Melancholy Lasts [snippet] + Truncate (Japanese version) + Fractured Time [snippet]
ALKA Live @ PhilaMOCA March 10, 2019 Philadelphia
supporting
Brothertiger (Brooklyn)
Summer Heart (Sweden)
Friday, March 15, 2019
live 360 clip philaMOCA
Melancholy Lasts [snippet] + Truncate (Japanese version) + Fractured Time [snippet]
ALKA Live @ PhilaMOCA March 10, 2019 Philadelphia
supporting
Brothertiger (Brooklyn)
Summer Heart (Sweden)
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Tracklisting:
On The Razz- Cursor Miner
Kleine Hausmusik #16 - Geeez 'N' Gosh
Paradise - ALYUSHA and LINDEN JAY
Judge Jury And Executioner - Atoms For Peace
Vessel - Jon Hopkins
Factung Conceal - Quinoline Yellow (Skam Records)
Deconfiguration - Architect (Hymen Records)
Migrade - Deru
Really Good - Substanz-t (Hymen Records)
If Q Was H - Num Num (Toytronic)
Currents (22v Offshore) - Phonem
Trepa N - TBA - Clicks and Cuts (Mille Plateaux (official)
Kleine Hausmusik #16 - Geeez 'N' Gosh
Paradise - ALYUSHA and LINDEN JAY
Judge Jury And Executioner - Atoms For Peace
Vessel - Jon Hopkins
Factung Conceal - Quinoline Yellow (Skam Records)
Deconfiguration - Architect (Hymen Records)
Migrade - Deru
Really Good - Substanz-t (Hymen Records)
If Q Was H - Num Num (Toytronic)
Currents (22v Offshore) - Phonem
Trepa N - TBA - Clicks and Cuts (Mille Plateaux (official)
-----------------------------
MBR Northbound - Ametsub
It's not safe to turn off your computer - Silent Strike
Uni Blue (Unieqav) - alva noto
1 (I I) - Esem
The Dream [Pyur Remix] (Particle Fields Reimagined) - Robot Koch & Savannah Jo Lack
Wet Brain (Aeng) - Yimino
Transition Rob Clouth Ben Lukas Boysen remix
Melancholy Lasts - Alka – [Ruxpin remix]
Rhubarb - Aphex Twin [1159 Remix by Wisp]
Lodestones (Close Ones) - Semiomime
Absence (Lights) - Tineidae
Ion (Imbalance EP) - Data Rebel
Spoven Brainchops (Bloid Fraxton) - Roel Funcken
Force to Port - Mitchell Akiyama – (v/a – With Naïve Assurance that Their Injuries Were Wrong)
It's not safe to turn off your computer - Silent Strike
Uni Blue (Unieqav) - alva noto
1 (I I) - Esem
The Dream [Pyur Remix] (Particle Fields Reimagined) - Robot Koch & Savannah Jo Lack
Wet Brain (Aeng) - Yimino
Transition Rob Clouth Ben Lukas Boysen remix
Melancholy Lasts - Alka – [Ruxpin remix]
Rhubarb - Aphex Twin [1159 Remix by Wisp]
Lodestones (Close Ones) - Semiomime
Absence (Lights) - Tineidae
Ion (Imbalance EP) - Data Rebel
Spoven Brainchops (Bloid Fraxton) - Roel Funcken
Force to Port - Mitchell Akiyama – (v/a – With Naïve Assurance that Their Injuries Were Wrong)
Friday, June 1, 2018
Sound and Incantations - Digital Art as Alchemy. Interview With Bryan Michael (Alka) by David Metcalfe, PlanetShifter.com Magazine
... was reminded recently of a wonderful discussion with fellow artist and occult explorer David B. Metcalfe. Reposting it here as I feel much of it is relevant to the alka project as it stands today and we have done much with visual artist Erika Tele to obtain a lot of these goals as envisioned in the article.
