Golden Hour - my new album released for free download

I'm very excited that I've finally completed my most recent album, and I've published it online as a digital release for free download and streaming starting from today. The album's called Golden Hour, and it's a real feast of drum'n'bass, with some IDM, dubstep, and general electronic music thrown in the mix. It's available at http://www.split-notes.com/spnt001.php in mp3, ogg or flac format.

This album is my debut in microtonal land, as my three previous releases were all 12-tet. It's as much aimed for microtone lovers as it is for non-microtonalists, so expect some xenharmonic tracks and then some familiar-sounding (yet definitely microtonal) works. If you're a user of the social networking site Xenharmonic Alliance Ning then you may have heard one or two tracks already.

You might notice the website I linked to above - "Split Notes" - this is a netlabel I have recently set up to promote microtonal music in popular styles, ready for consumption by the masses, to introduce them to microtones if you will. Generally the idea is "microtonal with a beat". Golden Hour is the first release, and I'm sure I'll release many more works here in the future. Also, Split Notes is open to all composers who are looking for a home to release their work in any genre. I can distribute music on the site and around the web, and help promote it to bring in a few listeners.

I hope you'll enjoy the album, it's certainly worth having a mini rave in your living room while you listen to it! ;-) And if you're interested in Split Notes then I thank you very kindly, because making it an online hub for great microtonal music will be my pet project for a long while to come.

All the best!

Sean

Listening, right now, to insane Javanese whirligigs going bananas.

More listening through today....

now bit-crunched aliasing oh-wo-wo's.

I like this stuff. (But I'm known to have moods.)

eta: next cut better than second cut.

sent first message to Sean, this is copy.

-caleb

Your thoughts are much appreciated, Caleb. I'm glad you like it. :)

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, caleb morgan <calebmrgn@...> wrote:
>
> Listening, right now, to insane Javanese whirligigs going bananas.
>
> More listening through today....
>
> now bit-crunched aliasing oh-wo-wo's.
>
> I like this stuff. (But I'm known to have moods.)
>
>
> eta: next cut better than second cut.
>
> sent first message to Sean, this is copy.
>
> -caleb

more later, I had to listen to Andre 3000--important research...
On Jan 6, 2010, at 4:46 PM, sevishmusic wrote:

> Your thoughts are much appreciated, Caleb. I'm glad you like it. :)
>
> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, caleb morgan <calebmrgn@...> wrote:
> >
> > Listening, right now, to insane Javanese whirligigs going bananas.
> >
> > More listening through today....
> >
> > now bit-crunched aliasing oh-wo-wo's.
> >
> > I like this stuff. (But I'm known to have moods.)
> >
> >
> > eta: next cut better than second cut.
> >
> > sent first message to Sean, this is copy.
> >
> > -caleb
>
>
>

I feel I should also mentioned the scales I composed with. There were quite a few! I'll go track by track, so that if anyone is interested in a particular scale you know where you can find my composition for it.

1. Pelog from the gamelan semara dana at the London Symphony Orchestra.
2. 13-tet.
3. 22-tet, I used a scale with the degrees: (1) 4 7 11 13 17 20 (1).
4. Wendy Carlos' Alpha.
5. Just scale: 1/1 17/16 7/6 4/3 3/2 14/9 7/4 2/1
6. 15-tet, mostly in the equal pentatonic scale, but 15-tet was used for one diatonic passage and for occasional melodic inflections.
7. Bohlen-pierce (equally tempered).
8. I used a tuning preset on my synth called "JI-11", I'm not sure what each interval is but it was a diatonic sounding scale.
9. Bohlen-pierce (equally tempered).
10. Non-octave empirical scale: 0c 86.265c 217.449c 410.520c 589.714c 683.627c (683.627 here acts as a pseudo-octave)
11. Same non-octave scale as above.
12. 22-tet.
13. Wendy Carlos' Beta.
14. Just scale: 1/1 2401/2304 7/6 343/288 343/256 49/36 2401/1728 49/32 2401/1536 343/216 7/4 343/192 2/1
15. Non-octave just scale: 1/1 32/31 8/7 4/3 7/5 3/2 51/31 16/9 15/8 2/1 13/6 40/17 8/3

In short, a diverse little bit of everything.

