Charlie North

Diftwood - The Charlie North Michael e Project.
Above is the link to a new track called Driftwood that I wrote and recorded with the musician and producer Michael e. It is part of  a new chillout/downtempo musical collaboration that we have been developing over that past few months. We will be releasing some of these tracks on a selection of compilation albums in the new year.

FORGET YOURSELF
I’ve been working with more generative music ideas. Above is a link to a new piece that is very different to anything I’ve done before. Firstly it was not played but created through code and programming. I gave the computer a series of rules and ideas that it could explore and then let it ‘perform’ the music. I’ve used some of these principles before. ‘If:When:Then’ and ‘Wait & See’ make extensive use of this technique. However this track is completely generative. I’ve not edited or changed the music in any way.

Creating generative music has been likened to growing a plant. You set up the environment and then you let the track grow. You never really know what will happen, you have to flow with the principle. Some interesting ‘natural’ examples of generative music (and sound) would be raindrops and wind chimes.

I personally find it an interesting area to explore because it forces you to stop controlling the music and see where things take you. For me this is a very appealing idea, both in my life and my creativity. However this piece is mainly a curiosity, and I don’t think it warrants being on any media player. It’s mainly for anyone who is interested in the process of my work, as much as the results. That said I would be interested to hear your thoughts and get your feedback. Do you like it? Is it too minimal? Does it make sense? Should it make sense??

I should also probably mention a couple of other things…

You shouldn’t really listen to ambient music. This genre requires you experience music in a slightly different way. It should in fact become part of the natural ambience of your surroundings. The best way to achieve this is too turn the music down so that it’s just slightly louder than the other sounds around you (e.g. the fridge humming, the rain, the traffic etc.). Then just go about your life. It should alter the ambience of the room, nothing more. If you don’t do this, it won’t really work!!