Sinister Sounds
Draw forth your malevolence from the black depths of your psyche. Call upon spirits and demons to fill you with dark energy. The time to feast upon treats and deal mischievous tricks is upon us. This month you shall weave a wicked spell of sinister sound to defile the ears of unsuspecting listeners.
THE CHALLENGE
Create a patch most foul and heinous. A miasma of modular music that would turn the stomach of underworld beasts. Draw inspiration from horror movies, scary stories and the fear of the void that dwells in us all.
You are free to write an entire song or simply create a single sound. Your submission can be structured or unstructured. You must use a modular synth in your submission but are free to use other equipment.
HOW TO PLAY
THIS PATCHABLE RUNS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER – DEADLINE MIDNIGHT ALL HALLOW’S EVE
- Create an original piece of music. It does not have to be a complete track. Ideas are welcome.
- Include the suffix PATCHABLE-0019 in the track title. A completed track title would look like this: Spiral Vortex PATCHABLE-0019
- Upload your track to soundcloud by end of day, September 30th.
- Include a link to your track and patch notes in the comments below.
PLAY YOUR PATCH LIVE
Thursday, October 22nd is the next Patchable Performers live show. If you would like to play that show please do not post your patchable until after the event. Instead contact @saddleuptherobots or @vcloki on Discord to apply for a time slot.
https://soundcloud.com/joe-arias/descent-patchable-0019 (hope it’s spooky enough for yall, sorry I can’t do the performance bc of work!)
(SOUND 1)
Snazzy FX Dreamboat (Gate Out) -> Doepfer A160-2 Clock Divider, set to 2-128
Pluck recorded into Instruo Arbhar, pitch tuned to lowest max with offset to random pitch around 11 o’clock
A160-2 (Outs 16, 62, and 128) -> Custom passive OR gate inputs -> Instruo Arbhar Trig Input, Intensity at zero so only manual triggers create sound
(SOUND 2)
Doepfer A160-2 (Out 4/3/3) -> Recovery Effects 2HP ADSR -> Quattro Figaro (CV IN 3) att. 3/4
Doepfer A-143-3 (Ch4, Triangle) -> Interstellar Radio (Carrier CV)
Peaks Out 2 (LFO, RND Step) -> Interstellar Radio (Demodulator CV)
(SOUND 3)
Snazzy FX Dreamboat (Y Output) -> Doepfer A-124 VCF5 -> Wasp Filter LP Out (Mix knob to HP, high resonance) -> Strymon Magneto (mono in, stereo out)
Peaks Out 1 (LFO, RND Step) -> RE 2HP ADSR -> Quattro Figaro (CV IN 1) att. 3/4
Doepfer A-143-3 (Ch3, 2x Ramp) -> Zlob Attenumix -> Magneto (Wet CV)
Custom 5V Source -> QF Input 1 -> Magneto (Spring CV)
Magneto delay mode set to Echo/Shift, switching to Hold/Shift at end of performance
Strymon Magneto (Stereo Out) -> Custom 4Ch Stereo Mixer (Ch1)
Instruo Arbhar (Stereo Out) -> Custom 4Ch Stereo Mixer (Ch2)
Something simple for my first patchable!
Church Bells:
Drones:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dPOLpOXieKpJEzDKAarDMScfRSB6TBE1/view?usp=drivesdk
Hi there, I played utilizing, at first and very poorly, a theremin (freaking loaded to the nines with delay). It coupled with a groove on the Moog Mother 32 to provide a semblance of structure. Once I put that away, we got down to it! The Moog DFAM on overload. A Korg MS20MINI squealing on the hi end of the filters, thanks to the step sequence power of the Korg SQ1. I have a lovely little custom Noise box that I use as an amplifier for ribbon synths, so we had a Korg Monotron Delay really going crazy. Live patch some here, tweak some frequencies here – BOOM! – SPOOKY! thanks so much to the hyper talented bill I got to share a set with. And, as always, a huge thank you to nyms for hosting!
https://soundcloud.com/forestine1/we-want-to-make-you-happy-patchable-0019
Phew!
Samples: Radio Jingles record, ad for Irv Gardner Buick played through Samplr ipad app.
Crying/gasping: Me making breathing sounds into Grand Canyon Looper
Low white noise from Grandmother (just at the beginning)
Flappy thing
2 slightly offset audio rate sine waves from Pam’s into CV 1 and 2 of SEM filter. Audio in is pink noise from Entropy. BP out to Tangle Quartet with an envelope from Pam’s.
