Archive for August, 2008

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Dziga Vertov “The man with the movie camera”

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

The man with the movie cameraGo to Roskilde in Denmark and  catch me improvising a score to this old silent film from 1929 by the russian filmmaker Dziga Vertov. I am stressing IMPROVISING, since it doesnt say that everywhere in the programs.

Anyways, I saw the film once four years ago so its gonna be no problem remembering every scene and edit… hehe.

Luckily the film is very much like a music video – that is the editing and recording – or filming I should say – technique Dziga Vertov used, is REALLY ahead of its time.

The people of Russia in 1929 must have thought he was crazy. And maybe he was.

The film is amazingly experimenting and many  intellectual film professionals have over the years written wise words about the film.

I am looking very much forward to seeing it again, even though I will be quite busy with my midicontroller and my keyboards and my fx. Not to mention my poor brain – boiling over trying to compete with his mad editing.

Oh and there will be no punk music this time I am afraid. It sad that too somewhere.

http://www.byensomskaerm.dk/program/biografprogram/82-dziga-vertov-.html

see you maybe there

chillout downbeat artist Ganga

<a href=”http://www.ganga.dk”>Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music</a>

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Sample from real life and put it on vinyl

Monday, August 25th, 2008

I heard a great program in the radio yesterday while I was running in the local park. It’s a great time to listen to something you didn’t really know you missed out on. Like getting a present – just like that out of the blue, some words to enlighten your spirits or something..

It was an interview with a danish artist called Jørgen Leth, who works with both film and poetry and who has spent most of his life creating very artistic films and documentaries and writing poetry. He was for many years also the commentator for national danish tv, on  the annual Tour De France.

Anyways, he caught my attention talking about his notebooks.He always carry a notebook with him, so he can jot down ideas for his films and poems.

It can be a sentence he hears someone speak out, or it can be something from a movie he is watching, or it can be a situation he witnesses on the street. It can be almost everything.

He is sampling from real life and putting it in to his little book, and some day he will come back to it and use it in a film or a poem.

Quite fascinating to hear him talk so passionate about this and very inspiring.

When you are working with music and sounds, sampling from everyday life is something quite common.

You work with sounds, and you sample them and manipulate them and use them in your music. Not so strange really.

But it just struck me that its also a possibility to work like Jørgen Leth, and sample non audio inspirations, even though you are a musician and not working with words or images like he does.

All it takes is to be a little more open. Its all up to you really.

If you are not that open just now, right now when you really wanna do something, then just grab your handheld recorder and start recording in your street or in the field or in the park or anywhere.

Put the pieces together with some help from a computer and some effectfull algorithms and your never failing human imagination, and voila!.. you made a new contribution to this worlds collection of artworks consisting of zeroes and dots.

Why not take the step and put it out on vinyl. All your downbeat, chillout and triphop and electronica and dub.

Sample away. From real life.

chill out and downbeat artist Ganga

 
 <a href=”http://www.ganga.dk”>Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music</a>
 

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Soundtoys and toying with sounds in acid

Monday, August 25th, 2008

Just got a new Casiotone MT-540 for 10 dollars. What a bargain. I cant wait to plug it in and hear those weird drumsounds and screeky beeps these guys produces.

Maybe you wonder why I sit down and write a blog before trying it? It might have been more useful to some, if I could provide some info on this little monster.

But to tell you the truth, its been weeks since I bought it, and its still sitting here in my livingroom – still in the original box.

Its sometimes like this when I buy some sound crap, cheap stuff that makes a sound – could be toys also. Its like some of the magic about buying them is, that you don’t really know what they sound like, and as long as you haven’t tried them, they are still full of potential endless possibilities.

If you start using them you might find right away that they don’t work or you don’t like the way they sound.

It might also be that in this particular downbeat, chill out there track, it fits perfectly and you are glad you waited to plug it in, because if you had done it earlier whilst working on another track, you wouldn’t have found a place for its magic.

To be totally honest, its not very often I can wait to pull it out and push a key or two.

Anyways, I will soon be heading down to the studio and working on a Real XS remix and a Vanessa Daou remix. Maybe just one, I feel a bit tired after getting up too early.

Couldn’t sleep last night and got caught inside the magic of the program Acid – I love that program, perfect for loops and detailed sound mangling. Midi is actually also working pretty well now after many days of midi darkness – they now provide inline midi editing, which is nice.

chill out and downbeat artist Ganga

<a href=”http://www.ganga.dk”>Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music</a>

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I apologize for nothing, and on behalf of silicon, also for the devolution of man.

Monday, August 25th, 2008

I apologize for nothing and on behalf of silicon, also for the devolution of man

I posted a comment about the devolution of man. I stated that social networks and the internet in itself really is a step back in evolution, as it removes human beings from each other. We dont need electronic contact to evolve as a species. We will actually devolve (dont know if that word exist) if we dont learn some other way of communicating that doesnt involve silicon and electronics.

We have to learn to use the last 90 percent of our brain – make the best of what we got.

