Very inspiring - I'm a house producer that sort of hit a wall or something after a few releases. Rediscovered the guitar and been playing it pretty much 24/7 for like 6 months... And I really love ambient music and want to sort of integrate the guitar into my music and make... I dont know something - but your sounds and your story really inspired me.. Beautiful! Thank you! One day I will fire up the daw again :D
I’m so glad you found the video inspiring! If the guitar gets you going musically, then definitely try to integrate it. I’ve been meaning to make an album with my guitars, but most of the time I just noodle around on them. At the moment I’m very much inspired by synths, so I follow down that rabbit hole. Go where the music leads you! Restricting yourself to one genre can be creatively stifling. I make some synth wave every now and then to unwind.
I’m grateful that the algorithm has been kind to this video and brought you here! I’m working on a dedicated video on Verv right now and that should be up soon!
Oh, perfect, I’m glad you found the tip helpful! It’s one of my staples when I don’t want to deal with more involved shimmer plugins. It’s super quick to set up!
Thank you Matt, I’m so glad you liked the video! There will be more stuff on composition soon, I will try to include some track breakdowns in all my music related videos.
I love the way you explaing your flow. You have a very original way of expressing yourself which I really like. Your music is something I will dive into. I think there is lots of inspiration to be gained tbh.
Came here from Hainbach recommendation. Headed to BC and really really love this - so beautiful. I just bought it too. Thanks for persevering and delivering such a great work.
I’m so glad you like it! ✨ Thank you so much also for your support, it means so much to me! Getting this one out felt like a struggle, but it was definitely worth it.
This is amazing! Super inspiring, love the mood of the music. Wires and Landfill Totems are great tools, I use them all the time myself. Will defo check out the album!
Aw, thank you for checking out the album! Wires and Landfill Totems are just so special, they’re fantastic instruments. I’m still trying to wrap my head around Fundamental, that will probably lead to some nice music too when I’ve figured it out 😅
Crazy to see your cute animal drawings on ig and in the same time listening to your dark ambient sounds. In my head this directly mixes seeing these animals in front of these dark pictures you made
Wow, Lilly--instant fan here. Your tastes seem to align so much with mine--musically, sonically, choice of fave plugins (Puremagnetik Junkie here), and photographically--that I am shocked it took me this long to find your work. Really love how you describe your process and journey in creating this amazing album. I very much look forward to seeing and hearing and learning more. Be safe, take care of yourself. Covid sucks. It has greatly affected the life of my family as well. Peace--
Thank you so much for your kind words! I guess the reason why you haven’t found me earlier is that I’ve been somewhat inactive on here. Covid just made it so hard for me to do my thing, especially in our old flat. I’m sorry to hear that your family has been affected too. It truly sucks. Puremagnetik plugins are great! I always pick some up during sales and then next time I’m writing an album I’ll pick some to explore. At the moment I’m playing with Wade and Shrike quite a bit. I’m glad you enjoy the album! Thank you for watching! ✨
I'm excited to listen! I'm a fan of the caretaker and blakmoth, so this sounds very up my alley. Congrats on its completion! And also thanks for insight on your process
Thank you so much, Sara! I've been obsessed with the Caretaker's music for a good long while. So good! Thanks for the blakmoth recommendation too, I gotta check that out properly tomorrow!
may the YT gods be with us both for the confluence of my algorithm and your channel. amazing video, amazing human, amazing music, amazing art, amazing everything. i hope youre living a fulfilling life and are surrounded by love and support. thank you for sharing your expression.
Congrats on the new album. I just wanted to say it is good that you express where you are comfortable with your music. And that it is good you decide to step out of the comfort zone too. But... don't let the people saying your dark ambient music is awful get you. Subscribed!
Thank you so much! Oh, I’m not too bothered by people who think that dark ambient is a bad fit for a photography video. They’re mostly used to generic lo-fi beats from some royalty free service and just don’t expect to be confronted with fairly experimental music. It changes the mood a fair bit too and for a lot of my photography videos a lighter mood is more fitting. Quite funny how much I struggled at the beginning to make something lighter 😁 And it’s definitely fun to step out of my comfort zone! Thank you for subscribing and getting the album too, I very much appreciate your support! ✨
Thanks for sharing so much about your process and thoughts, it's really helpful to me, and I am inspired to do the same if I ever meet my goal of releasing a musical album
Well, I’m not sure I can pinpoint what exactly prompted this album. In some ways it belongs to the photographic project that you see presented in the liner notes. It definitely wasn’t prompted by something concrete. It just expresses the mood I was in after the pandemic turned my life upside down. I mention it briefly in the video, but I didn’t want to make it too central because we’re all sick and tired of hearing about the pandemic, aren’t we?
thank you very much for these insights! Really a beautiful album, not at all too dark for my taste. I also love the Hainbach plugins, so inspiring. I took me to buying a tape machine only to discover that it is unpredictable sometimes (witch is a beauty in itself but inconvenient ) and having the plugin really helps sometimes (being able to turn down the noise for example 🙂) Und vielen Dank für den reminder zu Puremagnetik, hatte ich schon mal auf dem Schirm, aber wieder vergessen 🙂
Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoy the album! I love playing with my proper tape stuff too, but it’s definitely hard to control what you get sometimes and for this Wires is just perfect. It reduces the need to keep various tape recorders around in varying states of brokenness 😅 Puremagnetik’s plugins are really cool. Lots of cool stuff to explore. My favourites are Verv, Fathoms and Shrike!
