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Author: catsynth

Analog Ladies at Robotspeak

Today we look back at the recent Analog Ladies edition of the Church of the Superserge that took place in late June at Robotspeak in San Francisco.

The Analog Ladies show featured solo performances by five women on analog synthesizers (along with some additional items). It was a diverse cross-section of musical and performance styles, with each artist being different focus to her set. First up was series regular Elise Gargalikis performing on a Serge Modular synthesizer with along with vocal samples and loops.

Gargalikis, who often performs as part of the duo, Slope114, has a mellifluous voice that rises above some of the noise sounds from the modular synth, while blending as a high note in longer drones.

Next up was Miss Moist, an Oakland-based electronic musician who describes her music as “electro candy pop // tropical kitsch”. She combined analog electronics with a Korg Electribe and Mini-Kaoss Pad.

[Photo by Tom Djll.]

The result was a blend of rhythms and sweet tones that did indeed match the description, but also moments of harsh glitching and moderate noise hits before returning back to the main patterns.

The next set featured Jill Fraser performing on her vintage Serge modular synthesizer.

Jill Fraser’s set featured fully formed compositions ranging over different parts of her career all the way to very recent. Some were very abstract, but with intricately detailed sound design on the Serge. I’ve always been impressed with the woodwind-like sounds that some musicians have been able to get from this instrument. There were also some melodic and rhythmic pieces as well, reflective of her career in film and TV.

Next up was Mint Park, who performed with an analog modular synthesizer made composed primarily of TipTop Audio modules along with a laptop running Ableton Live!

Her performance was intense. A strong set of beats with punctuated breaks was feed through the modular with hard grating noise that worked well in context. She kept up the energy for the entire duration of the set.

Then it was time to take the stage as the final act of show.

[Photo by Dmitri SFC]

For this set, I brought the full analog modular system, including some recent acquisitions such as the Hexinverter.net Mutant-Hijats – I opened the set with the Hihats controlled by the Make Noise Rene and the Moog Theremini. The Theremini, used exclusively as a CV controller for the modular synth, was the centerpiece of the set as it enabled full embodied performance. I also brought along the Garrahand drum, which works well fed into the Make Noise Echophon.

You can here my full performance in this video.

Amanda Chaudhary at Analog Ladies, Robotspeak, San Francisco from CatSynth on Vimeo.

I always try to make sure there is a variety of textures and energy-levels and weave together a narrative structure even within improvisation. Overall, I was very pleased with this set and the response from the large crowd.

[Photo by Tom Djll.]

Indeed, all the artists were well received by the overflowing crowd at Robotspeak – it’s not a large place, but it was filled with synth enthusiasts and those who enjoy more adventurous music. This was the first Analog Ladies edition of the Church of the Super Serge, but I certainly hope it won’t be the last.

[Photo courtesy of Robotspeak.]

July 14, 2015
Mensa Cat Monday: Cats as Men

By J.B. This one segues nicely from last Friday’s CatSynth pic.

July 13, 2015
CatSynth pic: Buchla synthesizer and multi-eyed cat

From grayemoon on Instagram. Cool Buchla system, but this has to be among the weirdest “CatSynth pics” we have posted yet.

July 10, 2015
CatSynth video: Cat Music

From Circuit Ben on YouTube, via matrixsynth.

“Soporific”

The “cat music” does indeed appear to be having a soporific effect on the cat.

July 9, 2015
Wordless Wednesday with Luna

July 7, 2015
CatSynth Pic: Video Synthesizer

Yes, video synthesizers are welcome on CatSynth! This picture by virtualflannel on Instagram features a Critter and Guitari videoscope (which we also have) as well as a Videonics mixer. And a cat to oversee everything.

July 7, 2015
Mensa Cat Monday: Palindrome

It’s Mensa Cat Monday, and we have a palindrome for you! By J.B.

July 6, 2015
Y’reka and Pamela Z, Luggage Store Create Music Series

Today we look back at a show featuring music by Pamela Z and the duo Y’reka at the Luggage Store Gallery Creative Music Series, which was still at its temporary home at 998 Market Street.

The evening opened with Y’reka, a duo featuring Aram Shelton on alto saxophone and Owen Stewart-Robinson on guitar. Both Shelton and Stewart-Robinson also had an array of electronic effects.

Their improvised music had a subtle noisy texture overall, with slowly changing timbres and dynamics. There were some moments were the effects triggered more dramatic changes, which especially stood out with the subtle texture. They also successfully combined their electronically-processed tones in sections such that it wasn’t clear who was playing what, a characteristic I often find fun in freely improvised music. The pair did acknowledge the death of Ornette Coleman the previous morning, a gesture that was both appropriate and appreciated by the audience.

