Tag: arturia microfreak

Late Shift – Korg Monologue and Microfreak dawless synth jam

Late Shift – dawless synth jam from shelfblack

On this 28th day of Jamuary things are starting to wind down but I’m trying to keep the jams on fire. This jam kicks off with the fun little loop coming from the Behringer DeepMind6. The Arturia Microfreak is playing a four note chord rhythm right from the start as well . The bass line is provided by the Korg Volca FM. After a few bars, the Alesis SR18 drums kick in. The main part of the jam comes from the Korg Monologue and the LFO and envelope generator are manipulated throughout the tune. From there, I switch between the DeepMind and Monologue to create a three verse jam and change the way I manipulate the main sequence to add some variety. The main sequence also has some tape delay effect added by the EHX Grand Canyon.

If you enjoyed this jam, make sure to check out the rest. I have a lot of full jams available on YouTube and multiple albums available on all major streaming sites.

In a few days, I’ll be updating the Electronic Curiosity Collective Playlist on Spotify and we will be announcing the next ECC challenge very soon!

Big thanks for all the support and comments coming from everyone this Jamuary. I appreciate all the new followers and I am looking forward to keep going! I’m working on an album as well and hope to be doing a cassette release sometime in February. Stay Tuned!

Dice Roller – Volca Drum and Microfreak dawless jam by shelfblack

Dice Roller – Experimental Dawless Synth Jam by shelfblack

In this jam , I started it built around a drum sequence that I built from scratch with the Korg Volca Drum. The first sequence that kicks in is a little rhythm track made with the Arturia Microfreak. I let the two simmer for a while and slowly bring in a couple more percussive elements with the Arturia Drumbrute Impact. Next up, the Korg Monologue plays a small 16 step sequence that was recorded in real-time and not with the step sequencer.

After that, the song switches a bit into a great big pad chord progression from the Behringer DeepMind 6. From there, I manipulate and experiment with muting different parts of the drum pattern and alternate between the DeepMind and Monologue sequences. The Monologue and DeepMind both have some of the EHX Ocean’s 11 and Grand Canyon pedals processing varying parts of their signals.

Just to update, I’m currently working on a new album for cassette release hopefully in February. I’m about 8 songs in right now and am looking to keep recording and try to explore some new areas with my gear. As always, all my jams are recorded in real-time dawless with no computer being used. If you enjoy these type of videos make sure to subscribe on YouTube and find me on Instagram. You can find my links in the menu button if you’re on mobile, or at the top of the site if you are browsing on a Mac or PC. Thanks for the support! I’ve linked some dawless items below from Amazon. Anything you but through these links helps fund my website and my music creation. I appreciate it!


We’re Not Pretending – shelfblack – Synth Jam with the Arturia Microfreak

We’re Not Pretending – dawless jam with the Korg Monologue and Arturia Microfreak

We’re Not Pretending is another full version of one of my experimental all hardware synth jams. The Arturia Microfreak kicks off the beginning of the jam with that off-kilter lead that underlines the jam. Once the Arturia Drumbute kicks in , the Korg Volca FM starts to play it’s dreamy pad sound. After the rest of the drums are unmuted, the Behringer Deepmind starts to punctuate the space between the lead with it’s own complementary synth stabs. You’ll also here some effects on the drums which are a combination of the EHX Grand Canyon and the EHX Ocean’s 11 pedals.

Suddenly, you’ll here the short stabs that the Microfreak were playing to creat the lead becomes long and drawn out. I’m changing that sound by using the Amp Mod button on the Microfreak which manipulates the envelope generator to completely change the sound. The final piece of the puzzle is yet another sequence that pops in from the Korg Monologue.

If you have any questions about the jam, just comment below. Make sure to subscribe on YouTube and keep visiting for more gear demos, synthesizer jams, and artist highlights.

