Sensitive Chaos Holiday Music 2008

Hi Folks!

I performed my first 3-hour-plus set at the Academe of the Oaks Sparkle "N" Splurge Benefit Auction yesterday.

If you enjoy chillout, downtempo, holiday-tinged electronic music and would like a copy of the live recording I made or would like to share it with friends, you can download an mp3 copy here:

http://www.sensitivechaos.com/secretpage.html

Scroll to the bottom of the list and you'll see three links; Academe Holiday 120608 Pt1 - Pt3, each links to an approximately hour long segment of the performance. Right Click or Option Click to download the mp3s to your computer.

A short word about what you'll hear (or what you heard). All the music was composed spontaneously, on the fly, emerging as I was sitting there over in the corner of the room. Nothing was prerecorded.

As I was supporting a holiday event, the music uses alot of sounds associated with the holidays, namely bells, strings, organs, pianos, and drums, with some synth sounds and a kalimba thrown into the mix. I was playing off the energy in the room, so tempos, volumes, and dynamics were created to complement the vibe during the event. The music is intended to be ambient, so playing quietly in the background is recommended. Think "a slightly less cheesy Fresh Aire holiday" album.

There's no charge for these downloads, Happy Holidays! Read more!

City Skies 08 Electronic Music Event December 13, 2008

The City Skies 08 Electronic Music events showcase the region's best electronic musicians at our favorite venue, Kavarna, for listening to a great range of electronic music styles in a chillout environment with a crowd of appreciative musicians and fans.

The next City Skies 08 event will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2008, with shows starting at 8pm. Confirmed performers include:

Sensitive Chaos
Michael Thomas Roe
Masik (from Florida)
Earthgirl (from Indiana)

Future show dates include (shows start at 8pm):

January 10th, 2009, The Synthetix, Klimchak, Kevin "KalimbaMan" Spears, Sensitive Chaos
February 14th, 2009, Sensitive Chaos, Diskeyes-SaNa-Positron, Don Hassler, Burning Artist (Sale)
March 14th, 2009, Sensitive Chaos, Mi.T-Richard Coker, The Subliminator

More information on the events can be found at cityskies.com and the City Skies MySpace page. Tickets for all events can be found at Brown Paper Tickets here.

And if you can't attend in person, all City Skies performances are broadcast live on StillStream.com (on iTunes radio, look under Ambient). Read more!

Sensitive Chaos News

Jim Combs has been hard at work at Common Sound Studio in Decatur, GA on the new Sensitive Chaos CD, currently scheduled for an early 2009 release. The as-yet-untitled effort looks to feature six new tracks expanding upon the palette established on Leak, the first Sensitive Chaos CD released in 2006.

"There are a few songs on the new CD that date from the Leak sessions, and a few that were created and refined over the past year," says Combs. "This new set of tunes represents a broader range of electronic music influences, and brings in elements of electropop, Berlin-school space prog, and even a bit of avant jazz/reggae/dub." Combs re-enlisted soprano saxophonist Brian Good for two songs, and also recruited Finnish musician extraordinaire Otso Pakarinen (Ozone Player) for synth, synth guitar, and synth percussion work.

While waiting for the new CD to appear, Sensitive Chaos continues to receive continuous airplay on internet radio stalwarts Space Station SomaFM, cliqhop IDM, and StillStream.com. It should be noted that Space Station SomaFM and cliqhop IDM have kept the Leak CD in constant rotation since its release in August of 2006. Many thanks to Rusty Hodge and the SomaFM crew!

Sensitive Chaos Leak is available at CDBaby.com and iTunes.

Sensitive Chaos will be performing twice before the end of the year, first on Saturday morning, December 6, at 11pm at the Old Decatur Courthouse as part of the Academe of the Oaks silent auction benefit, and then at 8pm on Saturday, December 13th as part of the City Skies 08 Electronic Music Event at Kavarna in the Oakhurst section of Decatur, GA. Read more!

The Good Graces Rock!

Photo of The Good Graces at Java Monkey by Michelle Friedman.

