Improvising Vaporwave Live

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TLDR; The track below was improvised and recorded live using nothing but one sample in a single take, no post. Anybody else doing something similar?

So this is something I've been working on for a couple weeks now and I'm trying to float the idea to as many people as possible, but what do you guys think about an offshoot of VW where a special emphasis is placed on creating tracks from scratch and recording it as if you were playing an instrument? What I mean by that is taking a sample and have it loop back while only manipulating whatever effect parameters you have available (speed, pitch, reverb, delay, start / end of clip etc.) all in real time through a live speaker. Effectively it sounds almost like an organic and free flowing cousin of eccojams, and considering the technique being used to make it is something that can be done on the spot with any random sample it almosts feels more like you're "playing" vaporwave rather than producing it. I'll post a track below done using that technique, hopefully it can inspire some producers to try the same approach because I'm really curious to see some of the sounds other people can come up with!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt0ntLqoT0g&t=157s
 
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Doing all of that in one take gotta take some real skill to do, wow I wonder what that would look like on live shows. But im not a producer so I dont really know how it would work. However, Ive never seen anyone do that type of work on vaporwave. I think you found a new genre. Organic Eccojams? Good job on the video! it sounds like something I would hear in another dimension and im also thinking about what i'll see in an acid trip. The ending might make me see the devil idk ;D
 
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Hey thanks for the reply, glad you liked it! I've got a couple videos on there showing tracks actually being made as well, and while the production value is pretty weak I can say with a fair amount of confidence that it's something that would absolutely translate well into a live setting no problem. Get the right lighting conditions and a projector with some trippy visuals and you're in business. The other really neat thing about doing it this way as opposed to using more conventional techniques is that fact that in the context of streaming a show you can actually take input from the audience, whether that's in the form of song requests or maybe a poll you can run literally any sample though it and turn it into a song right then and there!

Also I definitely feel you on the acid, I was going for eccojams with a mix of psychedelia and ambient influences so definitely a good soundtrack for hallucinogenics. :p
 
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S L e e P y said:
Hey thanks for the reply, glad you liked it! I've got a couple videos on there showing tracks actually being made as well, and while the production value is pretty weak I can say with a fair amount of confidence that it's something that would absolutely translate well into a live setting no problem. Get the right lighting conditions and a projector with some trippy visuals and you're in business. The other really neat thing about doing it this way as opposed to using more conventional techniques is that fact that in the context of streaming a show you can actually take input from the audience, whether that's in the form of song requests or maybe a poll you can run literally any sample though it and turn it into a song right then and there!

Also I definitely feel you on the acid, I was going for eccojams with a mix of psychedelia and ambient influences so definitely a good soundtrack for hallucinogenics. :p
yeah i saw the one in the description of the video of you playing the same song with all of that equipment. Let me know If you ever stream it I'll put it up on the main page!
 
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S L e e P y

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Will do, I'm gonna try and set up something like that in the next couple weeks I think! :D
 
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S L e e P y said:
Will do, I'm gonna try and set up something like that in the next couple weeks I think! :D
Cool! Im excited to see what you come up with :D
 
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Hey check this out I think you'll like it

HTML:
<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fprpldlct%2Fvideos%2F1698839486891677%2F&show_text=1&width=267" width="267" height="842" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>
 
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S L e e P y

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I like it, almost a hip-hop approach but definitely a lot more hands on than most of the stuff out there!

It'd be cool to get a couple of the artists on here to try their own versions of improvising VW, do a compilation album or maybe a few live streams and use it to promote both thinking outside the norm when it comes to production techniques and by extension challenging listeners to find the value in the music beyond the whole aesthetic thing. There's a lot to be said for the atmosphere it produces, and truth be told I think that transcends the culture.

Could use it as a promotional tool for this forum as well, maybe generate some more traffic! :)
 
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S L e e P y said:
I like it, almost a hip-hop approach but definitely a lot more hands on than most of the stuff out there!

It'd be cool to get a couple of the artists on here to try their own versions of improvising VW, do a compilation album or maybe a few live streams and use it to promote both thinking outside the norm when it comes to production techniques and by extension challenging listeners to find the value in the music beyond the whole aesthetic thing. There's a lot to be said for the atmosphere it produces, and truth be told I think that transcends the culture.

Could use it as a promotional tool for this forum as well, maybe generate some more traffic! :)
Hey glad you liked it! Yeah we'll just have to wait and see if other Vaporwave Artists would want to do that.its a cool idea! As a promotional tool, That would be awesome! VALYU made 2 tracks for me and the members here check out his other albums too they are great.

https://valyu.bandcamp.com/album/agora-road-projects
 
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jejudigital

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With the more ambient side of vaporwave (Telepath, HKE...) it's pretty easy to do a one take track with one sample. Gotta get your sounds and effects chain right first though. I'd recommend granular synths for that.
 

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Hey thanks for the feedback! Did a bit of research on it and while it's similar to the patch I'm using on the organelle I can definitely see what you mean, you have a lot more precise control in chopping up the sample on a microscopic level. That being said, do you have any recommendations on what route to go in regards to achieving granular in a physical set-up? I've been trying to find guitar pedals because those tend to be cheaper than actual synth modules but it doesn't look like there's many to choose from when it comes to granular, maybe some modules you think would work well without being crazy expensive? :p
 
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petemitchell

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That's really good stuff.

I played a house party a while back, and re-rendered the tracks I wanted to play with a lot of the effects removed. I then loaded them onto my ipad and used Traktor DJ to play them back and used its built in effects to add some variety while playing them. I found it to be a nice compromise between just hitting play and standing there, and actually performing live.
 
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S L e e P y

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For sure! Traktor would also work well in that you can probably customize your sliders to go way beyond the standard range of BPM, so you can slow it way down without having to do any real prep to it. Got an S4 myself so I might give that a shot too! :)
 
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joypistols974@aol.com

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admin said:
S L e e P y said:
I like it, almost a hip-hop approach but definitely a lot more hands on than most of the stuff out there!

It'd be cool to get a couple of the artists on here to try their own versions of improvising VW, do a compilation album or maybe a few live streams and use it to promote both thinking outside the norm when it comes to production techniques and by extension challenging listeners to find the value in the music beyond the whole aesthetic thing. There's a lot to be said for the atmosphere it produces, and truth be told I think that transcends the culture.

Could use it as a promotional tool for this forum as well, maybe generate some more traffic! :)
Hey glad you liked it! Yeah we'll just have to wait and see if other Vaporwave Artists would want to do that.its a cool idea! As a promotional tool, That would be awesome! VALYU made 2 tracks for me and the members here check out his other albums too they are great.

https://valyu.bandcamp.com/album/agora-road-projects

GTA VIIIIICE CITYYYY ;D
 
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S L e e P y

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Gonna try and drop another album of this stuff tomorrow night. Just had the idea to do some tracks by hooking up an old turntable to the system, I have a ton of records buried somewhere in the garage that I'm sure can function as some neat source material. I'll post another one of those live videos if it turns up anything interesting! :)
 
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