Art + Music + Technology

When I first ran across Craig Colorusso's work, it was in a very familiar situation - a place I recognized from my occasional teaching stints down in Colorado Springs. Looking into it, it was not only a nice piece of work in a familiar location, but it turns out to be a sound sculpture, with equal focus on both the sculpture and the sound of it. I had to learn more! It turns out that the Colorado Springs installation (called the Moon Pod) is a recent creation from sound/sculpture artist Colorusso, and I was really intrigued. I've had a chance to do some work with outdoor sonic artwork, and it is definitely not an easy road. Reviewing his earlier work, I saw solar-powered speaker systems, sonically-activated swings and so much more, with everything having a signature sound (generally derived from guitar tones) created to be long-form pieces. Talking to Craig was just as interesting as reviewing his pieces. From his history as a guitarist, time in a butoh dance company and his current work as a composer writing

If you are into electronic/computer music, you already know the name of this week's guest. From the Computer Music Tutorial, through Microsound and his latest book (Composing Electronic Music: A New Aesthetic), he has been pushing the envelope for all of us, bringing spacialization, granular synthesis and complex timing systems from the realm of the theoretical into everyday studio use. But he is far more than a technological cool-hunter; he's an active composer, and is just about to release a new DVD in collaboration with Brian O'Reilly. In this chat, we get to hear how Curtis went from band-kid to music researcher, and we also talk about how he goes about making the music that he produces. Since he works with such intricate sound elements, you can imagine that it is painstaking work.  Well, his description doesn't disappoint, but his use of tools - and perspectives on what makes a great composition - might surprise you. This was, as hoped, an eye-opening experience for me, and a great way to learn more abou

I first ran across the North Coast Modular Collective by following member Bill van Loo's Facebook page, and seeing him doing more and more interesting work. The message that first introduced the collective caught me by surprise, but also reminded me of what a cool place Ann Arbor (Michigan) is - and how it seems to be a growing field for all sorts of interesting stuff. So I decided that we could talk to a couple of the collective's group, and find out what's going on and what's going to come. In this discussion, we talk about the creation of a collective (a group of musicians/builders in a field of individualists...), the things they do together, and the projects they are doing as a group. These range from public meetups and workshops to private week-long hangouts, and it sounds like a great way to build a community based on conversation and friendship.  I'm captivated by this idea, and I hope you will be too. This is an idea that deserves to be spread about - and I think that the North Coast people have a re

Nathan Moody first came onto my radar via his Noise Jockey blog – a blog that combined sound design, field recording, music production, art, design… pretty much everything I pay attention to. The posts don’t come often, but they are golden. But recently he popped up again for his music releases on Bandcamp, and I got sucked into his musical vortex. Starting with the Etudes series, he caught both my eye and my ears, and I dove deep into his music, which is both sound designerly as well as musically sophisticated. I dropped him a line, and he was into a chat. When we connected, it was like phoning up an old friend; we immediately dropped into an easy patter, and the discussion ranged all over the place: from combining visual and sound design concepts, to the process of building an instrument for an album – through the difficulties that the Bay Area is going through for creative folks. The time flew by, as you will hear.  If you get a chance, check out his work on Bandcamp (https://nathanmoody.bandcamp.com/), an

Portland-based Abraham Ingle is making a difference. He started with synth DIY when there was precious little information, and gleaned what he could from books and articles, online forums and whoever he could get to spill some knowledge. What he's done is to turn it around, make synth DIY super-accessible to anyone, and provide the lynchpins to people that want to make their own synth, rather than just buying off the shelf. AI Synthesis is his company, and it is "the company he wishes existed when he got started." Not only does it provide kits with clear build instructions (a helpful start on its own), but it also provides great beginners information - such as what sort of tools to buy, how to select a soldering iron and a nice walk-through called "Get Started in Synth DIY". If you've wanted to start making a more personal instrument - or if you just need to maximize the cash you spend on an instrument, this is a great way to start. One of the fun things about talking to Abe is that he is opinionated, but als

