Ostraka with Dial System and Keston and Westdal Performances

unearthed-musicI have a few performances coming up. One at the end of the month and two at the begining of October. Here’s the official word from Unearthed Music on the upcoming events:

Unearthed Music has a few upcoming events we thought you’d like to know about. On Monday, September 28, John Keston is celebrating his birthday by performing with Graham O’Brien on drums as, Ostraka with Dial System at the Kitty Cat Klub. The duet combines the stochastic, angular melodies produced by Keston’s custom music software with live drumming. Gestural video input is simultaneously projected onto a screen and processed into musical phrases. The results are live looped and molded into spontaneous compositions. Expert, veteran turntablist, DJ Zenrock, completes the bill.

Keston and Wedstdal with Graham O’Brien on drums are performing back-to-back events at Sauce with House Luna and Honey Stick (Thursday, October 1, 2009, $5.00) and the Dakota late night (Friday, October 2, 2009, $5.00). Sauce is located in Uptown on Lake and Lyndale and the Dakota is on Nicolet Mall in Downtown Minneapolis.

More Information:
http://www.unearthedmusic.com/?source=shows.php

Recent Releases on UEM:
http://www.unearthedmusic.com/?source=releases.php

365 Sounds in 365 Days

regis_fire_diamondToday is the official release date for Precambrian Resonance. As I mentioned, the release is timed with my 365th sound posted on Audio Cookbook in 365 days. For my 365th sound I am presenting Fire Diamond. It is track number thirteen on the album. Whereas most of this release is a departure from my usual approach, in my opinion, this track is the most similar to my previous work out of any others within this collection. I hope you enjoy it and the rest of the album. Thanks to everyone who helped me complete this work, especially Nils Westdal, who proved to me that introspective music can be beautiful through his albums, Flavor Country, and Transdimensional Bypass.

Listen to Fire Diamond on Last.fm.

Last.fm Preview of Cuba Illinois

cuba_illinoisCuba Illinois is the last track on Precambrian Resonance. I produced this experimental ambient piece last September and have made very few changes from the first version that can be heard in the original Audio Cookbook post titled Cuba, Illinois. A consistent thread through piece is made up of sampled vowels sounds running through a vocoder. Here’s the full-length mastered preview on Last.fm.

Listen to Cuba Illinois on Last.fm.

Last.fm Preview of Blitzen Machine

Blitzen Machine is one of the first tracks that I finished for Precambrian Resonance, and one of the few that includes a keyboard solo, although I’d describe the solo as melodic passages with improvised variations.

Regular ACB listeners might hear sounds that were originally One Sound Every Day entries, like AM Radio Static. I also included techniques that I described in Robot Music and in Robot Conspiracy as a basis for the track. For this album I essentially have an online diary that describes how each of the pieces were produced, the concepts involved, and sounds used right here on Audio Cookbook.

Listen to Blitzen Machine on Last.fm.

Viable Musical Instruments on the iPhone or iPod Touch

bebotBy now most of us have experienced several, or even dozens of instrument apps on the iPhone and iPod Touch. From acoustic pianos, to analog modeling synthesizers, to step sequencers, there’s enough out there to create a veritable, electronic, orchestra of multi-touch maestros.

However, which, if any, of these apps are viable as instruments for production or performing? I’d argue that just about anything is. In my view it’s how the artist uses an object or device that makes it into an instrument. So perhaps a better question is, which apps might lend themselves to being productive tools for creative artists?

One of my favorites so far is Bebot. It took less than an hour of experimenting with Bebot to convince me that it could be used effectively for performances and recording. Here’s a few phrases of playing with Bebot.

Bebot Music