Re: greetings

[sean o'donnell <sodonne@vm.temple.edu>]

Hello!

I'm a recent subscriber (last week) and have enjoyed lurking about until 
now, listening 
to loopfuls of intelligent conversation.  Since I'm starting to get an 
idea of who you 
all are, I think it would be fair at this point to explain mySELF:

My interest in looping began as a result of dabbling in electronic 
industrial music.  
Five or six years ago, all I had was a Korg synth and an AKAI S612 
Sampler.  No drum 
machine...no sequencer.  So, in an effort to create some rhythms, I would 
sample my 
synth/voice/etc and play along.  At the time, I was not appreciative of 
the flexibility 
and fluidity of expression that a looping device offers.  I was irritated 
that I could 
not get a "steady beat," that the bpms could not be quantized.  Through 
saving my 
pennies and selling the AKAI sampler, I bought an Ensoniq ASR-10 sampling 
workstation.  
I was looking forward to sampling, sequencing, quantizing, and keeping 
everything in its 
place.  It was not long before I realized that I was not going to like the 
new machine.

The Ensoniq ASR-10, although a powerful machine, cannot "sample on the 
fly."  I was 
outraged that a $2,000 sampler could not be used to perform the same 
procedures as a 
JamMan or a cheaper digitech FX pedal.  I've found that sequencing and 
quantizing can 
deaden the creative process before it even begins...as well as deaden an 
appreciation 
for anything that is "offbeat," and not predetermined over the time of a 
piece.

Anyhow, I recently purchased a Lexicon JamMan and hope that it will allow 
me to do some 
of the things that I used to do with my old AKAI sampler (it had start- 
and end-point 
sliders that could be reversed simultaneously during sample playback).  I 
would 
appreciate any advice in terms of its use.

In addition, I'm excited about having subscribed to this list because I'm 
looking for 
some answers on how to work though some obstacles in the creative process. 
 For example, 
I enjoy creating text loops of my own and others writings embedded in a 
sonic context 
that will persuade the listener to reconsider the meaning of the words 
and/or the effect 
of the music in ways not previously considered.  Overall, I would 
appreciate any 
commentary on the processes used by list subscribers to brainstorm and 
eventually structure their work.

Sean O'Donnell


Kim Flint wrote:
> 
> >> Actually, a whole bunch of new list subscriptions came in over the 
>past
> >> week. That usually means some good publicity happened somewhere. So 
>I'm a
> >> little curious as to how you new folks found out about us. Was there a
> >> post somewhere?
> >
> >Er, I mentioned Looper's Delight a week ago in a post to Elephant Talk
> >(which is subscribed by thousands). Don't know if this was it, but it
> >probably contributed.
> >
> 
> That would explain it. Feel free to do this sort of thing, I don't mind 
>at all.
> 
> >If you're interested in more subscribers (and more work for you), there 
>are
> >some (less crowded) newsgroups we could post on such as the Eno, 
>Sylvian,
> >or Ambient newsgroups. I think by now, this mailing list + website have
> >grown rich and interesting enough to feel justified to go and boast a 
>little.
> 
> I have been holding off on publicity because I didn't feel the list and 
>web
> site were really ready. Now that the digest version is working, the 
>regular
> list seems to be running smoothly, and the web site has a reasonable 
>amount
> of interesting content, I think more publicity is fine.
> 
> If any of you are on other lists that may have members interested in
> looping, feel free to let them know about Looper's Delight. I'd be
> especially interested in bringing in some folks from the
> techno/dub/industrial/ambient world, some dj's, and acoustic musicians of
> various sorts. (the Adrian Legg, Leo Kottke variety seem to have an
> affinity for loops) We seem to be a bit top heavy with Fripp influenced
> guitarists so far, which is ok, but more variety is good in my opinion.
> 
> thanks,
> 
> kim
> 
> ______________________________________________________________________
> Kim Flint                   | Looper's Delight
> kflint@annihilist.com       | http://www.annihilist.com/loop/loop.html
> http://www.annihilist.com/  | Loopers-Delight-request@annihilist.com