Time for a change.
You can hear new Allerian material on Soundcloud and you can also friend me on Facebook to stay up to date on my projects.
The existing material and links on this page will remain in place for the time being.
Here is a selection of my music projects. Except where noted, I made all this noise.
Listening Device now available
nearly everywhere Allerian's
Listening Device album is now available
for purchase from
Amazon, CDBaby
and
iTunes.
Reviews ahoy! |
|
Allerian appears on remixed !distain CD They're at it again with a remix CD of the track Mandragore. This CD includes a the brutal bare guitar track I did. Yikes!  |
Allerian
appears on !distain CD The new two-cd
set, "Raise the Level" from the German duo
!distain features
my studio guitar work on track 4, 'Mandragore" and track 10,
"Inquisition" with great vocals by Sara Noxx. |
More Music:
To Crickets
Why does it
change? The sounds of the backyard blended into and contrasted against
an inner dialogue. Field recording, Monomachine, Nord Wave.
Unlocked
Written
in memory of Daniel Hansson, co-founder of
Elektron.
Another Listener
This is another progression towards the Listening Device sound using the
Monomachine.
Al Hirt vs UW
An interesting
retake on the sound of Jazz trumpeter Al Hirt. I've spun the vinyl
into the Machinedrum's sampler and found unexpected treasure.
M-Resonator Demo
Forgot that I'd made
this. Recorded live after the first 20 minutes of using the Jomox
M-Resonator analog filter on the output of the Machinedrum. Turns out
it's pretty fun to listen to me explore new territory.
Coexist
Taken up as part of a
recent discussion of Elektron hardware. A live jam with only
Monomachine and Machinedrum created to show what can be done quickly.
Some cool MD RAM Machine tweaking in here.
October from
November
Created as part of the ongoing
Monthly
Mission project. This track consists of a sample from my Halloween
Micron track, loaded into the Machinedrum UW and twisted in several
different ways. Then it all ran into the Monomachine for fx treatment and
overdrive. Whole thing live in one go.
One Runner
An interesting endless patch created with the Monomachine.
Monomachine
Overdrive
This is a sound I've been working up on the Elektron Monomachine. Beat
box? I'm not so sure.
Be aware of your volume setting before playing.
From Above
Any answer
you receive is yours alone.
Important listener note: The distortion and transient noises you hear
on this track are intentional. It has been carefully processed and
limited to be Certified 100% Non-Clipping and USDA Grade A Speaker Safe for your acoustic pleasure.
In Case of
Emergency
Take your pills, it's going to be a long ride.
This is an evolving texture that results in a total breakdown. Good music
for getting something done. Rather noisy mix, but that's how
life is.
Super Prancing Pony Princess Mark IV
Infinite destruction and
chaos? Not this time.
Control
of the human mind
Created for
this Roil Noise collaboration.
Before its too late
Everything you know is wrong.
Solar Flare
One
ship was too close when the flare erupted. What were they hearing as
they crossed over the edge?
Pacifica featuring
Sharmili.
A guitar jam with an eastern feel. The track is unique
in that the guitar is completely processed through the Access Virus
synthesizer. A special thanks to Neole Egen who made these original vocals possible.
20 years from
now
What will our kids listen to in twenty years that we'll think
is just noise? Here's my take on what future music might sound like.
The Night (Strike of Twelve Mix)
A collaboration with Loreman. After passing a few ideas back
and forth, I reworked his great
original
track with a guitar track that turns it into a rocker about halfway
through.
Third Process
Another exploration in Robotica. Recorded live with a mic, so my dog
appears in this track. Again, the level of control in this circuit
bent setup is just... wow.
Second Process
After building the Tilt Switch, I used it to come up with this song.
This could be described as the most controlled and musical live circuit bent
performance I am aware of.
Halloween Micron
Demo
Created for my friends at Harmony-Central to demo the new
Alesis Micron synthesizer.
Delivery
Chaos? Reality? You tell me. Thanks go to
Arik Burns who also
played on this track.
This track was available on the
Noise and Toys Compilation.
NVA in the wire
This oddity from 2004, my tribute to the Viet Cong guys in the game
Battlefield: Vietnam Not the best track, but I laughed so hard while
making it that it's worth putting up.
Instant Heartbeat -
Downtempo mix
A collaboration with
DJ RAM and
Jenifer McLaren. He sent me the basic tracks
and asked me to write the guitar lines. Over the next few weeks we
traded tracks back and forth over the internet and he did the final mix.
