Sure, I’d absolutely love to share some details! Not many people have asked so this should be fun.
Almost every song on “Milk” is based on at least one 4-track tape loop that I hand-made. Most of them are the standard 8 5/8" cassette loop design, which gives you about 5 seconds at normal speed.
The foundation of a loop-based track doesn’t have to be very complicated at all. In fact, I had the most success playing a few very simple, random notes with little forethought using unspectacular-sounding instruments. The result of recording to tape and slowing it down by half or even double can do wonders; putting too much thought into the initial sound and performance would only serve to muddy and confuse. I was often surprised after slowing down the tape how well all the separate elements worked together, despite having paid very little attention to what I was playing. It’s rather like automatic writing, really. Half-speed and repetition can really make sense out of simple randomness.
Many of the tracks use two 4-tracks running two tape loops of varying lengths. Most of the songs were recorded live, then edited for brevity. I would then add some incidental sounds to kind of break up the inherent monotony that can plague such short loops.
The majority of the sounds used on the album come from toy synthesizers I had laying around. These include the Yamaha PSS-270, the Casio MT-100, and the VL-Tone. I also used the Yamaha TG-33 for the basis of the loops for the title track “Milk”, but it was never used again on the album.
I intentionally used very few effects on the album. Well, partly intentionally, partly because I had no physical effects units at the time. But I enjoyed the raw, no-frills quality that bare tape has. I liked the idea of making ambient music that was more rough around the edges than some of the stuff I’d been hearing, not so great a focus on reverb and delay, instead focusing on the natural hiss and low-fidelity of cassettes to give the tracks texture. A few spare bits of reverb here and there, though, thanks to my mixing board’s built-in effects.
Something also worth mentioning is the Bastl Microgranny. You’re probably aware of it, but to recap it’s an 8-bit sampler. I used it to trigger samples during live performances of my tape loops, and I also used it to color and warp melodies before recording them to a loop. It was pretty vital in the creation of this album, I guess.
I used quite a few samples I’d taken with my micro-cassette dictaphone, as well as recordings from WebSDR and some things my friend recorded. The “bonus track” that’s available with the purchase of the album or cassette features a tape recording of an interview my mother conducted with me when I was 6. I stumbled across it while searching for samples to round out a sketch I’d made to fill some time at the end of side b in preparation for the cassette release, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well some of my quotes fit topically, as well as how nicely it summarized my focus on childish creativity at the time. That was a long sentence. I don’t think I used any other samples.
All of this applies for the most part to “Eldest” as well, except for the addition of a few new sound sources. I used a banjo, a fiddle, and the Norns on it.
I’ve really shared beyond what anybody cares to know, but it’s fun talking about it. I hope you don’t mind.
