People on Shelves

Posted on December 19, 2009 by John Keston

Andrea Streudel just posted some really nice video documentation of the People on Shelves exhibit that was performed on December 9, 2009 at the West Bank Social Center, using music I created during the show. From the original post, “The world premiere of maw.shelves, a software for dynamic 3-dimensional projection. We overlaid another projector to place our real-time, full-body silhouettes on the “shelves”. Music was performed live by Ostraka.” Checkout Minneapolis Art on Wheels for more details.

GMS Ensemble Live Performance Segment #2

Posted on June 26, 2009 by John Keston

Here’s another segment of video from the Flashbelt after party on June 8, 2009. The music is still Graham O’Brien on drums and me using the GMS.

However, the visuals shown are mostly part of an excellent piece on gender transformation by Sinan G. of minneapolisartonwheels.org.

I think this short chunk of video is an accurate illustration of the spirit of the party.

In my mind the best parties are always in alleyways, sometimes in warehouses, and once in a while in apartment kitchens.

Click to view a 640 x 480 version of GMS Ensemble Live Segment #2.

Late April MAW Outing GMS Excerpt #2

Posted on June 2, 2009 by John Keston

Here’s a segment of audio captured from a early performance using the GMS during a MAW outing in April. An earlier part of the same one hour and five minute set was posted in GMS Audio Captured During MAW Outing.

April 30, 2009 GMS Excerpt #2

Tonight: MAW at the Mobile Music Symposium + GMS

Posted on May 22, 2009 by John Keston

inna Tonight (Friday, May 22, 2009) MAW will be projecting at a party for the Mobile Music Symposium outside of the Nomad World Pub in Minneapolis from 9:00 PM to midnight. The artists include Jenny Schmid, Ali Momeni, David Steinman, Andrea Steudel, Rachel James, and Robin Schwartzman. I’ll be providing musical accompaniment using my gestural music sequencer, perhaps creating something similar to the following segment.

GMS Performance Excerpt #3

MAW Outing GMS Excerpt

Posted on May 15, 2009 by John Keston

Here’s a segment of audio from Wednesday’s MAW outing at Art Institutes Minnesota in downtown Minneapolis. I’m pretty happy with the arpeggiated, melodic loops I’m able to achieve with the right settings and a good light controller using this application. For video documentation of what was happening at the event, please visit minneapolisartonwheels.org.

This video shows me using various light controllers, including a string of patio lights, bike lights, and LED spinning tops to construct compositions using the GMS.

MAW Outing GMS Excerpt

GMS Audio Captured During MAW Outing

Posted on April 30, 2009 by John Keston

This eight minute segment of audio generated by the GMS is from the first eight minutes of our most recent MAW (minneapolisartonwheels.org) outing.

This was my first chance to take advantage of the presets feature, but the performance led me to expand the octave setting to include adjustments for the top and bottom octaves. During this performance the octave setting was limited to only allowing the top octave to be lowered. This made it so that instruments with a limited range, like drums, are difficult to play since much of the screen might be inactive.

MAW Outing Segment

GMS Piece: Dodger of Red Lights

Posted on April 17, 2009 by John Keston

Today I decided to see if I could create a version of what I performed at the MAW outing last night, as a streaming video with good quality sound. I opted not to use screen capture software so that all the processing on my Macbook Pro could go into rendering the images and sound. The imagery was created by manipulating a red, LED, bike light near the lens of the camera. The screen was then shot with a second camera while the audio was recorded externally using my PCM-D50.

I built a pentatonic scale using the note probability distribution feature in the GMS. The most likely note was a C followed by D, G, G#, and then B natural. I also used the probability distributions on the durations to get some stumbling rhythms centered around sixteenth notes.

Dodger of Red Lights from Unearthed Music on Vimeo.

MAW Kids on Bikes

Posted on April 16, 2009 by John Keston

Thursday was my first outing with Minneapolis Art on Wheels (MAW) and my first opportunity to project my work on the GMS in a public space. The sheer scope of the event was impressive. My friend Kevin could hardly believe all of the equipment that was transported by bicycles to the location. There was some really good work on display, some bizarre random events, and exhaustive video documentation that I expect we’ll see on MAW soon.

After the outing, on the ride back to base, everyone was giddy from the nice weather. We get a bit cooped up during the long Minnesota Winters. In not one of my finest cases of judgment I decided to dig out my PCM-D50 from its protective case and record the proceedings while riding my bike. I don’t necessarily recommend this sort of behavior, but I held on tight and threw caution to the wind. Here’s a segment of audio from the bike ride back.

MAW Kids on Bikes