March 17th, 2016 |
Published in
Uncategorized
Info
- Title: Sunrise, Caye Caulker, 12/21/15
- Artist: William Afham
- Download: MP3 link
- Rights: composition and performance ©2016 Will Benton; all rights reserved
With only one exception, all of the rhythmic and melodic material in this composition is taken from a field recording of waves and gulls I made while watching the sun rise over Caye Caulker in Belize last December. I listened for interesting parts of the source material, decided on a compromise tempo so that I could work in measures, and cut the interesting sections into loops of between three and sixteen beats. I filtered each loop to extract different timbres and added spatial and ambient effects on return buses. As my arrangement took shape, I cut and rearranged the arrythmic source material in places to enable gradual transitions between breathing, natural rhythms and more mechanical, precise ones.
This composition was a response to Disquiet Junto Project 220, “make overtly rhythmic music from short loops of overtly arrhythmic source audio.” (I also made a photograph for this assignment!)
March 16th, 2016 |
Published in
Uncategorized
I haven’t updated this site regularly in a long time. Most of my music these days is going direct to Vimeo (for projects), to SoundCloud (for creative assignments), or directly to the playlist my kids like to listen to at bedtime. I’m gradually filling in some older stuff that never made its way up here, though.
March 16th, 2016 |
Published in
Beat-driven
Info
- Title: left residuals
- Artist: William Afham
- Download: MP3 link
- Rights: composition and performance ©2015 Will Benton; all rights reserved
March 16th, 2016 |
Published in
Beat-driven, Electroacoustic
Info
- Title: bare trees
- Artist: William Afham
- Download: MP3 link
- Rights: composition and performance ©2013 Will Benton; all rights reserved
March 16th, 2016 |
Published in
Ambient, Beat-driven
Info
- Title: points against points
- Artist: William Afham
- Download: MP3 link
- Rights: composition and performance ©2013 Will Benton; all rights reserved
March 16th, 2016 |
Published in
Abstract, Electroacoustic, William Afham
Info
- Title: factotum
- Artist: William Afham
- Time: 4:41
- Download: MP3 link
- Rights: composition and performance ©2014 Will Benton; all rights reserved
March 1st, 2011 |
Published in
William Afham
Info
- Title: coffee dub
- Artist: William Afham
- Time: 6:30
- Download: MP3 link
- Rights: composition and performance ©2011 Will Benton; all rights reserved
Liner notes
I wound up actually writing a few songs over February, but this and “like lions breathing fire” were the only two that I finished recording demos for. A lot of things I’ve written, in every genre, have been pretty dubby. Lately, I’ve been trying to work a little more with dub-as-process rather than merely dub-as-aesthetic, so this one’s all about the arrangement and the processing.
February 8th, 2011 |
Published in
FAWM
Info
- Title: like lions breathing fire (rough demo)
- Artist: William Afham
- Time: around 3:30
- Download: MP3 link
- Rights: composition and performance Copyright © 2011 William Benton; all rights reserved
Liner notes
This year, my FAWM project is making music for my kids to listen to as they fall asleep. (I’m working under the assumption that anything I finish will wind up under my “William Afham” pseudonym.) This first track is a little outside of my usual genre boundaries: a solemn, dubby passacaglia that wouldn’t be totally out of place in a spaghetti Western. It’s not about the West, though; think (much) further East. Parked-wah guitars (both picked and bowed), drawbar organ, and recycled drums feature prominently in this one, as do some excellent Valhalla DSP reverbs.
February 14th, 2008 |
Published in
Beat-driven, FAWM, madcap ontic
Info
- Title: twilight
- Artist: madcap ontic
- Time: 3:47
- Download: MP3 link
- Rights: composition and performance ©2008 Will Benton; all rights reserved
Gear used
- Logic Studio
- Zebra 2
- Guru
- Kontakt
Liner notes
For FAWM 2008. This is a demo of another dubstep-influenced passacaglia. (I will be refining the arrangement and mix in the future.) I like the overall structure and pacing of this one; I really like the way the South Asian flute samples fit in. I’m not as happy with the way the sub sits in the mix.
February 6th, 2008 |
Published in
Beat-driven, FAWM, madcap ontic
Info
- Title: Grains of Snow
- Artist: madcap ontic
- Time: 2:27
- Download: MP3 link
- Rights: composition and performance ©2008 Will Benton; all rights reserved
Gear used
- Logic Studio 8
- Reaktor
- AudioRealism Drum Machine