Sound and Incantations - Digital Art as Alchemy. Interview With Bryan Michael (Alka) by David Metcalfe, PlanetShifter.com Magazine
As Michelle Ramona Silva points out in her work, DIGITAL ALCHEMY: MATTER AND METAMORPHOSIS IN CONTEMPORARY DIGITAL ANIMATION AND INTERFACE DESIGN the digital arts are a fertile ground for exploring the act of creative alchemy. I spoke with Bryan Michael, an artist actively engaged in crafting experiences that cross the boundaries of alchemy and art to get a better understanding of the interstices of sound, image and technology.
In the interview you did with Re:Gen Magazine from '07 you said that you played at Matthew Kirscht's art opening in New Orleans, did you compose new music for that to accompany the themes of his work?
No, in fact I was working with a factor of juxtaposition for this particular evening. Kirscht was showing his non-Halloween paintings which dealt with childhood trauma more than anything. Visually it resembled a sort of "Candyland-gone-wrong". Upon first view you received the impression the pieces were quite accessible as he was using very vivid and wonderful colors, but upon closer examination it was apparent the imagery contained much darker elements. So, in a sense my set of off-kilter dance music at the time paralleled that experience.
Have you had any similar opportunities since then?
I scored a few gallery showings of friends' work, but these were all done after-the-fact and not conceived simultaneously or analogously with the work being shown.
What do you look for in a visual artist to accompany your work?
I would love to work with someone that could create a visual aspect of the music simultaneously during the recording process. Although I think it is possible for this task to be performed separately, the idea of both the visual and musical elements being conceived at the same time seems important. The trick is finding someone that can interpret and translate the tones into viewable elements without them being typical screenplay-style interpretations of the emotions evoked. Someone with a strong synaesthetic sense would be ideal.
As an electronic artist how is your work enhanced/changed when you are accompanied by a visual display?
It heightens the experience for the audience and adds a much needed missing element. However, in these cases, there are always moments when the viewer/listener experience becomes divided, whether it be from their own expectations of what should "go" with the music/film or when both elements simply do not gel. Which raises the question, is it possible for a "true" visual interpretation of music?
Have you ever worked with algorithms that 'play' visuals that are sync'ed up to your music?
Yes, and again, there always seems to be the moments that don't work and then moments that seem serendipitous. I would love to work with an algorithm that directly translates the rhythmic elements, tonal frequencies and harmonics produced from their various combinations, into the corresponding color spectrum frequencies in real-time. Similar to an oscilloscope but with a full dimensional range of colors in a multidimensional field; a holograph of sorts.
Is there a difference between something like playing at a gallery exhibition where the images are static and having a moving display?
Yes and No. At this point, it is left mostly up to the individual as to the experience they are going to obtain. Some can use music solely, or a combination of music with static imagery, to delve within their own mental state and have a more intense experience, as opposed to having the whole thing decided for them with screenplay-style moving images. I think it may be possible to prompt listeners towards a more intense experience by way of color combinations that directly and truly represent the music. How to accurately translate music to image, remains to be seen. Music moves and thus its visual counterpart should. For so long, the visual arts had been locked in a static medium: canvas, paper, wood, etc. Music has always been about tonal changes through a time dimension, an ever-changing sonic vibrational experience. The musical equivalent of a painting would be a single chord, or say, a one second sound snippet of a fully orchestrated track. I think the early pioneers of film and even TV were privy to this, striving to create a unique experience by morphing and varying visual frequencies on a time plane similar to music. They were not keen to reduce the medium as some method for easily broadcasting theater productions, which is what it has predominantly become.
How does the audience's response change?
Again, it is up to the individual, but environment plays a big factor. For example, in an intimate gallery setting with static imagery, one is less apt to lose themselves, but in a darkened club with pulsating lights that mimic the rhythmic elements of the music, we have a different story.
