Electronic in the Tower 6 - plus Twitch update and call for questions

4 months ago

Announcing the sixth edition of Electronic in the Tower, the intimate show with synths, lights, wires and immersive visuals.

Joining me this time will be the duo And/Or, performing part composed/part improvised music spanning an eclectic mix of ambient electronica, trip hop, breaks, and techno. (I've seen them play several times and they are VERY good!)

And once again we will have mind blowing live visuals by 2 Digit Visuals. Last time he took things to the next level with projection mapped visuals on the arch of the tower - so the visuals work with the architecture of this unique venue. Expect even more of that this time!

Early bird tickets are on sale now for £7.50 - if you're in or can get to London CLICK HERE for tickets.

Twitch Update

At the beginning of 2024 I made the decision to prioritise Twitch streaming for 6 months, to stream at least 3 times a week and to join the affiliate program.

Well 6 months in - and I'm really happy with how it's going! My channel has grown so that I normally get 40-50 unique viewers per stream. And for events, such as with the streaming group Golden Shrimp Guild where I'm quite active it can be 3 or 4 times that many.

But most importantly - there is a regular crew who keep things lively in the Twitch chat and have truly made it a fun and rewarding place to hang out. So huge thanks to all the regulars and everyone else that has visited my Twitch stream, however often - I'm thrilled you guys are enjoying it!

What next? The stream isn't going anywhere! Streaming will be a bit less regular in the coming month due to holidays but I will be streaming whenever I can and after that the 3+ times a week schedule will be staying for the foreseeable future.

As usual I have a long list of things I want to do on stream, including themes (another animal anyone?), Twitch Bot functionality I want to add and weird modular patches I want to make.

If you haven't followed up twitch channel yet, HEAD HERE and check it out.

I could really use your help!

I'm trying to put some FAQs together about my modular synth music to include answers to the kind of questions people want to know when they first come across me. Stuff like - "Why so many wires?"

What questions did you have when you first saw my modular synth? And if there's anything you are burning to ask but haven't yet, that's great too! Many thanks in advance and you never know your question (with answer) could be in the next newsletter!

So please let me know in the comments - any question you'd like an answer to...

THANK YOU

TDC Tunes
TDC Tunes is a Live Modular Artist and experimenter with sound. He plays several times a week on Twitch and gigs around London.
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/tdctunes
Newsletter: https://news.tdctunes.com/signup
Website: https://www.tdctunes.com/

music creative teamuk musicforlife

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9 comments

@steevc 79

4 months ago

I find those modular synths fascinating, but not sure I'll be getting in them myself. What modules would you go for if you could only have a few, let's say six?

Have fun with the gigs and streaming.

!BEER

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@tdctunes 68

4 months ago

Great question Steve! I just made up a little modular grid rack of what 6 modules I would pick:

https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/2611573

I decided to only include modules I actually own and use (otherwise the question is super open ended!).

For only 6 modules, I make the assumption that sequencing and effects would be done with non eurorack gear (e.g I would use my Keystep Pro to sequence and built in effects in my external mixer).

And I tried to focus on things that would really augment a non modular setup - i.e. things that wold be harder to do or you would less likely experiment with a non modular setup.

So I picked:

Error Instrument Noise Drum - a source of loads of wacky and weird percussion sounds.
Mutable Instruments Plaits - a digital oscillator with 16 different synthesis models. They are all really deep and I have still not explored everything this can do after owning it for 4 years.
Mutable Instruments Beads - a granular sampler - such a creative tool that can be used for weird and crazy delays as well as creating effects and massive soundscapes.
System 80 860 VCF - this is a Roland style filter - ok so this one you could get in a lot of places outside Eurorack and if I was allowing picks outside modules I own I'd probably pick something wilder/more experimental. However in actual use this my absolutely favourite and most useful filter that I use all the time and I thin I'd want it in my 6 modules.
Make Noise Maths - this is one of the most popular modules in Eurorack and is basically a super flexible device capable of so many things. Most normally I use it for envelopes and LFO style modulation but it can do a lot more.
Mutable Instruments Veils - quad VCA and mixer. Couldn't be without this to use both in modulation and potentially audio mixing and control.

NB: If you were actually going to get this rack - the Mutable Instruments modules are shown as no longer available because the company ceased to make them a while back. However because all the designs were open sourced there is a wealth of clones available and (for Eurorack) pretty affordably. The exception is Beads- which I don't think was open sourced and is now pricy second hand. If starting from scratch then I would swap this for another granular sampler from a different manufacturer. (maybe look at something by Qu-bit which have a couple of options in that area)

wow I wrote an essay. Thanks loads for the question and hope you're doing great!

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@steevc 79

4 months ago

I think my money could be going on drum gear. Things like cymbals can be expensive. I have a gig coming up, so need to get in some practice.

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@tdctunes 68

4 months ago

Nice - good luck with the drumming and gig!

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