Softroom Studio Sequencer Therapy

He was slow to pull the trigger, but he finally did! Introducing my friend Paul Nagle, a leading figure in the UK electronic music scene. Paul and I first met in 2003 when he helped me programming the V-Synth, at the time I worked for Roland Corporation Japan. Paul's lifestyle might be a source of inspiration for all of us: his ritual morning walks with Jasper, his dog, his admiration for the simple creatures, like the frogs in his pond, or his pet rabbit Bob. Everyone should spend time with a free-range rabbit! Follow Paul's activity on Twitter.

Paul has, over the years, released many new age, chill-out and electronic albums. Paul's sequences are one of a kind, almost living fractal entities, forever repeating, but never quite the same. How they interleave with each other is fascinating. Animation set to moderate speed on this sound generator will reveal them to you in the most interesting ways.

Paul writes: These tracks arose as a form of 'sequencer therapy' in which the many parts of my 'Softroom' studio are synchronised. The patterns often run for many hours even while I'm doing something else. Audible through the whole house — I have an understanding wife — they begin to fade into the subconsciousness as they loop, allowing me to concentrate on other things: writing, household chores or playing other synthesizers that might later join the throng. It's like having an ambient robot orchestra engaged in an evolving ritual. Periodically I return to the raw notes, perhaps to change a single pitch, remove a note, add an element of probability, introduce a new loop or impose a rule-based pattern to spawn further variations. The sequences never truly end, are never considered complete or final. I should add a note of thanks to Colin Fraser at Sequentix who listened and began incorporating my ideas into their sequencers, machines I'd be lost without.

Paul Nagle is also a writer. His novels are available on Amazon Kindle.

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