Welcome
Refactored Noise is a passion project of Singapore-based audio/visual producer David McKaige. Sounds, experiments, and sketches live here and are shared under Creative Commons license.
Earlier in this century I played keys in a gigging cover band part time, and learned the basics of synth programming and sound design. I took pride in how closely I could nail other people's sounds in other people's music, seamlessly calling up my custom presets as we progressed through a set.
Today, my primary instrument is a Eurorack modular synthesizer. It has no presets, and no memory. You can never really create the same sound twice. You build it, listen to it, take it apart, and start again. Sounds forever lost, like tears in rain.
Unless you record it of course.
I record ideas. Sketches of sound. Perhaps at some point there might be enough unique ideas to put something together that resembles a more traditional song. Sketches deemed worthy of keeping end up on SoundCloud at least temporarily. The best of those (or least bad perhaps) end up here.
An "unpatched" modular synth is a blank canvas for sound design and creation. Without presets. Inspiration must come from within, and experimentation is a core part of the creative process. Sometimes "happy accidents" happen and ear candy is created.
I record to a Zoom H5N and do basic mastering in Adobe Audition.
At home I have a Nord Lead 3, Nord Electro 2, Yamaha Motif ES7, and Kurzweil PC1X from my gigging days... all sitting in flight cases. The modular is my go-to expressive tool these days.
At work I have an Arturia Minibrute, Ableton Live Lite, and a few VSTs I use for sound design to compliment our video production. But on the whole I consider myself a hardware guy.
I perform publicly with my modular synth when I can. It's my passion.
Thanks for listening.