The ER-301 eurorack computer has become my 2020 go-to tool for the more experimental side of music.

I have always been interested in sound manipulation through tape techniques but it’s quite easy to get into musique concrète territory, so Morphagene, a digital tape module, was a great surprise as far as musical sensitivity goes, so i doubled up. Recently i shared an example of piano recordings i made which were cut down to loops and played back by LFOs, using a synced LFO module (Batumi) and into the Play CV input of the Morphagenes so as to create a rhythmic loop of note progressions that did not exist, and which are slightly changing as time goes by.

One of my uses of the filter control is to combine it with a high sustain of a “lead” patch. It then becomes a dynamics and overtones control. Acoustic instruments like brass increase overtones with greater dynamics, therefore this technique makes it possible to emulate these acoustics.

One of my favorite Mother32 sounds i have made so far, used for this video. The top end had some of the 0-coast but the main body was Mother32. The VCO wave was Saw, but if switched to Pulse i can get a guitar, or if i increase the Attack i can get a brass! It is a great little synth.

If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories one thing you will know is that i am always designing my sounds. This makes each piece special. I have a list of signature sounds for the Minimoog and the Sub37/Subsequent37, including the latest sound i used on the Haiku For Autumn performance video, an “Acoustic Pluck”. This can be used as clean or distorted. I shared the settings through a story but i was asked to post those for a clearer picture of the patch so here it goes:

Osc1 : Oct ‘4, 50% triangle-50% saw / Osc2: Oct ‘4, 25% triangle-75% saw

Filter at 80degrees

Filter EG amount at 110d

Keyb track at 100d

Filter envel: A at 45d, D at 90d, S at 45d, R at 150d

Amp envel: A at 90d, D at 110d, S at 90d, R at 110d

Importantly the Latch On of the oscillators must be on otherwise the Attack must be varied. Have fun

What i love about modular synths is the subtlety that can be found, enough to accompany an acoustic section without drawing attention (through attenuators?) and also to not disturb delicate extended harmony as in this track. Similar to the work on Spaces Vol.2, i experimented once more with the modular completing a strings section as the missing parts of an orchestra, however i also employed a technique most often associated with minimalism which is to repeat a sequence on different instruments with different starting times so as to form clusters of harmonies. I did this on the Subsequent 37 using the Avalanche Run delay and at the same time varied the textures through using the Reverse delay setting.