The Sonny Downs Quartet
The Sonny Downs Quartet
  • 73
  • 76 898
Salty Sea Snake - The Sonny Downs Quartet
Pushing the limits of modular accompaniment about as far as I can currently go. Eight channels of sequencing all triggered by a single contact microphone.
The Sonny Downs Quartet again introduces the Persian Tanbour to the Buchla 200e. Enjoy!
Please check out my latest album, Heptology:
thesonnydownsquartet.bandcamp.com/album/heptology
Stream my music:
open.spotify.com/artist/6jwB5YhlRP0G2HOtVuVYyL?si=5cCMch6gQzyH4FSFGN-dVQ
Переглядів: 218

Відео

Trigger your modular synth with acoustic instruments
Переглядів 1,6 тис.4 місяці тому
The Buchla 200e is triggered by a Persian tanbour. In this video, every event on the 200e is triggered by the acoustic instrument, using a contact microphone. The synth is tuned to the tanbour, and also uses samples from the tanbour to create an accompaniment. Please check out my latest album, Heptology: thesonnydownsquartet.bandcamp.com/album/heptology Stream my music: open.spotify.com/artist/...
Musique concrete meets a 10/8 rhythm on the Buchla 200e
Переглядів 7235 місяців тому
A Persian Tanbour is sampled into a Keen 287e, and the samples played back either forward or backward from random starting points. Please forgive me for posing for the camera with a green love heart stuck to my face, my daughter put it there. Please check out my latest album, Heptology: thesonnydownsquartet.bandcamp.com/album/heptology Stream my music: open.spotify.com/artist/6jwB5YhlRP0G2HOtVu...
Acoustic percussion for your modular
Переглядів 4935 місяців тому
Acoustically sourced percussion for modular synth: a nice way to make perfectly in-tune percussion for your acoustic instrument. Here a Persian tanbour is played through a Buchla 200e modular synth. The full performance can be seen here: ua-cam.com/video/6SGpH2whWSo/v-deo.html Please check out my latest album, Heptology: thesonnydownsquartet.bandcamp.com/album/heptology Stream my music: open.sp...
Shimmering Sea Snake
Переглядів 3055 місяців тому
The Sonny Downs Quartet presents Shimmering Sea Snake. Persian tanbour accompanies Buchla 200e. The percussion sounds were sourced from the tanbour itself. A video describing how the percussion was achieved can be found here: ua-cam.com/video/TtZt0OkeEj0/v-deo.html Please check out my latest album, Heptology: thesonnydownsquartet.bandcamp.com/album/heptology Stream my music: open.spotify.com/ar...
Buchla 200e Techno
Переглядів 9567 місяців тому
The Sonny Downs Quartet presents Garden Recliner, part 4 in a series of videos showcasing the Buchla 200e as a techno instrument. Microtonality is applied. The intervals used are 7/6, 4/3, 7/5, 14/9, 7/4 Please check out my latest album, Heptology: thesonnydownsquartet.bandcamp.com/album/heptology Stream my music: open.spotify.com/artist/6jwB5YhlRP0G2HOtVuVYyL?si=5cCMch6gQzyH4FSFGN-dVQ
Heptology now available on vinyl
Переглядів 658 місяців тому
A very small run of Heptology is now available for purchase through Bandcamp. Only 25 copies were pressed on beautiful red vinyl. The record contains the first nine tracks of the digital album, due to constraints of the medium. thesonnydownsquartet.bandcamp.com/album/heptology Heptology is a suite of pieces exploring the number seven. Just intonation is used throughout, with a focus on septimal...
Improvisation for Persian Tanbour and Buchla 200e
Переглядів 95710 місяців тому
Tanbour and Buchla 200e combine yet again, this time with rhythm! And, in a departure from the usual microtonal offerings, in 12 tone equal temperament C major! Here we have a couple of synthesis techniques on display. The drone is created using the patch shown here: ua-cam.com/video/KCR6voTRmqo/v-deo.html The Keen 282e is extremely useful for writing music to accompany an instrument if you are...
Seven Hobby Trains - The Sonny Downs Quartet
Переглядів 429Рік тому
The Sonny Downs Quartet presents Seven Hobby Trains, from the album Heptology. Again, we have a 7/8 rhythm overlapping a 3/2 polyrhythm (a favourite for this album). As with all tracks on Heptology, the focus is on septimal intervals. The scale used is :1/1, 21/20, 7/6, 4/3, 7/5, 3/2, 14/9, 7/4. The preset manager is used to transpose the mode up a perfect fourth midway through the composition....
