Something in the air [genesis]
It was a hot and humid day. Nothing special for the weather conditions of a city like Saigon, South Vietnam. The sound conditions were a priori normal. An electric guitar, an amplifier and some effects pedals as usual. But, something was wrong. My guitar sounded different. All the hardware was assembled as usual, but the sound of the guitar was not what I expected. It bothered me to the point that I didn't pay attention to what I was playing because I kept thinking about it. After a while, I noticed that strange noises were coming out from the amplifier. They sounded like noisy parasites, mixing unstable crackles and other filtered effects. These parasites apparently had an effect on the sound of the guitar. Moreover, I have quite a particular condition with my equipment. The amplifier power supply is not very stable. The power cable is loose and this can cause variations in the power supply which can prevent the amplifier from working properly by releasing interferences. This also affects the electronic tube of the amp, which gives a particular feeling and timbre when I play. That's why I try to maintain this cable with what I have under my hand. A pack of cigarettes, a lighter or a marker. Anything that can keep this cable connected. Then, there is also the room in which I find myself. I live in a duplex apartment, at the 24th and 25th floor. Of course, there are sounds coming from the surroundings. On the one hand, the sound from the neighbors on the other side of the wall, or from the ceiling and the floor and as well as from my rooms related to the relatives activity. On the other hand, there is also the sounds coming from outdoors through the window that easily interferes especially when the window is open because of high temperature in the room. In short, the social relations with my neighborhood, the hot and humid weather, the interaction of the sounds of the room itself and the interaction between the musical and electrical equipment, all of this contributes to creating a rather particular and singular atmosphere. This imprecise thing which controls the ambient atmosphere, without forgetting so to speak of the state of mind or other emotional fatigues, which can in turn enhance the main condition of the atmospherics feeling.