No End to My Curiosity (Part II)

It started with a moment of nostalgia and a passing curiosity about the Stylophone, a quirky novelty from the sixties. However, my interest quickly evolved beyond a simple toy. I realized I was looking for a laboratory to explore sound design rather than a gadget to pass the time.

The Digital Foundation

The analog purist approach has its charm, but the logistical reality of maintaining an efficient workspace points firmly toward a digital workflow. I have officially taken the first step by purchasing and downloading Ableton Live 12 Intro to my laptop. This software will serve as the command center for what I plan to be a substantial two-way connection with a physical instrument.

The Hybrid Plan

That physical instrument will be the Roland S-1 Tweak Synth. My plan is to utilize its functions as a class-compliant USB audio and MIDI interface. I intend to send data from my laptop to the synthesizer, let it shape the sound using its internal circuit behavior engine, and then route that audio directly back to the computer over a single cable.

Producer Over Performer

My approach is heavily influenced by my own skill set or lack thereof. I view myself as a producer rather than a performer, as I do not have the technical proficiency to play complex keyboard parts live. Therefore, instead of collecting traditional sheet music, which I really cannot read, I will be building an archive of MIDI files. These digital maps provide the exact notes and timing, which will allow me to focus my energy entirely on the sonic architecture.

The Final Output

The goal is to act as a sound designer while Ableton plays the MIDI sequences. I look forward to manipulating the physical knobs and sliders on the Roland S-1 to sculpt filters, resonance, and envelopes. I then plan to record these sessions as high-quality .wav and .mp3 files. It is an enticing prospect to transform this interest into a robust, practice-only, digital production hobby.

No End to My Curiosity (Part I)

I'd sort of been looking for something new to learn about that could become a new hobby. Just the other day, rather accidently, I noticed a documentary called, I Dream of Wires on tubi.com. I stopped and watched the entire one hour and thirty seven minutes. That started me on a short quest to see if I could find out about musical synthesizer toys which might make for a fun little device to have around the apartment. 

Sure enough, there's a retro device called the Pocket Stylophone, a toy, that first hit the shelves in Britain in 1968. Interestingly, it was a toy but just didn't end up being a smash hit in North America. The reception changed slightly as we entered the early 70s. Once Space Oddity became a staple on Canadian radio, the "Bowie instrument" became a cult curiosity but never crossed into the mainstream public consciousness at the time.

Stylophones made a comeback in the 2007 through different ownership that still continues to evolve with fresh products, and even a notable new model making its debut this January. I nearly bought one that closely follows the original retro design on Amazon Canada for the equivalent of around $US 35 but, alas, then I started snooping around on the internet.

Oh my.  I have probably always been a bit interested in electronic music.  Can anyone reading this remember the song called, Popcorn from around 1972?   A complete decade later, when I was overseas as a young man in my 20s, I bought a pirated cassette tape.  It was electronic music by Kraftwerk, a German musical group. In the very early 80s, I was still intrigued by the science behind the manufactured sounds.  (At this very  moment, I'm listening to a 2009 remaster of  Kraftwerk's Pocket Calculator on my Onkyo receiver via Spotify.)  Of course electronically-synthesized sounds entered traditional pop music and have never left the building.

However, thanks to an Internet wormhole, I may be ready for something much more robust than a retro Stylophone.  I am tying to convince myself that I must own my own mini synthesizer.  Damn, it's like a large secret club has been meeting for decades that nobody told me about!

Perhaps a Behringer JT Mini?  Less hassle trying to import midi files from a laptop.  What about a Korg Volca?  Key or Modular?  

Damn, my little toy project has the potential to get out of control and I have yet to shape a single beep or boop at all!  I fear this might make for a hobby that demands a whole lot of equipment of increasing complexity and expenditures.  

Public Space Along the Riverfront

 

The Westminster Pier Park Extension will not be completed and officially opened until July.  There appears to be quite a bit more work to do.  However, a partial section opened this week. From our balcony, we could see people walking through the center area, but Jay and I didn't go to take a look until today.  

The land was 'donated' by the recently completed Pier West development.  It consists of two matching residential towers that stand 43 and 53 stories.  This land is adjacent to the existing riverfront park.  The two buildings block a chuck of my view down the Fraser River but the new amenities in our downtown neighbourhood definitely increase the livability of the whole area.  

As well as regular outside gym equipment I saw the outdoor table tennis installations.  When the landscaping is complete, the whole project will be quite nice and only around 500 meters from my living room sofa.

