Synthesizers

KrOB, bran(pos), Amanda Chaudhary, Passions Nouveau at Second Act (SF)

KrOB, bran(pos), Amanda Chaudhary, Passions Nouveau at Second Act (SF)

Another week, another show, or so it has seemed since late May. This one will be a solo set, combining my jazz and funk keyboards with experimental electronics on an analog modular synth; and of course the Theremini. Plus, hopefully, a mix of music and fashion if a recently acquired dress gets back from the dry cleaner in time. If you are in the Bay Area tomorrow, details are below.

Wednesday, June 15. 7:45PM
Second Act, 1727 Haight St, San Francisco

KrOB
Subholy priest of the subgenius, KrOB knows that sight and sound are united most when most they are exploding. Heads seem always to blossom in gore, pants burst timely into flame, and each babystroller leaps from its screaming caregiver right on cue. Come get your sweet spot pummeled by the best of the very best, the lowest of the unfathomable.

Podcasts

bran(…)pos
Diehard fans have seen every interior of the bran(…)pos writhe into view via handbuilt multimodal apparatii of self-extrusion. From costumed dissimulations and facial piezoelectrics, to Great Oz-headed video, circuit-bent stiletto, mic swallowing and pharyngeal-cello right between the knees. But until now, the engine at the center of it all has remained hidden: the bubblegum. Keep your eye on the event horizon as the first wad hoves into view at this tape release show for The Bubblegum Forgeries, first in a four volume series.
https://branpos.bandcamp.com/album/the-bubblegum-forgeries-vol-1

Amanda Chaudhary
Modular synthesizers, kids’ toys, and all manner of folk instruments combine to confound and awaken heretofore undiscovered sensibilities of her audiences. Chaudhary is also a photographer, fashion model, designs technology for creativity, and operates the foremost blog on cats and synthesizers, CatSynth.
http://www.amandachaudhary.com/

Passions Nouveau
Glen Park sound artist and Ka coach repurposing homemade electronic instruments as accompaniment to raw field recordings of degenerate ultra underground sex culture.
TorLink to dark stream available on request.

Amanda Chaudhary and Tania Chen at Spectrum, New York

Today we look back at my performance with Tania Chen at Spectrum in New York, a little over a week ago.


[Photo by BC]

Our duo is built around a mixture of experimental improvisation with electronic instruments and other elements, and songs with lyrics, melodies and chords, often segueing seamlessly from one to the other. Spectrum has a wonderful Steinway grand piano, which allowed to Tania to exercise her piano skills while I focused on chords and rhythm with a Nord Electro keyboard and DSI Prophet 12 and Moog Mother-32 synthesizers. At times the sound was dark and droning, others very sparse, and many times quite humorous – after all, we did sing a “Cheezy Love Song.” The songs themselves were quite structured, but there as well as the improvisations in between we were able to play off one another to create patterns and textures.



[Photos by BC]

I particularly like the sections combining the acoustic piano with the Prophet 12, and our dueling Casio keyboards. And yes, we had a lot of fun. You can see our full performance in this video below.

Overall we had a great time performing and it was quite well received by the audience. It wasn’t actually our first show together in New York. That was at the Brick Theater in Brooklyn and will be discussed in a separate article.

Our performance was in the middle of the bill. The evening began with a set by Hey Exit, a solo project by Brooklyn-based Brandan Landis.

Using guitar, electronics and video, Landis created a dark soundscape, sometimes noisy and drawing from his backgrounds in punk and noise, but at other times quite haunting and ethereal. The room was particularly dark, with light only from the video screen and a nearby candle.

Hey Exit was followed by a solo set by Jeff Surak featuring sundry electronic and acoustic sound sources.

Much of the set featured long drones with rich timbres, but also details such as beating patterns and occasional breaks in the sound. The timbres could be tense at moments, but overall tt was a very meditative performance; and a perfect sonic segue into our very different set.

We were immediately followed by Jarvis Jun Earnshaw performing with guitar, voice and electronics.

His sound at times was reminiscent of cafe folk singers, but his voice was anxious and abstract. The entire performance mostly followed the pattern of combining these elements with high-feedback delay and other effects.

The final set Jenn Grossman, another Brooklyn-based musician and sound artist.


[Photo by BC]

Her electronic set featured vocal experimentation with electronics, including rhythmic and ambient elements. Although also making use of drones, it was very different from Jeff Surak’s sound, more harmonic and thicker, more like a dreamy movie scene versus a tense dark space. There were percussive hits and noisy bits as well, which gave the music a defined texture.

It was overall a great experience being back at Spectrum and performing along with all the other acts. And we had a sizable and appreciative audience, despite the space being a little hot that evening. Thanks as always to Robert Pepper (Alrealon Musique) and Glenn Cornet for hosting us, and hopefully I will play there again soon.