David Frank

music production

March 27, 2019
by David Frank
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Frankenfunk-The Melody Underneath

My little Instrumental Album:
I had a lot of fun making it.
Hopefully there’s something interesting that you might like.
https://davidfrankofthesystem.hearnow.com
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/davidfrankofthesystem1

March 10, 2018
by David Frank
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Claude Debussy

Music is a free art. Out in the open air, as free as the sky the wind and the sea.
quote from Claude Debussy

Feel free to take from the eons of the history of art and music your inspiration.  Make up your own ideas from the ideas of the past of your own choosing that inspired you; Debussy’s obsession was Chopin’s music, Chopin loved Bach’s music. Coltrane learned Charlie Parker’s every note. Sly begat Earth wind and Fire turned into 80s electro to EDM. Hendrix to Led Zeppelin to….well you get the point . They all used their love of others music as a foundation for their own art, blending the times that they lived and their own peculiar neuronically induced impressions, tapestry or recipe blend of past present and future (and not necessarily in that order) into an artistic world of imagination that is nevertheless as real as current reality itself and quite certainly in the long run inherently more important.
If you do this you have the chance of making something truly great. If you  cultivate the optimism and feel the love of the music itself you can dream the dream that Claude Debussy dreamt of moving music’s boundaries forward and towards a horizon that keeps changing and expanding but is good and is floating almost irresistibly towards a future in which mankind’s universe becomes closer to being a work of art.

January 7, 2018
by David Frank
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The System, Face The Music

Just rediscovered this song that we did on the Rhythm and Romance Album. Probably better to listen on speakers other than phone speakers as there are a lot of “details”. But there are some ultra funky moments, at least to me. I may analyze some of the parts and post them on here..We had fun doing this!

June 30, 2014
by David Frank
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The System Live and keyboard rig photos

The System performed at Milwaukee Summerfest last thursday. Special thanks to Paul Pesco for arranging the gig and playing Guitar and BVs with Mic and I.  Also on stage with us doing some incredibly funky scratching was Cody Cassiero. Doing more concerts this summer including New York City The Latin Quarter July 26.
And here are a few pictures of my keyboard rigs past and present.*Canyon Reverb aerial whole studio The System live key setup 1987 dave KX1 *Steinway Concert Grand*Steinway Concert Grand*Steinway Concert Grand*Steinway Concert Grandlittle davefunkThe System David in sunglasses

April 2, 2013
by David Frank
17 Comments

Am I Alone

Last night I was laying there sleepless thinking about the affairs of the day. I had called my music publisher in search of a copy of a System song Mic Murphy and I had done called “Why you Wanna Hurt Me”. It was a B side of a single from our album Rhythm and Romance. In the process, Peter, who is curator of the music library at Sony/ATV/EMI publishing, told me that he had just been listening to “Juicy Fruit” a song I had done quite bit of synthesizer arranging and playing on. Juicy Fruit’s track had also become “Juicy” by Notorious BIG a few years later.
That got me thinking about musical devices. In Juicy Fruit I had come up with an out of tempo arpeggio-like ascending pattern that, now that I think of it, was very thematic with the subject matter of the original song. Slowing the tempo of the DSX sequencer down and starting very slowly I played the pattern without quantization and gradually sped up as I approached the top of the keyboard and then repeated the pattern in the top octave a number of times thinking we would fade it out each time while recording to tape. Then I sped the tempo up. There were no delay FXs used.
I started thinking about the chord scale texture within the the arpeggiated pattern and how it related to the chords in “Juicy Fruit” and then my mind wandered to the last chord of Chopin’s Prelude in F major sometimes called the ‘Butterfly’ and the way it’s last chord is an F dominant 7 which makes it almost like the ending to a Blues/Rock song (written circa 1824 !!) and then the end of Chopin’s revolutionary etude rang in my head…My mind wandered around thinking of other musical perfections and anomolies that I celebrate the existence of….and then I suddenly felt very alone. Was I the only one left who thought about this stuff? In a world filled with time stretched ascending portamento-izes buildups to drops that impact with sub bass, are the subtleties and the possibilities of intricate beauty and meaning in harmonic motion being left behind in favor of simplistic manipulation of kinda cool features of software programs??
I am definitely in favor of computer related technical virtuosity and rhythmic urgency and feel. I believe in using technical possibilities even if they involve no skill or playing technique. If it sounds good who cares! I have spent many an hour trying to get the perfect sweep or noise crash into or out of a chorus or verse or alternatively have found it in an instant in a library or a turn of a knob or slight mouse movement. I know that pure excitement has its place and some songs or musical entities are meant to be just that. But am I alone in my appreciation of an emotionally stirring musical chord/melodic progression or simple yet profound harmonically derived musical device. If you feel as I feel (anyone see V for Vendetta? 😉 )
than it’s time to write more music!! We can move it all forward with just one hit song.

Playing technique, harmonic knowledge and fluency combined with a thorough understanding and fluidity on your software instruments and DAW will win the day.

Hope I’m not alone.

February 24, 2013
by David Frank
2 Comments

My Top NAMM 2013 picks

After seeing some other reviews of what was big at the NAMM show this year I thought I might make a list of some of the gear that I thought was worth mentioning. Of course this is from my personal perspective. Although I often work on my laptop without any external synths I still lust after external gear. I appreciate the sonic differences and performability of a musical instrument that is freed from the limitations of buffer/processor size latency and screen two dimensional touch-ability restrictions and use them when I am in my studio or, travel budget permitting, on stage.
Here’s my list:
1.Elektron Analog Four- Super sounding!
2.Schmidt Synthesizer- not available yet but sooo amazing..Quite expensive….quite
3.The Moog booth- that special Moog sound- Meeting Bernie Warrell
4. Sledge Synthesizer- look it up-sounds great-wish I was messing with one right now..
5.The lack of some of the bigger software companies was noticeable. I think that’s a mistake as there are many musicians who attend the show.. but…understandable if monetary profit is your perspective….i guess…
6. “Mariachi Divas” live stage show- I loved the singers, orchestra and orchestrations….and the fact that they exist and perform. Thank you!
7. Playing a Fazioli piano
8.interesting software-Izotope Iris, Air Vacuum Pro and Loom,SoniVox plugins-looking forward to trying the demos
9.Radikal Accelerator Synth-Wow
10. Cool Controllers- Novation,Keith McmMillen QuNeo and QuNexus, Livid
11.Apogee Thunderbridge-a symphony card in a box-connects your laptop (with thunderbolt port) to apogee interfaces. Yea!!

I’m sure I missed seeing great things or didn’t take proper note of others…or was just talking to friends when I should have been paying attention but anyway there’s my list.