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "sevishmusic" <sevish@...> wrote:
>
> I feel I should also mentioned the scales I composed with.

Hi Sean,

Any reason you didn't include these notes in the download?

-Carl

Yes there are a couple of reasons. I find that most people hear my music through streaming on last.fm and on Jamendo, and would not access the notes. Secondly I did not anticipate any interest from the majority of listeners about what tunings were used.

Do you think it would be more appropriate to include notes with the download? Any ideas will help! :) If it really would be more appropriate, I can amend the current download and of course do the same for future releases. If you were just being curious, well, I've been planning to make more technical information available on the split notes website as soon as I compile some.

Thanks Carl,

Sean

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Carl Lumma" <carl@...> wrote:
>
> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "sevishmusic" <sevish@> wrote:
> >
> > I feel I should also mentioned the scales I composed with.
>
> Hi Sean,
>
> Any reason you didn't include these notes in the download?
>
> -Carl
>

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "sevishmusic" <sevish@...> wrote:
>
> Yes there are a couple of reasons. I find that most people hear
> my music through streaming on last.fm and on Jamendo, and would
> not access the notes. Secondly I did not anticipate any interest
> from the majority of listeners about what tunings were used.
>
> Do you think it would be more appropriate to include notes with
> the download? Any ideas will help! :) If it really would be more
> appropriate, I can amend the current download and of course do
> the same for future releases. If you were just being curious,
> well, I've been planning to make more technical information
> available on the split notes website as soon as I compile some.
>
> Thanks Carl,
>
> Sean

I have mixed feelings about whether microtonalists should talk
about tunings with listeners. On one hand, one can argue that
it shouldn't even be mentioned. On the other, a growing number
of listeners would like to know. It's ultimately an artistic
decision (that's you).

But more generally, I think digital music should be distributed
with liner notes and album art. So, some kind of notes.

-Carl

I think... it should depend on the venue. With full disclosure at the artist
home blog / site for those who dig.

Too many people go - microtonal - that's sh!t and don't listen fully.
When I go stealth (at certain venues) the result:
Sometimes I get comments like - its out of tune - or if you tune your piano
better.
But it is really nice when you hear - different but I can't put my finger on
why,...

Also, so far, my experience has been the more exotic the timbre the higher
probability of the tuning being unnoticed as being different. My ambient
piece with Michael's phiter tuning has received several hundred downloads on
non-micro sites MP3 aggregation sites. (I can see the link backs in my
stats) No one notices that it is micro - they just think it sounds
especially dark.

Frankly - we need more of this stealth - when micro becomes common place
without people really realizing it I think it may pay to advertise outside
of our community. Other one runs the risk of the music not being judged on
its merits but instead on prejudice built upon exposure to (necessary)
experiments that were just that - experiments.

At least that's this composer's opinion.

Chris

On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 7:25 PM, Carl Lumma <carl@...> wrote:

>
>
> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com <tuning%40yahoogroups.com>, "sevishmusic"
> <sevish@...> wrote:
> >
> > Yes there are a couple of reasons. I find that most people hear
> > my music through streaming on last.fm and on Jamendo, and would
> > not access the notes. Secondly I did not anticipate any interest
> > from the majority of listeners about what tunings were used.
> >
> > Do you think it would be more appropriate to include notes with
> > the download? Any ideas will help! :) If it really would be more
> > appropriate, I can amend the current download and of course do
> > the same for future releases. If you were just being curious,
> > well, I've been planning to make more technical information
> > available on the split notes website as soon as I compile some.
> >
> > Thanks Carl,
> >
> > Sean
>
> I have mixed feelings about whether microtonalists should talk
> about tunings with listeners. On one hand, one can argue that
> it shouldn't even be mentioned. On the other, a growing number
> of listeners would like to know. It's ultimately an artistic
> decision (that's you).
>
> But more generally, I think digital music should be distributed
> with liner notes and album art. So, some kind of notes.
>
> -Carl
>
>
>

Sean,

I also gave it a listen. Very good. It will help me introduce people
to microtonal music when people say "ewwww that's just wierd notes going
on for 300 hours!"

