Pye Corner Audio Q&A Part Two and thanks again!

quiet details
May 24
3 min read

Hi friends - hope all good :)

Another massive thank you to everyone that supported Pye Corner Audio’s stunning album - very glad I ordered more of the second run!

I’ll always love the connection between artists, the music and the fans - the sequence of events that leads to us listening to a certain piece of music is such a beautiful thing.

From PCA collecting sounds and inspiration on the shores of Lake Atitlan; to him taking those back to his studio and pouring all his creativity into making this album, with an interpretation of quiet details in mind; to my mastering desk and back again for him to mix; then finally shared out into the world for you all to enjoy wherever you may be.

Add to this Martin sharing an image of the lake which I used as the basis of the artwork - and it’s a wonderfully connected and collaborative journey we all share.

Just awesome and it’s also incredible to hear the way people interpret abstract music like this - all our history and experience shapes this, and I’m very grateful when you tell us about it!

So thanks again! Some CDs left :)

Now Part Two of the PCA Q&A - thanks again to Martin!

Please can you give us an overview of your studio and favourite instruments?

My setup is based around an SSL Big Six desk and Ableton Live. I’ve got a healthy selection of outboard processing, a modular synth (of course) and a few analogue synths.

Favourites include the ARP 2600, it just sounds right, and the spring reverb is great. Oberheim Matrix 6R, which is beautiful for pads and string sounds.

The trusty Roland RE-501 has been with me for a long time and was really the sound of the earliest PCA productions.

The Soma Cosmos is an amazing looping device, but it comes to it from a different angle. It’s very easy to quickly build up textures and soundscapes.

Please can you gives a quick breakdown of how you made each track?

LAKE DEEP MEMORY:

Drone - ARP 2600 played through Soma Cosmos and sent to Roland RE-501.

Features field recordings from Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

PYROCLASTIC FLOW:

Bass - ARP 2600 sequence into Soma Cosmos looper , speaker mic’d up to record the spring reverb (I think that sounds better)

Drone - again 2600 through Cosmos, notes played and then faded in and out with the oscillator level controls.

BENEATH THE NOISE FLOOR PART ONE:

The main chord part is a sample I took from an old rave tape. It’s then filtered in various ways to give the sense of movement. I then recorded some dub style sends to the chorus-echo and the Cosmos.

I recorded the physical noise of the Chorus-Echo tape loop for the background noise element.

INFINITE SYMPHONY:

For this one I started off by setting up an effect chain of a long delay (around 3.5 seconds) with high feedback feeding into another long stereo delay (around 2.5 and 1.5 seconds) with a pitch shift of a fifth interval.

Then I recorded a pass of the string chords and another of an electric piano part.

The drones consist of an ARP2600 part and an Instruo Arbhar part.

BENEATH THE NOISE FLOOR PART TWO:

I recorded my Autoharp (played with a felt drum beater) into the Soma Cosmos.

There’s a chordal pad and a high melody from the Oberheim Matrix 6R.

It’s all covered in a layer of amp hiss.

MEMORIA DEL AGUA:

More Soma Cosmos passes whilst sending dubs to the Chorus-Echo.

FUMAROLE:

The main drone is the 2600 through the Chorus-Echo using delay and chorus.

There’s a track of Cosmos loops and two tracks of the Fieldtone Weaver doing its thing.

VOLCANIC ROCK: