Metamorphoses by Clifton Callendar

Posted on February 24, 2009 by John C.S. Keston

The opening piece at Spark, Concert 5 on Thursday, February 19, 2009 was Metamorphoses by Clifton Callendar for three cellos, or solo cello and digital delay. As it happens, it was expertly performed in the latter configuration by Evan Jones. The level and timing of the delay made the piece often sound as though there was more than one instrument present, and auto-panning on the delay trails sent the ghost instruments back and forth across the stage. The cellist was wearing headphones, perhaps listening to a click track. Here’s a short segment from the performance.

Metamorphoses by Clifton Callender

Free Turntablism

Posted on February 22, 2009 by John C.S. Keston

The best way I can think of to describe the work of dj sniff is “free turntablism” as in “free jazz”. That said, like a good free jazz musician, he clearly knows and anticipates every move he makes with precision. His work is more often angular and arrhythmic than not, and was entirely engaging for me as a listener. Currently dj sniff is involved with STEIM (Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music, Amsterdam) as their Artistic Director, curating events while lecturing and performing regularly on behalf of the studio. I recorded this brief segment of his set at the Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis during his performance for Spark on February 19, 2009.

dj sniff at Spark

Sound Captured from Kanta Horio’s Installation

Posted on February 21, 2009 by John C.S. Keston

Kanta Horio’s recent installation at the Spark Festival consisted of a room with a dozen or more sound making mechanisms suspended by wires. One of the mechanisms was a metal teapot with a magnet traversing its circumference. When I asked Kanta how this was achieved, he graciously removed the lid from the teapot and showed me an internal motor rotating another magnet just inside the inner surface. With some good luck and a bit of patience I was able to get a few minutes alone in the room and capture some of the fascinating sounds that his piece was producing. Please note that no loud speakers were used in Kanta’s piece. This recording is a snapshot of the acoustic sound produced by the mechanisms involved.

Kanta Horio Sounds

Michael Croswell at Spark Festival

Posted on February 19, 2009 by John C.S. Keston

Here’s a short section of Michael Croswell’s ambient combination of french horn and sampled industrial sounds from his performance on Wednesday, February 18, 2009. This was the first “Nightlife” performance at Spark, and lots of really great music has happened since, so there is much more to come.

This is one of the first times I have used the Sony PCM D-50 to record a performance other than my own. What was nice about this instance is that the audience was very quiet. Micheal’s music was quite dynamic throughout his entire performance, but in very slow sweeping waves with few abrupt movements. This recording would not have been possible with a noisy audience.

Michael Croswell