Dub techno magic with OAM Time Machine

A quick patch exploration with the new Time Machine delay processor from Olivia Artz Modular, which in their words is “a tactile interface for mixing together 8 delay lines with an input signal”.
This isn’t a sponsored video - I backed the original Kickstarter for the Time Machine and paid for my unit - I’m just a fan!
More on the Time Machine:
oamodular.org/...
More stuff from me:
tomchurchill.b...
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[@moonshore]

Such an inspired interface for delay. Adjusting the times to move together into one of the ends of the time range produces mindbending stuff, and is a great example of how delay can be used as a compositional tool in music.

[@nov3c]

God this whole video sounded so good

[@ErisFairbanks]

Wonderful video and fantastic sounds Tom!

[@atdubya]

Great video + sounds, Tom ✨

[@isolamusic6205]

Thanks for sharing your „quick little jam“ - a nice one!!

[@brhodes0]

Very nice quick demo with some good sounds cheers guv

[@MelonSprout]

wonderful! great demo.

[@LukeKillen]

That's a clever delay.

[@mit136speichenumdiewelt]

You videos are beautiful like the modules you are presenting.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Really musical and creative delay, makes me wonder what's out there that can approximate it. Probably the Rainmaker, but I do not feel going through 150 pages of manual while not having the tactile interface. But still...

[@WillisZzz]

Great demo, thanks! I thought spread was going to assign each delay line it's own position in yhe stereo spectrum, but i like what it does do.

[@brachiopodmusic]

Veeeery nice…

[@Tofu_Pilot]

This shiny gem and the Blukac Endless Processor might lead to dub so deep......

[@Ruktiet]

no it won't, unless you add analog gear to completely warm and fuzzy it up

[@GeorgeLocke]

The possibilities for evolving drone at short delay times seem wide open.

[@ErisFairbanks]

I've spent a lot of time messing with it with no input and feedback cranked up and you can definitely get some interesting textures. When it's clocked, the time controls do a doubling/halving that acts like octaves at short delay times, and skew lets you morph the sliders from subharmonics into weird enharmonic partials.

[@petercane6376]

Good one Tom. I like the sounds of the Is OAM time machine. Problem is there is so much out there now GAS is virtually unavoidable. Would I be on the right tracks to describe it as a form of complex clock divider ( bit like the subharmonicon( but somewhat easier to use?

[@Planeta_Majmuna]

I hope one day you decide to apply your brilliance to Syntakt or Digitakt 2 (which have some similarities to modular systems, and can save patches) Stellar work as usual.

[@TomChurchill]

Thanks! I must admit Digitakt 2 is piquing my interest a bit, so you never know 😉

[@thirdsmusic]

Do you think it was a miss not to include CV inputs for the individual delay times?

[@TomChurchill]

Personally speaking, not really - it would have added a lot to the cost and the footprint, and I like the simplicity/playability as it is. But there are expander ports so it's very possible we'll see an expander one day to address this.

[@thirdsmusic]

@@TomChurchill good to know about the expander ports and thanks for the info!

[@mobith]

how well does it cope with uneven clock signals?

[@TomChurchill]

It seems to recompute pretty quickly and there are no pitch changes when the delay time changes. But to be honest, the way I work I'll likely only ever be syncing it to a regular clock, so I'm maybe not the best person to ask!

[@offthisworld]

Great video, lovely sound. Let's not add up the module prices... or you will pass this hobby ;-)

[@Ruktiet]

This is not dub techno. People confuse lame, flat, cold and digital sounding 4/4 beats with delayed chords with dub techno. Dub techno is minimal synth music that would classify as classic "techno" or just electronic music with a rhythmic bass component to it with actual dub techniques applied to it, akin to Basic Channel, Rhythm & Sound, Maurizio, Round 1,2,3,4, which are all aliases for Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, Deepchord, Metric System, Andy Stott, Atheus, Jon Fay, even Skee Mask as more modern examples. Those sound WARM, analog, and intentionally lo-fi/distorted paradoxically mixed with hi-fi mixers. I'm not a genre nazi, but there is nothing "dub" about this delay unit, nor to 99% of what people consider "dub techno" nowadays. Sounds extremely digital and clean, which is the exact opposite of what the "dub" sound is. The only similarity is that it intends to provide a delay effect. Specifically Rhythm & Sound used a Speck SSM24 mixer, analog synths like the Prophet 5, EMT 246 reverb, plate reverbs, spring reverbs, Boss tape delay, KNAS Ekdahl Moisturizer, not to mention tube compressors, etcetc. All very expensive stuff btw. If you like the genre, you probably understand that Rhythm & Sound's Carrier track, or Outward, or Round Four's Find a Way/Found a Way are vastly superior to any of the modern crap being produced under the "dub techno" label is.

[@TomChurchill]

Spoken like a true genre nazi! 😂

[@Ruktiet]

@@TomChurchill lol I know. I am very opinionated on this because almost no one has been able to crack the code and many are stuck thinking you just produce filtered chord stabs with a bit of delay feedback on top of it. Unfortunately, that doesn't work and it will sound flat, and extremely generic. In I have been trying to reproduce it digitally for the past few years as a hobbyist and haven't gotten further than daisy chaining compressors with delays.

[@TomChurchill]

@@Ruktiet sure, I totally get all that. In my defence this video was just intended as a quick demo of a new delay effect - I’m certainly not claiming this is a finished bit of music and I’m well aware it doesn’t sound as good as a Basic Channel record - I’ve been listening to them for 30 years so trust me, I do understand the nuances of the sound! What I would say is that I think modern tools can be just as valid and actually kind of essential to move the genre on, otherwise it becomes nothing but navel-gazing retro fetishism. I think a complex digital delay in the right hands, with the right kind of additional analogue processing, could produce really spectacular results that take the dub techno sound into new directions. But that’s certainly not what I claim to be doing here! I want someone else to be inspired to do something wonderful with it. If it just becomes about using the exact same gear that Mark and Moritz were using in the 90s then what’s the point? You’re not going to top what they did!

[@Ruktiet]

@@TomChurchill I know, I know, you have a youtube channel and want to peak the interest of your viewers. I get it. And I'm just being a cranky cynic. I'm glad you appreciate them though. "otherwise it becomes nothing but navel-gazing retro fetishism" - Well put, although I would say that this fetishism is based on really really good sounds that haven't been/have only very rarely been replicated, despite lots of efforts. If someone would just hand me the recipe I'll sort myself out. Anyways, thanks for the chat, sorry for the negativity. I subscribed. Good luck further!

[@cheeba909]

But why do you want to even replicate the sounds of Mark and Moritz?! Inspiration yes, but c’mon! Leave it with reverence to the time, place and the artists involved. It’s been and gone and is now legendary. Long may musicians progress any scene and look for new frontiers