The Good Graces debut "Sunset Over Saxapahaw" is getting lots of reviews at blogs around the world. Including these from Toronto, Iceland, Germany, UK, and around the USA:

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/544796
http://todiebyyourside.blogspot.com/2008/11/go-blame-someone-else.html
http://thetruthenlightensme.blogspot.com/
http://egillhardar.com/music/?p=731
http://www.culturebully.com/the-hub-friday-november-14-2008
http://elbo.ws/artist/the-good-graces/
http://hypem.com/track/681999/The+Good+Graces-Over+It+MASTER
http://indiedancefloor.blogspot.com/

The Good Graces will be continuing their CD promotion tour by performing around the Southeast at the following venues:

Dec 19 2008 at 9:00P Kavarna, Decatur, GA (with Hope For Agoldensummer and Night Driving In Small Towns)
Jan 22 2009 at 8:00P The Cave, Chapel Hill, NC
Jan 23 2009 at 8:00P The Flat Iron, Greensboro, NC
Jan 24 2009 at 8:00P Evening Muse, Charlotte, NC
Feb 6 2009 at 6:15P Atlanta Brewing Company, Atlanta, GA

The Good Graces Athens Popfest set was posted on this blog:

http://www.theflatresponse.com/2008/11/the-good-graces-8142008-athens-popfest/

It was their first gig in their current configuration.

The Good Graces' "Sunset Over Saxapahaw" CD can be found at the Eskimo Kiss Records web site here, as well as iTunes and Emusic.com. Read more!

The Happenstance

The Happenstance is a yearly musical event in Atlanta, Georgia. They select 30 musicians, make them meet early in the morning at a local rock club, randomly divide them into 5 piece bands, and send them off to create a 20 minute set of music which they will perform that evening. It's thoroughly entertaining, entirely random, and more than a little bit insane. Oh yeah, it's for a good cause. Past charities include The Atlanta Community Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity and The New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief Fund.

Come watch some of the best independent musicians in Atlanta create something unique, fun, and for a great cause. The Happenstance is organized by Brian Fletcher (Luigi) and Jeff Holt (Silent Kids, Georgia Fireflies) with help from various other local musicians. Learn more at thehappenstance.com.

The past four years of performances can be heard and downloaded here:

http://www.thehappenstance.podomatic.com/ Read more!

Devine Sound Launches!

DevineSound (DEVSND) is a new company created by Richard Devine and Joshua Kay specializing in creating utterly unique and uncompromisingly high resolution sound effects and sample library content.

They specialize in the creation of custom sound design environments and sound effect packages for projects of almost any nature. They provide audio content and conceptual realization for film, television, gaming, audio hardware/software, interactive web-based environments, and everything else in between.

DevineSound is currently building a online sound library database and store from which free samples will be offered regularly. Check out free samples of a modified Arp-2600, Circuit Bent TR-808, and Broken Santoor. Link to the site here: http://www.devinesound.net/ Read more!

eSession Releases Virtual Glass v1.2.1

eSession.com has announced the release version 1.2.1 of Virtual Glass, a "zero configuration" networking plug-in for RTAS, AU and VST host applications that enables peer-to-peer audio and video streaming, discrete talkback, and Rewire sync over the Internet in real-time.

In a commercial studio the engineer operates the equipment in a control room while the musicians, separated by a glass partition, perform their parts. Virtual Glass uses the Internet as the high-tech equivalent to the glass partition between engineer and musician. Its 3D design depicts a recording console and a "virtual glass" partition that functions as a video screen, so even the least tech-savvy user feels right at home using the plug-in for real time sessions.

See esession.com for more info.
To use Virtual Glass, you need a recording program, a high-speed Internet connection, a Web camera, and an eSession user account. Installation is simple, and there's no copy protection. The software works with any Mac-compatible Built-in, USB or FireWire camera for real-time video; the camera mic enables voice communication with the talent.

You can connect to other users and stream audio in real time from your RTAS, AU or VST host application to any other RTAS, AU or VST host over the Internet. You can use any Core Audio input device as a discrete talkback channel (for example web cam mic or your Mac's built-in mic). You can sync the connected machines via Rewire sync. This enables everyone around the world to collaborate in real time.

Virtual Glass is available for Mac OS X in RTAS, VST, and AU plug-in formats. Windows versions will be released in the first quarter of 2009. Virtual Glass version 1.2 adds Latency Compensation so that new tracks are recorded and monitored in sync with existing tracks, as well as accurate Rewire synchronization for linking two workstations' timeline playback. Read more!

Holiday Music From Doubtful Palace

Tim Walters and his Doubtful Palace crew have been putting out mp3 versions of slightly mangled holiday tunes for many years.

Here's the link to this year's installment.

And here's where to find past year's tunes.

Happy Holidays! Read more!

City Skies May 2008 Festival DVDs Available

Video highlights of this past May's City Skies 2008 Festival have been packaged into two DVDs by Azimuth Visuals, the folks who supplied most of the video at the show.

The City Skies 2008 video highlights DVD contains clips from aTHeNa BLue, Tony Gerber, Paul Vnuk Jr., Mark Mahoney, Fringe Element, xeriod entity, and the Different Skies All-Stars. This DVD can be found here.

The second DVD is the complete Different Skies All-Stars set from the Saturday afternoon session. This DVD can be found here. Read more!

Space Rock Con 2008 Hits Athens Georgia Saturday Nov. 1 , 2008

SPACE ROCK CON is an annual rock concert/convention for people who are into SPACE ROCK. Also for those into psychadelic/techno/krautrock/experimental-avant-grade,classic-original rock,and mostly bands/music projects/musicians in the underground rock scene. This con started in the year 2000 and has featured famous band/musicians such as NIK TURNER and HARVEY BAINBRIDGE OF HAWKWIND, BOB HARVEY (founding member of Jefferson Airplane), SPACESEED, and many others.

This year's SPACE ROCK CON 2008 band's line up includes UNUS MUNDUS, DHARMA SON COLLECTIVE, THE EXPLODING MADONNA, ETHERAL, WEERD, BRIBING THE BUDDHA, THE SUBLIMINATOR, PXL, DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL, SING iDOG, SCHWARZKOMMANDO, and HART DEER.

Space Rock Con 2008 will be held Nov 1st at Tasty World and music starts at 12:00 noon and runs until midnight.

Admission is $10.00 Read more!

Multi-Dimensional Control for Realtime Analog Synthesis Performance Workshop November 8, 2008

As part of the City Skies Electronic Music Event on November 8, 2008, a very special workshop will be held at Kavarna in the Oakhurst area of Decatur in the afternoon prior to the evening's performance. The workshop will be on Multi-Dimensional Control for Realtime Analog Synthesis Performance and will be given by Richard Lainhart and will feature Lainhart's Buchla 200e synthesizer (a custom, $20,000+ instrument) and Haken Continuum Fingerboard controller (a custom $5000+ controller). The workshop will be from 2pm-4pm and will cost $15 per person. Workshop attendance is limited.

Richard Lainhart is a composer, performer, and filmmaker based in New York. Besides performing his own work, he has worked and performed with John Cage, David Tudor, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Phill Niblock, David Berhman, and Jordan Rudess, among many others.

The promise of electronic music has been, from the beginning, to provide the composer with the means to create his or her own unique sounds and musics without the need for intermediaries like performers and technicians. And the problem with electronic music has been, from the beginning, to endow synthesized sound with the same organic expressivity found in acoustic instruments and natural sound while making synthesizers viable performance instruments in their own right.

The first electronic instruments intended for performance, such as the Theremin and the Ondes Martenot, while providing the performer with highly nuanced pitch control, had limited sound-shaping control and could only play one note at a time. The first modular analog synthesizers, while offering polyphony - the ability to play multiple notes simultaneously - and unlimited sonic control, had limited expressive performance control and were completely impractical for live use.

There have been many attempts since then to integrate the unlimited potential of modular analog synthesis with practical performance capabilities, and to provide the electronic music composer/performer with the kind of expressive musical control available in advanced acoustic instruments. Among of the most successful and creative of these efforts are the Buchla 200e analog modular synthesizer and the Haken Continuum Fingerboard.

Buchla's 200e is the first modular analog synth with patch memory and the ability to re-route patchcords on the fly, making it an ideal instrument for performance, capable of both the highest and lowest levels of control. The Continuum is a unique multidimensional controller keyboard that senses direct finger movement in three dimensions (X, Y, and pressure) for each of up to 16 fingers, making it one of the most advanced performance controllers available today. Together, the 200e and the Continuum make for an electronic music performance system of unparalleled expressivity and sensitivity.

In his workshop, Richard will demonstrate the synthesis and control functions of the Buchla 200e with an emphasis on patch programming for maximum expressivity under Continuum control. The workshop will include a live performance focusing on the Continuum/Buchla 200e system's expressive control capabilities. Time permitting, workshop attendees will also have the opportunity to play the system themselves.

Lainhart studied composition and electronic music techniques with Joel Chadabe, a pioneer of electronic music and the designer of the Coordinated Electronic Music System (http://emfinstitute.emf.org/exhibits/cems.html and http://www.otownmedia.com/chadabe.jpg), at one time the largest integrated Moog synthesizer system in the world. From 1987-1990, Lainhart was the Technical Director for Intelligent Music, developers of innovative computer music software like M, Jam Factory, and UpBeat.