Do you think that the abstract nature of the music requires some sort of visual? An orchestra has the visual element of the players, jazz musicians have a similar level of showmanship, but an electronic composer usually only has a laptop or small set of synthesizers does this necessitate some sort of accompaniment?
Again, it is largely up to the individual, but in today's culture, I believe most people enjoy the extra stimulus that comes with the visual elements of a live musical scenario. Unless the audience is persuaded to close their eyes and practice some form of mental image formation or meditation, laptop performers have a unique dilemma, as they do not obviously "perform" with their machines. Thinking differently, I have friend Todd Steponick of At Work that is able to pull off a very impressive live laptop show using billboard style props and road signs. I do think many laptop showgoers may miss the experience of watching musicians physically interact with their instruments to produce tones, as in an guitar player strumming and plucking strings. I long for a way to see the inner functions of the computer during a laptop set, not merely as translated numerical data, but as a true visualization of the electrical synapses of the machine on a humanly visual level.
How does color affect your compositions? I know you mentioned some of your recent compositions sounding like those vintage ritual photos from the 60's/70's, do you find it's easier to compose with a visual in mind?
Not really. When I'm composing, I'm often approaching the music from a more an emotional level, beyond the visual. Personally, I often find the visual aspect comes after it's finished and I can listen from a different mental state.
Do you ever experiment with Pythagorean scales or harmonics?
Absolutely, and I plan to incorporate more elements such as Gematria into my works. The idea of reducing words and incantations to their numerical equivalancy and plugging the data into sequencers for audible results.
http://www.planetshifter.com/myth/1651/
Sound and Incantations - Digital Art as Alchemy. Interview With Bryan Michael (Alka) by David Metcalfe, PlanetShifter.com Magazine
As Michelle Ramona Silva points out in her work, DIGITAL ALCHEMY: MATTER AND METAMORPHOSIS IN CONTEMPORARY DIGITAL ANIMATION AND INTERFACE DESIGN the digital arts are a fertile ground for exploring the act of creative alchemy. I spoke with Bryan Michael, an artist actively engaged in crafting experiences that cross the boundaries of alchemy and art to get a better understanding of the interstices of sound, image and technology.
In the interview you did with Re:Gen Magazine from '07 you said that you played at Matthew Kirscht's art opening in New Orleans, did you compose new music for that to accompany the themes of his work?
No, in fact I was working with a factor of juxtaposition for this particular evening. Kirscht was showing his non-Halloween paintings which dealt with childhood trauma more than anything. Visually it resembled a sort of "Candyland-gone-wrong". Upon first view you received the impression the pieces were quite accessible as he was using very vivid and wonderful colors, but upon closer examination it was apparent the imagery contained much darker elements. So, in a sense my set of off-kilter dance music at the time paralleled that experience.
Have you had any similar opportunities since then?
I scored a few gallery showings of friends' work, but these were all done after-the-fact and not conceived simultaneously or analogously with the work being shown.
What do you look for in a visual artist to accompany your work?
I would love to work with someone that could create a visual aspect of the music simultaneously during the recording process. Although I think it is possible for this task to be performed separately, the idea of both the visual and musical elements being conceived at the same time seems important. The trick is finding someone that can interpret and translate the tones into viewable elements without them being typical screenplay-style interpretations of the emotions evoked. Someone with a strong synaesthetic sense would be ideal.
As an electronic artist how is your work enhanced/changed when you are accompanied by a visual display?
It heightens the experience for the audience and adds a much needed missing element. However, in these cases, there are always moments when the viewer/listener experience becomes divided, whether it be from their own expectations of what should "go" with the music/film or when both elements simply do not gel. Which raises the question, is it possible for a "true" visual interpretation of music?
Have you ever worked with algorithms that 'play' visuals that are sync'ed up to your music?
