Monthly Archives: September 2012

Shirin Dances

This summer I decided to write a few pieces of music inspired by fantasy novels. If nothing else, this project gives me an excuse to read fantasy novels. I had never encountered Guy Gavriel Kay before, but I was quite … Continue reading

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Camel Ride to the Tomb

Here’s a new piece, “Camel Ride to the Tomb.” I got inspired by some of the new devices that are available for Propellerhead Reason, not least of them Rob Papen’s PredatorRE synth, from which came the growling riff that begins … Continue reading

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The Big Questions

Why is there something rather than nothing? That’s the question that Jim Holt sets out to explore in his new book Why Does the World Exist? The book is a sort of cook’s tour of what might be considered the ultimate question … Continue reading

Posted in random musings | 1 Comment

First the Nuts, then the Bolts

Having been slightly encouraged by an offhand comment in an email from Roger Linn, I’m thinking a bit more about how one might design a modular synthesizer in software. Not that it hasn’t been done before, but I may have … Continue reading

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More about Modular

Modular synthesizers seem to have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years. I’m not privy to sales figures, but a number of companies are building and selling them. Forty years ago, these expensive, bulky, grotesquely inconvenient systems were state-of-the-art. Today, they’re … Continue reading

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Digging Up the Past

Today I’m contemplating the possibility of writing a novel set in Chicago in the 1880s. Or rather, rewriting a novel with that setting that I wrote a couple of years ago. It’s a pretty good story, but it needs more … Continue reading

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