gunclebk

[gunclebk]

I wanted to add visualizations to a few of my favorite Dj sets and mixes I've collected. I would like to thank 2001, WinAmp and MilkDrop studio for their huge contribution for this quick and dirty hack:

On my computer I opened WinAmp, cued a mix then started the MilkDrop studio visualization plug-in.

To shoot video of my desktop monitor I just used my cell phone. I have a DJI gimble which allowed for a stable recording. I decided to shoot a section of the screen playing the visualizations - it looked more interesting to me. The Milk Drop plug-in includes keyboard commands which I used mainly for soft and hard transitioning between the various presets. The video you see here has been edited down in time and exported with a lower resolution in order to have a file size that Tumblr could swallow. I did the all the editing on my phone in the waiting room at my doctor's office yesterday afternoon.

Tech has come a long way since my first TI994a computer back in the early 80's. What's really impressive is that WinAmp, Milk Drop Studios and a few other creators of audio/video software were so ahead of the times for a decade or longer. I used WinAmp regularly (Apple music sucks as did iTunes and fuck them) and remains my preferred means to organize and listen to my music library.

Music: Tracks 2 and 3 from DJ Svett's Deep and White set (high up on my list of all-time favorite DJ sets,

[gunclebk]

I remember watching the 1998 Grammy Awards - Aretha Franklin, was asked to perform Nessun Dorma because Pavarotti called in sick at the last minute. As soon as she began to sing it was clear that I was witnessing something epic snd historical.

#aretha franklin #luciano pavarotti #1998 grammy awards

[gunclebk]

early digital photography and manipulation - self portrait, west 4th street, nyc 2003 (the mona lisa is actually my face complete with a cigarette dangling from my mouth.

[gunclebk]

Going through the archives of some of my earliest digital work. I was fairly good at maintaining the feeling and style of shooting with high speed film once I switched over to using a digital camera. All these years later I’m impressed with my early efforts.

#photography acedwards #early digital works

[gunclebk]

that time i was an advice columnist. I’ve worn many hats and also had a lot of different jobs. I think more jobs than hats which fortunately fit better. Having good hair to fall back is fortunate.

#advice columnist #hack of all trades #queer storytelling #autobiography

[gunclebk]

As the weird child who watched classical performances on PBS on a black and white tv with tape supporting one of the antennae I broke in a Saturday morning captin crunch sugar infused rage, being a composer or playing an orchestral instrument weren’t dreams a poor kid would consider. Wendy Carlos was my introduction to electronic music and the synthesizer opened up a world of possibilities.

Orchestral arrangements are probably the most difficult to produce digitally given the nuances in playing any instrument. It’s doable and amazing when done well but it requires a lot of patient effort especially if one never outgrew poverty status. Digital music software can be very pricey and orchestral sound packages are often on the higher end given all of the nuances of each instrument. The amount of samples required for a violin’s range of notes and the various ways of bowing or plucking each of those notes is huge so the expense is understandable. There are some surprisingly decent free options that I’ve been working with as I teach myself orchestral production.

It may be a while before I achieve something that sounds good enough for an indie video game with no budget or soundtrack for a fan film shot on an old iphone by a weird 6 year old. Fortunately i have played around with so many synths and samples over many years I was able to produce this arrangement of Clair de Lune. Going back to my first synth influences like Wendy and Jean Michel Jarre I used virtual synths that expressed the piece well - and did so using only 3 tracks and minimal effects. Spitfire Audio Labs was instrumental in my tiny success. Yeah I really went with a groan-worthy pun.

Why i am so hung up on recreating an orchestra when there are so many incredibly rich and dynamic sounds easily found or to create? i once sang in a choir at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral with a string orchestra. Minutes into our first rehearsal i had to fight back tears. I was surrounded by the most beautiful music. The intense feeling of being a tiny part of something huge and amazing was where candy-flipping almost brought me. If i cant get there through chemical means, digital might get me closer. Its not the destination but the journey after all. I could easily get drunk and sing torch songs which can be quite fulfilling (private performances work best).

AI will soon create productions by saying a few words into ones phone so worst case scenario is that I can die having achieved this goal.

#classicalmusic #musicprodution #dolby digital #spitfire audio #claude debussy #queer history #wendy carlos

[gunclebk]

I remember nights walking the streets in search of people to connect with or better, someone like me, unwilling to sleep and unable to be alone.

These days I walk the streets with headphones on contently disconnected. At some point between then and now I concluded there is no one like me to be found. I gained the ability to be alone and have grown perhaps too comfortable in my solitude.

#storytelling #original art #original photogrpahy #stoicism #resilience #life is hard #knowthyself