Yes, and again, there always seems to be the moments that don't work and then moments that seem serendipitous. I would love to work with an algorithm that directly translates the rhythmic elements, tonal frequencies and harmonics produced from their various combinations, into the corresponding color spectrum frequencies in real-time. Similar to an oscilloscope but with a full dimensional range of colors in a multidimensional field; a holograph of sorts.
Is there a difference between something like playing at a gallery exhibition where the images are static and having a moving display?
Yes and No. At this point, it is left mostly up to the individual as to the experience they are going to obtain. Some can use music solely, or a combination of music with static imagery, to delve within their own mental state and have a more intense experience, as opposed to having the whole thing decided for them with screenplay-style moving images. I think it may be possible to prompt listeners towards a more intense experience by way of color combinations that directly and truly represent the music. How to accurately translate music to image, remains to be seen. Music moves and thus its visual counterpart should. For so long, the visual arts had been locked in a static medium: canvas, paper, wood, etc. Music has always been about tonal changes through a time dimension, an ever-changing sonic vibrational experience. The musical equivalent of a painting would be a single chord, or say, a one second sound snippet of a fully orchestrated track. I think the early pioneers of film and even TV were privy to this, striving to create a unique experience by morphing and varying visual frequencies on a time plane similar to music. They were not keen to reduce the medium as some method for easily broadcasting theater productions, which is what it has predominantly become.
How does the audience's response change?
Again, it is up to the individual, but environment plays a big factor. For example, in an intimate gallery setting with static imagery, one is less apt to lose themselves, but in a darkened club with pulsating lights that mimic the rhythmic elements of the music, we have a different story.
Do you think that the abstract nature of the music requires some sort of visual? An orchestra has the visual element of the players, jazz musicians have a similar level of showmanship, but an electronic composer usually only has a laptop or small set of synthesizers does this necessitate some sort of accompaniment?
Again, it is largely up to the individual, but in today's culture, I believe most people enjoy the extra stimulus that comes with the visual elements of a live musical scenario. Unless the audience is persuaded to close their eyes and practice some form of mental image formation or meditation, laptop performers have a unique dilemma, as they do not obviously "perform" with their machines. Thinking differently, I have friend Todd Steponick of At Work that is able to pull off a very impressive live laptop show using billboard style props and road signs. I do think many laptop showgoers may miss the experience of watching musicians physically interact with their instruments to produce tones, as in an guitar player strumming and plucking strings. I long for a way to see the inner functions of the computer during a laptop set, not merely as translated numerical data, but as a true visualization of the electrical synapses of the machine on a humanly visual level.
How does color affect your compositions? I know you mentioned some of your recent compositions sounding like those vintage ritual photos from the 60's/70's, do you find it's easier to compose with a visual in mind?
Not really. When I'm composing, I'm often approaching the music from a more an emotional level, beyond the visual. Personally, I often find the visual aspect comes after it's finished and I can listen from a different mental state.
Do you ever experiment with Pythagorean scales or harmonics?
Absolutely, and I plan to incorporate more elements such as Gematria into my works. The idea of reducing words and incantations to their numerical equivalancy and plugging the data into sequencers for audible results.
http://www.planetshifter.com/myth/1651/
Thursday, May 24, 2018
new alka reMix of a Roger O'Donnell track
In a recent clean up of some files on a hard drive, I came across the stems from This Grey Morning that Roger O'Donnell had sent me awhile back. After a bit of clean-up this moody Italo Disco/Synthwave mix happened... Enjoy!
Alka remix of Roger O'Donnell's (of the Cure, Thompson Twins, Psychedelic Furs) and Erin Lang's (of Foundling) lovely and sparkling This Grey Morning track from his MOOG based solo album The Truth in Me.
Alka remix of Roger O'Donnell's (of the Cure, Thompson Twins, Psychedelic Furs) and Erin Lang's (of Foundling) lovely and sparkling This Grey Morning track from his MOOG based solo album The Truth in Me.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Sara Goodman Video for Cooperate
Cooperate is taken from The Colour of Terrible Crystal, the new album from Alka and the third album release to come from Vince Clarke's VeryRecords label.
