Anywhere in Nature • Renfrew | Ambient Eurorack Modular Synthesizer

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Renfrew
November 19, 2019
With the addition of two Polyend Anywhere modules and two Intellijel Palette cases to my setup, I can now fit a powerful, fully-battery-powered system into my backpack and make music anywhere in nature. I almost called this first piece 'Trio for Friends, Rings, and Sparrow' because it uses three voices: Just Friends played by Monome Norns (via Crow), a micro version of Rings into Clouds, and a live field recording that features a sparrow that flew directly overhead as it sang. Listen closely and you'll notice that the sparrow also called the exact moment the piece ended. Magic. Sparrow Totem.
Full patch notes available on Patreon → / lightbath
✶ GEAR ✶
Music gear/modules in this video → lightbath.zone/renfrew-kit
Video gear in this video → lightbath.zone/video-kit1
Hosa cables → lightbath.zone/hosa
Field recorder → lightbath.zone/d100
Lightbath Mall → lightbath.zone/mall
Some of the above may contain affiliate links which earn me a small commission. If you'd like a way to support me at no extra cost, please use the links.
✶ ZONES ✶
Website → lightbath.com
Emails → bit.ly/lightbathemails
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Bandcamp → lightbath.bandcamp.com
Patreon → / lightbath
#ambient #eurorack #nature

[@intellijel]

Beautiful video and music! A very nice reminder to get outside and smell the roses :)

[@Lightbath]

🌹

[@ifaber68]

As always beautiful magical sound setting :-D

[@zachbraunstein9478]

gorgeous synth and even better sound, good shit man

[@tone1798]

Such a wonderful way to start any day!!!! Absolutely love this channel!

[@davidrobertson4301]

What a beautiful studio! Love the setup and had to play it 3 times in a row

[@LittleZdy]

Lightbath never fails to impress, thanks for sharing.

[@orbitalpatterns]

Super graceful sound design. Love the additional live field input. Compositional execution is masterful as always. Dope

[@hard7kraft]

Very peacefull track. Adding the surrounding sounds gives a particular feeling to the recording. Great job !

[@tom_leclerc]

Finally outdoor ! Beautiful track and ambiance... great work dude !

[@rhampton1914]

ABSOLUTELY STUNNINGLY AMAZING....THANKS FOR SHARING THIS..

[@jerryrush892]

Seriously who gives this a thumbs down? Incredible as always Lightbath, thanks for the inspiration 🙏

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

Its not musicians , so it doesn't matter :-) But ill bet you its people who CALL themselves musicians , listens to zz-top , Kiss, and Yngwie Malsteen ,- and it angers them , they can't get a grasp on real music - -first and last synth´s they buy, full price (came for a guitar carreer - left with ) a Yamaha Portatone , a Casiotone , and a tubescreamer ! where the f...! do these minijack´s go !? ;-(

[@TheGamingWard]

This legit helps tremendously with my anxiety. Amazing music my friend

[@SetiGershberg]

I really dig the concept of producing live in nature. Hats off, well done!

[@FormsMusic]

Beautiful 🍃 as always!

[@derivativ3]

Always puts a smile on my face to see someone new pick up a zadar :) Great work as always, cheers -mylo

[@Scrambled6653]

Very beautiful shift around @2:48 ! Love the whole piece ❤️

[@lampeo]

Sounds Great, but looks and feels even better...It is home, I remember those days skipping school, riding my bike down that hill to play in those woods and jumping into the swimming hole with that swing...Good Ol' Days :-)

[@Lightbath]

Thanks bud. You're one of the few people who will see this that KNOW. Renfrew is my childhood. And my teenage years. And after. This video is my homage to the boro.

[@Lightbath]

And yep - that hill and how it connects to the schools the best. I love that area between the two zones. The new path they paved back there is nice, actually. Makes riding a road bike possible. Goes all the way to Memorial Park.

[@joshuaandrew4671]

I’m always impressed by the harmonic consistencies through your pieces. It’s inward yet excited. A lot like that bird singing.

[@Lightbath]

🌟

[@donkeybizle]

This made my Black Friday shopping so concise and focused. Thank you for bathing me in this sound stage!

[@Lightbath]

🌬✨

[@HumanMotives]

Return here everytime. Great piece 🙌

[@HarryFullerCT]

What a treat to see this video posted. I was actually looking at the patch note reference page this morning and saw the notes for this and thought, "What's this?" Great stuff. Thanks!

[@Lightbath]

🎛📝✨

[@guyewhite]

Keeps getting better and better. So inspired. So happy have experienced your Patreon offerings.

[@guyewhite]

P.s. playing your cassette 4-pack release while studying. Love em. Hope vinyl happens so I can have something that I can give my grandkids. Your work is a blessing to our home.

[@Endorphines]

Thank you for this beautiful, chill vibe.

[@Lightbath]

Thank you for making things that help to make that vibe.

[@orangewiggler6838]

Thank you. Love it!

[@uweschnitzler9551]

absolutely amazing : visually and the audio ...great inspiration...I have a bigger system but def not able to do what you achieve with it...

[@mistergenerator5430]

Ambient as it should be. Beautiful sound and out in nature.

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

Excellent - stunning , etherial , and beyond beautiful !

[@nostalgia_junkie]

grandma what did you put in the turkey

[@daren.t.housse2121]

Beautiful as always 😎😎👍👍👍👍👍

[@mmesynthtopia9525]

This is lovely.

[@Jimantronic]

Ahh man that's delightful! Those palette cases and battery power really change the game. I love my modular, but having it stuck in the same place and not really portable just means I don't get to use it enough

[@syncdestroyer]

Good work Sparrow!

[@IDRAsound]

I'm floating, Thank you

[@tryasavitsa5754]

by far my favorite ambient song

[@riueru]

Very nice rainbow cables patched from the just friends, love it!

[@InvertedPopesMusic]

Amazing sound and sight. Those cases and the powerbricks are a great move. Outdoors here we all come.

[@daren.t.housse2121]

Inverted- Popes yer IP just makes you want to get a rig and go play outside 😎😀😀

[@InvertedPopesMusic]

Sure does DTH. Mind you possibly not in the weather we are having at the moment. 😀

[@daren.t.housse2121]

Inverted- Popes 😂😂😂 we would have to be waterproof 😂😂

[@undulations]

gorgeous✨

[@stochasticstep]

Beautiful

[@marachime]

Matt Colville brought me here. This is gorgeous!

[@MONSIEURLANCEDRAKE]

Love this so

[@anewcleardawn]

Blissful!

[@fuzzy_time]

sooooooo goooood

[@Contang0]

a setting nice enough for two palettes :)

[@InstantlyDistant]

Great stuff

[@avantlanuit]

Belle ambiance et joli paysage

[@Lightbath]

mercie

[@funkytransport]

lovely

[@marcelomoura7584]

muito agradavel seu som, obrigado por compartilhar

[@Lightbath]

obrigado

[@BrianGriffithVibes]

i see that cheeky Crow!

[@neoaureus]

You stunned the dog !

[@Lightbath]

Ha! The bird?

[@neoaureus]

Lightbath ...haha...yeah and the cow...

[@CyberColossus]

I need this on some kinda 9 hour loop

[@nrbarnard]

Yay norns!

[@doneh103]

libère l'espace et calme le temps =)

[@neoaureus]

Superb playing ...but I'm just here to admire the wires ....

[@Lightbath]

me too #admirethewires

[@SyllixMusic]

What is the primary module / modules for setting up the conditions where all of the notes / keys being played are musical? Does one of these modules, for example, output notes where you can choose major / minor, lydian, mixilydian , 9th, 11th, 13th chords, etc. etc.?? Is it a combination of modules? Does it have to be a module with a sound source (oscillator) or are there modules that can transpose and output different notes from another source? Thanks!

[@Lightbath]

Wow. All great questions. Big ones. In this context I can say that my note and rhythm making modules are separate from my sound making modules. That is, the note and rhythm making modules tell the sound-producing modules what to play. And yes, there are modules that let one set the scale or pitch set and then one can either send the module shapes that will then be snapped to a scale (quantizers) or modules that randomly generate those shapes and apply quantization, and there are also modules that let one determine specific pitches and rhythms that can then be altered or shifted as desired. Lots of options. The community over on my Discord (available through Patreon) is a good resource have discussions about this sort of thing with others. I also teach one-on-one as well, available through the higher tiers on Patreon. Of course there are also resources available outside of The Lightbath Zone. Whichever path you choose, welcome to the wonderful world of modular 🌟

[@SyllixMusic]

@@Lightbath thanks for the detailed response! I'll consider those options :) I've been a fan of your work ever since I first discovered it on youtube. Maybe it's time I join the community. I'm new to modular but have a solid foundation in music production. The kind of music you produce is very much in the realm of what I would aspire to create with a modular system. Melody, movement, randomness, ambience... I'm just beginning my journey with a Minilogue and a mother 32 :) thanks again!

Let’s go everybody outside...

[@tgeo2880]

the bob ross of synths

[@mmturner89]

Awesome! Do the palette cases come with those lids?

[@Lightbath]

They’re sold separately and very worth getting.

[@mylarmelodies]

Ooft 👍💎✨

[@Almanacs]

So beautiful! Are those bird chips of minute 5:00 coming from the recorder/environment? Or from the modular?

[@Lightbath]

Ha! Yes, from the environment. It’s amazing how similar they sound to FM, though. The bird had the best timing.

[@Almanacs]

@@Lightbath haha yeah! It's almost clock-synced. Thanks for answering my question :)

[@Lightbath]

That sparrow knows what's up.

[@JeremyTroicuk]

Just happened upon here by wanting to get into modular, love the videos. Also is this Renfrew, Ontario?!

[@Lightbath]

Thanks. And you’re not the only one to ask about Ontario. It’s actually a small historical site in Pennsylvania.

[@JeremyTroicuk]

@@Lightbath Ah ok that makes a lot more sense! Renfrew, Ontario is a small rural county just outside of Ottawa so it would have been a big surprise to see a video come from there, especially about modular! Anyways, thanks for the response and keep up the great work!

[@Lightbath]

Along those lines the historical site in PA is in a small rural area, so it’s a similar situation!

[@benjiwilson26]

Damn now I want a second pallette case...

[@Lightbath]

The Octalink works well ☝️

[@benjiwilson26]

@@Lightbath ahhh don't tempt me, I'm just finishing up my first case... Bank account can only handle so much.... 😅 Regardless, thanks for the inspirational music! Your stuff has been super helpful to my journey in eurorack!

[@brndnwilliams42069]

Sounds great :) thanks for sharing. What’s the one cable from crow, clock? Which batteries are you using ? Thanks !

[@Lightbath]

It’s the clock, yep. The gear I used is all linked from the description. I had tested a handful of batteries before landing on the particular ones I used.

[@casualdecay6775]

Fastest 7 minutes of my life

[@happylittlesynth]

Great piece , thank you for sharing! question...what is the thicker black cable that is going from one case to the other? (at the top right of the left case, and top left of the right case)

[@Lightbath]

Thanks. It’s an Ethernet cable that connects two @Intellijel Octalink modules allowing cross-patching between cases. It’s brilliant.

[@conferencespro]

Hello, beautiful ambiance. Can this track be used in a project if correctly credited?

[@Lightbath]

Thanks. Please contact me through my website lightbath.com to tell me more about the project and discuss licensing options.

[@ys521wow]

Lovely sounds. BTW what power bands were u using?

[@Lightbath]

Thanks. The Kit link in the Description has everything you need :)

[@ys521wow]

Sorry! before buying it just wanna make sure that the signal 1 usb-A out can provide 3A power right ? I really appreciate it!

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Dude, I have that same little recorder.

[@Lightbath]

It’s a good one. Way better than any of the field recorders I had in the past.

[@pablotorres7129]

This is really beautiful. Is there a way to sequence/control both Norns and eurorack at the same time with one Grid?

[@Lightbath]

Thanks. I don’t think so, without unplugging the grid and hot swapping between Norns and Ansible, for example. There used to be a switch that one could use for that, but again that’s not *at the same time*.

[@merrick51]

great sound. any chance that you could list the modules you're using here?

[@Lightbath]

Thanks. I just updated the Kit for this video to include all the modules I used. Check the video description text 'music gear used in this video' for the link. Also, if you want detailed patch notes they're part of the archive on patreon.

[@fe_barba]

can you link the bags/sleeves for norns and grids??? looking for those till FOREVER!!!

[@Lightbath]

The gear wraps are linked in the description on the Kit page.

[@LeonTrimble]

There’s a crow in the woods

[@samdeters6162]

Something about the outdoors and analog synths seem to go together. Any tips on power supply? I've got a matriarch that would love to be played in the woods

[@Lightbath]

Ah, yes. I have a new one that I like and it has an AC outlet on it so it can be used with anything... including that Matriarch: lightbath.zone/portac

[@swz.]

whats the module allowing usb midi host? beautiful piece!

[@Lightbath]

Thanks. Polyend Anywhere. Check the gear link in the description for details.

[@danbrenton2645]

Renfrew, Ontario? 🥰

[@danielneill2369]

I was wondering that too

[@thisdirectsky]

@@danielneill2369 same

[@VictorSteiner]

Doesn't the Palette always have power already pre-installed? I got myself a polyend anywhere but didn't want to use it in my 3u Intellijel with the 1U row because there is already a board in the background for power ... doesn't that create problems? I guess it is no problem if a powered ribbon cables touches a board that isn't in use and not under power?

[@Lightbath]

I’m using the Anywhere power instead of the built-in power. But yeah, as long as I don’t try to use both power options at the same time I suspect it’s completely safe.

[@VictorSteiner]

@@Lightbath Thanks! Might try the anywhere with the 3U Intellijel ... :)

[@aurelrubbish2348]

👌💥🤤🤤🤤🤤💥👌

[@rjschrei]

Are you Canadian? Old home days.

[@Lightbath]

This is in Pennsylvania, actually.

[@rjschrei]

Could be Renfrew Ontario from the looks of it as someone else noted first. Really appreciate your work and devotion to the sound world . The traveling cases are great. More!

[@iantanner7579]

superb! very organic in its composition, - personally, i'm not a big fan of the digital elements all too prevalent in todays current modular rigs, - but i'm sure that's just my old-age, i just find the textures produced a little too sterile and stable for repeated listenings... that said, it's still a fine, expressive piece... love to ALL, feel no hate

[@andrewcampbell8938]

Next time you could just listen to nature. It has a beautiful sound all of its own.

[@Lightbath]

...and make a video of it? Of course I don’t deny its beauty, I just wouldn’t call a field recording a Lightbath piece.

[@aphexon.]

Pretty gay, then I am into that, so yeah?