Seven Turtles in the Sunshine - The Sonny Downs Quartet
Переглядів 642Рік тому
The Sonny Downs Quartet presents Seven Turtles in the Sunshine. This is another piece exploring the number seven. Just intonation is used, with a focus on septimal intervals. The 7/8 rhythm is juxtaposed against a 3/2 polyrhythm. This piece was composed for the BUCHLAÏSMS V compilation, available to stream here: modular-station.com/modulisme/session/95/ Download, buy or stream my music: thesonn...
Drone school with the Buchla 296e
Переглядів 1,2 тис.Рік тому
The Buchla 296e has an uncanny ability to turn harsh tones with lots of high order harmonics into shifting, complex and beautiful drones via its spectral transfer function. This function analyses the energy in each of the sixteen bandwidths, and then applies that envelope to amplify another band. In the default setting, the odd bands can be set to amplify the even bands, and vice versa, or with...
Seven Wagons by The Sonny Downs Quartet
Переглядів 548Рік тому
The Sonny Downs Quartet presents Seven Wagons, the first track from the recently released album Heptology. Seven Wagons was performed on a Buchla 200e, with no edits, cuts, or external MIDI sequencing. This piece shows of the microtonal ability of the 200e. As with all pieces from Heptology, Seven Wagons incorporates just intonation septimal tuning (ie. focusing on 7-limit intervals) and uses s...
The Sonny Downs Quartet presents Heptology
Переглядів 141Рік тому
The Sonny Downs Quartet presents Heptology, a suite of pieces exploring the number seven. Just intonation is used throughout, with a focus on septimal intervals. The time signatures are all based on the number seven, and phrases of seven bars are used. Heptology was composed over 2021 to 2023, using a Buchla 200e modular synthesizer, in Coffs Harbour, Australia. The pieces were all recorded liv...
Buchla 200e goes electroacoustic part 1 - Persian Tanbour
Переглядів 880Рік тому
The Sonny Downs Quartet presents the first in series of videos exploring the electroacoustic potential. The 200e is being triggered by a Persian tanbour. The synthesizer has been tuned to the tanbour. When a strong enough note is played, the 251e sees this as a pulse, and advances the sequencer. The timing is extremely sensitive. Stream my music: thesonnydownsquartet.bandcamp.com/ open.spotify....
Buchla 285e timbral transformation
Переглядів 1 тис.Рік тому
The Buchla 285e is capable of timbral transformation without detuning. Here an identical signal is patched into the balanced modulator signal and reference. This results in the generous addition of higher order harmonics, and a large timbral shift, without detuning. I have incorporated this into a simple patch to demonstrate its use in a composition. Enjoy! Stream my music: thesonnydownsquartet...
The 2-3-7 rhythm
Переглядів 1,5 тис.Рік тому
The 2-3-7 rhythm
Buchla 223e tips - a keyboard and performance controller
Переглядів 1 тис.2 роки тому
Buchla 223e tips - a keyboard and performance controller
Buchla 252e drives the 251e and provides some rhythmic variations
Переглядів 7202 роки тому
Buchla 252e drives the 251e and provides some rhythmic variations
Seven Lawnmowers by The Sonny Downs Quartet
Переглядів 6992 роки тому
Seven Lawnmowers by The Sonny Downs Quartet
Buchla FM Bongos Part Two
Переглядів 5782 роки тому
Buchla FM Bongos Part Two
Buchla FM Bongos
Переглядів 1,4 тис.2 роки тому
Buchla FM Bongos
Empty Aquarium by The Sonny Downs Quartet
Переглядів 6482 роки тому
Empty Aquarium by The Sonny Downs Quartet
Bare Feet by The Sonny Downs Quartet
Переглядів 4722 роки тому
Bare Feet by The Sonny Downs Quartet
Dawn Breakfast by The Sonny Downs Quartet
Переглядів 6142 роки тому
Dawn Breakfast by The Sonny Downs Quartet
Seven Pieces of Popcorn
Переглядів 6972 роки тому
Seven Pieces of Popcorn
Seven Stones
Переглядів 3822 роки тому
Seven Stones
Buchla 200e Preset Manager as a performance tool
Переглядів 5952 роки тому
Buchla 200e Preset Manager as a performance tool
Microtonal odd-metre composing for the Buchla 200e
Переглядів 9243 роки тому
Microtonal odd-metre composing for the Buchla 200e
Seven Puffs of Smoke
Переглядів 3523 роки тому
Seven Puffs of Smoke
The Sonny Downs Quartet presents The Village Pond
Переглядів 2303 роки тому
The Sonny Downs Quartet presents The Village Pond