You're really cool and Polarcoaster is a sick name! I loved your DIY synth video, very inspiring. I'm currently building a MFOS Sound Lab Ultimate. I have a lot of work ahead, but I don't mind the journey.
Thank you! Oh, the Sound Lab Ultimate is something I’m working towards slowly! I love MFOS, so many cool circuits on there. I want to build the Phase Shifter next. At the moment I’m taking a break from DIY to concentrate on writing music, but I already have some cool PCBs printed for the next phase of the project!
@@LillySchwartz I was just thinking how I need to stop building for a while and actually make a song, but I can't seem to stay out of the workshop. Soldering is too much fun. Good luck on your next projects!
Thank you for all your support, Mark! I’m sure you can combine it too! I listened to it while writing quite a few times. I found that it‘s distracting enough to keep me engaged when I‘m trying to think things through, but not too distracting while I‘m in a flow 😀 ambient is my favourite writing accompaniment. Oh and you can check out the Jogging House record “be” too, I really like that one for writing!
@@markhayward9764 Hey, you're in good company, I failed to finish my dissertation too. In my case it's never going to get finished now because my topic would have involved a fair bit of international travel and since the pandemic that's just not really an option anymore for me. The universe was trying to tell me something there I suppose. How long do you still have to go?
I was doing a PhD on a topic in Cultural Studies. About exile? I’m using it as research for a novel now, which is a better use of my time for sure, since I have no interest in working in academia anymore. Too competitive, too difficult working conditions, meagre job prospects etc. Sounds like you’re getting there! Don’t worry, everyone goes through the writing blues at the end. I know plenty of people who quit during this phase because they start questioning themselves. Don’t think about the goal or what it means or what you’re gonna do after. Just try to set yourself a daily page count and stick to it.
I’ve been thinking about that too since the construction noise largely stopped now. What I learned in those two years of constant noise was this: What separates the Einstürzende Neubauten from the average construction worker is that they have an impeccable sense of rhythm. Those workers drove me nuts with their overly wonky timing 😂
Welcome back lilly. Light Meter question. When do you use reflective metering? I see videos saying whats wrong with it but not when to use it, also can the lumisphere be pointed at the subject and not the camera if the light is falling equally on everything? I have the gossen luna pro and it was giving crazy wrong readings.
I use reflective metering pretty much all the time. As long as you know how to interpret the results, there is nothing wrong with it. People tend to think there is “a right way” and a “wrong way”, but in reality you’ll have to make do with what you have. For example, shooting street you won’t have time to do incident metering unless you map the light in a certain spot and stay there for a while. As long as you measure in the same direction you can take a reading at your camera position if the light is the same, but in all likelihood you shouldn’t be pointing the lumisphere at the subject as if you were taking a reading of the reflected light. You’d be measuring the light that falls on the camera from the opposite direction. I tend to measure over my shoulder when I do something like that. It’s always good to know roughly what to expect by the way. I actually shot without a meter for a year just to train myself and I can guesstimate pretty accurately. It helps interpret those reflective results too. I use a meter now for convenience (Gossen Digiflash) but in a pinch I can make do without it.
@@LillySchwartz Alot of times I dont use a meter and the results are good, but I wanted to learn the meter as well to look official I guess, lol, but thanks for the info.
