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Text from the Jodrell Bank '97 Program by Graham Getty GG Attendance today at EMMA#4 is disappointing... AB Perhaps it's because there are more events going on now Jodrell Bank Electric Cafe Perhaps a full day event for £20 isn't as appealing now - compared to when it used to be just once a year and that was all there was GG Yes, perhaps (relatively') the market is swamped, but perhaps the lack of a "big name" has something to do with it?... JC But which "big name"? I mean, even the Schulze event wasn't quite as well attended as the organisers hoped... GG True, however you are fresh from your first European gig which I hear went well. . in fact people say it was your best live performance to date... PR Yes, the Alpha Centauri concert. Everyone seemed to like it, and we got a DAT recording of it this time. GG So a live album to look forward to7 JC Yes, it's called 'Europa' and it will be released at the Jodrell Bank concert AB together with a limited edition video of the performance we hope JC The album will contain the full 75 minute set. AS . yes, nothing has been cut. It's exactly as we performed it except we may change the running order slightly... GG One of the main comments I heard about the set is that you seemed to be a lot quicker into your stride. Does that mean you had some things prepared? ALL No! AB We have rehearsed at getting into things a bit faster. We were concerned that there were a lot of people there who hadn't seen us and we didn't want them to walk out before we'd had a chance to show them what we could do. So we did try and get into the sequences very quickly, especially from the 2 encores GG And is Pete continuing the trend of becoming the Chris Franke of the group?! JC Certainly not! We're all Chris Franke! AB I think we go through phases Right from the start it's evolved. We've all had our own different techniques and styles but yes, at the moment Pete's sequencing is very strong PR Its a combination of good sounds and the sequencing. GG What are you using for the sounds at the moment? PR Mostly Waldorf Microwave, with some Roland JD990 AB Actually at the latest rehearsal, last weekend, we tried something new. For the first time we linked all the sequencing together so we could all manipulate the sequences at the same time. We ended up with a 42 minute piece and we had a great time with it. I'm not too sure how the audience. will take it GG So does this mean you were running ImproVision? AB No, I'm still running Cubase, in fact I was the clock source GG So you didn't move the mouse very much then?! ALL Laughter. JC Yes, but if he did at least we'd all fall apart at the same time. AB No, it worked well and We have one more rehearsal before the JB gig so we can have another go. Certainly we hope to do this at Jodrell Bank. GG So tell us more about the idea behind this... JC It means that we don't have this fairly artificial between sequence sections. Anyone can come in at any time and "add a bit to the pot", then go away and do something else. You can go for this huge wall of sound where everything is sequenced, or you can drop it away... GG So you can insert gaps if you want? AB Yes, the good thing is that you can have sequences who are a blend of all three and one can be modifying them while the others are improvising. Potentially it can be a much bigger sound. PR Yes, that's something we need to sort out because we did find that at certain points we were all sequencing so there was nothing else going on, but in some ways that's quite good. We do need to co-ordinate a bit more... JC It's not something we'll do all the time because it's a different sound again We'll still do individual elements, we don't want to lose that variety. But the linked sequencing is a new weapon in our armoury. GG So did you have to do a lot of work to lmprovision to get this up and running? JC No, it's always been capable of doing it. It didn't quite work first time and we never had the patience to find out why it wasn't working. PR If you plug the cables into the right holes it helps! AB And one of the other problems we had was that I was inadvertently recording tempo changes and everything was going completely mad! JC . then I jumped in to try and alter the speed and had exactly the same problem! GG But still no pre-planned pre-recorded sequencing? AB No, I think we're all happy that AirSculpture is all about pure improvisation. If we wanted to do something pre-planned it wouldn't be AirSculpture. We would have to do it under a different name JC The lack of confidence we had after the problems at the Derby Big Bash made us consider it more but since then things have gone well so we're happy to stick with it I think the only time we'd change is if we felt we were getting into a rut. PR But now with the linked sequencing options we thing there's plenty of scope .. It's the next phase I guess. JC We do want to constantly develop. We'd be very disappointed if we came out with two albums in a row which sounded basically the same. GG 'Attrition System' was a change because it was short bite sized pieces It sounds like longer pieces are on the cards .. AB Yes, a guy just asked me "is the next album going to be long tracks?!". JC The live album has longer tracks, and we've got a 30 minute piece ready for what will be our 4th album - which was going to be the next release but 'Europa' took priority. We've got about half an album's worth of studio material ready for release after'Europa'. So we know where we are going next GG Have you a title for that release yet? PR No, not yet. JC We've come up with some potential artwork but we're not sure if it works.. GG Where