Parochial Dissonance by John C.S. Keston

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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.

Parochial Dissonance 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. John C.S. Keston improvised each piece 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. In his work Keston is drawn to systems that allow for chance and for improvising responses to randomized elements in the music. In his ongoing series of “duets” he has improvised in the field with mechanical and environmental soundscapes including laundry machines, freight trains, and a wind activated sculpture called the Singing Ringing Tree in Northern England. He has developed several generative sound design applications that algorithmically morph sounds on electronic instruments in real time. This toolset and approach led the work on Parochial Dissonance into experimental realms of abstract sound. The title refers to the tragedies, loss, and suffering experienced when we narrow the scope of our worldviews.

Keston has spoken, performed, and/or exhibited original work at the International Sound in Science Technology and the Arts (ISSTA) conference in Ireland, Northern Spark, the Weisman Art Museum, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Walker Art Center, the Burnet Gallery, Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, the Minnesota Institute of Art, the In/Out Festival of Digital Performance, the Eyeo Festival, INST-INT, Echofluxx (Prague), and Moogfest. Keston composed the music for Parking Ramp Project, directed and choreographed by Guggenheim fellow Pramila Vasudevan and performed with the trio Bloodline and nearly fifty dancers in a parking ramp near the Mall of America. He was commissioned by the Walker Art Center to compose music for former Merce Cunningham dancers during the Common Time performance series. He composed and performed Panic by Proxy an electroacoustic, audiovisual piece in collaboration with Syrian artist and filmmaker Khaled Alwarea at the Walker Art Center. Along with Cody McKinney Keston started sound/simulacra a monthly performance series which explores musical improvisation as a faithful and intentionally distorted representational process.

Composed and performed by John C.S. Keston.
Mastered by Jesse Whitney.
Artwork by Pete Kvidera.

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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.

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