Speaking of camera lens and texture, when I got my first digital cam I was dirt poor and to make it do macro I figured out how to hold a jeweler head mounted magnifying lens the perfect distance to make it focus and so I ended up with some crazy clear macro using total garbage. It was my gateway to the world of photography but I never spent time worrying about what other people were doing or using which helped me just do my own thing. That was then and this is now, I wish I woulda kept that up with music because I think that is the real recipe to authentic from the heart art. So I am attempting to do that again. I kid you not though, if you EVER see one of those grey plastic jeweler viser loupe things with the square double lens GRAB it ! You will figure out the rest. As for noise interrupting an album, oh my golly, I moved to Vittsjö Sweden, the best coziest little serine vacation campling town, set up a studio and bam a previously homeless guy moved in next door ( nothing wrong with homeless folk, I been there too once) but this guy brought all his friends and alllllll their drugs, and ALLLLL the drama and noise anyone could handle. i ended up eventually finding a new place albeit not the same cozy town with blueberry forest trails by a lake, but the new town has blueberry forests on a hill and a fountain that looks like an old magic place in a movie or something, and allllll is quiet except for the crows and magpies. But the noise , I regret that I even tried to do it. Looking back on it the act is so painful and stressful, two things that a musician needs is lack of noise and lack of latency, otherwise our brains just don’t take it very well. Anyhow thanks for sharing your experience. Your work is other worldly dark and lovely 💙
I actually have one of those visors for my DIY soldering work. I used it a couple of times while soldering some Eurorack modules with SMD parts, but it usually just gets in the way. Maybe I try it with one of my c mount lenses that I sometimes use on my EOS M. I normally use Macro extension tubes because I only have one macro lens that doesn’t focus too close and it’s a treat for the occasional ultra close up. Wow, I can so relate to the druggie neighbour. When I was 17 I moved into a place that was quite cheap and next door a junkie moved in. During his first night there his girlfriend got way too high and smashed all his furniture at 6am on a Sunday 🙄 I listened to music very loudly back then because those guys were just unbearably loud. And I know exactly the kind of drama you mean. The Turkish neighbour from down the corridor slapped the guy for hitting his girl when she got high although she was pregnant, etc. Every day some new shite with them. And if it wasn’t them it was the neighbours upstairs where you could never tell whether they were beating each other up or were in bed together. Police would come round every night on patrol because there were always fights between the Turkish youths in our house and the Russian teens down the road. Incidentally this was also the time when I started making music. Guitar drones and the neighbours shouting, that was my soundtrack back then. Oh man. I’m glad we finally escaped the noise more or less. Sounds like you managed to get away from it too! And thank you for your kind words regarding my music too! ✨
Hi Lilly, I love your videos and your art. I have a question: why did you choose the Crave over the Neutron, which is often recommended for ambient and generative music? Was it just about price? Thanks
Thank you so much! I actually chose the Crave because the Neutron goes out of tune so much. You’ll find lots of complaints about that online and if you’re in the habit of writing melodies and harmonies it’s just super tedious to retune every 3 minutes while you’re recording. The Neutron is perfectly capable if you’re not concerned with tunings and then the drift on it might actually be an asset. Lots of drone music does just fine with a bit of a drift and dissonance. I write a lot of melodic stuff though, so it was important for me. My brother has a Crave too and he hasn’t tuned it even once I believe 😅 Another reason was that the Neutron has a bit too much stuff integrated that would be more flexible if you go proper DIY modular (more patch points). I bought the Crave as a cheap voice to combine with Eurorack, so something simpler suited my purposes much better. It was a good decision, I still use it all the time even though I have by now built an Even VCO that has a lot more waveshapes and sync etc.
@@LillySchwartz - Thanks, Lilly. I do love the sound of the Crave. I always loved the Prophet 5 (despite its presets and not being modular!) and the Crave VCO sounds very similar. I only have VCV Rack at the moment and I am looking to make small steps into hardware... so, the Crave vs Neutron discussion is very relevant to me. I love Dark Ambient (I am an ageing goth/dark waver), so I will go and check out your album.
@OvertTrousers I really love the sound of those newfangled Behringer Curtis chips. If you combine that with some fat sub oscillators it becomes such a rich sound, I love it! Featured very heavily on my semi-generative modular video. Oh, I sometimes write a bit of synth and dark wave too and have been thinking about making my next release something like that. Not sure yet. I wandered over from post punk myself, so I used to go to all the bat cave parties back in the day.
@@LillySchwartz Sounds as though we have some common musical reference points. In 1985, I was in the UK band Lethal Poor: ua-cam.com/video/kbCkZhCtqLc/v-deo.html Interestingly, we used a modular synth on this. I was all about guitars at that point, but our keyboard player had a home-built patch synth in a wooden case, without a keyboard. He never got the same sounds twice, which made it all more interesting.
@OvertTrousers oh, that kinda thing is right up my alley, I may have just bought a copy on Discogs 😅 I go through guitar phases too myself, but I’m not much of a player. I always made my guitars drone and swell even before I knew what ambient was 😂 easier to make synths drone, but guitars are lovely. When I’m done with the album I’m currently writing I want to make a guitar based dark ambient album with my two Mustangs. By the way, do you know the Melanchoholics? Lovely lovely stuff!
I say keep it dark and be true to yourself. Otherwise what are you really doing it for Lilly? I write mostly dark ambient stuff, and listen to other peoples "lighter" stuff to to keep me balanced. From what I've heard, you really shine in darkness IMHO. Thank you for sharing your craft! Not many artists do that.
