like grains of sand in your hand
from Shapes & Time by Lullatone
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about
Yoshimi has this sand-filled hourglass in our kitchen. It is mesmerizing to watch. Each grain of sand is a tiny speck. It moves in an instant, so quick you can’t even notice it. But all together, a just handful of this sand can be used to count out enough minutes to cook ramen noodles. Incredible!
I can’t imagine a better metaphor for a way to see time.
Too tiny to notice and then, suddenly, too massive to miss.
Using granular synthesis on the last song made me think more about different types of tiny particles. Basically the “grains” in the synth are just microscopic slivers of the sound. On their own they don’t sound like much more than a click. But all together, they can add up to any melody you could think of - almost like how a ton of tiny moments can add up to a whole lifetime.
That sparked an idea. I should try using sand in the recording of the track, too. I took apart an old guitar amp and set the speaker upright. Then I did lots of tests by pouring different types of sand into the speaker and playing synth tones at different frequencies through it.
It was hypnotic to watch the grains shake with the different sound waves - just like watching the sand clock. Seeing the sound move gave me the same feeling as watching time pass by. Imagine all the seashells and old buildings that turned into the sand I was holding in my hand, pouring onto the speaker.
Italo Calvino has a nice essay called Collection of Sand that I really love. I don’t collect anything, but I guess I can understand the charm.
I think this experiment led to some nice textures on the tones I couldn’t get with a computer. It took forever to clean the studio floor afterwards though…
キッチンにかっこいい砂時計がある。
砂が一粒づつ落ちていく様子をずっと見てしまう。この素早く落ちていく砂が、カップラーメンの出来上がりをちょうど知らせてくれるなんてすごい！
砂時計以上に時間を”見る”事ができる物があるだろうか。
時間も砂のように小さ過ぎて見過ごしてしまうけど、気がつくとあっという間に過ぎ去って行ってしまっている。
前回の曲でグラニュラーシンセシスを使った後、細かな粒子についてよく考えていた。シンセサイザーから鳴る音の小さなひと粒はただの一片で、その音だけではただのクリック音に過ぎない。けれどそれらを組み合わせていけば、小さな瞬間が集まって大きな時間になるように、どんなメロディーでも作ることができる。
そこから、レコーディングに砂を使おうと思いついた。
古いギターアンプを解体してスピーカーを上向きに置き、色々な種類の砂をかけて、シンセサイザーの音をあらゆる周波数で流した。
砂粒が音の波に乗って踊っている姿から目を離せなくなった。音の動きを見ることは、砂時計で時間の経過を見ているのと同じ感覚がした。
この実験で、コンピューターではできない感触が出せたと思う。
スタジオの床に落ちた砂を掃除するのはめちゃくちゃ大変だったけど。
I can’t imagine a better metaphor for a way to see time.
Too tiny to notice and then, suddenly, too massive to miss.
Using granular synthesis on the last song made me think more about different types of tiny particles. Basically the “grains” in the synth are just microscopic slivers of the sound. On their own they don’t sound like much more than a click. But all together, they can add up to any melody you could think of - almost like how a ton of tiny moments can add up to a whole lifetime.
That sparked an idea. I should try using sand in the recording of the track, too. I took apart an old guitar amp and set the speaker upright. Then I did lots of tests by pouring different types of sand into the speaker and playing synth tones at different frequencies through it.
It was hypnotic to watch the grains shake with the different sound waves - just like watching the sand clock. Seeing the sound move gave me the same feeling as watching time pass by. Imagine all the seashells and old buildings that turned into the sand I was holding in my hand, pouring onto the speaker.
Italo Calvino has a nice essay called Collection of Sand that I really love. I don’t collect anything, but I guess I can understand the charm.
I think this experiment led to some nice textures on the tones I couldn’t get with a computer. It took forever to clean the studio floor afterwards though…
キッチンにかっこいい砂時計がある。
砂が一粒づつ落ちていく様子をずっと見てしまう。この素早く落ちていく砂が、カップラーメンの出来上がりをちょうど知らせてくれるなんてすごい！
砂時計以上に時間を”見る”事ができる物があるだろうか。
時間も砂のように小さ過ぎて見過ごしてしまうけど、気がつくとあっという間に過ぎ去って行ってしまっている。
前回の曲でグラニュラーシンセシスを使った後、細かな粒子についてよく考えていた。シンセサイザーから鳴る音の小さなひと粒はただの一片で、その音だけではただのクリック音に過ぎない。けれどそれらを組み合わせていけば、小さな瞬間が集まって大きな時間になるように、どんなメロディーでも作ることができる。
そこから、レコーディングに砂を使おうと思いついた。
古いギターアンプを解体してスピーカーを上向きに置き、色々な種類の砂をかけて、シンセサイザーの音をあらゆる周波数で流した。
砂粒が音の波に乗って踊っている姿から目を離せなくなった。音の動きを見ることは、砂時計で時間の経過を見ているのと同じ感覚がした。
この実験で、コンピューターではできない感触が出せたと思う。
スタジオの床に落ちた砂を掃除するのはめちゃくちゃ大変だったけど。
credits
from Shapes & Time,
released November 11, 2022
license
all rights reserved
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