Volka Polka

It has been a busy and madly creative time again here at the house of Quaquaversity. This time working on a series of sessions using the Korg Volca looper and sequencer, edited down and brought into play and conflict with a series of different devices. The sessions started at the end of February with all final mixing done at Easter.

All images here are taken by myself from a family holiday up in the wilds of Northumbria:




...and to further your delight and delectation, here are extra details on each of the tracks from this album:

Volca Session 1
 This is the first in a series of sessions made using a Korg Volca as a multi loop sequencing device, firstly on its own as a series of jam sessions - as with this first piece - and later with other devices. So here is a nude Korg Volca - very little added except some minimal editing and reverb and EQ afterwards.


Volca Session 2
The second in a series of sessions using the Korg Volca looper and sequencer. This time based on a jam session made with the Volca, edited down, EQ and reverb added, and then mixed into an earlier recording based on a assembled loop of church bells from Durham Cathedral. This field recording was prepared by being fed through delays and timestretched.


Volca Session 3 (Part 1)
The third in the series of sessions using the Korg Volca sequencer and definitely one of the strangest. This was a an edit from the third session, and this time the up tempo in yer face no nonsense beat has been tempered with a saxophone solo produced with my own cherry read lips and slowed down through the Paulstretch app to create something altogether discordant and ethereal. Er, right.


Volca Session 3 (Part 2)
The second edit from the third series of sessions using the Korg Volca sequencer - now moving into noisy and chaotic territory, held together by a decidedly off kilter beat. This was edited down from a longer session and mixed with a field recording of rain paulstretched and looped to give just the right level of irritating white noise fuzz.


Volca Session 3 (Part 3)
The third part of the third part - the third edit taken from the third session using the Korg Volca sequencer - now firmly entrenched into over the top multi layered noise and chaos, on the edge of total aural collapse but still taking your head somewhere else. Just the Korg Volca on this one - no overdubs or additional effects apart from a little EQ and tidying up heads and tails.


Volca Session 4 (Part 1)
From the fourth in a series of sessions exploring the possibilities of the Korg Volca sequencer - this one split up into two parts, called rather imaginatively, Part 1 and Part 2. This now sees the Korg Volca synced up with MIDI to my MC 3030 and flying off into decidedly different sonic territory. A little alien gnome treated samples have been added in the final mix just to give it a little extra gusto.


Volca Session 4 (Part 2)
The second half from session four in the Korg Volca Exploration sessions - Mr Volca now teams up with Mr MC 303 over a glass of midi and really cuts the lettuce. Nothing else added apart from a little treated synth intro to get us into the mood.


Volca Session 5
Session 5 in this Korg Volca exploration series continues the team up of Volca and MC-303 sequencer moving into areas of dischord and multi layered aural damaging. Nothing else added here folks. Have fun!


Volca Session 6
The sixth and final edit from these series of sessions exploring the ins, outs and sideways of the Korg Volca sequencer - Volca synced up with the MC303 sequencer and then edited with a field recording - it is a Paulstretched reversed and delayed loop of a drain emptying of course. Off into oblivion!


Volca Session 7
..and there's always one more. After the main series of sessions with the Korg Volca were completed, there were a series of samples, loops, and generally leftover oddments that were mixed together into a much longer piece. The full length mix ended up on Mixcloud as well as on the Quaquaversity blog.

However, while preparing these leftovers for the Mixcloud session, this particular loops started developing into a life of its own, becoming a longer, almost ambient piece, that seemed to be the perfect ending to this series of sessions on the Korg Volca.

A little longer but no less stranger

...Although these mixes were produced a while back, I have finally got round to uploading them onto Mixcloud. A little longer than usual!

 

This is a mix using various loops and audio oddments leftover from a series of jam sessions using MC 303 sequencers and Bass Sation racks, with the sessions then chopped and edited with layers of effects through Kaoss Pads and Ableton. The backing track is a loop from Oskar Sala's piece from Hitchcocks "The Birds", to take us all just that little bit further out of our comfort zone.

Leftover Loops Mix

After the mammoth sessions on Korg Volca, I was left with a series of loops and various sonic oddments. These were then fed through Ableton and bound down to a backing track made up of a drone timestretched using an old Transcendent 2000 synth. This is the first real long one from my Mixcloud sites!

A Mix made from various loops and audio oddments left over from a series of music sessions using a Korg Volca in conjunction with field recordings, Roland MC 303 and Transcendent 2000synth, fed and mixed through banks of real time effects in Ableton.