While the majority of the talk focuses on animation and 3D video techniques, there’s a bit about the current state of recorded music at the beginning.

This is the closest The Simple Carnival has ever gotten to performing live, so… enjoy!

I’ll be demonstrating how to use a little bit of low-cost software to make original-looking, animated 3D music videos. Topics include how to use a floating stereo window, how to handle convergence within the computer, and what pitfalls to avoid when working with video in 3D.

If you love 3D and/or photography and you’re in the area, stop on by! More information about the event can be found at 3dweekend.com.

In what ways does the place where you live or places you have lived affect the music that you create or your taste in music?

Most of my original material is instrumental, just because I enjoy playing with sounds much more than ‘having something to say’ with words.

When I lived with my family, I had a whole basement to myself with my trusty rusty 4-track tape recorder… which meant I had the space and the privacy to bash on a *real* drumset, set up massive tape loops across the room, experiment with running a guitar through a old home-stereo speaker with a pencil stuck in it and then mic’ing it (had to turn it up really loud to get a signal, but it sounded great, almost like a real amp), and record some truly embarrassing mouth-noises that humans sometimes call ‘vocals’.

After I moved out with my wife to our tiny apartment, the area where the kitchen table should’ve been became my 4×4 workspace. It was a big hassle to even set up a single microphone, so it was just easier to compose electronically on computers.

Then, as my old 166-khz computer couldn’t handle the projects anymore (plus there was no way of getting the files off it) and newer computers got faster, I got into more ‘sound-processing’ as a method of composing music, which is most of what I do now.

What’s the biggest challenge for you when recording?

Writing melodies! Seriously, always trying to do something different, and not fall into ‘traps’ of similar sound-manipulation techniques.

Working in the genre of ‘laptop-composing’, I’ve noticed that I don’t like rough edges, I like to smooth out everything, which is the exact opposite of the current fashion of electronic music making culture (glitch, noise, etc).

I’m never sure if I should break out of my comfort zone and leave some of the things in that I would normally take out. But then again, it’s how I like things to sound! Did I mention I’m a control freak and I love reverb?

Plus I’m using CoolEdit2000 for all mixing (the old version of Adobe Audition) which only has 4 tracks to work with at a time.

What music are you listening to today?

Always listening, sometimes to discover new music (difficult in popular music) although don’t think there’s anything wrong in listening to old favourites.

I just bought 2 CDs by Canadian jazz group Uzeb off CDbaby (loved them since the mid-80s, their albums were always hard to get), I’m collecting some albums of Ligeti’s music to listen to later, and whenever I don’t know what to listen to, I put on KPM library music or a 2-CD compilation called Get Easy of late 60s sunshine pop.

I usually load entire albums onto my mp3 player (not an iPod) and if I hit shuffle the first 3 songs are “Melancholy Me” by Jackie Trent, “Pearl of the quarter” by Steely Dan, and “Any other way” by William Bell.

Are there any special mixing tricks you used in your featured song?

“The Machine That Won The War” is one of the newer ones (off the Music Inspired By The Writings of Asimov – free from bandcamp!), combining many different techniques that I’ve messed around with over the years.

The bass rhythm was done in real time, but the majority of the parts were recorded without listening to the main track and then manipulated to fit in afterwards. Plus I wanted to make a song with the cheesy Simmons-electric drum sound!

Sometimes I would play along to the main track, get a little bit of a synth line or guitar part that I liked, and then chop it up, stretch it, shrink it, loop it, reverb the heck out of it and then sync it back into the track to see what it sounded like.

Many years ago, a big revelation for me was the way Frank Zappa created some of his ‘guitar solo’ songs – the accompaniment and guitar solo parts all constructed from completely seperate recordings of completely different songs (dare I say he invented the mashup?). It doesn’t have to be in the same key, or even in the same tempo!

The idea that a riff or a beat doesn’t have to stay the way it was recorded opened up a whole way of non-linear recording and composing, not to mention the added ability to stretch or shrink any sound (including sound effects).

Listen to the featured song!

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Get Asimov here (free download)!

Artist web site

Let’s talk about the mechanics of writing. What instrument do you write on, and does the music come into your head before you go to your instrument?

I suppose when an idea develops, it’s usually on the acoustic guitar. But, I play both acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, fiddle & bass. Ideas surface on the acoustic because that is the instrument that is usually in the closest proximity. However, each instrument seems to generate uniquely different melodies. The tuning, pitch, timbre — they’re all different. That, combined with my particular mood at the time is what sparks new work.

