Memories!
Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2020 3:28 am
There once was a time, where no cell phones existed, no more than 3 programs aired on TV, Black & White TVs were still a cheaper alternative and the C64 felt like a thing from the future.
I was nearly adult at that time. And I loved making music. Used to sit in the forest, playing on an old guitar, singing along. Then I met a guy who had a "synthesizer". What? He explained it to me, showed his baby and I fell in love instantly.
I had a hard time back then, trying to escape a toxic family. I just managed to get a room in a shared flat after a suicide attempt that brought me to the hospital. That guy became my friend, we started to make music together. And the best thing: He decided that his instruments would be better stored at my place, so that I could make music, even when he's not around (I was great at musical ideas, while he was the best arranger I've ever met).
From then on, for about 2 or 3 years, I was able to make music with an Roland Alpha Juno and a TR-505. I felt like in heaven. Of course, I had no computer and no Midi sequencer, but a double tape-deck. And so I did the next best thing; recording each track in one take onto a tape, then recording the tape to a second tape, while playing along the next take. And so on. Many songs were barely audible after 5 or 6 times of dubbing, yet they were my treasures.
When I had an idea, I used to play it over and over, until I really felt it. Then I layed out the whole song structure in my head, programmed the drums and started recording. One song a day wasn't unusual. The quality of course was questionable.
And that's why I always hesitate to share my treasures. They are so clumsy, more like snapshots than a good photograph. Today I decided to share one of those cassette recordings with you, because you might be more interested in hearing the instruments than to ridicule my efforts. I'm still baffled that the sound is so warm and deep and dense. I mean, it was "just" the Alpha Juno.
To not hurt your ears too much, I selected a recording with not so many dubs, so that it is acceptible. But prepare for a lot of noise, even after running a noise reduction algorithm, when I digitalized the cassettes.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vn73270v4qhxw9e/alphajuno_tr505_01.mp3?dl=0
I was nearly adult at that time. And I loved making music. Used to sit in the forest, playing on an old guitar, singing along. Then I met a guy who had a "synthesizer". What? He explained it to me, showed his baby and I fell in love instantly.
I had a hard time back then, trying to escape a toxic family. I just managed to get a room in a shared flat after a suicide attempt that brought me to the hospital. That guy became my friend, we started to make music together. And the best thing: He decided that his instruments would be better stored at my place, so that I could make music, even when he's not around (I was great at musical ideas, while he was the best arranger I've ever met).
From then on, for about 2 or 3 years, I was able to make music with an Roland Alpha Juno and a TR-505. I felt like in heaven. Of course, I had no computer and no Midi sequencer, but a double tape-deck. And so I did the next best thing; recording each track in one take onto a tape, then recording the tape to a second tape, while playing along the next take. And so on. Many songs were barely audible after 5 or 6 times of dubbing, yet they were my treasures.
When I had an idea, I used to play it over and over, until I really felt it. Then I layed out the whole song structure in my head, programmed the drums and started recording. One song a day wasn't unusual. The quality of course was questionable.
And that's why I always hesitate to share my treasures. They are so clumsy, more like snapshots than a good photograph. Today I decided to share one of those cassette recordings with you, because you might be more interested in hearing the instruments than to ridicule my efforts. I'm still baffled that the sound is so warm and deep and dense. I mean, it was "just" the Alpha Juno.
To not hurt your ears too much, I selected a recording with not so many dubs, so that it is acceptible. But prepare for a lot of noise, even after running a noise reduction algorithm, when I digitalized the cassettes.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vn73270v4qhxw9e/alphajuno_tr505_01.mp3?dl=0