Next up was Pamela Z who presented a variety of works for voice, sound electronics and video. This was in part of “preview” of her upcoming full-scale work Memory Trace which will be happening at the Royce Gallery. In addition to her versatile and virtuosic vocal techniques, she controlled a variety of audio processing via sensors both worn and placed in DIY electronic boxes in front of her. There were also several pieces featuring interactive video. One which I had seen before presented an array of real-time clips of Pamela Z from her laptop’s webcam during the performance, which she then appeared to call up as if they were individual percussion instruments.

There was also an intriguing video featuring a clock and other imagery related to time.

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Overall, it was quite an interesting pairing of musical sets, and I was happy to be able to see both of them together in one evening.

July 5, 2015

Fun with Stats: Countries that still have Monarchies

On this Independence Day here in the U.S., a country which has been a continuous republic for over 200 years, we thought it would fun to look at the countries that still have monarchies in 2015. Most are constitutional monarchies with a limited or ceremonial role, but it still begs the question of why bother with such an expensive and anachronistic institution?

Brunei	Absolute monarchy
Oman	Absolute monarchy
Qatar	Absolute monarchy
Saudi Arabia	Absolute monarchy
Swaziland	Absolute monarchy
Vatican City	Absolute monarchy
Andorra	Constitutional monarchy
Antigua and Barbuda	Constitutional monarchy
Australia	Constitutional monarchy
The Bahamas	Constitutional monarchy
Bahrain	Constitutional monarchy
Barbados	Constitutional monarchy
Belgium	Constitutional monarchy
Belize	Constitutional monarchy
Bhutan	Constitutional monarchy
Cambodia	Constitutional monarchy
Canada	Constitutional monarchy
Denmark	Constitutional monarchy
Grenada	Constitutional monarchy
Jamaica	Constitutional monarchy
Japan	Constitutional monarchy
Jordan	Constitutional monarchy
Kuwait	Constitutional monarchy
Lesotho	Constitutional monarchy
Liechtenstein	Constitutional monarchy
Luxembourg	Constitutional monarchy
Malaysia	Constitutional monarchy
Monaco	Constitutional monarchy
Morocco	Constitutional monarchy
Netherlands	Constitutional monarchy
New Zealand	Constitutional monarchy
Norway	Constitutional monarchy
Papua New Guinea	Constitutional monarchy
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Constitutional monarchy
Saint Lucia	Constitutional monarchy
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Constitutional monarchy
Solomon Islands	Constitutional monarchy
Spain	Constitutional monarchy
Sweden	Constitutional monarchy
Tonga	Constitutional monarchy
Tuvalu	Constitutional monarchy
United Arab Emirates	Constitutional monarchy
United Kingdom	Constitutional monarchy

Beyond actual countries, monarchies and hereditary rulers continue to be a fixture in the fantasy-novel genre, many of which are directly influences by Tolkein’s rather conservative Middle Earth. Most perplexing of all, however, is the obsession of some Americans with British royalty, the dynasty of the country we declared independence from 239 years ago today.

July 4, 2015

Outsound Dinner: Nava Dunkelman and Jordan Glenn Duo

As happens every year approximately one month before the Outsound New Music Summit, we gathered for the annual benefit dinner. This year the dinner took place at the Finnish Kaleva Hall in Berkeley, a location steeped in history of its own. There was a good company, delicious food provided by Slippery Fish Catering, and a performance by Nava Dunkelman and Jordan Glenn.

[Photo: peterbkaars.com]

Both Dunkelman and Glenn and accomplished percussionists in the local music scene, but this was the first time they performed together as a duo. And the result was an exceptional performance filled with a variety of textures ranging from subtle to angry and aggressive. There were moments where the individual materials and timbres stood out in stark isolation, and others where the two worked together to form repeating rhythmic patterns (one might even say a “beat”). The two have contrasting styles that they brought from their other projects (I most often see Jorden Glenn as a drummer for bands, and Nava Dunkelman as a collaborator in improvised duos).

[Photos: peterbkaars.com]

Overall, a great evening of music, food and friends. There were many familiar faces among Outsound’s supporters at the event, but also newcomers, which is always good to see.

[Photo courtesy of Outsound Presents]

Now it is on to the Summit itself, which begins on Sunday, July 26 at the Community Music Center in San Francisco. Please visit Outsound New Music Summit website for a full roster of performances and events, information and tickets, and more on how to support the continuation of new and adventurous music in our community!

July 3, 2015