Dilated Choonz: > DC homegrown

Dead Prez vs. Higher Ground

Big J — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:45:00 +0100

Good strong heartfelt a cappella over Hudson Mohawke’s “Higher Ground”. What’s not to like?

Play loud and get angry as nothing they’re angry about has improved since they released it in 99.

Spaced: 1998 (or thereabouts)

Hal Berstram — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 07:56:00 +0000

Hal Berstram – Spaced: 1998

From a fictional 1999 to the real 1998 (at least I think it was 1998…) I’ve been playing all my old cassettes into the computer and came across this piece which I made and then promptly forgot about. The equipment list was (I think) a Yamaha DX7 and a Zoom effects unit, multitracked using Cakewalk on my old PC. It’s a bit formless but illustrates some of the sounds that the DX7 was capable of quite well I think – a real travesty that this synth became known for electric piano and marimba imitations in the mid-1980s. I’m particularly pleased with the strange burbly sound that comes along at about 8:13 – sounding very similar to the Synthi AKS loop on Fripp and Eno’s “Swastika Girls”. I had no idea the DX7 was capable of such a weird sound, and still can’t quite work out how I did it, 15 years later. Oh well…

File Download (9:59 min / 18 MB)

New Track from me; 'Techmp'

T Pot — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:10:00 +0000

Here is a track i made yesterday. Its extremely simple; made in one sitting and checked on the car sub today, sounded OK. Iv stacked several string instruments on top of each other with some simple but hopefully heavy bass.

I attempted some obvious chord changes but that just didnt work for some reason, the sounds choosen seemed to ‘sing’ in just a few places so i left it at that…...iv left in some resonant problems & stuff in the strings aswell so as not to leave behind the original feel of it.

its at 140 bpm. hope you like it.

cheers. t-pot.

File Download (3:26 min / 8 MB)

This one goes out to the Pope: welcome to our 3rd world country

Hal Berstram — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 06:54:00 +0100

BTSM – (We’ll Arrest You) When You Step Off The Plane

A little something topical for the kids now… those of you not on the Richard Branson space program probably know that the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope, is visiting the UK over the next few days.

Last month, three members of the Burning Lodge immersion composition group entered a rehearsal studio in Bermondsey to record a selection of freeform jams, sonic experiments and in-jokes. In other words it was very similar to the recording sessions for Guns’n’Roses’s “Chinese Democracy” album but took about a billionth of the time.

Around 2 and a half hours of material emerged from the sessions – ranging from in the sweet spot to 1-bit unlistenable. This 8-minute effort, excerpted from a longer 34-minute track, was the most topical ‘song’ of the day (with the exception of a track about 25 per cent spending cuts and odes to the late Tony Wilson and Mr Dave Smith, creator of the Evolver synth).

My colleagues Ben and Martin (aka Brothers Buffalo and Sewing Machine) acquit themselves wonderfully. Ben delivers the lyrics with considerable elan: it’s the best delivery since Hunter S Thompson’s story about 1972 presidential candidate George McGovern who went up to a heckler, put his arm round the bastard, and said “I have a secret for you… kiss my ass.”

The music is a fractured groove – a bit messy, but certainly something that could be worked on. I’m particularly proud of the mighty irritating synth arpeggiation that comes in at about 5 minutes in – funky funky. The weird Hawkwind-style background noises are courtesy of the Dave Smith Evolver – a truly untameable beast.

If you want to read a good article about the true purpose of the pope’s visit, Andrew Brown in the Guardian has a go(o)d hypothesis.

I was going to go on the demo this Saturday but not sure if I’ll have enough time. But maybe.

longer version of this track :: (probably only online for a month or so)
hilarious article :: about tacky Pope souvenirs - "Benedictaphone", anyone?

File Download (8:00 min / 9 MB)

Something I have been working on recently

Hal Berstram — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:11:00 +0100

Brother Typewriter – Hushed Tones in The Recording Industry (edit)

This is just a little thing I was working on last month with the Burning Lodge immersion composition group.

I miss the old days of 1970s vinyl when you could get albums which had one track on each side, normally about 17 or 18 minutes long. So I did an album like that.

