Six Films by Adam Beckett


Adam Beckett, Flesh Flows, 1974 [Excerpt]

I blogged about seeing Adam Beckett’s work awhile back, when the “Heavy Light” program showed at Deitch two years ago. I’m really excited to announce that I co-organized a screening of six of his films in San Francisco next week at N O M A Gallery as a closing party for Nate Boyce’s solo show at the space. Beckett’s work rarely gets shown – this should definitely be worth it. Info below.

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On August 28th from 7-9pm, N O M A Gallery will host a screening of animator Adam Beckett’s films on the occasion of the closing of Nate Boyce’s solo exhibition Parallel Series I & II. The event will be presented by Nate Boyce and Ceci Moss.

Adam Beckett emerged from the Experimental Animation program at CalArts in the 1970s. Although Beckett’s career was brief, only lasting a decade, he is renown for his unique, meticulous production process using the optical printer. This tool allowed filmmakers to rephotograph multiple strips of film into one strip, creating optical effects such as fades, dissolves, and the matting of images. The effects produced by optical print…ers were later carried over into computer graphics by digital compositing techniques, and indeed at times Beckett’s films seem remarkably prescient of this future path. Using both an optical printer and an animation stand, Beckett would gradually reposition and reshoot his intricate drawings into animated loops in order to create slight variations that guide the evolution of the figures and shapes depicted. The optical printer was also variously used to make rhythmic patterns by offsetting the frame or to re-frame sections of the drawings. Beckett’s animations appear to organically morph and mutate, often to a lively a soundtrack.

This program includes the following films:

Kitsch In Synch (1975)
Flesh Flows (1974)
Sausage City (1974)
Evolution of the Red Star (1973)
Heavy-Light (1973)
Dear Janice (1972)

This event is free.
PLEASE RSVP to marcella[AT]nomagallery.com. Seats are limited.

N O M A Gallery
80 Maiden Lane @Grant
San Francisco, CA
http://www.nomagallery.com/index.html

WARN-U - Fatima Al Qadiri


Creepy video by Fatima Al Qadiri. Really love the vocals on this.

Pythagorean Clavinet Phaze - Don Cardoza (1976)



This is a half hour long piece of entrancing music for the clavinet, that appears, at least to the untrained ear to have been influenced by Indian ragas. The clavinet is an electronically amplified clavichord and produces a sound quite similar to an electric guitar, despite it being a keyboard instrument. Don Cardoza has studied piano with Carlo Busotii and Michaiko Kolbiaka, among others, and he studied composition with Wayne Peterson, Fred Fox, and Ton De Leeuw at the Amsterdam Conservatory and then with Terry Riley at Mills College. He has also studied with Pandit Pran Nath from 1974 to 1990, and it may be the influence of the North Indian master vocalist that can be discerned in this delightful work.

— From the Other Minds Archive at the Internet Archive

Duane Pitre's "Feel Free" on Radio Heart


Yesterday on Radio Heart I broadcast a live recording of Duane Pitre’s Feel Free from May 30th at Zebulon in Brooklyn.

Read the full playlist here.

Listen to the show here.

Duane provided a nice description of the composition, you can read about it below.

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Duane Pitre’s Feel Free is a new work-in-progress that is based around pre-recorded, guitar string harmonics tuned in Just Intonation. The harmonics are randomized in their order of play via a computer program, with the result touching on the sporadic, yet orderly nature of wind chimes. The computer acts as the wind, and the guitar harmonics the chimes, creating chance-melodies and, at times, a Zen-like setting. These randomized harmonics are the core of the piece, and the program can run on its own as an installation — or, the core can be augmented by the composer’s custom-built, Justly tuned, virtual synthesizer. With this simple-timbre electronic instrument, Pitre carries out a planned improvisation with the guitar harmonics, whose pitch sets vary throughout the piece in a sequence of subtly shifting sections.

This “duo” of guitar harmonics and synth comprises the solo version of Feel Free. For group versions of the piece, a wide variety of acoustic instrumentation such as harp, violin, and double bass can be added to this “duo.” Each performer is equipped with an instrument-specific score that allows them to approach the performance in a similar manner as Pitre. The composer performs with the group while also guiding them through the series of sections, with each section offering slight, yet progressive variations in the performer’s fixed-pitch choices, playing methods, and technique restrictions. In addition, the performers are instructed to look/listen (at times) to the randomized guitar harmonics as a lax guide, creating a central focus within the group, yet one that is not strict and rigid, but more so relaxed and flowing, creating a fluid ecosystem of sound.

The premiere performance of the group version of Feel Free took place May 30, 2010 at Zebulon in Brooklyn, NY.

Performers included:

Duane Pitre – composition, simple-timbre synth, computer-randomized guitar harmonics

Jesse Sparhawk – harp

Jim Altieri – violin

James Ilgenfritz – double bass

Jessie Marino – cello

Shannon Fields – hammered dulcimer

East Village Radio App


East Village Radio now has an app for the iPhone! You can get it here. The app allows you to stream archives of all the shows on your phone, plus connect to DJs and other listeners.

Throbbing Gristle - Discipline (Live at Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco, 5-29-1981)



Via Industrial Music Library

No Soul For Sale

I am in London this week for No Soul For Sale: A Festival of Independents. Rhizome will have a space in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, along with 70 other alternative arts organizations and collectives from all over the world. We’re exhibiting Mail Nothing to the Tate Modern by David Horvitz, a project I curated. I plan to blog from the festival on Rhizome, so check over there for photos and updates!

Selections from SELEKTION OPTIK

I came across these videos awhile ago via no longer forgotten music. These experimental shorts originally appeared on the SELEKTION OPTIK VHS collections on RRR Video. SELEKTION did a lot of really interesting work with xeroxes, and you can see some evidence of that in these clips. You can read more about SELEKTION here and read their full history here.







Mi Or and the Pedestals Live at Coco 66

I recorded last night’s set at Coco 66 in Brooklyn – check it out!

Listen to mi or and the pedestals + untitled - april 23rd at coco 66

Mi Or and the Pedestals Live on Just Music


I played a live set on my friends Jeff and Casey’s radio show Just Music last night. It was super fun, and I got to hear a bunch of new music. Jeff brought in the new Aluk Todolo album and Jacob Gorchov dropped by with some records too, like Congregacion’s Viene. I think the set turned out well! You can listen to the streaming archive here.

Craig Colorusso's "Sun Boxes"


Sun Boxes are an environment to enter and exit. It’s comprised of twenty speakers operating independently each powered by solar panels. There is a different guitar sample in each box all playing together making the composition. The guitar samples are all of different lengths so the whole piece keeps evolving.

Participants are encouraged to walk amongst the speakers. It sounds different inside of the array. There is a different sense of space inside. Certain speakers will be closer and louder therefore the piece will sound different to different people in different positions throughout the array. Creating a unique experience for everyone.

There are no batteries involved. The Sun Boxes are reliant on the sun. When the sun sets the music stops. The piece changes as the length of the day changes. Making the participants aware of the cycle of the day.

Sun Boxes will be on display at the Important Records Compound May 8th, info here.

Cellular Chaos Live!

Thought I’d share some live footage of Cellular Chaos, a new band I joined in December. The first clip is from last week, with Weasel Walter on guitar and Marc Edwards on drums. The second clip is from our show in January, with Kevin Shea on drums and Weasel Walter on guitar.


CrudLabs on Radio Heart


I had CrudLabs aka Steven Litt on Radio Heart this afternoon. He creates gritty, industrial techno using an instrument he developed and built called the CrudBox. The CrudBox is a 16 step, 8 channel step sequencer which replaces digitally created or analog synthesized sounds typically associated with sequencers and electronic music with the amplified sounds of whatever electronic or electromechanical devices are plugged into it, ranging from turntables to solenoids to power tools.

Read the full playlist here.

Listen to the show here.

Nirvana - Live at Evergreen State College in 1990

Emeralds "Geode" by Raglani/Kannapell

Joanna Brouk Special on Radio Heart


“All music has its source in silence. It rises and falls from that infinite source. By ‘tuning in’ to one’s own silence, one can hear the music of the spheres, the hum of the universe and the songs of the cosmos. Joanna Brouk demonstrates though her own compositions how a single note can resonate to create a symphony and how the physical body is the instrument for a myriad of musical creations. One of the results of listening to Joanna Brouk’s music is that the listener becomes aware of the silence that creates music. Music – or sound – therefore, contains those principles which structure silence into motion. The ‘spaces between’ notes become as important as the notes themselves.”

— Liner Notes from Joanna Brouk’s “Healing Music”

Read the full playlist for the Joanna Brouk special here.

Listen to the show here.

Wu Fei on Radio Heart


Composer, vocalist and guzheng player Wu Fei was a guest on Radio Heart yesterday. It was a real treat — she brought in a ton of live recordings for the show, both solo and in collaboration with musicians such as Fred Frith, Carla Kilhstedt, Billy Martin, to name a few. During the interview, she talked about her background and training. For years, she studied in more traditional music conservatories in Beijing and Texas, before going to Mills for graduate school. This was a formative experience for her, as she moved towards improv and more experimental forms. She also sang a 10 minute excerpt from the Peony Pavilion, a 16th century Chinese opera. The Peony Pavilion is an example of Kunqu, the oldest type of opera in China, and a form she’s currently studying in Beijing. I think Wu Fei’s take on the guzheng is totally unique and worth checking out, I can’t recommend this show more!

Read the full playlist here.

Listen to the show here.

