Octave++

Before there were CDs, there were cassettes. These recordings are from a cassette called Octave++ that I did in 1994. The only copies distributed were hand-made. Most of the pieces were redone as part of my Prototypical CD, but there are several pieces here (Renaissance Ninja and Sunrise/Another Day) that do not appear on Prototypical, and ironically they are some of my best compositions. It will be a shame if I never re-do them, but it is also likely that I will never recapture the sound in those pieces that you hear here. All compositions are © 1994 by Tim Thompson, all rights reserved.

Renaissance Ninja
This is one of my best compositions. Wonderfully tasteful guitar licks are added by Dick Hamilton.

Sunrise / Another Day
One of my favorite and more emotional pieces, albeit with quirky sounds. This was back in the days when all I had was a Korg Poly 800, a Yamaha CS01, and a little programmable drum machine whose name I've forgotten. The sounds are initially quite cheezy, but it evolves into a melodic anthem and sound (the 'chime-like' organ sound and the lead synth that soars) that I really like, and I suspect I will never be able to recapture it. This is two songs put back-to-back. Another Day has a beautiful melody - a cheezy sound, but good vibrato control. It actually has some good words to go with the melody, if I can ever remember them all.

Twinkle Tune
This used a Roland D110 (organ, brass, flutes, drums), TX81Z (melody thing), Kurzweil 1000PX (piano) and was recorded using keynote 3.0 on an AT&T PC6300/OP-4001. Mixed direct to a 2-track through a Roland DEP-5 reverb/chorus. Recorded in small pieces, put together with quantization and tweaking by keynote.

Caffeine-Based Life Form
Done with an AT&T 6386 WGS computer running UNIX and X windows, using Keynote 4.0 software. Most of the sounds are from a Roland D110, with help from a Yamaha TX81Z and Kurzweil 1000PX. Mixed direct to 2-track through a Roland DEP-5. This is my original recording of this piece. It was re-recorded for the Prototypical CD.

State Machine
This is the second recording/arrangement of this piece - the Prototypical version is the third one. This one is done with a single Waldorf MicroWave, recorded through a Roland DEP5 direct to DAT using Keynote 5.0 on a 33 Mhz 486 under SVR4.

Autograph
This is the original recording of Autograph, but since it uses a single TX81Z, it sounds pretty much identical to the version on Prototypical.

Stock Answer #1
This piece is a stream-of-conciousness thing, with lots of algorithmic help from KeyKit.

Group Effort
The original recording of this algorithmic piece.

Last Call
One of my more emotional pieces. This one sounds like it has words, but doesn't.

Hyercube - Live
A live version of Hypercube (meaning I played it with my own two hands), performed at the party where I showed Keynote 5.0 in its only public appearance.

Shameless Boogie - Live
A live version, performed at the same party.