Harmonic Moog Sample
In lieu of multitracking live (running out of oscillators), I recorded Oscillator 1 of the Grandmother as a sample. Triangle wave with a sine lfo and a little bit of pitch modulation and some spring reverb into Grand Canyon with a bit of Tape Delay, looped several times to create a polyphonic melody. Then I put it into Samplr to make room for the crying sounds.
Pathetic sine wave dirge
A gate from Pulses goes into Werkstatt’s LFO rate in, running a Triangle LFO. The idea is then it goes ^^^^^_____^^^^^____
LFO out from Werkstatt into Primary Oscillator FM.
Grandmother’s Oscillator 2, which is doing something completely unrelated (see BRAAAP), is going into Sync in, multed back into Osc 2 for BRAAAP
Turing Machine is being quantized by Pamela’s New Workout in “Phrygian” and sent to Pitch In.
Sine wave from Primary Oscillator is going into Tangle Quartet with a slow attack envelope from Erica VC EG.
Spectral Madness
LP/HP out from Flappy Thing above is going into Werkstatt’s VCF Aud In.
Sequence from sine dirge is multed and goes into Linear FM.
Gate from Pulses into Gate Out/In
Werkstatt is set to Pulse Wave at about half PWM (modified by LFO). Cutoff and Res are about half, with a bit of VCF modification from the LFO. Audio out and EG out into Tangle Quartet and then into Monsoon, set to Spectral Madness mode.
Entropy Infra (smooth random) into Grandmother Attenuverter, then multed and sent to Monsoon Density.
Two slightly different smooth randoms from Pam’s into Size and Texture.
Manual feedback knob turning to avoid it going nuts.
Springs
Brown noise from Entropy into Tangle Quartet with the multed Infra into the VCA. This is sent into Grandmother’s Reverb In to make crashy piano string sounds.
Big BRAAAP
Osc 1 Square wave at 32”
Osc 2: Saw 16”
LFO = Saw with slight pitch modulation so the note goes SLLOOOOOWWWLYYYY DOOOOOOWNNNNNNN
Suuuuper long attack
Gate from Pulses into EG Trigger In
Spring reverb set at about half
Sprinkles
Shimmer reverb from Grand Canyon delay/looper
Melancolía –
Here are links to my modular grid. Top Case and bottom case.
4 main voices: STO>Polivoks doing bass notes, Twin Waves>3 Sisters high pitched, AI Synthesis VCO>Wasp>Joystick, and uBraids in WTx4 mode doing some chords.
Starts off with just AI Synthesis VCO and a recording. 2HP Play sample running through AI Synthesis tape interface>digitank decay (very wet). Then patched the error instruments lullaby through tape interface, decay, feedback loop.
1010 Music Toolbox is running the sequence for each voice. Brought them in slowly using Befaco Hexmix. Hexpander had each channel aux send going to FX Aid, Overseer, and MSCL.
Trogotronic had the scratchy noise I’d hit every once in a while.
Ended with another sample that had been slowed down and detuned along with chords from the Music Thing Modular Chord Organ.
https://soundcloud.com/subjectivize/tashkent-1220-patchable-0019
My patch started out with this ribbon controller I just finished making and transformed from spooky sinister shrieks into what I decided to call a “Silk Road doom pop” opera. Anyway I guess my mind was in Mahavishnu Orchestra thru Mars Volta prog territory by way of glitch hop, and draws heavily too from Prokofiev’s score for the 1938 film Alexander Nevsky.
I wanted to bring the energy for my streaming debut, and also to play with irregular meters on my Pam’s New Workout and Muxlicer. But too bad my new DIY footswitch interface that makes triggers was on the fritz. I had some struggles getting PNW to switch banks on the fly. Gates mess up in the run jack and it skips banks. How do any of YOU either switch banks on CV controlled memory banks and/or get manual triggers?
So this track here is a different take than the live performance on Twitch. I managed the transitions better (and in some cases made a little light editing).