This video was created by glitch artist Sara Goodman and you can find out more about her work on her Instagram feed at instagram.com/sci_fi_mascara/.
The Colour of Terrible Crystal is out now on limited-edition CD and via Digital Download.
veryrecords.com
ALKA - Cooperate (Official Video) from VeryRecords on Vimeo.
This video was created by glitch artist Sara Goodman and you can find out more about her work on her Instagram feed at instagram.com/sci_fi_mascara/.
The Colour of Terrible Crystal is out now on limited-edition CD and via Digital Download.
veryrecords.com
ALKA - Cooperate (Official Video) from VeryRecords on Vimeo.
Monday, January 22, 2018
Sara Goodman Video for We are Free Forms
proud to link an original Sara Goodman video creation for our track We Are Free Forms. crystal // worship. From the Vince Clarke VeryRecords release: The Colour of Terrible Crystal.
ALKA - We Are Free Forms (Official Video) from VeryRecords on Vimeo.
ALKA - We Are Free Forms (Official Video) from VeryRecords on Vimeo.
Thursday, January 11, 2018
alka merch
alka merch now has a home at magicksquares.bandcamp which includes limited edition glow-in-the-dark 'terrible crystal' shirts and our 1579 codex shirt depicting a glitched Ezekiel's Vision - long attributed to biblical visions of UFOs. Also available are full color, UV coated 4" square stickers, and pins.
Monday, January 8, 2018
Oddtronica #29 NYE 2017 Special on Bloop radio London
2 hours of brand new and forthcoming Oddtronic releases from around the globe feat. guest selections via Coldcut.
Incl:
Bernhard Fleischmann, Deft, TYOMA, Crewdson, zillagramwiches, Pye Corner Audio, Boca 45 feat Mohawkestra, Joe Goddard, ZA'ED NA'ES زائد ناقص, Maii Waleed, Foram, Alka, Vince Clarke, Amandra, Sxriptures, Nabihah Iqbal, Detroit Swindle, On-U Sound Records, Bibio, Maya Jane Coles, Jordan Rakei, Tontario, ULTRAMAJIC, Jimmy Edgar, Four Tet, Esem, Aleksi Perala
Monday, October 30, 2017
videos from the terrible crystal
promo videos from the 'Terrible Crystal' release. All videos compiled by Vince Clarke, except 'Melancholy Lasts' by Nicole Antebi
Buy the full length album for these tracks at the purchase links to the right (top of page).
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
TXTBK's CHVяCH XV BяXK3N 7ANGvAG3
1 Hymn For The Broken, Swollen And Silent by Gnaw Their Tongues
2 Pain Killer by Hide
3 The Grand Delusionalby Liars
4 Under My Skin by Black Needle Noise with Tara Busch
5 Daemon by Kastle
6 Fallen Through by Chuter
7 Laady X by SAOCOM
8 Snesrotek by Syrette
9 Betablockers by Alka
10 The People's Pyramid by monomorte
11 Isolated by Trevor Something
12 New World Order Fatcats Playing Populous For Kicks by C/A/T
13 Never See Eye To Eye Again (ft Sleepless Droids) by Lucidstatic
14 'Til Then (feat. Edward Ka-Spel) by kETvECTOR
15 Underneath Your Skin by Pleasure Symbols
16 The Furnace by Martial Canterel
17 Ration by Textbeak feat. Heretek & Adam Rodgers
18 Just Be You by Jules Cohen
19 Dolphin Dream by Larry Heard
20 Afric by The Maghreban
21 D7-D5 by Blanck Mass
22 Spoken Ashes by Phase Fatale
23 Les Meandres De Samara Part I-II by Rubbish TC
24 Today I'm Dead by The Force Dimension
25 Diabolical Gesture (Marcel Dettmann Edit) by A Thunder Orchestra
26 Uganda Futura 1 by Decent International
27 Transformation by Katran
28 Waiting For Another by Niki Istrefi
29 Inkjet by Beatrice Dillon and Call Super
30 Common Soundproofing Myths by Karen Gwyer
31 Lamborghini (Petrol April 1982) by Severed Heads
32 Country Girl by Boy Harsher
33 See Your Door by Circa Tapes
34 Drought by Hex Wolves
35 Struggle by Years Of Denial
36 Deception (Head for a Fix Remix by Evestus) by Lucidstatic
Monday, October 16, 2017
Monster Movie - alka remix - Graveface Records
Graveface Records has announced that after 2 years of work Monster Movie's "Transistor" Expanded is now up for pre-order on limited edition colored vinyl LP in a screen-printed foldover with a letterpress insert and/or digital download:
https://graveface.bandcamp.com/album/transistor-expanded
Side A is a brand new remaster of the original EP and Side B features covers and remixes of Transistor by The Stargazer Lilies, New Fumes, Camera Shy, all in the golden afternoon and Alka.