As a result of talking with Guy Ben-Ary last week, I was reminded of my need to talk to another Perth-ian: Andrew Fitch. Andrew is the man behind the sound-making machinery in Guy's cellF project, but he also runs the incredible Nonlinear Circuits modular synth business. Nonlinear is one of those places that is focused heavily on the DIY/kit world, and Andrew (along with friend/collaborator Nathan) do a monthly workshop that is helping people get over the hump on synth building - and getting a system of their own as part of the project! Our discussion ranges all over the place; from the pleasures of Perth to my absolute terror over working with SMT's (and Andrew's assurances that it'll all work out in the end...). He is also a very fun and funny guy, and this was one of the most relaxed chats I've had. Take a listen, and learn about the DIY business and the work that Andrew is doing on his rapid-turnaround module business. And if you end up wanting to go to Perth (as I now do...), all the better! Enjoy!!!

I recently got a ping from a listener to check out some of the work being done in Perth, Australia; the suggestion is that there is an amazing amount of art coming out of this remote outpost, and that the combination of practices was producing interesting results. One of the people that was identified was Guy Ben-Ary, and on first appearance, I was shocked! Guy works on art that has a heavy dose of biology involved; in fact, he works in an 'artistic laboratory' called SymbioticA at the University of Western Australia, and finds himself creating systems where cells are not only used to generate music and sound, but are also responding to other musicians in the room! By creating a unique interaction between cells and analog synthesizers, Guy has created an 'organic' music-making system that is really organic - and it has the neural structure to prove it. He's been experimenting with these systems for a few decades, and the result has been his cellf project, which actually explores the similarities of a neural n

I first heard from Ed Ball when he reached out with a collaboration concept. I was intrigued, looked further into it - and was pretty blown away. Then I talked to Ed, and was even more drawn in. Ed is killin' it by "Painting Music", but in a way that takes direct influence from actual tracks, and has a performative quality that jumps off a canvas. If you take a look at his paintings (check out https://www.edwardball.co.uk/) and you'll see what I mean. The work stands on its own, but when you hear Ed's story, it's even more interesting. Having Ed describe his passion for sharing fine art is exciting; having him talk about getting an Analogue Solutions Vostok is makes you want to jump to the future. Combining modular synth music with performative painting seems so obvious that I can't wait to see where it goes. In addition to everything else, Ed is also a dynamic personality - he immediately draws you into whatever he's talking about. It made for a great conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. C

Stephen Ruppenthal has a sneakily amazing history. Having worked with Allen Strange, watched Don Buchla develop his early machines, and working with electro-acoustic wizard across the world, Stephen has been involved with many of the greats of modern electronics, including being a member of the Electric Weasel Ensemble with Strange, Buchla and others. But Ruppenthal is more than a synth-jockey; he is also an accomplished brass player, and his new album (Flamethrower, available on Ravello Records) features his electronic, studio and amazing horn playing in equal parts. Featuring work by Strange, Elainie Lillios, Brian Belet and others, this release is the kind of Electro-acoustic work that will draw in the most sophisticated of sound designers, too. Stephen and I had a great discussion, ranging from his interests in Sound Poetry, to his work with the early greats of electronic music, to his scoring techniques and recent work with Lillios, Belet and others. I learned a lot from my discussion with Stephen, and I

There are some people that you just want to get to know quickly - because you know that they will turn out to be great to know. Chris Muir is one of those people: he's user "cbm" on almost any platform you can find, because he loves being an early adopter, he's worked for all kinds of interesting people, and he's had his fingers in a lot of interesting software and hardware. But he's also a fun guy, and a great storyteller. Listen in to our chat as we go from Zeta to Beatnik to Gibson to Eardrill, with other droplets along the way. You can also hear about Chris' penchant for destroying hobbies - a concept I know all too well. But mostly, you get to hear a guy that's been in the middle of the West Coast music and computer scene for a long time, and just seems to be able to smile and laugh about the whole thing. So relaxed... My introduction to Chris was in the hubbub of trade shows, and we got to know each other better over time. We've kept in (distant) touch; still, the second we start talking, it's like the

