I had the idea some time ago to challenge myself with a project that used no reverb or delay effects. This was somewhat intimidating, and I left it on the back burner while pursuing other things. But I had the thought that certain kinds of drones — especially with FM or spectral synthesis — would make it work and still sound like Starthief.
More recently I was contemplating how much I love FM synthesis (imagine warm fuzzy feelings here) and considered: if I had to use either nothing but FM synthesis, or anything but FM synthesis, which would be more difficult?
It struck me that I could alternate between them while still seeking to create a coherent whole, as I did on E165. Odd-numbered tracks use no FM, but revel in delay and reverb effects. Even-numbered tracks use only FM (or phase modulation) synthesis, but avoid delay and reverb.
In effects jargon, the control that affects the balance between the original and processed signal — especially on delays and reverbs — is usually called “Dry/Wet.” Thus: Amphibian.
The name immediately made me laugh out loud and realize I had to do it. You see, the character Popeye is canonically “amphibious”…
…and nonbinary and intersex folks kind of have a frog meme thing going on. Individual frogs have been known to switch sexes, and their (literal) amphibious nature makes them something of a traveler in liminal spaces. And they’re just neat. (But then, there are also meme associations with sharks, geese, mushrooms, hyenas, and various cryptids…)
As I began working on the album, the very first track used Mutable Instruments Marbles with the Jitter knob turned way up for some lopsided rhythms. On the second track, on a whim, I patched Marbles without turning any of the knobs at all. I decided that was fun, so: every track uses Marbles but with minimal knob changes. (I found it very useful at times to adjust the speed and/or the scale/voltage in some cases.)
All tracks were recorded in a single take with most effects baked in (in some cases additional effects were applied to portions of the full mix). No “AI” of any kind was used for any part of this album — I’m generally opposed to it. The album art was a royalty-free photo of a fire-bellied toad, zoomed way in and with the hues modified by a gradient.
In the notes below, hardware is in bold and software is in italics. Basic utilities, dynamics/EQ processing, and some simple modulation sources are usually omitted from the descriptions unless they played an unusual role.
For controllers I use MN 0-Ctrl, Roger Linn Linnstrument 128, Tesseract Sweet Sixteen mk2, three Nektar expression pedals with a MIDI Expression Quatro, Intellijel Planar 2, and Bela Gliss.
For mastering: Wavesfactory Spectre, Toneboosters Equalizer Pro, Waves Curve Equator, DDMF MagicDeathEye, RJ Studios SideMinder Max, Voxengo Elephant & OVC-128 with metering from Voxengo Span Plus & Correlometer and YuLean Loudness Meter.
AD = Audio Damage
BW = Bitwig
IME = Industrial Music Electronics
ISS = Inertia Sound Systems
KHS = Kilohearts
MA = Minimal Audio
MI = Mutable Instruments
MN = Make Noise
NA = Newfangled Audio
NE = Noise Engineering
NI = Native Instruments
RE = Rabid Elephant
UA = Unfiltered Audio
WR = Whimsical Raps
01 La Sirène
- MI Rings, MN QPAS, 6 different outputs into WR Silhouette, Dreadbox Hypnosis, Valhalla Delay. Rings and QPAS sequence from MI Marbles. Rings Position modulation from MI Stages LFO. Marbles Spread modulated by NE Clep Diaz clocked by Marbles.
- Arturia Jup-8 V4, NA Invigorate, 2 instances of Sonic Charge Echobode in series.
- MI Blades self-oscillating and NE Ataraxic Iteritas mixed in MN Jumbler, NE Fala Versio, MI Beads (for delay and reverb). Pitch sequences from Marbles and MN 0-Ctrl. Blades mode is modulated by MN Function.
- IME Zorlon Cannon mk2, RE Natural Gate, KHS Filter Table, Fors Sala. Sequence from 0-Ctrl and envelope from WR Just Friends.
02 Difficult To Connect
- Arturia Synclavier V, played on Linnstrument 128
- ALM Akemie’s Castle, NA Obliterate, two instances of KHS Filter Table (modulated by BW LFOs), u-he Runciter. Castle modulation is from NE Clep Diaz through MN Multimod.
