Feeling inspired can often be challenging. It is not uncommon to be up against a wall and unable to see a way around. Creativity like a river, can flow when rain is plentiful, or dry up into cracked mud and dust in a drought. For this Patchable we are challenged to draw inspiration from other sources. Specifically from this photograph, taken by Will Ellis for his book Abandoned NYC. What do you see and what would it sound like?
![](https://nyms.love/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/freedomtunnel-1024x683.jpeg)
THE CHALLENGE
Place this photograph in sight while you patch. Use the photo to inspire your creative process. Interpret what you see and feel, then create a track that transforms your ideas into sound.
HOW TO PLAY
THIS PATCHABLE RUNS FROM JAN 19TH – FEB 1ST
- Create an original piece of music. It does not have to be a complete track. Ideas are welcome.
- Include the suffix PATCHABLE-0010 in the track title. A completed track title would look like this: Spiral Vortex PATCHABLE-0010
- Upload your track to soundcloud by end of day, Saturday February 1st.
- Include a link to your track and patch notes in the comments below.
Its my first generative patch. Be gentle!
https://soundcloud.com/w-y-543363470/w-y-drips-and-drops-patchable-0010
https://youtu.be/zAG_L2mU-yI
~~Patch Notes~~
EXTENSIVE use of the Make Noise Wogglebug in this one. Master clock is provided by the Malekko Varigate 4+
Sine wave from oscillator 2 of the Pittsburgh was droning and being mixed with the noise out on the Wogglebug. Sine from oscillator 1 of the SV1 was going to channel A of the Random*Source Dual Wasp filter. and the sine wave oscillator mode of channel one of Mutable Instruments Warps was going to Channel B. These are both being mixed with a Doepfer a-135-2 VCA/Mixer and going through the 6db of a Make Noise LxD. Strike is being clocked with a Animodule Tiktok clock divider with a /3 of the master clock. The mix is going through a Make Noise Mimeophon then to the mixer.
Smooth Noise out of the Wogglebug is going to the 12db of the LxD to the spring reverb of the Dreadbox Antiphon. Strike of the LxD is triggered from /2 of the master clock.
DFAM was receiving /4 clock for its sequencer. *Almost* audio rate LFO from the Antiphon was going into cv1 of the DFAM. DFAM was going into a Mutable Instruments Clouds (clone) then to a mixer.
Warps, the LxD, Mimeophon, Clouds, and the filter were receiving modulation from various things here and there.
As an aside, I’ve been inspired by @dysonant ‘s Jamuary videos and decided to record one myself.
https://www.youtube.com/user/dysonant
Also check out my recently released album!
https://music.apple.com/us/album/vague/1494381529?uo=4
https://music.amazon.com/albums/B083Q7L3X5?ref=dm_sh_5b01-fc8e-dmcp-ffc6-ef99f&musicTerritory=US&marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://play.google.com/music/m/Bpdsk6x6vott3vuyorrvi33l7ve?t=Vague
http://www.deezer.com/album/126182202
http://www.tidal.com/album/127795268
Pretty stoked on this one! https://soundcloud.com/onlyruin/chrdblck120-12220-356-pm
Here are my notes:
So it’s primarily a sequence on the Varigate 8+ controlling a kit on the Squid Salmple. Running that into the Black Hole DSP. The main voice is the QuBit Chord, being sequenced by the Rene. Splittling the signal between the Milky Way (not sure which mode), which is being modulated by a random sequence on the Voltage Block, and the Mimeophon. The Voicing CV on the Chord is being modulated by a very slow envelope on the Zadar. The whole thing is going into a Doepfer vca, then being triggered via Just Friends. The kick is the Befaco, which i have clean and split into the Erbeverb, which is also modulated by the Voltage Block, getting some cool percussion sounds.
Had a lot of fun doing this. https://soundcloud.com/user-731767312/nyms-patchable0010 Patch Notes: The photograph screams cavernous reverb, so I have a short sequence from the BIA going into the Milky Way plate reverb. This sequence remains relatively constant, with changes to the fold and morph parameters interspersed throughout. The FM sounds coming in about 1/3 of the way through are from a self modulating Rubicon. The saw output is going into the Viol Ruina low pass filter and a slow LFO from PNW is modulating the cutoff frequency. Later in the patch, the LFO frequency is increased, creating a classic sounding bass wobble. Finally, the TR8 is providing the drums.
my first patchable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgDjSOY0X8w
soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/sukasurok/black-dingus-patchable-0010-new
it is mostly Ciat Lonbarde Plumbutter + Buchla 208r rev. 1 jam.
it also employs the ER-301 playing a tape loop i recently made.
https://soundcloud.com/unsaidleek/forgotten-realms-patchable-0010/s-CGXP7
Great tracks. I like what people have been doing for this challenge. Some have a similar vibe to what I was aiming for.
This is my first ever modular track (just unstructured noodling before this). I also just bought a Buchla Skylab a week or two ago and this is my first attempt at creating something with it.