Enumclaw - Opening Of The Dawn


Via Arthur Magazine

Conrad Schnitzler Day

Videos by Conrad Schnitzler, from the YouTube page for his official videos.







Peruvian Sound Art Special with Maria Chavez & Pauchi Sasaki


Maria Chavez and Pauchi Sasaki at the EVR Storefront Studio

Yesterday, on Radio Heart, avant-turnablist Maria Chavez and musician Pauchi Sasaki shared their collection of recordings from sound artists based in Peru. It was a fantastic and an extremely informative show – not only did they play works spanning the past 50 years, they also discussed performance spaces, residency programs, festivals and more devoted to new music and sound art in Peru.

Read the full playlist here.

Listen to the show here.

Pauchi also sent over links to the various spaces and artists discussed or played on the show, see below.

sonoteca:
http://centro.fundaciontelefonica.org.pe/sonoteca/sonoteca.html

Inventar la voz:
http://www.myspace.com/inventarlavozperu

La Casa Ida:
http://www.lacasaida.org

Aloardi:
http://www.aloardi.net

Cesar Bolaños:
http://www.myspace.com/cesarbolanosperu

Thank you Maria and Pauchi!

Double Feature: Nite Jewel and Xeno and Oaklander -- Live on Radio Heart


Yesterday I broadcast on Radio Heart back-to-back live recordings from Los Angeles-based Nite Jewel, from their Feb. 3rd gig at the Wierd Records party at Home Sweet Home, and Xeno and Oaklander, from the closing party for Tova Carlin’s exhibition at Chinatown art space 179 Canal.

Read the full playlist here.

Listen to the show here.

Matrix Metals - Flamingo Breeze, Part 4

New music video for a track off of Flamingo Breeze by Matrix Metals, which I posted to the blog awhile ago. Olde English Spelling Bee remastered and reissued the release on vinyl, which you can pick up here.

MATRIX METALS “FLAMINGO BREEZE, PART 4” from OESB // FUTURE SOUND on Vimeo.


Video by Ivan Gaytan

Listen to Raw Thrills on Radio Heart


Last Sunday Zak Mering aka Raw Thrills guested on Radio Heart. He played the newest EP by his other project with Tyler Thacker, Greatest Hits, and a bunch of his own solo recordings, under both the Raw Thrills and Insted moniker.

Read the full playlist here.

Listen to the show here.

Vangelis & Neuronium (In London 1982)

Florescent Light Music by Kyle Clyde

A local artist, Kyle Clyde, sent over these videos of her performances in which she uses the feedback from florescent lights to create music. It reminded me a bit of a Michael Vorfeld video I posted to Rhizome on Monday. Both look awesome (and dangerous!).


Glass Candy/The Gossip Live June 23, 2002


I posted two videos from a show at my old apartment in Berkeley to YouTube. Virgil Porter and Steve Touchton recorded these. Virgil did a public access show called Burn My Eye in San Francisco. I think this footage was supposed to go into an episode, but I don’t think it ever made it into any of them. He did make a VHS of the footage though, which he gave to me at some point, and it’s been sitting in my dad’s basement in California for awhile now. The last time I went back, I brought the tape with me to New York with the intention of uploading it. My roommate at the time, Russell, was just out here and I told him I’d put these videos up, so I finally did. Sorry about the audio, it’s really low, I tried to boost it up.

The original line up was Glass Candy, Numbers and The Gossip — but there isn’t any video of Numbers’ set. Poster above – Russell and I didn’t want to put the Gossip on there because we were worried about too many people showing up (it happened anyway!). I’ve included some of my own photos as well.












Early Pencil Tests (Outtakes) - Bruce Bickford


Via Moon River

Sketch Klubb Radio


Houston-based comic gang Sketch Klubb took over Radio Heart last week, playing The Other Half, The Flying Lizards, Marvin Gaye, and even Beavis and Butthead. Pictures below courtesy of Sketch Klubber Russell Etchen, to listen to a stream of the show, click here.



Fumio Miyashita of the Far East Family Band on the Boffomundo Show, 1979

I’ve been listening to the Far East Family Band‘s release Nipponjin a lot recently. (Produced by Klaus Schulze!) I just discovered this awesome footage of a solo performance by frontman Fumio Miyashita on cable access in the late 70s, below.



Music for 16 Futurist Noise Intoners

I’m planning to attend “Music for 16 Futurist Noise Intoners“ tonight, part of the Performa biennial. For the event, composer Luciano Chessa reconstructed “intonarumori“ or instruments originally devised by noted Italian Futurist Luigi Russolo in 1913. During the evening, a number of musicians will perform original compositions using the instruments. You can view a quick teaser video below.

I discovered Luciano Chessa’s work through a podcast my friend Rick Bahto recorded for Old First Church Concerts last year, which includes Louganis, Quadri da una citta phantasma, and additional commentary. You can listen to the full podcast here.