Quiet Morning Snow
Written for the
Harmony-Central Monthly Mission project.
Three ways there
An Irish jam kind of song that trades the theme around. I'm sure
this one will be revisited in the future.
Return
Six minutes of early Tangerine Dream inspired synth goodness.
Inverted Sun
Spontaneous, unexpected, and performed in one take. Do I like
bandpass filtering? Yes I do.
Underneath
An unplanned single take recording. It's a mellow, strange bit of
keyboard playing.
Start_me_up(Guitar-mix-rsb-2003)
Update: Turns out this is from
the group "Nechya" and is really called
"Start it up".
In this remix, I am responsible for the part that
beings at 2:36 to the end. Both the smooth rhythm and lead guitar
part continue to surprise me. If you like your dance music to
rock, this is for you.
T.a.t.u._All_The_Things_She_Said(Russian_Power_Mix_2003-RSB)
The story goes, I put together a remix of the Russian version of "All The
Things She Said" at the very moment that Tatu was at their peak of
popularity. It was well received by the Tatu fan community and the
file spread far and wide. After a few months
I was mailed a Cease and Desist order from the
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry
ordering me to take this file down or face legal action.
Pink Floyd's Comfortably
Numb - Second Solo
This was the first recording that I really put time into. I'm
still very happy with how it sounds. This project taught me how to
practice.
The Hiring Fair
A Fairport Convention cover. The very first thing I tried
recording with a digital recorder.
Blackbird
Just found this one from the archives. Played in 1999 by recording
into a laptop microphone - noise galore, but back then it was just fun to record
at all.
iPixelator final version complete.
Completed the mini Pixelator the iPad.
Enjoy it
in
action.
New Guitar Day
Arik and I rebuilt
an old guitar into a new one using Carvin parts.
iPixelator prototype
This is the prototype for a mini Pixelator made
especially for the iPad. Here is the proof of concept
video.
The loudest BoardWeevil
115db of good times.
The current setup
I've got my setup pretty dialed for this
new album project. Indications are good to have something completed
in 2010?
Samurai Kitty
Not sure where this idea came from. Started cutting cardboard
and felt and ended up here.
A new look for the Machinedrum
Gave it a little custom touch - Many thanks to
Styleflip.com
Art exhibit soundtrack
A track from the Listening Device album appeared as a film soundtrack in
Milwaukee artist
Dara Larson's exhibit, "City 2" at Alverno
College. I hope to see more collaboration with Dara in the future.
Pixelator
Inspired during a game of "Don't
Break the Ice", I used 12 sets of the game to create a 15x24
grid of cubes. This was set into a custom hardwood frame. When placed in front of a television
set, the animated pixelation effect is mesmerizing.
Watch
the video.
Ruggedized Composing Station
Been using the TDS Recon handhelds at work for a few months.
So I decided to try the
Griff Pocket Studio
demo on 'em. Now I can write music from
-22 to 140°F, 1 meter underwater,
covered in sand, vibrating, at 15,000ft. above sea level.
Custom Moog Voyager Table
Something beautiful
deserves something beautiful to put it on.
Some months ago I asked a friend
to build a table for my Voyager, nothing fancy. What I picked up today was
an outstanding custom cherry table with the perfect playing height for
sitting or standing and room underneath for feet.
Taking things apart - the Elektron TM-1
Rainy day boredom led
me to grab a hex driver and take a look inside the new Elektron TM-1 Turbomidi unit. Looks
like an elegant and cost-effective design.
Long Exposure
Time
Finally found a way to get
a cool studio shot despite my lousy lighting. Solution? Turn all
the lights off and use an eight-second exposure.
Circuit
Bending
It's the best of everything - music, noise, electronics, soldering, the
feeling of accomplishment. Heck, if it had a little fire, recoil, and
torque, bending would be the ultimate hobby. Here are a few of my
completed projects.
Here's another,
this time Origami-style
Reaching deeper
into that creative bucket. For some reason I can't see one of these
without being compelled to modify it. This is number six.
Another fine
Shapes N Things
Here's another copy of this fine bent instrument from my shop. It
features the full body contact control scheme. This now has a new home
in Alabama where the owner writes,
"Hi Robert - I'm enjoying my new toy to the fullest
extent. I played it last Friday at a packed club. I of course ran it through
an amp (LOUD) and freaked out the whole club in one fell swoop. I wish you
could have seen the looks on the faces of the patrons; not to mention the
band, which didn't know about it until it was too late! Some people thought
the keyboards were blowing up, and a few people actually headed for the
door, thinking there was an air raid or something, until they figured out
what was going on. I'm happy to be a member of the circuit bent community.
