Three Wind-Up Snow Globes

During a recent family dinner at my brother’s house I was innocently admiring the ornaments in his home when came across a collection of musical snow globes. I could not resist winding up these devices for some concurrent chaotic music box sound. Fortunately I had my PCM-D50 on hand, so while no one was looking I gathered the snow globes and tried to find a quiet place in the house to make a recording. With the family event fully underway, this was not an easy proposition, but after wandering around for a few minutes I settled on recording them in the bathroom. Despite an odd look from my brother’s wife as I exited the bathroom the recording went well.

Three Snow Globes
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Unreleased Extended Version of Some Kind of Adhesive

Another collaborative effort that I am quite pleased with is this extended version of Some Kind of Adhesive produced and performed by myself and Nils Westdal. The piece is eleven minutes and seventeen seconds long and contains four interwoven movements. The original condensed version is heard on One Day to Save All Life (Unearthed Music, 2008). Once again, processing played an integral role in the production and performance of the work.

This is an ACB exclusive preview since the track has not been released on Unearthed Music, or any other label. It will probably be released this year on a compilation or as a single. In the meantime, please enjoy listening to this full length preview at 192kbps.

Some Kind of Adhesive
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[Extended Mix]

Studio Version of Spring in December

I would like to share another track from One Day to Save All Life. This was one of the first pieces completed for the album and set the tone for the rest of the collection. The atmosphere at the beginning is created with water and wildlife ambiance mixed with a passage of backwards Rhodes electric piano. At around two minutes into it the main theme is introduced which is a combination of Rhodes along with two synthesized oscillators tuned to fifths done with one of my favorite workhorses, the Korg MS2000.

Spring in December
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Fe2O3 from One Day to Save All Life

For my first few entries in 2009 I would like to take a quick look back at music that I’ve been involved in in 2008. One of my favorite tracks from Keston and Westdal’s album One Day to Save All Life is Fe2O3 which we named after the chemical composition of iron oxide. This is the middle piece in a group of three gapless tracks on the album, so unfortunately it has an abrupt start and end. A much better way to hear it is in sequence with the previous and subsequent tracks in gapless format as it was mastered on the CD. In any case, I am fond of the abundant processing we used creating a textural atmosphere on this piece.

Fe2O3
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Bell Triggered Musical Installation

On December 1, 2009 I posted a sound that was a composition including audio recordings from nine forms transportation all captured in one day. The post was accordingly called Nine Forms of Transportation in One Day. I also recorded some ambiance while waiting for the light rail in downtown Minneapolis. At the Nicollet Mall and Fifth Street LRT platform there is strange device that when triggered by a bell plays a comedic choral piece about the state of Minnesota. I realized far too late after triggering this musical installation that doing so was clearly a violation of light rail transit station etiquette.

Minnesota Song
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