Experimental Music Mondays Part 4

Part four of the Experimental Music Mondays series begins at 9:00pm on May 31, 2010 at the Kitty Cat Klub in Minneapolis with Heizerbaum & Panderton featuring Andrea Steudel from MinneapolisArtOnWheels.org, with sound artist Luke Heizerbaum (actually I don’t think that’s his real last name, but let’s go with it). Expect to see some fascinating projections including images from a microscope of a vinyl record as it spins on a turntable.

Next up is Ostracon (John Keston on electronics and Graham O’Brien on drums). We perform generative, improvisational compositions using the GMS (Gestural Music Sequencer), that converts video input into musical phrases. “Keston captures, layers, loops and processes melodic segments in real-time out of the stream of notes created by his gestural input, tailored with probability distribution algorithms. O’Brien accompanies these angular, electronic structures, with dynamic playing that, at times, verges on the chaotic. More about Ostracon can be found at audiocookbook.org and unearthedmusic.com.”

Closing the evening is Twenty Thirteen, “a trio, made up of Chris Robin Cox (Junkyard Empire, Minneapolis Free Music Society) playing electric trombone, Bryan Berry playing guitar through tons of effects and loops, and Kahlil Brewington laying down bad ass funky drums. The music is ambient, yet groovy as hell, and incorporates influences as diverse Portishead, Bitches Brew era Miles Davis, and classic hip-hop, drum n’ bass, and dub beats. It’s like nothing you have ever seen live. The band sometimes performs with a fourth member: a television, which sits facing away from the band, and channels can be changed by audience members; the band providing the soundtrack for a television they do not watch. It’s a bit of a social experiment.”

Saucer Sled Synth

Recently I built a Posc (Pocket Oscillator by Sonodrome) and discussed it in this entry with an audio example. Shortly afterward I built the circuit into a cardboard box and used the instrument in a number of performances and recording sessions. Now I have disassembled my beloved cardboard box and created a new instrument for an upcoming dance performance. This updated prototype is made from a plastic saucer sled, a 4″ speaker, a recycled nine volt amplifier, and the Posc circuit.

I started by drilling a grid pattern of air holes for the speaker. I then mounted the speaker behind the grid as shown. Finally I soldered the Posc circuit to the nine volt amp and the amp to the speaker. Two nine volt batteries and some duct tape completed the prototype. The night of the build I handed it to Pramila Vasudevan, the choreographer for the piece, and was amazed by the sound quality, and the response of the instrument to her movements. The final product will most likely be fabricated out of fiberglass to improve the rigidity and resonance of the disc or “shield”.

Read on to see a few more photos of the instrument.
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Hojun Song on the Creators Project

Seoul based artist and engineer, Hojun Song, is one of the featured artists on the Creators Project. Hojun engineers custom MIDI controllers, satellites, and “The Strongest Weapon in the World”; an unbreakable machine that prints out beautiful messages. The Creators Project is “…a global initiative bringing together the world’s leading and most relevant innovators in music, art, film, design and architecture through a common passion for creativity and technology.” Other featured artists include Diplo, Muti Randolph, Richie Hawtin, Karl Sadler, Phoenix, with dozens more on deck. Check it out at www.thecreatorsproject.com.

Experimental Music Mondays: Ephemeral Structures

This Monday, April 26, 2010 is the third installment of Experimental Music Mondays at the Kitty Cat Klub in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The line-up includes violin soloist Kip Jones, Ephemeral Structures, and Primidonahue (Michael Donahue). The music will start at around 9:00pm and there’s no cover to get into the club.

Yesterday afternoon I had a fantastic session with Ephemeral Structures. Although we have all worked with each other in several capacities, this is only the second time the group has performed in eight years. The result of yesterday’s session were pretty inspiring, so we are considering producing an album. The project includes Kyle Herskovitz (also know as DJ Zenrock) on turntables, Nils Westdal on bass and electronics, and me on electronics. The photo shows Kyle playing his turntable with a rubber band. I’ll share a segment of what we captured in a upcoming entry.

POSC Pocket Oscillator

This weekend I built a POSC Pocket Oscillator by Sonodrome as a prototype sound design element for an interactive dance collaboration. The circuit is incredibly simple, as you can see by the photo, but the variety of sounds possible with the two pulse wave oscillators is impressive. The first oscillator is controlled by by the players skin resistance between two zinc plated contacts, while the second is controlled by an LDR (light dependent resistor). Rather than running independently the first oscillation modulates the second.

After testing the build, I temporarily setup the POSC in a small cardboard box and started making sounds. During one test I found that a circuit could be made with two people. when one person touches one contact and a second person touches the other, then the people touch each other the circuit is made with a lot of resistance creating a much slower pulse. Here’s an unprocessed sample edited out of my initial experimentation.

POSC Sample