Generally, the ideas flow with instrument in hand. I seem to work well by exploring melody that way. Singing is not my strength, so I tend not to use that for exploration. So for instance, I might be playing the acoustic one day and my mood might be slightly elevated because the sun came out after a week of gray skies. I start playing some Major type chords and pickin’ a melody that suits the moment. The next day I might pick up my electric and get some volume on the amp. My pedals are kicking out some nice distortion and delay, I’m a little upset because I’m two days late paying my credit card bill and well, a lot of emotion will pour out in a very different way than the day before. I get lost in musical thoughts, everything around me blurs itself out of the picture and my journey is almost dreamlike. This sounds weird, but I’m almost dizzy when I come out of this. Drained. I retain the cool ideas and move forward from there.

The mandolin will inspire me in a completely different way and so, depending on my mood, something unique will come from that. Often, I think about how what I’m doing will fit with Gwyneth since I tend to approach writing from an instrumental perspective.

Many times though, it’s Gwyneth’s song ideas that facilitate my contributions. I do well playing off an idea that she brings to the table. She’ll have the words and melody and then I’ll be able to supplement with melodic instrumentation that in turn, develops the overall direction and arrangement of the song. She’s an incredible songwriter and it’s her writing that really triggers my creativity. We each bring our strengths to the table and I think we complement each other amazingly well.

What do you look for when you’re writing a melody?

I don’t spend a whole lot of time focused on the theory as much as how it makes me feel. It all comes so fast because I’m thinking of it from an instrumental perspective. I play what feels right. As if the notes are writing a sentence, a paragraph, a story. It’s like being on a walk and noticing all of the cool things going on around you. It’s grammar too. Commas, periods, exclamation points, they all have to go in the right spot. Gwyneth writes most melodies for the vocals, and in turn, I will augment with instrumentation — if that makes sense. I don’t view my accompaniment as solos, they are instrumental melodies that reinforce the main melodic structure of the song.

Is there anyone you try to emulate when arranging?

I don’t believe we have ever made a conscious effort to emulate anyone when arranging. It always seems that there is a natural direction every song wants to go and then you follow it. It might sound cliche, but a river follows a natural course, the path of least resistance. I believe that’s what our songs do as well. Of course, we learn through listening to music our entire lives that there is the verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus thing. I’m sure it is a major influence, but the bridge never seems to find it’s way into our music (sometimes, but maybe not blatantly). Gwyneth and I are drawn to a lot of old-time music, which is mostly part A and part B. That seems to be more our style. I think we’d both agree that the ideas present themselves and then we polish ‘em up a bit. They already know what they want to do.

Can you explain the process you went through to create your featured song?

“Get in the Sun” was the first song we promoted from our self-titled CD. I chose this one because it was mostly written by me. It began instrumentally on the acoustic guitar. There was a certain melancholy feeling associated with the chord progression. So — I’m in this mood and decide to record.

I had been listening a lot to Neil Young Zuma and really wanted to get that sort of electric thing going in the song. I played quite a bit alongside my acoustic track, really developing the melodic instrumentation. Neil is a master at this and I wanted SO badly to imitate that sound on this song. A few days later while sitting on my front porch at night smoking a cigarette, these words came into my head with the melody attached, get in the sun, out of the rain, I’ve had enough of your pain. The lyrics are simple; each verse is almost identical with a one-line difference in each phrase.

Initially this song was intended toward a particular situation that was occurring in our lives that was causing a lot of anguish. There was a real need to move past it. As the lyrics developed more, I quickly found that it was more introspective of myself. The message is clear and I still look to it to help me through difficult moments. The initial arrangement I made of that recording (except for my vocals) stuck through into the final recording.

Listen to the featured song!

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Purchase Gwyneth+Monko here!

Artist web site

1. Work on one thing at a time until finished.
2. Start no more new books, add no more new material to ‘Black Spring.’
3. Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.
4. Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!
5. When you can’t create you can work.
6. Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.
7. Keep human! See people, go places, drink if you feel like it.
8. Don’t be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only.
9. Discard the Program when you feel like it—but go back to it next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude.
10. Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.
11. Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.

Read the whole article here!

How would you describe your music?

As an extension of myself, like a phantom limb stretching out into the void. The lyrics, the music come from somewhere back in my brain that can most readily be accessed after a glass or two of wine has sufficiently sedated my inhibitions. I do not know how to label it in terms of genre, I mostly let other people do that. I just want my music to reach into other peoples minds and stimulate there emotions or even their own creativity.