“Hushed tones…” starts off a bit Floyd and then goes into something a bit like the 70s Tangerine Dream. When the sequencers were primitive and didn’t like to be tuned properly. And then… who the hell knows.

At some point I might post the other “side”, titled “The Great Shortage of Songs About Shop Work”. Named in honour of an in-joke too lame to explain here.

More mad stuff as it becomes available.

File Download (11:50 min / 14 MB)

electro tune made with reason 4 & rebirth

T Pot — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 21:21:00 +0100

ez folks, here is a track lurking on my HD. Quite an odd tune…. the vocal was taken from an xbox360 game. I ran the mix through a decent multi-band compressor afterwards.

File Download (4:37 min / 9 MB)

Be careful when the mike is switched on...

Hal Berstram — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:59:00 +0000

Christian Bale vs Microsoft Songsmith – Nice Guy

The novelty of Microsoft Songsmith is beginning to wear a bit thin for me after only a few days of experimentation (an attempt at an acid-jazz remix of Joey Beltram’s ‘Energy Flash’ came out so badly that it couldn’t even be posted here!) but I was lucky enough to pick up this on-set tirade from Christian Bale on ‘gossip’ website TMZ.

To be honest, it’s pretty a standard Extras – style wigout… most notable for the ease with which Bale slips between a British and American accent, both sounding pretty fake, throughout. I think we’ve found the new Lloyd Grossman.

Anyway, on a hyper-minimal ‘techno’ setting, Songsmith just about makes a fist of it. I particularly like the onset of melody in the final two ‘finishing bars’ which Songsmith appends to every song…

Next up – a bluegrass remix of Sir Lord Comic’s reggae classic “Jack of My Trade.” Maybe.

File Download (3:54 min / 4 MB)

Limb by Limb

Big J — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:10:00 +0000

Does the world need another Limb by Limb remix? Proabably not, but the a cappella does fit the fantastic Plastic Little (I’m not a thug) instrumental like a glove and…err…it is christmas?

Part 3 in a series of 6 edits by me.

Buy it! :: Turntable Lab has the original and a whole heap of great stuff

File Download (4:30 min / 8 MB)

Diverse, Lyrics Born and Ernest Ranglin - Explosive

Big J — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:56:19 +0000

PT II
another dilate exclusive…

File Download (3:44 min / 7 MB)

Cold Rock the Party

Big J — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:58:00 +0000

File Download (6:12 min / 12 MB)

Fun with sci-fi samples and a feedback loop

Hal Berstram — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:21:00 +0000

Brother Typewriter – Spock’s Brain

From the continuing monthly adventures of the Burning Lodge ‘immersion composition’ speed-songwriting project, here is a slice of basic heavy techno from Brother Typewriter, previously featured on Dilated Choonz in a much more ambient guise with tracks like “Rendlesham 1980” and “Floating Off the Coast of Lowestoft”.

The monthly Burning Lodge sessions are getting increasingly bizarre: this month, participants were encouraged to write tracks for a project called “Shatner – the Musical”, and I’d been meaning to do something with the Star Trek episode “Spock’s Brain” for some time – so now was my chance.

For those of you not au fait with the original Star Trek’s most notoriously ludicrous episode, this Youtube compilation should provide brief background – as well as a few minutes of laughing uncontrollably.

For the technically minded, equipment used to produce the track comprised: (a) Waldorf Attack drum plugin (which also provided a bit of sub-bass; (b) Waldorf D-Pole Filter plugin; (c) Korg MS10 synthesiser (driven by midi-CV converter; (d) outboard mixer (to feed the Korg’s output back into the input for some serious mayhem). That’s it – plus the odd sample.

Done in one hour maximum, so it’s a bit sketchy, and not at all my usual style. But all good clean fun.

Waldorf :: without whom this track would not have been possible... back after collapsing in 2004, makers of the Blofeld synth (which I don't have) and some very nice plugins (which I do)

File Download (2:52 min / 4 MB)

"Can You Call Bill Oddie and..."

Hal Berstram — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:02:00 +0100

Brother Typewriter – The Sanctuary

Apologies for lack of posts in the last couple of months – things have just been increbily hectic. Here’s another one in the occasional series of East Anglian-themed ambient releases from north Essex’s finest, Brother Typewriter.

