I’ve wanted to do a podcast with a singer for a long time, but finding a vocalist comfortable with improvised soundscapes is not so easy. Ella turned out to be a great improvisor, who uses her voice in beautiful and unexpected ways, and I find the results of our collaboration sublimely serene. Be careful with this one, it can knock you right out.
This month’s podcast takes a look back at some of the past year’s live performances. I played with some great musicians in a variety of settings in 2017, and could probably fill several podcasts with those recordings. But here are four that represent the range of sonic experiences I had this year.
It starts with a solo performance at Beste Studios in October (thanks to Samantha Beste for the drawing at the top of this post!)
At around 11:17 there’s a duo performance with Dean Sharp on guitar, beats and loops, recorded at Newburgh Open Movement in August.
Then at 26:06 it’s a quartet performance with Al Margolis playing wind instruments, including alto clarinet, recorder and trumpet, Andy Rinehart on accordion, and Steve Roe on the Straddlevarious! This was recorded at a contact improvisation workshop in November.
This month’s podcast has more modular synths! courtesy of Campfire’s Edge.
Our collaboration produced some super-spacy, soundscapes – they have a sci-fi flavor that I really like, and hopefully you will too (mmm… sci-fi….).
Campfire’s Edge at work.
If you want to hear more from Campfire’s Edge, I highly recommend that you check out his EP, The Last Lighthouse. Its a beautifully textured collection of electronic compositions sure to please any fan of this podcast.
I play at a lot of art events, but this was the first time I’ve performed my site-specific soundscapes in a site-specific art installation. Jessica Angel: Grids of Formation was presented by Strongroom in the front parlor of a row house in Newburgh, NY.
This podcast was recorded at a performance during the closing reception of the show in January, 2017. It was an amazing experience playing in the installation, which was like being in a fissure between two alternate dimensions. A video and some photos are below. (Photos and video courtesy of Strongroom, except where noted.)
Here it is, the 24th Errant Space podcast! That’s two years of spacing out. Let’s celebrate with a double bill!
The first part of #24 features Abelard who plays guitars while I explore my “Errant Bass” alter ego. Just to mix things up, I decided to spend much of the last month getting back to my roots and playing bass guitar. I found the instrument lent itself quite well to the more soundscapey end of the ambient spectrum and this collaboration with Abelard is a good representation of some spacy goodness. It gets a little weird…
The second part of this month’s podcast goes in a completely different direction with me back on the guitar and featuring saxophonist Brad Hubbard playing electronic wind instrument (EWI) and baritone sax. Our collaboration resulted in some lovely mellow ambient tone poems. The first has Brad playing the EWI, creating nice electronic textures. And we wrap it up with Brad playing some beautiful baritone sax.
This month’s podcast was recorded at a Newburgh Open Movement performance on New Years Eve 2016 and features the always inspiring Dean Sharp. This is Dean’s third appearance on the podcast (clearly I like playing with the guy!), each time has been in a differentcontext.
And this podcast is also a little different, as the music was meant to provide an atmosphere in which people could move and dance, and our performance was a sort of collaboration with the movers and dancers.
This first podcast of 2017 is from a December 2016 performance at Vassar College’s Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. Its a pretty mellow one, which seems like a good way to start a new year.
This was my second performance at the Lehman Loeb (see ES podcast #16). Its a space I really enjoy playing in, with nice sounding rooms and some fantastic art. This time I was situated near a couple of Alexander Calder mobiles and I think their epicyclical motion had an influence on the music.
This month’s podcast was recorded at the Cocoon Theatre’s Beckett Festival which took place over two weekends in November, 2016. The title, There is no nothing, is from one of the plays performed, A Piece of a Monologue. Also performed were Not I and The Old Tune.
I played before each performance from the rear balcony of the theatre to establish mood for the audience. This podcast is taken from those pre-show performances. With that in mind, this one is best experienced at low volume in a low light environment.
This month’s podcast is for all you halloweeners out there. Put it on loop and add some atmosphere to your halloween party, or use it to creep out trick-or-treaters…
There is a bit of overdubbing on this one, which is a first for the podcast. I added some synthesizers and old casio keyboards, and also some prepared electric bass and pedal steel guitar.
a few of the special guests on this month’s podcast.
This month’s podcast was recorded during Beacon Open Studios on May 22, 2016. It’s super mellow, and may cause extreme drowsiness if listener is horizontal. Do not listen while operating heavy machinery.
Here it is, the 24th Errant Space podcast! That’s two years of spacing out. Let’s celebrate with a double bill!
This month’s podcast was recorded at a 
This was my second performance at the Lehman Loeb (see 