Oh, I write a lot of dark stuff, but sometimes it feels almost too easy? I like to push myself out of my comfort zone. What I’m doing when I don’t make things that come naturally to me is learning 🤓And of course it’s also a matter of mood. If I write too much dark stuff I tend to get depressed, so I try to keep a balance. Just looking at the world is enough to despair 😬 essentially when I make an effort to write something light I’m just trying to cheer myself up 🤔 There will be more videos about the craft side of things coming! I wish more artists would share their craft, I tend to find it fascinating! I have a tendency to make the kind of videos I’d like to watch myself on the platform.
@@LillySchwartz I know what you mean about keeping that balance. If I get depressed myself, I usually do things other than music to lighten the mood. That way I avoid musical burnout in general, and produce the material that I'm most vested in.... DARK. I tried producing lighter things, but just ended up abandoning those tracks, feeling them not very... "me". That could eventually change, like with anyone I guess. Me, I'm in a dark place lately so this type of material is most suitable at present. Listened to Polorcoaster last night. Really great work Lilly! Good luck with all your endeavors.
Thanks for the link. This kind of music is not my style. In your message I read about your search new things (maybe new sound elements). My tip to you: 777Alaje with his special sound tracks with solfeggio and more...
😅 That's funny because 77Alaje isn't my style either, far too soft boiled for my taste. But that's all ok, music tastes are very personal, aren't they?
Music theory is not really needed for electronic music, unlike technical knowledge, plugins, synths. It is needed much for composers who write complex music, soundtracks etc.
I’m not sure I understand what you’re trying to say. Electronic music can be very complex and quite a lot of soundtracks are produced purely electronically now thanks to all the orchestral sample libraries?
@@LillySchwartz sorry for my english :) what I mean is that creating modern music requires more technical skills than theory, but creating old styles (academic music, orchestral soundtracks) is based on a deep knowledge of music theory.
Oh, your English is perfect, I just didn’t quite understand your distinctions. Now I get it. I actually believe that some minimal knowledge of music theory is very useful writing contemporary styles too. It makes it much easier to write variations and to understand why certain things won’t work. I find it easier to learn than synthesis for instance. You can get far just with presets, but without at least a rudimentary understanding what octaves and chords are it’s a bit like groping around in the dark. Eventually you might stumble on something that works by accident, but it’s guesswork without the bare basics. But of course you’re right, the more sophisticated concepts are rarely used in contemporary styles.
Check out the full album here: polarcoaster.bandcamp.com/album/hypnagogia
Just simply amazing
@@j-jlevy Aw, thank you! ✨
Very inspiring - I'm a house producer that sort of hit a wall or something after a few releases. Rediscovered the guitar and been playing it pretty much 24/7 for like 6 months... And I really love ambient music and want to sort of integrate the guitar into my music and make... I dont know something - but your sounds and your story really inspired me.. Beautiful! Thank you! One day I will fire up the daw again :D
I’m so glad you found the video inspiring! If the guitar gets you going musically, then definitely try to integrate it. I’ve been meaning to make an album with my guitars, but most of the time I just noodle around on them. At the moment I’m very much inspired by synths, so I follow down that rabbit hole. Go where the music leads you! Restricting yourself to one genre can be creatively stifling. I make some synth wave every now and then to unwind.
Would love to be able to listen to it on spotify !
Beautiful album, glad you found joy in instruments I worked on. Thank you for sharing your journey!
Thank you for your kind words and for everything you do! It’s always such an inspiration!✨
The UA-cam algorithm somehow recommended this video to me. Sometimes they get it right. You have a new fan. And thanks for the head up on Verv.
I’m grateful that the algorithm has been kind to this video and brought you here! I’m working on a dedicated video on Verv right now and that should be up soon!
"Normal mode to hang out in the dark spaces" Love it! Great album!
Aw, thank you so much! ✨
I really enjoyed this video! Thanks so much for sharing . Good stuff!
Really like the pitch shifting the reverb tip, just tried it and really like it. Thanks!
Oh, perfect, I’m glad you found the tip helpful! It’s one of my staples when I don’t want to deal with more involved shimmer plugins. It’s super quick to set up!
Absolutely loved this video, really enjoy & inspired by these glimpses at how others approach composing music!
Thank you Matt, I’m so glad you liked the video! There will be more stuff on composition soon, I will try to include some track breakdowns in all my music related videos.
I love the way you explaing your flow. You have a very original way of expressing yourself which I really like. Your music is something I will dive into. I think there is lots of inspiration to be gained tbh.
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the video! Lots more to come! And thank you also for taking the time to listen ✨
very cool sound production approach and a great album. congrats!
Thank you so much Illya! I’m glad you’re enjoying my music!
Came here from Hainbach recommendation. Headed to BC and really really love this - so beautiful. I just bought it too. Thanks for persevering and delivering such a great work.
I’m so glad you like it! ✨ Thank you so much also for your support, it means so much to me! Getting this one out felt like a struggle, but it was definitely worth it.
This is amazing! Super inspiring, love the mood of the music. Wires and Landfill Totems are great tools, I use them all the time myself. Will defo check out the album!