do you record sessions at the moment'? JC The Running Frog in Windsor. It has some very helpful people who are very good to us PR Loan us bits of recording equipment to use, things like that AB .. and we hire an ADAT so it means that all the sessions we can revisit and remix it required. JC In fact the 30 minute track I mentioned, there's some overdubbing on there - but it's still got the AirSculpture sound PR its almost like what we aimed for on the first album but never got quite right, partly because of the pressure of being in a proper studio. GG Yes, but the first album was very early on with relatively few sessions under your belt. AB I suppose it was fairly adventurous - I mean, we hired a studio for 8 hours, went in with virtually nothing, set up the equipment which took us 2 hours or more, then recorded and mixed the whole album in the time which was left. GG Let's talk a bit about the Jodrell Bank concert. AB Yes, we're looking forward to it. Should be interesting with Paul Nagle on the bill also. We saw Paul many years ago at the first (?) Electronica. We're looking forward to it. JC I may bring some analogue stuff along Yamaha CS30 perhaps I find it very useful for making "other worldly" sounds The Prophecy and Waldorf Pulse will be new compared to the first concert. GG Did you get that after hearing Adrian's Prophecy? JC Yes, but I'll leave all the guitar axe's to Adrian! AB There's lots of new gear we'd like to get hold of. The Yamaha AN1 X for example which is a virtual analogue synth. Yamaha have the knack of doing things particularly well There's also the sequencer which Paul Nagle will I think be using - the Notron JC and if the Microwave II comes out in time I suspect there may be a couple of those appearing. GG Yes, the trend is certainly towards controllability. AB Real time controllability is something we must be able to do It's easy to fall prey to providing 20 times the voice structure flexibility but you have to have digital parameter access Now people are starting to bring knobs back which is great. GG I was reading a Jarre interview where he said he was happy to go back to using older instruments because it limited the sound possibilities so allowing him to focus more on the music PR I can understand that With the older gear you come up with some sounds which you just want to re-use you can compose with them instead of spending most of the time finding new sounds. AB I think were getting to a phase where we are getting a good balance between controllability and sound flexibility and possibility Manufacturers are combining the best old and modern ideas and it s great. Where we go from here - well, I don't really know Virtual synthesis has had it s novelty stage, perhaps it will mature into something useful. GG Do you think it will go completely back to analogue? AB No, purely on a cost basis digital is here to stay. JC Analogue is just too expensive. You can easily reproduce what an analogue synthesiser does if the software is clever enough. PR The Microwave II is based on this, and from what I've heard people say it sounds as good as any analogue synth - very meaty. AB I would recommend that you go out and buy a (Yamaha) DX series synth now because you'll never get that sort of sound again. GG This is a new angle! So you see "purist" digital having a niche market in the future which people will strive to emulate? AB Without a doubt. because it's just a different sound It applies to sampling too Sampling will have its place but as John started to mention, perhaps resynthesis is the next step. GG Resynthesis? AB Well, if you sample a voice or something then you can break it down into the audio spectrum. With resynthesis you introduce the element of time, seeing how the spectrum deviates with time Kawai are producing an instrument new where you can specify amplitude and harmonics over time Once you've got something that can handle those sorts of complexities, mapping the original sound you can get some interesting results For example, if you sample a human voice and transpose it, you change the whole character of the sound - it ends up sounding like someone half the size. With resynthesis, you can recognise the fixed constants of the original and just change the variables - the original character is retained so it sounds like the same person singing an octave higher. JC Most of the new technology we see coming out at the moment has been in Universities for some time. If you want to see where things are heading in a few years time, go down to your local University's music department! GG At the end of the day it's all a means to an end AB Exactly. It's all about the sound. When we go into the studio we're not bothered if a synth is shiny and new. We are only interested in the sounds it can produce. At the end of the last session we all had smiles on our faces, not because of all the gear but because of the sound it had produced. PR But the new gear does have it's advantages, I mean, some of the older synths are horrendous to use - bulky, unreliable. It can be a real struggle, AB For example the mellotron at the JB gig last year We dragged the mellotron in, and it remained in tune for only 2-3 seconds and after that I was unable to retune it. The only use it served was to pop up my computer PR It's quite interesting, but everyone links us to the "analogue revival" but when you look at our gear, very little of it is analogue though we do produce a fairly "analogue" style of sound GG Improvising is more your trademark., PR That's right Just then the announcement for the first act of EMMA#4 came over the tannoy and we made our way into the auditorium. Thanks to AirSculpture for the interview. (GG)