A simple drone machine, with two parallel granulators and serial filters with numerous controls for variation.

The signal path is: uno & dos (granulators) > Filter 1 > Filter 2 > Amp.

Scan controls add periodic variation (sine wave LFO). Jitter controls add random variation (random LFO). Note: the position.scan and rate controls affect the position slider in a not-always-predictable way.

Download the all-in-one ensemble, which includes sample recordings and snapshots already loaded:

1. 2012-melton.drone.granular.04-FULL.ens.zip (147.1 MB)

1. 2012-melton.drone.granular.04-EMPTY.ens.zip (57 KB)
2. 2012-melton.drone.granular.04-sample-recordings.map.zip (147 MB)
3. 2012-melton.drone.granular.04-sample-snapshots.ssf.zip (12 KB)

These recordings and snapshots demonstrate a small range of possible tone colors and textures. Import your own recordings and waveforms to explore a wider range of granular and pulsar synthesis (for the latter, I recommend Jovica’s basic waveform packs).

These are still works-in-progress, so please share your snapshots and any feedback with me. Here’s the CC license:

melton.drone.granular.04 Reaktor ensemble by Jeffrey Melton aka nofi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at www.nofi.org.

I will playing an hour-long live set of improvised deep ambient, drone, noise and downtempo electronic one week from today. Learn more and RSVP on Facebook.

UPDATE:

Downloads have been steady, and comments have been good for part one: gathering of forces from my a granular mass series. Stream and download it free for two more weeks from Bandcamp or Soundcloud.

I’ve also started getting ready for my first live show this year at Unwind: Winter Session, happening later this month. More to come.

UPDATE:

The first piece from a granular mass will be released on 15 January 2012. Followers on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ still have access to the series preview until then. More details can be found on the release page.

I called these pieces ‘tape collages’, as they were created using a Realistic DJ mixer, three second-hand Sony cassette tape decks and my father’s reel-to-reel tape recorder. I assembled a number of spliced tape loops of different lengths using the reel-to-reel machine, as well as multiple tracks recorded onto cassettes, which were then all mixed together live for a final mix.

Sound sources included appropriated sounds from my record collection; shortwave radio noise, tones and broadcasts; room sounds and outdoor noises; simple FM synth textures; microphone noises; controlled feedback; whistles and noise makers; improvised piano and even my own voice. Eventually, I acquired some semi-pro digital effects, first an Alesis MicroVerb III multi-effects unit with delay and reverb and later a DigiTech RDS-4000 delay with flanger, chorus and delay.

In the interest of sharing and archiving these pieces, I have digitized each one, done some minimal clean-up and uploaded here. Some pieces were recorded in mono. Others were recorded with different material in the Left and Right channels in order to be mixed in the room during playback. Pieces marked ‘REMIX’ had additional delay and reverb effects added at a later date. Pieces marked ‘TRACK’ are individual tracks that were meant to be played together and mixed during playback. Where possible I have noted the dates they were recorded or mixed.

Direct downloads are available from the Internet Archive, in both MP3 and Ogg Vorbis format:

• 1, 1991 (15m23s, 20.1 MB MP3)
• 1 REMIX, 1991-08-15 (16m27s, 39.5 MB MP3)
• 2, 1991 (24m31s, 29.8 MB MP3)
• 2 REMIX, 1991-08-15 (24m32s, 58.9 MB MP3)
• 3, 1991-05-12 (46m58s, 112.8 MB MP3)
• 3 REMIX, 1991 (46m28s, 111.5 MB MP3)
• Atmospherical, 1991 (33m11s, 79.7 MB MP3)
• Darkness TRACK glass, 1991 (45m50s, 110 MB MP3)
• Darkness TRACK voice and piano, 1991 (46m20s, 111.2 MB MP3)
• International, 1991-08-21 (46m39s, 112 MB MP3)
• Intrigue, 1991-08-21 (46m44s, 112.2 MB MP3)
• JFK, 1991 (46m32s, 111.7 MB MP3)
• Looped sounds, 1991 (38m23s, 92.2 MB MP3)
• Mysterium, 1991 (46m44s, 112.2 MB MP3)
• Mysterium TRACK, 1991 (51m21s, 123.3 MB MP3)
• The Weirding Room, 1991 (46m58s, 58 MB MP3)

NOTES: digitized from the original cassette masters at 96,000 Hz sample rate and 24-bit sample depth, using a PreSonus Firebox into Sound Studio 3. Each piece was normalized to -0.3 dB with minimal finishing in iZotope Ozone 4 and encoded to MP3 using iTunes at 320 kBits/sec variable bitrate, high-quality settings.

1991 cassette sound art works by Jeffrey Melton aka nofi are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on works at www.nofi.org.

1. Notochord + Los minúsculos
2. Nodules + Revolutions
3. El jardín + Paraíso 
4. Sunshine State + Asynchronous

Part two (26m32s, 51.1 MB MP3) is comprised of two freeform sound art pieces, similar to work on:

• melton.granular.mixtape
• melton.drone.mixtape
• melton.granular.01
• melton.granular.02

and upcoming releases.

A 20m mix of recent work, including electronic drones and noise, field recordings and granular textures. Free to download or stream:

1. granular guitar
2. old cassette, granular reworking
3. synthpond, granular reworking
4. dust motes and clock, recording
5. generative bells
6. granular bamboo and drone machine
7. unknown field recording

A 20m mix of recent works-in-progress, including dark rhythms, electronic noise and granular textures. Free to download or stream:

From the Unwind Autumn Equinox party, bidding goodbye to Summer and welcome to Autumn. Free to download or stream.

