I have tentative plans to foist upon the city at large the first live Controlled Dissonance performance in two years. This will take place (hopefully) at an art walk even in mid-January. The invitation is perfectly timed to coincide with a burning itch* that has been growing for an excuse to put together a minimal live rig. I broke out some dusty gear tonight; sorted through a plethora of tangled cables; and pieced together the beginning of said rig – using just three small sound-makers and the nefarious and infamous Spring Thing.
The walls are a little thin in my apartment, and I haven’t yet gotten comfortable enough with the new roommate to go full-on noise loud, but I’m giving the rig a shakedown and so far I’m finding it a comfortable groove into which I am settling back.
Stay tuned for more information, as it becomes available.
Got a little air time last night on a local internet radio program, Gunpowder Suite. I have since been kicking back and awaiting the legions of adoring fans that this is sure to garner me.
John Ingram (Controlled Dissonance) creates some great dark ambient / atmospheric drone, or as I’ve seen described elsewhere “harsh ambient, soft noise”. His Intelligent Machinery website is and has been various things (net label, blog, etc.) and has hosted & compiled some great noise & electronic compilations. Terrains Vagues sounds like a slow and ominous descent into the deepest depths of the ocean. On first listen, I imagined something akin the final scene in the movie The Abyss. Subtle and cinematic. That was my experience anyway. Let it take you where it may.
In his own words:
“That je ne sais quoi of sound that is so often ill-described as “atmosphere” had always intrigued him. The manner in which textures of sound overlapped, faded into and out of one another and reflected off of the surfaces of the surrounding world, like a lone shoe tossed about in an otherwise empty dryer. It was this sense of space and how it could be explored that first attracted him. It was the freedom of expression, unfettered by the constraints of traditional composition, that held him fast in the world of abstract noise. The visceral freedom to place his hands on virtually anything from which sound could be culled, and revel in the instant gratification of turning that object, regardless of its original intent, into an instrument of sound.
That is Controlled Dissonance.”
Okay. Technically it’s now Sunday afternoon, but I doubt any of you are following closely enough to spot the discrepancy, so I’m rolling with that title.
I was going to upload pictures of the Mitten Foot and the Noise Scout prototype, but the pictures that I took ended up way too dark and underexposed. I’ll have to try again once I make up the first batch of CDs. I have decided, for the sake of maintaining a manageable workload on the project, to make the physical release a limited run of 20 copies. I doubt I will waste the time and effort putting up a purchase page, based on the phenomenal performance of my previous CD releases (read: abysmal). Instead, I think I’m just going to make up the batch and then hand them out to people I feel will appreciate them.
It’s been weeks now that I’ve been idly promising to disseminate recommendations from the copious amount of new music I’ve ingested so far this year. I suppose the time is nigh to make good on this threat promise.
First up is Go Chic, a punky Taiwanese rock band. Self-described as “electric riot band in Taiwan” and “Electro-Hyphy-Chicks, Hybridized Punk-Blues-Rock”, this track is from their debut album and reminds me of Elastica – in a good way. Worth keeping an eye/ear on these ladies.
Given my predilection for every band whose memory this track evokes, I was shocked that I had never heard of these guys until very recently. Musically there are better tracks on the album from which this song is culled, but the random screamed nautical terms have sought to endear this song to me in ways that defy explanation.
In the same vein as the preceding track, this is another band that slipped through the cracks of my aggro youth. Given the use of electronics and effects, this would have given 16 year old John Ingram priapism. Painful, glorious, irreversible horn.
I want to say that I’ve posted this before, but I can’t find it. This video and performance aren’t as good as the official video and the studio recording, but the only copy of that I can find on YouTube has embedding disabled. The video is really cool, though, in a post-apocalyptic wasteland kinda way.
This isn’t a new find for me, but I revisited the album earlier this year and have become absolutely addicted to it. This opening track has become a perpetual earworm, ushering in every new day with its lulling harmonies and flawless falsetto. There are some weak moments on this album, but it’s far more solid than one could expect from a debut release.
I’m not a big fan of Jack White, but this was a pretty good album.
My brain is turning to mush from all this attempted processing. More coming soon.
I’m sad. More accurately, I’m SAD. The last few days of sunshine have been sufficient to coax from hiding the anxious buds of leaves and blooms speckling tree branches across the city, thus ushering in my least favorite of seasons: Spring. With heavy heart and much sorrow I feel the blessed glory of brisk winter air slowly give way to the sweltering warmth, and I affix this brittle affectation, this stiff upper lip, as I steel myself against the coming gloom of four months of blinding, oppressive sun and heat. The soul-enriching gray is soon replaced by an endless, horrifying sea of too much green and too much blue. If it is I you seek, you will find me hunkered in the shade, longing for Autumn.
New Controlled Dissonance album is complete. I finished the prototype last night, verifying proof of concept, and delivered it to its promised recipient. I’ll upload some pictures of the product later. I’m still toying with the idea of a remix single to release electronically alongside the physical CD, so if any of you are interested in remixing a track, “hit me up” – to quote the vernacular.
I’m currently passing idle time at work by running through the first season of Farscape. I remember when it debuted on SciFi Channel, but soon thereafter I entered into a period of about two and a half years without television, so I never got the opportunity to follow the show during its run. It’s not a bad show. I like Ben Browder, and although Claudia Black can be annoying, she’s low key enough in this role to be acceptable. There’s no apparent story arch yet (besides the conflict which defines the series), so it has become very serial. This makes it easy to liken the series to Stargate SG1, and the comparisons seem pretty accurate. Both are relatively light and focus on a small core of individuals. It’s become a good way to pass time.
I’m also catching up on the latest season of Chuck. I’m on the fence. I hope they bring Timothy Dalton back, but I can’t abide by the terrifyingly blatant product placement in the last few episodes. I hope that the writers don’t feel like they’re being clever or witty, because it is not. Not at all.