record release: about ntrance

what is it?

ntrance is a 4-song release (about LP length, ~40 minutes) I made this year.

It’s mostly instrumental and I’d describe it as ambient electronic music.

It’s available to stream at manoeuver.bandcamp.com/releases

or right here:

why did I make it?

I’ve been making and recording music since high school in the early 90s. Most of it, and everything I’ve ever released in any form, was in collaboration with other musicians– usually in the form of a rock band.

I haven’t been in a band since 2009 and I haven’t released a record since 2014. Listen to that one here, I still quite like it.

I’m about a year away from hitting 45, and these days without a regular collaborator. I’ve found ways of working with people remotely but it’s nothing like being in the same room with another creative person and multiplying ideas, then watching them bloom into songs.

So I’ve decided, as difficult as it is for me to work alone, to devote time and effort to starting and completing music projects even if I don’t have anyone nearby to help. ntrance is the first such project and I’m proud to have it finished.

how did I make it?

ntrance started out as a series of experiments with generative music production.

Generative music is usually synthesizer-based. My generative builds are made of some number of sound-generating synths, and then some kind of random signal generator that would then play those synths. I set some parameters to stay put and I use LFOs to modulate some of them.

I’d set up one of these machines and let it run for hours while I worked at my coffee shop. I’d step over, tweak a few settings, and let it continue to run. Depending on how they sound, they could provide a gentle psychic cushion for the

what’s next?

Another project made of through-composed songs may be out this year yet, and a couple one-shot projects too. See you soon.