http://elucian.com/

Ouch! Abandoned violins hiding away in the cupboard.

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:42:12 +0100

Ouch! Abandoned violins hiding away in the cupboard.

From the rehearsal with my duo essens:1 (electric violin and...

Mon, 06 May 2013 21:50:32 +0100

From the rehearsal with my duo essens:1 (electric violin and clarinet) and the choir in Morup, Sweden with composer/maestro Stefan Klaverdal.

A short article touching on technology and violin-making from...

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:36:59 +0100

A short article touching on technology and violin-making from CNET.

Credit: Steve Guttenberg/CNET

Well, this was the day that things came together for my...

Wed, 01 May 2013 23:19:09 +0100

Well, this was the day that things came together for my live-looped electric violin cover of Stockholm Syndrome by Muse! (Thank you Paris, for all the inspiration yesterday!)

I spent hours tweaking the sounds and the balance and now I can play it from start to finish — all violin, all live! Phew! :-D

Still a few tweaks to do, of course, but it looks like I’ll be performing it at the Brighton Fringe in a few weeks after all!

From Paris yesterday.

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:59:03 +0100

From Paris yesterday.

Bye-bye cute, now-decimated, Star Wars notebook. You’ve...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:21:00 +0100

Bye-bye cute, now-decimated, Star Wars notebook. You’ve been a huge help!

Now all remaining notes for Stockholm Syndrome will be digital.

I had that weird moment yesterday that comes with any new arrangement — elation mixed with fear! The first time it works (more or less) from start to finish it’s amazing. But then you also hear all the things that don’t work. And get an idea of the thousand-or-so tweaks that are left before it sounds good. And about 900 of those tweaks you had no idea about.

OK. It’s gone through two fully new versions since yesterday. Now to the next. I am in love with my captor. I have my own Stockholm Syndrome going! Time to crack it!

So I think I managed to map out the whole of Muse’s...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:44:25 +0100

So I think I managed to map out the whole of Muse’s Stockholm Syndrome tonight for live-looping electric violin via Ableton Live — where to start loops, where to turn them off, when to change sounds, when to crossfade from one section to another, when and how to bring the first loops back, etc. etc. etc.

I also got some quite complex sounds programmed, which hopefully won’t sound complex at all — guitar distortions with several layers of texture as well as the bass line, on a single preset in my Guitar Rig 5 plugin.

I’ll leave it for tonight, now, and see if I’m able to programme it this way tomorrow. If so, it might work in time for my Brighton Fringe gigs next month!

Fingers crossed!

Ouch my ears — part 2! It’s quite dangerous to have...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 16:07:38 +0100

Ouch my ears — part 2! It’s quite dangerous to have music thumping straight into your ears at high volume. But there’s no other way for me to get this all mixed properly. I just have to take regular breaks to keep my ears alive!

Here’s a new mix of the beginning of Stockholm Syndrome by Muse for looped violin. Gradually working my way through an ever-growing list of tweaks, hopefully in time for performances at the Brighton Fringe next month.

Ouch my ears! Been tweaking my violin drums the past hour for my...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:10:19 +0100

Ouch my ears! Been tweaking my violin drums the past hour for my Muse Stockholm Syndrome cover. Not balanced yet, but sounding quite good.

Friday night. With nothing but a glass of wine to protect...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:44:03 +0100

Friday night. With nothing but a glass of wine to protect myself, I go in hunt of sounds for my Muse violin cover!

But finding sounds is fun. Here is a simple sketch using a...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:08:03 +0100

But finding sounds is fun. Here is a simple sketch using a couple of grain delays to make arpeggio sounds for the chorus part of Muse’s Stockholm Syndrome.

It’s not easy looping a whole song on a single violin....

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:03:33 +0100

It’s not easy looping a whole song on a single violin. Especially working out how to do a smooth transition from verse to chorus and back. It demands some advanced routing in the software.

Absolute proof that we are in France!

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:25:53 +0100

Absolute proof that we are in France!

And here is the audio of the new arrangement we are working on...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:33:00 +0100

And here is the audio of the new arrangement we are working on by Stefan Klaverdal of Björk’s All is Full of Love. This is all live-looped electric violin and clarinet = essens:1. Add choir in about a week for best results!

Here’s the old version of Hans Zimmer’s Why So...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:22:51 +0100

Here’s the old version of Hans Zimmer’s Why So Serious, which then segues into Politik by Coldplay, by my duo essens:1 for electric violin and clarinet. This is semi-live-looped, with all sounds coming from our own instruments (i.e. no synths were harmed in the making of this video!). Filmed by Tobias Broström at a concert in Sweden last year.

We took Coldplay off the end for our new version, but added CPE Bach at the front. And it’s all live now too.

Here’s a snippet of the theme from my live-looped violin...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:27:49 +0100

Here’s a snippet of the theme from my live-looped violin La Folia variation, getting ready for my concerts at the Brighton Fringe this year.

Cathedral of dancing light in Le Mans, France.

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:40:09 +0100

Cathedral of dancing light in Le Mans, France.

Violin in a window in Le Mans, France.

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:36:34 +0100

Violin in a window in Le Mans, France.

Was working out the looping scheme for the beginning of my...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 20:15:00 +0100

Was working out the looping scheme for the beginning of my live-looped violin Stockholm Syndrome cover today. It’s a VERY rough version, as yet, but the loops seem to work. Now, to find some proper sounds!

Just when I thought that Saturday was lost, the muse grabbed me...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 22:37:53 +0100

Just when I thought that Saturday was lost, the muse grabbed me as I feverishly scribbled down bits and bobs for my Muse Stockholm Syndrome live-looping violin cover, in preparation for the Brighton Fringe (with a bit of luck!). This was fun! Hooray for days off and a glass of wine! :-D

And it led me on to something else unexpected too — a new Michael Jackson cover of I Want You Back. I think it’ll work great for looping.