- RYK Algo, RE Natural Gate, NI Supercharger GT. Modulation from MI Stages LFOs.
- MN Spectraphon, MN QPAS, AtovProject cDVCA, Arturia Filter MS-20 (to introduce some stereo difference), XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Color (on mid) and Arturia Tape Mello-Fi (on side). Sequencing/modulation from MI Marbles, MI Stages, MN Function.
03 Slyyy
- IME Kermit mk2 into MI Rings input, MN QPAS, Brainworx BX_Aura
- MN Strega, WR Silhouette (L & R outputs feedback-patched, Light & Shadow outputs as a stereo pair), NI Raum. Strega modulated by MN 0-Ctrl; Silhouette Spot modulated by Strega trapezoid and Focus modulated by MI Stages LFO.
- Auza Wave Packets, MN Mimeophon. WR Just Friends modulates Wave Packets’ D input and Mimeophon’s u-Tune and Halo.
- Xaoc Odessa, AD Ratshack Reverb, Audiority Xenoverb. Several parameters on Odessa modulated by MI Marbles and MN Multimod fed by Just Friends and clocked by Wave Packets.
- IME Kermit mk2, RE Natural Gate, Sinevibes Integer, Valhalla Delay. Kermit modulated by 0-Ctrl, NG by Multimod.
Valhalla Delay (acting as a reverb) on full mix at start.
Valhalla Vintage Verb on full mix at end.
04 Lesser Sorceries
(recorded for Drone Day ’25)
- XFER Serum 2 (3-op FM with sines).
- VCV Rack [Submarine PO-204]
- Plogue Chipsynth OPS7, Audiority Ripple Phaser acting as an LPF/VCA, sequence from 510k Seqund.
- DecadeBridge Sn, MN Jumbler modulated by MI Marbles, NE Lacrima Versio
- XFER Serum 2 (sine heavily FMd by a cluster of pulses through a bandpass filter), Sugar Bytes WOW2
- ALM Akemie’s Castle
05 Dragon Logic
- Arturia Augmented Woodwinds, Aegean Pitchproof, BW Harmonic Split (lowering non-3rd harmonics and modulating inharmonics levels), Dawesome HATE, Rast Sound Madfilter, Valhalla Delay. (No sequence and Woodwinds is droning, but there are tempo-synced BW LFOs modulating split and overdrive parameters.)
- VCV Rack [Befaco Octaves, Instruo I-047], Valhalla Delay
- IME Zorlon Cannon, multiple outputs into WR Silhouette, BW Grid patch [Rasp filter modulated by a synced sequence], Valhalla Delay. WR Just Friends (clocked by Bitwig) modulates Silhouette Spot.
- Silhouette Light output into MN Spectraphon in SAM mode (no FM), BW Grid [VCA, 2x Comb filters and Diode/SVF in parallel with modulation from synced LFOs and a step sequence], NE Imitor. Just Friends modulates Spectraphon‘s slide/focus.
- MI Rings‘ input fed by a ramp LFO from Bitwig, MI Beads, 2x Sinevibes Integer in series.
- NE Ataraxic Iteritas through AtovProject cDVCA & RE Natural Gate in stereo, NI Raum. This is the “zap” noise; all modulation is from BW LFOs and phase shapers.
- MI Blades (both sides self-oscillating), Doepfer A-130-8 VCA, NE Lacrima Versio, Modsound More, chain [NE Desmodus, Cytomic The Scream, and another Desmodus], Audiority Velvet Machine. MI Marbles provides gates to the VCA and modulates Lacrima’s filter frequency.
Sound Forge delay added at end.
06 (srsly)
- Xaoc Odessa FMd by MN Spectraphon sine B output (highpass filtered by MN QPAS)
- WR Just Friends FMd by Auza Wave Packets; 6 outputs into MN Jumbler, Audiority Ripple Phaser, Sinevibes Whirl. WP frequency and JF curve modulated by MI Marbles; Jumbler rotation modulated by Wave Packets contour output. Marbles is clocked by Wave Packets’ stage trigger output.
