Jon described the video component he is planning for Gemini as a series of split-screen portraits of peoples’ faces. Duality, the two faces, is of course a symbol of Gemini. I am thinking about how to work that into our approach to timbre in this piece.

Instrumental pallette for Gemini: melodica, violin, synth, soprano saxophone.

Any suggestions?