Curiouser and Curiouser!

Reichatron 1.0

Slightly belated post but I'm announcing that Reichatron 1.0 has been released:

Here's a sample of something I cooked up with it by blending the phase shifting of different guitar parts before feeding them to the effects section:

This is my first Reaktor instrument and represents a big effort on my part getting to grips with the basics of Reaktor. But these efforts would have been for nought without the help of many people to whom I am indebted:

• Ernest Meyer of Heavens on Earth
• rachMiel
• The good folk of the the NI Reaktor user forum (especially the rb_macroʼs project)
• Mike Daliot for his inspirational Metaphysical Function instrument (wish I had a link to Mike, he seems like a ghost in the machine)

Also I would like to thank my fellow members of alonetone.com who have been supportive of my musical efforts and encouraged me to go on. I'd like to single out also those who responded to my call for samples to go with the Reichatron release. I'd hoped to maybe get a dozen and ended up with half a gigabyte of original material for the release.

So a big thank you to

• mmi
• Sister Savage
• Illegal Alien Autopsy
• brando
• Igor
• Johhny Stone
• Wildgeas Music
• Colin Garvey

and, of course, to

• Sudara

because, without Alonetone, who knows if Iʼd still even be on this musical journey.

Please go listen to their music.

Lastly Iʼd like to thank Ronnie of rekkerd.org for permission to use some of his excellent mixed bag samples (which work great for phase shifting) and Rhythmn Lab/Cyberworm for some excellent flute samples.

The response to Reichatron has been very uplifting and, for which, thank you to all those who left comments. I have several improvements to the basic instrument in mind as well as a couple of new experiments planned.

A challenge too far

So the RPM challenge started on Monday. It's been on my mind since I signed up for it a few weeks ago. To some extent is has sapped my desire to make music so as not to "waste" ideas before I used them in RPM. Yet, after it started, I found myself listless, unable to focus, and blank. It wasn't excitement or eagerness I was feeling. It wasn't fun.

Last night the idea briefly flashed through my mind "Why don't I just stop?" I liked it although it was accompanied by a little dissonance as I'd already announced that I was doing it, committed to it. I decided to sleep on it and woke without any sense of doubt. Taking on RPM was a combination of optimism and hubris. The idea of stopping felt great. So that's what I am doing.

The reality for me is that I am not ready for something like RPM. I don't need to be challenged this way because, musically, everything's already a challenge. Adding deadlines, pressure, and expectations (even just my own) is all completely unnecessary and makes it less fun. I don't know why it feels so different to the Alonetone 24hr challenge but, for me, it does.

So I'm going back to my own timetable, my own pace, and doing what I want to do. Maybe I'll do RPM next year, or the year after, or never. I'm not going to worry about it.

I've never used the same quote twice in two posts but it's seem appropriate to quote Salinger again:

"An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's." -- JD Salinger.

Good luck to everyone choosing to do RPM, I look forward to hearing your creations!