Aw, thank you for checking out the album! Wires and Landfill Totems are just so special, they’re fantastic instruments. I’m still trying to wrap my head around Fundamental, that will probably lead to some nice music too when I’ve figured it out 😅
Crazy to see your cute animal drawings on ig and in the same time listening to your dark ambient sounds. In my head this directly mixes seeing these animals in front of these dark pictures you made
😅 I may have been in a slightly less ominous frame of mind before the pandemic. I was writing Endless Nights when I was drawing those cute animals.
Really enjoyed this video. Bought the album immediately!
Aw, thank you so much for your support! It really means a lot! ✨
Wow, Lilly--instant fan here. Your tastes seem to align so much with mine--musically, sonically, choice of fave plugins (Puremagnetik Junkie here), and photographically--that I am shocked it took me this long to find your work. Really love how you describe your process and journey in creating this amazing album. I very much look forward to seeing and hearing and learning more.
Be safe, take care of yourself. Covid sucks. It has greatly affected the life of my family as well.
Peace--
Thank you so much for your kind words! I guess the reason why you haven’t found me earlier is that I’ve been somewhat inactive on here. Covid just made it so hard for me to do my thing, especially in our old flat. I’m sorry to hear that your family has been affected too. It truly sucks.
Puremagnetik plugins are great! I always pick some up during sales and then next time I’m writing an album I’ll pick some to explore. At the moment I’m playing with Wade and Shrike quite a bit.
I’m glad you enjoy the album! Thank you for watching! ✨
I'm excited to listen! I'm a fan of the caretaker and blakmoth, so this sounds very up my alley. Congrats on its completion! And also thanks for insight on your process
Thank you so much, Sara! I've been obsessed with the Caretaker's music for a good long while. So good! Thanks for the blakmoth recommendation too, I gotta check that out properly tomorrow!
That was an awesome breakdown! Listening to the album and getting inspired just now.
Thank you so much Michel, I’m glad you enjoyed the video and thank you also for taking the time to listen! ✨
Really enjoyable and interesting sounds on the album!
Thank you so much! ✨
may the YT gods be with us both for the confluence of my algorithm and your channel. amazing video, amazing human, amazing music, amazing art, amazing everything. i hope youre living a fulfilling life and are surrounded by love and support. thank you for sharing your expression.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m very glad you enjoy what I do.
@@LillySchwartz 🖤💚
Good job Lilly! I like the atmosphere in “follow the violets” a lot.
Thank you so much! Follow the violets is definitely one of my favourites of this album!
Congrats on the new album. I just wanted to say it is good that you express where you are comfortable with your music. And that it is good you decide to step out of the comfort zone too. But... don't let the people saying your dark ambient music is awful get you. Subscribed!
Thank you so much! Oh, I’m not too bothered by people who think that dark ambient is a bad fit for a photography video. They’re mostly used to generic lo-fi beats from some royalty free service and just don’t expect to be confronted with fairly experimental music. It changes the mood a fair bit too and for a lot of my photography videos a lighter mood is more fitting. Quite funny how much I struggled at the beginning to make something lighter 😁 And it’s definitely fun to step out of my comfort zone! Thank you for subscribing and getting the album too, I very much appreciate your support! ✨
Amazing work! I love the creative process!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you found it interesting to see the process! I was a bit worried that it might get a tad too technical perhaps.
@@LillySchwartz That’s the most interesting part 🤓
Hah, I also love to geek out over the technical aspects! 😀
Thanks for sharing so much about your process and thoughts, it's really helpful to me, and I am inspired to do the same if I ever meet my goal of releasing a musical album
I’m glad you found the video helpful! And I’m sure you’ll reach your goal! Keep at it and the album you’re imagining will happen!
Lovely music and art, Lilly, you got yourself a new fan! You're quite charming too :))
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy what I do! ✨ I guess I'll watch some Gondry music vids now :D
@@LillySchwartz you bet I will too :)))
Of course the question has come up whether I’m one of the animal characters lol.
@@LillySchwartz Hahah, yes! You are the unicorn! 😋
😅 the one in science of sleep or have there been other unicorns I have missed?
Very inspiring, thank you very much for sharing, and for your beautiful music.
Aw, thank you so much, Anders! I’m so glad that you enjoy my music! ✨
Congrats on your new album! ❤
Thank you so much ✨
@LillySchwartz Although, you didn't mention what was your inspiration behind the album itself
Well, I’m not sure I can pinpoint what exactly prompted this album. In some ways it belongs to the photographic project that you see presented in the liner notes. It definitely wasn’t prompted by something concrete. It just expresses the mood I was in after the pandemic turned my life upside down. I mention it briefly in the video, but I didn’t want to make it too central because we’re all sick and tired of hearing about the pandemic, aren’t we?
Hey! Good to hear that its out :D 🤘🏽. (Still love my crave). Ill give it a good listen later.
