Beaunoise - Buchlaworks: Module II (2020)

When I set out to make a second album exclusively using the Buchla, I hoped to capture the strange beauty and high weirdness of this instrument without treading too far into familiar territory. ⁣⁣
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Machines lead us into specific methods of working. How does one capture the unique soul of a machine without being led (or, as Allen Strange might say, "metaprogrammed") into default habits and behaviors dictated by the machine? ⁣⁣
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My breakthrough on this record was using the Buchla to synthesize and program all of the drums. The Buchla sequencers - 250e, 251e, and 248 - are remarkably deep and engaging metacomputers, and when interconnected they generate fantastically complicated musical structures. Coupled with probablistic voltage control over percussive parameters - things get complicated quick. ⁣⁣
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Many of these pieces were built from short excerpts of improvised recordings with additional programming and overdubs. There are still some familiar percussive vactrol 'plonks' and cycling arpeggiators, but hopefully they have been presented in new context and within a new musical framework. ⁣⁣

With the exception of one very short orchestra sample and a few reverbs, all of these sounds were made using my Buchla. I took this path solely as a creative limitation and excuse to dig deep into an instrument I love.