Joshua Van Tassel

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Sound is an emotional weapon that Mickey Mouse will use against you. Very interesting article sent from Tim Maly

Day one of some recording with Kate Roger, Chris Stringer at the helm. Super fun so far, getting great sounds and the company is just great. Great.

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I recently had to submit a bunch of music which involved going back to my archives and the first record I did to get some high quality versions of the songs. I have a bit of a mixed relationship with the tunes, and kind of listen to them at this point with a weird mix of pride, disgust, puzzlement and detachment. I’ve learned a lot over the past 3 years about sound, music, and my gear in general and to my ears it shows. I started to change a few things in the mix of a couple tunes and realized that underneath the really shitty engineering was some stuff I actually really like and am super happy with. Here’s a clip of one called redintheface, with some of the sounds sweetened a bit. It still sounds like a giant big crazy mess, but that’s what I was going for at the time anyway. It’s good to go back and check in with yourself every now and then. Some things you now do better, others just different.

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Last night was great. I attended for the first but not last time a weekly short film screening called Short and Sweet. Started in London, England, this weekly series is spreading its wings made of film across continents and we’re lucky to have it land here here. All the films were great, there was free popcorn, rewasonably priced drinks, and a good group of people there watching. It’s also housed in a beautiful venue that I didn’t even know existed called No One Writes to the Colonel. It’s a great venue that feels like the giant really cool living room you always wanted.

All the films were great last ngiht, but one really hit home with me. It’s a bit of an homage to Jim Henson who if you’re like me, you owe a large chunk of your imagination to. It’s called overtime and you can follow the link to it here. I promise it’ll be one of the better 5 minute periods of your day.

2.

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Here’s a very Sunday type of sound. Sometimes in the course of me making a piece I’ll have a very specific sound in mind that I feel an obsessive need to get. Achieving it can take tons of trial and error and hair pulling and experimenting, and it usually works in the end, but sometimes I just have to abandon ship and find something else that will fulfil the same role. This one came a lot easier then that, no lost hair or crying, and there’s something about it that I really love. It’s a pitched and effected glockenspiel, but it ended up having a smoother tone then the normal chiming high end I usually end up having when recording that instrument. It’ll be buried somewhere in the background of the tune, but here it is on it’s own, just because it reminds me of my own Sunday rituals that don’t necessarily involve church.

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I guess it’s my fault though.

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It’s so good to get out and see things that are creative and interesting but not necessarily music related. I went to see a show put on by Dancemakers last night, and it was great. Balloon animals, pyrotechnics, bells, grazing cows, and twins. Pretty much all the things I require when going to see a show. It runs from tonight until the 17th, so plenty of chances to go do something different.

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…….and here’s a bit of what young joshua and I are coming up with. Not really for the campfire songwriter crowd, but I’m happy with it nonetheless. This record is actually turning out to be a record and I’m getting excited about it.

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