Cats

KATOD – Haunted (official video)

Szarik that cat returns in this video from From KATOD’s upcoming album. via our Facebook page.

HQ audio: https://katodmusic.bandcamp.com/track/haunted-single
Track from new, upcoming album (2018)
used instruments:
– Yamaha DX7
– Ambika synth
– electric guitar Jackson DK2S
– drums played on pads and written
– Atari 1040ST (as MIDI sequencer)

Written & directed by Mariusz Wasilewski
Cast:
Girl #1 – Daria Cieniak
Girl #2 – Iwona Szylin
Boy #1 – Konrad Domaszewski
Boy #2 – Jakub Gryzowski
Cyborg cat #1 – Kamila Górka-Czarska
Cyborg cat #2 – Ilona Baran
Cat – Szarik cat
Camera operators: Stanisław Patejko, Mariusz Wasilewski, Marcin Czerwienny, Tomasz Kowal, Artur Tymański
Edited by Mariusz Wasilewski
Music performed by KATOD(Mariusz Wasilewski) – “Haunted” track from upcoming album (2018)
Make up & stylist, Catering & drinks – Sylvia Katarzyna, Kamila Górka-Czarska
Special thanks:
Mateusz Raginia (Fiat 125p owner), Sebastian Tawgien (VW Golf 1 owner), Krzysztof Grudziński (Taxi driver & help)
Produced by Mariusz Wasilewski

There is definitely a 1980s theme in the aesthetic as well as the instrumentation 😺

Sam Sam’s First Gotcha Day!

It was one year ago today that Sam Sam came to live at CatSynth HQ, and we are wishing her a very happy first Gotcha Day (adoption anniversary)!

A year ago I was still in the early part of my grieving process for Luna, who had passed away just a little over a month earlier.  Getting another cat was always the plan, but not quite so soon.  But our friends Michael de la Cuesta (of Vacuum Tree Head) and Karen de la Cuesta told me about this sweet cat they needed to rehome – her longtime human had passed away a year earlier, and she needed to leave her current home in southern California.  I, of course, said yes.  So on December 7, 2016, she made the journey north to San Francisco and stepped in HQ for the first time.  Not surprisingly, “Sam Sam” was a bit shy and skittish at first, spending most of her time under the bed, sneaking out periodically for food, water, and the litter box.  But bit by bit she came out her shell and blossomed into a wonderful companion.  She is quite talkative and outgoing now – even a bit sassy at times 😸

She delights many with her unique markings and quirky antics.

Happy Gotcha Day, Sam Sam!  We are so glad you came to live with us, and we hope to spend many years together 💕

CatSynth Pic: Chord Kitten (Qu-Bit Electronix)

Seen on matrixsynth today 😺, featuring modules from our friends at Qu-Bit Electronix.

Just a random synth cat pic via @quebitelectronix.

“Chord kitten from @catsonsynthesizersinspace 💙🐱”

Makes you wonder what it was hearing. Or maybe it was reading MATRIXSYNTH.

Weekend Cat Blogging with Sam Sam: The Departure and the Coat

Early Saturday morning, I embarked on another trip to New York. As it is late November, this trip requires a winter coat. While it was sitting out, Sam Sam came over to investigate.

She was fascinated by the wool coat and immediately started purring up a storm and kneading.

The soft woolen surface clearly brought out some kitten instinct in her. While Luna used to purr and knead soft things frequently, I haven’t seen Sam Sam do that as much, and not to the degree she did in the presence of this coat.

One of the hardest parts of leaving on a trip is leaving my cat. Fortunately, we know that Sam Sam is good hands, being lovingly looked after at CatSynth HQ (and probably spoiled rotten). I look forward to reuniting with her in a little over a week.

Anne Marguerite Herbst at Far Out Gallery, San Francisco

Far Out Gallery in the Sunset district of San Francisco is currently hosting a solo exhibition of works by Anne Herbst, and we were on hand to see it and cover it on CatSynth TV.

Of course, the cat-imagery particularly caught my eye, but there are many layers beyond that. Even in the cats, one can see some of the other elements that permeate Herbst’s art, including undulating lines and traces of her body that are used both as textures and bounding elements.

There are also the frequent connections to her personal history in the inclusion of faces and hints of other people. The connection to blood comes up both in the use of color, imagery, and the context of a couple of the paintings. It features in a self portrait as well as a piece for her father’s 90th birthday, both of which are featured in the video.

Anne Herbst

Herbst took the personal history to a new level for this exhibition by re-imagining childhood drawings with her current artistic style and practice.

We see the lines, shapes, and character of her current work brought to the original cat figure from the drawing. One can also notice the blood-like elements and color in this piece.

Creatures of all sorts abound throughout. In addition to the cats, the turtle seems to be a recurring animal, and was featured prominently in the work we most associated with the exhibition title “Ripples.”

Far Out Gallery has been a great discovery for us, a place connecting us more deeply to that sometimes remote western edge of San Francisco. We are happy to have been there for both Anne Herbst’s show and Kasper Rodenborn’s earlier this season. We hope to see more in the future.

CatSynth Pic: Picasso and Realistic MG-1

Picasso the cat means business as he poses with a Realistic MG-1 synthesizer. Submitted by James Bahleda‎ via our Facebook page.

The MG-1 was built by Moog for Realistic (Radio Shack), and was designed and marketed for home/casual use. It’s no Model D, but it does still have Moog technology and sound. It remains popular with some collectors and artists. You can read more about it here.