Oblique Noir
Oblique Noir’s Trilogy: SLICES
Two years ago, Oblique Noir decided to use only modular synths to create and arrange music. For this release, he moved away from softsynths and software sequencers, despite their limitless possibilities, while still making use of a daw (Nuendo) for recording und cutting, (of course the mastering was also done software-based by Tamás Zsiros aka Weldroid). There are many capable artists out there who create amazing music simply out of the box.
But for him, having been a band keyboarder for years, even an electronic sound device has the «haptic quality» of an acoustic music instrument. On the other hand, especially modulars tempt you to focus on the functionality and aesthetics of filters, envelopes etc., neglecting a song that is really worthwhile listening to. His hope is, however, that the three «Oblique Cuts» are pleasing for modular «wigglers» as well as for electronic music lovers.
Oblique Noir is a concept of ambivalence. The project is exploring musical crosstalks – between digital rigour and analogue aesthetics, between live performance and reproductive synthesis. The sound may be described as “organical vs. electronical”. Oblique Noir perceives innovation as a convergence of the groundbreaking and the well-tried – resulting in hierarchy, agreement or chaos (possibly, these arrangements are our sources of inspiration).
Helge Kaul (aka Oblique Noir) has always been discovering the „greyscales“ in music and business life. In the „hardware techno age“ he was doing direct marketing and sound programming for German synthesizer company Quasimidi. When software synths rose up, he became responsible for online marketing at Steinberg (later Yamaha Corp.). He also supported Metadesign Berlin to build up a department for sound branding. Today, he is lecturing, researching and doing projects in the field of arts management.
Having a classical music background (playing piano and oboe), he was soon strongly attracted to improvisation and composing. As a member of rock and funk bands he got in touch with all kinds of synthesizers, preferably such combining lofi-digital waveforms with analog filters (like Prohet VS, Ensoniq ESQ-1, Emulator II). Lately, he has been seeking to cultivate these sound aesthetics in a modular synth system, which has become the springboard for his interpretation of electronic music.
Photo by Dominik Grenzler
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