diary#1 delves into the very essence of human expression, capturing emotions that often lay hidden within unfinished works. Listeners will find themselves transported through a sonic landscape that resonates with the universal human experience.
A memento of electronic musical activity
Music for each of us is a lifetime passion, or a private pursuit, we all have our sense of the beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. In the most ordinary studios (for example, now using a home computer), an artist can spend lots of time developing new ideas. Time goes by and day after day new things come about, things that might require exploring and then after some time and familiarity these ideas start becoming a routine. diary#1 is an interesting chronicle of the way musical time was spent, ideas gather and new things are attempted, observations and valuable experience is treasured. diary#1 is a memento of electronic musical activity happening on specific days, arranged into an interesting and compelling listening experience.
Each track is a special selection from the artist’s vast chronicles over time and through interesting musical territories, each track has a powerful unique presence. As I listen I feel conveyed into a strange new world, the music is timeless. Perhaps there are ways that these patterns are just cycling continuously, on and on into infinity, each acting as a model of eternity. Of course that is impossible, some things take a long time but nothing has gone on forever, and everything could change again. What I hear are studio inventions collected over time, slow paced and relaxed sound environments, sometimes there are patterns and themes. It’s all a bit dreamy.
diary#1 delves into the very essence of human expression, capturing emotions that often lay hidden within unfinished works. Listeners will find themselves transported through a sonic landscape that resonates with the universal human experience—memories of love, joy, heartache, and everything in between. These unreleased gems embody the authenticity and vulnerability of artistic expression in its purest form.
Once you get into the music there are no words necessary! What I hear are electronic tones arranged into repeating patterns which include extended notes or drones in the mix, listening to select moments from the studio chronicles, one day this way, another day there are other notes in the repeating patterns. Every day there are new discoveries, hidden in the endless routines. diary#1 are the choice nuggets of the work.
Capturing emotions that often lay hidden within unfinished works ::
Andrew Tasselmyer collected these sounds and these are his observations:
A1 (August 16) (3:32) The small bit of melodic looping that occurs underneath the percussion is a sampled celeste that was pitch-shifted and looped with the sequencer, with an LFO modifying the start point very slightly.
A2 (August 3) (7:27) After discovering an unnamed sample on the Octatrack’s memory card, I re-sampled it in the Samplr app on my iPad and applied varying effects including filters and tape delay.
A3 (January 13) (3:26) The clicking noises and electrical humming were largely unprocessed and left as-is.
A4 (January 20) (4:38) This sound was originally made from Slate & Ash’s “Landforms” orchestral sample library for Kontakt, then recorded to the Octatrack.
B1 (August 21) (5:36) The main swelling sound throughout this track was a single piano note played with Felt Instruments’s “Lekko” library, which I then heavily distorted, compressed, and ran through delay on the Octatrack to make it sound like a rising and falling synthesizer.
B2 (August 4) (3:48) From an old sample of a piano recording I made last year, recorded to a handheld tape player.
B3 (April 24) (5:05) Drums, glitchy piano loops, and arpeggiated bass synth.
B4 (December 22) (3:00) A simple piano sequence using the Octatrack’s MIDI sequencer. I let this loop for about a half hour, recorded it, and forgot about it.
Andrew Tasselmyer is a musician from Baltimore, MD currently living in Philadelphia, PA. He utilizes samplers, field recordings, and lo-fi recording techniques to make textured and tactile sounds. I’m always learning and open to anything that makes me feel inspired. In addition to his solo catalog on labels such as Laaps, Seil Records, Eilean Recs, Constellation Tatsu, Home Normal, and more, he is a member of Hotel Neon, Gray Acres and Mordançage.
Tasselmyer reflects on his motivation and rewards for this Diary experiment. “By sharing ideas and improvisations on my YouTube and Bandcamp, then writing about the process of their creation on my Substack blog, I’ve started to develop a really enjoyable cycle of creation for myself that has given me new confidence, less pressure, and more enjoyment when it comes to music-making.”
diary#1 is available on Sonic Dialogue. [Bandcamp]
