magnox opus is the name of my experimental ambient/noise project involving the more esoteric ideas and machines ive made.
my spring reverbs are all but useless in a club enviroment as feedback from large club p.a. systems is too great but they find a home in adding a beautiful dark and hollow sound in quieter art-based gigs.
similarly, many experiments in the quirkier side of modular synthesis and sequencing, including using feedback from oscilloscope, via a light sensor, to an oscillator and back ad infinitum, have no place on a dancefloor but are endlessly absorbing in a listening and conceptual context. magnox opus is the place for these processes.
it is something that began a few years back just before i began with modular when i was ‘between equipment’, trying out various options. it was the only time i have used a computer – and in this i was just using it as a multitrack recorder – i used a DSI evolver and midi keyboard to create various soundscapes and overlaid them live, adding and proceeding to the next section.
the result is a piece which still now i would love to turn into a film piece. it has many dynamic sections with a real sense of feeling that fires my imagination whenever i hear it.
download magnox opus filmscore here
it is a far cry from my headcleaner work but something im equally intent on pushing further, although it falls behind simply due to requests for headcleaner sets. it is through the experimental though that i find new ways of working, and some that feed into dance music also; though as a purpose further than sound art in-itself i think its place is as working toward soundtrack/foley – something i hope to explore further in the coming year.
this is video from expo festival in leeds in 2009 – my first gig with the modular and a great venue for epic drone
this is a short improvisation piece performed @ beaverworks 2010
i have many more pieces recorded with quite varied results, the intention being to knit them together in the style of the filmscore above – of course this requires some computing and will probably wait until i have some video to put with them.
watch this space…..
