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…
Pas Musique in action. Turns out that paddle is a travel guitar.
We explored a lot of sonic terrain, and the resulting podcast feels like a journey across worlds in some strange universe.
Welcome to podcast forty! Featuring the homemade and circuit-bent instruments of Electr(on)ic Chakra (John Lutz). I met John a few years back when I bought a synthesizer from him (it was a micro-brute). He was my entry point in to the weirdo music scene in the Hudson Valley, so its great to finally have him on the podcast.
This one is extra-textural and droney; probably best played extremely loud or very quietly. Try it both ways, what have you got to lose?!
Podcast # 39 is a from a field recording of a collaborative performance with Henry Lowengard which took place as part of the Cocoon Theatre’s Soirees In the Parlor Series* on March 28, 2018. This one is a strange journey; it sounds as if it could be the imaginary score to a surrealist play or experimental film.
Henry Lowengard is an artist/musician and developer of music apps. Some of the apps featured in this performance are: Enumero, AUMI, Droneo and Ellipsynth. You can learn more about those and other apps Henry has created HERE.
The flyer and “score” for Equinox. By Henry Lowengard.
*The titular parlor is in the Cuneen-Hackett Arts Center, a historic Victorian building in downtown Poughkeepsie, NY
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:
Welcome to podcast #36! That makes three years of Errant Space Podcasting, and to celebrate we have a super-special guest, the incomparable Brian Dewan!
I’d seen Brian perform several times, and each performance was quite different from the rest, but they were consistently interesting and unusual. They always featured strange, hand built instruments; folk-art synthesizers, 8-track pulpits and the occasional accordion. I approached Brian about appearing on my podcast at a show in Kingston, NY where he was part of a band playing a tribute show to celebrate Alex Chilton’s birthday. He was the wildcard in an otherwise standard rock line up.
Brian brought the Melody Gin and the Swarmatron to our recording session, and we spent a pleasant afternoon exploring strange sonic terrain. The sun set as we recorded our last piece, and as darkness set in, it felt as if we were in a submarine descending into a deep ocean of sound…
This month’s podcast features experimental musician Bonnie Kane.
Bonnie Kane at My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.
I first saw Bonnie perform at My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and later had the pleasure of playing at her Thursday Experiment. Bonnie is a fearless improvisor and sonic explorer. She runs her saxophone and flute through a myriad of electronics into a guitar amp producing some fantastic, far-out sounds. This podcast is pretty far from ambient, it gets quite noisy and out, but its a fun ride! And remember, anything can be ambient if you turn it down low enough.
Below is a video of Bonnie and me at My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. That performance makes up the last part of the podcast. (Video courtesy of Bonnie Kane.)
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 features experimental musician Al Margolis (if, bwana). Al attempts to use instruments as sound making devices, stripped as far as possible from their traditional sounds and modes of playing. The results are texturally rich, and sonically surprising.
Al manipulating his compromised impositions.
I first met Al performing at My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, where he was assaulting a violin in a most appealing (appalling?) manner. He brought his violin, an alto clarinet and his laptop to our session. We did some improvising with both of us playing instruments, some improvisations with me playing guitar, and Al on laptop manipulating his “compromised impositions”, and also improvisations with Al playing his instruments as I processed them live through my effects. Needless to say this podcast is pretty different, but if you’re interested in exploring sound I think you’re gonna like it.
Podcast # 39 is a from a field recording of a collaborative performance with 
This month’s podcast is from a 
This month’s podcast is a field recording from the first 
Welcome to podcast #36! That makes three years of Errant Space Podcasting, and to celebrate we have a super-special guest, the incomparable 
