This month’s podcast is from a July 2020 Space Out, Outside performance featuring Bob Brass, and John Lutz.
It a weird one!! All electronics with plenty of noise and drone, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.
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This month’s podcast features some beautiful, contemplative improvisations with pianist Sandy Santra. These recordings capture our first time playing together; I think there’s a special quality that comes through as we learn to communicate musically. And it’s always nice to play with an acoustic instrument, as I spend so much time in the world of electronics.
Sandy Santra was born in Pennsylvania in the late 1950s, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, attended Reed College in the 1970s, and moved to New York City in 1996. He began playing piano at the age of five, improvising at the age of sixteen, and has recorded and performed as a solo pianist for over forty years. He has played with numerous ensembles on both coasts of the United States, and his new wave band Counter Parts performed all over the Bay Area in the early 1980s. He has also composed and recorded soundtracks for his own short films, and accompanied numerous dance ensembles. Additionally he is a professional photographer [source photo for header image courtesy of Sandy], award-winning filmmaker, and has lectured on technology in New York City and semiotics in London. His videos may be viewed at his YouTube channel, which includes all his performances during the “Play Me, I’m Yours: New York City 2010” piano festival. Sandy currently resides in Hudson Valley and is writing a novel.
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The experiment continues, more remotely than ever, as this month’s podcast is the first to feature a collaborator that I’ve never met, Scott Metoyer.
Scott Metoyer is a synthesist, experimenter, software developer, and visual creator from Southern California. His work explores the hidden symphonies all around us, locked away in the mundane artifacts of daily living and consumerism.
Scott uses custom-built controllers, modular synthesizers, and algorithmic processes to capture and manipulate reappropriated data into intricate and evocative soundscapes. He self-releases projects on Bandcamp, has many open source projects available on GitHub , and is currently designing a small range of boutique Eurorack modules.
Learn more here:
music.scottmetoyer.com
IG: scottmetoyermusic
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This month’s podcast is an experimental music experiment. Inspired by Al Margolis’ concept for podcast #57, and the desire/necessity to collaborate with musicians in distant locations, REMOTE VARIATIONS was born.
Here’s how it works: I recorded an improvised piece, keeping in mind that it would be sent to a collaborator (or in this case, two collaborators) to add to in any way they wanted. After the collaborator has finished with what I sent them, they take inspiration from that experience and create a new piece which they send to me to add to. Those pieces then go together to form the podcast.
My two (remote) collaborators this month were Irman Peck (Philadelphia, PA) and Michael Lowe (Denver, CO).
Irman starts the podcast adding subtle synthesizers to the piece I sent him. Then around 15:45 we get more abstract with Irman’s response piece where he returns to his primary instrument, bass.
Things begin to get glitchy and textural around 31:30 when Michael adds guitar to the piece I sent to him. Its fascinating how different two people’s response to the same piece of music can be! At 47:38 Michael’s response piece starts, which I add to on baritone guitar to close out the podcast.
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This month, having just passed the five year mark, I’m taking a look back with the intent of creating a sea of tranquility for you to submerge yourself in. The source material is from three sessions going back to 2015. This podcast uses previously unreleased parts from those sessions.
It starts by revisiting a collaboration with saxophonist Brad Hubbard (ES Podcast #24) playing the Electronic Wind Instrument. Brad is a fantastic and thoughtful improvisor, and here he brings some nice synth tones and textures to our musical conversation.
The middle section is from an all day solo performance (installation?) in 2015 during Newburgh Open Studios (ES Podcast #6). These durational performances really let me take my time and slow waay down. I try to get to a similar place in my shorter performances, but its always a challenge. This one is cascading and minimal, it reminds me of watching little waves rushing to shore, or gentle raindrops.
Finally there’s more contemplative improvisation this time with vocalist Ella Ray Kondrat (ES Podcast #34). This recording was literally the first time we played together. I think at the time I edited the original podcast I may have thought it was too raw, but listening to it now I find it has a sort of fragile beauty.
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This month’s podcast is a solo studio experiment inspired by the concept of Slow-wave sleep. It’s an exercise in extreme slowness and is best experienced at a barely audible volume, while horizontal. Hopefully it will send you someplace restful and pleasant.
This is also podcast sixty; that’s five years of Errant Space podcasts! Thanks for listening, and please revisit some past podcasts to see how (if) things have evolved.
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Errant Elf, or Quantum Space… whichever you choose, this month’s podcast is from a live performance with Quantum Elf which took place on December 7, 2019 at the Rotunda in Philadelphia as part of the Event Horizon concert series.
Quantum Elf is Karl Fury (guitar, lap steel) and Floyd Bledsoe (synthesizers). It was a real honor to have these guys sit in with me for this show. I think our performance was pretty epic!
If you enjoyed this podcast, please SUPPORT Errant Space via Patreon.
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If you enjoyed this podcast, please SUPPORT Errant Space via Patreon.
Never miss a podcast, SUBSCRIBE! with iTunes or Feedburner
This month’s podcast features the return of Al Margolis! Al told me he had an idea he wanted to try out, and when Al Margolis asks if you’re interested in trying out an experiment, the answer must be YES.
Here’s the concept, in Al’s words:
The basis of this session uses the three long drone works composed and performed by Leslie Ross from her drop by drop, suddenly CD on XI Records (you can find this on Bandcamp). I had been practicing my reed instrument playing to these multiphonic bassoon drones, and then decided I would record (in a sort of Exquisite Corpse way) each of my wind parts (clarinet, alto clarinet, alto and tenor saxes) to Leslie’s piece, but without listening to my previous playing.
I was describing this to Craig, and also my desire to perhaps play these pieces live – with one performer listening to the recording in headphones and playing along, and the other performer(s) only playing to what they hear – in other words, the person playing under headphones. (This is something I am still hoping to do live at some point.)
Craig was interested in the concept and being involved and so this is how the podcast recording happened. So “Air” is Craig listening to Leslie and me playing to Craig, without hearing Leslie. “Sea Soil”, for technical reasons we cheated a bit – we both played to the recording and did not hear each other (allegedly). And “Water” has me playing to the prerecorded material and Craig playing to me.
I have to admit that I came in thinking we would just both play drones to Leslie’s drones. I got a great surprise when right away in the first piece Craig did not drone, thus immediately forcing to think outside my pre-conceived box. This actually made for a much more interesting session…so thanks Craig!!!
All our performances on this podcast are roughly the same length as the pieces on Leslie’s CD with very little editing.
We start with our version of “Air” and the mix includes Leslie’s recording in addition to Al and me.
“Sea Soil” begins at 16:30 and is just Al and me, Leslie is not in the mix. If you’d like to hear Leslie’s recording, you can find it HERE. (If you’re adventurous you can play her recording along with ours and make your own mix!)
Finally, “Water” starts at 44:17. Leslie’s performance is back in the mix. This section has some manipulation and processing applied to Al’s and my parts, while the previous two are sonically unaltered.
Al Margolis played tenor sax on “Air” and “Water”, and alto clarinet on “Sea Soil”.
Many thanks to Leslie Ross for the composition(s) and permission to use her recording in this.
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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.
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