Hei! I still love my Crave too! Drift was done with it and I’ve used it for a few other things too!
Hope you enjoy the album! 😀
Congrats on the new release!
Thank you so much, Joss! ✨
Nice!
Congrats on the album!
thank you so much, Sina! 😀
Absolutely love "Follow the Violets". Beautiful sounds.
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoy it!
Thank you for the inspiration.
Aw, thank you for watching!
thank you very much for these insights! Really a beautiful album, not at all too dark for my taste. I also love the Hainbach plugins, so inspiring. I took me to buying a tape machine only to discover that it is unpredictable sometimes (witch is a beauty in itself but inconvenient ) and having the plugin really helps sometimes (being able to turn down the noise for example 🙂) Und vielen Dank für den reminder zu Puremagnetik, hatte ich schon mal auf dem Schirm, aber wieder vergessen 🙂
Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoy the album! I love playing with my proper tape stuff too, but it’s definitely hard to control what you get sometimes and for this Wires is just perfect. It reduces the need to keep various tape recorders around in varying states of brokenness 😅 Puremagnetik’s plugins are really cool. Lots of cool stuff to explore. My favourites are Verv, Fathoms and Shrike!
You're really cool and Polarcoaster is a sick name! I loved your DIY synth video, very inspiring. I'm currently building a MFOS Sound Lab Ultimate. I have a lot of work ahead, but I don't mind the journey.
Thank you! Oh, the Sound Lab Ultimate is something I’m working towards slowly! I love MFOS, so many cool circuits on there. I want to build the Phase Shifter next. At the moment I’m taking a break from DIY to concentrate on writing music, but I already have some cool PCBs printed for the next phase of the project!
@@LillySchwartz I was just thinking how I need to stop building for a while and actually make a song, but I can't seem to stay out of the workshop. Soldering is too much fun. Good luck on your next projects!
Oh, I know the feeling, DIY is quite the vortex. I had to force myself to take a break 😅 good luck with that song of yours!
Very cool, inspiring work
Thank you so much, Jason! ✨
Helloooo Lilly. An excellent intro into your music. I've only just found you. I'll look up your Bandcamp sets. Subscribed 🙂
Oh hei! I’m glad you enjoyed the video. Happy to have you here! 😀
you`re darker ambience is always amazing
Aw, thank you! ✨ it’s probably noticeable that I feel at home in those darker ambiences. It’s where I gravitate naturally!
it shows,always listen to what`s inside you.
I loved the Joy Division reference ❤️ Definitely purchasing the album!
Yay, you got it 🙌 I discovered Joy Division more than 20 years ago and I’m still obsessed with that sound! So good!
Yes, a new album for me to listen to while I am avoiding my dissertation. Thank you.
Thank you for all your support, Mark! I’m sure you can combine it too! I listened to it while writing quite a few times. I found that it‘s distracting enough to keep me engaged when I‘m trying to think things through, but not too distracting while I‘m in a flow 😀 ambient is my favourite writing accompaniment. Oh and you can check out the Jogging House record “be” too, I really like that one for writing!
You are very welcome. Thank you for being an inspiration... Failing to finish my dissertation is entirely my own fault sadly.
@@markhayward9764 Hey, you're in good company, I failed to finish my dissertation too. In my case it's never going to get finished now because my topic would have involved a fair bit of international travel and since the pandemic that's just not really an option anymore for me. The universe was trying to tell me something there I suppose. How long do you still have to go?
I am part time so I have been going since before COVID. Hoping to get it done by the end of the year. What did you study?
I was doing a PhD on a topic in Cultural Studies. About exile? I’m using it as research for a novel now, which is a better use of my time for sure, since I have no interest in working in academia anymore. Too competitive, too difficult working conditions, meagre job prospects etc.
Sounds like you’re getting there! Don’t worry, everyone goes through the writing blues at the end. I know plenty of people who quit during this phase because they start questioning themselves. Don’t think about the goal or what it means or what you’re gonna do after. Just try to set yourself a daily page count and stick to it.
I love the first track the most!!
Aw, thank you so much! ✨
I would suggest to take the noise recorded in your old flat 0:47 to work around a song from it.
I’ve been thinking about that too since the construction noise largely stopped now. What I learned in those two years of constant noise was this: What separates the Einstürzende Neubauten from the average construction worker is that they have an impeccable sense of rhythm. Those workers drove me nuts with their overly wonky timing 😂
I just listened to it. It sounds very good
Aw, thank you for listening Pere! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
💙
🤘
thank you, I also try to make my first steps in music
You can do it 🙌
I envy your talent. Great job!
Aw, thank you, Marty! ✨
Welcome back lilly. Light Meter question. When do you use reflective metering? I see videos saying whats wrong with it but not when to use it, also can the lumisphere be pointed at the subject and not the camera if the light is falling equally on everything? I have the gossen luna pro and it was giving crazy wrong readings.
