Holy Fire • Synths in the Catskills

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✶ PERFORMANCE NOTES ✶
Holy Fire
August 26, 2017 @ Synths in the Catskills
All hardware performance/improvisation recorded straight to 2-track and mastered in Logic with compression and eq.
Last August I held an event in the Catskill Mountains of New York and invited my favorite New Yorkers to come, bring their synths, and celebrate life and music with live sets, a potluck dinner, and camping. I’m grateful for all those who attended, both performers and beholders.
You can behold each set via the magic of the Internet:
Lightbath - • Holy Fire • Synths in ...
tehn - vimeo.com/239605337
Emily A. Sprague - • Emily A. Sprague - Liv...
Chris Penalosa - • Synths in the Catskills
Sean Julian - • Video
✶ PERFORMANCE NOTES ✶
I’m using the expanded version of the patch featured in Eclipse Preparation: • Eclipse Preparation | ...
And I just want to mention that in the middle of the set I discovered a really great bass tone thanks to the beautiful resonance of Belgrad. So stoked when that happened. Xaoc Devices, you made such an amazing filter!
The visuals are all from footage of the campfire. The blue and green particles are reversed and color-adjusted sparks from kicking a burning log, and the red-orange background are post-fire embers.
✶ GEAR ✶
Lightbath Mall → lightbath.zone/mall
Audio + Video gear → lightbath.zone/video-kit
Hosa cables → lightbath.zone/hosa
Eurorack case → submodularsystems.com
Case stand → amzn.to/3203h85
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
Instagram → / __lightbath
Twitter → / lightbath
Soundcloud → / lightbath
Spotify → spoti.fi/2X0GjtM
Bandcamp → lightbath.bandcamp.com
Patreon → / lightbath
#eurorack #ambient #synthesizer

[@jarretclement6447]

Here I am a year later and this is still just such an exquisite journey you've given us. It's ethereal yet the themes are so fully realized, which is such a feat for even the most experienced composers. This will forever be one of my favorite pieces of music, and it reveals a little more every single time I hear it. Congratulations on the recent releases Bryan, they're inimitable. I need to get back to you on Patreon ASAP, so I'll tty soon. And thank you for the super informative vids like the creative mentorship vids! From a fellow music teacher, it's really helpful and there are a couple things you said there I'm absolutely gonna thieve and relate to my students. Super helpful, lucid and concise.

[@Lightbath]

🙏🌟🙏🌟🙏

[@ComparativeIrrelevance]

Awesome! Thanks for making this happen - those are some great live sets from the event!

[@knuchel25]

Thanks for this talent and all your gear precisions ! Love your bandcamp too !

[@agerven]

Love the catskill mountains, some very nice good people there. And now they cause me to find your video on you tube. Great! Very nice performance and music. Extraordinary! Thank you.

[@kozmicstreamz]

I love this! Your music has definitely helped to push me into eurorack!

[@lewiglenismusic662]

I love what you're doing Lightbath! It really shows you love what you're doing too! Haha

[@simondemeule3934]

As always, wow. And that ending was just majestic

[@orangewiggler6838]

Thanks thanks thanks! ....For the music, all the notes etc.... Peace!

[@esqueish]

Simply amazing. Congrats!

[@brycepoole7697]

Dang, this is amazing. Especially love the part around 12 min!

[@tomas_horn]

this is an outstanding jam. full of colours

[@pecne]

This is really really awesome!

[@losthollow3459]

Delicious work sir, truly.

[@nuclearscissors]

That's an instant favorite for me. I know when I hear a good music, and this is certainly it.

[@Lightbath]

🌟

[@DarkuJ]

Always so good!

[@the_real_redx]

so so so good. Thank you!

[@zacharyharris438]

Incredible. The snow is magical.

[@morn1977]

Simply beautiful!!!

[@nsrocker99]

Just getting into modular music and I love your take on it! This is the kind of music I’d like to make one day.

[@user-nc8br4lr2u]

The tone followed by the facial expression @ 10:00min says it all. Very well done!

[@herbertdruschke503]

the whole performance is phantastic and the moment when this new sound comes in at 6:40 is pure sonic gold. so goooood.

[@WiredSpaceWizard]

That's so cool! Thanks, man!

[@djlukestein]

Bryan, this is amazing work. very inspiring

[@Lightbath]

Ah, thank you, Luke.

[@Datacustic]

Very well done!

[@linja2022]

Beautiful *.*

[@tonyrustlips]

this is incredible

[@TerekkiTerekki]

Loving this...

[@YannGuillermou]

so subtle and delicate all along

[@TheArborTree]

For real- ur the channel I send people to when I want to give an example of modular music

[@Lightbath]

🌟

[@NeilTimbers]

Im feeling every note of this. Just brilliant.

[@Lightbath]

Thank you!

[@substan_music]

lovely!!

