Point-Virgule

(or download the song!)

One of the first real 'synth meditations'. Only a handful of my songs have French titles, and this one is most fitting, I think. It translates to semi-colon in English. Just like the punctuation mark, this song is all about suspension, and interdependence of subunits. I had the synth plugged into my analog cassette 4-track machine. At points, you can definitely tell that this song was recorded on master tape and then later transferred to the computer.

I improvised the 'refrain' of this song while meditating on it. However, since this whole song was improvised, I didn't remember exactly what I played for the 'refrain' when it came time to play it again. So each one is slightly different, which is really what I love about this song.

In case you're wondering, the drum loop was programmed before hand, and triggered by the right hand. The whole song is recorded/performed simultaneously, that is to say the drum loop runs in the background, the left hand does the string parts, and the right hand does the synth soloing.

When I felt the meditation coming to a close, I finished the song and opened my eyes, realizing that almost nine minutes had passed! It didn't feel like it at the time. If you sit through all nine minutes, you win a glass harmonica.

Really though, this song does deserve a listen, if not for its musical and melodic successes, then for the fact that you'll get a true look into what synth meditation means to me (and what it can produce).