Author: Dylan Roys
//We want sound.ogg to be accessible to anyone for free. Thats why we are using the free editing software Audacity. OK its quiet basic but it does everything we want and its easy to learn. But there is more; Sound.ogg uses a free audio file format. 
Things like MPĀ£ are paid for product which many open source producers don’t have access to. That format is .ogg as in sound.ogg!
Think about it, sound is free and your ability to manipulate that sound should be free as well.!
//Hi Soundogg recordists.
The foundations are laid, Cubase is ready for our input….
I’ve spent a couple of hours this afternoon laying out a template and workspace for the forthcoming project. This is a bit of ‘donkey work’; basically creating tracks, assigning inputs and outputs to the software, creating groups of track types, specifying effects channels and getting the layout on the screen looking easy on the eye, essentially creating a workspace where all the most used and vital elements can be scanned visual and quickly.
I’m lucky enough to own a dual screen (2*27″) iMac rig on which Cubase is running, giving vast acres of screen space – but it still gets filled up! Here’s a screen grab to give you an idea of what we are working with, and giving you an idea of what a top end audio workstation looks like. It will look tiny on your screen, so remember its true size is displayed on 54″ of screen space š
Obviously, the set-up is a little vague at the moment until the work actually starts, but certain key elements are in place such as delays and reverbs, master bus compression, and tools such as EQ, Oscilloscope, and Limiters. All vanilla flavours which will be customised as we build the track.
Cubase has unlimited workspaces, so as work progresses expect the screen layout to be changed as required.
As I say, this is just to give you a feel of the compositional and editing environment. Looks like fun.
//Hi! Itās a shame I canāt be with you physically for the start (and probably all) of this semester. Due to an accident involving a hoover and a hard stone floor I am stuck at home with a bionic foot for company. My broken ribs are 100% analog, so have been left to heal themselves 
However,, I am with you in spirit ā and as mentioned by Dylan in his foreword, I will be listening to your input and attempting to weave everything into a unified audio collage. Perhaps it will be āmusicalā, perhaps it will be atonalā¦ who knows! Personally, I hope we can make it sonically scary.
I am working in Cubase 8 mainly, however, as far as software goesā¦ well, I use whatever I need, including the editor you will be introduced to over semester 1; ā Auditionā by Adobe.
Hardware wise, I have a very large modular synthesis system which features digital and analog modules. So, I can process sounds and create timbres that are literally out of this world. Those expecting a wholly commercial result had best retire now 
I look forward to getting your recordings and receiving your comments.
Here though are my top tips:
1/ Record quality.
2/ Use your ears.
3/ Be super selective.
4/ Let your sound create a vibe / feeling / tell a mini-story.
5/ Follow the brief.
6/ Record more than you think I will use.
7/ Listen for the following, they will be useful to me:
a/ Texture
b/ Pitch
c/ Rhythm
d/ the absurd, the unidentifiable, the space, especially the space!
8/ Enjoy trying to find novel audio. You may find it unexpectedly addictive.
Thanks guys, hereās hoping for an interesting collaboration. Over and Out
//Since graduating from the University of Lincoln 2 years ago Rose has worked for a community radio station, Take Over Radio, and practiced as a freelance sound artist working on productions around the UK. She has also produced and presented her own folk music show – Thank Folk It’s Friday.
At the moment she is employed by Rampton Hospital working alongside therapists to introduce radio production into a teaching environment and is also working onĀ a master degree by research.
Her work includes drama and illustrated factual pieces such as her documentary about allotments which involved lying in the grass trying to record the sounds of frogs.
Rose has some of her Folk programmes on Mixcloud
//Steve Kirkby is a sound artist with many years of experience in the music and audio business. Initially working in his own recording studio in the past few years he hasĀ practiced almost exclusively on the digital platform producing music inspired sound art including pieces to illustrate visual genres.
Over the next 12 weeks Steve will be working with students to produce a 30 minuteĀ soundscape as an artistic and organic collaboration. This is the first time he has worked in this way although individualĀ collaborations are nothing new to him as in this piece with Romanian artist Ā Cristiana Cott or with this, at times disturbing, work The Spasmodic Embryo by the same artist.
Experimenting using Cubase coupled with an impressive array of analogue modules his work has a range of formalist influences offering a psychedelic depth and otherworldliness which is bound to tie in well with the edgy impressions ofĀ “The New” coupled withĀ claustrophobicĀ hints in this latestĀ work.