Tickets here! You can also buy tickets from participating venues.

Line-up/venues:

I installed ffmpeg using Chocolatey, a very useful package manager for Windows, similar in operation to those you’d find on Linux (well, it’s not quite as good as APT or DNF/YUM, say, but it’s the best we’ve got at the moment).

In Windows 10, you can shift-right click in the Explorer directory that houses your video file to open a command window (just select the very handy ‘Open command window here’ option).

Firstly, if you’d like to strip the audio from a video file, you can use this command:

ffmpeg -i INPUT.mp4 -codec copy -an OUTPUT.mp4

Specifying the INPUT and OUTPUT files accordingly, with file extension (needless to say, it doesn’t have to be .mp4).
-i precedes the file you wish to strip the audio from.
-codec copy is to send the video stream to the output file without transcoding, which will maintain video quality, as well as save you loads of time not having to crunch video.
-an will remove the audio file. Similarly, you could use -vn to remove a video stream instead.

Then you can add your audio track by typing:

ffmpeg -i INPUT.mp4 -i AUDIO.wav -shortest -c:v copy -c:a aac -b:a 256k OUTPUT.mp4

As you can see, I have two input streams to be muxed together, the silent video file and the audio wav, to the output file at the end of the command. But there are a couple of other handy commands involved this time.

-c is a shorthand of the -codec command we used in the first example, and is used here to specify the audio and video codecs individually. As before, the video is passed through, but I’ve chosen to encode the audio as an aac file instead of simply adding the wav audio to the video, and have specified the audio bitrate using -b:a.

The -shortest option will truncate whichever stream between the audio and video is longest down to the length of the shortest. This is handy for crudely chopping audio down to the video length, say.

So far so good, but you might be wondering if you can just combine those two commands into a single command for even quicker results. Absolutely:

ffmpeg -i INPUT.mp4 -i AUDIO.wav -map 0:0 -map 1:0 -c:v copy -c:a aac -b:a 256k -shortest OUTPUT.mp4

This time we use the -map commands to specify which streams from the input files respectively should be included the output file. Any stream not explicitly specified will be ignored. I think the left side of the map option denotes the input file index (according to the order in which they were typed in the command), and the right side is the stream ID within the file. You can always check the stream IDs by running ffmpeg specifying only an input file and no output, which will just list all the streams in the media file. Similarly, you could also check the streams in something like VideoLAN, too.

Anyway, I hope this post is useful. If nothing else, it’s a good way for me to consolidate tips for myself (isn’t that termed ‘Ako’, or something?) and help me remember for future use.

Some of the parts I use are typically bathed in convolution or delay effects, in which case I’ve also included some dry versions for added flexibility. Most have an intro bar of silence, except Glassmaker, which starts instead with a single beat of silence (as I’d prepared that a while ago on a separate occasion). Should all be 24-bit wavs. Let me know if I’ve messed anything up.

01 Paper Unicorn (98bpm)
02 Ark of Comfort (115bpm)
03 Hivernal (122.6bpm)
04 Infinite Bookends (81bpm)
05 Glassmaker (127bpm)

Have at it!

I’d put stems from earlier tracks online, but thanks to the general impermanence and incompatibilities of music software, plus my relaxed attitude to track freezing, many tracks fail to load or play correctly. Lesson learned: freeze and archive! Should be easier from this point onwards, now I’m over the 64-bit hump.

Hopefully everything renders just fine, with nippy page loads and responsive resizing for different browsing devices, but if you notice anything afoot, embarrassing typos and the like, please give me a shout. It feels odd to do without WordPress, but it admittedly made less sense on a blog-less site, and was used primarily for the feedback comments and the contact form. Now that it’s been established for a while and I have more credits under my belt, the loss of a feedback page is hopefully minimal. It’s been almost fun refreshing my basic web dev knowledge, reading up on html5, css3, media queries and the like. For a dilettante like me, these more recent developments certainly seem to have made designing a simple site much more straightforward and browser-compatible. Lo, progress!

Each print is just under twelve inches square in size (fitting nicely in a vinyl sleeve), has been digitally printed on thick 300gsm matte stock, and comes with an instant Bandcamp download in the format of your choice.