Excited to have the opportunity to take part in this release with a remix for "dream pop" specialists, Monster Movie which is of course comprised of Sean Hewson and Christian Savill (also of Slowdive). Their pastoral track Left has always been a favorite of mine and it was kind of them to allow me free reign with the original isolated tracks. I coincidentally had Halsey Shelton's (Primitive Finks/Full Blown Cherry) Moog MG-1 that I had just repaired sitting in my studio so I experimented dropping it into the mix... things went a little strange after that... but you'll need to order the record to hear that.
Friday, October 13, 2017
Thee Colour of Terrible Crystal
Our new album is released onto the unwitting world on this day, Friday the 13th in the Gregorian calendar cycle of 2017 years. Featuring loads of analog and digital synthesizers, additional programming from thee Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure), ethereal vocals, and a spectral array of emotions.
Buy/Stream in full:
Limited Edition CD - www.veryrecords.com/shop
Amazon - tinyurl.com/y86dy883
Spotify - open.spotify.com/album/4pISgHM3kbrflag2397QAw
Google Play - tinyurl.com/y85prjut
Tidal - listen.tidal.com/album/77638041
YouTube - tinyurl.com/ybsahqtm
and other outlets of your choice.
“… and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. They move through the firmament which is the colour of a ‘terrible crystal’, and around a throne like sapphire, on which sits Metatron, suffused in the radiance of the rainbow.” - Peter Lamborn Wilson, Angels (1980)/Ezekiel's Vision.
Preview snippets of the entire album:
Buy/Stream in full:
Limited Edition CD - www.veryrecords.com/shop
Amazon - tinyurl.com/y86dy883
Spotify - open.spotify.com/album/4pISgHM3kbrflag2397QAw
Google Play - tinyurl.com/y85prjut
Tidal - listen.tidal.com/album/77638041
YouTube - tinyurl.com/ybsahqtm
and other outlets of your choice.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
The Colour of Terrible Crystal :: 13.10.17
New full-length release :: The Colour of Terrible Crystal
out Friday the 13th, October 2017 on Vince Clarke's VeryRecords
"Here you will find the same melodic sensibilities that coloured the two earlier Alka albums, but you’ll also hear the sound of a restless, mercurial musician unafraid of crashing together diffuse elements – faltering stop-start rhythms, glitches, drifting ambience, near-pop and crisp beats inflected with the boldness of early electro...
‘The Colour Of Terrible Crystal’ is an exercise in electronic eclecticism; dark and moody, at times broodingly cinematic, at times carrying subtle layers of delicate optimism alongside edgier, experimental moments. Few can make albums where so many apparently incompatible stylistic switches appear so coherent, or make music whose clashing juxtapositions continually reveal themselves with successive listens." - Mat Smith
“... and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. They move through the firmament which is the colour of a ‘terrible crystal’, and around a throne like sapphire, on which sits Metatron, suffused in the radiance of the rainbow.” – Peter Lamborn Wilson
"Here you will find the same melodic sensibilities that coloured the two earlier Alka albums, but you’ll also hear the sound of a restless, mercurial musician unafraid of crashing together diffuse elements – faltering stop-start rhythms, glitches, drifting ambience, near-pop and crisp beats inflected with the boldness of early electro...
