Feedback Hall

A prototype by Arius Blaze - the Feedback Hall is a sound art object. It's simply a large dual spring reverb (almost 4 feet tall), designed to not just process musical sound but to act as an atmosphere generator - a standalone art work in a home. The Feedback Hall picks up sound in the room, sends it into a preamp, into an amp, through the springs, into the pickup, into an amplifier and out of the speaker box.
It simply takes the sound and vibration in the room and turns it into an ambient field. The sound is sweet and soothing. Additionally, it can be used to process external instruments and sound.

The photos are not very good, but there will be more in the future - along with sounds and hopefully video.

Arius Blaze; Impossible Sound

I've finally managed to start sorting through the recordings of my time with the impossible box and thought it'd be about time to share a little. Most of my recordings (and all of what I currently have posted on soundcloud) are straight recordings, direct from the box and relatively (or completely) unedited. If I'm trying to make a "song", I prefer to be able to play it proper in one take - so I spend a day patching the Impossible and working with the sound and when to play what, etc. until I get it right...Then I record...and if it doesn't turn out right, I do it again and again until it does.
I think this yields a specific style of composition, sometimes one not so exciting and intricate and perhaps slow or even boring for the modern over-excited world. But...that's what I'm into.

For your (un)listening (dis)pleasure, I have a few recordings;


The first two were recorded for the first 10" dubplate release on the soon to be folktek records. Strange, somewhat minimal, almost droning, verging on music, cliffside hallway dub. A pulsing spatial sound for the release entitled "Spatial Recognition".
 

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This track entitled "Impossible Dub" is some bass whomping, ethereal foot dragging, crystallized melodicizm utilizing the natural occurance of the sequencers glitching from odd voltage inputting - somewhat dictating when to do what while I play. All in good fun.



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"Untied Up" is in two parts - a relatively simple sound but with the complexity of a seeming cello playing a sequence off in the distance, with the sound of slapping water in front of you. It's a composition that requires a mental reconciliation for what at first provides a spatial recognition of two very different places.


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"Dragon Sound" is more specifically in the straight drone realm - made with film sound in mind. Tense, ever-changing and building drone. The sound of train, busy-ness, a swarming, driving force...and yet somehow, at least moderately lulling.


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Another dub piece, more minimal...very chill - all live and unedited impossible box;


I will be posting more to my sound cloud in the future if you'd like to hear what develops; http://soundcloud.com/arius-blaze
cheers
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the Impossible Box (official post)

It's been a long time coming and a busy summer but it's time to shed a little light on the impossible box.

I made this for myself in consideration of the fact that after making instruments and inventing oddities for ten or twelve years or whatever it's been, I was never really capable of having my own works for making music/playing with sound. So in January of last year I started compiling a list of works I've created that I've always wanted to be able to consistently work with - to get back into music with. Initially the list was a few things (a time machine, a garden, some drum synthesis and sequencing, etc) but in further consideration it occured to me that I'd be happier making multiples of those things, diving into new realms, expanding on sequencing and so on. Eventually the list was admittedly a bit out of control but rather than crossing off a few ideas, I said fuck it and went for it.
At first I was uncertain about exactly how it would all work together and I spent a solid month agonizing over all of it, drawing plans and even dreaming about the details so that when I woke I was able to write it all out. It was terrible, honestly. I was also not so confident in my woodworking skills and the box was a bit beyond me but I pieced away at it and it all worked out nicely.
The project took a year to "complete", though there are still a few things I'm working on before I can call it a done deal. It was more work than I had ever anticipated, it came out larger and more full of sound than I had considered and in the end I couldn't be happier.

details;
The folding box is oak with walnut splines - measuring about 4' wide with each inner panel (lower and upper) at 2' deep, essentially making a 4' square if it were all laid out. 

Each module panel is done with player piano music paper and labeled on my Corona typewriter. This took a helluva lot of planning. The modules are also all lined with brass and I created almost all of the switches, keys, lamps and buttons.

the modules;
The time scape section is the main brain for timing of all of the rest of the impossible box time-based modules. It's a sampler with six clock outputs. Any of the clock outs can be sent to the clock multipliers.

