This month’s podcast is a behind the scenes peek into how I prepare for a show.
For a solo electronic performance I need to devise a system to improvise with that will produce (manageable?) unexpected results that I can respond to. (When improvising with other musicians, this takes care of itself.) In this case I had in mind creating a fairly minimal, droney, textural soundscape so used the Strega, which is excellent for drones and the Wingie2/Blippoo Box which is a great source of randomness. I also incorporated some field recordings for additional texture (played on a Kaoss pad), and harmonica to add an element of breath. Everything could be sent to an Eccos delay in sound on sound mode via an effects send to create slowly evolving/dissolving loops.
There are three improvisations presented here, the first two are me exploring strategies for the performance in my studio and the third is the final live performance recorded at Greenkill in Kingston, NY on January 13, 2025.
António Caramelo and me (craig) performing at Darc (photo João Paulo Daniel)
That’s followed by recording from a visit to the studio of Adriana Sá who played her custom zither. We were joined by her student Gabriel Worm on acoustic bass guitar.
Adriana Sá in her studio
Finally there’s a sort of hybrid field recording I made on the Alfa Pendular train; I improvised to the sounds of the train and passengers on the trip from Porto to Lisbon.
This was my recording studio on the Alfa Pendular train.
This month’s podcast features experimental musician Mathieu Sylvestre from Berlin.
My first meeting with Mathieu was recording for this podcast. I really enjoy getting to know someone by making music together and our collaboration turned out to be quite interesting. I play guitar for part of it and then switch to electronics. Mathieu works with looping, spectral processing, noise and field recordings, creating amazing textures. Right after recording for this podcast, we embarked on a 5 day tour in the Northeastern U.S.
Mathieu performing at Neverending Books in New Haven, CT
This month’s podcast features excerpts from four recent live collaborations.
It begins with a performance at XFest 2024 which features: Andrew Neumann (Buchla), Thomas Watkiss (bass) and Rachel Devora (french horn).
Next, some electronic sounds with Missing Channels, recorded at Quinn’s in Beacon, NY.
That’s followed by a performance with Irman at the Lace Mill in Kingston, NY.
And finally, a horizontal listening experience by Invisible Collage.
These performances are a good representation of the scope of the electronic improvised music I am making. One common factor of all four is the Meng Qi Wingie2 running the Blippoo Box firmware. Its a strange, chaotic instrument that I’m really enjoying.
That’s me at XFest, playing the Wingie/Blippoo Box. Andrew Neumann looks on, perturbed(?).
This month’s podcast is from a live performance with Space Biscuit (Matty Hutchins, aka DJ Buttermilk). We performed together for the first time in this configuration (me: guitar, Matty: synths) at Quinns in Beacon, NY where Matty runs a weekly electronic music series, Sleepwalking Through the Sun. Here you’ll hear some of the tastiest bits from that night.
I’ve lately been listening to some early electronic music: I love the abstract nature and pure tones of the pre-synthesizer era. Also, I recently saw the film Forbidden Planet, and its amazing soundtrack inspired this podcast.
I recommend listening to this one in the dark and seeing where the sounds take you.
I’ve long wanted to play in the Widow Jane Mine, and the experience did not disappoint! And performing with two amazing collaborators was a bonus. This is a binaural recording that really captures the ambiance of the space. Listen in headphones for maximum effect.
Playing in The Widow Jane Mine: me (Craig), Brian and Elizabeth. (photo: Tamalyn Miller)
And he brought his fancy beard along with the Swarmatron and Cartridge Organ. It was a lot of fun playing together again, the results often sound quite alien, and at times are reminiscent of early electronic music. Its strange and delightful!
This month’s podcast sees the return of Art Labriola!
Art’s last appearance, podcast #27, featured Art playing his modular synthesizers. This time Art plays pedal steel guitar – processed by his modular synths!
It was great to reconnect and play with Art again, I look forward to hearing where he goes with his hybrid pedal steel + modular set up!
I packed up some synthesizers, donned my wormlogo hat and headed over to Sonic Hudson’s studio. We made weird sounds, these are some of them. Listen loudly.
