music - tm

"Cursum Perficio (Carl Craig-like Mix)"

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"Cursum Perficio (Carl Craig-like Mix)" [mp3 removed]

A midi version of an Enya tune (originally found on Guthrie Lonergan's blog no. 4) done in the manner of "second generation" Detroit techno guy Carl Craig, sort of. The midi track mostly featured piano and string instruments. (Update: one should always Google--I thought the tune was Lonergan's but he was being ironic. Sorry, Guthrie.)

Speaking of Carl Craig, Simon Reynolds wrote about him in Generation E. This is almost mean but really nails the music:

With its open-hearted yearning and twinkling textures, "Elements" conjured up the image of a lonely boy moping in his bedroom studio, mixing his lo-tech palette of tone colors with his teardrops to paint exquisite audio watercolors. There were shades of electro-calligraphic brushwork of Thomas Leer, Japan, and Sylvian/Sakamoto. This wasn't party-hard music but the pensive frettings of one of life's wallflowers. Six Nine's "Desire" features a keening synth melody that soars up and slides down the octave in fitful lurches. Released under Carl's own name, "At Les" is even more moistly melancholy, its trickle-down synth pattern sounding like glistening teardrops rolling down a cheek.

I can barely hit "publish" for my sobs, reading that.

Related: Kit Watkins "Labyrinth" remixed

"More Alpha Please"

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"More Alpha Please" [mp3 removed]

Not that it matters terribly but these are my own patches for the synth parts. The softsynth is the Linplug Alpha, reminiscent of an '80s analog synthesizer, which is simple and fun to program. This version has beats I added; the previously posted one is "a cappella."

I consider this sort of Goth, even though no Goth would agree with me.

(Make The) Product

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Thanks to Neg-Fi for including one of my tracks in their guest-DJ mix for (Make The) Product last night on WNYU-FM. The weekly music show features demos, self-released, live and private-pressed recordings. You can hear their set in streaming audio, and here's the playlist. The set features much skronky, minimal, micrometallic and otherwise neg-fi material, I'm honored to be in this company with an electronic "drum solo."

a couple of moronic remixes

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Below: two previously-posted songs, remixed to be louder and punchier.
Not so much so they could *be* loud but so more of the sound comes through at low volume.
Was talking recently with someone who studied music and produces and DJs tunes; the subject was goals.
For him the pleasure of creation is rooted in performance and audience response in the here and now.
Maybe because I come from a painting background I think of music as a portable commodity very detached from an author/performer.
My ideal "stage" would be Winamp or (ugh) iTunes with a selection of these tunes (or musical objects, as one person called them) in rotation, probably at low volume, playing through bookshelf speakers or computer speakers. That's how I generally "consume" them.
Including remixes and collaborations I'm now up to 250 tunes--that's eleven or twelve hours of "low tech sonic tapestry."
The person I was talking to described what I'm doing as "bedroom/internet"--sounds good to me.

"More Marching Morons (Mix 2)"

"Marching Morons (Loud)"

Update: After hearing several of my tunes through a club PA in October 2007, I changed my mind about this issue, and will be gradually be removing some of the "loud" mixes, starting with these. Through a decent amp/speakers the "volume maximized" tracks are too out of whack and don't have any presence at all.