Unique Outro for Spring in December

Posted on June 27, 2009 by John CS Keston

bar This section of Spring in December by Keston and Westdal with Graham O’Brien on drums was recorded at the Kitty Cat Klub on Sunday, June 21, 2009. As an ensemble we have been improvising more and more within the arrangements of our current material. This is a result of our comfort with the material, but also the monotony of playing mostly the same repertoire for over a year. Recently we’ve been making an effort to change this by scheduling rehearsals to refine new material for recording and performances.

Spring in December Outro

GMS Ensemble Live Performance Segment #2

Posted on June 26, 2009 by John CS Keston

Here’s another segment of video from the Flashbelt after party on June 8, 2009. The music is still Graham O’Brien on drums and me using the GMS.

However, the visuals shown are mostly part of an excellent piece on gender transformation by Sinan G. of minneapolisartonwheels.org.

I think this short chunk of video is an accurate illustration of the spirit of the party.

In my mind the best parties are always in alleyways, sometimes in warehouses, and once in a while in apartment kitchens.

Click to view a 640 x 480 version of GMS Ensemble Live Segment #2.

Foxy Lady by Skink

Posted on June 25, 2009 by John CS Keston

sparky_with_bourbon Recently I recorded my throat singing friend after meeting him and some other cycling mates at one of our favorite places along the Mississippi river. Here is his beautifully disturbing rendition of Foxy Lady by Jimi Hendrix straight off the recorder with no editing or processing.

Foxy Lady by Skink

GMS Ensemble Live Performance

Posted on June 24, 2009 by John CS Keston

Nils Westdal shot this video of myself and Graham O’Brien on drums performing with the GMS during one of the Flashbelt after parties on June 8, 2009. The party was held in the back alley of One on One bike studio, considered the bike Mecca of the Midwest.

Recorded using the internal mic on the video camera, the mix is chatty and pretty drum heavy for the first half, but you can hear the GMS sequencing a little better toward the end.

The setup consists of a MacBook Pro running the GMS synced to Ableton Live 7, an M-Audio Firewire 410 interface, a Mackie 1202 mixer, my Korg MS2000 for external control of the GMS, a Casio projector, and a variety of bike lights and spinning LED tops as “light controllers”.

Click to view a 640 x 480 version in a new tab.

Gestural Music Sequencer Documentary Short

Posted on June 23, 2009 by John CS Keston

Josh Clos produced this documentary short about the GMS recently. He and his colleagues Julie Kistler and Brian Smith shot video during my performance in Downtown Minneapolis with Minneapolis Art on Wheels on May 13, 2009. Later Josh interviewed me in the audio studio at Art Institutes Minnesota where I teach interactive media and audio production. As a student in my audio production class, Josh edited the sound and video together with minimal input from myself. His short illustrates what the GMS does and how I’ve been using it to compose music in real-time. Thanks, Josh, for a job well done!

Speaking of the GMS, I have recently slowed down its development, and I’m considering releasing a beta version of the application in a few months. Soon afterward I plan to release the code as Open Source so that the application can be developed further by artists interested in creating music through gestural input.