Parochial Dissonance by John C.S. Keston

Posted on December 7, 2020 by John C.S. Keston

<a target="_blank" href="https://aethersound.bandcamp.com/album/parochial-dissonance" >Parochial Dissonance by John C.S. Keston</a>

Parochial Dissonance (Æther Sound, Dec. 4, 2020) – The title of this release describes the tragedy, loss, and suffering experienced when we narrow the scope of our worldviews. The album is a series of solo pieces captured from three streaming performances during the COVID-19 pandemic, and two live performances just before. Each piece was improvised within sets of rules applied to process, time, texture, and tonality. The pieces were performed on various synthesizers and Rhodes electric piano with occasional use of looping, arpeggiation, and signal processing. Continue reading for a look at the liner notes. Continue reading →

Social Distance II with Corrector Records Live Stream

Posted on March 29, 2020 by John C.S. Keston

Saturday, March 28, 2020 I had the privilege of performing a solo, electronic, live-streaming set for Social Distance II with Corrector Records. I played first followed by live coder Mike Hodnick AKA Kindohm, and Carl Fisk AKA Mount Curve. The series aims to fill a void left by the lack of live concerts while raising funds to help support artists who are struggling financially.

Fortunately the bulk of my income is from teaching at a university (now entirely online), but many of my musical mates rely on performing almost daily to make ends meet. Due to lockdowns and gig cancellations for preventing the spread of COVID-19 they are making little to no income. Please help support artists in need at https://www.givemn.org/story/Epf3ag. If you are an artist in need of assistance apply for funds at https://springboardforthearts.org/additional-resources/personal-emergency-relief-fund/.

My set was improvised using the Sequential Prophet REV2 with realtime, generative sound design handled by an application I recently released titled REV2 Degrader™. I also played Rhodes electric piano and processed and looped things with the Korg KP3+, and Moog Minifooger Delay.

ISSTA 2019 Presentation and Performance

Posted on October 30, 2019 by John C.S. Keston

Currently I’m in Cork, Ireland to present and perform at the International Sound in Science Technology and the Arts (ISSTA 2019) conference. This year on Thursday, October 31st I am scheduled to give a paper about a project I have been working on titled IGNIEUS, then on Friday I will give a solo electronic music performance related to the paper. I will share more about this soon. For now you can find the program at ISSTA.ie.

This year the conference features a keynote talk and performance by Ableton Live co-creator, Robert Henke who will be performing his work Dust.

Dust is a slow and intense exploration of complex textural sounds, shredded into microscopic particles, and pulsating interlocking loops, recomposed during a improvised performance. The sources are leftovers of digital processes, material created with old analogue synthesisers, noises of all colours and flavours, field recordings; splashing waves from a shingle beach, captured on site in Australia, a massive storm, steam from my Italian coffee maker, crackles from the lead-out groove of a worn record, hum and electrical discharges from a large transformer, collected over several years, and refined and deconstructed in various ways.

I am pleased to be featuring the Organelle M from Critter & Guitari in the setup for my performance on Friday. I have had the instrument for about six weeks, which is long enough to just scratch the surface of the device’s capabilities. I’m also using the Bass Station II with the new 4.14 firmware. More to come!

Sound / Simulacra: DeVon Gray & Patrick Pegg Recordings

Posted on February 8, 2019 by John C.S. Keston

On December 27, 2017 Sound / Simulacra featured DeVon Russell Gray and Patrick Pegg. DeVon and Patrick started of the evening with an uninterrupted 38:10 minute set of acoustic piano and esoteric electronics. In the second set Cody McKinney (bass and electronics) and I (Rhodes and Moog Sub 37) joined the duo to perform a 34:09 minute piece followed by final 8:47 minute piece in closing.

Sound / Simulacra: Davu Seru Recordings

Posted on January 9, 2019 by John C.S. Keston

On Wednesday, July 25th, 2018 Sound / Simulacra featured drummer and composer Davu Seru at Jazz Central Studios. Davu started off the evening with three improved solo pieces. We followed that up with four pieces as a trio with myself and Cody McKinney joining in.