Another from our friends at Eevo Lute Music & Technology. This one features a cat figurine atop a modular synth setup 😺
UPDATE: It’s more than a simple figurine. It is a knob cover that fits many modulars. You can find out more at https://www.amarowebshop.nl/a-48425107/extravaganza/katten-knoppen-voor-modulaire-synthesizers/. We will definitely be checking this out!
It’s been a little while since we last checked in with Sam Sam. But this lovely Sunday morning seems like a fine time to do so. It’s a good day for just stretching out and relaxing.
Or for sitting on a window sill with filtered light.
It’s good to be a house cat.
Sam Sam is quite talkative, as all of my cats have been. It’s probably because I talk to them all the time, too. In this video you can hear a bit of her voice, as well as her loud purr.
This video only shows a small example of her vocal range – it is quite a challenge to get her to talk on cue, especially with her tendency to poke her nose into anything and everything.
It’s good to be a house cat.
Another from machew on Instagram featuring Lucy the cat inspecting a modular synth patch.
machew Happy #caturday
Lucy approves this patch
🎛🎛🎛🎛🎛🎛🎛🎛 #cats #catsynth #synthcat
We conclude our reverse-order look at the Hardly Strictly Personal 2017 Festival that took place at the Finnish Kaleva Hall in Berkeley about two months ago. This day featured Vacuum Tree Head among several other acts.
[Photo by Karen de la Cuesta]
This was among the best Vacuum Tree Head shows I have experienced since joining the band, in terms of energy and musical tightness. The rhythm section, anchored by Justin Markovits on drums and John Shiurba on bass functioned well as a unit and provided a foundation for the rest of the band. We had three horn players: Joshua Marshal, Jason Bellenkes and Richard Lesnik. Our guitar section featured Richard Corny, and Michael de la Cuesta, who also was part of the synth/keyboard section of the band with me. And Jason Berry ran the show with new tunes, new arrangements and interstitial entertainment. We will have a full video of our set soon along with a more detailed review, but for now here is a little clip courtesy of our friend Rick Rees.
As mentioned in previous articles the overarching theme of HSP2017 was “A Celebration of Post-Beefheart Art.” The first two acts of the evening took the theme quite seriously. Earspray projected videos along with Beefhart clips mixed with live improvisations.
The group features Ann O’Rourke on electronics and video, Carlos Jennings on electronics, and Mark Pino on percussion. Mark returned in Crow Crash Radio, which also featured Brian Strang on guitar Andrew Joron on theremin along with guest Garrett Caples on vocals.
Like Earspray, Crow Crash Radio worked the Beefhart theme directly into the contact of their set, with Caples channeling him in his vocal sound and style as the band covered Diddy Wah Diddy and other songs. If there was one thing that didn’t work, it was not being able to hear the vocals well, though perhaps that was part of the concept.
The band performances contrasted sharply with a quiet so set by Jakob Pek on guitar. He uses extended techniques on the instrument, preparations, and electronics to create unusual soundscapes. The sound is mostly long tones and timbres, but punctuated by percussive elements as well.
The final set of the evening brought Lost Planet to the stage.
This band, which features Dave Slusser on winds and electronics, Thomas Scandura on drums, and Len Paterson and Steve Clarke on guitars, mixed loud rock elements with space jazz for an energetic set. In some ways, they combined elements prominent in the previous band sets of the evening.
It was fun to play with VTH on this night and hear the other groups, as I also did with CDP on night 3. We would like to thank Mika Pontecorvo for organizing this event, as well as Elijah Ponteocorvo, Kersti Abrams, Mark Pino and everyone else who followed teared to make it a success.
From this auction, via matrixsynth.
I had not heard of this instrument from Clef Electronic Music until this post. It does look a lot like my Octave CAT, and synth architecture and topology sounds a lot like it as well. From the post on matrixsynth:
“The B30 is a two VCO subtractive analogue synth that was available in kit form during the late seventies and early eighties. The synth was featured in Practical Electronics magazine and provided people with a more affordable way to buy a synthesizer than the extremely expensive ready built moogs etc. There is information available now online about the history of the synth and also the schematics and build instructions. I will also supply with the synth a 17 page printout of the instructions. These are also available here.
These synths are extremely rare and I have only ever seen two for sale on ebay in the last decade, this particular one is the only one I have seen with real wooden end cheeks and also the super cool pointer dials! I got the synth about 15 years ago and always intended to restore it to it’s full glory but have never had the time to do this. A change in my circumstances have prompted a reluctant sale.
Modular synth jam with cat by machew on Instagram. The cat’s reaction is priceless 😻
We continue with our temporally reversed coverage of the Hardly Strictly Personal 2017 Festival that took place at the Finnish Kaleva Hall in Berkeley in March. Today we look at day 2.
The evening began with Oa, the voice-and-electronics duo featuring Matt Davignon and Hugh Behm-Steinberg.
Oa’s music involves the processing and manipulation of vocal sounds, often based on Hugh Behm-Steinberg’s words and voice. But on this occasion they featured vocal samples of Captain Beefheart. It was an appropriate twist given that HSP2017 is officially billed as “A Celebration of Post-Beefheart Art.”
Next up was Skullcrusher, a solo project of Phillip Everett.
Skullcrusher featured a variety of sonic implements, some processed and amplified, along with an Arturia Microbrute synthesizer. There were harsh noise elements throughout the set, but also snippets of melodic and harmonic material mixed in. Interestingly, the set elided into the next one featuring Joshua Allen on saxophone, with the two playing together in a frenetic improvisation before Skullcrusher faded out and Allen continued on his own as a solo set.
There were several solo sets featuring wind instrumentalists on this evening. Joshua Allen was followed by Jaroba, who played an exceptionally inspired set with bass clarinet and percussion.
Jaroba coaxed very subtle and intricate sounds from his instruments, but with dramatic moments as well. The dynamic range, phrasing and narrative structure made it very musical indeed. His sounds managed to remain punctuated even in the complex and bizarre acoustics of the Finnish Hall. The music also had a emotional and spiritual dimension to it, which added to the listening experience. It was a joy to hear, and we congratulated him after the set.
Next up was Dire Wolves, featuring Sheila Bosco on drums, Brian Lucas on bass, Arjun Mendiratta on violin, and Kelly Ann Nelson on voice and electronics. There was also video projection along with the music, which mixes “space music”, folk, and other elements into an undulating flow of rhythms and harmonies.
Dire Wolves was followed by Arrington de Dionyso on saxophones, part of his epic “This Saxophone Kills Fascists” tour.
There is nothing subtle about the message, or the music. de Dionyso’s playing is loud, strong, frenetic, no-holds-barred. But he also had some soft moments that broke things up. While in large part a solo set, he also performed as a duo with drums, and a trio that included Rent Romus on saxophone.
The final set of the evening brought Voi! Maa! to the stage. This group features event-organizer Mika Pontecorvo on flute, guitar, and laptop manipulating sounds from other members of the band, which included Kersti Abrams on winds, Mark Pino on drums, Eli Pontecorvo on bass, Adrienne Pontecorvo on cello, and Jaroba sitting in on bass clarinet.
Thet music unfolded with Mika cuing the other members of the group in various configurations, with loud hits, noise pads, but also some more subtle sounds, particular from Adrienne Pontecovero, Abrams and Jaroba. In the middle of the set, the music quieted down as Meg Pontecorvo read selections from her science-fiction writings. Overall it was a fitting close to the evening, especially as it brought the folks whose hard work made this event possible onto the stage.
There is one more day to present in this backwards progression: Day 1. We will share that in a separate article soon.