Wayne Peet first came to my attention through friends: both Jeff Kaiser (episode 49) and Andrew Pask (episode 55) talked about working with an engineer that had the best ears they'd encountered. I was always fascinated, but when Andrew offered to hook us up for a chat, I jumped at the chance. See, not everything has to be about electronics - and Wayne really tracks an interesting part of the music industry. It would seem like recording studios have disappeared, but they haven't - they just are no longer necessarily shrines to fern-and-dim-light decorators. Instead, modest studios - driven by talented and hard-charging owner/engineers - are putting out a lot of releases. Some of these are indie releases, while others work on sound-for-film, church audio production or live recording support. Wayne is involved in all of these (through his Newzone studio) and his track record of 500+ releases is unreal. I suspect that part of Wayne's success comes from his personality: within a few minutes, we were talking like o

Tom Hall is a master of interface. Whether it is interfacing analog gear to Max, Live effects into a makeshift looper, cassettes into anything - he not only knows how to do it, he is probably using it as you read this. He masterfully mixes modulars, Max, effects pedals and cassette decks to weave a beautiful tapestry of sound. Tom is about to celebrate his new album release: Spectra. Released by elli.media, every track is filled with every kind of process, but it's all combined in a way that is clearly a blend based off Tom's inner voice. No matter what tools he uses, the result is clearly "Tom". It was great to talk through how he uses different systems, how his performance modular has changed over time, and how the Nord Lead 2 has gotten a new look in his work. A great chat - with one of my favorite people on the planet. Enjoy - and make sure you check out Spectra!

I've been talking to Herbie about doing a podcast for a while now - I'm glad it finally came together for this episode. Herbie is an amazing man: he's obviously an amazing musician, but also deeply involved in both technical and spiritual exploration. All of this is based on his abiding curiosity - and his willingness to learn. Our discussion ranged from Buddhism to Miles Davis to robotics, and it's a really great example of have a change with him - you never know quite where the conversation will land. It's almost impossible to imagine the road that Herbie's traveled. From trying to keep up with Miles, to pushing the jazz envelope with the Head Hunters, to his embrace of technology and the awakening that was Rockit, and through his work in collaboration with artists like Paul Simon and Carlos Santana - it's all been stunning. In this chat, I don't spend a lot of time talking about his background (you can learn about this in his autobiography Possibilities); instead, we explore how things influence him - and

This podcast is in support of Slope114's Kickstarter for their "Keep Flying" digital EP project. Please visit the project here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1385275315/slope114-keep-flying-digital-ep Dmitri SFC worms his way into your life through many different avenues. With Elise Gargalikis, Dmitri has created Slope114 - a cool House Music project that always features interesting in-studio videos that never fail to catch my attention when they show up on YouTube. Dmitri has a long background in dance music, pounding out tracks however he was able - including using circuit-bent instruments to create amazing dance beats. Among modular heads, he's also known as one of the people that is keeping the Serge flame alive. Having worked with Ken Stone on creating workshops and other Serge-related projects, Dmitri is constantly coming up in conversations that I have with the banana-cable crowd. I saw that Slope114 was having a Kickstart campaign, and wanted to learn more about what they were doing - so I rea

A self-described 'Creative Swiss Army Knife', Erin Barra is a wealth of knowledge, experience and opinion. She is an assistant professor at Berklee School of Music, a dedicated artist and producer, and an industry consultant for everything musical. Here demo reel is amazing - but so are some of her accomplishments, including the development of the Beats By Girlz (https://www.beatsbygirlz.com/) project. But it is Erin's willingness to share her ideas and opinions that makes her a great conversationalist. In our chat, we talk about her background, appreciation of audiophilia, view of song-writing in all of its appearances and perspectives on education. This was an inspiring chat - I felt like it was an education in itself. I hope that you enjoy the discussion, and take the opportunity to check out her site (http://erin-barra.squarespace.com/). Enjoy!