I use reflective metering pretty much all the time. As long as you know how to interpret the results, there is nothing wrong with it. People tend to think there is “a right way” and a “wrong way”, but in reality you’ll have to make do with what you have. For example, shooting street you won’t have time to do incident metering unless you map the light in a certain spot and stay there for a while.
As long as you measure in the same direction you can take a reading at your camera position if the light is the same, but in all likelihood you shouldn’t be pointing the lumisphere at the subject as if you were taking a reading of the reflected light. You’d be measuring the light that falls on the camera from the opposite direction. I tend to measure over my shoulder when I do something like that. It’s always good to know roughly what to expect by the way. I actually shot without a meter for a year just to train myself and I can guesstimate pretty accurately. It helps interpret those reflective results too. I use a meter now for convenience (Gossen Digiflash) but in a pinch I can make do without it.
@@LillySchwartz Alot of times I dont use a meter and the results are good, but I wanted to learn the meter as well to look official I guess, lol, but thanks for the info.
@@monsieurgolem3392 Lol. To look official! Been there, done that myself 😅
Speaking of camera lens and texture, when I got my first digital cam I was dirt poor and to make it do macro I figured out how to hold a jeweler head mounted magnifying lens the perfect distance to make it focus and so I ended up with some crazy clear macro using total garbage. It was my gateway to the world of photography but I never spent time worrying about what other people were doing or using which helped me just do my own thing. That was then and this is now, I wish I woulda kept that up with music because I think that is the real recipe to authentic from the heart art. So I am attempting to do that again. I kid you not though, if you EVER see one of those grey plastic jeweler viser loupe things with the square double lens GRAB it ! You will figure out the rest. As for noise interrupting an album, oh my golly, I moved to Vittsjö Sweden, the best coziest little serine vacation campling town, set up a studio and bam a previously homeless guy moved in next door ( nothing wrong with homeless folk, I been there too once) but this guy brought all his friends and alllllll their drugs, and ALLLLL the drama and noise anyone could handle. i ended up eventually finding a new place albeit not the same cozy town with blueberry forest trails by a lake, but the new town has blueberry forests on a hill and a fountain that looks like an old magic place in a movie or something, and allllll is quiet except for the crows and magpies. But the noise , I regret that I even tried to do it. Looking back on it the act is so painful and stressful, two things that a musician needs is lack of noise and lack of latency, otherwise our brains just don’t take it very well. Anyhow thanks for sharing your experience. Your work is other worldly dark and lovely 💙
I actually have one of those visors for my DIY soldering work. I used it a couple of times while soldering some Eurorack modules with SMD parts, but it usually just gets in the way. Maybe I try it with one of my c mount lenses that I sometimes use on my EOS M. I normally use Macro extension tubes because I only have one macro lens that doesn’t focus too close and it’s a treat for the occasional ultra close up.
Wow, I can so relate to the druggie neighbour. When I was 17 I moved into a place that was quite cheap and next door a junkie moved in. During his first night there his girlfriend got way too high and smashed all his furniture at 6am on a Sunday 🙄 I listened to music very loudly back then because those guys were just unbearably loud. And I know exactly the kind of drama you mean. The Turkish neighbour from down the corridor slapped the guy for hitting his girl when she got high although she was pregnant, etc. Every day some new shite with them. And if it wasn’t them it was the neighbours upstairs where you could never tell whether they were beating each other up or were in bed together. Police would come round every night on patrol because there were always fights between the Turkish youths in our house and the Russian teens down the road. Incidentally this was also the time when I started making music. Guitar drones and the neighbours shouting, that was my soundtrack back then. Oh man. I’m glad we finally escaped the noise more or less. Sounds like you managed to get away from it too!
And thank you for your kind words regarding my music too! ✨
Hi Lilly, I love your videos and your art. I have a question: why did you choose the Crave over the Neutron, which is often recommended for ambient and generative music? Was it just about price? Thanks
Thank you so much! I actually chose the Crave because the Neutron goes out of tune so much. You’ll find lots of complaints about that online and if you’re in the habit of writing melodies and harmonies it’s just super tedious to retune every 3 minutes while you’re recording. The Neutron is perfectly capable if you’re not concerned with tunings and then the drift on it might actually be an asset. Lots of drone music does just fine with a bit of a drift and dissonance. I write a lot of melodic stuff though, so it was important for me. My brother has a Crave too and he hasn’t tuned it even once I believe 😅 Another reason was that the Neutron has a bit too much stuff integrated that would be more flexible if you go proper DIY modular (more patch points). I bought the Crave as a cheap voice to combine with Eurorack, so something simpler suited my purposes much better. It was a good decision, I still use it all the time even though I have by now built an Even VCO that has a lot more waveshapes and sync etc.
