Posted on April 14, 2015 by Renick

THE3RD2ND_016
YATE - ARP Session (audio) (2009)

YATE has provided the3rd2nd.com with this improvisation, which is divided into five tracks. An interview with YATE follows the links for downloading the files.

THE3RD2ND_016 - YATE - ARP Session (audio) (2009)

Download the whole release as a zip archive:

http://the3rd2nd.com/releases/THE3RD2ND_016.zip

Tracklisting:

  1. ARPsession 01 (2:58) http://the3rd2nd.com/mp3/THE3RD2ND_016/01-yate-arp-session-01.mp3

  2. ARPsession 02 (6:58) http://the3rd2nd.com/mp3/THE3RD2ND_016/02-yate-arp-session-02.mp3

  3. ARPsession 03 (4:59) http://the3rd2nd.com/mp3/THE3RD2ND_016/03-yate-arp-session-03.mp3

  4. ARPsession 04 (7:39) http://the3rd2nd.com/mp3/THE3RD2ND_016/04-yate-arp-session-04.mp3

  5. ARPsession 05 (0:28) http://the3rd2nd.com/mp3/THE3RD2ND_016/05-yate-arp-session-05.mp3

Jason Landers says: “We were playing a mix of instruments through the ARP and using the ARP switches etc too. This was then tracked using a multi-track mixer and software.”

Can you tell me more about this session?

Rob: We both learned the fundamentals of electronic synthesis using an ARP2600 under the direction of Steven Paxton. His instruction has been very influential in how we think about and create music. ARPsession is dedicated to Dr. Paxton and is reminiscent of the sound sculptures we created in his lab many years ago.

Jason: I have always been fascinated with the ARP, dating back to the first introduction to it in Paxton’s Electro/Experimental studio 10 years prior. It was the first instrument of its type I ever used. Tapping into those old memories and combining new knowledge and instruments this session came to be. I think the coolest part of this instrument and this session is the ability to really feel like a mad scientist and create an experimental sound Frankenstein. So much is unplanned and very textural in both sound and the way of operating the ARP. It puts the experiment into experimental music.

  • When did you record it?

Early 2006.

  • Where did you record it?

In a bedroom studio in central Phoenix.

  • How long did it take? And What was the process?

Rob: We recorded two multitrack sessions over the course of a couple of weeks or so. The initial session was recorded live. Then in the second session we refiltered parts of the first and overdubbed some tracks. The tracks were further refined in postproduction over a month long period.

Jason: After the live sessions, the tracks were mixed down and segmented into parts. The final mixing process took 4-5 sections of varying length and they were sequenced and overlayed together. No other effects or manipulation was added at this step.

  • Where did the ARP come from?

Rob: I got the ARP from another local musician… He found it under a pile of used gear in the upstairs store room of a strange old music store in the middle of the desert.

Jason side note: The guy used to be in Machines of Loving Grace.

  • Which other instruments were you playing into the ARP?

Rob: Korg Electribe Drum machine, Maico hearing tester, guitars, Echoplex, various synths.

Jason: These all ran into the ARP from a mixer, then manipulated with the ARP and the ARP osc creating sound too. Then one ARP out ran into a headrush multi out effect (tape delay emulator) and the other out direct unprocessed. Recorded stereo mix to computer using cubase.

  • What were you guys thinking about when you made it?

Jason: The main experiment we were thinking about came about from remembering the audio input of the ARP. We had also been thinking about experiments daisy chaining lots of instruments together in some way for a while. Both of these factors came together along with wanting to really make the focus the ARP. I believe another thought revolved around trying to make cold digital instruments have the sound of analog warmth.

  • What goal did you have?

Rob: We set out to create a piece that would be an aesthetic sampling of the filtering and processing capabilities of the ARP 2600.

Jason: I would add the goal of making several forms (or instruments in this case) into one and then splitting that single form into various versions of itself.