What gives you the drive to create?

The thing that motivates me the most is a yearning for the satisfaction of a job well done and the hope of creating something that is new and different. Being around friends that are creating new things motivates me to do the same. I love being part of a creative community and sharing in the process, especially with my partner, Monko.

Does your best songwriting come from active, conscious thinking about what a song should say?

Sometimes yes, but mostly my lyrics come fast and without much thought about what I am trying to say or not say, and then I go back and edit out the things that don’t make enough sense later. I have found that if I start with a certain concept and try too hard to stick to it, I miss out on the creative flow that I can tap into if I just follow the train of thoughts as they come. It is common that I may start out a song thinking it is about a certain subject, but by the end of it, it is actually about something very different. One of my favorite things is when I think I am saying something in particular in a song, but it turns out that the listener interprets it as something completely different that fits into their own reality.

Could you provide a little bit of context to your featured song?

While on tour last year, Monko was playing around on the mandolin while we were driving through Boulder, CO. He came up with this percussive, trance like part and the words “Are you washed in the blood of the lamb” (which is from an old hymn I grew up singing), came out of me, and seemed to fit. This song is a perfect example of what I was talking about in the last question. This song means different things to different people. For some, it is a spiritual, a gospel song – and I am glad that it has that meaning to them. For me personally, I wanted to put together phrases from the bible or from hymns that don’t make any sense to me now that I am not a child with blind faith. I was raised in the church and am grateful for every bit of it, but I wanted to turn it around on the people who call themselves holy and ask of them “Are you sorry for the lies you’ve told?” I feel that when true justice comes down, it wont be the rich leaders who “saved” others in order to fill the coffer or those who gave the most money to the church that will be welcomed into heaven with open arms. Instead, it will be the ones who questioned everything and still made the right choices in life without needing to have the incentive of eternal life in heaven to do so. Freak Water said it best when they say “there is nothing so pure as the kindness of an atheist”. So, maybe Blood Of The Lamb is a gospel after all… just not the kind you’ll find inside the hymnals stowed in your neighborhood church pews.

Listen to the featured song!

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Purchase Gwyneth+Monko here!

Artist web site

Likewise, this new version will allow you to turn off the 3D effect and watch it in 2D. (Click the 3D button at the bottom of the player and select “Turn off 3D” from the popup menu.)

Like the song? You can download it for free if you make a post about it on Twitter or Facebook!

More information about The Simple Carnival’s Smitten 3D project can be found here.

What’s your writing process like?

It’s like that part in “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” about how to fly: “There is… a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” Which is to say, at its best, it catches me off guard; it picks me up and swings me around; it just comes. Or not. I try not to overthink it – for me, thinking is the end of writing. I’m a bit artsy fartsy about it in that respect – I just start to sing when I’m moved to do so, and the muse doesn’t always have the greatest timing, but I do my best to accept her when she arrives. I can also sit down, be deliberate and say “I’m going to write a song about this now” as I have the tools to do so – but I’m never connected to those works in the same way as I am to the ones that reveal themselves to me on their terms. And for me, the connection is what makes it worthwhile.

What’s something you refuse to write about?

That seems like a trick question! Wouldn’t telling you be the end of my refusal? That said, there are things I keep private – even for all my conversational, autobiographically work. My relationship with my husband is pretty well protected, save for the occasional love song. But it’s not for me to share his stories with the world. I keep us safely stowed away.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you?

I love you.

Tell me about how you wrote the featured song.

I had just been at a gig – my friends Tons of Fun University at Cafe Deux Soleils on Commercial Drive in Vancouver. It was a hot, packed room on a summer night and their fiery performance added to the buzz and heat. I was so moved by their music and poetry and feeling lifted and inspired by them. As I walked home I sang/wrote this song. It’s about musicians, how often I am inspired, fueled and touched by what those around me do. That’s when I know I’m moved most by an artist’s work – when it sets me to creating my own. So this song came as a mirror, a thank you, a big wet kiss to my fellow artists.

Listen to the featured song!

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Purchase The Wedding Singer and the Undertaker here!

Artist web site

Put on your red/cyan 3D glasses and check it out!

Like the song? You can download it for free if you make a post about it on Twitter or Facebook!

More information about The Simple Carnival’s Smitten 3D project can be found here.

Songs and Sonics is also taking a vacation. Happy holidays, and see you in a bit!

-Jeff