His compositions have been performed in the US, England, Sweden, Germany, Australia, and Japan. Recordings of his music have appeared on the Periodic Music, Vacant Lot, XI Records, ExOvo and Airglow Music labels and are distributed online via MusicZeit. As an active performer, Lainhart has appeared in public approximately 2000 times. He has composed over 100 electronic and acoustic works, and has been making music for forty years.

Lainhart's animations and short films have been shown in festivals in the US, Canada, Germany, and Korea, and online at ResFest, The New Venue, The Bitscreen, and Streaming Cinema 2.0. His film "A Haiku Setting" won awards in several categories at the 2002 International Festival of Cinema and Technology in Toronto. In 2008, he was awarded a Film & Media grant by the New York State Council on the Arts for "No Other Time", full-length intermedia performance designed for a large reverberant space, combining live analog electronics with four-channel playback, and high-definition computer-animated film projection.

Richard Lainhart
http://www.otownmedia.com
http://www.downloadplatform.com/richard_lainhart
http://www.vimeo.com/rlainhart
http://www.airglowmusic.com Read more!

Your Own Personal Pete

Be careful with those earbuds. Digital Music News reports:

The ubiquitous iPod could be sowing the seeds of an ubiquitous hearing epidemic, according to an alarming research from Johns Hopkins University. The group estimated that one-in-three Americans currently suffer from some sort of hearing loss in at least one ear, a number that could easily expand. That translates into a total of 55 million people, most densely concentrated among males, whites, and the undereducated.

More alarmingly, the researchers estimated that one-in-six, or 29 million Americans, have trouble understanding conversational speech. "The prevalence of hearing loss in the United States is predicted to rise significantly because of an aging population and the growing use of personal listening devices," said Dr. Yuri Agrawal. "Indeed, there is concern that we may be facing an epidemic of hearing impairment."

Peter Townshend points at high volume headphone use as the cause for his tinnitus. What is it about white, undereducated males that make them susceptible to loud volume? Two words: Free Bird. Read more!

Oh Good, Another Industry Best Buy Can Destroy

Digital Music News posted this announcement:

The sinking CD is often contrasted against healthier music industry segments like touring, publishing, merchandising, and advertising. But sales of music instruments are also quite healthy, and a reflection of an ever-increasing demand in music.

Against that trend, big boxer Best Buy is now stocking up on musical instruments, according to details revealed Monday. Best Buy will house the instruments within specialized, in-store musical centers. Manufacturers like Fender, Gibson, and Roland will be represented, alongside thousands of other products.

In total, Best Buy is planning to open as many as 85 centers by year-end. "We're not just extending the shelf space in the store, we're creating a designated area specifically for this experience," said Kevin Balon, vice president of Musical Instruments for Best Buy.

My sources at the record labels have railed against Best Buy for years, not happy with the loss leader status music sales assumed within the big boxes inventory. Will Best Buy make a run at Guitar Center, Manny's, and Sweetwater? Read more!

Connections Between Artists and Club/Mobile DJs

Click to join AIMusic

On the AIMusic list on Yahoo Groups, Kerry Jackson asked the following question:

In a forum of DJ's that I frequent a lot (IE: live in LOL), one of the biggest complaints is the theft of music.. DJ's who DO support the musicians (by buying CD's or paying online) having to compete against the DJ's that steal everything. The music industry doesn't care. Why? Because DJ's have lost their connection. I am NOT talking about the Radio DJ's, I'm talking about the club and Mobile DJ's. We only play charted music, because its easy to get and we know our playing customers like it (no risk involved). Because the "charts" are controlled by "big radio" and "big corporation", the simple DJ just continues being a mindless subset of "big business".

WHAT WE NEED IS REVOLUTION.. DJ's NEED to start promoting the INDIE artists, and the indie artists NEED to start using DJ's as a way of promoting their music. The question is... How do you connect the two together? That would be free to both and easy to do?

My answer is there are several aspects to the question; 1) economic (how does one compete in an era of free or stolen music, 2) competitive (how does one differentiate oneself in an era of limited commercial outlets and audience preferences, and 3) network (how do indie djs and musicians exchange value.

Re: #1- A long time ago when I did promotion and sales for CBS Records, important club DJs were on the local branch mailing list to receive new demo records. So my DJs got all the new albums and 12" singles. I know in NYC, club DJs like Jelly Bean Benitez had direct relationships with producers and A&R folks and would often get test pressings or tape copies of hot off the presses new tracks to try out in a club environment.