For those who don’t want vinyl, it’s still a great way to enjoy an element of physicality with your music, not to mention they’ll also look stunning framed on the wall.

All the physical items I have for sale can be seen my Bandcamp merch page.

Clone (NL)
Juno (UK)
Redeye (UK)
Decks (DE)
Deejay (DE)

Plus my Bandcamp store.

Clone, being the storefront to their own distribution arm, will have the most stock, and so is a good fall-back option should a closer store sell out.

Here are a few sleeve photos to give you an idea of how the spot gloss effect contrasts beautifully with the matte stock:

Other stores: iTunes, Spotify, Google, Amazon.

A small run of vinyl will also be available at the start of next week, released through Shipwrec. I’ll be sure to update with more info as soon as it’s available.

Clone (NL)
Juno (UK)
RedEye (UK)
Decks (DE)
Deejay (DE)
CeDe (CH)

I’ll add to the list as more stores update their inventory.

The artwork was expertly designed by nkurence, and features some extra special ink finishes for the vinyl sleeve. It’s been a while since I’ve had my music pressed on vinyl, so I can’t wait to get my hands on these.

Listen to clips from Isolette here:

Yugen:

Glassmaker:

Revolver/Involution/Ark of Comfort:

From the press release:

Memory Waves features a selection of some of the world’s most diverse electronic producers from Germany, England, Canada, Netherlands, North America and the UK. Memory Waves sheds new light on songs previously released by remastering and reassembling each track into a fluid, storylike album.

Free to download.

Words On Tracks /68 feat. Ochre by Words On Tracks on Mixcloud

I’ve attempted to put together a set of tracks that have in some way acted as signposts in my own early musical journey. It’s effectively ended up as a love letter to the kind of electronica that enjoyed the most success during the decade straddling the turn of the millennium.

00:00 Aphex Twin – Alberto Balsalm

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with dance music, often feeling at odds with the limb-flinging utility prominently featured within it. So for me, Aphex Twin in a reflective mood will always trump his more frenetic, gurn-inducing offerings. ‘Alberto Balsalm’ remains one of the most beautiful pieces within his back catalogue, and typically at odds with the quotidian imagery evoked by its title, being named after hair care products (though I’ve only just realised that it’s spelt slightly differently to the brand).

While at sixth form college, I took a trip to the local library and rented ‘I Care Because You Do’. Having no music discovery algorithms at my disposable in 1995, or friends who liked electronic music, my selection criteria was primarily based on the ‘futuristic artist names’ methodology. I’d no idea what an Aphex was, but it sounded like something I might like. Plus I was intrigued by the oil pastel Richard D. James beaming at me, with the scrawled track titles on the back.

On first listening, I was seriously underwhelmed, struggling to see beyond the abrasive beats and lo-fi production of the album. That is, until track ten rolled by, when everything proceeded to fall into place. The beautiful polysynth piano patch wove together plaintive melodies and harmonies, working perfectly alongside the sampled found sound percussion, which set a blueprint for kind of melodic, intricate electronica I would listen to for the next decade.

03:57 Autechre – Eutow

By now I should have noticed a reliable imprint from which to select new music: Warp Records. But although it was released the same year as ‘I Care Because You Do’, I didn’t actually find my way to Autechre’s ‘Tri Repetae’ until a couple of years later. By this time I’d already corrected my aimless career path from academic autopilot, conceding to my love of electronic music, and so had switched to pursue a degree in music technology. If I had any doubts about my decision at the time, Autechre would put them to rest. I remember noticing this curiously plain gold/brown CD on the rack at HMV, just a few sections down from Aphex Twin, my interest piqued by the evocatively-named group.

I was besotted by this album, and can’t help but think of my college flat every time I play it, conjuring memories of sitting there with headphones on, wondering how the hell these guys made their equipment sound like this. It’s difficult to select a single track, as they all have their charms, but I’ve gone with ‘Eutow’ as it’s a good fit for this mix, and one of the more immediate tracks on the album.

