Ostracon Debut Excerpt: Particle Agent

Posted on May 12, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

Here’s a nearly two minute long excerpt from the third track, titled Particle Agent from our upcoming Ostracon debut, Unauthorized Modifications. The following description of the album from the press release offers insight into how this album was produced. (Photo of Graham O’Brien with Ostracon at the In/Out Festival in NYC, courtesy of inoutfest.org)

Ostracon is producer John Keston (AudioCookbook.org) on electronics and drummer Graham O’Brien (No Bird Sing). No keyboards are used in their music. Instead, Keston uses his custom sequencing software and hand manipulated light controllers to convert projected video signals into a stream of generative melodic structures. During their performances and recording sessions the visuals, electronics, and synchronized drumming are interwoven creating ephemeral structures that are familiar yet never repeated outside of each composition. O’Brien’s percussive statements firmly place the work into a non-linear landscape, grounded in an impossible to categorize igneous crust. UNAUTHORIZED MODIFICATIONS includes six pieces recorded and mixed at the former Flyte Tyme studios by Adam Krinsky. The the tracks, interspersed with angular melodic passages, sound mysterious, organic, and periodically invoke dystopian imagery.

Particle Agent (excerpt)

DGK at Try This #3 (Part 2)

Posted on May 11, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

DGK @ Try This 3 (Part 2)

DGK’s Last Show at Try This #3 (Part 1)

Posted on May 10, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

Try This #3 was the last show ever for our trio DGK (Jon Davis, Tim Glenn, and John Keston). The good news is that Jon Davis and I have decided to form a new trio in the spirit of DGK with another extraordinary drummer, Graham O’Brien. The new trio is tentatively called DKO and we’re having our debut performance on Sunday, May 22 at the Honey Lounge in Minneapolis. Here’s a great sounding bootleg mixed by Isaac Halvorson of the first part of our final show. More to come.

DGK at Try This 3

Ostracon Debut Excerpt: Photon Coercion

Posted on May 8, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

Here’s an excerpt of the second track from the upcoming Ostracon debut album, Unauthorized Modifications. This track is titled Photon Coercion. The album consists of drumming by Graham O’Brien and electronic sound that I produced using GMS, or Gestural Music Sequencer. GMS is Open Source software I developed that converts video signals into musical phrases. A video signal is analysed in real-time and then MIDI notes are produced based on brightness tracking and adjustable probability distribution algorithms.

This excerpt, in addition to looped phrases from GMS, includes a lead melodic voice that I played on the touch based synthesizer, Bebot. I fell in love with the expressive way you can bend notes independently on up to five voices (an impossibility on most conventional keyboards – unless you have one of these) using Bebot.

Photon Coercion (excerpt)

Pay What You Want for Precambrian Resonance

Posted on April 29, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

For a limited time Unearthed Music is offering the DRM free 320kbps download for my debut solo album, Precambrian Resonance by Ostraka, for as little as one penny. This album emerged during a year long period of random recordings and sound design experiments exhibited here on AudioCoobook.org during my One Sound Every Day project. Click on the title to pay what you want for Precambrian Resonance. Here’s one of my favorite tracks from the album for your listening pleasure. Thanks!

Three Phase Oscillator