Club DJs that didn't rate a direct label connection had relationships with the One Stops (distributers) and would get their demos from them (the labels give demos to the One Stops). If not there, then at the record store level. If not there, then a friend who worked in the business along that chain.

Everyone else bought their music to play.

So, if you want to be legal and relevant, establish a relationship within the music making value chain to get access to free music (of all types), or else buy it, or find Creative Commons released music that gives you rights to use the music for your business.

Otherwise, you are of no value to the industry. Harsh but true.

Re #2- This is the art and talent side of the question. Practice, practice, practice. Slowly expand your audiences horizons. Be subtle. Balance what they know with a little of the new and make sure they fit together well.

Re #3- Musicians and especially indie musicians are always looking for venues for their music to be heard. But we don't like to give our music away for free unless their is some value exchanged; a web or press review, a published playlist listing, a CD or download sale we can tie to the freebie, strong word-of-mouth exposure, a mention in a blog. Something that reaches other fans we couldn't have reached
otherwise (geography, demographics, genre, etc).

I spend a lot of effort to make myself relevant as a recording artist and work hard to document when others note that relevance. Those endorsements (radio play, reviews, press mentions, performance schedules) lend credence to my work.

As a DJ, what is your reputation? Who is your audience? Does your work influence others? Will people know my music and my name from your work? What value to I receive by giving you my music? How does it advance my career or my fanbase?

If you can convey that value to me, and my music can fit into what you are doing, then there's a basis for an exchange.

And how to make the connections: MySpace, FaceBook, going to performances and talking face-to-face, email, get your name into music publications and make it known you are looking for music or to connect, lists like AIMusic, community events, art events...

Ultimately, you have to drive this for yourself. The reality is that DJs of importance do have a connection to the music industry. But the industry no longer needs to make you important, nor to make the connection. That is up to you. Read more!

Moog Groom's Cake

Moog
Originally uploaded by Capital I

The groom's cake made for my friend Jeff Kunzelman's recent wedding. It matches his wonderfully restored, by Kevin Lightner, Mini Moog. Someone actually tried to play it (see crushed B key). Read more!

Athens Pop Fest, August 12 - 16, 2008

The annual Athens PopFest, produced and presented by HHBTM Records, is more than an event where people passively consume entertainment. Now in its fifth year, the Athens PopFest has proven to be both a facilitator of and catalyst for a renewed international community spirit among discerning rock and pop fans.

International fans plan their entire Summer around the event and fans from the US often travel hundreds (for some, thousands) of miles to attend. Sure, they want to see the bands but what separates the Athens PopFest from the average summer festival is that each year friendships are made and deepened. It is, in many ways, an annual reunion which adds more 'family' members each year. Hence, the festival has been referred to for years as "Indie-Rock/Indie-Pop Summer Camp". From our first year which drew 800 attendees to last year which drew over 3,500 the Athens PopFest continues to grow exponentially in both size of audience and quality of entertainment presented.


What we have always sought to do with the Athens PopFest is present a high quality, multi-day and night event where people not only see their favorite bands but also those bands they would never get a chance to see otherwise; Where they meet and form lasting bonds with people and fans from around the world, each of whom has decided to make Athens a do-not-miss destination.

Full festival passes are on sale now in the Athens Popfest Store.

Tuesday, August 12
Cine
8:00 PM - Fish Schticks
8:35 PM - Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars
9:10 PM - Allison Weiss
9:45 PM - Titans of Filth

Wednesday, August 13
Little Kings
2:00 PM - Boy Genius
2:35 PM - the Hotwalls
3:15 PM - Amo Joy!
4:00 PM - Afternoon Naps
4:45 PM - Nervous Systems (not yet confirmed)
5:30 PM - Oh Sanders
8:00 PM - Supercluster
8:35 PM - Blondie-Grunt
9:10 PM - Nana Grizol
9:45 PM - Hot Pants Romance
10:20 PM - the Coathangers
11:00 PM - Whistling School for Boys
11:30 PM - Judi Chicago
12:00 AM - Spring Tigers
12:35 AM - the Selmanaires
01:15 AM - We Versus the Shark

Thursday, August 14
The 40 Watt Club
8:00 PM - Patience Please
8:30 PM - Velcro Stars
9:00 PM - Bunnygrunt
9:30 PM - Cars Can Be Blue
10:15 PM - Great Lakes
11:00 PM - the Love Letter Band
11:45 PM - Dark Meat
12:30 AM - Roky Erickson & the Explosives

