New Video from Moog: Sub 37 | Modulation & Sequencing

Posted on December 12, 2014 by John C.S. Keston

Moog Music has just posted a beautifully produced new video exploring the modulation and sequencing functionality of the Moog Sub 37. Last weekend I did some exploration of my own into modulating the self oscillating filter while driving it through the feedback circuit. Here’s a snippet from the sounds that happened during that experiment. All the sound is from the self oscillating filter. I used exactly none of the three oscillators (OSC1, OSC2, Sub OSC) on the instrument. It’s also running through the Memory Man Delay.

WARNING: The following track contains extremely high and low frequencies. Please start with low volume levels.

Elektron Analog Four, Moog Sub 37, and DSI Tempest

Posted on December 9, 2014 by John C.S. Keston

You may have noticed that my contributions to ACB have been sparse as of late, so I really appreciate Tom Player’s fascinating articles comparing electronic orchestration to the real thing. I have been busy teaching interactive media at two institutions and just finished an artist residency at Metropolitan State University working with students in the Experimental Music and Intermedia Arts program headed by professor David Means (I’ll be sharing more about that later).

In addition to teaching and other academics I have performing regularly and maintaining a studio practice when my schedule allows. Recently this involved the addition of two new instruments: the Moog Sub 37 and the Elektron Analog Four (A4). The Sub 37 arrived back in September and the A4 in November.

This weekend I had a couple of hours to interface these new additions with my DSI Tempest analog drum machine. These three instruments seem to complement each other really well. The Tempest is gritty and a little unpredictable, the Sub 37 is instantly gratifying and expressive, while the A4 is precise, clean, and technical. Here’s an excerpt from one of my experiments last weekend.

SoundsCloud Flashback: Music for People on Shelves

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

I used Ableton Live to produce in real-time and my wavetable glitch machine Max patch to make most of the noises, which I routed into Live using Soundflower.

This five year old set is one of the very first things I ever posted on SoundCloud and it’s 86 minutes from a live solo performance with Minneapolis Art on Wheels. Checkout the original posts here:

Video documentation:
audiocookbook.org/people-on-shelves/

The original article:
audiocookbook.org/music-for-people-on-shelves/

Duet No.7 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree

Posted on November 26, 2014 by John C.S. Keston

This is the last of seven videos produced documenting my five day recording session and performance series at the Singing Ringing Tree (SRT) in Burnley, UK. There’s a lot more content in the can, but for now this is enough to represent the project. My part of the collaboration with the SRT was simultaneously recorded on site using a Novation Bass Station II connected to a USB battery. I also ran the Bass Station II through a Moog Minifooger Delay.

My last day on site was also the windiest and it turned out that the best wind reduction happened to be a very thin cotton t-shirt wrapped around the binaural head as you can see in the photo below. The strong winds, although useful, made the process quite difficult, and the binaural effect seemed a little less prominent with any sort of wind reduction applied. However, I was able to get couple of good takes by carefully placing the dummy head next to the SRT and opposite the wind. Please checkout the playlist of all six duets (#2 was omitted) on my YouTube channel.

Continue reading →

Hi-8, Bleep Labs, Moog Sub 37, Minifooger, Elektron Analog 4

Posted on November 17, 2014 by John C.S. Keston

This analog-sourced audiovisual piece is a collaboration with video artist Chris LeBlanc. The visuals were performed with a Hi-8 camera running through Tachyons+ and LoFiFuture processors, and keyed with a Bleep Labs synth. On the music end I’m playing my Moog Sub 37 through my Minifooger Delay and synched up to an Elektron Analog Four. I sent Chris separate signals from the Sub 37 and the A4 that he used to make the visuals respond.