08:13 Chris Clark – Diesel Raven

On first hearing Chris Clark’s ‘Clarence Park’ album, I thought he’d done a great job at distilling all the best elements of electronic music into a single release. He’s got a great ear for melody and a unique production style; an all too rare balance of melodic and experimental production.

‘Diesel Raven’ was initially released as a free teaser mp3 ahead of the album (as far as I can remember), and I can recall being immediately sold on those melodies that seemed to constantly skirt dissonance. Following the introduction of some wonderfully crunchy sampled percussion, towards the half-way point the track effortlessly opens out into one of my favourite musical moments, an almost baroque-sounding monophonic melody. It’s one of those melodic lines that manages to sound far more complex than it is, implying chords and counterpoint from the melodic fission (yes, I looked that musical term up!) of a single synth line. Glorious.

10:41 The Orb – Little Fluffy Clouds

This is one of those tracks that doesn’t sound right to me unless it has some DJ patter spilling over the outro, as I had originally taped it off the radio. Unfortunately it was also one of those radio moments where the DJ would blather on about something other than the actual track, so for a while I was clueless as to whom it was by, and which album it taken from. I’ve got fond memories of sitting in the park with my Walkman on, listening to this repeatedly. It must have been around 1995-ish, as I recall being thoroughly bored by the Oasis vs. Blur feud that was inflicted on us by the music press. We had to take fairly long bus journeys to college, so I’d just stick The Orb’s ‘Live ‘93’ or ‘Orbvs Terrarvm’ on and escape the daily routine.

It wasn’t until a few years later that I heard Steve Reich’s ‘Electric Counterpoint’, and immediately noticed Pat Matheny’s guitar lick, as sampled by The Orb. I can’t deny being slightly disappointed on realising that the track wasn’t a fully-formed product of Alex Paterson’s creativity, but I quickly got over it. Now I just admire just how skilfully he managed to weave together such disparate sound sources such as Levar Burton interviewing Rickie Lee Jones, Pat Metheny’s guitar, plus some harmonica taken from an Ennio Morricone film score, into a pop hit.

14:53 Boards of Canada – An Eagle in Your Mind

This track always transports me back to 1999, during a freezing morning, hitching a lift to college with a mate of mine. He’d heard my track ‘Low Grav Freefall’, and suggested I listen to BoC’s ‘Music Has the Right to Children’. Needless to say, I was utterly sold on its blend of austere, melodic synths, painstaking sample treatment, and hypnotising beat work.

As I was so used to listening to electronic music that had sprung from the Anglocentric well of acid techno, ambient and hardcore, BoC were a breath of fresh air. They created an intoxicating cocktail of nostalgia borne of childhood educational programs and documentaries, suffused with hazy synths, which seemed to borrow more from American hip hop and film soundtracks than from UK techno. They added a whole new dimension to Warp’s catalogue, and electronica in general, and will always remain a solid pillar of an influence for me.

21:14 Aphex Twin – At the Heart of It All

This curious track comes from Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Further Down the Spiral’ remix album, and typifies the musical influences I was absorbing during the mid-nineties, as a teenager trying as best I could to straddle metal and electronic music subcultures.

I didn’t realise Aphex had written a track on this album, but as soon as those wheezing drums kicked in (reminiscent of those from ‘Acrid Avid Jam’ from ‘I Care Because You Do’), I had to check the credits. Sure enough, here was Aphex Twin, somehow on a NIN remix album, with a harsh yet sombre offering. I just love those ‘War of the Worlds’ doom horns.

25:41 Nine Inch Nails – A Warm Place

One of the most persistent memories I have of ‘The Downward Spiral’ was just how many plays it took for me to digest and understand it, such was its density and sonic breadth. It was part of a stack of CDs that I’d bought that day, and while I remember being particularly proud of my musical haul, I can’t for the life of me remember what else I bought. From the excellent artwork to the meticulous sound design contained within, this was undoubtedly the work of a focused, driven artist.

Like David Bowie’s ‘Low’ (a clear influence on TDS), the album has a definite trajectory and cohesion which makes cherry-picking individual tracks feel a little destructive. ‘A Warm Place’ has an ‘eye of the storm’ feel to it within the album’s context; a few minutes of solace and reflection before the album’s conclusion.

