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.

Fourteen of Fourteen Live Mixes from Ostracon

Posted on July 23, 2012 by John CS Keston

This the last of 14 tracks from a collection of Ostracon mixes recorded at three consecutive live shows last year. Each track is an untitled improvisation roughly mixed and edited for length. Ostracon is Graham O’Brien on drums and John Keston on electronics. If you are feeling brave, checkout the entire set on SoundCloud and check us out live at the Kitty Cat Klub on August 5, 2012.

Putting Out Fires: I Knew Sound Was Good for Something

Posted on July 17, 2012 by John CS Keston

CNET has a brief article about this, but the video says it all.

This is the Opposite of a Suicide Note

Posted on July 10, 2012 by John CS Keston

Here’s a quick change of pace. The drummer that you have been hearing in the last six entries is, of course, Graham O’Brien who is also responsible for remixing the Guante track This is the Opposite of a Suicide Note. As well as being an excellent drummer, Graham is a seasoned producer who has recently teamed up with Adam Krinsky to form Bellows Studios in St. Paul, Minnesota where he produced, mixed, and mastered this remix. These are the same studios where Ostracon is working on our second album.