Dorian Listens

Synthesizers used to great effect

2026-01-19T00:00:00+00:00

A while ago, I read a blog post by Mikey Dickerson that used the advent of synthesizers as a metaphor for LLMs. The author noted that he thought synthesizers created excellent reproductions of instruments, except the one he himself had studied. He quickly realized his fellow music students also felt this way about their own instruments. His conclusion was that non-experts are not qualified to evaluate the output of automated systems.

That's what I mean by the "synthesizer effect:'' If you know what you are doing, the machine can't fool you. If you don't, it very well might.

Run tests from more places with Rust-Analyzer

2022-08-22T00:00:00+00:00

TL;DR

Until now, rust-analyzer's "Run" menu would only let you run tests from #[cfg(test)] modules if your cursor was inside the test module, but not if you were editing some production code in the same file 😢.

Starting Today, you can run your tests from anywhere in the file, without taking your hands off the keyboard 😍!

Generate Enum Variant with associated values in Rust Analyzer

2022-08-03T00:00:00+00:00

I’ve continued contributing to Rust Analyzer, and recently implemented a new feature that I’m exited to share with y’all: the “Generate Enum Variant” assist now supports associated values!

Improving "Extract Function" in Rust Analyzer

2022-07-14T00:00:00+00:00

Over the last several weeks, I’ve made a series of small improvements to Rust Analyzer, mostly focusing on the “Extract Function” assist.

Estimates are awful; Estimating is great!

2022-05-23T00:00:00+00:00

Ron Jeffries on estimates (archived; the original tweet has been deleted)

This thread definitely resonates with me. If you know 100% of the requirements up front, you could make a reasonably accurate estimate of total cost.

The problem is: you don't!

Introducing ChartZapp!

2014-06-13T00:00:00+00:00

Update: ChartZapp was online from 2014 to 2022, but has since been taken down.

This week, I'm excited to announce the beta release of ChartZapp, a new way to look at Canadian Campus Community Radio Charts.

It's a project I've been tinkering with in my spare time for the past few months, and while I plan to continue it's development, I figured it was high time to kick it out of the nest, as it were.

Big thanks are due to Farid Rener for the inspiration and encouragement, and to Carol Fraser for dealing with my rather obsessive tendencies.

Check it out!

Heathers

2014-01-27T00:00:00+00:00

Back in September 2013, I had the distinct pleasure of working with local power trio Heathers on their debut EP. The band had only been together for a few short months at the time, but their style had already seriously taken shape. Over the course of two evenings, the band nailed down four of their original tunes live off the floor, complete with some seriously confident overdubbed vocals.

The result: thirteen and a half minutes of sassy post-riot-grrl gold!

Maximum Fem Maggots!

2013-09-12T00:00:00+00:00

The Notorious Fem Maggots occupied a rehearsal space a few weeks back, and took CKUT and TVM along for the ride.

As always, I was there keeping the sounds (at least reasonably) under control.

The band operates as a collective hive mind, rejecting all forms of hierarchy and making all decision both aesthetic and managerial as a single consensus based unit. It is truly a thing to behold.

They are also, as it turns out, quite a fearsome and mighty punk rock ensemble: spewing vicious sonics from the usual instrumental suspects (guitar, bass, drums) as well as keyboards, accordion and a hydra headed duelling lead vocal assault.

Squeezing all that energy and zeal into a single room (and then a single mix!) was a bit of a challenge, but one that was most certainly overcome.

More Debt! Part 3 - Guitars

2013-06-18T00:00:00+00:00

Electric Guitar is no doubt the bedrock of rock music. Doing it justice can be tough work, but it's worth every ounce of effort!

In this, the third instalment of our series focusing on the recording process of Debt's full length album, it's time to dive deep into the glorious world of guitar tone.

If you haven't seen them, check out Part 1 and Part 2!

Capturing Corinna Rose

2013-06-11T00:00:00+00:00

I recently had the pleasure of working on a brief performance shoot with talented songstress Corinna Rose as part of a project for the Believer Magazine.

One of the conditions of the shoot was that my mics remain out of sight, at least from the two camera folk's perspective.

I used an extremely simple setup: just a single Apex 435, a few feet back from the performer.

More Debt! Part 2 - Drums and Bass

2013-06-06T00:00:00+00:00

Cutting a full length album in a weekend isn't an easy task, but both myself and Montréal rock band Debt were up for the challenge.

This is Part 2 of a series on the experience. If you missed it, check out Part 1 right here!

More Debt! Part 1 - Getting Started

2013-06-04T00:00:00+00:00

Debt is a loud rock band from Montréal.

So says their bandcamp page, and I'm doing my best to make sure that is EXACTLY what they sound like!

I spent the last several days holed up in a gorgeous Mile End jamspace with the band and a plethora of instruments and amplifiers. We had our work cut out for us: Debt were interested in a full length, 10 track album, and we were gonna get the entire thing on tape (or in ones and zeros, as the case may be) in 3 days.

The last time I'd worked with the band, we'd cut a pair of songs in an afternoon. The end result of those sessions wound up online as Debt's Demos, which we were all pretty happy with at the time. However, for the full length record, we decided we wanted a bigger, badder, more agressive sound.

We also decided we were happy enough with the bed tracks on the Demos, but that we'd like to revamp the guitar tones and add some extra layers.

With that in mind, we booked three solid days in their jam space, and planned to spend as many waking hours as possible nailing down an album we'd all be proud of.

Archery Guild Attack!

2013-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

Archery Guild are a local 8 or 9 piece baroque indie rock band. 3 Guitars, Trumpet, Cello, Violin, Bass, Drums and two vocalists make up the largest ensemble I've ever recorded in a multitrack, live-off-the-floor setting.

While setting up in the band's beautiful St. Henri loft, it was obvious that the session would provide its fair share of challenges. Time was tight, and with so many instruments to capture, my XLR cables were at a premium. Luckily it didn't take long to find the perfect spot to set up my rig, and after throwing mic after mic on stand after stand, we were ready for soundcheck.

Accompanied once again by the camera slingers of TVM, we successfully brought clarity to the chaos, and avoided more than a few potential pitfalls along the way.

Slight shoot

2013-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

On Friday April 5th, myself and the intrepid Camera-folk of TVM headed up to Van Horne in Montréal to do a video shoot with local Synthy Kraut-Rockers Slight. It was organized as part of the ongoing CKUT FM/TVM collaboration that I am the principle engineer for.

We got set up in their magical rehearsal space, the Plant, and the boys let 'er rip with some glorious, reverb addled sonics.

We only had time for 4 takes, but on the last one the band nailed it.

Check out the video below, and read on for more about the sound setup!