All that is happening right now with the internet and human interaction is very interesting, but we are moving backwards until we realise that we are only gonna get smarter if we take a step back and doesnt focus on interaction between computers and the human brain/nervous system. That is a relationship we dont need, and if the focus is intirely on that, we are missing to develop the one thing that could be called evolution, namely communication on a higher level. A level that only involves development of the human mind – not electronics.

But to get back to social networks.

I guess you can use social networks for different things. Depending what you´re aiming for, and ofcourse its interestinging the route all this is taking.
But its easy to loose focus away from what should be the most important: content.
The inernet has now more than ever become a marketplace and social networks is the perfect place for this to emerge from.
So maybe thats what social networks is supposed to be. Forget about friends and human relations – you can have that in real life.
Use the social networks to market you, your ideas, your products or whatever.
I must admit as an artist its a great place to be in terms of getting your music heard and professional contacts.
Myspace f.ex. has helped me a lot. Actually met some real people there come to think of it – some of them I consider friends now..
soo.. maybe afterall there is some humanity in it..

Anyway, I am trying to find my way in this jungle, and I apologize for inconsistincies in the logistics and spelling too and babbling and for mixing stuff together that doesnt belong together and for not mixing stuff together that does belong together and for doing and for not doing and for writing and not writing and for art and for not art and for nothing and for nothing.

I apologize for nothing – thats what I meant.

downbeat chill out chillout electronic triphop artist ganga

<a href=”http://www.ganga.dk”>Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music</a>

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In rainbows

Monday, August 25th, 2008

I have been listening some to “In Rainbows” lately. This album is truly amazing and is a reminder of how fantastic a band Radiohead is and always has been. The album full of details and are bound to sneak in and disturb you in the most beautiful way possible. I guess there is no real urgent reason to praise this album, since obviously so many other allready has, but nonetheless…. its an amazing album.

And its free, or was anyway, when it was only available as download. Apparently the average consumer donated 10$ for the album, and it seems that this is the album they made the most from until now. Interesting eh?

Anyway, I just love Thom Yorkes voice over those fantastic tracks. Its the full package you get there. Full of sunshine and still with depths.

I will pack this sunday down now and look forward till tomorrow where a new day threatens in the studio.

I am gonna finish off the latest tracks I have been working on. Its a danish/british singer I am producing together with Berry Sode. I will be back with more info on it when we are closer to the finished product. Its gonna be great. Cant wait to hear the finished product.

I am working on my liveset again, and trying to finetune my setup for best performance. Its not so easy to get my laptop to perform like I want it to. There are many variables that has to work right together – technically.

Just figured out I have to run my samples from to seperate harddrives to get the best performance from Ableton.

Also found out mp3s doesnt make for faster performance, because Ableton converts them to.wav the moment you import them. Hmm, would have been nice to know before I started out on this crusade on my downbeat and chill out wave files. Zeroes and ones.

<a href=”http://www.ganga.dk”>Downbeat / Chill Out artist Ganga </a>

chill out and downbeat Ganga

<a href=”http://www.ganga.dk”>Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music</a>

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Loop my elephants

Monday, August 25th, 2008

One track in the arrangement is a slow elephant, strong and beautiful and moving with slow pace through the jungle of sounds. It pops up once in a while to show its face in the daylight, but most of the time its hiding down below where you can only feel it like a huge soft hammer pounding on your chest. Massaging your heart and rearranging everything you know into one little massive feeling of dark beautiful thunder.

On top of it are the birds with all their beauty and fast movements. They sing that they love you but some of them are insane, and they don’t know why they have to be there, but they do – in all shapes and forms and all sounding differently.

And that’s it – you have music, and you have feeling and you can chill to the beat of your own heart if you are really quiet.

Some say silence is the best music, but its one of those clichés that comes from the fact that the wording sounds good. The logic and the contradiction in the words and meaning is beautiful. And I guess that’s enough sometimes. So lets just say it again:”Silence is the best music”. Then the best music is what? Everything else than silence? Doesn’t make sence.

I believe music is the best music.And some music is not music just like Cuba is not Cuba is not Cuba. Confused?

I am looking for the meaning in these words that are writing themselves in this block.

It hasn’t got much to do with dubby chill out or downbeat but that can also be music ofcourse – just maybe only sometimes.

I am taking this writings down with me – if I go down, it goes down too. Sorry about that. I had to do it.

SO the elephant is the bass and music is silence and…. go and check these guys out. THAT is very well produced: LULU ROUGE. Danish dubby downbeat from some of the best producers in Denmark. Ciao for now.

chill out and downbeat artist Ganga

<a href=”http://www.ganga.dk”>Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music</a>

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Go listen to some music

Monday, August 25th, 2008

I just sat down and read my latest blogs from the last weeks, and I have to admit it shows pretty well that blog writing is a new sceme to me.I apologise for this obvious fact, but I promise I will try and keep my chops up and improove somehow in this strange habit.

I am sitting at home working this morning, trying to pull myself together and collect some of my film music stuff to send out to some editors.

