Martin Dosh and I have been playing one-off shows together in various ensembles for longer than I care to divulge. However, unless I’m misremembering this will be the first time as a duet. The Rhodes electric piano has always been our common ground, and I will have my new Osmose Expressive E along as well to share how I have been approaching that instrument. Tripfacesmile.com will start the night off with a set of modular synthesis. Please join us at ROK Bar, 882 7th St. W, Suite 12, St. Paul, MN 55102 on September 9, 2023.
Author Archives: John C.S. Keston
ACB Live Volume 5: Music Made with Trackers
Last Tuesday, August 29, 2023 was the fifth entry into the AudioCookbook Live streaming show. This time around two guests participated with me including Lucas Melchior aka MKR, and Evan Beaumont. Each us of played music using the Dirtywave M8 tracker. I was thoroughly impressed with the work that Lucas and Evan performed, so I am pleased to be able to share the stream archive with you. The video is long, but I have included chapter markers so you can skip the discussions, although I think we made some interesting points about how using trackers influences our approaches to music composition, production, and performance.
Friday, Sept. 1 with Eric Carranza, Matty Harris, and Jesse Whitney
Join us for a night of music at ROK Bar, 882 7th St. W, Suite 12, St. Paul, MN 55102 on September 1, 2023. Jesse Whitney starts off the evening with a solo electronic set, followed by two trio sets from Eric Carranza (guitars and electronics), Matty Harris (saxophones), and me (keys included my Osmose Expressive E).
Osmose Expressive E and the Uncanny Valley
The internet has been buzzing with demos of the Osmose Expressive E since they started arriving to VIPs studios earlier this year. I have been fascinated by it since 3D renders of it showed up in November of 2019. Four years later, I finally have it and now that I’ve had a day or two to allow my brain to reassemble itself I’m ready to say something about it.
There are many directions that artists will steer this machine. One is by leveraging physical modeling to emulate acoustic instruments. Doing this requires developing the techniques and having the knowledge to work the Osmose into matching the range and textures of the target instrument. Secondly it requires expertly designed patches that can translate the subtleties of the player’s expression into the expected nuances. Benn Jordan has a great video here that goes into detail about how this can be done. I do not intend to address the debate regarding “should this be done?” in this article, other than to state that there is an ongoing debate (perhaps since music was electrically amplified) along with far reaching consequences to musicians and the music industry at large of which we all ought to be aware. Continue reading
ACB Live Volume 4 Stream Archive
If you missed the Twitch.TV/AudioCookbook stream from May 2023 featuring Cody McKinney the entire performance is archived in four parts on YouTube. Unfortunately my GoPro Hero8 failed to connect as a webcam, so I ended up using the camera on my MacBook Pro. My Hero8 turned out to be defective and GoPro is kindly sending me a Hero9 to replace it.
Although the video quality is not what I’d like I recorded the audio in multitrack then, mixed it, and applied some rudimentary mastering. As a result the archived videos sound better than the original stream. Enjoy!