‘The Colour Of Terrible Crystal’ is an exercise in electronic eclecticism; dark and moody, at times broodingly cinematic, at times carrying subtle layers of delicate optimism alongside edgier, experimental moments. Few can make albums where so many apparently incompatible stylistic switches appear so coherent, or make music whose clashing juxtapositions continually reveal themselves with successive listens." - Mat Smith
“... and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. They move through the firmament which is the colour of a ‘terrible crystal’, and around a throne like sapphire, on which sits Metatron, suffused in the radiance of the rainbow.” – Peter Lamborn Wilson
Friday, May 12, 2017
Three Won't Lock
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
The Hermetic Library Anthology Album – Magic, Music and Ritual 12
Magick,
Music and Ritual 12, the one and only album in 2016, from the Hermetic Library Anthology project is
now released
for immediate digital download.
Includes new track :: Multiple :: Multi-faceted as crystal. We saw this day come
and go, like shards of colored light. The planets rise and fall, to nothing...
to darkness. The stars glow in sync; appearing multiple | singular | modular |
linear.
"They move through the firmament which is the colour of
a ‘terrible crystal’, and around a throne like sapphire, on which sits
Metatron, suffused in the radiance of the rainbow.” – Peter Lamborn Wilson
Produced and programmed by bryan.alka, additional
programming Todd Steponick, lyrics and vocal elements by erika tele & todd
steponick. additional primal outcries: matthew kirscht & micha'el horrible
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Inside the Rift: Session 35:Ruxpin
New deep electronica mix from Ruxpin for Inside the Rift..
Tracklist:
Tracklist:
Buspin Jieber – We Came As We Left
Ruxpin – Poly Polly
Ametsub – SkyDroppin
Kelpe – Eye Candy Bath
Christ – Toynbee
Gunnar Jónsson Collider – Transikh
Daveeth – Go Figure
Pastacas – Erikool
AFX – Diskhat
Eric B & Rakim – I Know You Got Soul
Karsten Pflum – Com Sa Faerring
Generate – Lander
Alka – Twilight
Skurken - Hólmur
Ruxpin – Poly Polly
Ametsub – SkyDroppin
Kelpe – Eye Candy Bath
Christ – Toynbee
Gunnar Jónsson Collider – Transikh
Daveeth – Go Figure
Pastacas – Erikool
AFX – Diskhat
Eric B & Rakim – I Know You Got Soul
Karsten Pflum – Com Sa Faerring
Generate – Lander
Alka – Twilight
Skurken - Hólmur
Friday, December 4, 2015
End of Years
2015, what's in a number...? This year saw continued production on an upcoming alka release: The Colour of Terrible Crystal, but nearly as important, 2015 (and let's throw in 2014 because it's all a blur) saw the completion of many DIY analog synth projects and the restoration of old favorites at the alka studio: Angels' Den which has become the Analog Hospital as of late:
- MicroMoog restoration - a trash-picked classic, cleaned up and calibrated
- SN76477 restoration project: an old copper faced wooden-boxed 70's arcade chip synth was brought back to life.