Setlist:
I. At The Gates (5/4 Time at 84 BPM)
2. Dance of the Tuun (7/8 at 65 BPM)
3. Kharash Lament (3/4 at 65)
4. Flanking Maneuver (4/4 at 90)
5. Departure (reprise of intro, 4/4 crossed with 5/4 at 90)
Patches by sound:
1. The ribbon controller puts out maximum 0-7V on the linear softpot, which I attenuated to 4V for pitch cv, and up to 8V with a very hard press (50N of force or 11 lbs) on the pressure pad, which I patched to a VCA and the timbre jack on PLAITS. I played the granular cloud mode in the opening, then the harmonic oscillator with morph all the way up for nasal whine, and last the FM mode for the slow section. Heavy Mimeophon skew in most cases to get stereo spread, used for a lot of the below sound effects too.
2. Thunderclap is a manual gate to CV on Dystopia bitcrusher filtered noise with some bleed for ambient growl
3. Manual gates to Radio Music sampling Sega Genesis’ Kid Chameleon’s “DIE” and Streets of Rage 2 “MUAHAHAHA” (This dates me…)
4. Akemie’s Taiko and RM sampling tambourines getting euclidian 5/4s from PNW in the opening. Percussion shifted to a Prok Bass Drum and RM sampled timbale and hand claps in later parts on Muxlicer gates.
5. Bassline throughout is a CEM 3340 VCO Maximus Saw plus one Square and one Triangle from the Zlob Dual VCO for a three voice detuned sound through the IO Instruments Euporie ladder filter. Sequences from a Keystep, usually on 10% gates to keep it snappy. Filter C/O down and reverb up for part 4.
6. Muxlicer on all gates ratchets is triggering the Prok Hi Hat in mode 3 which gives wonderful glitchy pops on a high Y parameter. I sequenced accents on “Y” using the Voltage Block in 7/8 time and left it in 7/8 even after repatching the Mux itself to 4/4 time in the last sections. Finally send it to Disting in panning mode, shifting the HH left to right channels sequenced by a random but rhythmic pattern.
7. Generative lead is a STO sawtooth through North Coast Coiler VCF. In part 2 it is receiving quantized pitch cv from O_c drawing from a Maths envelope triggered on the 1 and the 4 of the 7/8 time and transposed slightly by another sequencer cycling once per bar for 4 bars. It receives triggers from a Shakmat White Gallop. I jammed by changing the shape of the pitch cv envelope on the maths and messing with WG, mostly the pulses knob, but also tried a couple of different modes.
In part 4 I stuck with the White Gallop for rhythm but shifted the CV source to a VB sequence and jammed on the 16 buttons. In both cases the quantized harmony was minor pentatonic, which sounds good with simple II-V-I changes in minor on the bass lines.
I added extra modulation to the coiler for this new take, triggering a slower envelope on track two of the White Gallop. I’m learning that you can have the coolest VCF or wavefolder ever, but it only sounds as good as the creativity of the modulation you put into it.
8. Chord organ through Pico VCF1 with cranked polivoks resonate for the droning chords in part 3. Added Rings with a beige mimeophon tight delay. Both running VB sequences.
Here is mine: https://soundcloud.com/koyl/the-sound-of-love-patchable-0019
It’s a voodoo track meant to help removing pumpkin head from office.
All done with my new Akai Force (got it 10 days ago and this track is the first I finished with it) and my modular.
The xylophone is a BIA, the melodic synth is Loquelic Iteritas through the Desmodus Versio Reverb and pumkin head vocals were played and mangled in the Morphagene controlled by the 0-CTRL. I also used Prepared piano samples obviously, and Drums (in the Force).
https://soundcloud.com/brain-basement/banshees-in-the-cabin-patchable-0019
I created different sounds of Banshees shrieking and guttural moans. I have only one stream of sound here, because the timbre is so complex that there’s not room sonically for anything else. Enjoy!
Patch Notes:
Stream 1:
Instruo CS-L oscillator 2 pulse width modulation wave to 1V/octave of oscillator 1. Oscillator 2 is receiving pitch from 0-ctrl. Frap Tools Sapèl fluctuating voltage to timbre of oscillator 1. Final wave output of Oscillator 1 to 1V/oct input of Random Source Serge NTO. Sapèl fluctuating voltage to timbre. Variable output of NTO to Optomix, double gated by two Maths LFOs. Output of Optomix to Erbeverb. Size, depth, tilt, and decay CV are controlled by Quadrax LFOs. Audio to X-Pan, with pan controlled by LFO and attenuated by Tangle Quartet.