Direct mp3 download or play: Happy Danube (shortwave effect # 1)
Well I guess I’m coming out of the closet on this one. Sooner or later you are going to find out that I like organ music. And I like it a lot. It’s safe to say that most of you have heard or heard of “The Dance of The Blue Danube”. Hopefully you have not heard a rendition quite like this one. The performer is a German organist by the name of Klaus Wunderlich. In addition I processed (butchered) the audio to make it sound like fading shortwave radio. I can imagine listening to this on a vintage high end German shortwave radio. The effect is in stereo, however and I advise you to play it loud. I have more versions of “The Dance of The Blue Danube”, including a very scratchy 78 rpm by Jesse Crawford from the 1920’s. So beware!
Direct mp3 download or play: Happy Danube (shortwave effect # 2)
Imagine driving on the Autobahn in your new Porsche late at night and this begins to play on the radio. This may be a cleaner, more realistic version of the phenomenon of “skip” when listening to shortwave radio. Of course, if you are actually listening to a radio, the sound would not be in stereo. In addition, I have become a fan of the sound of Wersi electronic organs. Occasionally, I may make other versions of this effect. There are some really great free VST effects available on the internet to create these sounds and many others.
Be aware what I’m doing here is just for fun and is not really comparable to listening to the music in CD quality or better without all of the “butchering” of the audio. My sources for these two tracks were at best 128 kbps mp3. I think the first one was a YouTube video as well.
7 users commented on " Happy Danube (updated) "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI have an inordinate number of found home organ recordings. Three are cassettes an old priest made to give to people he met, and two are quarter inch reels I picked up in a thrift store. The reels are more humorous. One is of a group of people trying repeatedly to record “On Top of the World” and never getting the rhythm right. The other is of a guy talking about his organ and the complaints he’s recieved about how loud it is with a friend who’s playing it, and playing it pretty well. I think the recordings were made in the `80s and `70s, respectively.
…all of a sudden I’m skating with the glitter-ball’s swirling points of light in a darkened roller rink… my rented skates wreaking of 409
It reminds me of the organ store right next to the Hickory Farms in the mall when I was a lad.
An older gentleman in a red blazer would be playing the organ in the entryway to try to entice passing housewives into buying a Lowry, Genie or perhaps an Optigan.
I had no idea you knew who Klaus Wunderlich was. I’m a huge fan of his organ records and always trying to find more. My favorite is his “HAMMOND FOR LOVERS” LP which has 14 tracks per side(!) and no spaces between cuts. So it essentially plays as one continuous track.
To Christian who posted above- anyway we could get a hi fi mp3 or AIFF of your “Top of the World” recordings? Would love to hear it.
I didn’t check this entry for a while and thus didn’t see mark/negativland’s request. The URL below should link to an mp3.
http://www.mediafire.com/?4wm3w1vwmbl
I hope someone sees this!
this reminds me of something i would hear from a collection of North Korean-produced instrumental music
i’ve got a great record called ‘skatin’ with layton’ by eddie layton that i just converted to mp3.