[@ParalysedGekko]

Hearing your music i feel trapped inside a bubble that prevents time from passing. And the endless fragility inside takes all over. Your music is an inspiring emotional singularity. Thank you, man.

[@Lightbath]

Wow, thank you. Playing this set was a powerful cathartic experience for me. It occurred during a time of great emotional pain and self-discovery and all that 'life' served to open me up to a deep presence that allowed the inspiration to flow.

[@ParalysedGekko]

It's not only that great live performance in the clip above. It's nearly every work you exhibit here on KZbin. Many artists just twiggle knobs on expensive gear randomizing the hell out of it...most of this lacks of any soul. Of any passion. Of any deepness. Of hearworthy narration. You are different. You have something to tell. Your music really opens a sensual world, making every clip a journey to dive deep into fragile space. Please keep up your great work. You have something to tell. And people like me just enjoy every second.

[@Agressiviste]

I've had my fair share of playing guitar in the woods near a campfire. I hope that next time I'm out there at night, I'll have gathered a modular synth like this one and can create some ambient like this. Really inspiring!

[@Flying_Karsten]

Very very very big show, i like it!

[@Koettnylle]

I am a simple man: I reuse youtube comment clichés whenever my favorite channels uploads new stuff. Seriously though, great stuff as usual!

[@heatherpruner2284]

Absolutely gorgeous! Late to this party, but I found your music a while ago via Tim Held’s Podular Modcast and now this beautiful performance. Hope to see you live at some point, especially if you ever make your way down to the southeast.

[@Lightbath]

I welcome opportunities in the southeast! I wonder if there’s something good brewing in Atlanta. I’ve been booked to play the Slingshot festival in Durham two years in a row but both times seriously injured myself just before and had to cancel 🤦🏻‍♂️ now I’m afraid to book another 😏

[@phormzlab1743]

LOVE this !! 😍 🍄

[@Lightbath]

🍄✨

[@herbertdruschke503]

i am always coming back to this video.

[@Lightbath]

🙌

[@Tubilan1]

Just great, best regards

[@defunct-b6p]

Wow - this is the real deal right here. Outstanding set. Humbling.

[@Lightbath]

Oh, thank you! This set was one of my favorites. I love hearing from people who've stuck around for the entire thing.

[@defunct-b6p]

@@Lightbath Outstanding work. I have some notion of how difficult it is to do live electronic improv, and you made it look easy. The resulting music was also really strong. Kudos.

[@Lightbath]

🙌

[@jarretclement6447]

christ, i've been listening to this basically nonstop since last november. honestly, this is my favorite piece of music of at least the last 2 years, probably longer if i were to try to quantify things that can't be. it's just incredible. you make a LOT of great music, bryan, but this, to me, stands pretty tall as a high-water mark, and not limited to "generative ambient," which is a term i hesitate to even mention here, considering this is so clearly EXTREMELY well-composed and planned. it's made me really want a Belgrad for a few months, even though i have plenty of filters. they rarely ever go on sale used. one did a few days ago and i slept on it, now it's gone. :( i'm going subscribe to your patreon just b/c i strongly believe in your ability and wanna hear more, but i hope there are patch notes for this that are a little more detailed than what you used to have posted in the vid's description, b/c i feel like this deserves the closest attention. but regardless, thank you for your hard work, it has clearly paid off in spades.

[@jarretclement6447]

i have damn near CRIED several times when hearing you start slewing that lead from Firebird, and i'm not ashamed to admit it. it's just so gorgeous.

[@Lightbath]

Wow, thank you, Jarret! I really appreciate your words of support. It's great to hear that you've connected deeply with it. Would you believe me if I said it was all improvised? I had some things composed in the Monome, but I hadn't memorized which slots were which, so I was still very much winging it. The thing about this piece, which I feel was my best show to date is that-as I had mentioned in a recent comment here-it occurred during a time of great emotional pain and self-discovery and all that served to open me up to a deep flow state that allowed this piece to be such a strong transmission. Everything just worked and I felt so deeply connected and present throughout. Not to mention that I had the support of friends new and old witnessing the set and was inspired by the earlier performances by Tehn, Emily Sprague, Gen Ken, Chris Penalosa and Sean Julian. As for the patch notes, they're actually pretty standard, but I'd be happy to explore the patch concept and usage and answer any questions in a future Hangout or other one-on-one option on Patreon. Because, you know, the patch notes can't really convey what I was actually doing with it-that's best to be explored in real time.

