This is noisy. Sorry about that, but getting a clean and clear recording from a contact mic seems to be a real challenge. That said, I have had a fun afternoon and evening creating sounds from scratch. This is made up of one sample using a contact mic and the Zoom H4n, capturing me singing down a six foot piece of plastic plumbing tube. I made it into an instrument and played it though a myriad of effects.

Why Illetas? Well, my son is there with his Mother on hoilday. It’s where we used to live when he was v.young. The piece sounds a little melancholic…

I miss him, that’s all.

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The results of my first foray into using contact mics.

Thanks to the generosity of Oli Bell @groovecriminals on Twitter, I have some new sound gathering methods to play with.

Born from an electric toothbrush spinning upon a few tight layers of cling film over a large bowl, with extra transients from my hot, sticky fingers upon the taut plastic. The short sample I chose to use was then thrown through a complicated effects chain in Ableton Live, layered and then looped to give it a life of its own.

It’s odd and different, but give it a listen? I like it! :)

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