Smoking or Non?
You heard me.
Me: "Hey. I need a single for the night."
Her: "Smoking or non?"
Me: "Hahahahahaha! Is that really an option?!"
It's weird how quickly we acclimate to changes in life. It's been only just over four years since I moved to Washington, but the memory of Smoking Sections and Smoking Rooms has faded to the point where I almost forgot such things still exist. For a lark, I opted for the smoking room. And it STINKS. So much for trying to be funny. More on this motel later.
Well. Today was the day. Sean got his first taste of abandonment in the arms of the pedagogic elite. His eyes got big and his lip quivered a tad when his mother and I left, but he butched up and powered through the situation. It was amazing seeing him interacting with a group of his peers. With the exception of two other classmates, he's inches taller than everyone in his class (the other two are still shorter, just not by quite so shocking an amount). All the other kids formed an orderly line and marched single-file like good little children, while Sean wandered around, cut corners and randomly darted forwards and backwards in line. No respect for authority, that one.
*beams with pride*
The good news is that the motel has free wi-fi (you think?) and decent cable. I'm sitting in the cool room, sipping some Jim Beam and watching the Langoliers (okay, I guess I could change the channel now). If I can stay awake long enough, I can catch the season finale of Futurama.
David Morse!
Alright. I'm trying to think of some things I want to add to the site, now that I'm actually in the mood to be productive and expand the offerings a little. I don't really have any ideas, though, so if any of you have any suggestions, I'm all ears/eyes.
The shareef don't like it...
Bose Ensemble – Eugenic Teddybears
Though questionably titled, Bose Ensemble's Eugenic Teddybears is a well executed excursion into aural chaos. Breaking free of practically all conventional restraints, Bose Ensemble have compiled a series of electroacoustic recordings that flirt with cacophony with a reckless and unabashed abandon. You won't find any artificially-induced atmosphere on this album, just unfettered natural sound. The layers of often repetitious material are salvaged from the brink of tedium by the tasteful brevity of the tracks, which allows the listener to explore the differences of these pieces without getting dragged down by their similarities.
A great break from the more ambient-leaning material I've been reviewing lately, but not something that I would find myself pulling out to listen to repeatedly.
(2.5/5)
Scars of Conquest; Rewards of Defeat
I always knew that this week was going to be interesting, but the results of the utterly unforeseen have made this week even more interesting than even I could have prognosticated (and I'm like a living fuckin' Nostradamus).
It's raining this morning. It rains here (and I mean, like an actual downpour, not just misting or drizzling) maybe three days a year, yet some asshole always has to be the first to throw up his hands in exasperation and say "Welcome to Seattle!", as if a tropical depression is parked over the city year-round, dumping water in its hapless citizens by the bucket load. Butch up, Seattleites. Grow a pair or buy an umbrella. In the South we call this "autumn" and it lasts for about three months. Until it gets cold enough to freeze. Then we call it "winter".
I've got one small update to the Databending page, that I hope to knock out tonight, otherwise that page is finished. If you haven't previously had a chance to check it out, go give it a read and let me know what you think. I'm really only just touching some basic elements of the process, since an exhaustive tutorial would be the size of a textbook, but I'm hoping that it will inspire others to give databending a whirl. I may even host another databending compilation project, a la Bending The Binary.
Sean starts Kindergarten this week, which is part of the reason why my week was going to be interesting. It makes me a little sad that he'll be going off and his impressionable little brain is going to be subjected to the indoctrination of others. I have faith that his utter disregard for humanity, outside of the role it plays in delivering to him the entertainment he desires, will buffer the effects of said indoctrination, but only time will tell if that alone will be enough.
In order to meet his teacher, attend orientation and see him off on his first day of school, I have to take two days off work this week. Because of this, I likely won't have time to get in my requisite number of album reviews. I'm going to try to get in one review sometime today, but I doubt that I'll make the full three for the week. Some of you may be disappointed by this news. Most of you likely don't care. That's alright. I know who you are.
There was leftover food in the break room. I'm eating what appears to be some manner of crustless quiche. It's a little, how you say, odd.
Until then, etc. etc.
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
I'm finally getting around to doing something that I've been meaning to do for a long time: updating the Databending page. Put a small dent in my overall idea of progress, but my goal this weekend is to have it completely finished with tutorials worthy of gracing the same site as the Mutant Phaser and Pedal Bending Guide tutorials.
We're less than two weeks from the release of Of Places and Moments, so I may also, sometime this weekend, get the official page up for the new project.
Speaking of databending, anyone out there have any suggestions for instruments/applications that use granular synthesis? I'm thinking of including a quick and dirty link list on the Databending page for those interested, but the only one I can think of, off the top of me own dirty head, is AtomicCloud.
