So after the Circle of Live retreat last year, I spent a long time puzzling out how to put together a live case that felt genuinely playable.

This was the first attempt at using it.

It’s loosely based on the Ableton project Sebastian walked us through on the final day at Chilham Castle. Except without Ableton...

OP-XY handles the MIDI, and Torso S-4 handles the audio. Any of the MIDI-controlled audio coming from the OP-XY can be sent to an aux channel, then routed into the S-4 to be recorded, looped and manipulated. The idea is that I can move through tracks and projects more or less seamlessly, rather than stopping and starting between them.

It’s all mixed through an old Pioneer mixer I had left over from my DJing days, with the new Novation Launch Control taking care of hands-on control, plus a Kaoss Pad for a few extra effects.

And the whole thing lives in an old flight case we used to use for Vintage Mobile Disco.

All nice and neat and tidy.

The initial drone is sampled from my late uncle Stan’s old concertina. I recorded it straight into the S-4 using its built-in mic, then looped it, slowed it down, doubled it and reversed it. That slightly rough recording process is also where the pops and artefacts you can hear come from.

I used the Spiral effect on the Pioneer mixer a lot here too. It’s something I’d almost never touch while DJing, but it turns out to be surprisingly good for adding swells, movement and texture to organic drones.