This track basically consists of a long sample from an old BBC record of East Anglian bird noises (complete with preposterously posh-sounding narrator) which I found in a charity shop in Saxmundham, Suffolk. It was in reasonably good but not perfect condition, hence the vinyl crackle in places. The basic track was slowed down to about 60% of its original speed – the narrator sounds much better at this speed, although perhaps slightly out of it. The sample was then heavily reverbed and modulated and some suitably atmospheric keyboards (Yamaha AN1X and Arturia CS80V) added over the top. At some point I’ll get round to releasing an album of this kind of thing when I have enough material. More bits and pieces from the Burning Lodge sessions soon…

Burning Lodge :: For other bits and pieces by Brother Typewriter and his friends Oak, Buffalo, Matches, Selkie and now introducing Brother Sewing Machine...

File Download (4:35 min / 6 MB)

Rooty Tooty Rainbow Man

Big J — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 05:44:00 +0000

Rooty Tooty Manuva’s True Skool over Busy P’s Rainbow Man…

Seems to be quite few French people knocking about around here these days , they love this filthy euro-electro.

Well some of them.

Busy P's myspace ::
Roots Manuva ::

File Download (3:42 min / 7 MB)

#2 in the continuing 'Suffolk Ambient' series...

Hal Berstram — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:53:00 +0000

Brother Typewriter – Floating Off the Coast of Lowestoft

Another track from the Burning Lodge speed-composition stable, following last year’s Rendlesham 1980. The vast majority of the tracks I’ve produced in these sessions are not really stylistically suitable for this blog, but the odd ambient thing does come out of the sessions, so here we are.

Nerd info: this piece features the Arturia CS80V with a bit of electric guitar over the top. The CS80V is a software recreation of the Yamaha CS80 synthesiser, a seventies behemoth that was the favourite synth of Vangelis (another seventies behemoth, in fact.) It is, for better or worse, The Big Sound and unfortunately had a big price to match… but the Arturia version is only about £120, a positive bargain.

I’m developing something of a Suffolk theme with the titles for these ambient tracks and indeed there may be a Suffolk Ambient Project CD release somewhere down the line – if I can get enough pieces in a particular style. “Sizewell B incident” anybody? By the way, the title is a tribute to my friend Benny V aka ‘Brother Buffalo’ on the Burning Lodge, who in 1992 saw “a strange light, floating off the coast of Lowestoft”. It seemed to be a long way off and then it was very close… just like Christmas, or the police.

We thought it might be aliens, but another mate (let’s call him ‘Mr F.’) objected: “Why would they choose to manifest themselves in such a bizarre manner – floating off the coast of Lowestoft?”

Well, why the hell not?

Burning Lodge :: Immersion Composition Society
Arturia CS80V :: used by Toto, Jarre, Emerson, Wonder, Vangelis... all the greats.

File Download (4:04 min / 6 MB)

Something's Burning

Hal Berstram — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:21:00 +0100

Brother Typewriter – Rendlesham 1980

Finally I’ve got my act together and managed to complete a track of ‘electronic listening music’ (well, if a treated electric guitar counts as ‘electronic’...) It happened as follows: after at least 6 years of prevarication and noodling about with various sounds I was catapulted into action by joining the Burning Lodge Immersion Composition Lodge. Immersion Composition is a speed songwriting technique designed to confront the creeping paralysis that so many composers of modern music face when faced with too many technological options and too many things to say in too little working time.

The idea of Immersion Composition is simple: you spend 12 straight hours writing and recording as many tracks as possible – the aim is to get to 20, although obviously in 12 hours that would be very, very difficult. The aim is to chuck out all the constraints that stop you from composing music in ‘normal’ circumstances and just “go for it.” A ‘lodge’ is a group of musicians who individually undertake one of these speed writing and recording sessions, burn the results to CD, and then meet up to listen.

Rendlesham 1980 is from the first session I’ve done for the Burning Lodge – which was made up of several two-hour sessions rather than 12 hours in one go, due to time constraints. This track, however, was done very quickly, in about an hour and a half. The guitar and backing samples were put through Native Instrument’s Absynth 4 software synthesiser. It’s a simple track, and the playing is quite rough as I did it quite quickly, but I was pleased enough with the results to post it up here. (I was also pleased with the other 4 songs from the session but they’re rock and roll, really, so not so suitable for this blog.)

