This month’s podcast features synthesist David Mason. Its constructed from three sessions recorded en plein air; on my back deck and during a Space Out, Outside in April 2021.
In the electronic music realm, David Mason usually goes by the name of Listening Center and as such employs mostly analog synthesis and tape manipulation. Since 2012, he has released several albums and singles with record labels such as Ghost Box, Polytechnic Youth, A Year In The Country, Castles in Space, Texte und Töne, and Behind the Sky. He sometimes composes film soundtracks and plays electronic percussion in the Danish-US ensemble, Hess Is More.
This month’s podcast is from the final Space Out, Outside of 2020. It took place on a still not too cold afternoon in October and features synthesists David Mason and Michael Lutomski.
We covered a lot of sonic territory that afternoon; there are some great electronic textures, weird noises, and so much spacing out. Open your ears, and enjoy the journey.
This month’s podcast is a field recording of a very ambient solo performance at Quiet Village 3.0 which was a backyard show that took place September 27, 2020.
There’s a nice intimacy about this recording; you can hear the squeaks of my chair, the acoustic sound of my guitar and birds flying by. It fits well with the Quiet Village ethos of ambient music blending with the ambience of the environment.
This month’s podcast is from a July 2020 Space Out, Outside performance featuring Bob Brass, and John Lutz.
It a weird one!! All electronics with plenty of noise and drone, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Errant Elf, or Quantum Space… whichever you choose, this month’s podcast is from a live performance with Quantum Elf which took place on December 7, 2019 at the Rotunda in Philadelphia as part of the Event Horizon concert series.
Quantum Elf is Karl Fury (guitar, lap steel) and Floyd Bledsoe (synthesizers). It was a real honor to have these guys sit in with me for this show. I think our performance was pretty epic!
This final podcast of 2018 seems like a nice way to close out the year. It’s from a field recording of a Sound/Peace performance (the fourth in an ongoing series) that took place at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, NY on November 18, 2018.
Here’s some information about the event from the press release:
SOUND/PEACE (Seeking Harmony in Dissonant Times)
An immersive sonic experience accompanied by the changing light of the setting sun.
This performance features pianist/accordionist Andy Rinehart and bass clarinetist/percussionist J Why, along with members of the Beacon Rising Women’s Choir: Clara Masters, Danielle Andretta, Lisa Mayer and Olga Burger led in the Sound Painting tradition by conductor Gina Samardge, all supported by the ambient guitar soundscapes of Craig Chin. A performance rooted in improvisation, Sound Peace explores the evolving realms of ambient music, minimal music, modern soundscape, and earth music.
Sound/Peace aims to create a serene, contemplative atmosphere for deep listening where one can decompress and relax. The musicians occupy the edges of the space, surrounding listeners in sound. Audience members are free to move about the space, creating their own mix of the performance, and are encouraged to bring pillows or mats.
The performance will take place over approximately one and a half hours as the sun sets with the space illuminated only by natural light. The performance will end as darkness falls.
Learn more about Sound/Peace here. And listen to a podcast from the first Sound/Peace here.
Podcast # 39 is a from a field recording of a collaborative performance with Henry Lowengard which took place as part of the Cocoon Theatre’s Soirees In the Parlor Series* on March 28, 2018. This one is a strange journey; it sounds as if it could be the imaginary score to a surrealist play or experimental film.
Henry Lowengard is an artist/musician and developer of music apps. Some of the apps featured in this performance are: Enumero, AUMI, Droneo and Ellipsynth. You can learn more about those and other apps Henry has created HERE.
*The titular parlor is in the Cuneen-Hackett Arts Center, a historic Victorian building in downtown Poughkeepsie, NY
This month’s podcast takes a look back at some of the past year’s live performances. I played with some great musicians in a variety of settings in 2017, and could probably fill several podcasts with those recordings. But here are four that represent the range of sonic experiences I had this year.
It starts with a solo performance at Beste Studios in October (thanks to Samantha Beste for the drawing at the top of this post!)
At around 11:17 there’s a duo performance with Dean Sharp on guitar, beats and loops, recorded at Newburgh Open Movement in August.
Then at 26:06 it’s a quartet performance with Al Margolis playing wind instruments, including alto clarinet, recorder and trumpet, Andy Rinehart on accordion, and Steve Roe on the Straddlevarious! This was recorded at a contact improvisation workshop in November.