[@jarretclement6447]

Yeah, I was thinking about contacting you about "hanging out" via the patreon option, i have some general Qs about sequencing via Monome, and would love to wrap my head a little tighter around what you're doing here, so i'll def be in touch! i've lurked the lines forum for a while and the mannequins line are some of my favorite modules, but obv the Monome stuff is a different beast. it just seems like you can do so much more w/ it than most step sequencers I've encountered. I'm a fellow music teacher, and have pointed students this way quite a few times. it always goes over very well, and i'm looking forward to the releases you have scheduled for this year. the Loom vid is fantastic, can't wait to hear the full EP. thanks for the thoughtful response, and i'll be in touch re: a one-on-one in the next week or 2. (oh and yes, all the performances from that Catskills show are fantastic, i was super excited to get to see Brian work his magic. thanks so much for setting all that up, seemed like quite an incredible occasion.) i believe you have since moved from the Catskills, but please set up another similar event sooner than later!

[@Lightbath]

Oh, that's great. Looking forward. And yes, I've been nomadic since December, am currently on the West Coast, and don't expect to be back in the Catskills anytime soon-but anything is possible. It does look like I might be in Brooklyn sometime this summer, though, so the possibilities are open.

[@Lightbath]

Oh, thank you!

[@M0N0KIRA]

It's just on a whole other level ay.

[@thisdigitallandscape756]

This performance is a never ending source of inspiration, especially after hearing the deeper story in the Patch:CV series.

[@Lightbath]

🙏

[@anniesthesia]

This is still a fire track. I hope to be half this good someday.

[@alexmacarte3670]

Real nice! xx

[@theplanetfromanotherman201]

wish I could be in the forest with you playing this set in massive good speakers and a good bunch of fun guys in my mind. love this so much!

[@Lightbath]

🌲🌲🌲🌟 🍄 🌟🌲🌲🌲

[@theplanetfromanotherman201]

@@Lightbath Viva Pachamama! Love your music bro!

[@murmurelamusique]

thanks man - personnal & so & beautyfull :)

[@jrgenbjella7011]

My goodness.. Wow! Goals! This is what it´s all about, man. What a great composition that is. You know exactly when to move on and just as important how to move on (in my humble opinion). That was great. Very engaging. And super nice visuals. Must have been an amazing night.

[@Lightbath]

Thank you. It was a good (albeit cold) night. I encourage you to check out the other sets if you haven't already. But yeah, you can see multiple times when I catch myself trying to make a change but then I listen/feel deeper and realize that's not the way. And then I just relax and the new change presents itself. That's what that whole piece felt like to me. I'd go to make a change, realize that I'm thinking too much, be still, and then the next move would be revealed.

[@jrgenbjella7011]

Very inspiring to hear your insights on the performance. Thank you! Can definitely see that you're way into it, which is really cool. Is this going to be a more frequent happening, like "modular on the spot" type thing? I've just watched through all the sets from this happening. And now just placed an order for Grid and Ansible! All the best.

[@Lightbath]

Oh, awesome. That's great that you're getting into the Monome ecosystem. Be sure to join the Lines forum. And yeah, I was in such good company that it was really easy to drop in deep and get into it.

[@Lightbath]

Oh and I'd love to hold another event at some point, but I've since moved out of the Catskills so the likelihood is diminishing.

[@jrgenbjella7011]

Yeah, can't wait! Been looking at these for some time now, and now getting into modular it just seems like the perfect fit. Lots of love for Lines - trying to soak in as much information and knowledge as possible before my units arrive. So much positiveness in the community, is my impression. Can I ask you about powering your Monome modules and controllers? To be on the safe side and also to avoid potential noise/hum I ordered a Offworld-1 as well. Do you use any solution like that? Switch?

[@AndyPawlakOfficial]

Magic.

[@oliverdowie]

Sooooooooooooooooooooo good

[@stardustinmotion1671]

i love making ambient music, maybe one day i can do modular

[@515lyu]

谢谢你的☂️

[@avantlanuit]

belle maîtrise d'un grand univers musical _ beautiful mastery of a great musical universe _ bravo

[@gloreequisenberyy1337]

Yes

[@Scrambled6653]

beautiful sounds and video! wish i could see that live one time! europe tour?

[@Lightbath]

Would love to come to Europe!

[@avantlanuit]

j'aime beaucoup _ merci

[@fosferus]

enchanting! any more shows planned this year?

[@Lightbath]

Thank you. Nothing on the books. Maybe some tutorial videos, though.

[@marcelomoura7584]

grande inspiração

[@user-ed5ix1sw6i]

holy shit

[@TROGULAR10000]

Awesome thanks so much for this. Could you (or anyone that gets it) describe what's happening around 7:50 both in terms of how you get the bass sound (triangle and/or sine with quick attack and quite a bit of release and all of it picked up by reverb or delay? is this what I'm hearing?) and also that clave-like sound with echo that sounds like water drops. I have a Minibrute 2S with reverb and cannot get the droplets sound at all. I hear the filtering, resonance, and delay but how would one get the basic percussive sound?