There are two clock multipliers that output voltage to run any/all of the;
- 4 ADSR's 
- 4 relay based sequencers (used to alter the time scape sample, trigger drums or on/off switches)
- 2 CV based sequencers used to trigger;
  = analog drums (clicky, poppy, bassy goodness)
- 3 CV based sequencers used to control;
  = any of 6 oscillators (3 sine, 3 square)
  = any of four ADSR's
  = any of three filters
  = the timing of any of 3 digital delays
  = or all of the above

- Two pitch shifters, each of which is drastically different, one of which becomes a sampler. 
- A harmonizer
- three reverbs with multiple styles
- a four track looper
- phaser
- independant looper and analog delay
- digital drum with trigger outs and a piezo panel for finger drumming
- intelligent modulator that slices things up in brilliant ways
- 2 dumb modulators that slice things up in simple ways or send CV
- multiplier/audio vactrol control panel
- 4 ADSR's (as mentioned) that send CV but also take direct audio
- Midi clock out (accepts pulse from time scape)
- 2 mixers (one 4 channel mono, one 8 channel stereo)

and the amplified acoustic panels;
- 2 thumb pianos,
- single string slide-based thing
- a blank panel to scratch at or set things that make sound on.
- and finally...a melodica (yes...that's fuckin right)

Though audio patching can be done with 1/4" jacks (which I prefer) there is also a main patch panel that has most ins and outs in one place for direct complex patching.
Any external audio can be sent into just about anything.

I'm currently contemplating how to distribute sound but there will be things to listen to soon coming exclusively from the impossible box. But basically, it goes on forever. I patch and run sound into sound into adsr into effect on multiple pathways, into a mixer and out drips the sweetness.

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that is all for now. end transmission.

DJ Rupture remix, impossible boxing and music in general

Arius Blaze here with a shout out and share - the Impossible Box has been a pleasure and it's coming up on official listen time. I'm up on this sound cloud shit now and would like to extend an invitation to listen and follow up with musical happening;  http://soundcloud.com/arius-blaze

I recently revisited Dutty Artz (for those who don't know; check it out), home of Matt Shadetek and DJ Rupture (a personal long-time hero), only to discover a little remix contest Rupture's put up. The contest requires the remixing of a track by Rupture's band Nettle - which is also a great listen if you haven't heard it.

I personally LOVE to remix and have been doing it for years, so I took the opportunity to utilize the Impossible Box (my personal music lab) to alter, shift and diddle with those bits and pieces of Nettle. I'm a bit of a remix purist in a sense believing that a proper remix (for me personally) should utilize the bits and pieces of the original track exclusively (with the exception of straight vocal remixes). My sampler took care of the beats but the Impossible Box allowed control over the rest.

So please have a listen and enjoy! I also suggest having a listen through the other remixes that folks from around the world have entered on the official DJ Rupture remix challenge page via sound cloud - it's a pleasure to see where people are coming from with music and specifically remixing which tends to expose people in interesting ways. And though it's a bit of a late notice, if you have a chance to hunker down in the studio and create your own remix, it is encouraged and I would love to hear it.

I'll be adding my own music and sound from the Impossible Box laboratory to my offical sound cloud page as it's completed and soon the folktek records site will be complete and interwebbable.

Folktek Records

Initial works for the upcoming folktek records (a collection of recorded events compiled and released by Arius Blaze)

The first is a part of a visual series - ink on paper...The second is an initial preliminary test cover for one of the first musical releases; Audient.

For more info on these works and to see more, go to folktekrecords.blogspot.com and follow up for the launch date of the official folktekrecords.com site

Impossible Box preliminaria

Here are some preliminary photos of the masterwork by Arius Blaze, for Arius Blaze co-missioned after a year and then some of haggling over the details. It is entitled "Impossible Box". There are reasons for this, none of which will be presently disclosed.
What is it? What does it do? What does it sound like?
Many many questions, none of which will be thoroughly answered in this preliminary post. 
geometric frequencies, resonant synthesis, general auditory deliciousness.
Consider this tantalizing eye candy before the main course.
Please by all means, click the photos and see them be bigger and go to folktek.com for updates.

Time Scape Sequencer (antique version)

Built by Arius Blaze on co-mission

Time Scape Sequencer, featuring 8 part patchable sequencer synchable to time scape (sampler and delay) and patchble keys (like that of the time machine). Remix deliciousness and synthesis oddity.
see the folktek site for more details

swarm of insects

Insects created by Arius Blaze in shiny nice hardwood boxes, gathered here to lend chatter to the collective chaos

time scape sequencer/garden hybrid

A Hybrid remix work built on co-mission by Arius Blaze - taking elements of the time scape (with patchable keys of a time machine), sequencer synchable to the time scape, and a micro garden sized panel routed through the circuitry of a luminist (delay to wave reverb). A world of possibility and sweet sound generation built into a custom hardwood box.