This was meant to evoke the open, partly obscured by shadows spaces of an abandoned subway track with drips of water nearby. I intentionally did not want a rhythmic piece and wanted a more ‘organic’ sound, although I will try something more rhythmic/structured next. This is semi-generative and is shaped somewhat by the pads on the Kinesthetic Input Port.
I did not take patch notes and I didn’t have enough oscillators and modulation sources to do this in a single patch, so this is two tracks of two different patches (and both passed through two different algorithms of a Strymon Big Sky). I used the Complex oscillator as a primary sound source in one and the Twisted Waveform Generator as the primary source in the other.
In the undulating longer sound (track 1), the Complex Oscillator acts as a modulation source, shaping the filter and Uncertainty Source. The Quad Function Generator shapes various things on the oscillators and the gates are used to shape the Quad Dynamics manager and to pan.
In the rain drop track, the Uncertainty Sources shape a number of parameters, sample and hold is used to change the pitch of the drops and I forget what ultimately causes the Function Generator to trigger the LPG.
I’m open to constructive criticism and look forward to the next Patchable Challenge!
https://soundcloud.com/user-573761089/reflective-surface-patchable-0010
Midi piano controlled from the Genoqs Octopus Sequencer. Drones and Shimmering synths via the Buchla synthesizer – Digital Resonator from 1979 and 296e through Stereo Microsound Processor.
https://soundcloud.com/dysonant/patchable-0010
https://youtu.be/q5fdC_r5aqI
Obviously tons of reverb, the Cs-L was the gurgling drone thing, self patch and very slow rates with a lot of modulated FM. The bell thing was the Three Sisters self resonating in formant mode. Arbhar was the voices. Bass line was Troika all 3 VCOs mixed one of the hard synced going into I-o47 filter moderate resonance but fair amount of gain. The walking snare was brown noise filtered by QPAS and modulated. Metallic background drone was the interstellar radio modulated with slow stepped random.
https://soundcloud.com/user-573761089/lately-patchable-0010.
A Polyfusion modular Piece.
https://soundcloud.com/brain-basement/echoes-patchable-0020-0010
My piece is called “Echoes”, and it both scores the emptiness and echoes of the current photo with the echoes of the past, when trains were busy flying through the tunnels and workers were maintaining the tracks. Lots of machinery sounds meeting with echoing ambience.
Patch notes:
Stream 1: Instruo CS-L Oscillator one with no pitch modulation into Befaco A*B+C into Optomix. AM modulation is coming from a 5 step sequence in Stillson Hammer controlling Oscillator 2, which goes into the A*B+C as well. The Optomix levels are controlled by a combination of an LFO from Quadrax and an envelope from Maths being mixed in a Tangle Quartet.
Stream 2:
Sine wave output of Oscillator 2 of the CS-L into the #/b CV of Maths to create subharmonics. Rise CV in Maths is randomized by Sapel. Amplitude is controlled by another Quadrax LFO combined with the Maths envelope from Stream 1. Both Stream 1 and 2 are being panned in opposition to each other by another LFO from Quadrax.
Stream 3:
Serge VQVCF is feeding back by plugging the bandpass into the input. Cutoff frequency is controlled by random voltages from Sapel. Lowpass output to Tangle Quartet controlled by burst mode from Quadrax. The burst mode is being triggered by an LFO from a second Maths module. Output of Tangle Quartet to Echophon with pitch sequenced from channel 2 of Stillson Hammer.
Stream 4:
Drums from Basimilus Iteritas Alter. Gate 1 controls trigger. Gate 2 is clock divided by 3/1 and controls Fold. Gate 3 is clock divided at 5/1 and controls S/L/M. Ratcheting is controlled by CV A in Stillson Hammer.
Stream 5:
Erbeverb feedback. Tilt, Depth, and Absorb are randomized by Sapel. Delay is randomized by Wogglebug.
Final output of all streams goes through a Boss RC-5 looper pedal, and an Eventide H9 for reverb/delay.
Enjoy!
https://soundcloud.com/forestine1/purple-worm-patchable-0010
I went from ghost train to maybe a purple worm interrupting an underground circus. This is probably not what you want to hear in that tunnel.
First I started with Grandmother’s Noise being lfo’d with a sine.
Creepy melody
Primary Oscillator sine into VCA with an envelope from Erica VC EG (envelope rather than gate gives it some periodic repeating dings depending on where I have it set), then sent into SEM filter which creates a bell-like sound. Didn’t think you could ping this filter, but it does something! Mimetic Digitalis, with a weird Pam’s clock (as usual) is sequencing the filter and the oscillator.
Filter BP into VCA/mixer and LP into Monsoon, in Emilieverb mode.
Unipolar from Clep Diaz into Density and Infra from Zlob Entropy into Size.
Then I brought in The Rumble™
Rumbling: Grandmother with Osc 1 and 2 combined in the mixer and sent back to Oscillator 1. Filter out into Oscillator 2-In. S+H into attenuverter and then into LFO rate-in, set to ramp. Oscillators are as low as they can go in triangle and saw mode.
Cromching: Werkstatt with a pulse wave with PWM and filter controlled by the LFO. This goes into Spring Reverb In of the Grandmother.
Grandmother/Werkstatt are going into delay pedal in Doubler mode.