Welcome To Space Lounge Volume II cassette – shelfblack – Andromeda’s Brain

60 second teaser of the new song available only on Welcome To Space Lounge Volume II cassette

Here’s the link for the Welcome To Space Lounge store!

If you aren’t familiar with Welcome To Space Lounge on Instagram you are definitely missing out on one of the best collections of talented artists making music on the Internet. They use the tag line “Keep your head in the clouds” and when you hear the atmosphere and layers that these artists create, it’s incredibly easy to feel yourself start floating up, up, and away. There is no denying that Welcome To Space Lounge is an absolute juggernaut of Instagram.

When I first started making music on Instagram, I couldn’t help but see that most of my favorite accounts were constantly tagging Space Lounge in their posts. Naturally, I combed through their posts and was blown away by jams that populated the submissions. I made it a goal of mine to try and be featured on their account.

It actually helped me branch out and change the way I made some of my songs. I started experimenting with lower BPM’s. It absolutely pushed me to take some steps and leaps into sounds and vibes that I had never created before. It made me experiment with drumless tracks and even pushed me to try and make some ambient jams. It took a lot of submissions and a lot of experimentation but eventually I was featured on the page. I couldn’t believe it. It was, at that time, a huge goal achieved for me. After that, I began to converse more with the Space Lounge founder and learned that his passion and excitement for music was beyond inspiring.

A few months after I was first featured, I was approached by Space Lounge and extended an invitation to provide a song for their second cassette release entitled “Welcome To Space Lounge Volume II” I was beyond excited and immediately accepted the invite . This is definitely a dream come true and I couldn’t be happier with my submission entitled “Andromeda’s Brain” The cassette will be released for sale on Monday 11/11/2019. You will be able to order it from their official website and I will update this article with the link once it goes live.

These cassette releases are extremely limited and usually are only offered in one shot. If you are interested in getting one, I suggest trying to buy it the second it goes live. Otherwise, it may be out of touch and float slowly away from your grasp, into the atmosphere and beyond.

Welcome to Space Lounge

One Last Breath – shelfblack – Electronic DAWless synth jam with a Korg Monologue

One Last Breath – full electronic music synthesizer jam featuring the Korg Monologue, Behringer Deepmind, and the Drumbrute Impact

This is a bit more on the experimental side for me. I wanted a very guttural and intense main line. I looked no further than my workhorse synth, the Korg Monologue. I tweaked and manipulated the Korg line to make the synth sound like it was fighting and screaming and clawing it’s way through the track. The rest of the track features the usual suspects, the Behringer Deepmind, the Arturia Drumbrute Impact. I also used the Korg Kaosspad 3 for some of the scratchy sounding effects on the Monologue.

As always, to see and hear more original music just check out my YouTube page and subscribe. I upload a few songs per week. If you’re reading this and you are putting together a compilation album and you’d like a shelfblack track exclusively, just reach out!

I’ll do a demo video of the Korg Kaosspad 3 in the coming weeks.

shelfblack – dawless hardware synth jam – Just Burn It All

Korg Monologue, Arturia Drumbrute, Microfreak, Behringer Deepmind, Korg Volca Sample, Beats, Keys, Oceans 11 reverb, Grand Canyon reverb, Beatstep pro, Korg monotron

This is a jam I put together starting with a slowed down 40 bpm minimal beat on the Arturia Drumbrute Impact. From there I layered in the Deepmind 6 with a weird, plonky key sequence, and some shimmery pad sounds from the Korg Volca FM. I also used a preset from the Microfreak to offset the Deepmind sequence and kicked it into overdrive with a blistering fireball bass line from the Korg Monologue. I made a 60 second version on Instagram and I have embedded the full version here from Youtube.

Lots of stuff going on this month. Fresh update from the Electronic Curiosity Collective Spotify Playlist . We will also be announcing the next monthly challenge on the Electronic Curiosity IG account. Thanks for tuning in! Make sure to subscribe on YouTube for more weekly content and original synth songs.