- MN Spectraphon A output (SAO mode) using internal FM.
- RYK Algo, MI Blades. Multiple triangle LFOs from MN Multimod.
- ALM Akemie’s Castle OSC A, Xaoc Drezno. Chord modulated by Marbles gates, Drezno DAC clocked by AtovProject cDVCA sequenced by Marbles.
- Akemie’s Castle OSC B blended with Just Friends‘ mix output in Mystic Circuits Ana 2 (XOR output), BW Grid [Chorus+ and 2x Fizz filter in parallel]. Castle pitch is sequenced by Marbles (the same output that sequences cDVCA).
Pitched down somewhat from the original recording speed.
Full mix (starting from about 3 minutes in) processed with KHS Filter Table (2 instances each for left and right sides), u-he Runciter, Audiority Tube Modulator.
07 Terminus Est
- Dawesome KULT, Sonic Charge Echobode, Valhalla Supermassive
- IME Zorlon Cannon mk2 & NE Ataraxic Iteritas patched to WR Silhouette. Light & Shadow outputs to MN QPAS, MN Mimeophon. Sequencing and modulation from MI Marbles, and synced MN 0-Ctrl & MI Stages LFOs.
- Ataraxic Iteritas through AtovProject cDVCA and MI Blades, MI Beads, ISS Hinder, BW Delay+ with MA Rift in its feedback path. Beads is triggered by Marbles.
- Silhouette R output, NE Fala Versio, MN Multimod, UA SpecOps, Valhalla Delay, Brainworx BX_Aura. Fala and Multimod synced to Marbles.
08 The Swarm
- NE Toros Iteritas Alia, ALM Akemie’s Castle osc B, and Akemie’s Castle osc A through MN QPAS, mixed. Through BW Harmonic Split and Wavesfactory Spectre. MN Multimod modulates the FM indices and the levels of osc A through QPAS’ bandpass and smilepass outputs.
- MN Spectraphon sides A and B in Chaos mode, Cytomic The Scream. Modulation of A partials and B Focus from WR Just Friends.
- RYK Algo, ToneBoosters Equalizer Pro (with modulated peak frequency), KHS Filter Table (2 instances in stereo)
- MI Rings in FM mod, Xaoc Katowice, NE Lacrima Versio, Overloud Gem Mod. Rings Strum input from Marbles and LFOs from Just Friends.
09 Invocation 233
- MN Strega, Arturia Minibrute 2S, VCV Rack [2x Sinensis resonators], Arturia Rev Plate-140, UA SpecOps
- Neutral Labs Elmyra 2, MN Mimeophon, Aegean Pitchproof (octave down), Fabfilter Saturn 2
- MI Rings, NE Fala Versio, Freakshow Industries Dreameater. Rings sequence from MI Marbles.
- same outputs from Rings through AD Circa, Audiority Velvet Machine, Moogerfooger MF-103S Phaser, MN Spectraphon (both sides in SAM mode, processing in stereo), Sinevibes Integer. MI Marbles also sequences Spectraphon.
10 Scylla
- MI Blades self-oscillating, one chanel modulating the other. MN Function modulates the FM depth and NE Clep Diaz offsets frequencies.
- MN QPAS self-oscillating with a feedback patch excited by IME Zorlon Cannon mk2, frequency FM from Arturia Minibrute Osc2. Left side lowpass through Cytomic The Scream. Modulation of filter frequencies and “!!” from MI Marbles.
- MN QPAS left highpass patched to right side, Radiate modulated by Minibrute triangle out. Right lowpass through Instruo DAPF modulated by MN Strega‘s oscillator.
- Xaoc Odessa FMd by MN Mimeophon self-oscillating. Odessa’s Partials and Mimeophon’s Frequency modulated by Marbles gates.
- DecadeBridge Sn through Xaoc Drezno, Xaoc Katowice. Modulation from WR Just Friends, which is synced to MN Function.
- Arturia Synclavier V, BW Grid [SVF filter FMd by sine oscillator]