ED: Wondering about your process... hear the hiphop influence but wish you had liner notes detailed like the last roots album so i could imagine rather than guess at mixing moves, etc.
EB: well, my process can be a bit confusing (for myself) sometimes. i feel like every song is a learning experience, and i basically let it take shape as i go along. i don't do any midi sequencing, it's all real audio. for that cd, i mostly would start by recording some improvisations, whether it was a keyboard sound, guitar, or a beat; and make loops out of what i liked. then add more loops, that are either in sync or not, and play more parts too. i often start out with something in mind, but by the time it's done it's usually pretty different from the original idea. i like to let things take shape in a somewhat improv 'in the moment' manner, cause i feel like that's the most natural. i also like to use software that can morph the shit out of your sounds. soundhack, peak and sound edit are really great.
right... i've heard people describe this with wonder as more of a discovery of something preexistent, pulled from the ether rather than made. any more to say on this?
yes, well discovery is often the key for me. after listening to a loop or a part for a while, i usually start to hear things that would sound good alongside it and i try to recreate what i hear in my head to actual sounds.
Since no MIDI how do you sync/desync the loops?
I recorded almost all of it on a roland vs880 [8 track digital recorder]. just made loops, cutting & pasting, sometimes playing to a click track. used the computer to heavily process a sound or do fine editing. with marker points, it's not that hard to align loops with each other and if they're not aligned perfect, they go in & out of sync. so some of my loops are in sync and some aren't. loops that are a little off from each other provide so many different sound possibilities, weird syncopations, accidental melodies... Next Page