Little Kings
2:00 PM - That's My Daughter
2:40 PM - Little Birds
3:20 PM - A Faulty Chromosome
4:00 PM - Panda Riot
4:45 PM - Averkiou

Flicker Theater and Bar
6:00 PM - Night Driving in Small Towns
6:45 PM - Good Graces
7:30 PM - Mary O Harrison

Caledonia
8:30 PM - the Ocelots
9:30 PM - the Besties
10:30 PM - Twin Tigers
11:30 PM - Dead Confederate

Friday, August 15
The 40 Watt Club
8:00 PM - Cryptacize
8:30 PM - Secret History
9:00 PM - the Faintest Ideas
9:30 PM - Ruby Isle
10:00 PM - the Buddy System
10:30 PM - the Lolligags
11:00 PM - Fishboy
11:30 PM - the Apes
12:15 AM - Boyracer
01:00 AM - TBA

Little Kings
2:00 PM - Railcars
2:40 PM - Tendaberry
3:20 PM - One Happy Island
4:00 PM - Hat Company
4:30 PM - Fat Planet

Flicker Theater and Bar
6:00 PM - Oh Fortuna
6:45 PM - Noisycrane
7:30 PM - Gospel Gossip

Caledonia
8:30 PM - Laminated Cat
9:30 PM - Ham 1
10:30 PM - My Teenage Stride
11:30 PM - Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies

Saturday, August 16
The 40 Watt Club
8:00 PM - the Smittens
8:30 PM - Big Fresh
9:00 PM - Thee American Revolution
9:30 PM - Pipes You See Pipes You Don't
10:00 PM - Andy from Denver
10:30 PM - Casper & the Cookies
11:00 PM - Circulatory System
12:00 AM - Elf Power
01:00 AM - the Music Tapes

Little Kings
2:00 PM - Lognhalsmottagningen
2:15 PM - Bad Animal
3:00 PM - the Young Untold
3:30 PM - Bright Lights
4:15 PM - American Cheeseburger

Flicker Theater and Bar
6:00 PM - Oh Fortuna
6:45 PM - Marc with a C
7:30 PM - Hot Lava

Caledonia
8:30 PM - Sgt Dunbar & the Hobo Banned
9:30 PM - Thrushes
10:30 PM - the Sterns
11:30 PM - Man Factory Read more!

Different Skies 2008 Space Music Festival, Sept. 14-20, 2008

Different Skies is back again for its 6th year September 14-20, 2008, with musical artists old and new, a new palette of ideas, and a lot of energy and drive to create beauty for you. The venue will once again be Arcosanti, an hour north of Phoenix, AZ.

Different Skies is an electronic space music festival, a workshop for artists in these and related experimental music genres, a working vacation, an intensive and rewarding creative environment, and many more things. It is held at Arcosanti, Paolo Soleri's urban laboratory an hour north of Phoenix, Arizona.


Recording Magazine editor Mike Metlay began Different Skies in 2003 with the assistance of Tucson musician and radio show host Doug Wellington, as an opportunity that rarely presents itself in the rarefied world of space music: a chance for members of the electronic music community to get together for an extended period of time in a controlled and isolated environment, to network and learn from one another, form new professional alliances and new friendships, and to create and perform an evening of entirely original new music for an enthusiastic audience.

Electronic music, which features the synthesizer and computer as prominently as it does traditional amplified and acoustic instruments, is traditionally viewed as a lonely art form, created by musicians working alone in small studios. Opportunities to build community among these musicians are rare.

The first step was to find a place which was inspiring and welcoming to visiting musicians, where rehearsals could be both relaxed and energetic, with a fixed goal in mind while allowing for flexibility of scheduling on a day to day basis. Arcosanti, with its wonderful admixture of futuristic architecture and art-colony sensibility, seemed a perfect choice.

Performers this year include Different Skies veterans Giles Reaves (Salt Lake City/Nashville), Mike Metlay (Boulder), Otso Pakarinen (Helsinki), Bill Fox (Nazareth), Jim Combs (Atlanta), Allen Goodman (Phoenix), Joe McMahon (Silicon Valley), Rus Foster (Phoenix), Dave Fulton (Portland), Ivan Schwartz (Seattle), Dave Herpich (Kansas), John Rossi III (Florida), Greg Hurley (San Diego), Paul Vnuk Jr. (Milwaukee), Tim Walters (San Francisco), Nick Rothwell (London), Greg and Hong Waltzer (Pennsylvania), and Jeff Kunzelman (Phoenix). First time Different Skies performers include Kevin Haller and Klimchak (Atlanta), and Michael Sanders (Portland). Read more!

electro-music 2008 Festival in Kingsport, TN Aug. 14-16, 2008

Electro-music 2008 is a three day conference/music festival to be held at the Renaissance Center in Kingsport Tennessee, August 14 - 16, 2008. The program will include lectures, demos, jam sessions, and concerts.