Musically, like my favourite tracks in general, this track hits a balance of melancholy without being maudlin. It’s almost optimistic. Despite a simple melody and 16th-note bass pulse, the production is richly detailed and full of texture, just like every other track on the album.

28:36 Brian Eno – An Ending (Ascent)

This track contrasts nicely with ‘A Warm Place’, flipping the ratio of melancholy and optimism for four minutes of pure serenity. It’s a classic synth track, and one of the most beautifully uplifting tracks ever written, despite being little more than a simple chord sequence looping for four-odd minutes. It’s no wonder this track gets repeatedly licensed for film and TV in need of an emotional jolt, as this is as pure as it gets.

Eno has an extensive and varied back-catalogue, but his instrumental ambient albums from the early eighties are by far my favourite. The album that this track is taken from, ‘Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks’ plus his ‘Ambient 4: On Land’ album, are musical staples for me.

32:53 Orbital – Dwr Budr

Like Aphex, Autechre and The Orb, I found Orbital by deploying my now highly refined music discovery algorithm: ‘alphabetical proximity to current favourites + futuristic name + cool art’. At the time I think Orbital had also just released their single for ‘The Box’, and had a video on rotation (featuring Tilda Swinton!), ahead of the release of their ‘In Sides’ album, so perhaps that also primed me to take a chance with one of their CDs. On listening to ‘In-Sides’ I immediately knew I’d chosen wisely. This ticked all the musical boxes for me, being more melodic, thoughtful and explorative than the one-note rave or indie that I’d previously listened to.

‘Dwr Budr’ is one of the more mournful tracks from the album, and follows the album’s general theme of environmental awareness (apparently the title was inspired by water pollution, meaning ‘dirty water’ in Welsh). It’s a shining example of Orbital’s ability to treat vocals as malleable raw material, weaving vocal takes into utterly beautiful, nonsensical melodic hooks.

37:41 The Orb – Oxbow Lakes

Another classic Orb track for me, taken from the ‘Orbus Terrarum’ album. This track, along with the sublime ‘Montagne d’Or’, was another college favourite that received endless repeats on the Walkman, catalysing numerous daydreams away from my humdrum distractions.

Listening to this now, it strikes me at just how odd a piece of music this is, starting with those wonderfully dramatic piano chords, before evolving into deep, dubby ambience, everything immersed in a mix of watery delays and cavernous reverb, before finishing with a sparkling jewel of a synth melody (which, with all those filter resonance pops, always remind me of the film ‘Tron’).

44:56 Leftfield – Melt

It’s not often that events pertaining to the royal family result in a broadening of my musical horizons, but that’s what happened during the summer of 1997. During media coverage of Diana Spencer’s fatal car crash, Radio 1 suspended their usual programming, instead opting to run a playlist of downtempo electronica and ambient music. I lapped it up, filling a spare C90 with tunes from Nightmares on Wax, Sabres of Paradise, and most interestingly for me, Leftfield.

I think it was ‘Song of Life’ that I heard initially, but that led me to Leftfield’s excellent debut album, ‘Leftism’. ‘Melt’ is one of many superb downtempo tunes on the album, and seems to comprise of a strata of melodic hooks, layer upon layer, rather than being chord-led. Every melodic element is memorable in its own right, and fits together perfectly with the other elements and samples.

50:01 Kettel – Kroost Kids

As I’ve mentioned, it’s rare for me to find an artist that manages to successfully pull off a balance of production technique and musical articulacy, but Kettel’s certainly one of them. He exudes musicality, and it’s certainly of no surprise to me to see him venture into soundtrack work. A classically-trained pianist, Kettel’s just as comfortable improvising piano pieces as he is producing upbeat, synth-led electronica and ambient tracks.

‘Kroost Kids’ holds back for the first minute, burbling along nicely with Kettel’s characteristic 303-esque lead, before opening the floodgates to a wash of gorgeous plucked melodies and organ sounds. As an unexpected treat, just as the track nears its end, out comes a head-nodding piano coda, effortlessly juggling the track’s main chord sequence with added syncopation.

