DESCRIPTION:
This live modular synth performance is the set I put together for Modular On The Spot - a live synth meetup that took place on the banks of the LA River in Los Angeles on December 17, 2015.

The patching breakdown:

0:00 Synth calls
1:28 Choirs intros
6:29 Shia speaks
8:26 Noise builds
13:12 Shia's takeaway

The clock source is Intellijel’s Metropolis. Mutable Instruments Clouds was the only module used in the beginning as I played the QuNexus. The main filter throughout the song was MakeNoise’s MMG, filtering both LP and HP.

The low drone bass tones come from The Harvestman’s Hertz Donut. I composed a small choir track in Kontakt and exported as a file to loop on the QuBit Nebulae. Melody being played on the QuNexus is from Braids, with Intellijel’s ADSR generating the envelope.

Bass line sequenced using MakeNoise’s Brains and Pressure Points.

All drums are Hexinverter’s Mutant Bassdrum, HiHats and Clap. Lots of triggering with Delptronibs Triggerman, and a group of 4ms modules: Quad Clock Distributor, Quad Pingable LFP, Rotating Clock Divider, Shuffling Clock Multiplier w/ Breakout.

Noise Engineering’s Basimilus Interitas was the module added to the drums to give it a punchy texture before adding in Shia’s voice.

I used the audio from this YouTube video for Shia’s famously ridiculous "Just Do It!" Motivational Speech, made it into a file for the QuBit Nebulae: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXsQAXx_ao0. I used Expert Sleepers Disting for the delay on his voice.

Sequencing track during Shia’s voice was done by MakeNoise’s Rene and the sound source was Noise Engineering’s Loquelic Iteritas.

The rhythmic noise cluster during the second half of the track involves Mutable Instruments Warps and Braids, ALM’s Dinky’s Taiko, QuBit’s EON, bass tone from the Hertz Donut then morphed it into a ducking compression with Audio Damage’s Kompressor.

All sounds mixed out through Sputnik Modular’s 6-Channel Stereo Mixer, send in stereo to Ableton Live for master file creation for YouTube, SoundCloud, Facebook and Instagram.

I recorded video with a GoPro Hero 4 then manually synced the video with audio in iMovie.

All modules were inside a 12U Gemini 0104 case from Monorocket.

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Modular On The Spot is a free monthly meetup open to the public in Los Angeles, where synth performers and enthusiasts gather to perform or listen. Synths are lit up using a generator tucked away, and everyone sits back and feels the vibes of pure analog sound against nature's backdrop. Modular On The Spot is created and organized by Rodent and Bana Haffar.

No computers were used in the performance of this piece. All modular synths, recorded live in a single take.

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I am Patrick O'Brien aka P.O.B. living in Los Angeles.
You can also find me as obrienmedia on social media.

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Recorded December 17, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.