Band names are something we’ve all tried to come up with at one point or another. Sometimes, there is little connection between the music and band name, for example Arctic Monkeys. They could easily be be a swing band or disco. Then we have bands like Metallica, which is indisputably metal. Regardless, band names inspire mental imagery in the listener. In this Patchable we explore the music of bands that do not exist.
THE CHALLENGE
For this patchable, your task is to visit a band name generator website. In 5 minutes or less select a band name that inspires you. It can be funny, abstract, clever, weird, stupid or whatever you want. Just make your selection is less than 5 minutes.
Here are some websites to get you going:
- https://www.bandnamemaker.com/
- https://www.name-generator.org.uk/band-name
- https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/band-names.php
Once you have your band name, think about what that band would sound like. What is their history, genre, era location, etc? Now, create a track in the style of that band.
HOW TO PLAY
EXRENTED FOR THE HOLIDAYS – THIS PATCHABLE RUNS FROM DEC 7TH – Jan 3rd
- Create an original piece of music following the above challenge.
- Include the suffix PATCHABLE-0008 in the track title. A completed track title would look like this: Spiral Vortex PATCHABLE-0008 (where “Spiral Vortex” is your song name).
- Upload your track to soundcloud by end of day, Friday Jan 3rd.
- Include a link to your track and patch notes in the comments below.
https://soundcloud.com/w-y-543363470/w-y-loving-thursday-loose-ends
“Loving Thursday”
Hot New Wave/ Synthpop band Loving Thursday debuted, rose to fame, and dropped off the face of the planet in December 1987.
Classical pianist and singer Chester “Meatball” MacKenzie met guitar player Jonathan “Bacon” Bacon in fat camp in the summer of ‘87. Meatball turned to monophonic instruments after his fingers became too pudgy to play piano. The two became fast friends after they discovered each other stealing cheese wheels from the cafeteria.
They met drummer and food truck driver and drummer Vinnie von Vinegar to complete their trio.
After weeks of relentless touring, they released their first single in the beginning of December 1987 and it shot all the way to number 41 in the Billboard charts!
Sadly while in the recording studio recording their follow up single, we lost Chester “Meatball” MacKenzie to an overdose while huffing aerosol cheese.
The last song they recorded is now an instrumental and is missing Meatball’s haunting vocals.
Following the dissolution of Loving Thursday, Jonathan “Bacon” Bacon became the first person to swim from California to Antarctica. Rumor has it he is still swimming there to this day.
Vinnie von Vinegar entered a successful political career. Vincent is well known for sponsoring a bill to require all airports across the country to shut their food courts down for 30 minutes once a year in remembrance of Meatball
RIP Meatball 1966 – 1987
Patchnotes are really simple for this one.
On the modular side its a standard subtractive patch using the Pittsburgh SV1’s normalized connections played with an Artuia Keystep. I’m using a clocked digital LFO to modulate pulse width and filter cutoff. Its running through a Make Noise Mimeophon using a pretty standard delay setting.
Drums are from the Korg Electribe EMX1 sequenced from the Beatstep Pro.
Bass guitar is recorded direct.
Guitar was recorded through an ancient (and finicky) Digitech guitar processor… kind of their answer to a Line 6 POD. Guitar was doubled with different settings and panned hard left and hard right.
Pretty much everything got editing in post- compression, EQ, etc…
https://soundcloud.com/dysonant/joystick-attack-eyes-up
Little is known about the reclusive Joystick Attack. Only that it attempts suicide through sound.
DRUMS
– Kick made by mixing waves from Hertz Donut MKIII and Piston Honda MKIII. Pitch envelope sent to 1c/oct for transient. Another ENV for tail. Stacked with a kick from Befaco KickAll.
– Snare made by mixing Zorlon Cannon MKII noise and Hertz Donut MKIII.
– HI Hats and Ride made from Zorlon Cannon MKII.
All drums were sampled and sequenced inside Ableton Live. Drum mix was sent back through the Bastl / Casper Dark Matter for recording.
BASS
Piston Honda MKIII, modulated the pitch on VCO 1 with an attenuated clock divider. VCO 1 & 2 were tracking at same pitch but VCO 2 down 1 octave. Modulated X wavetable axis with 2 mixed LFOs. Modulated Y wavetable axis with a random sample and hold. Sound went through Double Andore MKII for shape. Sequenced by ES-3 from Ableton Live.
LEAD
Hertz Donut MKIII. This sound was more about the internal FM patch on the VCO. OP A modulating main VCO at a ratio of 7. OP B modulating main VCO at a ratio of 6 with a little phase modulation. Sound went through Double Andore MKII for shape. Sequenced by ES-3 from Ableton Live.
VOCALS
Recorded three takes and stacked them. Ran them through distortion, compression, EQ and reverb.
RECORDING
Recorded all audio on separate track in Ableton. Did some light editing, mixing and mastering.
https://soundcloud.com/user-635785534/zithers-for-spooning-patchable-008-jan-2020/s-rYpuB
Patchable 0008 NYMS Challenge (“Imaginary Band”)
“Analyzing for Emo Lawyers” was formed back in 2008, when Jinn and her bandmates were sick of lawyering, and decided they needed a creative outlet.
The band split up after a year, and all that’s left is a fragment of their times together…and their collective imagination.
The piece itself is made up of public domain found sounds (modular and otherwise) on Freesound.org, spoken word poetry, and the sounds of a Danish nature trail, snippets of conversation at the Brandy Library, and ambient sound near the World Trade Center.
https://soundcloud.com/forestine1/tonsil-rocket-raw-nerve-patchable-0008
Tonsil Rocket was an all-girl indie-pop group from Nova Scotia consisting of Kristy (vocals and keyboards), Claudia (vocals and guitar), Mary Anne (vocals and bass) and Stacey (drums). Not much is known about them except that they toured with Plum Tree during the mid ‘90s. They were inspired to start their band after Claudia introduced them to Tiger Trap’s self titled during a sleepover, which had been given to her by her older sister.
This was a crash course in actually learning my daw a little better, but everything is modular except the guitar (I am so rusty) and vocals (me x3). This is kind of a mini redo of Re:drum machine which was my first patchable. The kick, snare, and high hats are all made with envelopes from Pam’s and noise and stuff and I actually tried to learn where drums are supposed to go in a non-experimental song, ha. The bass is the Grandmother set to pulse waves with the same envelope from the snare into the LFO rate-in. The keyboard is the Grandmother set to all triangles with the sine from the Primary Oscillator patched in.
https://soundcloud.com/brain-basement/building-59-patchable-0020-0008
I used a band name generator online to give me the fictional band name of Building 59. The task was to write a track for Building 59. I decided that they would make post-modern, post-industrial, post-electronic, post-music music. :p
Patch notes:
Stream 1:
Serge NTO into Echophon into Erbeverb
Stream 2:
DFAM running FM percussion
Stream 3:
Instruo CS-L with 5 step loop running on Oscillator 2
Slow clock divided sequence in 4 on Oscillator 1 with Sine wave from Oscillator 1 feeding back into FM of Oscillator 2
Both oscillators into Befaco A*B+C for AM.
Serge VQVCF in hi pass mode
Maths is controlling strike into Optomix
Stream 4:
Basilimus Iteritas Alter drums
Pressure CV from 0-ctrl to morph on drums, burst and pitch of Oscillator 2