55:06 Mr. Projectile – Sinking

I’ve been a fan of Mr. Projectile since chancing upon his mp3.com page back in the millennial salad days of online music. Sadly I’ve since lost my copies of his prolific pre-label material, but thankfully there’s plenty of excellent official material available out there, such as this titular album track.

Released towards the tail end of electronica’s heyday, on Miami’s Merck Records, ‘Sinking’ is a beautiful melodic wash of detuned synths, muted synth clusters, and vocal fragments. Simple in musical structure and format, it nonetheless never fails to hypnotise me with that brilliant kick-snare beat pattern. I’ve always loved how he compresses his beats, often folding phased snare reverb into the drum bus to create a swelling vortex that fills the gaps in the beats. This track, along with album sister tracks ‘You Need’ and ‘Love Here’, is essential Mr. Projectile material.

Wish us luck!

Here’s a fun little project for which I handled the audio. It’s a set of three World Cup-themed mini games, comprising Infinite Dribble, Space Kick, and Shootout. You use your phone/tablet as a controller, linked with a Chrome browser session to play (though you can use the phone/tablet as the sole screen, too). You can read a little more about the technical showcase on the Chrome Blog.

https://kickwithchrome.withgoogle.com

A new track of mine, Zome City, was released yesterday on Barcelona’s Lapsus Records, featuring on their DEU compilation, available on red vinyl and download. The compilation contains 17 tracks, from artists such as Plaid (vinyl-exclusive, sadly), Kelpe, Vector Lovers, and many more.

I’ve been playing a tweaked version of Zome City in my latest live set (skip to 08:50 in the Utrecht recording posted a week or so ago if you’re curious to compare the two), and find having a track on vinyl to be a satisfying closure to the production process—something I’ve really missed with the download releases, as it’s been a while since my last vinyl release. Looking forward to seeing some more new music on vinyl this year!

Ochre @ MINDCAMP 7.0 23.03.2014 Tivoli Spiegelbar Utrecht by Mindcamp on Mixcloud

The first takes place late on Friday 21st March (2200-0200) at the Merleyn venue in Nijmegen (tickets). Here’s the event page on Facebook.

The second will be on Sunday 23rd, during the afternoon (1500+) at Tivoli Spiegelbar in Utrecht (tickets). Event page.

I’ll be putting my new live rig through its paces, which should be interesting. It’s primarily Ableton and a Push controller, plus a little Faderfox sidecar for when I want to switch effects without having to switch modes on the Push. So far it seems quite flexible, allowing me to tap out synth melodies, trigger clips and adjust effects, all without having to keep my eyes constantly planted on the laptop screen. This time around I’ve managed to run a lot more of the synth elements live (some of the tracks are entirely live-generated), so hopefully it’ll sound and feel pretty live. There’ll be plenty of errant notes to reassure you that I’m actually playing live, is what I’m saying.

On the 24th of Feb I’ll be taking part in ‘Telepath‘, an online event on Plug.dj (a service which appears to have risen from the ashes of Turntable.fm). It looks to be an all day event, running from 9am to 9pm PST in the States, so hopefully it’ll mean wherever you’re located globally, you’ll be able to catch some of it.

One of the definite advantages of Plug.dj over Turntable is that foreigners like me no longer need some sort of US-proxy to get on the site. By the look of things you can pull music from SoundCloud and Youtube too, rather than either upload or select from an existing database of music, which makes it pretty flexible (and hopefully puts more control over the music in the hands of the artist — here’s hoping. I didn’t like the way your uploads used to remain on Turntable’s servers even after you deleted it).

Anyway, expect some new material to be aired. I’ll update this with more info on precise set times. It’ll probably be late in the evening here in the UK when I start my half-hour.

In other news, I’m getting back on the live circuit this year after my little PhD hiatus, with the first gig lined in Utrecht, NL. I’ll post properly about it soon, but you can see I’ve already added a Songkick tour widget to the site sidebar, which you can use to track gigs.