The scope of this festival is very broad, covering all aspects of electro-music, experimental electronic music, including circuit bending, computer music, electro-jazz, modular synthesis, musique concrete, improvisation, algorithmic composition, multi-media, visual art and much more. The focus will be on participant involvement, sharing, community development, audience education, and great music.

A three day pass is available for purchase online for only $50. Tickets for individual concerts/events will be available at the door.


Performers currently scheduled to perform include: usr/sbin, Tony Gerber , O.V.O., Remnants of Dissonance, Spacecraft, Kip Rosser, Mahoney and Peck, Rinse, Repeat, slicnaton, xeroid entity, Murphy and Murphy, Amos Gaynes, Kurt Michaels, Velva, Bicameral Mind, Per Wikstrom, Lunar Moon Patrol, Kevin Spears, electric bird noise, Acoustic Interloper, Shane Morris, safe 2, Jeremy Bible and Jason Henry, Sensitive Chaos, Aligning Minds, Spitznagel, Project Ruori, Kevin Kissinger, new collaborations, Fringe Element, dRachEmUsiK, laptop battle winner, Harmaline, Destroyifyer, Remora, MyOwnYoko, Earthgirl, John Hoge, and others to be announced.

Presenters will include:
Dale Parson- Human-to-human chess game-to-music generator
Per Wikstrom- Building large analogue modular synthesizers
Per Wikstrom- Random sources in composition
John Rose- Live sound in large venues
Amos Gaynes- Programming the modern Moogs: Everything you always wanted to know (you get to ask)
Michael O'Bannon- Translating Physiological Rhythms into Music and Sound
Howard Moscovitz- Ambiophonic Sound
Howard Moscovitz- Time Quantization
Michael O'Bannon- Biofeedback demonstrations
James Spitznagel- Tenori-on demonstration
James Spitznagel- Creating music with the Nintendo DS
Kevin Spears- Electric Kalimba
Cary and Robert Murphy- "Chair" - experiments in total sound immersion
Tony Gerber- Music in the virtual world of Second Life
Amos Gaynes- Mooged Out with Amos: featuring the Moog Multipedal

electro-music 2008 will build on the success of the previous electro-music events in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The participants at those events felt it was a ground-breaking and inspirational experience. After three successful years in Philadelphia, the festival moves to Kingsport Tennessee. We expect many of the artists who were at the earlier events to return this year, along with some interesting and talented newcomers. More information can be found at the event web site: http://event.electro-music.com/ Read more!

Finland's Ozone Player Releases Orange Apples

Otso Pakarinen is a wonderfully talented performer and composer from Helsinki, Finland, who performs under the moniker Ozone Player. He has a new CD, Orange Apples, which leans in a solidly Prog angle with lots of guitar, bass, and drums, but is equally captivating and a delightful pair for his last CD, the synth heavy Frozen Paint On Boiling Canvas.

The song titles for Otso's tunes are actually as fun as the music, and the songs on Orange Apples are no exception: "Extrasenory Deprivation" features some wonderful talking/yelling synths with a mechano-Ponderosa feel.

"Orange Apples" brings back memories from last year's Different Skies when I had the pleasure of performing a preview of this tune with Otso and a cast of great musicians. It is a frenetic and smooth, and reminds me of something Zappa would have composed.


"Animal Pharm" starts very Tibetian and has a Wendy Carlos just tempered sound. As with all Otso's tunes, the soundstage is open and stunning, with plenty of space for the ambiance of the space the instruments are sitting in.

"Lemons And Lizards" brings in some nicely proggy counter-rhythms and lines into the percussion heavy proceedings. A great mix where all little melodies and buried sound design work can be heard clearly. Delicate and heavy.

"Two Completely Unprepared Pianos Under Attack" was also previewed live at the last Different Skies. Stately grand pianos are attacked as they saunter down the lane. But they refuse to yield and the battle that ensues is a hilarious as it is musical. The funniest neo-classical heavy metal this year!