- Buchla 258r build - for Electric Music Box project
- Buchla 208r rev1 build
- Buchla 208r rev2 build - for Electric Music Box project
- Alka my glitch card design and prototyping for 208 edge connector interface
- Moog/Realistic MG-1 restoration/rebuild
- Bleep Labs - Bleep Drum build
- SN76477 build from vintage Complex Sound Generator schematic :: Daemonous Scratch Box
- Korg Poly-61 restoration/rebuild
- Gieskes 3trinsrgb+1c analog audio/video synthesizer build
- Gieskes Analog HD2, hard drive instrument build
- Casio CZ-5000 restoration
- White Noise Generator breakout board for Buchla DIY Electric Music Box
 |
| Korg Poly61: Before |
 |
| Korg Poly61: During repair |
Korg Poly61: After
Monday, December 29, 2014
New MultiTracks App
Mate, Roger O'Donnell (The Cure, Thompson Twins, Psychedelic Furs, 99x/10) is featured in a new app, MultiTracks. If you listen closely you can hear a bit of my synth and drum programming in there as well!
Roger O'Donnell's MultiTracks releases from "The Truth In Me" and "Songs From The Silver Box", each song delivered as eight synchronized stereo tracks in a mixer format. You can solo, mute, and adjust the volume on every instrument and vocal track! Only with the MultiTracks App for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
MultiTracks App for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch for FREE here: http://bit.ly/1kbjGYW
MultiTracks App: http://multitracksapp.com/
-------------------------------
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
The Synthi Group Volumes I, II, III
In 2009-10, I was fortunate to have been involved with the Synthi Group, a collection of vintage EMS analog synthesizer owners that came together for a series of collaborative releases via Clinical Archives label. Now permanently archived at the Internet Archive site, these releases will hopefully last as long as the instruments that made the tracks...
Formed in 1969, Electronic Music Studios (EMS) quickly became innovators for the recording, production and advancement of electronic music. The ideas and designs that bubbled forth out of the ingenuitive minds of Peter Zinovieff, Tristram Cary, David Cockerell and others, led to the creation of some of the most wildly original musical/sound design equipment ever conceived. The VCS3, Synthi A + AKS, Synthi 100, Synthi E, Synthi Logik and the Soundbeam are among these, almost unworldly, devices.
It is often said EMS gear has attained cult status, reaching a fervor of near worship among its users. The Synthi Group is an example and collection of such users. United through the Synthi blog and forum (www.thesynthi.de) and located throughout the world, the group's members have come together for a planned series of compilation volume releases where the individuality and approach of each member towards their EMS instrument is showcased and broadcasted for all to experience. The listener will hear wildly different examples of styles and sounds that this original, and oft times, vintage equipment can create.
EMS were true pioneers from the very beginning, always looking beyond the culture and times they were surrounded and seemingly trapped in. Still around today, thanks to Robin Wood and Ludwig Rehberg, they are one of the few companies involved with electronic instrument production that have had a continued run since their inception. The Synthi Group have honed the original pioneering spirit and DIY ethic of EMS with their Volume series, a collection of sounds encompassing beautiful dreamscapes, synaesthetic visions, dark ambience, aural abstractions, sonic absurdities, pulsating analog, glitch, ring modulators, and envelope shapers generating trapezoidal geometry. Beginning with Volume 1, the Synthi Group compilations aim to ensure the story of EMS continues well into the future of electronic music production. (alka 2009)
Monday, December 22, 2014
MONSTER MOVIE remix
Excited to have recently finished up a remix for "dream pop" specialists, Monster Movie which is of course comprised of Sean Hewson and Christian Savill (also of Slowdive). Their pastoral track Left has always been a favorite of mine and it was kind of them to allow me free reign with the original isolated tracks. I coincidentally had Halsey Shelton's (Young Werewolves/Full Blown Cherry) Moog MG-1 that I had just repaired sitting in my studio so I experimented dropping it into the mix... things went a little strange after that.
If all goes as planned the remix will be included in a deluxe remastered reissue edition of their 2004 mini-LP, Transistor out on Graveface Records early in 2016. Stay tuned...
If all goes as planned the remix will be included in a deluxe remastered reissue edition of their 2004 mini-LP, Transistor out on Graveface Records early in 2016. Stay tuned...
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