[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":201},["ShallowReactive",2],{"journal-playing-small-rooms":3,"journal-\u002Fjournal\u002Fplaying-small-rooms-adjacent":58},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"category":45,"cover":46,"coverAlt":47,"date":48,"description":49,"extension":50,"meta":51,"navigation":52,"path":53,"readingTime":54,"seo":55,"stem":56,"__hash__":57},"journal\u002Fjournal\u002Fplaying-small-rooms.md","What small rooms taught me about performing","Naya Arunika",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":39},"minimark",[10,14,19,22,29,33],[11,12,13],"p",{},"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.",[15,16,18],"h2",{"id":17},"making-space-between-songs","Making space between songs",[11,20,21],{},"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.",[11,23,24],{},[25,26],"img",{"alt":27,"src":28},"Rain beading on a window with blurred lights behind it at night. Photograph by Defi22, CC BY-SA 4.0.","\u002Fimages\u002Frainy-lights.jpg",[15,30,32],{"id":31},"what-everyone-listens-to","What everyone listens to",[34,35,36],"blockquote",{},[11,37,38],{},"A performance is not just what is played. It is also what everyone agrees to\nlisten to together.",{"title":40,"searchDepth":41,"depth":41,"links":42},"",2,[43,44],{"id":17,"depth":41,"text":18},{"id":31,"depth":41,"text":32},"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.","md",{},true,"\u002Fjournal\u002Fplaying-small-rooms","4 min read",{"title":5,"description":49},"journal\u002Fplaying-small-rooms","vey2-MRAIaypZ-s6TpdIzoNXRmPYgaiFkNfJWOkLQQ4",[59,118],{"id":60,"title":61,"author":6,"body":62,"category":107,"cover":108,"coverAlt":109,"date":110,"description":111,"extension":50,"meta":112,"navigation":52,"path":113,"readingTime":114,"seo":115,"stem":116,"__hash__":117},"journal\u002Fjournal\u002Fportable-live-set.md","Building a portable live set",{"type":8,"value":63,"toc":103},[64,67,71,74,87,90,96,100],[11,65,66],{},"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.",[15,68,70],{"id":69},"three-ideas-for-a-portable-setup","Three ideas for a portable setup",[11,72,73],{},"The current setup is built around three ideas:",[75,76,77,81,84],"ul",{},[78,79,80],"li",{},"Keep the signal path understandable.",[78,82,83],{},"Choose tools that invite improvisation.",[78,85,86],{},"Leave one part of the arrangement deliberately unfinished.",[11,88,89],{},"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.",[11,91,92],{},[25,93],{"alt":94,"src":95},"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",[15,97,99],{"id":98},"leave-somewhere-to-go","Leave somewhere to go",[11,101,102],{},"The last point matters most. A live set should have somewhere to go.",{"title":40,"searchDepth":41,"depth":41,"links":104},[105,106],{"id":69,"depth":41,"text":70},{"id":98,"depth":41,"text":99},"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":61,"description":111},"journal\u002Fportable-live-set","3rj0eeclFIVNAS0AgsndShAUiDvl5sb6EPBDoqmQsRs",{"id":119,"title":120,"author":6,"body":121,"category":190,"cover":191,"coverAlt":192,"date":193,"description":194,"extension":50,"meta":195,"navigation":52,"path":196,"readingTime":197,"seo":198,"stem":199,"__hash__":200},"journal\u002Fjournal\u002Fmaking-a-record-from-field-recordings.md","Making a record from field recordings",{"type":8,"value":122,"toc":186},[123,131,137,141,144,159,163,166,172],[11,124,125,126,130],{},"The first sound in ",[127,128,129],"em",{},"After Rain"," was not made in a studio. It was the low,\nuneven hum of a train leaving Bandung just before sunrise.",[11,132,133],{},[25,134],{"alt":135,"src":136},"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",[15,138,140],{"id":139},"start-with-attention","Start with attention",[11,142,143],{},"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:",[145,146,147,150,153,156],"ol",{},[78,148,149],{},"Find a place with a distinct rhythm.",[78,151,152],{},"Record longer than feels necessary.",[78,154,155],{},"Write down where and when the sound was captured.",[78,157,158],{},"Return to it later, without trying to force it into a song.",[15,160,162],{"id":161},"let-it-change-on-the-way","Let it change on the way",[11,164,165],{},"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.",[11,167,168],{},[25,169],{"alt":170,"src":171},"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",[173,174,175,181],"s-card",{},[176,177,178],"template",{"v-slot:header":40},[11,179,180],{},"Small practice",[176,182,183],{"v-slot:footer":40},[11,184,185],{},"Leave room for the recording to remain itself.",{"title":40,"searchDepth":41,"depth":41,"links":187},[188,189],{"id":139,"depth":41,"text":140},{"id":161,"depth":41,"text":162},"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.",{},"\u002Fjournal\u002Fmaking-a-record-from-field-recordings","5 min read",{"title":120,"description":194},"journal\u002Fmaking-a-record-from-field-recordings","lRqsV0OcwxjOyUQPIAkYcWCzHkMrltMFPXze44t-Swo",1792649186269]