"Escape Goat" ranges from a funky, bass heavy, prog tune, to a contemplative harp folk song, and back. Early Genesis via Finland without PG.

"A Turtle's Diary" is a lovely band tune featuring some nice piano work.

"Apocalypso Yo-Yo" starts with some vocorder admonishments and morphs into middle eastern flavored synth, then the band kicks in, jamming.

"Infer No. 21" begins with strings and piano and drums, then jumps into all manner of classic and modern prog antics. Otso is so good at making you feel like you've heard this music before on some classic album, but then takes it in a direction that is so new and modern. "Book Of Worms" continues this approach, adding a bit of progress fusion jazz into the mix (with Brian Good's wonderful soprano sax). As does "Dog-Matic".

"Helsinki" ends the CD with bang of electric guitar, female voice, synths, whistles, and acoustic strings.

Otso's last CD Frozen Paint On Boiling Canvas was a Best CD Of The Year Selection for many folks a couple of years ago and contained some of the most interesting and well produced electronic music I've heard in a long while. Both CDs can be found and listened to at CDBaby.com: Orange Apples and Frozen Paint. They are also on iTunes.
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Four Questions: Kim Ware of The Good Graces

Kim Ware has operated an indie label called eskimo kiss records since 2000 as well as played drums in countless bands (most recently Mary O. Harrison and Chickens and Pigs, and best known for her time spent in the Wilmington, NC indie trio Pacer), and now also fronts The Good Graces, which she started in early 2007 after acquiring a $90 guitar from a flea market. Ephemeral Radio checks in with the indie powerhouse.

Question 1: What's up with The Good Graces?

Wow, lots. But I'll give you the short version and resist trying to be clever and/or saying something silly like "fighting crimes." We're playing shows... a few coming up in town at Kavarna and also in Athens for the annual Athens Popfest. Also releasing our debut CD Sunset Over Saxapahaw this fall.


Question 2: What's it like going from the back of the drum kit to the front of the band singing and playing guitar?

Oh wow it is SO different. I had gotten really comfortable on drums, having been a drummer in different bands for about 15 years now. I guess for me the main difference is with drums I never feel like I'm the main focus, I'm more just the gel that holds everything together.

But singing and playing guitar, I'm really putting myself out there; I think for most people the main thing they focus on when listening to music is the vocals and melody, so for me the biggest difference is just getting accustomed to feeling like what I'm doing is the bigger focus rather than something that is sort of in the background.

Don't get me wrong, I think the drummer really is integral to the band keeping it together and things sounding good. So that's a little bit of pressure I guess but it's nothing compared to being up there playing MY songs, singing words that I wrote about my own experiences.

Question 3: What's your favorite thing about the Georgia music scene? Your least favorite thing?

My favorite thing is the diversity. On any night of the week you can go to a different bar, hear something completely different than the night before but walk away impressed by what you just heard. I don't even get out that much, but when i do I'm blown away by all the opportunities there are here to see some really great music. It's really hard for me to pick a least favorite thing, because I really do see so many positive things going on with the scene here.

So I guess I'd say maybe my favorite thing is also my least favorite. Sometimes there's so much going on that I get overwhelmed. I'm the type of person that feels like I have to take advantage of all the cool stuff going on, otherwise I'll feel like I'm missing out on something. So I think that's the curse of living in a larger city; sometimes it can just wear me out!

Question 4: Tell us about the recording process for your new CD.

Well, I did a portion of it with Jerry Kee at his studio in Mebane, NC. Jerry is amazing and has produced records for practically anybody who's anybody in the NC indierock scene... Superchunk, Polvo, Kingsbury Manx, all sorts of folks. I did a few songs with him and John McNicholas, who plays guitar with me, joined me for that session.

The rest I recorded with Jay Manley, also in NC. Jay plays guitar for an awesome power pop band called Velvet, he and his wife (and band-mate) Jane used to live in Wilmington where I'm from, and I put out their first record on eskimo kiss.

Anyway, they have this amazing home studio in an old farmhouse in the middle of the woods. It was such a relaxed, fun experience hanging out with them, I ended up doing a few more songs there than I had planned because the whole experience was just very inspiring.

For both sessions I laid down the foundation of the songs, which is vocals and the acoustic guitar. Then we all added various bits and pieces to sort of bring the songs to life...that was the funnest part, adding some of my ideas and seeing what the others could bring to the table. I'm really excited about it; some songs stay sort of stripped down and true to how they originated, but some of them really did venture into new territories that I had not even imagined, which I think is the coolest part about collaboration.
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