As always, caveat emptor, motherfuckers.
mystified Versus Seism (Split)
There's something about the idea of a split release that evokes in me a sense of heartfelt nostalgia. I can't help but be overcome with the same feeling that I got as a teenager, buying punk rock split 7" singles from the only store in the area that deigned to carry such things back in those days. It's a strange feeling that I can't quite explain, but it always inspires in me a desire to release a split of my own.
mystified Versus Seism is a split release featuring (obviously) mystified and Seism. I first ran into Thomas Park, of mystified, a little over a decade ago, and have been following his efforts ever since, but I wasn't familiar with Seism, so I was going into this half-blind. The results were pleasantly surprising. The release itself is fairly long, with the shortest track clocking in at just over 15 minutes, but there are few passages where you feel as though things are dragging along needlessly. Seism's dark and organic ambient complements mystified's trademark abstractions, the former lending weight to the loftiness of the latter. "Birds On A Wire" may be the album's weakest moment, as the length of the track becomes tedious, but the experience is saved with the random collage of sampled sound that opens "Language Of The Universe"; a beautifully restrained exhibition of haunting atmosphere. The album closes with "Edge Of The River", a relaxing field recording of running water.
A great split and introduction to Seism, who I will be tracking down in the near future.
(3.5/5)
So, about that “details” leak…
I promised that I would leak some of the details about the next project, so here goes.
Without getting into the entire story (that will come with the official announcement), the gist of the project is to compose a track that is inspired by one of the following images:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/universallogic/4259235838/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/universallogic/4277919605/in/photostream/
Pick one of these images and make it your muse. No other rules. Obviously the compilation will be geared towards abstract/noise/dark ambient, as with all previous releases, but otherwise have at it. Preferably chose one image or the other, since I'm planning to divide the release by image of inspiration, but that doesn't mean you can't submit two tracks, one for each image. Full project information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.
Until then, etc. etc.
Chthonium – Hades
Chthonium's Hades is a sparse, low-key dark ambient effort. The album opens with an organic glistening that conjures up images of rattling metal sheets, and promptly establishes a solid foundation for the mood of the remaining tracks. Sounds seemingly dredged, with an exquisite softness, from an ethereal darkness hunker low creating a sense of vast emptiness crushing down from above. The sparse nature of the tracks don't lend themselves to fading into the background, but rather to creating their own space; a space upon space within which these whispers dwell.
Keep an eye out for the curious tagging of the second track...
(3.5/5)
nightech – field carriers
With a subtleness that is not soothing, yet never deigns to be bold or harsh, nightech's field carriers is a more traditional dark ambient undertaking. Dark washes of sound underpin the lilt of atonal synth noodlings, invoking imagery of bubbling depths and creatures of subterranean origin. I find myself wanting for aggression, as the darkness of the tracks seems blunted by their lack of edge. Otherwise, a great dark ambient album for a more relaxed mood.
(3.5/5)
New noise
Last night I took a few minutes to render and master some of Gabriel's noise tracks. I had a little trouble with the player, but just got that sussed out, so they're available for your listening pleasure on his audio page.
These tracks are a little more minimal than previous work. He's moved out of the Beating Things phase and these days focuses his work on mouth noises and audio manipulation. He's also discovered my MIDI keyboard and is obsessed with that, as well. What impresses me most, though, is when he mutes the soundcard, dumps a bunch of audio tracks in Live and spends an hour tweaking effects and moving the tracks around, while refusing to monitor his work. Then, when he's done, he just saves it and moves on, still adamantly refusing to hear what he's done. I haven't decided if it's because he's more interested in playing with the software than he is with what he's making, or if he's some sort of artistic genius and this is part of his eccentricity. I guess time will tell...
What time is it?
Adventure time!
Allow me to sum up how awesome today was by saying this: Fun downtown with the kids. Enchiladas for lunch. Five hour Adventure Time marathon. Risotto for dinner. Belly full of beer. Kids enamored with Harry Potter movies.
Updated the About page and the Project page so now they actually have a little more content (or rather more adequately supply the information necessary to be functional pages). I'm thinking about spending some time this coming week mastering some of Gabriel's latest noise tracks, since it's been a while since I last updated his page with new audio. It's not that he hasn't been productive (little monster is far more productive than I am), rather that I just haven't been able to keep up with his efforts.
Getting the RAR file for Of Places and Moments uploaded for Mark. I got the confirmation I needed for the next project, so keep your eyes open this week for that news. I will likely leak the project details before the project officially kicks off (for people who want to get a jump on the project).
Until then, etc. etc.
Contact
NTNS Radio Blog
- Ar tastry.. September 2, 2010
- Playlist August 28th 2010 August 28, 2010
- Zooo><ohmmm… August 26, 2010