[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":248},["ShallowReactive",2],{"journal-index":3},[4,97,143,201],{"id":5,"title":6,"author":7,"body":8,"category":84,"cover":85,"coverAlt":86,"date":87,"description":88,"extension":89,"meta":90,"navigation":91,"path":92,"readingTime":93,"seo":94,"stem":95,"__hash__":96},"journal\u002Fjournal\u002Fmaking-a-record-from-field-recordings.md","Making a record from field recordings","Naya Arunika",{"type":9,"value":10,"toc":79},"minimark",[11,20,27,32,35,51,55,58,64],[12,13,14,15,19],"p",{},"The first sound in ",[16,17,18],"em",{},"After Rain"," was not made in a studio. It was the low,\nuneven hum of a train leaving Bandung just before sunrise.",[12,21,22],{},[23,24],"img",{"alt":25,"src":26},"A commuter train waiting under the lights of Gedebage Station at night. Photograph by NFarras, CC BY-SA 4.0.","\u002Fimages\u002Fcommuter-line-bandung-raya-in-gedebage-station.jpg",[28,29,31],"h2",{"id":30},"start-with-attention","Start with attention",[12,33,34],{},"Field recording is less about collecting impressive sounds and more about\nlearning to notice what is already there. I keep a small recorder in my bag,\nbut the important part is the habit of listening:",[36,37,38,42,45,48],"ol",{},[39,40,41],"li",{},"Find a place with a distinct rhythm.",[39,43,44],{},"Record longer than feels necessary.",[39,46,47],{},"Write down where and when the sound was captured.",[39,49,50],{},"Return to it later, without trying to force it into a song.",[28,52,54],{"id":53},"let-it-change-on-the-way","Let it change on the way",[12,56,57],{},"The distance between the original place and the studio is where the music\nstarts to change. Most of the recording ends up passing through a few pieces\nof outboard gear before it sits inside a song — a little compression, a long\ndelay, nothing that hides where it came from.",[12,59,60],{},[23,61],{"alt":62,"src":63},"An effects rack with a Yamaha SPX90 and a Peavey DPM Spectrum in a home studio. Photograph by Klara Kopf, CC BY 2.0.","\u002Fimages\u002Feffects-rack-yamaha-spx90-peavey-dpm-spectrum.jpg",[65,66,67,74],"s-card",{},[68,69,71],"template",{"v-slot:header":70},"",[12,72,73],{},"Small practice",[68,75,76],{"v-slot:footer":70},[12,77,78],{},"Leave room for the recording to remain itself.",{"title":70,"searchDepth":80,"depth":80,"links":81},2,[82,83],{"id":30,"depth":80,"text":31},{"id":53,"depth":80,"text":54},"Process","\u002Fimages\u002Fbandung-station-platform.jpg","A train waiting beneath the lights of Bandung Station. Photograph by Midori, CC BY 3.0.","2025-05-12","A few notes on turning ordinary places into the beginning of a song.","md",{},true,"\u002Fjournal\u002Fmaking-a-record-from-field-recordings","5 min read",{"title":6,"description":88},"journal\u002Fmaking-a-record-from-field-recordings","lRqsV0OcwxjOyUQPIAkYcWCzHkMrltMFPXze44t-Swo",{"id":98,"title":99,"author":7,"body":100,"category":132,"cover":133,"coverAlt":134,"date":135,"description":136,"extension":89,"meta":137,"navigation":91,"path":138,"readingTime":139,"seo":140,"stem":141,"__hash__":142},"journal\u002Fjournal\u002Fplaying-small-rooms.md","What small rooms taught me about performing",{"type":9,"value":101,"toc":128},[102,105,109,112,118,122],[12,103,104],{},"The first time I played a room with only twenty chairs, I thought the small\naudience would make the performance easier. It did the opposite. Every pause\nbecame visible. Every quiet note had somewhere to go.",[28,106,108],{"id":107},"making-space-between-songs","Making space between songs",[12,110,111],{},"That intimacy changed the way I arrange live sets. I now leave more space\nbetween songs, keep the transitions simple, and let the room contribute its\nown texture.",[12,113,114],{},[23,115],{"alt":116,"src":117},"Rain beading on a window with blurred lights behind it at night. Photograph by Defi22, CC BY-SA 4.0.","\u002Fimages\u002Frainy-lights.jpg",[28,119,121],{"id":120},"what-everyone-listens-to","What everyone listens to",[123,124,125],"blockquote",{},[12,126,127],{},"A performance is not just what is played. It is also what everyone agrees to\nlisten to together.",{"title":70,"searchDepth":80,"depth":80,"links":129},[130,131],{"id":107,"depth":80,"text":108},{"id":120,"depth":80,"text":121},"Live","\u002Fimages\u002Fbandung-city-at-night-2517163687.jpg","City lights spreading across Bandung at night. Photograph by Syed