Back to the auto generative Abelton environment for a test of the new Surge XT 1.0 synth, together with Dillon Bastan’s brilliant Swarmalators N with all its different dynamic possibilities from swarming to harmonic synchronization. I am also Swarmalating (?) a Kontakt patch of Straight Ahead Samples’ Jazz Drums throughout. This is purely a practice set of mine, recorded directly and just shortened. There is no MIDI editing done outside the actual performance, and nothing is prerecorded. This way, nothing will ever sound the same, and I can focus on reacting to whatever comes my way in terms of cues. Of course, it is in the vein of my preferred open time structure, where the soloist supplies both the tension AND the release with his/her note choices. It also makes for openness to actively let note choices push toward harmony shifts, as is what happens between 0.55-1.00 in this clip. I had not planned for a harmonic (scale) change there, and if I were to do something similar in a live setting I would set that change up to be handled by a pedal or a button being pressed, so as not to tie myself to a computer.
Both Surge XT 1.0 and the Swarmalators N (Max4Live device) are free, and I am always intrigued by how much good free stuff there is on the market today. And if you are interested in any of those I absolutely recommend you to look them up.