Do you by chance note the tunings used for each song? I found one place
where you mention the Bohlen-Pierce scale and 5-tet, I was wondering
about the other songs, too.

Jay

On Tue, 2010-01-05 at 00:10 +0000, sevishmusic wrote:
>
> I'm very excited that I've finally completed my most recent album, and
> I've published it online as a digital release for free download and
> streaming starting from today. The album's called Golden Hour, and
> it's a real feast of drum'n'bass, with some IDM, dubstep, and general
> electronic music thrown in the mix. It's available at
> http://www.split-notes.com/spnt001.php in mp3, ogg or flac format.

>

Sevish>"5. Just scale: 1/1 17/16 7/6 4/3 3/2 14/9 7/4 2/1"
Interesting, said above JI scale just happens to have almost all 2^x and 3^x denominators, minus the 7/6.
************************************************
In case you are interested I've come across a scale via experimentation (as always, I am not sure rather a scale like it has been created yet) which is intended to optimize harmony and is a scale you might want to play around with.

The scale is

1/1
10/9
5/4
11/8
3/2
5/3
11/6
2/1

It is designed to

A) be based on only 2^x and 3^x denominators IE 2,4,8,16,32 and 3,9,27...but I couldn't figure out a way to make the note between 5/3 and 2/1 (currently 11/6) work with those denominators and still produce small ratios between itself and both 5/3 and 2/1 while fitting the requirement for B).

B) Merges toward but is not quite 7-TET. I did this as a compromise between 1) having a straight 7-note harmonic series and the best possibility so far as periodicity theory and 2) having something that merges on 7-TET as that's idea so far as consonance theory concerning keeping root tones a maximum distance apart.

The highest denominator ratio in this scale is 12/11 and that occurs between 11/8 and 3/2...and between 11/6 and 2/1.
In my book at least, 12/11 is pretty darn low for a 7-tone scale since about 11/10 is the absolute smallest possible maximum interval in a 7-note scale (as 7-TET has a 53/48 or 1.104 ratio between each of its notes).

Thank you Jay! The info you want can be found on this post: /tuning/topicId_85473.html#85481

I'm happy you'll use this music to introduce people to microtones! We need all of this kind of stuff we can get. I usually use some of Carlo Serafini's wonderful music to introduce microtones to people. :)

Sean

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Jay Rinkel <jrinkel@...> wrote:
>
> Sean,
>
> I also gave it a listen. Very good. It will help me introduce people
> to microtonal music when people say "ewwww that's just wierd notes going
> on for 300 hours!"
>
> Do you by chance note the tunings used for each song? I found one place
> where you mention the Bohlen-Pierce scale and 5-tet, I was wondering
> about the other songs, too.
>
> Jay
>
> On Tue, 2010-01-05 at 00:10 +0000, sevishmusic wrote:
> >
> > I'm very excited that I've finally completed my most recent album, and
> > I've published it online as a digital release for free download and
> > streaming starting from today. The album's called Golden Hour, and
> > it's a real feast of drum'n'bass, with some IDM, dubstep, and general
> > electronic music thrown in the mix. It's available at
> > http://www.split-notes.com/spnt001.php in mp3, ogg or flac format.
>
> >
>

Since I haven't' comment on content yet.

I've been able to listen all the way through a few times and I must say this
is great work!

I seem to especially like your custom scale as 10, and 11 (along with 3) are
my very favorites though 10 through to the end have a lot of appeal for me.

This is great work Sean - a lot of imagination and great skill in handling a
variety of tuning schemes.