A 20m mixtape, featuring excerpts from my recent collection of weird tales:

1. calma voces v.01
2. fallos v.01
3. la hechicera v.02
4. pequeña maquina v.01
5. dispersion vectores v.03
6. ruidos extraños v.01
7. transmigracion planetaria v.02

Unwind, the popular weekly event for ambient, downtempo electronic and nuJazz music, will bid goodbye to Summer and welcome Autumn with a special party on Friday, September 23, 2011, the Autumnal Equinox.

Join residents Adejai (aka Josh Helton), Josh Elias, Nofi (aka Jeffrey Melton) and other special guests as we celebrate a summer of wonderful nights and look forward to another season. The event starts at 8 p.m. until later on the patio at CS3: Calhoun Street Soups, Salads, and Spirits.

All ages are welcome on the patio until 10pm; 21 and over with proper ID in the bar and after 10pm on the patio. There is NO cover charge.

Calhoun Street Soups, Salads, and Spirits is located at 1915 South Calhoun Street Fort Wayne, IN 46802-5261. Call 260.456.7005 for more information.

View the event on Facebook and RSVP.

View a list of my live sessions from Unwind.

A 20m mix of recent freeform work, including electronic drones and noise, field recordings and granular textures. Free to download or stream:

1. morning birdsong, grand marais, MI
2. testing old instruments
3. star sailing, excerpt
4. front porch, fort wayne, IN
5. sinister, excerpt
6. core breach, excerpt
7. lake superior waves on rock beach, grand marais, MI
8. granular cloud, flute
9. granular cloud, tabalas
10. water wheel, fort wayne, IN
11. granular stretch, orchestral

Hot-on-the-heels of sharing my melton.drone Reaktor ensembles, it occurred to me I could create something similar with Ableton’s native devices in an instrument rack. So, I’ve uploaded melton.drone.03.adg (zip archive, requires Ableton and the Operator synth instrument). I assigned the main controls for the oscillators as macros in the first instrument rack—but be sure to utilize the volume controls for each oscillator in Operator as well—and grouped controls for the filters and saturator as macros in the effects rack. I added a compressor and limiter on the end for better dynamics control.

For melton.drone.03, the signal path is Operator Oscillators 1-4  > Filter 1 (default Lowpass, but switchable) > Saturator > Filter 2 (usually Highpass, but switchable) > Filter 3 (usually Highpass, but switchable) > Compressor > Limiter

I find it helpful to create a clip with a latched note to trigger the rack (one that loops continuously inside of its start and end markers). Follow these instructions to make one:

1. Make a note that starts at 1.0.0, set the note end at 4.0.0
2. Set the clip start marker at 1.0.0
3. Set the loop braces to – start: 2.0.0 , – end 3.0.0

This is still a work-in-progress, so please share your presets and any feedback with me. Here’s the CC license:

melton.drone.03.adg by Jeffrey Melton, aka nofi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at www.nofi.org.

I’ve been working on some new drone/noise patches (show above) with NI Reaktor in preparation for an upcoming public radio performance. They are the continuation of some ensembles I created several years ago, this time inspired in part by the Drone Lab hardware schematics from Casper Electronics (though clearly not exact copies). I was trying to work with my trusty Nord Micro Modular but find Reaktor more stable, powerful and easier to patch.

After some requests I’ve decided to share them, free to download and play with 2011-09-melton.drone.ens (zip archive, requires Reaktor to play).

For melton.drone.01, the signal path is Oscillators 1-4 > Mixer > Filter 1 (usually Lowpass, but switchable) > Saturator > Filter 2 (usually Highpass, but switchable) > Filter 3 (usually Highpass, but switchable) > Amp.

For melton.drone.02, the signal path is Oscillators 1-4 (Osc 1 can FM Osc 2, Osc 3 can FM Osc4) > Mixer > Filter 1 (usually Lowpass, but switchable) > Wrapper > Filter 2 (usually Highpass, but switchable) > Filter 3 (usually Highpass, but switchable) > Amp.

Play with the included snapshots to preview some of my upcoming work. It’s a good idea to put a limiter behind these, since certain settings can create extreme noise and volume. Add some reverb, grain delay or your favorite effects as needed. NOTE: the controls on the waveform displays only control the view and do not alter the sounds.

These are still works-in-progress, so please share your snapshots and any feedback with me. Here’s the CC license:

melton.drone ensembles by Jeffrey Melton aka nofi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at www.nofi.org.

Stats of the Union tells health stories in America.

Sound Cells – Universal iOS App Creates Generative Music.

Aphonium – App Creates Generative Audio and Visuals.

SunVox – Multiplatform Modular Music Creation Studio.

Surprise Surveillance Theater: An Experimental Drama with Unwitting Stars.

Japanese artist Eiji Watanabe cuts butterflies out of printed field guides and sets them free, covering the walls and ceilings of installation spaces.

15 Shopping Rules of Thumb.

Every individual needs emotional and intellectual support from her creative tribe to sustain a positive, thriving and aspiring practice.

Hidden is an app that lets you spy on the person who may have stolen you laptop.

Urban Quiver camera bag from Blackstone Bags.

A mix of various tones and soundscapes from my melton.granular.01 and .02 releases, plus several current works-in-progress; FREE to download or stream.

Today is the official release date of my album, summer sequences, volume one; $8 = 1h16m of ambient, downtempo, minimal music + a 12m bonus track, The Suite Science v.6. If you don’t wish to make a purchase but like what you hear, consider clicking the Facebook button (on the right) or sharing on Twitter (below the description) and spreading the word.

A mix of five freeform pieces from my conceptual side-project, el libro principal by the silent stars, originally released 04 March 2011. Track list:

1. cadenas v.01
2. el enlace v.01
3. grana fina v.02
4. piscinas v.01
5. s’arpa v.01