Those of you who are familiar with my music will know that since my second album, "Audionary" (2012), I have been using a range of recorded and found sounds as the basis of the tracks. The constant challenge and enjoyment of picking out interesting sounds and loops from recordings has been the main driving force behind my work.

Both "Audionary" and "Surfaces" (2013) were made using similar techniques and methods, a combination of MIDI instruments created from looped sound recordings, drum loops from snippets of percussive sounds, along with some sounds from the production software's built-in library. For my next production I wanted to move to something a little different and came up with a set of rules by which the next tracks would be made.

Thus, the concepts for "Moving Pattern", my latest 4-track EP, were born.

Essentially the tracks would be made with 100% samples (no library sounds), and the sounds would only be looped, effected and pitch-shifted, so no MIDI instruments either. Finally, the arrangement of the tracks would be done by a live recording, sequencing each sample in real-time, as opposed to laying down the elements in a predetermined order. This often required several takes to get the best "performance" and was one of the most challenging aspects of making this EP.

Since each track contains many samples and are arranged live, the tracks tend to be longer than my previous albums, in order to get all of the samples played. But overall I feel the transition between each element feels more natural and human compared to simply placing samples in order in advance. After that, several effects were applied to the main samples and again sequenced live, overdubbing the main track to the two merge as well as possible.

All in all I am very happy with how this came out, the tracks have a spontaneous and natural feeling to them and subtly change from one section to the next. Some of the loops, particularly in "Electron Gun" and the single "Colour Space" have a very catchy element and (for me anyway) fail to sound repetitive even after multiple listens.

Making this EP was the result of a lot of recording, editing and practicing of live recordings to get the absolute best result possible within the constraints of the rules I had set for myself. I hope you have found this explanation of the making of this EP interesting...now, on to the next CD!