Author: ashleyelsdon

Storyteller - Poet - Explorer

Some random music

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https://videopress.com/v/PHtuhm5o?preloadContent=metadata
Randomly generated music created using Processing Code

I actually made this quite a while ago, but decided to revisit it as I thought that I might do a little more in Processing this year. I know I’ve said that before. There’s no guarantee that I will in 2020, but I might.

I was always quite pleased with this sketch though. It was fun and interesting to play with. Above is just a video of the sketch in action as I can’t work out how to embed the sketch here so it can be played. I’d like to be able to do that too, but it might take me a little while for me to figure it out.

Anyway, if I managed to do anything else with Processing then I’ll share it too. That is, if it’s good enough.

A Wotja a day

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I make a lot of music, very little of which I share anywhere these days. For the most part I make music for my own enjoyment, which is much more productive I feel. Anyway, I digress. The point of this is that at the start of the year I decided that I would try to make a small track each day with an app that I really like and enjoy. It’s called Wotja.

Wotja is a generative music system for iOS, although it’s been around a lot longer than that. I’ve actually been a fan of it since around 2007, which kind of puts things in perspective. Of course it’s changed a lot since I first started using it.

Anyway, once again I digress a little. The point of this is that I started on the 1st of January, and so far I’ve kept it up the whole time. So here’s the first. I’ll post the others, probably in small batches, periodically. Hopefully I’ll manage to keep it up all year too.

Space 1999 (Big Finish Audio)

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Season 1 DVD Box Set

I’ve been a fan of Space 1999 since I was a kid. I just loved it. The idea was awesome, the show was awesome, but it only got two seasons, which was a shame really.

I’d hoped for a long time that Big Finish would bring it back, and they did. Releasing the first story “Breakaway” on the 13th of September last year. The date was significant. In the series the 13th of September was the date that the moon left earth’s orbit. Of course, that was back in 1999, so Big Finish releasing it on the 13th of September 2019 marked 20 years since the original story’s event.

The new version is excellent. It keeps to the original story but brings in a few new elements. I’ve listened to it twice now and it’s simply excellent.

It’s only fair that post 1999 be about Space 1999

It’s only right isn’t it. I’m a fan and I feel that I should dedicate post number 1999 to Space 1999. I’m still slowly making my way through season 2, and if that wasn’t enough I’m not sure that I’ve finished reading the comic editions on comixology either. Perhaps I need to make a bit…

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A cassette magazine from a long time ago

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SFX Cassette

When this first came out I can remember buying it. It was such an exciting idea. A magazine that you could listen to! It was a revelation. I didn’t buy many of them. It wasn’t cheap, or at least I didn’t really have the money back then. But I’m pretty sure I bought a few of them.

Sadly, as they were on tape, I eventually recorded over them, and they’ve been lost along the way. So one day I had a look for them on eBay, and of course, there were quite a few available. After a while I’ve got hold of one of the ones I wanted.

So far I haven’t played this, I’m half expecting it to jam up the mechanism, and perhaps I won’t actually even try. We’ll see.

No more littleBits

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this

Last year I decided that I wasn’t doing anything interesting with my collection of littleBits components and modules, so I finally gave them up and sold them. I hope that they’ve all gone to good homes.

They were fun, and very useful at times. I did enjoy them, but I think I had got to a point where I’d stopped doing anything creative with them.

Delia Derbyshire

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Electronic Sound and Delia Derbyshire

This is the latest edition of Electronic Sound magazine. It comes with a copy of her version of the Doctor Who theme, presented on some very nice looking yellow vinyl. I’m not sure why it’s yellow, but it is.

Now I’ve played it. It’s pretty good. Great to hear that track again. Such a milestone in electronic music history. Such a hugely creative endeavor. Just so impressive.

I haven’t read the magazine as yet, but when I do I might post a few thoughts on their take on Delia. I’m not committing to it right now. We’ll see.

The The at 40

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In some ways I just can’t believe that The The have been around for 40 years. It’s strange, it’s bizarre, but it’s true.

Their music has been an important part of my life for a long time. Perhaps not 40 years, but probably for most of that. The most important album from my perspective being ‘Soul Mining’. I still listen to parts of that quite regularly.

I’m looking forward to new stuff from The The and hopefully some re-releases as well.

Blake’s 7: Liberator Chronicles 8 – Spoils

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I updated my Blake’s 7 library after Christmas as Big Finish was having a sale on a range of titles. One that I bought was the Liberator Chronicles 8. As a collection of four stories it was fine. Nothing bad in there, nothing amazing. That is until the last story in the collection. The last story in this collection is called ‘Spoils’.

I’m not going to spoil the story in case you plan to listen to it, but, I have to say it was probably one of the most interesting and unusual stories in the Blake’s 7 range I’ve ever heard.

I’ll leave it there. If you do listen to it, I think you’ll be surprised.

Please let there be more Planet of the Apes

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Over Christmas I watched all of the Planet of the Apes movies again. To be clear it was the new movies and not the originals.

They are amazing films, and, as you progress through the trilogy, they just get better and better. With ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ being a true masterpiece.

I’m just hopeful that it doesn’t end there. There’s so much potential to take the series further and explore what happens next. Of course the original films start at a different point and move over a very long period of time.

In effect any new series could pick up where the original series started. That is of course just one possibility. The big question is what will happen with the astronauts who left the earth in the first of the new trilogy. That question was left open throughout the series.

However you look at it, there are countless ways the series could continue. I just hope that it does.