[@Lightbath]

I have full patch notes on Patreon, but for now what I can say is that it’s a sine wave run through a resonant filter and yes, it’s through a delay. So your ear is correct! The water drops clave is actually the resonant filter that I’m tuning by hand. I think the character of the sound is mostly because of the particular filter I’m using by Xaoc Devices called ‘Belgrad’.

[@TROGULAR10000]

@@Lightbath thank you so much

[@TheMox78]

Oommggg 😎😍😎😍😍😍

[@dan_isaza_dev]

Dope track! 😎🎉 What gear did you use here?

[@Lightbath]

Thanks. Check the video description for details.

[@kriskeyser6691]

This is great! I'm not sure how you stayed so calm with snow falling on your modular! Also that's Firebird Suite by Stravinsky, right? :)

[@Lightbath]

Oh, that's magical snow, so it's safe on modularz. And nicely done. That it is! If you want the private link, send me a PM.

[@Scrambled6653]

haha! i thought it came from an fire nearby

[@Lightbath]

Well, it did, just not at the same time... and in reverse... and orange/red instead of blue/green. So, interdimensionally speaking you're totally on point.

[@aviatorjoe4153]

Yep, it's the main theme from the closing section. Also Yes used it as an introduction to their live sets. Still does.

[@kriskeyser6691]

hey, i think i sent over a PM a while back but not sure if it went through. i follow you on twitter too- ok to DM there instead?

[@ChrisOtchy]

What is the bass sound in the ending bit (about 12:00 onward) coming from? Really cool tone.

[@Lightbath]

Thanks. All the basses are two STOs into Optomix into Belgrad. From the cleaner ones with the resonance to the dirtier ones. Love that combo.

[@SoundAuthor]

8:08 That's some seriously dope filter ping right there!

[@Lightbath]

Thank you! Believe it or not, it was unintentional. In fact, most of this set (like the melody that immediately follows) happened by accident. I just kept witnessing these things happen, occasionally getting in the way for a moment, but then remembering to not TRY to do something, just step aside and wait.

[@SoundAuthor]

I can't afford Eurorack atm, but that's basically my approach in u-he software. Bazille is as modular as I've dared to venture for now. But one day. One day.

[@Lightbath]

The concepts are basically the same whether it’s hardware or software. As long as modulation and rhythmic triggers and gates can be routed anywhere and mixed together you can get really close to the same experience of using a hardware modular.

[@prema9878]

Holy Sweet Blade Runner ending Firebird!

[@AI-Heaven-Hell]

Nice slow buildup. What equipment do you use to create the snow effect?

[@Lightbath]

Thanks. Oh, I had shot footage of the fire and then overlaid it on the video, in reverse, upside down, and shifted the hue.

[@Angel-cu5mf]

😱😱⚡️

[@finemmusic]

are any of these tracks on spotify/bandcamp? i went on your bandcamp link and it was just one release. super great stuff tho

[@Lightbath]

Thanks for asking. The answer is, soon there will be. If you want to be notified of when I release the stuff, I have an email list: bit.ly/lightbathemails

[@finemmusic]

fantastic! thank you :))

[@aronlindberg83]

Will there be another Synths in the Catskills in 2018?

[@Lightbath]

There’s a possibility. Hit up my email list to be notified: bit.ly/lightbathemails

[@jedgould5531]

Good ending.

[@kevinwaitromusic]

how do u afford all this stuff

[@timmbrockmann959]

making priorities in life

[@masterdcdc]

what time signature is the bass on 11:00 and on? tnx!

[@Lightbath]

masterdcdc nice question. It’s a 13 beat cycle.

[@masterdcdc]

@@Lightbath oh didn't expected an answer from the artist himself, thank you! Subscribed long time ago, will follow for sure. Good luck!

[@Lightbath]

fun fact: I accidentally brought up this sequence during Moogfest 2018 and it was so jarring that I decided to initiate some audience participation. If you watch the video, you can even hear me say something to the audience about it being in 13.

[@masterdcdc]

@@Lightbath i will check it! For sure a great unique and effective line! I think those are the "imperfections" that calls the listeners ears. I was listening to this track in the background, suddenly my attention was caught by this irregularity in the rythm.

[@triplebacon1]

very very yummy!!

[@aurelrubbish2348]

😮👌💥🤤🤤💥👌😮

[@mikeshockley665]

Firebird Suite 😀

[@Lightbath]

🌅

[@Draazith]

The only thing holding this video down is the jacket.

[@Lightbath]

🤣 and by the way, it’s a vest.

[@Draazith]

I think you just made it slightly worse :D. Great song though, and I actually really like the video with the particle effect. I'm just discovering modular synth and decided to get one asap, and videos like your are very motivating.

[@Lightbath]

Ha. Thanks.

[@dillpickle2131]

those facials wtf r u doing

[@Lightbath]

deep feels

[@dillpickle2131]

@@Lightbath chill tf out BRO

[@urgentmeow]

Beautiful.