Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Crossover noises: Bang-on-a-Can
Posted on: November 3, 2013
Bryce Dessner, guitar player of US rock band The National is currently the composer-in-residence of the Muziekgebouw in Eindhoven.
As part of the Composer in Residence series of the Muziekgebouw, a concert will be given on Thursday 07/11 by New York all-star band Bang-on-a-Can, who will be joined by special guest Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth fame. Bang-on-a-Can All Stars have included several contemporary composed guitar pieces in their repertoire, such as the Electric Counterpoint classic of Steve Reich:
The pieces played are made by contemporary composing rock guitarists, including Fred Frith, one of my all-time favorite guitar players:
- Bryce Dessner (The National) – Gloucester 27
- Bryce Dessner (The National) – Shut your Eyes against the Wind
- Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) – Stroking Piece #1
- Fred Frith – Snakes & Ladders
- David Longstreth (Dirty Projectors) – Instructional Video, Matt
- Damon, Breakfast at J&M
- Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) – How Deep are Rivers
With this program, this may be a very interesting first crossover concert of Bryce Dessner’s stay as a composer-in-residence IMHO. So I will be there.
Check for more information:
“Box” is a short promo video by a company called Bot & Dolly, a design and engineering studio from San Francisco that specializes in automation, robotics, and filmmaking.
The video explores the synthesis of real and digital space through projection-mapping on moving surfaces.
The short film documents a live performance, captured entirely in camera. Bot & Dolly produced this work to serve as both an artistic statement and technical demonstration. It is the culmination of multiple technologies, including large-scale robotics, projection mapping, and software engineering:
More information:
- In: Performance | Recordings | Sound art | Synthesizers | Uncategorized | Videos
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I first became interested in synthesizers and electronic music in the late ’70’s through the music of Pere Ubu (US) and Cabaret Voltaire (UK). Somewhere around 79- ’80 I decided I wanted to have my own synthesizer, inspired by albums like “Dub Housing” (Pere Ubu) and “Mix Up” (Cabaret Voltaire). Especially the weird sounds created by Allen Ravenstine on Pere Ubu records motivated me to start playing synthesizer (besides guitar) . These sounds were made by a modular EML synthesizer. I couldn’t afford an EML however, so I went for the Japanese budget alternative: a semi modular Korg MS-20, which I still own and play today.
Allen Ravenstine was part of Pere Ubu until the end of the ’80s. The modular EML synthesizer remained a basic ingredient of the Pere Ubu sound up until today, played by Robert Wheeler and others. I recently stumbled upon this video of a EML synthesizer jam session by Allen Ravenstine and Robert Wheeler, apparently the first time these Pere Ubu players ever played together. The video contains some interesting interview fragments in which Allen Ravenstine explains how the EML synthesizer became part of the unique Pere Ubu sound:
Allen Ravenstine and Robert Wheeler EML synth session.
The video fragment seems to be part of an upcoming film about modular synthesizers and their players. This is the text accompanying the video:
“In late February, 2012, former Pere Ubu synthesist Allen Ravenstine and current Pere Ubu synthesist Robert Wheeler, two legendary figures of Cleveland’s punk rock scene met at Grant Avenue Studio to discuss and demonstrate the EML modular synthesizers that have been an integral part of the Pere Ubu sound for almost 40 years. The interviews are part of the upcoming film: “I Dream of Wires: The Modular Synthesizer Documentary”. I DREAM OF WIRES interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (matrixsynth.com/). “
Daan Roosegaarde Lotus 7.0
Posted on: December 27, 2010
- In: Media art | Uncategorized | Videos
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Daan Roosegaarde is quickly becoming the most well known of the new “Dutch Digital Design” group of artists.
Daan Roosegaarde: Liquid space 6.0
Check his latest project “Lotus 7.0”: a living wall made out of smart foils which move in response to human behavior on his cool Studio Roosegaarde web site.
nnnoises.com 