And while I am not going to be able to compete on this level I do plan to
take you up on your invitation to release on your net label once I have
enough listenable material.

Chris

[blushing]
WOW! that's a great honor. thanks!
[/blushing]

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "sevishmusic" <sevish@...> wrote:

I usually use some of Carlo Serafini's wonderful music to introduce microtones to people.

This is a fantastic album. I enjoyed it very much. Lot's of ambient
and drums that would appeal to the new generations interested in
microtones. Congratulations and thanks Sean!

Cordially,
Oz.

✩ ✩ ✩
www.ozanyarman.com

On Jan 5, 2010, at 2:10 AM, sevishmusic wrote:

> I'm very excited that I've finally completed my most recent album,
> and I've published it online as a digital release for free download
> and streaming starting from today. The album's called Golden Hour,
> and it's a real feast of drum'n'bass, with some IDM, dubstep, and
> general electronic music thrown in the mix. It's available at http://www.split-notes.com/spnt001.php
> in mp3, ogg or flac format.
>
> This album is my debut in microtonal land, as my three previous
> releases were all 12-tet. It's as much aimed for microtone lovers as
> it is for non-microtonalists, so expect some xenharmonic tracks and
> then some familiar-sounding (yet definitely microtonal) works. If
> you're a user of the social networking site Xenharmonic Alliance
> Ning then you may have heard one or two tracks already.
>
> You might notice the website I linked to above - "Split Notes" -
> this is a netlabel I have recently set up to promote microtonal
> music in popular styles, ready for consumption by the masses, to
> introduce them to microtones if you will. Generally the idea is
> "microtonal with a beat". Golden Hour is the first release, and I'm
> sure I'll release many more works here in the future. Also, Split
> Notes is open to all composers who are looking for a home to release
> their work in any genre. I can distribute music on the site and
> around the web, and help promote it to bring in a few listeners.
>
> I hope you'll enjoy the album, it's certainly worth having a mini
> rave in your living room while you listen to it! ;-) And if you're
> interested in Split Notes then I thank you very kindly, because
> making it an online hub for great microtonal music will be my pet
> project for a long while to come.
>
> All the best!
>
> Sean

Fantastic work. Totally professional. Thanks for sharing!

-Carl

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "sevishmusic" <sevish@...> wrote:
>
> I'm very excited that I've finally completed my most recent album,
> and I've published it online as a digital release for free
> download and streaming starting from today. The album's called
> Golden Hour, and it's a real feast of drum'n'bass, with some IDM,
> dubstep, and general electronic music thrown in the mix. It's
> available at http://www.split-notes.com/spnt001.php in mp3, ogg
> or flac format.

Quite embarrassingly Chris "my" custom scale was created by using the wrong input method for the values of Michael S' PHI scale! I've been calling this little accident the "fake-phi" scale.

I predict that you won't like the scale so much if you try to compose with it, especially if you're anything like me! I found that composing in fake-phi really HURTS, because the notes you want to play in your minds ear tend not to be available. And the harmony is gruesomely unstable. It took much effort to finish those tracks because so many of my ideas turned into dead ends. In a way the challenge was fun though. :)

You're very welcome at Split Notes mate, it'd be exciting to work with you!

Sean

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Chris Vaisvil <chrisvaisvil@...> wrote:
>
> Since I haven't' comment on content yet.
>
> I've been able to listen all the way through a few times and I must say this
> is great work!
>
> I seem to especially like your custom scale as 10, and 11 (along with 3) are
> my very favorites though 10 through to the end have a lot of appeal for me.
>
> This is great work Sean - a lot of imagination and great skill in handling a
> variety of tuning schemes.
>
> And while I am not going to be able to compete on this level I do plan to
> take you up on your invitation to release on your net label once I have
> enough listenable material.
>
>
> Chris
>

Wow, cool to hear from you, Oz!

I really enjoy your track The Saba Storm which I think I first heard a couple of months ago. Thank you for your comments. :)

All the best,
Sean

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Ozan Yarman <ozanyarman@...> wrote:
>
> This is a fantastic album. I enjoyed it very much. Lot's of ambient
> and drums that would appeal to the new generations interested in
> microtones. Congratulations and thanks Sean!
>
> Cordially,
> Oz.
>
> ✩ ✩ ✩
> www.ozanyarman.com
>
> On Jan 5, 2010, at 2:10 AM, sevishmusic wrote:
>
> > I'm very excited that I've finally completed my most recent album,
> > and I've published it online as a digital release for free download
> > and streaming starting from today. The album's called Golden Hour,
> > and it's a real feast of drum'n'bass, with some IDM, dubstep, and
> > general electronic music thrown in the mix. It's available at http://www.split-notes.com/spnt001.php
> > in mp3, ogg or flac format.
> >
> > This album is my debut in microtonal land, as my three previous
> > releases were all 12-tet. It's as much aimed for microtone lovers as
> > it is for non-microtonalists, so expect some xenharmonic tracks and
> > then some familiar-sounding (yet definitely microtonal) works. If
> > you're a user of the social networking site Xenharmonic Alliance
> > Ning then you may have heard one or two tracks already.
> >
> > You might notice the website I linked to above - "Split Notes" -
> > this is a netlabel I have recently set up to promote microtonal
> > music in popular styles, ready for consumption by the masses, to
> > introduce them to microtones if you will. Generally the idea is
> > "microtonal with a beat". Golden Hour is the first release, and I'm
> > sure I'll release many more works here in the future. Also, Split
> > Notes is open to all composers who are looking for a home to release
> > their work in any genre. I can distribute music on the site and
> > around the web, and help promote it to bring in a few listeners.
> >
> > I hope you'll enjoy the album, it's certainly worth having a mini
> > rave in your living room while you listen to it! ;-) And if you're
> > interested in Split Notes then I thank you very kindly, because
> > making it an online hub for great microtonal music will be my pet
> > project for a long while to come.
> >
> > All the best!
> >
> > Sean
>

Hey, I finally got to hear your album the other day... it's one of the best things I've heard from the Tuning community so far.

I'd recommend this as a good introduction to well-known "exotic" tunings.

¶¦¬{> http://dannywier.ucoz.com

--- On Thu, 1/7/10, sevishmusic <sevish@...> wrote:

From: sevishmusic <sevish@...>
Subject: [tuning] Re: Golden Hour - my new album released for free download
To: tuning@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, January 7, 2010, 10:54 AM

I feel I should also mentioned the scales I composed with. There were quite a few! I'll go track by track, so that if anyone is interested in a particular scale you know where you can find my composition for it.

1. Pelog from the gamelan semara dana at the London Symphony Orchestra.

2. 13-tet.

3. 22-tet, I used a scale with the degrees: (1) 4 7 11 13 17 20 (1).

4. Wendy Carlos' Alpha.

5. Just scale: 1/1 17/16 7/6 4/3 3/2 14/9 7/4 2/1

6. 15-tet, mostly in the equal pentatonic scale, but 15-tet was used for one diatonic passage and for occasional melodic inflections.

7. Bohlen-pierce (equally tempered).

8. I used a tuning preset on my synth called "JI-11", I'm not sure what each interval is but it was a diatonic sounding scale.

9. Bohlen-pierce (equally tempered).

10. Non-octave empirical scale: 0c 86.265c 217.449c 410.520c 589.714c 683.627c (683.627 here acts as a pseudo-octave)

11. Same non-octave scale as above.

12. 22-tet.

13. Wendy Carlos' Beta.

14. Just scale: 1/1 2401/2304 7/6 343/288 343/256 49/36 2401/1728 49/32 2401/1536 343/216 7/4 343/192 2/1

15. Non-octave just scale: 1/1 32/31 8/7 4/3 7/5 3/2 51/31 16/9 15/8 2/1 13/6 40/17 8/3

In short, a diverse little bit of everything.