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I haven't released anything a capella in over a decade. Solo multitrack a capella is one of those things you can't perform live, which is one reason why I believe recorded music and live music are separate art forms. However, the idea of performing a polyphonic a capella piece live is still an interesting challenge. Of course, one can use delays or looper hardware, but I've often found the results lacking interesting compositional structure.

The recent Imogen Heap on David Letterman video got me thinking about performing an a capella piece in conjunction with a monome. The goal was to use just the monome and a microphone. No other gear or touching a computer is allowed. Also, no sequencers running backing tracks. This is somewhat of a challenge.

I recorded this as a two camera shoot - a Canon 5DmkII with a lens baby pointed at my head... well... the mic, and another video camera pointed at the monome so you can see what my hands are doing.

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69 Likes

  • Ken Wilson 2 months ago
    lovely and dense.
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  • ehdyn 2 months ago
    You should do this more often:)
  • stretta 2 months ago
    Sometimes I like to work with my monome.
    Sometimes I like to make music with my modular.
    Sometimes I like to make Max patches.
    Sometimes I like to record a capella pieces.
    Sometimes I like to improvise music on a piano.
    Sometimes I like to make dogs sing jazz.
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  • m~fischer 2 months ago
    really nice work stretta! what are you running on your 256?
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  • matt lyon 2 months ago
    beautifully done
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  • plopp 2 months ago
    very very good.
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  • hans maulwurf 2 months ago
    Sorry if this question is silly, but what application are you using for the monomecontrol and in which way the buttons function.
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  • 2% 2 months ago
    amazing!
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  • OrT 2 months ago
    sunny and warm, very enjoyable
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  • Majid Al-Qasimi 2 months ago
    Its so rich, and honestly i watched he vid and then read what you wrote, only to catch you then on the mic mid reading. i applaud your vocal ability, trained? (i know you rock a Piano with ease)

    As always, Thank you for sharing
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  • Gaubie 2 months ago
    Awesome. It made me want to punch a wall hearing it the first time, in a good way. I hope to meet you at the princeton monomeet :)
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  • stretta 2 months ago
    Thank you everyone for the comments, sincerely appreciated. I'm crazy busy trying to get everything done I need for work and prepare to go to the UK tomorrow, so I just wanted to pop in and say thank you.
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  • peterflat 2 months ago
    singing is bravery! the voice is the essence of all music, whether we think it is present or not! great work!
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  • phat_papa 2 months ago
    that is oh so cool
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  • paul irish 2 months ago
    Beautiful. Very very nice, sir.
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  • dacoutu 2 months ago
    Really great works and performance.

    Thx for this moment
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  • Jeff 2 months ago
    Hey David, Your music is very cool. I stumbled across your vid when looking for more info on the Axis Midi keyboard based on The Harmonic Table. I love how even diverse interests can lead you to new discoveries. I'm now looking at getting the Lensbaby Composer for my 500d. Just have to check compatibility.
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  • Ryan Billia 1 month ago
    Dang Stretta. Pretty much everything you do blows me away with not only its "ingenuitive" programming and sound design, but your musicality as well. Really beautiful stuff. Thank you. Just a quick question: are you using a modded mlr/mlrv or do you have multiple different programs running and are they spread out over the 256 (I noticed small marker stickers on your board)? Thanks again.
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  • David Forlano 27 days ago
    nice.
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  • meejeeLee 25 days ago
    so coooooool! I love it.
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  • Lekfromfrance 5 days ago
    bravo!
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