 

The Shifting Skyline from the Royal City

It is fascinating to look out from our vantage point in New Westminster and realize how much the landscape has evolved since Jay and I first settled here. My lone photo of the day captures a reality that would have been unrecognizable a decade or two ago. Where there is now a dense phalanx of glass and steel stretching toward the clouds, there used to be open air and a clear line of sight.

Back then, the horizon belonged to Mt. Baker down in Washington State. Its snowy peak was a constant, majestic companion to our morning coffee. Today, those towers have claimed that particular piece of the sky, effectively editing the volcano out of our daily view.

It’s not a point of sadness, though; rather, it's just the natural rhythm of urban development in a corner of the world that refuses to stand still. We’re watching a massive demographic shift in real-time. Just across the water, Surrey is growing at such a clip that it is projected to surpass the population of Vancouver proper in the very near future.

New Westminster remains our home base, but the view is certainly getting more crowded. It’s a bit like watching a child grow up; you don't always notice the height increase day-to-day until you look at an old photograph and realize the world looks entirely different.

Summer Birthday Trips

2022 - Reykjavík, Iceland

 

2023 - Glacier Bay, Alaska, USA

2024 - Alaska, USA / Yukon, Canada Border

  2025 - Jasper, Alberta, Canada

Unknown - 2026

Like Comfortable Old Shoes

 

The recent nice weather spoilt me. I went out on the balcony this morning and decided it was too chilly to bother taking a walk. Instead, I headed directly down to the swimming pool area in the building. This photo is just hours old. The water is always hot there. And there's hardly ever a soul there during the mornings. New folks move into our condo building and usually use the facilities for about two weeks. Then, they lose interest. 

Jay and I have never lost interest and have made it nearly a daily habit when we're in town. We moved into Carnarvon Place 28 years ago this summer.

I went looking for the oldest photo I could find of the hot tub.  I'm not absolutely sure this one is the first. I can quickly search my Flickr collection but if I did not add a tag then an older image may not pop up.  However this one from January 2006 is more than two decades old and does show how dramatic it looked during a late winter afternoon.

That Was a Fast Five Years!

I only took two photos today, so that is how many I'll include with today's eJournal entry. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we generally do local errands.  Jay wanted to pick up some raw cashews, so we stopped uptown at our whole foods store.  He got a several bags of other loose nuts too. Parking uptown is easiest on the mall, so we ducked into the Walmart for a few groceries too.

It was another clear day as most of the morning clouds blew away.  However, the wind was cool.  After just a few days with temperatures in the high 20s, today's 19°C seemed rather cool by comparison.  We kept busy with things around the apartment.  

Surprisingly, there were three envelopes in the mail box today!  Getting anything by post is pretty unusual nowadays, especially since we've switched away from all paper billing and requested a stop on all junk mail.  When Jay and I leave for 4 1/2 months during the winter, we don't have to request that anyone empty our box anymore.  This year it had plenty of remaining space when we got back.

I've have been on the free BC Colorectal Cancer Screening list since I turned fifty and get tested every two years.  First, I got a notice for that, yet my family doctor had already put it on my lab requisition.  Secondly, our city sent us an invitation to do an online survey on the upcoming city budget.  We'll be able to state our spending preferences. I do love living in a small city where the politics is intimate.  Lastly, we received the 2026 version of the federal census.  The half-decade census had a unique code so that we will participate via an online questionnaire.  We've had no postal delivery in nearly three weeks but got three envelopes today.

May the 4th Be With You

For the photo above, I was standing by the Fourth Street entrance to the New Westminster downtown Parkade.  Columbia Street, two heritage buildings, and the underground tunnel of the SkyTrain stood between me and our apartment tower.  (There is another, slightly shorter tower in our complex beyond the right side of the image.)

I shot this on my way to Westminster Pier Park. 

I continued across the parkade towards stairs and a public elevator.  These photos were taken in Westminster Pier Park along the mighty Fraser River.  It seems that our preview of summer has lasted past the weekend.  

It was clear with a high temperature of 26C.  In order words, it felt like perfect conditions.  Yet, unfortunately because of a mild winter and miniscule snow pack, we are already under Level 2 drought conditions.  It will apparently be a dry summer.  I am hoping that the wildfire season somehow remains muted, or, at very least, the prevailing winds blow the smoke eastward rather than into the Lower Mainland.