AudioCookbook Live: November 15, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many of us to the comforts of streaming concerts at home, while some of us had already been experiencing concerts this way. As a performer I was thrilled to participate in a handful of streaming events while the pandemic had shuttered venues and driven us indoors. Although by no means over, the recent decline in cases has allowed many music venues to reopen, while others have had to close permanently. I have had the good fortune of performing live several times since cases have begun to decline and I hope that trend continues (both cases declining and performance inclines). However, not since I started performing in my late teens have I played so infrequently, which feels wrong somehow, and makes it more time consuming to prepare for performances when they do arise.

Yet I have resisted organizing and performing my own streaming events. I have several unjustified rationalizations for this; fear of low attendance, fear of technical issues impacting the quality, and a reluctance to get started and learn everything necessary to broadcast. So I have put a date on the calendar to stream a solo concert on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 7:30pm. There is a long list of pros and cons for live streaming. The biggest con being no in-person contact with the audience and community. But it is not my intent to replace in-person live shows. My hope is at minimum to increase my opportunities for performing, expand my studio practice, and entertain some people. The streams will be free and open to the public.

Projects on this blog, like One Sound Everyday, One Synthesizer Sound Every Day, and Sound / Simulacra have motivated me to keep making music. I see streaming performances as a vehicle for keeping up with my performance routine. Perhaps it will evolve into a monthly event with guests. I expect brief discussions after each performance, answering questions from the stream chat, sharing my setups, and covering topics within music technology, sound design, electronic music, and improvisation. Stay informed about these events by subscribing to AudioCookbook, or by following AudiocookbookBook on Twitch.TV. The events will always be free with donation to The Link encouraged. The For in-person events (mostly in Minneapolis) I have a separate email list you can join by emailing me directly at keston [ at ] audiocookbook [ dot ] org.

Bloodline: The Central Planes

November 8, 2021 marked the debut release from the trio Bloodline (Cody McKinney, Peter Hennig, and myself). The album was recorded in December, 2016 – a foreboding moment just before the world was plunged into the chaos of neo-nationalist politics. It took five years of sporadic listening, discussing, editing, mixing, and mastering to finally release it. Despite the delays, the music is just as relevant to me now as it was then.

Largely based on a series of graphic scores titled, Grocery List, by Cody McKinney The Central Planes is a raw, visceral, free, and exhilarating journey into the unknown. My endless gratitude goes out to Peter Henning and Cody McKinney for including me in this grand experiment, Steve Kaul for ingeniously engineering these weird sessions at Wild Sound Studio, Adam Krinsky for his tirelessly creative mixing, Huntley Miller for his expert mastering, and _you_ for daring to listen.

Bloodline is:
Peter Hennig (drums, cymbals, percussion, prepared piano)
John CS Keston (Rhodes, Piano, synth, electronics, prepared piano)
Cody McKinney (bass, vocals, electronics, various noisemakers, prepared piano)

Recorded at Wild Sound Studio, NE Minneapolis MN – December 2016
Engineered by Steve Kaul
Mixed at Bellows Studio, St Paul – Summer 2021
Mix Engineer – Adam Krinsky
Mastered by Huntly Miller at HM Mastering
Album art – John CS Keston

Parochial Dissonance by John C.S. Keston

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

Builders of the Fauxpocalyse

I’ve made so much music over the years and most of it is sitting on hard drives or gathering dust in neglected corners of the internet. Recently a listener reminded me of an album I made over 6 years ago hidden in one such dusty corner, so I moved it to another dusty corner. The album of electronic music was composed using a dogmatic approach that you can read more about in the liner notes. Bring a duster!

Sound / Simulacra: Davu Seru Recordings

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.