With another unplanned week off work as corona-furlough strikes again, I’ve been sitting in my garden studio (oh, alright, in a comfortable chair with my phone) adding to my rapidly expanding music catalogue.
First there’s this chilled out cinematic epic, once again produced from scratch with two completely separate, bespoke pieces of music, which I then mixed together on my DJ app…
…and here is the accompanying, multilayered video I created for it:
After which I was inspired by the warmth of the sunshine to make this rather infectious, (in a good way) Latin-tinged, rhythmic electro number…
As I’m still furloughed, Wednesday Weirdness returns for a second week, with yet another eye-melting, potentially seizure-inducing, multimedia mindbender.
Because there is a cinematically psychedelic video to go with my latest burst of electro-frenetic musical mayhem, with additional footage pilfered from a crowdfunded sci-fi movie called Blood Machines, this is Core Breach.
Over the weekend I created another multimedia project, to showcase the further evolution of my attempts at musical composition.
This piece, entitled Deadlights, is accompanied by a video constructed from clips of a Japanese science fiction movie called Space Battleship Yamato, along with the usual array of peculiar swirly patterns, expertly synched with the music.
I am also testing out my ability to embed the Instagram video player into posts (a process WordPress doesn’t make easy via the mobile app) so hopefully that will appear directly beneath this paragraph. However, if are unable to access Instagram for the some reason, I am also including the YouTube version. I hope you enjoy my cinematic endeavours, make sure you play it loud. ;~}
The main reason I wanted to produce my own original music was so I could use it to make truly original remixes.
It’s all very well to use the digital equivalent of a crowbar and sledgehammer to mash two existing tracks together, to create something larger and more unlikely than the sum of its component parts, but I wanted to be able to take an existing piece of music and be responsible for ALL the additional bells and whistles.
I almost achieved that when I successfully submitted my reworked version of Number‘s Face Down In Ecstacy, but even then I used something I’d previously created, not material I’d specially composed for mixing with their song.
Now, having sufficiently mastered my latest discipline, I reckon I have successfully produced a fairly credible debut; an extended, elaborate and somewhat noisier reworking of Lindstrom‘s The Contemporary Fix
So, here is my first genuine, bespoke remix, with its very own lovingly created video.
The devil will find work for idle hands and he apparently has all the best tunes, so maybe I should be thanking that particular mythical personification of the evil that men do, for my latest burst of creativity.
Because, since I got furloughed from work again, I’ve had plenty of time to dabble with my audio visual home production studio (well, ok, my phone) and I have recently managed to achieve some pretty impressive results.
For a start, I made this epic reworking of Kate Bush‘s Hounds Of Love…
…along with a truly awesome mashup mix of Madonna‘s Ray Of Light and Kraftwerk‘s Numbers/Computer World, which unfriendly YouTube algorithms decided to block, so you can only see the full extravaganza via Instagram (apologies for the poorly-embedded player, you may have to click the link) which you can access below.
How about a spot of Vangelis, with a track from his Blade Runner soundtrack; this is Dimitri’s Bar, remixed with some additional electro rhythms from C Gonzalez…
…or if that doesn’t float your space craft, here’s an extended romp through a Levellers song called 15 Years
But the things I’m always most pleased with are the ones which are solely my own work, like the techno sci-fi epic in my previous post and this completely original, pumping house music jam, entitled Lockdown Funk.
And now for your viewing pleasure, my latest audio visual extravaganza; combining a video made using only footage of the 10 mile drive from Bideford to Barnstaple I took on Sunday afternoon, accompanying an extended and somewhat funked-up remix of Kate Bush‘s 1985 classic, Running Up That Hill.
Hello and welcome to another Monday edition of The Cosmic Photo Challenge, for which I asked you to provide your own inspiration with the prompt; Snappers’ choice.
My initial plan was to see what Christmas baubles might look like with some of my recent shots in, like this…
…which is very lovely of course, but because I’m me, that idea soon morphed into this…
After which, I got rather…involved, shall we say, resulting in this surreal little animated spectacular.
What did you choose to showcase for us this week, let’s have a look, I’m intrigued…
*****
To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.
Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.
Good grief, is it Monday already?
I’m sure I must have fallen through a wormhole from Friday afternoon.
But at least I have your contributions for The Cosmic Photo Challenge to look forward to, themed this week around; Shadowplay.
With no particular ideas in mind and not having been out anywhere over the last couple of days, I found inspiration for my shadowy offerings at home and in the garden.
First these dramatically lit plants in the living room caught my eye…
…and the shadows of forsythia stems which seem to be hanging from the Virginia creeper vine.
But it was when I noticed the possibilities of shadows cast by my two metal fish ornaments that I got really inspired. One hastily-wedged bamboo pole on top of the shed later and I captured these cheery portraits.
After which I created a little aquarium scene…
…and then got rather carried away and made this.
And finally, I have the perfect opportunity to play us out with this classic clip of Joy Division
What did you do in the shadows at the weekend, come on, it’s show and tell time…
*****
To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.
Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.
I thought it was time to update my audio visual showcase, so I have added a plethora of YouTube videos to my Sound and Vision page, compiling all the best mixes and sonic experiments from the last few years.
I have also added a link to the folder containing these and dozens of other mp3 files, should you wish to download any of my peculiar ouevre, completely free of charge.
Here we are again, for what is probably the final dose (for now, anyway) of Wednesday Weirdness, as the guest features for Lockdown 2020 come to an end.
I have once more been hard at work in the Return of the Internet Nobody video editing suite, (a chair in the garden) to splice together an even more FX-laden audio visual spectacular; using a greatest hits collection of my animated Instagramposts which are all, need I remind you, made using only this same single photo, soundtracked with one of my remixes.
With any luck, normal service will resume next week.
