Tunes From the Road

When I travel on business these days, at least when I’m going to be gone more than a day or so, I’ve started taking my Korg Kaosilator with me. It’s a great bit of fun to carry around – battery powered, fits in the palm of your hand, and has lots of nifty sounds which can be looped and layered one upon another. The Kaosilator’s touchpad input scheme also unleashes creativity in a way that a traditional keyboard does not. For a diversion on the road, it’s hard to beat.

This song, “Suitcase Life,” started out in a hotel room in downtown Richmond a few weeks ago. In fact, the restatement of the main groove at the end of the song was recorded there, with my headphones sandwiched around the tiny mic on my MP3 player. Sounds like shit, but it’s a nice effect. Once I got home (and finally managed to incorporate the Kaosilator in my studio setup), I recreated that groove and used it as the basis for this song.

Aside from the drum and stab bass blurb, the rest of the song comes out of the Korg M50, Nord Rack 2X, and, in its Infinity Ranch debut, the Moog Minitaur. I don’t argue that it’s brilliant, but I had fun putting it together. Hope you enjoy it:



FWIW, the title (at least) draws inspiration from Thomas Dolby’s “I Live In a Suitcase”: