About John CS Keston

John CS Keston is an award winning transdisciplinary artist reimagining how music, video art, and computer science intersect. His work both questions and embraces his backgrounds in music technology, software development, and improvisation leading him toward unconventional compositions that convey a spirit of discovery and exploration through the use of graphic scores, chance and generative techniques, analog and digital synthesis, experimental sound design, signal processing, and acoustic piano. Performers are empowered to use their phonomnesis, or sonic imaginations, while contributing to his collaborative work. Originally from the United Kingdom, John currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he is a professor of Digital Media Arts at the University of St Thomas. He founded the sound design resource, AudioCookbook.org, where you will find articles and documentation about his projects and research. John has spoken, performed, or exhibited original work at New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME 2022), the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC 2022), the International Digital Media Arts Conference (iDMAa 2022), International Sound in Science Technology and the Arts (ISSTA 2017-2019), Northern Spark (2011-2017), the Weisman Art Museum, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Walker Art Center, the Minnesota Institute of Art, the Eyeo Festival, INST-INT, Echofluxx (Prague), and Moogfest. He produced and performed in the piece Instant Cinema: Teleportation Platform X, a featured project at Northern Spark 2013. He composed and performed the music for In Habit: Life in Patterns (2012) and Words to Dead Lips (2011) in collaboration with the dance company Aniccha Arts. In 2017 he was commissioned by the Walker Art Center to compose music for former Merce Cunningham dancers during the Common Time performance series. His music appears in The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (2012) and he composed the music for the short Familiar Pavement (2015). He has appeared on more than a dozen albums including two solo albums on UnearthedMusic.com.

David Byrne’s Installation with DKO in Binaural Sound

Posted on December 1, 2012 by John CS Keston

This is another binaural recording featuring David Byrne’s installation “Playing the Building” at Aria in Minneapolis, this time with the ensemble DKO (Jon Davis on bass clarinet, John Keston on the installation, and Graham O’Brien on percussion).

You can read more about the installation at Aria’s website, but it lends itself perfectly to being documented through binaural recording techniques because the sounds literally come from all around you. There are motors, mallets, and pipes installed on walls, girders, and metal stairs in the historic, gutted, warehouse building, all which are activated from the keyboard of a repurposed, antique, pump organ.

The recording was made with a custom built binaural head microphone. I made the device with a styrofoam mannequin head, a set of silicone ears designed for acupuncture practice, and a pair of Shure MX202 microphones embedded into the ear canals. Once again it is critical that you wear headphones to experience the localized binaural effect, although I just listened on my studio monitors and it sounds very clear and wide, maintaining lots of the spatial qualities.

Binaural Video of David Byrne’s Installation Playing the Building

Posted on November 30, 2012 by John CS Keston

On November 27, 2012 I made a binaural recording of David Byrne’s installation, Playing the Building (2012), at Aria in Minneapolis. During my session in the space I recorded a solo performance of myself, a duet with me and Jon Davis on bass clarinet, and a trio (DKO) with me, Graham O’Brien on drums and Jon Davis. I used a binaural head to record each performance. I have been interested in building a binaural head for some time, and finally got the parts together including a mannequin head, silicone ears, and overhead microphones capsules. I’ll share more about “Vincent” (the head’s name), and the rest of the recordings soon. For now here’s a video of my solo performance. Remember to listen using headphones in order to hear the binaural spatial effects. You’ll hear the installation surrounding you, a visitor bouncing a tennis ball off to the right, and occasional interjections of people in conversation.

Call for Artists: Videographer / Sound Design

Posted on November 7, 2012 by John CS Keston

I am currently working on an MFA in interactive media at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Minneapolis. My thesis project involves musical improvisation and various environmental and sensory influences that impact soloists and ensembles. To explore these ideas I am performing at the Compound Gallery, Minneapolis on December 7, 2012. The performance integrates an hour-long audiovisual score composed from crowd-sourced video content. The idea is to collect recognizable segments of non-dialogic, everyday video/sound from society (things like traffic, factory machinery, water dripping into bathtubs, the list goes on). We are looking for on site sound in the video that would be interesting as a layer within an experimental music context. To submit, please send an email with the following details to audiovisualscore@audiocookbook.org:

Link(s) for one to three HD videos on vimeo.com or youtube.com, each with a length between 30 seconds and 3 minutes.
A Drop Box (or comparable service) link to download the video file(s) at full quality.
List the camera, resolution, length, and microphone used to capture the audiovisual content.
Include your full name, email, and link to a site of your choice for attribution (artist portfolio, etc.).
State that you are allowing us to use the video in the performance on December 7, 2012 and the documentation produced afterward about the performance (video will be attributed to the artist).
A statement that the video is the sole property of the artist and does not violate any copyright laws or restrictions.

Please submit these materials by no later than November 21, 2012. Submissions from around the world are acceptable. Sound and video quality are important, but if you have something interesting that was shot with a mobile phone submit it anyway. It might just be what we’re looking for. The upcoming exhibition titled Frank also features the work of first and second year MCAD MFA graduate students. The performance is open to the public. On December 7, 2012 the doors will open at 6pm and our performance goes from 8pm to 9pm. Compound is located at the Whittier Studios, 2840 Grand Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404.

Synchronizing Music Technology at Slam Academy

Posted on November 1, 2012 by John CS Keston

I am teaching a class starting on November 29, 2012 at the Slam Academy in Minneapolis titled Synchronizing Music Technology. The first class class of the four session module is free to attend with no obligation. If you decide to take the module you are eligible to purchase a Korg Monotribe and Korg Monotron for $175. General admission and student pricing is available.

In this course we will examine ways to synchronize musical devices including vintage-to-modern MIDI compatible devices, as well as pre-MIDI analog instruments using CV (control voltage) and gate signals. We will also learn how to sequence and interface these devices with computer software making it possible to create studio and performance setups that integrate decades of music technology.

The Slam Academy is one of a handful of certified Ableton Live training centers worldwide. Most classes are around $200 or less for students and meet for three two hour sessions. I am very excited to be an adjunct instructor at this incredibly forward thinking school for electronic arts. If you’re in the area please stop in for the free intro class on November 29 or consider registering for a module or two.

DKO Recording Session and Performance at Bellows

Posted on October 23, 2012 by John CS Keston

Here’s a selection made by Jon Davis from our recent DKO performance and recording session at the lovely Bellows Studio in St. Paul, Minnesota. This rough segment was mixed and engineered by Adam Krinsky. The limited edition poster was designed and screen printed by Jasio Stefanski.