Jeff Snyder makes wonderful things. The Manta remains one of my favorite playing surfaces, and I've just started breaking the cello on the MantaMate - a way of interfacing the Manta (as well as MIDI keyboards, game pads and even randomness) with your modular system. And when you start looking at some of the instruments he has on the 'bench', it gets even wilder. Since we were able to discuss his background and education in our earlier talk (episode 34), we didn't have to go over that ground. But he has been working hard since then - moving up the ladder at Princeton, updating the Manta, creating the MantaMate, furthering his work on wind instruments and even exploring the world of VCV Rack. Maybe it's time for Jeff to take a nap! Join me for this fun cruise through Jeff's brain, and if you get a chance, run over to snyderphonics.com for a quick look at all of his latest work. In the meantime, I'm going back into the studio to waste a few more hours with his stuff... Enjoy!

Composer, sound designer, experience designer, ecological technologist - all of these things (and more) can be applied to Mileece's career. She primarily works on installations (an upcoming focus is on a piece for Sonar), but she's also working on issues such as fuel cell creation, ecologically-focused meditation places and taxicab rehab. In this interview, she readily admits to working on everything, and a quick review of her work (Google her...) will have you agreeing. In this chat, we talk about everything from her deep connection to the environment to her use of Supercollider as her sonic tool of choice. We also spend a lot of time talking about sensors - one of her specialties - and how to use them both effectively and artistically. This is a great case of having a completely connected individual providing deeply personal work; hearing her emotional description provides a great way of understanding that this is more than surface-level artistry. If you want to know more, contact Mileece at from her curren

Talk about a Renaissance man! Edmund Eagan is the designer of the EaganMatrix - the sound engine that is part of the Haken Continuum, and is also one of the leading performers with that system. He consults with Dr. Haken, does demos of the system and is also an active composer and audio editor/engineer. Oh, and sound design - he does that too. (You can find out more about the Haken Continuum in our previous interview with Dr. Haken: http://artmusictech.libsyn.com/podcast-155-dr-lippold-haken). Edmund has some real interesting views about instrument design - many of which parallel the work found in the Continuum. These ideas are based on the idea of the holistic design of control and sound - the interplay of the physical and the intellectual in a useful electronic music instrument. When you see Eagan perform (like here: https://youtu.be/2Rd7i0O5gDg), you will understand why he is so dedicated to these details. A great interview with an amazing mind. Enjoy!

This episode of Art + Music + Technology is brought to you by Recording Magazine. You can learn more about Recording Magazine, check out articles and subscribe at www.recordingmag.com. Gannon Kashiwa truly does have a 'beginning story' for people interested in digital audio. From working with early copies of Sound Designer through the move from analog to digital in his mainstream recording studio, Gannon has been on the bleeding edge of recording technology. Moving from recording to technology was a natural thing for him - as his work at Avid/Digidesign and Universal Audio make clear. His work on software and hardware design, as well as his engagement with the user community, have been a large part of his impact on the work we all do, and his dedication to detail (like the work on control surfaces for Pro Tools) points to his love of recording. He is well-known in the Denver area for his work with the local Natural History Museum as well as recording and mastering work for many local, regional and even nation

Among a certain set of music-makers, Oli Larkin's work is critical for making things happen. He's an audio programming guru, and has created systems as diverse as a virtual Casio CZ synth, an automatic plug-in parameter-scrambler and he is involved with the development of a new web audio plug-in format. He is also deep into the Faust programming language, Max/MSP and the iPlug plug-in development system. His work is simultaneously inspiring and workmanlike, and it always delivers what is expected - and then some! Where does that level of sophistication and programming talent come from? Even Oli doesn't seem to know - but he's put his whole career behind the effort and really enjoys sharing. In addition to programming, he's also been experimenting with immersive audio experience (something we didn't get a chance to talk about - this time), and continues to dive into the depths of the Faust language and the iPlug system. You can check out his work at his personal site: http://www.olilarkin.co.uk/, and try out t