КОМЕНТАРІ

  • @francescozani9488
    @francescozani9488 13 днів тому

    I don't know why, but this apparently chaotic rythm has something that feels like falling in place at every iteration.

  • @danielhildreth9134
    @danielhildreth9134 22 дні тому

    That was wonderful! Truly inspiring!

    • @thesonnydownsquartet9340
      @thesonnydownsquartet9340 20 днів тому

      Glad you are inspired. If you come up with anything as a result, please let me know!

  • @Orangetronic
    @Orangetronic Місяць тому

    really lovely <3

  • @philippepetit5339
    @philippepetit5339 Місяць тому

    BRAVO!

  • @sergoz123
    @sergoz123 Місяць тому

    Which module actually detects when a strong note is played so it can advance the sequencer?

    • @thesonnydownsquartet9340
      @thesonnydownsquartet9340 Місяць тому

      That is the 230e, which is specifically designed to do this. I actually have the tanbour patched into it three times: highly sensitive, moderately sensitive, and low sensitivity. So, so sequencers will advance on light touch, and others require a heavier touch.

  • @BenjaminCarey
    @BenjaminCarey Місяць тому

    seriously impressive stuff, Adam... bravo

  • @MartinDoudoroffLLC
    @MartinDoudoroffLLC Місяць тому

    Gorgeous!

  • @ManoOne-Music-Production
    @ManoOne-Music-Production Місяць тому

    First comment! Beautiful… listening now

  • @Om-hrim
    @Om-hrim 2 місяці тому

    Hello, first of all I want to say your art has really inspired me. I am looking into buying some modules. I already own the Easel, I was wondering if it was possible to ask you some suggestions about which ones to buy ?

    • @thesonnydownsquartet9340
      @thesonnydownsquartet9340 2 місяці тому

      Sure. Please tell me your requirements, and what kind of music you want to create.

  • @precarious333music
    @precarious333music 3 місяці тому

    Fantastic! How did I miss this?!?!? Right up my alley.

  • @justinhuffman2430
    @justinhuffman2430 3 місяці тому

    Bongo fury😂❤ 4:06

  • @heatherpruner2284
    @heatherpruner2284 4 місяці тому

    Soooooo cool!!! I’ve been wanting to get into analogue instruments + modular and this is so inspiring! Also see Sarah Belle Reid and her trumpet (MIGSI) for more cool stuff like this!

    • @thesonnydownsquartet9340
      @thesonnydownsquartet9340 3 місяці тому

      Thanks Heather! I have seen SBRs videos. Cool to see people using their acoustic instruments to play their synths!

  • @PandaPotPies
    @PandaPotPies 4 місяці тому

    @sarabellereid

  • @asherjaffe
    @asherjaffe 4 місяці тому

    Very cool

  • @StevenNess
    @StevenNess 4 місяці тому

    so aweseome. love the buchla and the tanbour, epic.

  • @markseagraves5486
    @markseagraves5486 4 місяці тому

    Really beautiful. And your voice! Can we have hours breakdowns of your Buchla patches processed through this same patch please!

  • @BassFunMusic
    @BassFunMusic 4 місяці тому

    Awesome ☺♥♪

  • @darksparklermusic
    @darksparklermusic 4 місяці тому

    Thanks for the breakdown. Amazing per usual!

  • @Amangiechsin
    @Amangiechsin 5 місяців тому

    thiswas a recommendation out of the blue from youtube but man, this is so cool!

  • @thealmightycommenter
    @thealmightycommenter 5 місяців тому

    Hey! First video I watched of yours. Beautiful sounds and very relaxing and interesting walk through the system. Will check out your other vids!

    • @thesonnydownsquartet9340
      @thesonnydownsquartet9340 5 місяців тому

      Glad you found the channel, and hope you enjoy the music. Thanks for stopping by!

  • @MartinDoudoroffLLC
    @MartinDoudoroffLLC 5 місяців тому

    The 287e looks like an Interesting approach; certainly the results speak for themselves. Thank you for the demo!

    • @thesonnydownsquartet9340
      @thesonnydownsquartet9340 5 місяців тому

      It is a bit difficult to learn and takes some time, but it is growing on me a lot. It certainly has a lot of potential for electroacoustic music

  • @patrickbanken4014
    @patrickbanken4014 5 місяців тому

    Many thanks for sharing! I enjoyed this a lot! 👌

  • @patrickbanken4014
    @patrickbanken4014 5 місяців тому

    Absolutely loving this right now! Such a fun view, and would love to learn more about your process. Many thanks for sharing, and again, lots of love for our recent conversation on IG. Cheers from Germany, Patrick

  • @TheDinodallas
    @TheDinodallas 5 місяців тому

    This is lovely.

  • @aaronparr5053
    @aaronparr5053 5 місяців тому

    Very cool !!!!

  • @patchbaycowboy
    @patchbaycowboy 5 місяців тому

    lovely

  • @mikejaggs6722
    @mikejaggs6722 5 місяців тому

    Thought evoking!! 😊😊😊😊

  • @randomthename7927
    @randomthename7927 5 місяців тому

    Sounds so good ! Nice one sir !

  • @dudfaz
    @dudfaz 5 місяців тому

    Great idea! Sounds lovely

  • @MartinDoudoroffLLC
    @MartinDoudoroffLLC 5 місяців тому

    Lovely!

  • @danobrien3292
    @danobrien3292 6 місяців тому

    I’ll try to locate that, I divided an octave into sevenths and use all but the 4th and 7th tuning based on materials I’ve read. I’ll try to find the reference you’ve suggested.

  • @danobrien3292
    @danobrien3292 6 місяців тому

    Gamelan scale sounds beautiful. But how did you implement it? I can't seem to find anything useful.

    • @thesonnydownsquartet9340
      @thesonnydownsquartet9340 6 місяців тому

      It was a few years ago now, so I probably used Dan Schmidt's American Gamelan tunings.

  • @garaughty
    @garaughty 7 місяців тому

    Lovely work on this piece !

  • @acurara0113
    @acurara0113 7 місяців тому

    if only I could afford that keyboard..........

  • @peaksandvalleys4217
    @peaksandvalleys4217 7 місяців тому

    cool bass sound

  • @patrickbanken4014
    @patrickbanken4014 7 місяців тому

    Many thanks for sharing! How long did you spent on creating this patch / eco-system? Cheers!

    • @thesonnydownsquartet9340
      @thesonnydownsquartet9340 7 місяців тому

      Hard to say. I find myself more productive if I just work on things for about 1-2 hours today, but can't always do that. Probably 10-20 hours ...

    • @johnmeroney2007
      @johnmeroney2007 7 місяців тому

      How much of that is for the 251e :) And is your first channel screen glitchy like mine. I had other problems initially to send back for repair, but this problem remained. Not too bad of a problem

    • @thesonnydownsquartet9340
      @thesonnydownsquartet9340 7 місяців тому

      @@johnmeroney2007 Not glitchy. Yes, over 50% of the time would be spent with the 251e, but remember this is largely where composition occurs. So, I might write a sequence, then decide to rewrite it. I have started scoring out my sequences now, which makes things much quicker. You can't just insert an extra note with the 251e at will, as you would then need to reprogramme every step, so best to try to get it right the first time.

  • @wishbonebrewery
    @wishbonebrewery 7 місяців тому

    Great piece.

  • @PulseRecognition
    @PulseRecognition 7 місяців тому

    Very nice!

  • @MartinDoudoroffLLC
    @MartinDoudoroffLLC 7 місяців тому

    Superb. As usual.

  • @browe
    @browe 7 місяців тому

    Love this 🌞

  • @danobrien3292
    @danobrien3292 8 місяців тому

    So for the purposes of Just Intonation on the 251e, converting interval ratios to cents is not helpful. One needs to apply the ratio to a common base frequency to arrive at the interval's frequency then using a meter set each stage CV to achieve that frequency for that oscillator. Am I getting close?

  • @danobrien3292
    @danobrien3292 8 місяців тому

    stunning!

  • @danobrien3292
    @danobrien3292 8 місяців тому

    so unbelievably sweet

  • @danobrien3292
    @danobrien3292 8 місяців тому

    Crazy good!!!!

  • @danobrien3292
    @danobrien3292 8 місяців тому

    Okay, I think I have a better understanding. Your notes indicate that you wanted to use the 7-limit tuning as you are focused on the number 7, but you needed more candidates for your scale so you also relied on some 11-limit tuning intervals. You then create your scale by placing your 7 primary intervals on the axis of your tonality "diamond". You then calculated the distance between intervals following the diagonal until two on opposing axis intersect. This distance is just "x-interval" minus "y-interval" but since we are working with ratios and fractions, we divide the smaller fraction into the larger fraction; which is accomplished by multiplying the inverse of the smaller ratio times the larger ratio. This distance also becomes a consonant ratio that will will be converted into a frequency and used in your scale. This is the purpose of this exercise, to create a scale, I used all of these giving me 45 frequencies that work together with very little dissonance. Thanks for putting this together.

    • @thesonnydownsquartet9340
      @thesonnydownsquartet9340 8 місяців тому

      Hi Dan! I filled out the matrix manually, calculating every possible interval in the scale. If you use a common prime number in either the numerator or the denominator for your scale, you will mostly end up with consonant intervals. Everything I learnt about just intonation is neatly summarised in this book by David Doty. www.dbdoty.com/Words/Primer1.html You are right, the only way to calculate the CV values for the pitches is to use a tuning device and then write down the values. I have pages and pages of CV values which will be only applicable to my synth.

  • @danobrien3292
    @danobrien3292 8 місяців тому

    Thank you for steering me to this presentation, it's fantastic. I do have a couple of questions. I know you are working with heptatonic scales but how did you land on these particular intervals? How did you determine all the possible intervals within this scale? What is the significance of tracing the diagonal, which in your example gave us a major third. What is your point; is it that when a sequence moves from 7/5 to 7/4 it will sound like a major third? Are these leading candidates for opposing sequences? On the other hand, are you saying when the sequences land on intervals at the same time, we get a new tone as the result of the two tones being played at the same time some are disonate which resolve to consonant tone qualities? On the spreadsheet, is TWG1&2 oscillator set at a higher frequency than CWG1&2? at 560hz, the cents are vastly different. In the end, I'd love to create beautiful scales such as this one, but for all I have studied I can't figure out where to begin. Thanks for all your help...

  • @danobrien3292
    @danobrien3292 8 місяців тому

    love this sequence, I tried it super high with a C6 tonic and the square wave from the 258e (thanks for getting me hooked on it). Slowed it down a little, added some time domain, and it begins to sound a little haunting like tubular bells. I just can't figure out how you choose the intervals you choose. Any advice?

  • @browe
    @browe 8 місяців тому

    Nabbed one. 🌞

  • @RealMusicHype
    @RealMusicHype 9 місяців тому

    01:30 Very good..

  • @djkanyon
    @djkanyon 9 місяців тому

    That "impro" was better than some finished sets i've seen, that was a good one

    • @thesonnydownsquartet9340
      @thesonnydownsquartet9340 9 місяців тому

      Well, that is take number 50 or so :)

    • @djkanyon
      @djkanyon 9 місяців тому

      @@thesonnydownsquartet9340 as it should be! there's no musician without failed takes!