The Midnight Sun - An Ambient Jam Session (Blofeld, Specular Tempus, Launchpad Pro)

It's been a while since I last recorded something with my Launchpad, hasn't it?
Well, here's a new ambient track. Enjoy! ^^
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For those playing along at home:
The tempo is at 65 BPM, and the key is C major.
As the LP's note layout is the same for all keys I didn't have a reason to pick a fancy one.
So I just went for one that's easy to jam along to. ;-)
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For those interested in the setup:
Here's a flowchart:
(Expression Pedal) ⇒ DIY MIDI Controller ⇒ Launchpad ⇒ (PC) ⇒ Blofeld ⇒ Specular Tempus
(Devices in parenthesis are off-screen)
Firstoff, that little siver box with the amber lights turns the input from an expression pedal into MIDI pitchbend commands. Its output gets routed to the Lanuchpad.
Now, I've got a custom firmware running on the Launchpad Pro.
It's called Subsequencely and allows me to use the LP as a standalone MIDI controller.
Thanks to some software magic, the notes I play are triggering two different patches on the Blofeld: The higher notes play those little bells, and the lower ones are expanded into full chords for the pads.
To turn single notes into full chords I'm actually using a homebrew VST plugin, nicknamed "Arclight". You can grab that from my website if you'd like to try that out for yourself. ;-)
Ok, but back to the hardware setup.
The Blofeld is running in multi-mode, so it's playing both the melody and the pads.
Then the Specular Tempus slaps a whole lot of reverb on it, and the result get's recorded.
And that's it!
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Finally, some links:
Website: lanthanoide.ji...
Bandcamp: lanthanoide.ba...
Soundcloud: / lanthan-oide
Twitter: / lanthan_oide
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As always, thank you for listening!
Lanthan

[@mamojula]

No words!

[@LanthanOIde]

😊

[@OlivierSarfati]

Just subscribed. Like what you do/how you do it very much. Love the ambient/Berlin school vibe. Keep it coming. Thank you ever so much for sharing.

[@LanthanOIde]

Many thanks for the support! Glad you like it!

[@davgal93]

Magnifique. 👏👏👏👏

[@a.n.csound4468]

Wow!! 😳 really love this sir!! Very beautiful 😍😍❤️❤️💯

[@LanthanOIde]

That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you very much! :D

[@TheAmazingSnarf]

Another home run. Thank you- the work you do makes a difference in people's lives. I know it does in mine! I first encountered the Blofeld/ST combo here, and my life changed for the better when i began working with the same setup. Again, thank you.

[@LanthanOIde]

You're most welcome! I'm very happy my music had such a great impact on you!
All the best, and many thanks for writing this! :)

[@timothylyons7399]

So beautiful.

[@LanthanOIde]

Thank you! 😊

[@mr_floydst]

Great chord progression, and that reverb! Fantastic.

[@LanthanOIde]

Thanks again, Floyd! One of those days I shall try another algorithm. But for now... yup, that's a pretty sweet reverb. :D

[@RobbieHogg1]

Beautiful.

[@LanthanOIde]

Thank you!

[@MouthTrumpetOrchestra]

beautiful. I love all your work on the blofeld

[@LanthanOIde]

I'm happy you do! Thanks for the kind words!

[@SoundmanCH]

Captivating and beautiful as usual! Generated a warm and relaxing atmosphere, just what I needed, cheers mate!

[@LanthanOIde]

I'm pleased to hear that! Many thanks for tuning in again! Cheers!

[@nolake]

A great journey, good sound crafting, very inspiring for my own ambient work. Love this!

[@LanthanOIde]

Glad you like it! And many thanks for the kind words!

[@nigelrogers8690]

That is a sweet sound 👏🏾 Thanks for the detailed rundown of your setup and for sharing this beautiful piece 🙏🏾

[@LanthanOIde]

Happy you like it! And I'm glad you found the description useful. ;-)

[@trikOsk]

I liked it before i heard it! Amazing content again! Pure and beautiful!

[@LanthanOIde]

That's great to hear, thanks a lot! ^^

[@SkyscanX1]

Very beautiful music. I always look forward to your releases! I also love your detailed descriptions and what inspired you to create the piece. Very unique.

[@LanthanOIde]

Thanks for tuning in and the kind words! And also for reading my descriptions. :)

[@couchcamperTM]

very calming. time to light a candle and have a tea^^

[@LanthanOIde]

That sounds like a good plan. Thanks for listening! :D

[@martinlubitz3171]

Amazing! What a reverb👍🔥❤

[@LanthanOIde]

Many thanks! :D

[@MarcWeertsMusic]

Sounds gorgeous! Also, love how clean and efficient the setup is!

[@LanthanOIde]

Thanks for tuning in again! Well, the trick is to arrange the gear in a way that the camera can't see the cable spaghetti... XD

[@valdiskrebs566]

Very nice! I guess the new LPP Mk3 has the MIDI built-in?

[@LanthanOIde]

Thanks! I'd hope so, because it'd be a downgrade otherwise: My (old) Launchpad has them built in. ;-)

[@romanfrischennehrung4567]

Очень красиво!! Красава!!💥👍

[@LanthanOIde]

Thanks! :D

[@SkyscanX1]

I thought the Specular Tempus had an EXP jack like the BigSky. Assume the grey box performs this function. Maybe there is added functionality?

[@LanthanOIde]

Actually, I'm using that box to get pitch bend control. So it affects the synth, not the reverb.

[@LanthanOIde]

Hm, that depends. For pitch bending, modulation etc. I'd recommend you use expression pedals. If your keyboard can use those, then yes.
However, as you say you have a "digital piano with 3 pedals", that makes me suspect your pedals are more like foot switches? (Like sustain or sostenuto pedals)
You can still map those to parameters on the Blofeld, but it won't give you as much fine control.

[@pjamesbridge]

How do you achieve such plucky bell sounds? Is that the Blofeld talking?

[@LanthanOIde]

You're right, that's the Blofeld. I'm using a combo of FM and wavetables to make these patches.

[@r.e.d.62]

Sublime...is the bell patch yours or a stock Blofeld patch?

[@LanthanOIde]

Thanks! The patch is one of my own. :)