@@LillySchwartz - Thanks, Lilly. I do love the sound of the Crave. I always loved the Prophet 5 (despite its presets and not being modular!) and the Crave VCO sounds very similar. I only have VCV Rack at the moment and I am looking to make small steps into hardware... so, the Crave vs Neutron discussion is very relevant to me. I love Dark Ambient (I am an ageing goth/dark waver), so I will go and check out your album.
@OvertTrousers I really love the sound of those newfangled Behringer Curtis chips. If you combine that with some fat sub oscillators it becomes such a rich sound, I love it! Featured very heavily on my semi-generative modular video.
Oh, I sometimes write a bit of synth and dark wave too and have been thinking about making my next release something like that. Not sure yet. I wandered over from post punk myself, so I used to go to all the bat cave parties back in the day.
@@LillySchwartz Sounds as though we have some common musical reference points. In 1985, I was in the UK band Lethal Poor: ua-cam.com/video/kbCkZhCtqLc/v-deo.html Interestingly, we used a modular synth on this. I was all about guitars at that point, but our keyboard player had a home-built patch synth in a wooden case, without a keyboard. He never got the same sounds twice, which made it all more interesting.
@OvertTrousers oh, that kinda thing is right up my alley, I may have just bought a copy on Discogs 😅 I go through guitar phases too myself, but I’m not much of a player. I always made my guitars drone and swell even before I knew what ambient was 😂 easier to make synths drone, but guitars are lovely. When I’m done with the album I’m currently writing I want to make a guitar based dark ambient album with my two Mustangs. By the way, do you know the Melanchoholics? Lovely lovely stuff!
Yes, it is. Depends on the developmemt of conciousness...and personal emotional sitaution.
And let’s not forget musical knowledge.
Chears and congratulations from Argentina... :)
Muchas gracias, Luis!
I say keep it dark and be true to yourself. Otherwise what are you really doing it for Lilly? I write mostly dark ambient stuff, and listen to other peoples "lighter" stuff to to keep me balanced. From what I've heard, you really shine in darkness IMHO. Thank you for sharing your craft! Not many artists do that.
Oh, I write a lot of dark stuff, but sometimes it feels almost too easy? I like to push myself out of my comfort zone. What I’m doing when I don’t make things that come naturally to me is learning 🤓And of course it’s also a matter of mood. If I write too much dark stuff I tend to get depressed, so I try to keep a balance. Just looking at the world is enough to despair 😬 essentially when I make an effort to write something light I’m just trying to cheer myself up 🤔
There will be more videos about the craft side of things coming! I wish more artists would share their craft, I tend to find it fascinating! I have a tendency to make the kind of videos I’d like to watch myself on the platform.
@@LillySchwartz I know what you mean about keeping that balance. If I get depressed myself, I usually do things other than music to lighten the mood. That way I avoid musical burnout in general, and produce the material that I'm most vested in.... DARK. I tried producing lighter things, but just ended up abandoning those tracks, feeling them not very... "me". That could eventually change, like with anyone I guess. Me, I'm in a dark place lately so this type of material is most suitable at present. Listened to Polorcoaster last night. Really great work Lilly! Good luck with all your endeavors.
You are amazing. and you know it
🙏
Epic
✨ Thank you!
Get the album, guys! It’s great! 👍
Thank you so much for your support! ✨ I really appreciate it!
@@LillySchwartz You deserve it! 😊
@@antipopnews 🙌
Lille, wow, you use a lot of tools, instruments and it-stuff....
Actually this album was very lo tech 😂 hardly any hardware synths involved! I use much more stuff for the stuff I’m working on now.
Thanks for the link. This kind of music is not my style. In your message I read about your search new things (maybe new sound elements).
My tip to you: 777Alaje with his special sound tracks with solfeggio and more...
😅 That's funny because 77Alaje isn't my style either, far too soft boiled for my taste. But that's all ok, music tastes are very personal, aren't they?
You have beautiful hands
Thank you 🤘
Music theory is not really needed for electronic music, unlike technical knowledge, plugins, synths. It is needed much for composers who write complex music, soundtracks etc.
I’m not sure I understand what you’re trying to say. Electronic music can be very complex and quite a lot of soundtracks are produced purely electronically now thanks to all the orchestral sample libraries?
@@LillySchwartz sorry for my english :) what I mean is that creating modern music requires more technical skills than theory, but creating old styles (academic music, orchestral soundtracks) is based on a deep knowledge of music theory.
Oh, your English is perfect, I just didn’t quite understand your distinctions. Now I get it. I actually believe that some minimal knowledge of music theory is very useful writing contemporary styles too. It makes it much easier to write variations and to understand why certain things won’t work. I find it easier to learn than synthesis for instance. You can get far just with presets, but without at least a rudimentary understanding what octaves and chords are it’s a bit like groping around in the dark. Eventually you might stumble on something that works by accident, but it’s guesswork without the bare basics. But of course you’re right, the more sophisticated concepts are rarely used in contemporary styles.