This month’s podcast features selections from three soundtrack projects I worked on this year.
The first part is the entire score for the experimental theatre piece, Enki, which explored the Sumerian creation myth.
Next (starting at 21:04) are 2 tracks from the soundtrack for the adventure card game Dark Venture. Its a bit different than my usual work, as it involves a lot more synthesizers and also a fair amount of field recording and sound design. But these are two of the more abstract tracks. You can hear (and purchase) the entire soundtrack HERE.
Finally (starting at 38:46) there are some selections from the soundtrack for the documentary Baato, which is currently in post-production. Here’s a brief synopsis: ‘Baato’ (n. [Nepali] 1. path, trail 2. way 3. road) is an observational film that documents a young village family on an annual migration along the route of a planned trans-national highway. Partially complete, the highway project will transform this roadless Himalayan valley permanently and open up a direct transport route between Nepal and China – bringing new challenges, new opportunities, and ultimately a new way of being to those who live along its path.
This month’s podcast is a collaboration with Steve Roe. It is, as the title suggests, quite strange, incorporating found sounds, field recordings and drones.
Steve Roe is the founder of COUNCIL OF (POETIC) EXPERIMENTATION an art collective dedicated to the performance and publication of language based experimental works. His latest project, COMFORT OF STRANGENESS utilizes field recordings, live electronics and voice to create otherworldly soundscapes.
This month’s podcast is a sort of hybrid; the source material is from a performance accompanying an Ajna Light Therapy session. I took that material into the studio and enhanced, augmented and manipulated it resulting in this extremely ambient podcast.
For best results listen at the lowest possible volume. As they say at ambient festivals, “turn it down!!”
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.
This month’s podcast is some spooky stuff!! Put it on loop for a soundtrack at your halloween party, or to create some creepy atmosphere for the trick-or-treaters. Use it to get yourself psyched up (or psyched out!) while you get your costume together, or just to create an unsettling environment where dread and evil could be lurking anywhere…
(Special thanks to Andy Rinehart for playing keyboard instruments and percussion.)
Robert and Jessie of Pas Musique came by the studio to record with me before their performance at the Second Wednesdays: Electronic/Experimental Music series in June 2018. Robert played a table full of synths, samplers, drum machines and effects, along with a gdrum and processed vocals. Jessie played some sort of boat paddle run through guitar effects…
We explored a lot of sonic terrain, and the resulting podcast feels like a journey across worlds in some strange universe.
This month’s podcast is from a 4 Airports performance at a house concert in March 2018.
4 Airports is an ongoing collaboration between myself and synthesist Nathan Yeager of Campfire’s Edge. Our first collaboration was for episode 29 of this podcast. After that we played a bunch of shows together and decided to make it an official project: 4 Airports.
You can listen to more of our music on Bandcamp.
BONUS: here’s a video of a 4 Airports performance in Brooklyn, NY.
This month’s podcast is a field recording from the first Sound/Peace (Seeking Harmony in Dissonant Times) performance. The performance took place on November 19, 2017 at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, NY and featured Brad Hubbard (baritone sax and flute), Andy Rinehart (accordion and piano), Nathan Yeager (synthesizers) and me (Craig) (guitar and loops).
The Sound/Peace concept takes several performers playing a mix of acoustic and electronic instruments and places them around the perimeter of a space surrounding the audience who are encouraged to bring pillows, lie down, read, draw, meditate etc. The event takes place in natural light as the sun sets, ending as darkness falls. It is an immersive sonic experience accompanied by the changing light of the setting sun.
Here is a time lapse from the first part of this performance: