Thursday, May 10, 2012

Chameleon Video - The most epic looping with Ableton

Here is the most work intensive performance video I've ever done. 


You can get the mp3 and lyrics here.
You can get the Ableton workfile that I used to perform this song here. Bare in mind that much of its programming is dependent upon the midi controllers that I used to perform it (Behringer FCB010 Footcontroller, Akai Professional MPK25, and a simple Midi out/in patchbay made with Max MSP by the saintly Brian Cass) to run the dummy clips. If you want to get savvy with this sort of thing, I advise you to explore the Ableton Forums and Brian's very useful macpro video tutorials.

It took me 3 months to arrange, rehearse, shoot, and edit.
It would mean the world to me if you'd share it with folks that would appreciate it.

I wrote the song in 2003 for a friend who wanted to do a boyband project. At the time I was fully aware that there existed a legendary funk odyssey called "Chameleon" by Herbie Hancock (all funk-obsessed musicians are required to fill 20% of their 3-hour set at the Block Island club with a rendition of the Headhunters jam). Over the years I played it live often and toyed with the arrangement a lot over time, but  I never really officially released it. So let's pray that this ridiculous rendition, with its highly offensive lyrics and discomforting subliminal imagery, is the song's final resting place.




2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome song/video! You never cease to amaze me... Looking forward to more videos in the future =)

Anonymous said...

You know, the more I listen to this song the more it makes me crave a whole Gav Caz funk ablum... that would be awesome. What do you think the chances of that are? I bet you'd give Mr. Hancock a run for his money ;) lol