Improv with Syntakt, Saxophone, Torso T1, Octatrack, and moar

Released this edit of a live performance. Improvised stuff with a bassist friend of mine. I’ve been improvising solo sets with this rig, and started doing more edits for releases. Going to try not to sit on recorded stuff this year!

Sax is going through many pedals.

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Really enjoyed this. Thanks for posting. It captures the atmosphere in the space how did you record it. What do you agree on before performing key, soloing, timings etc?

How long have you played together before performing live?

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Thank you!

I recorded it with the Zoom H6 and its built-in x/y stereo mics, then edited and processed it in Ableton. So I just had the stereo recording to work with.

The bassist and I have only been rehearsing together in a trio about six times. None of that material is in this recording. I had this solo slot booked and asked him if he wanted to sit in.

I told him the scale I was using on the Torso T1 for the pitch reference. Everything else was completely improvising and playing off each other with zero plan.

That T1 lets you create so fluidly, and it’s enabled so much freedom in my improvised solo sets.

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Thanks for the detailed response. The recording really inspired me to want try something like this myself. I’m a keys player with little live music experience.

It reminded me of a group called Dictaphone:

But your track had its own original style and uniqueness. Please post more on this page.

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Listening now! Thanks for the recommendation.

There are a few more things on my bandcamp, and I’ve got another edited live show I’m releasing in a few weeks. That one is recorded off the mixing board, direct to stereo.

Here are some videos of me… all done with no plan:

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Many thanks for posting these. I’ll have a watch. I love the idea of improvisation machines. Approximately how long did it take to get your head round the Torso T1?

Did you start off using it with one synth/sampler?

I used the T1 with Ableton for awhile at home. In Ableton, it was doing all sorts of drums and synths in the box. I didn’t know if I’d be able to use it live. My previous solo sets were a little more prepared with samples in the Octatrack.

The Syntakt is what really let me bring the T1 to stage. It’s drums, bass, percussion, synth all in one package. I have started incorporating more sliced acoustic drum samples, loaded in the OT (like I used to do more of), but the OT is not sequenced by the T1 for me. Just the Syntakt.

As far as getting my head around it, not much. It was almost immediate for me, but everyone is a little different.