Abdul Khaliq, CC BY 2.0.","2025-03-28","The quieter the room, the more carefully a song has to breathe.",{},"\u002Fjournal\u002Fplaying-small-rooms","4 min read",{"title":99,"description":136},"journal\u002Fplaying-small-rooms","vey2-MRAIaypZ-s6TpdIzoNXRmPYgaiFkNfJWOkLQQ4",{"id":144,"title":145,"author":7,"body":146,"category":190,"cover":191,"coverAlt":192,"date":193,"description":194,"extension":89,"meta":195,"navigation":91,"path":196,"readingTime":197,"seo":198,"stem":199,"__hash__":200},"journal\u002Fjournal\u002Fportable-live-set.md","Building a portable live set",{"type":9,"value":147,"toc":186},[148,151,155,158,170,173,179,183],[12,149,150],{},"My ideal live setup fits into one backpack and can be ready in under ten\nminutes. That constraint has made the music better, not smaller.",[28,152,154],{"id":153},"three-ideas-for-a-portable-setup","Three ideas for a portable setup",[12,156,157],{},"The current setup is built around three ideas:",[159,160,161,164,167],"ul",{},[39,162,163],{},"Keep the signal path understandable.",[39,165,166],{},"Choose tools that invite improvisation.",[39,168,169],{},"Leave one part of the arrangement deliberately unfinished.",[12,171,172],{},"Most of it is a small semi-modular synth and a sampler. The synth plays the\nbass and the pulse; the sampler holds the field recordings.",[12,174,175],{},[23,176],{"alt":177,"src":178},"A Moog DFAM and Mother-32 semi-modular synthesizer on a desk. Photograph via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.","\u002Fimages\u002Fmoog-drummer-from-another-mother-dfam-mother.jpg",[28,180,182],{"id":181},"leave-somewhere-to-go","Leave somewhere to go",[12,184,185],{},"The last point matters most. A live set should have somewhere to go.",{"title":70,"searchDepth":80,"depth":80,"links":187},[188,189],{"id":153,"depth":80,"text":154},{"id":181,"depth":80,"text":182},"Equipment","\u002Fimages\u002Fbukit-bandung-moko.jpg","Bandung city lights seen from the hills after dark. Photograph by Farid Rafif, CC BY-SA 4.0.","2025-01-17","Designing a small setup that can travel from a bedroom to a stage.",{},"\u002Fjournal\u002Fportable-live-set","6 min read",{"title":145,"description":194},"journal\u002Fportable-live-set","3rj0eeclFIVNAS0AgsndShAUiDvl5sb6EPBDoqmQsRs",{"id":202,"title":203,"author":7,"body":204,"category":238,"cover":239,"coverAlt":240,"date":241,"description":242,"extension":89,"meta":243,"navigation":91,"path":244,"readingTime":139,"seo":245,"stem":246,"__hash__":247},"journal\u002Fjournal\u002Fnotebook-for-sounds.md","A notebook for sounds you almost miss",{"type":9,"value":205,"toc":234},[206,209,213,216,222,226,229],[12,207,208],{},"Most of the ideas that survive start as something small: a phrase overheard\non a night walk, the rhythm of a shutter door, a chord that shows up once and\nnever returns. The notebook exists so those things are not lost by morning.",[28,210,212],{"id":211},"write-it-down-before-it-becomes-a-song","Write it down before it becomes a song",[12,214,215],{},"The rule is simple: write the observation first, the music second. A line\nlike \"the rain made the neon louder\" is worth more at three in the morning\nthan a finished loop that explains itself.",[12,217,218],{},[23,219],{"alt":220,"src":221},"City lights seen from the hills above Bandung at night. Photograph by chrisinno, CC BY 2.0.","\u002Fimages\u002Fbandung-night-view-dago.jpg",[28,223,225],{"id":224},"the-almost-miss-is-the-point","The almost-miss is the point",[12,227,228],{},"Not every entry becomes something. That is fine. The notebook is less an\narchive of songs than a record of attention — proof that the walk home was\nlistened to.",[12,230,231],{},[23,232],{"alt":233,"src":133},"The city of Bandung glowing at night from a high vantage point. Photograph by Syed Abdul Khaliq, CC BY 2.0.",{"title":70,"searchDepth":80,"depth":80,"links":235},[236,237],{"id":211,"depth":80,"text":212},{"id":224,"depth":80,"text":225},"Notes","\u002Fimages\u002Fnight-at-asia-afrika-street-bandung.jpg","Neon signs along Asia-Afrika Street in Bandung after dark. Photograph by RasyaAbhirama13, CC BY-SA 4.0.","2024-11-08","Small observations collected between places — and why writing them down changes the music.",{},"\u002Fjournal\u002Fnotebook-for-sounds",{"title":203,"description":242},"journal\u002Fnotebook-for-sounds","BClwM6fkfIb4SY30Y-_yudcXdcnN1Rb0HCTb93DYL-M",1792649186116]