An Exclusive Holiday Gift from Ostraka

Posted on December 25, 2010 by John CS Keston

Here’s a set I recorded live to Ableton during a performance at Nick and Eddie Thursday Funhouse hosted by Jon Davis, December 16, 2010. This is all new material that I’ve been working on, except for the last track, which is a remix of Illuminator Console from Precambrian Resonance (Unearthed Music 2009). Here’s the download link for the 37:28 minute set hosted on Unearthed Music. Expect to hear lots of Grain Machine, as well as synth sounds from the Casio CZ-1000, the Korg MS2000, the Roland D-50, my Sequential Circuits Pro-One, some old Hammond rhythm programs, and even a little bit of Rhodes electric piano.

Download Live Ostraka Set at Nick and Eddie Thursday Funhouse (89.9 MB)

Bicycle Family by Ten72

Posted on October 29, 2010 by John CS Keston

Nils Westdal has been quietly toiling on his third ten72 effort, Bicycle Family, for four long years. And finally it has reached his meticulous standards for release. The compositions produced in this collection glisten with polish yet grate with a filthy grit in all the right places. As with all Unearthed Music releases, every single track is playable in full on the releases page. So, listen for free, or support independent music by purchasing the album either directly from UEM, iTunes, or your e-distributor of choice. Here’s one of my favorite downtempo masterpieces from the album, Water Color Dream.

Water Color Dream
by ten72, 2010 © Unearthed Music

Graham O’Brien CFCs Video Featuring Alicia Wiley and Eric Blair

Posted on October 25, 2010 by John CS Keston

ACB contributor, friend, and collaborator Graham O’Brien recently released an excellent solo album titled Live Drums available November 27, 2010 on NOECHO Records. On it he collaborates with a variety of artists, including the piece titled CFCs with Alicia Wiley and Eric Blair of No Bird Sing. This stop-motion animated video featuring the track was made entirely by 15 year old Malone Mischke. What is entirely surprising to me about the video is the artistic maturity, sensibility and confidence of the imagery paired with the music. Congratulations to, Graham, Alicia, Blair, and Malone!

Beyerdynamics DT770 Pro Closed Back Circumaural Headphones

Posted on August 3, 2010 by John CS Keston

I just got a set of Beyerdynamics DT770 Pro closed back circumaural headphones and now I’m listening like mad to familiar music in order to get used to them as quickly as possible. I wanted some better quality closed back headphones firstly for performing, but secondly for recording, producing, and listening while on the road.

So far I’m very impressed with the detail and bass response. They have much more bass and overall volume than the AKG K240s that I use in the studio, but I imagine that the open back K240s are probably more flat. The DT770s are a snug fit and surround even my abnormally large pinnae. The thick velour padding blocks a fair amount of sound and keeps your ears toasty warm, or nice and sweaty in this ninety six degree heat.

It took me a while to decide about these phones, but based on what I’ll be using them for I think I made the right decision. They are louder than I expected, given that many people prefer to use a headphone amplifier with them. I didn’t find amplification necessary with my MacBook Pro, but haven’t tried them with an iPod, or anything else yet. Feel free to chime in with your own experience or opinions on headphones.

52 Minutes of Music for the Brave at Heart

Posted on July 29, 2010 by John CS Keston

On Monday, July 19, 2010, my latest trio featuring Jon Davis on bass guitar and bass clarinet, Tim Glenn on drums, and me on Rhodes and Sequential Circuits Pro-One, played at the Kitty Cat Klub for the Experimental Music Mondays series.

I recorded the set on my Sony PCM-D50 and applied some subtle mastering with Ableton Live. I’m pretty fond of how the music and the recording turned out other than the fact that the bass clarinet is too low in the mix.

Here are the three tracks of improvised music from the evening adding up to around fifty two minutes. If you like experimental improvised music be prepared to have a long and challenging listen.

Davis-Glenn-Keston Track 1

Davis-Glenn-Keston Track 2

Davis-Glenn-Keston Track 3