Thanks again, Kelly"
Updated SK-1
In this pic, the Tilt Controller for the patch
bay is bent into an N shape for easy reach. Finally changed over to a
real Atari joystick, which offers very positive control. I recently
sold this setup to a very good home but I miss it.
Mini Bend
After holding on to this
little audio irritant for the last year, I found a nice mod article over on
GetLoFi. Now
it's more irritating than ever with its new variable pitch knob. The
exposed lugs also make a wonderful pitch-bending body contact.
Video Tape
Necklace
Wearing a gold-plated VHS tape
with an LCD around your neck may be the next big thing.
I am prepared.
Re-Bending
can be worth it.
This one wasn't satisfying me at all. I wanted to give it as a gift
but it wasn't functional enough so I hung on to it. The other day a
friend gave me a Hello Kitty pocket mirror and it became the perfect
pitch control knob. This inspired a little rewiring to make the body
contacts work the way I had originally imagined. Sound clip coming
soon.
Shapes n
Things Hot Rod Version
If you've visited before you'll recognize what toy I'm bending here.
This project was all about creating a unique, over the top finish.
Some 20 coats of wet sanded clearcoat give this instrument a great visual
appeal. Of course, the sounds are just downright wacky. This one
follows the organic control scheme of my original prototype.
Patch Bay
Tilt Switch
After discovering this tiny plastic tilt switch, I couldn't resist building
a patch bay controller with it. It's a small (1cm) plastic box with a
captured ball bearing and an internal cage of leads. This is run down
to seven rca jacks which can be positioned in any patch bay as needed.
Thanks to the strength of the heat shrink tubing, this whole thing stands
straight up and can be wagged back and forth to trigger bends. There
is also a secret connection which can only be made by turning the tilt box
upside-down.
The Gift of
Noise
Built as a gift, this one was painted and given the usual
treatment of heavy clear coat and pitch, capacitor, and body contact
bending.
Golden
Treasure
My ultimate version of this highly developed Noise Instrument. Gold
leaf finish, professional quality controls, and the culmination of tuned
bending bring this toy to new heights.
Vtech Family
Shot
Enjoy this progression shot. The leftmost one is controlled entirely
with five body contacts and is a personal favorite.
Copper Box
This unit consists of two Voltage Controlled Oscillators with pitch
control, pulse width control, and a blend control. The copper plates as a body contact playing surface
that controls the pulse width. The plates are floated about 3/16" off
the metal case and wired up with ribbon cable. Very satisfying to
realize my design goal so completely.
Hear it
Track 01
Track 02
Track 03
Track 04
Track 05
Track 06
VTech Baby Toy
By far my most inspiring bend project yet. This is my second go at
this style of toy, so we let out all the stops and did a really nice finish.
My daughters came up with the idea and did all the painting. I
followed up with about 1-1/2 cans of clear and the mods. This is a very playable
noise instrument.
Hear it!
Clean with no effects
Through the pedalboard
Korg Poly-800
This board came to me broken from a life of use in various Milwaukee area
bands. Replaced the broken keys, rebuilt the battery box (exploded C
cells, yuk!), painted it metal flake red, added about 200 flattened glass
marbles, and did the "Moog Slayer" (a.k.a
"Tweeter Eater") mod to it.
Speak & Spell
Some kind of bender right of passage? Perhaps. I added a "super bright" LED to it as well as all the classic bends.
Recently, my youngest found a nice little crystal bear (not pictured) that
fits right over the LED, adding a nice glow effect.
Playskool Keyboard
This little board has the best distortion I have ever heard from a toy and
sounds just like an electric guitar. Unfortunately, I put the
distortion on a switch (rather than a button) which was left "on" to cook
the amp on the keyboard side. oops!
Casio SA-39
The board has the classic
"glitch button" bend. I also added a 100k trim pot to offer
a little more control and fine tuning to the glitch.
An indefinable exercise in circuit bent music, the little synth came up this
performance all by itself:
SA-39_Solo_01
Recorded live with a mic, there are points at which I am just trying to keep
from laughing as the keyboard kept playing and changing spontaneously.
DSI "Kawasaki" Keyboard
We all gotta start
somewhere, and this was my first bend. I made every possible mistake
on this project, but I learned a LOT and caught the bending bug.
Custom Guitar
I built this guitar around 1988. 24 frets, neck-through construction,
hand-painted.
My Comfortably Numb cover was played
on this guitar.