Lessons from my Second Mirror Self Portrait
This was a little different from the last one.
On a mission to see myself but it feels like I fell into the trap of using my eyes. This time it didn't feel as awakening as the first time. Maybe because it wasn't completely new ground, it was involving and enjoyable again, I think the intensity of the process plays into this.
Monumental Cemetery of Milan, Sculptural Tombs & Monuments
I'd put this one the must see list. It has a stunning entrance building that is impressive in itself that fences off the city, a gateway to this time-blurred cemetery.
It’s a charged place but it doesn’t feel heavy with death. In some sections, I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t a sculpture park. The mourning comes from the side of love. There are a few memorials around that depict a similar story, a father/mother with their child holding the other dying parent.
One of the Coolest Collections of Things I’ve Ever Seen. Museo Poldi Pezzoli - Milan, Italy
Museo Poldi Pezzoli is one of the coolest collections of things I've ever seen. There are a few factors. The building itself is part of the experience. Mural-painted ceilings, ornate fireplaces and the most beautiful extravagant door hinges I've ever seen attached to carved solid wood doors.
My First Mirror Self-Portrait Painting
I wrote this within an hour of finishing (mostly) this. I wanted to capture my intitial thoughts and response and as a consequense reads like a journal entry.
We just finished watching the 3 part Frida Kahlo documentary on BBC last night. Not that it inspired me, but it was in my mind while starting. I'm somewhat used to having my photo taken wearing our garments. 'Dressing up'. How do I want to present these shirts? What do they pair with? Etc. Like the Kahlo self-portraits. How do I want to present myself? There's the possibility to present whatever / however / whoever I want. I suppose even with a straight deadpan expressionless face I'm still choosing to present something to the world. This is me. Unavoidable.
How To Make A Multiple Velocity Drum Kit in Ableton - Stock Plugins Only
After making a few of these style kits, I thought I'd share how I put them together. They take a little time to set up but are great to play. You can go as far as you want, as many samples, as many microphones. There are already some fantastic sample libraries that do this with real drum kits, like the EZ drummer from toontrack, so I like to create kits that are a little more weird, maybe a little more lofi.
What is a ‘good’ mixdown?
How Long Should I Sit on Music For?
This is the first time I've sat on an album for this long, maybe around 5 months. The music has been finished all this time, I have been working on the album movie, which now feels of equal weight as the music. What are my thoughts about waiting to release on reflection?
I’ve Got My Brother to Thank for the Amount of Stan Getz We’ve Listened to
Harrison bought an alto sax at the start of the year and began his journey of learning how to play. He’s been listening to a few select albums from start to finish, so of course, so have I. It seems like samba is never too far from anywhere.
You’ll hear Harrison on some of the tracks on the album.
From Ableton Live to Push 2 Guitar Performance
It began with breaking down the studio version and removing as many tracks as possible whilst still maintaining the core vibe. Then understanding how I was going to structure this version, knowing it would have to ‘grow’ as I built upon the previous sound/riff.
'Sunrise' Live Acoustic Guitar Ableton Push 2 Performance
Ableton Live Push 2 and Acoustic Guitar looping performance of one of my latest singles, 'Sunrise'.
Most of the original elements were recorded this way for the studio version, albeit with much more processing, so I knew it would be possible to play. Understanding the structure and flow took the most work in translating it to this version. When multiple elements enter at the same time, how would I do that? It had to take on a growing aesthetic. How much could I strip away from the original and keep the same flavour? The studio version has many percussion layers that I boiled down to a few in here.
‘Sunrise’ Played On Amazing Radio & A Few Thoughts on Creating With Originality
Thanks to Mark for the great words on my latest single, ‘Sunrise’. It’s always great to hear what Mark has to say about my music. Here’s the album that Mark references from Circus Company
‘Buika’, The First of my Influence Posts. Jazz, Flamenco, Latin, Fusion
The first of the musical influence posts. I’ll keep these short, so you can listen to the music and maybe go diving through yourself.
‘Loca’ was the first track I found from Buika. I was hooked on the section with the vocal chants (about 1.35), I looped and studied a lot of this track.
How The Creation of My Latest Album Began
The first seeds were planted after I made the soundtrack for our Order Materia ‘Journey to the Source’ film. It was a very freeing process that I think was enhanced by the specifications or the lack of ‘rules’. It’s over 9 minutes and has several chapters, open to bpm changes and multiple genre switches. Around this time I watched this video, Hans Zimmer’s talking about his work on Dune, which aligned with these thoughts - an exploration of sound, very much grounded in human input. We’re talking techniques of compressing individual vowels, whole houses set up as instruments… and it looks like he’s having fun.
The Painting Process for the Cover of My Latest Single, 'Golf 'N' Stuff' (TECH HOUSE)
The painting process for the cover of 'Golf 'N'Stuff', my next single coming out on @atmoeventss with a killer remix from @kpodmusik 🌞🌞 Go pre order on beatport. Releases 12/5
Photography Series - Dovedale - Peak District
The Start Of A New Painting Series
The original story came to me maybe around a month prior to starting them, in the same fashion as my previous paintings. A vision of the story, movie-like. Sometimes it placed me within as the lead character and other times I was observing, attempting to direct, emploring them to do as I wished. I knew the following morning these lived scenes would become paintings.
Jackson Selects November 2021 - House Tech House Techno
My selections for November 2021! Starting off with one from the vault, 'Made Me Feel Like We Were Playing', which is available everywhere. And two new unreleased tracks which were part of this month's exclusive patreon. I've just updated the Spotify playlist.
Michael Bibi playing Jackson Swaby Remix of Kanye - Donda Chant EDC Las Vegas
Michael Bibi playing Jackson Swaby Remix of Kanye - Donda Chant EDC Las Vegas
How to send audio from Ableton Live to OBS using ASIO. Easy.
Photographing The Sky
When I first finished university, I started filming the sky. 10 minutes each day, not in a regularly repeated orientation, just finding nice framing and seeing it change. I can't remember how long this lasted, might have been around a few months, but I came to the conclusion that it was a waste of time and if I wanted to look at the sky... I should just look at the sky.