The title refers to an alleged UFO incident on a US airbase in Suffolk.

I can’t recommend this process highly enough to Dilaters who have all the gear they need to make music but are lacking the time – the results, so far, really have been mind-boggling.

(By the way, the Lodge members have fraternal or sororial nicknames so I went with Brother Typewriter in deference to the well known manufacturer of reliable office equipment.)

The Burning Lodge :: 'ex igne symphonia'
Ben Dalby :: The Lodge Head - without whom none of this...
Native Instruments :: Makers of Absynth 4, a key part of this track

File Download (5:36 min / 8 MB)

Esso Five - Big J Edit

Big J — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 23:43:00 +0100

As an apology for accidentally reposting this last week…

A complete no-brainer – the a cappella dropped back over this steel drum version of the fantastic “I want you back”

Does make me smile though.

File Download (3:06 min / 6 MB)

Big J's Beautiful Biggie Beta Band Blend

Big J — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:34:00 +0000

Fuck up the party before it even start – Biggie & The Beta Band

This should have been done years ago, the a cappella from Biggie’s “Bullshit and Party” was one of his early big solo tunes appearing on the “Who’s the Man?” soundtrack in 1994.

The underlying song is from British real-time folk-hoppers The Beta Band. The song is “I know” from “The Three EPs” released in 1998.

Anyhow…Not the most challenging piece of musical endeavour, but I did find something extremely satisfying about mixing Biggie shouting about guns and drugs over the top of a gently whispered laconic love song.

Pretty ignorant of Biggie’s works, but his flow and rhythm on this are on point if you can get over the bitches and hooker chat.

File Download (4:59 min / 6.8 MB)

Massaged message

The Mighty Alboy — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:58:00 +0000

jaydee and grandmaster flash – “e = the message squared”

The track on this mash up is J Dilla’s e=mc2, off the recent BBE release the Shining – a compilation of Dilla instrumentals. It has all his late lamented style- a bass-line that bumps, soulful vocoded atmospherics, and beats so laid back and heavy that they’re lying down, and unable to get up again. So so good, I just had to find an acapella to set it off right.

The first one I reached for was Grandmaster Flash’s the message, and it sounded alright- so here it is…

Two grandmasters, one track.

File Download (3:19 min / 6.1 MB)

On All Fours - Tumblekool and the Cherrry Bbomb

Blue Luke — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 03:03:00 +0100

So ive journeyed over to london town for the anarchist bookfair, the main attraction being that Kevvy K is taking me to It Came From the Sea tomorrow night.

I’m going along with an old mate of mine, Tumblekool, a resident of Dalston. Tonight he’s played me a couple of his tunes, which i’ve really enjoyed, and thus thought i’d share one with you. He’s an old time dj buddy of mine…we used to put a night on way back in the day.

Since selling out and moving to London he’s been busy in the music industry, infact the last time i caught up with him he was busy being sacked from the White Rose Movement’s tour for playing them too loud, again.
Now he seems to be concrentrating more on his own stuff, some of which can be checked out at his new myspace spot.
apparantly he’s just got it started and wants you to, “check it out and stop me being billy no mates”.

bless ‘im.

File Download (3:47 min / 4 MB)

Diva O'Riley

Big J — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 00:09:35 +0100

Not the first time The Who has been featured here on DC, but not quite like this.

I’ve had this a cappella since I started DJing and I think I have finally found it’s bastard pop home.

Not a finished tune, kinda en route to being a house tune, but I thought I’d post it to see what you all think. I love the massive intro and crazy prog rock arrangement and is one of those one-in-a-million things that the vocal is (almost) in key. I don’t know who the vocal is, so if anyone does leave a comment.

I am reliably informed it is being used in a terribly cheesy hollywood film, so apologies. I don’t have a TV so am little out of touch with the ‘real’ world.

It’s a bit like when I returned to the UK to DJ at a p*soul to play “California Soul”. Some cheeky chappy asked me if I had any chicken, it was only later I learned KFC had hi-jacked the song for an ad….MOTHERFUCKERS.

File Download (5:45 min / 5.3 MB)