-
Musical Genealogies: Aphex Twin’s “#3” (1994-2024)
Released in 1994, Richard James/Aphex Twin’s “#3”, sometimes referred to as “Rhubarb”, is a beautiful, almost disinterested piece of music. Anchored by a five-chord pad sequence, the track runs seven minutes thanks to repetition, a modular structure, and some beguiling Aphexian details. The structure is broadly in seven parts. It begins with the main chords,… Continue reading
-
Database: Guy Brewer On Constraints To Define Your Sound
“As much as I’m all for people letting go while writing and just letting the process take them forward, I also think there’s a certain amount of thought that should go into deciding who you want to be, what you want to represent. I choose bits of equipment for each track because I know they… Continue reading
-
Resonant Thoughts: Witold Rybczynski’s “How Architecture Works: a Humanist’s Toolkit” (2011)
“You arrive at the sublime or poetic not by metaphor, but by making virtues out of necessity. That’s the secret of design.” Diamond Schmitt “The plan is the generator.” Le Corbusier “Values, not rules.” Witold Rybczynski, How Architecture Works Continue reading
-
Database: Hans Zimmer On Not Using Presets
“I don’t really have any finished programs in my synthesizers, I just have the neutral program I go from and I set up each sound individually as it comes along, because it will never be right just calling up a preset. It’ll never be as perfect as if you tweaked it and actually spent a… Continue reading
-
Idea Meditation
Rembrandt, Philosopher in Meditation (1632) “Musical” is sound that compels us to listen intently. Chords are shades of feeling. Craft excellence compounds into aesthetic power and is its prerequisite. Devise a musical system first, then worry about its output. Do whatever you need to get the output you want, then analyze (or not) the musical… Continue reading
brettworks 