Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
My submission for the Hardware Jams “Picture Challenge 2024 - Harmony” Weekend Challenge.
It would appear that really cool surrealist paintings inspire me to create… creepy dubstep :-)
At the back of the picture the two windows and bed look like a face, this reminded me of a fun photography challenge to find faces in places. Car headlights, handbag clasps, we humans find patterns that remind us of faces in all sorts of places. This concept also inspired me to write some poetry which I included as whispered lyrics on the track.
This week’s challenge prompt:
Happy new Year fellow Jammers,
First challenge of the year will be one of my favourite PICTURE CHALLENGE whoooop hoop.
This is a picture from the artist Remedios Varo titled Harmony – 1956 (surrealism I’m inclined to think) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remedios_Varo)
The challenge is to draw inspiration from the picture, interpret it and translate it into your music. Many elements spark my attention looking at the picture, for instance the “objects” on the pentagram (are they actually a melody?), the muses (????) in the walls, the tiles on the floor lifted as if they were organ (or wah-wah) pedals. Get inspired by it.
Lyrics
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I see faces in places
there should not be faces
The shapes and the spaces
all turn in to faces
They whisper and offer
their lies and delusions
The clamour and noise
it all adds to confusion
They twist and distort.
They divide and distract.
They pollute and destroy
before you can react.
But in all of the questions,
in all of the choices,
the faces that haunt
are the ones without voices.
Always Learning
════════════
I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. In this jam I experimented with doubling vocals. I recorded two separate takes of the vocals and panned them left and right. This adds to the movement and creepy textures in the vocal tracks and I’m really happy with how it turned out.
My DIY Synth Rules
════════════
I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:
◦ I must have constructed it.
This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it
◦ The audio signal path should be analog.
I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics
◦ Learn something new
Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.
◦ Have fun
My submission for the Hardware Jams “Picture Challenge 2024 - Harmony” Weekend Challenge.
It would appear that really cool surrealist paintings inspire me to create… creepy dubstep :-)
At the back of the picture the two windows and bed look like a face, this reminded me of a fun photography challenge to find faces in places. Car headlights, handbag clasps, we humans find patterns that remind us of faces in all sorts of places. This concept also inspired me to write some poetry which I included as whispered lyrics on the track.
This week’s challenge prompt:
Happy new Year fellow Jammers,
First challenge of the year will be one of my favourite PICTURE CHALLENGE whoooop hoop.
This is a picture from the artist Remedios Varo titled Harmony – 1956 (surrealism I’m inclined to think) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remedios_Varo)
The challenge is to draw inspiration from the picture, interpret it and translate it into your music. Many elements spark my attention looking at the picture, for instance the “objects” on the pentagram (are they actually a melody?), the muses (????) in the walls, the tiles on the floor lifted as if they were organ (or wah-wah) pedals. Get inspired by it.
Lyrics
════════════
I see faces in places
there should not be faces
The shapes and the spaces
all turn in to faces
They whisper and offer
their lies and delusions
The clamour and noise
it all adds to confusion
They twist and distort.
They divide and distract.
They pollute and destroy
before you can react.
But in all of the questions,
in all of the choices,
the faces that haunt
are the ones without voices.
Always Learning
════════════
I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. In this jam I experimented with doubling vocals. I recorded two separate takes of the vocals and panned them left and right. This adds to the movement and creepy textures in the vocal tracks and I’m really happy with how it turned out.
My DIY Synth Rules
════════════
I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:
◦ I must have constructed it.
This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it
◦ The audio signal path should be analog.
I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics
◦ Learn something new
Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.
◦ Have fun