Its raining like crazy and I am listening to this guy: http://www.emusic.com/album/Omar-Rodriguez-Lopez-Mars-Volta-Calibration-MP3-Download/11211059.html

Fantastic wild amazing guitarist from Mars Volta, jamming along in some crazy mad situation he created here.I think he is out here on a label that normally put out only electronic stuff and there is also some electronics involved, which is great. One of the guys frm Red Hot Chilli Peppers is also singing on one of the tracks. Its fun stuff, I can highly recommend it on a rainy day like this when you are not in the chill out or downbeat electronic kind of mode. The opening track especially is amazing on this album.

I also just got the new CD with “Battles” which is also fantastic. “Mirrored” its called. They are an amazing band. I caught them live in Webster Hall, New York last autumn and they were fabulous. Really really amazing to watch them live. Centered around the drummer who sits in front of the stage with the crash 1.5 meter up in the air. Its like he is directing his troops into battle from the center of the stage. Go watch them in Denmark when they play the Roskilde Festival this year.

chill out and downbeat artist Ganga

<a href=”http://www.ganga.dk”>Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music</a>

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I am hallucinating polar bears

Monday, August 25th, 2008

Incredibly hot in the studio today.

I am hallucinating and seeing strange white shapes coming out of nothing, floating on cold white ice and staring at me with huge yellow eyes, momentarily flashing their teeth in a big smile saying: “here we are” – we have come to stay, and no, we havent fled the zoo.We live here now.

Okay so that just happened overnight? I dont think so.

They are everywhere . It seems they gave up the north pole and somehow managed to get down here, floating on a ice flake or something.

SO now they are here, walking the streets of Babylon, begging for our mercy.

They are begging for fewer cars, less electricity, less production and for food also.

I like them, even though they are only in my dystopic dream, I like them. I really like them. Big and fluffy and dangerous and soon to be gone forever from our planet.

I am allucinating also myself in a big car driving down the street and picking them up one after the other. Taking them to my studio and playing some music with them. Jamming that ultimately cool north pole blues in the middle of the damp summer city. They have great feeling. Playing with such natural cool ness even though they nearly cant fit.

No intellect to block for expression, pure instinct, the perfect musician – and soon to be exstinguished.

Never mind said my neighbeur, I just want my mall and my huge car and no damned polar bears are ever gonna play for me – forget it. Forget your stupid hallucination. Get back to work and make some music with natural chill and coolness.

Can you do it without electricity?

chill out and downbeat artist Ganga

<a href=”http://www.ganga.dk”>Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music</a>

 

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black matter is nothing

Monday, August 25th, 2008

Had along drive today in my old car. Always an experience to get on the road and burn off some co2 – especially in this particular vehicle, that I am not particular proud of, but it gets me from a to b. Should get a new one though, that doesnt use so much gas.

Anyway, on the way to the gig, I heard a program on the radio about big bang, evolution or creation and something called devolution. Must be evolution reversed. I guess he meant that humans on this planet are not mooving forward but backwards. It may be that our technical abillities are great, but it doesnt help us that much as a species if our mind/body connection is near to gone.

Sitting in my car on the way to the funeral gig, pondering over big bang and stuff.

I always wondered what was here/there before big bang. Just a big lump of black matter with gravity so hard it just pulls everything in.But then its not “Nothing”, then its most definitely “something” if not everything.

That means that black matter is everything. That shit apparently still exists as blacks holes f.ex. That means we are nothing – or is it just “something” out of everything.Confused ? I am….confusing myself.

I almost took a wrong turn on the way to the funeral gig playing for the dead man, thinking about something – sorry I mean nothing or maybe a little bit of everything.

So back home again in my studio, opened up a track thats on the way to something coming out of nothing. I got a little wiser and a little bit more confused also – listening to that devolution stuff. I have to write a song about that – or maybe Bob Dylan already has.

Something out of nothing.

Sounds wrong to the logical thinking.

chill out and downbeat artist Ganga

<a href=”http://www.ganga.dk”>Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music</a>

 

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mix it and breathe

Monday, August 25th, 2008

So the bass had to be repaired. The mails had to be written. The bills had to be paid. Some new possible rooms had to be checked.Some more mails to be written… and finally some small black fish like shapes had to be pushed back and forth on the computer screen to push the track a bit further completion. Sometimes its a good idea to work a little bit on many things at the same time. Sometimes its better to work a wholeday on one track. It all depends.Today was a one track day – a short one track day.

I feel that working on tracks that are taking a new direction – musically and productiowise – makes for many small tweaks on different tracks. One day it might be finished and ready to go very fast. Sometimes you just need to open it up to see/hear its nearly finished and you didnt even know it. This is mostly when working a bit away from what I normally do – l normally make chill out downbeat stuff, but the last years I have also made some punk meets electro track mostly to accompany silent film (Battleship Potemkin f.ex), and this is very different towork with. Lots of guitars and live drums that needs to blend in differently than more mellow acoustic instruments and electronic dubby sounds.

The fun stuff begins when you mix the two genres I think. It takes on a whole new dimension and you can lighten upagain after two much office work, emailsending and bass repairing. Has to be done though. You gotta breath too – in between tracks.

chill out and downbeat artist Ganga

<a href=”http://www.ganga.dk”>Ganga – Downbeat / Chill Out Music</a>

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