Degenerate, by Steve Flato

Degenerate

by Steve Flato

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Full Digital Discography

17

releases

Get all 17 Steve Flato releases available on Bandcamp and save 60%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Microtonal Guitar II, Creeper, Degenerate, Microtonal Guitar, Live at The Wulf, Get Up! / For PR, This Is Our Last Cry Before Our Eternal Silence (2021 Version), Reverse Icarus, and 9 more. , and , .

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1.	Degenerate 13 33:43	info	buy track
2.	Degenerate 17 10:44	info	buy track
3.	Degenerate 16 12:40	info	buy track
4.	Degenerate 5 42:25	info	buy track
5.	Degenerate 11 06:34	info	buy track
6.	Degenerate 8 05:14		buy track
7.	Degenerate 15 40:54	info	buy track
8.	Degenerate 9 07:41	info	buy track
9.	Degenerate 1 14:01	info	buy track
10.	Degenerate 7 12:16	info	buy track
11.	Degenerate 10 07:08	info	buy track
12.	Degenerate 3 01:00:10	info	buy track

about

DEGENERATE: A continually evolving recording project. These pieces are composed (at least partially) using generative processes and chance. This is a generative album and tracks will continue to be added to it as they are created. As tracks are added, the price will go up, but you will be given access to all future tracks as they are added whenever you purchase the album.

In Degenerate 1 I tossed a 20 sided die to determine the length of the piece: 14 minutes. One note was played on the Hydrasynth using a patch I programmed, and then I had no other interaction with the instrument. I improvised with the Hologram Microcosm on the mixer send while the Hydrasynth continued to play— adding glitches, reverbs, delays, etc.

Degenerate 2: The length of this track was determined by the duration of a meatloaf dinner with my family. A patch running on my synthesizer ran untouched throughout our meal. The music played into the dining room where my partner, step-daughter & I ate (It played quite loudly- not too overwhelming for conversation, I think). At the end of the meal, I re-entered the studio and quickly faded out & stopped the recording.

Degenerate 3: A patch was made for harmonic oscillator for my modular synthesizer. I rolled a 20-sided die to determine how long the piece would be, in 10-minute increments. I rolled a six, which is one hour. I decided to pass the time while this patch played on the synthesizer by taking an untimed nap. To my surprise, when I walked back into the studio from my sleep, 59 minutes had passed; enough time to make a nice fade out and end this track.

Degenerate 4: I started getting tired of pieces where I had little to no interaction with them. I had a generative piece on the synthesizer playing and recording for roughly 30 minutes. The goal was to cut the piece down and make a composition by rolling a 20-sided die to determine some simple rules for the piece. How long will the piece be? Three dice rolled, 1st for minutes, and the 2nd and 3rd are added together for the duration in seconds. I rolled 3, 5, and 18, so the piece had to be 3 minutes and 23 seconds. Exactly how many edits must be used to get this piece down to that length? I rolled a 6. Two cuts to the content were done and four adjustments to the volume.

Degenerate 5: Generative patch for modular synthesizer. 1/20/2022.

Degenerate 6: This piece played throughout the night on 1/20 - 1/21/2022 while I slept. Generative patch for modular synthesizer and VCV Rack. Dedicated to Tom Smith.

Degenerate 7: Recorded February 4, 2022. Generative modular patch for the 4ms Spherical Wave Navigator & Ensemble oscillators. Several hours of material were recorded and edited down into a 12 minute piece.

Degenerate 8: Again, we're heading into more performative territory here, but Degenerate 8 (April 10, 2022) was based on a generative patch that I had intended to tear down/take apart, but in the process of disassembling this patch, something caught my ear and it quickly turned into a performance. And that's what you hear, here.

Degenerate 9: A modular synthesizer patch for two unison voices-- the Mangrove oscillator and Just Friends module in synth mode. A Norns script (Krill) was used to generate arpeggios played by these two voices and this was fed into a Make Noise Mimeophon and Erbe-Verb. (May 8, 2022)

Degenerate 10: A modular synthesizer patch sequenced by Five12 Vector Sequencer. Voices include Mannequins Mangrove, IME Hertz Donut & Piston Honda (7/26/2022)

Degenerate 11: Patch for Vector Sequencer and modular synth. Playing with probabilities in Vector, layers overlapping and working on different timelines, etc (7/26/2022)

Degenerate 12: It's been a year since the first entry on October 29th, 2021! At this point, I've moved into different performative and compositional techniques that are not generative music necessarily, but they are informed by, and use the tools of, generative music. This is an improvisation based on some generative patching. Once the patch was established, I responded to it and performed within it. (10/27/2022)

Degenerate 13: Modular synth patch using the Sinfonion quantizer (2/13/2023)

Degenerate 14: Modular synth patch sequenced by Teletype (4/16/2023)

Degenerate 15: Modular synth, Hydrasynth, Opsix

Degenerate 16: Modular synth patch for Just Friends and Teletype. Testing out i2c connections. (2/4/2024)

Degenerate 17: Squarp HAPAX & Cycle Instruments Tetrachords were used to sequence the modular synth, Minilogue XD, Wavestate, and Hydrasynth. Several generative and chance operations were involved, but everything was edited down afterwards in Logic. (3/8/2024)

credits

released October 29, 2021

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about

Steve Flato Buffalo, New York

Steve Flato is a composer and guitarist that lives in Buffalo, NY. His music encompasses many styles and techniques including microtonal electric guitar, generative process pieces, minimal text-based scores utilizing broken electronics, cut-up musique-concrete, and a piece written for the Spreckels Organ in San Diego, CA (the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world). ... more

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