Season Two is just about finishing, episode 24 is out on Tuesday 25 July 2023. I have started on Season 3 already so it will flow through.
Why bother with seasons if they flow through?
Mainly to make sure I can take a break when I want to. But in practice I usually get ahead making episodes (to make sure I've got things ready to go in the event of an emergency) so I do get a break between seasons - even if you don't!
There are also some thematic differences between seasons. Season 1 was all about actually doing it. Could I consistently create long form improvised pieces? Could I explore different sounds with limited resources? Maybe bring in different tonality through variety of guitars? Yes, apparently I could.
Season 2 was a continuation but very much an exploration of bringing in more synthetic sounds and using different types of looping to play one against another. I used to play guitar synth a lot being a fan of Robert Fripp and Vernon Reid, but I'd avoided it for a long time. Wrecklamation Point made me want to try it again (because fun) but also find more of my own voice with it, so experiment more.
This also seemed to work quite well.
So what about Season 3?
Season 3 will be a bit different again. I want to find a balance between synthetic and non-synthetic guitar sounds. I want to split the time up so I start to do shorter work again because that is calling me. I've got 3 different ideas that each episode will consist of:
- Hiperad: I'm going to use found chord sequences to trigger around 20 minutes of improv - so I've got a harmonic/melodic challenge going on
- Essences: Can I up the textural side of things to give a 10 minute potentially spikey, changeable piece that is more active than normal ambient
- Orbits: Can I then bring it back to a 20 minute sustained drone with a beat - I've lined up some loops to fade in and out as I go, again just to see if I can move in a different direction, and also because I've been enjoying playing with a drummer recently
Overarching all those of course I've still got that - be in the moment and see what happens commandment. It still has to be real in the moment, not too contrived or structured so much that it stops being an emotional expression.
Season 3 begins on Tuesday 1 August 2023. It will be 21 episodes long. It might be the last season as I do something different again after that, or I might take a longer break and come back to it, who knows? I'm not Russell Grant, am I?