sidvad's Podcast

This is the final track of Impression Soundrise, and probably my favorite. It was created by recording 12 separate vocal parts. I started with the root of a major scale and assigned each part one note to sing up to the fifth of the next octave. However, while recording each pitch/track, levels of all other parts were muted so I had no idea what was going on with any other part. Times to enter and exit each pitch sung were selected at random by me during recording.
At the end of recording, I brought back all track levels and panned them to create dimension. The random rise and fall of the parts, I felt gave a good aural depiction of what it's like to watch moonlight reflect and ripple on the night sea, hence the title.
As always, click the podomatic link for free download, and thank you for visiting the sonic gallery. The exhibit ends with this piece.

Unlike track 3, Rhythmic Improvisation 1 has absolutely no composition at all. This was literally a "press record and go" performance. It was enjoyable to see patterns and harmonies take shape during the layering of each track. This recording was very therapeutic for me. I spend a lot of time making weird rhythmic sounds all day (partly from a need to constantly compose something--and partly from being a nervous wreck). This comes much to the dismay of all those around me, especially my poor wife. It was nice to take all of these nervous beat boxes and actually make something out of them (other than an unconscious plea for Xanax).

Sorry for the delay in uploading the third piece. The Vad family was busy working on the Obama campaign. I've been supporting Obama since 2004 and actually had the chance to speak to him on monday. I got a laugh out of him when I told him that if he wins, it would be like the arrival of the sheriff at the beginning of "Blazing Saddles." Anyway, good for our old buddy.
Moving on, this piece was the most composed of the five in the gallery. I took some inspiration from the cubists. Joan Miro is a favorite of mine.

There is an outdoor amphitheater in Cincinnati's Eden Park called Seasongood Pavilion. It is nestled between the art museum, the playhouse, and a reflecting pool. I find it a very cool place to visit, because they've allowed trees to grow right in the center of the seating areas. On pleasant days, I sometimes eat lunch there on one of the benches and enjoy the natural surroundings. November 10th, 2006 was unseasonably warm. I ate lunch with a friend, and watched the sun dance through the trees as autumn leaves fell all around me. For me, that's church.
I was inspired to record a vocal impression of this experience the following day. The perfect fifth which is a droning hum throughout the piece are a handful of overlayed tracks. I chose to record each one without ever stopping singing, so I actually maintained the note while inhaling as well as exhaling. This piece is like twelve minutes long, so yeah, I came close to passing out a few times; but I felt it gave the effect of the life vibration that comes up through the earth in nature. After recording these tracks, the breathing in this fashion put me in a meditative state, and after I was finished, I felt a heightened state of awareness. It was an unexpected byproduct that I got a lot from.

Welcome to the sonic gallery. Track 1: Impression soundrise is a loosely composed sonic impression of a sunrise. There is a section towards the end that sounds like a backwards recording, but it is only an imitation of reversed audio. There were no audio tricks other than reverb and some panning to create a theater-like presentation.