A Note From Moog

Posted on July 30, 2014 by John C.S. Keston

This morning I was greeted by a Toblerone shaped box on my doorstep adorned with a Moogfest logo. Since I was on my way to class I had to leave it until this evening. On opening I discovered a beautiful golden knob and a lovely note from Moog thanking me for my participation at Moogfest:

It has taken us two months to process the impact of Moogfest 2014. The phenomenal minds that came together to share, teach, make, play, and perform made our town in North Carolina shine brightly for 5 days. We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being a part of this celebration of art, science, music, and technology. Without you Moogfest would not have been as magical or inspiring for those that participated.

The enclosed knob is symbolic of Moog’s 50 year legacy in analog synthesis. Originally we gave them to the owners of our flagship synthesizer, the Minimoog Voyager, because they are the people who helped Moog become what it is today. We felt it appropriate to send one to you too for helping define what Moogfest will be in the future. You will always be a part of Moogfest’s genesis and we hope you continue to be a part of its evolution.

Following the note were a couple of personal sentences from Emmy Parker and handwritten signatures from Emmy and Mike Adams. Needless to say, I am humbled by this honor and hope that I can continue to participate in the future. Thanks Emmy, Mike, and everyone else who made Moogfest an incredible experience!

Duet No.3 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree

Posted on July 28, 2014 by John C.S. Keston

This video is the third document from my five day recording session and performance series at the Singing Ringing Tree (SRT) in Burnley, UK. The SRT is a wind activated musical panopticon in Northern England. The sculpture was designed by architects Tonkin Liu and completed in December 2006. I performed accompaniment for the SRT binaural recordings simultaneously using a Novation Bass Station II connected to a USB battery. I also ran the Bass Station II through a Moog Minifooger Delay.

NOTE: This is a binaural recording combined with a monophonic synthesizer track. Although it sounds great through speakers, circumaural headphones must be used to experience the binaural effect. Continue reading →

Duet No.1 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree

Posted on July 21, 2014 by John C.S. Keston

This is the first in a series of videos that document my five day recording session and performance series at the Singing Ringing Tree (SRT) in Burnley, UK. The SRT is a wind activated musical panopticon in Northern England. The sculpture was designed by architects Tonkin Liu and completed in December 2006. I performed accompaniment for the SRT binaural recordings simultaneously using a Novation Bass Station II connected to a USB battery. I also ran the Bass Station II through a Moog Minifooger Delay.

AVGM with Tempest, BSII, and Volca Keys

Posted on July 5, 2014 by John C.S. Keston

During Northern Spark 2014 I performed a version of Vocalise Sintetica at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery. The event, timed with Northern Spark 2014, also marked the opening of The Audible Edge (May 27 through July 26, 2014), a sound art exhibit of which I am also taking part. Since it was a local performance I decided to introduce the DSI Tempest into the setup (along with the Bass Station II, Korg Volca Keys, and Memory Man Delay).

This led me in a completely different direction than the performance in Prague. I was quite happy with the results so I produced a few studio versions of alternative movements. For these videos I made a screen capture of the AVGM (Audiovisual Grain Machine) and interspersed shots of the instrumentation. Here’s the the first alternative movement of I. Machines. I hope to post a couple more movements at a later date. View photos from the performance below.
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