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.
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.
Here’s my current pedal set up, for any of you (nerds) who are interested.
This month’s podcast is from a Sound/Peace performance at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, NY on August 2, 2019.
The performers were:
Katie Down: Metal and Glass Instruments Mark Trecka: Piano, Bells and Voice Thom Uliasz: Circuit Bent and Hand Made Electronics
Craig Chin: Guitar/Loops
Sound/Peace, an occasionally recurringseries, is an immersive sonic experience accompanied by the changing light of the setting sun. Musicians occupy the edges of the space, surrounding listeners in sound, the performance ends as darkness falls.
This is a field recording, so there’s a bit of room noise and shuffling about, but it captures the experience well.
For best results: listen in headphones, lying down, starting an hour before sunset.
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.
photos: Nathan Yeager
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 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:
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 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.
This time I’m exploring the minimal end of the ambient spectrum and experimenting with generative processes. The result is probably the most languid podcast yet. Insomniacs take note!
The last three-quarters of this one was recorded during an all day performance at Newburgh Open Studios on September 25, 2015. There’s a lot of material left from that day that will likely show up in future podcasts.
This month’s podcast is a solo studio experiment inspired by the concept of 
This final podcast of 2018 seems like a nice way to close out the year. It’s from a field recording of a 
This month’s podcast is a field recording from the first 
