James Bernard Q&A Part Two exploring his studio and last day of half-price x
Shout-outs too :)
Hi friends - hope all good :)
Massive thanks again for the support for qd21 James Bernard - true ambient music is such an art and James has carved out his own niche after many years of experimentation - Only Now is a wonderful reflection on all the hours and deep thoughts he puts into his work.
Last day of half-price digital today and some CDs still left if you want x
Huge thanks as well to everyone that leaves a comment on our releases on the Bandcamp page - love to see these and really appreciate you taking the time!
Shout-out this time to orlandolovekill, PITP and Samuel x
Now for Part Two of our Q&A - diving into James’ studio and the instruments and techniques that were used on Only Now. It’s lovely to read how someone of his skill and experience works - hope it inspires you!
Please can you give us an overview of your studio and favourite instruments?
The studio is shared between my wife Cynthia (aka marine eyes) and I, so depending on the day it’s not ‘mine’
We have a modest setup, but we make the most of what we have. My current favorite instruments are:
Norns ShieldXL, my OG Roland TB-303 (with Quicksilver QS-303 mod), Fender Squire Bass VI, Expressive E Osmose, and my pedalboard. I have a bit of a guitar pedal obsession at the moment.
Please can you give us a quick breakdown of how you made each track?
Watching Clouds Form - This was recorded live using only the Bass VI and pedalboard. It’s centered around a motif processed through the ChaseBliss Mood Mk2 and layered with both sound on sound and live Bass VI parts.Â
Finding Each Other - The majority of this song was created using the Norns script graintopia, which is a multi-playhead granular sampler. I had initially recorded a simple synth part using the Osmose and loaded it into Norns, then added another Osmose part to add some texture
Blooms - This song wouldn’t have happened without Cynthia’s encouragement. She was pushing me to use my TB-303 to add an ambient acid song to the album. Everything you hear on this song is TB-303, even the pads. I definitely use it in a very non traditional manner, sometimes playing it manually instead of using the sequencer.
Horizontal Journey - Another Norns and Osmose combo, I used the raindrops script for the main melody and sequence. The Osmose keyboard has MPE and is incredibly expressive. I was playing an organ sound that morphs into a synth pad as you apply pressure to each individual note.
Mountain Air - Captured in one take using the Bass VI and sound on sound looping with the pedalboard. I added some field recordings from my favorite local mountain, Mt. Pinos.Â
Whirlpool - This track started out as a motif that I played using the felt piano from Keyscape. I loaded that into Norns for some granular processing and time stretching using the easygrain script.
Act of Gratitude - Another live performance that only uses the Bass VI and pedalboard, with more field recordings from Mt. Pinos. I was really channeling my inner SAW2 on this one.
Gentle Waves - This song is me going into serious Norns overload. I started by using the Fall script to create a song and incorporated some of the sounds while having a day out at Lake Casitas, CA.  Then I loaded that recording into easygrain and stretched it out quite a bit.
Lenity - Another live performance using only Bass VI and pedalboard.
Only Now - For the title track, I wanted to be as minimal as possible while still being expressive. This is a single Osmose sound, played live and recorded in one take.
Downstream - This was one of the first recordings I made using the glut script in Norns, and was when I knew I needed to dive in and explore it more. I have since edited the code on it a bit to be able to push outside the ranges of pitch and time that are on the original patch.
Californian Swells - The final track and yet another live sound on sound performance using the Bass VI and pedalboard, with a bit of Hologram Microcosm for the ear candy.
Thanks again to James for being a part of the series - a beautiful edition it’s an honour to share with you.
Now some shout-outs - so grateful to them all - support the DJs, writers, radio stations and print media x
No Place Like Drone crew playing a track on their Dublin Digital Radio show
Shaun and Steve playing a track on their Space is the Place show
Francis Beaubois spinning a couple of tracks on Electronic Therapy
Joe Muggs including a track on his debut ROVR show
(side note - Joe’s book ‘Bass, Mids, Tops - An Oral History of Sound System Culture’ is a fantastic read, with loads of artist interviews and proper journalism looking at this wonderful part of music culture) - buy it from the publisher Strange Attractor here.)
Electronic Sound Mag with a lovely review of Loula’s album and a Q&A with her too - more brilliant journalism, highly recommended every month.
One last new release rec - Jo Johnson’s new album out today on the always awesome Castles In Space - stunningly gorgeous mesmerising synth music - tip! The artwork and physical edition (designed by qd20 artist and Jo’s husband Plant43) are beautiful too so definitely worth picking up x
Thanks again all and have a beautiful weekend!
Alex
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