Clunk Operator
“Do that thing you’ve been meaning to do.”
A recent #disquietjunto prompt was, “Do that thing you’ve been meaning to do.” I have a couple of unused Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators, which are simple palm-sized 16-step sequencers, just collecting dust.
I like the sound and the creativity their constraints prompt, but I’ve never really learned how to program them, so I thought I would finally sit down and really figure out how to use them.
I checked the manual, watched YouTube videos, and even bought a course.
...I have to confess I still do not really know how to use them! I understand the user interface (so to speak) is limited, so I tend to make something small and neat and then export it into Ableton for further development.
I did manage to make a couple of fun beats, which you’ll hear in this track.
Music nerdery stuff, because that’s probably why you’re here:
The beat in the intro is “re-amped” - I just hit record on my laptop and pointed the Pocket Operator where I thought the mic was. The rest of the beat is recorded direct. I like the contrast!
I tried to implement my new policy of “never quite the same.” It’s so easy to copy and paste when making beat-driven electronic music, but our ears crave a little difference mixed in with our similarity. I tried to keep switching things up via panning, subtle FX, etc.
To “make room” for melodies against the pads, I used Ableton’s EQ8 to see what frequency range the melody lives in and then carved those out of the pads. Worked pretty well!
I used the “Street Fighter” Pocket Operator, so I found some promotional clips on archive.org and made a promo video. Probably legal! -ish! Probably legal-ish!
More on the 724th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Work It — The Assignment: The year’s almost over. Do that thing you’ve been meaning to do — at https://disquiet.com/0724/.
Thanks for this! Really resonates, that 'never quite the same' ideea is gold.