Although I sometimes re-work a patch after recording it, I generally make a couple of obvious (to me) changes, re-record it, and move on to something new. But something about my Study of Addac’s new Swell Physics captivated me, and compelled me to go through several revisions and re-records to flesh out something interesting.
The base of the patch is the same: Swell Physics sends out modulation, which controls the level of the four voices of the RYK Modular Algo, and drives most of the modulation in the patch. The RYK Modular Algo output runs through a filter, and into Beads. All of these are mixed and sent to a reverb. But just about every aspect between those modules has changed. Modulation has been added, subtracted, and tweaked. I went through 4 filters before finally finding one with the right sound. I’ve experimented with different settings on all of the modules to find just the right sound. I added in delay to give some subtle length and a nice tail to the swells as well as the spray (which was also added). With dramatic results, I also changed reverb to the beautifully haunting Walrus Audio Slöer. All in all I spent upwards of 12 hours building and tweaking this patch, making no fewer than 13 different recordings, constantly evaluating the results and searching for way to improve it.
It’s hard to document all of the changes. There were so many. But suffice to say that nothing within the patch went without heavy scrutiny and experimentation. It’s the first thing that I’ve made which resembles something like a finished piece of music.
Modules Used:
Addac Systems Addac508 Swell Physics
RYK Modular Algo
Intellijel Quad VCA
Bizarre Jezabel Pkhia
Joranalogue Orbit 3
Joranalogue Filter 8
Joranalogue Compare 2
Frap Tools Sapel
CuteLab Missed Opportunities
Auza Wave Packets
AI Synthesis 018 Stereo Matrix Mixer
Mutable Instruments Beads
Mutable Instruments Veils
Atomosynth Transmon
Knob Farm Ferry
Olivia Artz Modular Time Machine
Walrus Audio Slöer
Performed and recorded in 1 take in AUM on iPad via the Expert Sleepers ES-9.