Sound / Simulacra: Michael Masaru Flora

Posted on January 3, 2019 by John C.S. Keston

On Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019 Sound / Simulacra will start off the New Year presenting Michael Masaru Flora at Jazz Central Studios.

Flora is a Minneapolis based artist working with sound in various contexts. Within the intersections of art, science, music, and mathematics, he creates work that examines sonic morphology, spatialization, and human perception. Flora’s practice includes installation, performance, recording, and curation as well as numerous collaborations with artists in the fields of transdisciplinarity, visual arts, dance, and performance art. His work has been presented at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), St Cloud State University (Minnesota) as well as clubs, galleries, theaters, warehouses, and universities throughout North America. His latest recording “Xi” was published by Minnesota based label Sympathy Limited.

Sound / Simulacra is a monthly series produced by John C.S. Keston and Cody McKinney which explores musical improvisation as a “faithful and intentionally distorted” representational process. Sound / Simulacra brings together some of the Twin Cities most unique voices to “recreate, distort, and create the hyperreal.”

Set 1: Michael Masaru Flora solo performance
Set 2: Michael Masaru Flora with John C.S. Keston and Cody McKinney

Here’s a link to the event details on Facebook

ISSTA 2018 and Ableton 10 NRPN Morphing

Posted on October 29, 2018 by John C.S. Keston

Soon I’ll be on my way to Ireland for my second appearance at the Irish Sound, Science and Technology Association (ISSTA) annual conference. This year ISSTA will be held at Ulster University’s Magee campus in Derry, Northern Ireland, November 9th and 10th, 2018. Tickets are still available.

This time around my work is entirely rooted in FM synthesis. Particularly around my explorations of the amazing PreenFM2. I have designed a Max for Live patch that allows me to degrade, morph, and/or scramble sets of parameters on the synth. This is similar to a device I designed for the Yamaha TX81Z. This process creates an algorithmic approach to the sound design.

I have titled this series MODULATOR and recently made an album (unreleased) of material based on the technique. There is a lot to mine here, so I am finding that while I prepare for ISSTA a whole new range of material has emerged. These new compositions developed through a sequence of stochastic, deliberate, and arbitrary processes. Through algorithmic and improvised methodologies textures evolve beyond aesthetic considerations allowing peculiar, harsh, and even grotesque sounds to emerge. Have a listen to this series of clips I recorded while practicing for the upcoming performance:

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Sound / Simulacra: Martin Dosh, October 24, 2018

Posted on October 22, 2018 by John C.S. Keston

This October 24, 2018 Sound / Simulacra will feature Martin Dosh. Both me and Cody have had the pleasure and privilege of collaborating with Dosh over the years. Marty and me have bonded over our love of the Rhodes electric piano, DIY electronics, and similar musical ideals. This is bound to be a quite special performance in the intimacy of Jazz Central Studios, 407 Central Ave SE. Minneapolis, MN 55414. Please do join us for this event on October 24, 2018. Music starts at 8:30pm. Or checkout the Facebook event.

Dosh’s work with Andrew Broder in Lateduster and Fog gave him an experience that helped him begin to perform solo. In 2002, Dosh released his first album Dosh. He had recorded it himself, mostly in his basement. The album developed a following in the local Twin Cities scene. After playing many shows, City Pages voted him second on their annual “picked to click” list. Dosh was re-released internationally on Anticon in 2003. It was reviewed in Village Voice, URB, Flaunt, XLR8R, The Big Takeover and a number of online magazines. Dosh has toured extensively with Andrew Bird. He contributed significantly to Andrew Bird’s albums, Armchair Apocrypha and Noble Beast. Dosh is a member of The Cloak Ox, a four-piece band featuring Andrew Broder, Jeremy Ylvisaker and Mark Erickson. — Last.fm

Set 1: Martin Dosh: Drums, keyboards, electronics
Set 2: Martin Dosh: Drums, keyboards, electronics +
John Keston: Keyboards, synthesizer, electronics +
Cody McKinney: Bass, Voice, electronics

Sound / Simulacra: Davu Seru

Posted on July 3, 2018 by John C.S. Keston

On Wednesday, July 25th, 2018 Sound / Simulacra at Jazz Central Studios will feature Davu Seru. This monthly series in collaboration with Cody McKinney explores musical improvisation as a “faithful and intentionally distorted” representational process. Sound / Simulacra brings together some of the Twin Cities most unique voices to “recreate, distort, and create the hyperreal.”

Set I – Davu Seru (percussion)

Set II – Davu Seru (percussion) + John Keston (piano, Rhodes, synthesizers, electronics) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, synthesizer, electronics)

Improvising musician, percussionist, and award-winning composer, Davu Seru, performs regularly in the Twin Cities and abroad as a jazz musician. Like many jazz-rooted musicians influenced by “new music” experiments with extended technique, his approach to the drum set is as much nostalgic as it is technophilic. Consequently, his style is striking for its attending to sound, silence and melodic line as much it does rhythmic pattern—and as a skilled ensemble player he is known for his “big ears.” In the past fifteen years those ears have afforded Davu the opportunity to perform and record with musicians such as Milo Fine, Anthony Cox, George Cartwright, Dean Magraw, Paul Metzger, Jack Wright, Douglas R. Ewart, Evan Parker, Donald Washington, Nicole Mitchell and Rafael Toral.

Beside any number of spontaneous ad-hoc groupings, Davu currently leads No Territory Band and works in a trio with French clarinetist Catherine Delaunay and French bassist Guillaume Seguron. He has also curated concerts series for improvised music (in Chicago and Minneapolis) and collaborates in multi-media performances with dancers and visual artists.

Sound / Simulacra: Zosha Warpeha

Posted on June 26, 2018 by John C.S. Keston

This Wednesday, June 27th, 2018 is Sound / Simulacra at Jazz Central Studios featuring Zosha Warpeha on violin, voice, and electronics. This is a monthly series in collaboration with Cody McKinney which explores musical improvisation as a “faithful and intentionally distorted” representational process. Sound / Simulacra brings together some of the Twin Cities most unique voices to “recreate, distort, and create the hyperreal.”

Set I – Zosha Warpeha solo (violin, voice, electronics)

Set II- Zosha Warpeha (violin, voice, electronics) + John Keston (piano, Rhodes, synthesizers, electronics) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, synthesizer, electronics)

Zosha Warpeha is a genre-crossing violinist, vocalist, and composer from Minnesota, currently based in New York. Steeped in improvisation, her music draws inspiration from a wide range of folk traditions and contemporary music. Her approach to blending voice and five-string violin brings an unique dimension to her sound. She also performs regularly on the hardanger fiddle, a traditional instrument of Norway, fully embracing the resonance and shimmering qualities of its sympathetic strings. Current musical projects range from the contemporary chamber ensemble Stratus Quartet to the ambient electro-acoustic duo visible worlds. Recent multidisciplinary collaborations include improvisatory performances with the Joffrey Ballet School and the experimental theatre group Exquisite Corpse Company. She has performed in many musical contexts at festivals and venues across the US, as well as internationally at the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and has been a recipient of artistic awards from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.