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.

My live session recorded for the Meet the Music program, which aired 11/3/2011 on WBOI 89.1 FM. Free to download or stream. Part one is comprised of sequenced pieces, all taken from Summer Sequences, volume one:

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

Part two 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

My final weekly live set of the summer: Original ambient, downtempo, dub and minimal electronic music; free to download or stream. NOTE: the last 15 minutes weren’t recorded, because my Macbook Pro was having issues with the summer heat.

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

Unwind, a weekly event for ambient, downtempo, experimental electronic and nujazz music, returns to the patio at CS3 for the summer, starting with a kick-off party on Friday, June 3, 2011.

Join me and fellow residents Adejai (aka Josh Helton) and Josh Elias along with occasional special guests every Friday this summer from 8 p.m. until later on the patio at CS3: Calhoun Street Soups, Salads, and Spirits.

Sponsored by Fort Wayne Electronic Music (FTWEM). Find Unwind and FTWEM on Facebook.

In preparation, I have posted 2011-05-31 Unwind practice live session for FREE download. It’s much more beat-oriented than I intend to play, but I was trying out different configs for my Ableton setup.

UPDATE: I moved the 2011-05-31 Unwind practice live session (1hr00m27s, 72.6 MB MP3) from my Soundcloud to here for posterity.

A collection of downtempo electronic and sequenced minimal compositions. Digital download via Bandcamp and limited edition cassette coming in June, 2011.

The Silent Stars is my “side-project” for exploring (slightly) different directions in music. El libro principal is a “concept album” featuring granular synthesis, microsound tone colors and freeform arrangements. These pieces are my take on post-ambient space music using modern digital methods; an homage to the early electronic music pioneers, post-prog-rock instrumentalists, early New Wave synthesists and proto-New Age experimentalists of my youth.

Production Notes

Granular synthesis and microsound techniques were used for sound generation. Sources include: flute, harp; strings; toy instruments; vinyl records; elementary sound waveforms and more.

Density GS and Pulsaret instruments were the primary instruments. Arrangement, mixing and mastering was done with Ableton Suite. Processing effects were limited to resonant filters, grain delay, reverb and EQ.

Track listing

El libro principal

1. cadenas v.01 – 06m56s
2. el enlace v.01 – 08m53s
3. grana fina v.02 – 09m21s
4. piscinas v.01 – 09m40s
5. s’arpa v.01 – 07m02s
6. masa brillante v.02 – 20m57s

el libro principal by The Silent Stars

I have released two collections of ambient, freeform and microsound compositions:

melton.granular.01 and melton.granular.02 collect my recent work in microsound-scapes, featuring granular and pulsar synthesis, freeform rhythms and tone colors. Tracks can also be streamed on my Soundcloud page.

Production Notes

All sounds were created with Density GS and Pulsaret instruments (both the standalone apps and Max for Live versions). Arrangement, mixing and mastering was done with Ableton Suite. Processing effects were limited to resonant filters, grain delay, reverb and EQ.

Concepts & Aesthetics

Taking John Cage’s statement “There is no noise, only sound” as a starting point, these compositions explore the hinterlands of microsound particles and drones, non-sequenced rhythms and the diversity of organic and synthetic timbres. Rather than be static, each piece evolves with components that swell and recede, resonate, percolate, pulsate, shimmer, flutter, meander and migrate. Sample sources include: strings; flute; toy piano, bells and cymbals; vinyl records; elementary sound waveforms.

Track listings

melton.granular.01

1. Angularity v.01 – 04m00s
2. The Chymist v.01 – 23m31s
3. Coronal Mass v.01 – 09m14s
4. Dressmaker v.01 – 03m44s

melton.granular.02

1. Tetrad v.01, pt.2 – 09m16s
2. A Froward Mass v.01 – 24m26s
3. Penumbra v.01 – 06m07s
4. Promises v.02 – 12m38s

1. Beat Down v.01 (2:16)
2. Empty Nest v.01 (2:08)
3. Fraction Faction v.01 (2:13)
4. Operandi v.01 (4:48)
5. Phat Sod v.01 (2:35)
6. The Profession v.04 (5:01)
7. Toolkit v.01 (2:24)
8. Wibble Wobble v.01 (1:23)
9. Yearbook Staff v.01 (2:13)

Some of these are real gems, so please check them out. Also, don’t miss the previous collections Short Fictions and Prototypes I.