Integration Loops by Mick Chillage

Like many of my works "Integration Loops" was born from a moment
of pure inspiration, I was working on a project which seemed to be a little stagnant and I wandered off playing something completely different when a sound from another project caught the attention of my ears and senses again.

I played some improvised keys, which is pretty much the foundation of the track, I liked its haunting sound, although purely electronic it has a somewhat organic tone, almost human like at times, something that my Prophet Rev2 delivers from time to time.

With this longish improvised phrase recorded I began to play yet another deeper counterpoint with a new sound patch which I edited to match the duration of the very first improvisation. The two of these pieces seemed to just sit together so nicely I kinda sat and listened as they both looped endlessly but each pass seemed to grow and shift in different ways to my ears, delivering a certain emotion that resonated with me.

I kinda felt that these two elements could perhaps just play for an hour or so, with subtle filtering and volume changes and various effects being tweaked also, a fairly minimal emotive track but experimental with its long running time.

But as I prepared to arrange these, I couldn't help but delve further into more sound design and improvisation. I worked solidly for the rest of the evening, adding more elements but being careful not to clutter each part.

I now felt I had the sonic ingredients for a long form track but maybe this time I could push it out further, utilising the freedom that the digital format can offer and going beyond the maximum eighty minutes constraints of my beloved CD format.

The following day, I began to mix & arrange the track and what you hear now was all pretty much conceived in just under two days. I hope I've achieved something that can keep a listener engaged for it's duration as it gradually morphs from emotive swells to calming, softer plaintive moments and to ghostly tones that appear briefly and to disappear into the almost endless sonic haze.

"Integration Loops" clocks in at one and a half hours, and yes the title is kind of a homage to a particular well know Ambient series ;)

Equipment used:

Prophet Rev2 16 Voice. (All sound sources)
Ableton Live 10. Effects, digital processing, mixing, arranging.
Native Instruments "The Maverick" virtual piano.

Written & Recorded September 2022 at the Igloo Dublin.

Tracklist

1.	Integration Loops	89:38

Credits

released September 22, 2022

Written, produced & mastered by Michael Gainford
Photo & design by Michael Gainford

License