Midnight Monday Studio Cat

Luna wanders into the (somewhat messy) studio, where I spent much of this weekend working on several projects, including music you will probably never hear and the Sunday podcast. It's a rare shot of both the PC and Mac laptops along with the keyboards and other gear.

Actually, I think the ketzela is more interested in those cushions and bedding than in any musical or technological mischief.








Octave CAT, and more classic Synth Ads, and a Poll

This ad for the Octave CAT is one of many classic synthesizer ads from the 1970s and early 1980s on display in a new gallery at polynominal, the home of frequent contributors Mimì and Eric Pochesci.

They have quite a collection, with over 180 pictures. It is definitely worth a look, not only for those interested in old synths, but anyone either nostalgic or fascinated by that era.

They also have a poll for the the most ugly synth ad. And they have some really good candidates for this illustrious title. I did vote for one that definitely stood out, at least for me. See if you can figure out which one it was. Hint, it is probably the most “Republican” (US) synth ad I've seen…

New Podcast: Sean Carson (del *.*), "resting tones 5"

Click here to subscribe. You can also visit the CatSynth Channel page for more info or to listen live.

Sean Carson is the first the first to take advantage of our open submissions for the CatSynth Channel podcast. And we are very to happy to have his piece “resting tones 5”, which very much fits our standard aesthetics, and includes “cat-like” sounds as well.

one of my most bizarre pieces.

there are some cat like sounds made by the cumbus oud. Its a steel string fretless instrument from Turkey

To submit your own music, visit our submissions page. Anything is game, as long as it vaguely fits the aesthetics of the CatSynth blog and/or podcast.

And kids, whatever you do, do NOT type that stage name into your Terminal window ;-).

Always time for Weekend Cat Blogging

Even in the midst of an incredibly busy weekend, we at CatSynth always try and find a few minutes for Weekend Cat Blogging:

Regular readers know that Luna is quite fond of towels, resting upon them, kneading them, etc. She has taken over this green towel which I left for her one day on the bed, and it has become a great spot for those all important afternoon naps/meditations.

Yes, being unemployed seems to leave me more busy than I was before, and this weekend is no exception, with several upcoming shows, and major and software projects with looming deadlines (but which I can't talk to you about), revamping my main artist/professional website, and a lot of time on the phone in touch with friends, colleagues and others. But one of the best parts of this period has been spending lots of quality time with Luna, even if just for an hour here and there in between other events, or having her around while I work online or in the studio.

Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted by Megan and the Bad Kitty Cats. It seems that their site is down while recoving from hackers. Very rude and incovenient, those pesky hackers. We hope they're back up soon.

Carnival of the Cats will be at the House of the (Mostly) Black Cats this weekend.

The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos #10 is being held at the *New* Tuxedo Gang Hideout. They have a great graphic to go with it, reproduced below:

And of course, Friday Ark #156 is at the modulator.

CD Review: br'er Of Shemales and Kissaboos

Readers might remember the band br'er and lead Benjamin Schurr from the infamous CatSynth Tatoo. Well, br'er is out with their first album, Of Shemales and Kissaboos.

br'er not surprisingly includes a lot of synthesizer work, combined with songwriting, “art rock”, and an interesting collection of instruments. Schurr and Christian Mirande together provide an assortment of synthesizers, noise sources, toy instruments, and such on top of a more traditional “band” of voice, guitar, keyboard, bass and drums.

The music ranges from very soft ballads to something akin to techno-industrial. Perhaps most iconic for me is the track “I'm sorry mom”, which I believe used to be featured on br'er's myspace. It opens with simple 3/4 strumming and voice, and quickly grows to include dissonant piano strings and more. A lot of pieces follow a similar idea, moving between art-rock song and experimental electronic work. The next track “Rory snake handler” also features a lot of splicing between disparate elements (e.g., song and dissonant piano), I'm guessing it is not indended to be played live. Most of the tracks, however, do sound quite doable live, which should make for some interesting shows as they tour.

The tracks following “I'm sorry mom”, continue to build up more and more electronic and noise elements, while returning for stretches to the “song” format. Ultimately, it is a collection of real songs, as sung by Schurr. But I find myself focusing on the piano and the electronics most. There is a lot of what I would consider “traditional avant-guard piano”, as well as sound-synthesis exploration, of the sorts I might use in my own performances or recordings. This is especially true in the later tracks from “Lapin” onward. It almost feels like they arranged in increasing order of electronic noise and beat/pattern content, which is as good an organizing principle as any. But to their credit, they provide a more chaotic or absurdist, and somewhat quiet, turn at the end.

Of Shemales And Kissaboos is available now from Beat is Murder Records. You can hear audio samples from from the album at Beat Is Murder's myspace as well as br'er.

Discuss on the CatSynth music forum.