I have a fun EP for you on this Bandcamp Friday, Flip Phone, a one-take recording from an Octatrack live set rehearsal. The album is loaded with fun sci-fi and field recording sample flips, dramatic tempo changes, and plenty of synth ear candy.

For listener convenience, the EP is organized into individual tracks for those who want to jump between songs or replay their favs. I provided the track “Flip Phone (Full Live Take)” as a bonus item for anyone who prefers to experience the entire journey in one continuous go.

This is a Bandcamp exclusive and you can listen or buy here.

This project celebrates my passions for Octatrack sample mangling, drum programming, live synth performance, chopping and flipping samples, and classic sci-fi films and TV. It also serves as an educational demonstration of how the Octatrack can create and perform real-time musique concrète.

I released this under my Puppets Go Last moniker which focuses on my adventures in sample flipping and beat-driven musique concrète.

Liner Notes

HOW EP CAME ABOUT

After completing a massive project where I invested 200+ hours into a live multimedia concert production, this project and other life events prompted me to intentionally slow down. I began focusing on small creative projects purely for exploration.

I happened to spin up the old Information Society’s Hack album, which inspired me to pull out my trusty Octatrack and begin working on a live set with a similar vibe.

As the founder of the Rocky Mountain Synthesizer Meet, I was also preparing to perform a short set for our 13th Anniversary and 160th free event in July 2025.

That’s when the light bulb came on – I should build out a set on the Octatrack for that event.

ONE REAL-TME TAKE FROM REHEARSAL

The audio on this EP was one real-time take I did while rehearsing. I lightly edited it, removing a few sections where I went a bit long riffing on various ideas, and mastered it in Ableton Live with Ozone 11.

EP TIME

I shared the Full Take with some friends who couldn’t make the event, and they seemed to really dig the performance, so I decided to make this available as a Bandcamp exclusive.

OCTATRACK SOUND DESIGN + CROSSFADER FTW!

One of the best things about the Octatrack is its ability to use the Crossfader to smoothly morph and interpolate between different parameter settings defined in two assigned scenes. To pull off a continuous set like this, a lot of work goes into sound design for “scenes” that allow you to introduce dynamics and evolve the performance with dynamic movements. For this particular set, I put around 10 hours into that preparation work.

BEETLECRAB AUDIO TEMPERA PROGRAMMING

For this set, I also explored using the Octatrack to control the BeetleCrab Audio Tempera granular synth through program changes and MIDI notes. You can hear this on track 3, “Shall We Play A Game.” All sounds except the percussion come from three different Canvases I created on Tempera.

DRUM PROGRAMMING AND SYNTH WORK

In addition to sample flipping, I also created original elements in Ableton with Push 3, both crafting beats and performing live synth parts. I then distilled these elements into the Octatrack.

ABOUT THE COVER ART

When thinking about a cover, I wanted to use a photo I’d taken of the Tempera and Octatrack along with the 1010 Bluebox from that same session, but do something fun with it inline with other Puppets Go Last covers.

The Octatrack was first released in 2010 (and I’ve been creating and performing with mine since 2013). To put that in perspective, flip phones were still common then but quickly becoming obsolete.

Also, as this has a bit of a retro vibe, all these ideas converged and the concept of the cover came together.

HAVE FUN AND PASS IT ON

Thanks for listening, If you dig it, pass it on.

If you’re a fellow Octatracker and you enjoyed this set and do similar sets, drop me a comment or note.

If you’re local to the Boulder/Denver area, I’m working to extend this set and perform variations of it live over the summer, so make sure you “Follow” me here on Bandcamp to get notified.