Inspirational Katie Gately videos from Ableton

I found these videos inspirational. Field recording is something I like to get into. It is just that there is not enough time for everything I want to do. I like Cryo Chamber whose artists use field recordings. I have used them in some of my music. Mostly done by someone else. Getting own sound library to play with would be nice. It is just starting to records sound. I already have everything I need for recording and processing. These videos make me want to start recording sounds. They might do some to you to.

Fun with Make Noise 0-Coast

I hope you didn't want dry sound of Make Noise 0-Coast. This has lot of effects. It doesn't sound like this dry. Some effects used may not be obvious but there are lot of effects some going 100% wet by the end.

Video has only two instruments, Make Noise 0-Coast and Elektron Analog Rytm. Rest is effects. You might see 0-Coast getting midi signals during feedback section. That is because when freezing the track Ableton Live also freezes clips on that track after freezing the track on arragement view. You don't hear those notes in the video. This is what you get when you video the freezing and tweak effects afterwards.

Editing Fun with Make Noise 0-Coast

Fun with videos are meant to be live performance like. I guess I have to get back to live performances with them. I wanted to add effects later with 0-Coast video. Lot of effects. I shoot video when I freeze the track when there is only the instrument and effects I want to freeze with it. If I add other effects and instruments later sound of the video I shot and the sound of the song coming out of DAW will be quite different.

It is problem when you want to sync them for the final video which is going to be released. Automated sync doesn't work and Davinci Resolve doesn't let you sync audio more than per frame level. I learned that hard way. Luckily I still have Vegas Pro which let you manually sync audio on audio rate level. Bad thing was Vegas Pro didn't have font I use in Fun with videos. Can't understand why it didn't have it.

So I had to first manually sync audio in Vegas Pro and then render the video with synchronized audio and then do the rest in Davinci Resolve. Resolve is free but that audio sync should be fixed in future versions if Resolve wants to be all in one solution. I have started to use Red Giant PluralEyes for audio sync when material has been too hard for Resolve automated sync. This time it was too hard for PluralEyes too. I had PluralEyes as autosync in Vegas Pro because it doesn't have build in auto sync.

Next time I have to shoot the video and play the instrument when I render the audio. At least when I use more effects and instruments. 0-Coast video goes over board with creative effects. It would be hard to do effects automation before playing the instrument but I guess it goes to that if I want to have effect heavy Fun with videos and sync audio automatically.

SoundSpot effects were heavily used in video. I got Oracle and Nebula from end of year sales with pretty good price. Both are good for the price I got them. But I might be bit disappointed if I paid full price for them. Both sound bit too neutral for my taste for normal price.

Notable albums of 2017

I didn't plan to list favorite albums of 2017 or any top lists of 2017. Movies list would be pretty short since I have seen only few movies from 2017 so far. This is not top list and these are not in any order. These are albums I think you should check. List doesn't have Paloma Faith's new album because I haven't checked it yet or my favorite album of 2017.

I wrote yesterday how I found Lorde. I found her this year but Melodrama was released last year so it counts. One of my favorite albums of the year even after few listens.

I didn't like Lana Del Rey's Lust for Life as much as her earlier albums at first. After hearing it more I started to like it more. Same happened with Honeymoon.

I could fill this list with albums released by Cryo Chamber. I bought most albums they released 2017. Not all thought.  First example from their music is this collaboration between Apocryphos, Kammarheit and Atrium Carceri.

Arch Enemy's Will to Power was so good it made my buy their earlier album with new singer. Arch Enemy wasn't only band with which this happened last year. This video was selected because it was shot in Helsinki.

Second example from Cryo Chamber and another collaboration with Atrium Carceri. Guy behind name Atrium Carceri is owner of Cryo Chamber. So he is in few of their collaborations including one released this week. He is good as solo artist too. One of best artists in label. He is not in collaborations only because he owns the label. 

I assume this is official video release. Band's channel didn't have music videos from Derelicts. They talk about it and their gear but there is no music. I found Carbon Based Lifeforms late last year. Now their albums are on my wishlist and I will buy them one by one as time goes on.

I started to feel this list lacks metal. Some may say Myrkur is not metal. What ever her music is I like it. Mareridt was released this year and it deserves to be here.

It took a while to adjust to her voice. When I did Scarlet Sails' Future from the Past became one of my favorite albums of 2017. Guy from Dresden Dolls is in this band. That is how I found them.

I start to see pattern in this list. If someone sings it is female. The Creepshow's Death at my Door was the another album which made me accept band's new singer. Yes, I bought The Creepshow's previous album with new singer after this.

Male voices at last. And some metal. Wolves in the Throne Room returned to their roots with  Thrice Woven. They tried electronic music on their previous album. It was ok but this is where they are best at. This wasn't best track of the album. It was one they made music video.

I am surprised I found this video. I have all Sorrow Plagues' albums. I thought band was one man project which released music to Bandcamp. This is from 2017 album Homecoming. This is as underground something this good can be.

I didn't have high hopes when I heard about Me And That Man. It is Behemoth's Nergal's side project. Songs of Love and Death was way better I could have ever expected it to be.

This list lacks metal compared to how much I listen it. There weren't that many metal albums standing above the rest and I couldn't find official video for Mesarthim's The Great Filter/Type III. Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats released new version of their debut but that doesn't count. Old reliable bands released solid albums but which were not their best albums.

I couldn't add my favorite album because I couldn't find anything official from Nier: Automata's soundtrack. That album is over three and half hours of amazing music. It is game's soundtrack. You should not skip it because of that. Some games have really good soundtracks. Stellaris is one example but that was older than last year.

I found Lorde

I found her music. Not her. I knew there was popular artist called Lorde but I thought her music was different than it actually is. I don't know why I thought she made dance music. Maybe her name was attached someone I label as dance music artist. I don't listen radio so I have no idea what each artist does. Usually radios play boring music. Sometimes they play interesting artists. I assume they play Lorde because she is quite popular.

I was tempted to buy all her records right that moment but I tried keep my plan on music purchases. I try to buy only one album a week or two cheaper ones. That happens on weekend or Thursday because I can get albums released on Friday during Thursday night. I found Lorde last Thursday but I had already bought last weeks albums. That was completing Lily Allen's It's Not Me, It's You and Scarlet Sail's EP. That counted as two cheaper albums.

I had planned to buy something else for this week but those have to wait for next week. I had to get some Lorde to my iTunes and iPod. I am on phase where I want to get music from interesting female artists. I don't have too many of them on my playlists. You can blame Paloma Faith for this. I have had her Do You Want Truth or Something Beautiful on my iTunes for ages. After hearing one song from the album I felt like checking more from her. Soon I had her Fall to Grace and her other albums on wishlist.

When I searched for artists like Paloma Faith, Lana Del Rey and Lily Allen I found Lorde and few others. Lorde was only one I had to get this right now. Some of the suggestion I got from LastFM were reasons why I don't listen radio. Lorde and couple others got to my wishlist. Some of the suggestions were so generic I couldn't listen to them after few seconds.

Buying less music didn't start so well this year. I bought Melodrama and Yellow Flicker Beat. I am still on schedule if I won't buy any music this week.

Lux Helsinki 2017

Lux Helsinki 2018 starts tomorrow. Here is video I shot from last year's event. You have to wait two weeks for this year's video. I don't know which day I go there. Probably not tomorrow. Which means I would have to do editing and music during workdays' evenings if I wanted video ready next week. Lux Helsinki 2016 had cold weather. This had little snow but weather was quite warm for winter and snow was melting away. This year it looks like no snow and even warmer weather.

You can find video from Lux Helsinki 2016 here.