Art + Music + Technology

Unfortunately, today is the last day of podcasting for the Art + Music + Technology podcast. Health issues have gotten in the way, and it would be impossible to continue. You can read the transcription of this article, as well as finding some interesting writing on my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/66445163 Thank you for being such a great group of friends and supporters during this long series of music 

Oh yeah! I've been working on getting this interview for a while. It combines modular synths (love ‘em), compositional techniques, an extremely busy schedule – and even using the voice as an instrument! The time that I got to spend with Martha Bahr (Panic Girl) was more than amazing – it was transforming for me. The way that Martha approaches her work is going to be helpful to anyone making electronic music. So I just spilt the beans on a few of the topic we covered, but we were all over the place. And we got along like old friends – even though I don't think we'd ever met. Martha is super-easy to talk to, and leads a very interesting life, so doing this interview was like falling out of a tree. I don't need to talk this one up much – truly one of my favorite interviews ever. Dig in! Oh, and you can check out her new album here: https://iuwerecords.bandcamp.com/album/washed-ashore Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0380.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

So there are precious few music software packages that will come up during discussions at my family's dinner table. Logic? No way. Ableton Live? Mainly because the kids really like their T-shirts. But if I want to get the kids chattering, I can bring up the family's retro-love of Guitar Hero or Rock Band. And who was leading product development of those products? Today's guess – Greg LoPiccolo! Greg has moved onto new things – including his new company, ToneStone (https://tonestone.com/) And while he's no longer creating consumer games, the idea of combining a game mentality with music is still in his bones. But now, instead of trying to match riffs with Zakk Wylde or Slash, you are actually producing, mixing and sharing your own musical creations. Greg is really into many game-oriented ideas surrounding this effort, and it is really interesting to dig into his mind to see how he is creating his simple but deep music production project. I push to find out the limits, and to find out the perspective that make it unique in the marketplace. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0379.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

What can I say about Jean-François Charles, other than he is amazing! He is one of the people in this world that has bothered to describe spectral processing in a way that is both musical and accessible (to the extent that it can be…), and has backed it up with a great career of both performance and academics. With training as both an engineer and a musician, he was perfectly situated for the oncoming rush of music technology, and both his musical work and his teachings are ground-breaking. In our discussion, we talk about his history, his current work, and his clarinet+electronics release Electroclarinet (https://www.electroclarinet.com/p/listen.html). We also dig into what made him fascinated with spectral processing in particular, and how he was influenced by many (but particularly by Stockhausen) to feature that in his work. We also learn a bit about how he creates a ‘score', including the processing bits, that are sharable with this world. You can hear the Electroclarinet pieces above, and learn more about his body of work on his website (https://www.jeanfrancoischarles.com/). Check out some of those papers; they were seminal works that got a lot of people to dig in beyond just using someone else's software. It's also great that Jean-François not only sells access to the written scores for some of his work, but also bundles them with electronic forms for performance. You can see all of the on his Gumroad site: https://newfloremusic.gumroad.com/ Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0378.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Udit Duseja has built quite a career. Starting off dropping Pro Tools markers while hanging at a recording studio, he is now doing sound design and sound editing work across a wide range of films. In preparing for this interview, I did a fair amount of research (watching films – oh, so hard!), and was blown away by the consistent quality, and often unexpected surprises, found in his work. In our discussion, we chat about his background growing up in India, his studies at University of Edenborough, and how he shaped his career to be a multi-continental sound artist. We also get some glimpses into how he approaches sound design,  as well as some of the ways that he puts together the sound library that is at the core of his practice. We also dig into the details of the tools that he uses, and how he approaches layers (and in many cases recreating) the sound environments that are provided in a film. He also describes some of the details of working with directors – and especially how that works in our current COVID (and post-COVID) world. For more information, you can check out http://www.uditduseja.com Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0377.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Sometimes my attention is grabbed by something unexpected. In researching Peder Simonsen, I was very impressed with his production work, his work with modular system – but then I read about his work with the tuba. Microtonal tuba. In a group. That stopped me in my tracks, and I had to learn more. I ended up having a fascinating conversation with Peder, and got an amazing education about so many things! In our discussion, we talk about microtonal tuba – and it, how does it work? – the application of microtonalism with his modular system, and his unique compositional and structural concepts. His recordings have a unique way of developing over time – there's a linearity to them that I found really intriguing, and we explored how he hears the music that he's making. Peder is also involved in a lot of groups, and also does a fair amount of production work with others. This puts him in a position to work on many types of collaboration, and we dig into this as well. How do you write for a microtonal tuba trio? How do you mix a modular system with an experimental jazz orchestra? So damned interesting… For more information, you can check out the following: Peder's web page: https://www.pedersimonsen.com/ Robin Hayward's microtonal tuba - https://robinhayward.com/eng/mitontuba.php Sofa Music - label of microtub and many other experimental Norwegians: https://www.sofamusic.no/ Tubbutec microtonal tuning module - https://tubbutec.de/%C2%B5tune/ Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0376.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Steuart Liebig's story is quite amazing. From high school jazz gigging, through extensive touring, to a spot as part of LA's verdant experimental jazz scene, Steuart's life of music is quite amazing. A proponent of the 6-string bass, you can find Steuart working in groups with Nels Cline, Wayne Peet and G.E. Stinson. His listing on discogs.com is pretty stunning, as is the stack of tracks that he has made available on his Bandcamp page. So, of course, I had to have a chat! What I found was an interesting guy that has that laid back attitude that clues you in on his experience. In our discussion, we chatted about his history, his instrument selection, how he approaches effects use, and how he's integrating his new modular synth into his musical work. Check out Steuart's work here: https://steuartliebig.bandcamp.com/ Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0375.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

OK, so this is a little different… I, and many of my coworkers, tend to do special things around the number “74” (the company name is Cycling '74, if you didn't already know). For #374, I decided that I'd talk to David Zicarelli again – just like I did in #74. When I asked him, he rejected the interview format, and wanted to do a Q&A, where we'd each get to ask each other questions. It started off interview-ish, but ended up with some interesting personal revelations. It helps that David and I have a great relationship, and that we've been chatting each other up for decades. So, given the chance to ask anything, what did we ask each other? Well, it ranges from vinyl, to performance context, to self-motivation – and a million other things. Frankly, it's hard to even remember everything we talked about, but you get to find out yourself! Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0374.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

I've been trying to get Elainie Lillios on the podcast for some time. I've seen her, and heard her work at SEAMUS conferences in the past, and she has come up in conversations several times during the course of the podcast. So I was quite excited when we finally were able to pull this together. This interview gives me a great opportunity: I get to quiz someone on how they compose – but also, how they get their compositions into the hands of people that will perform them, and how to deal with the peculiarities of individual performers. Elainie's work has been widely performed, and getting to the point where that is doable – well, that's a challenge. In addition to her work and her process, we also get a look into Elainie's background, and particularly how she was able to combine her education with personal perspectives to achieve her standing as a composer-of-note. We also learn about her relationship with teaching (and students), and the effect that teaching has on her compositional efforts. As hoped, this was a wonderful discussion, and I'm really glad I can share it with you. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0373.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Cameron Warner Jones is the kind of person that, once you've heard of him, you just want to get to know him. Imagine a person that gets his start in the dark halls of Dartmouth's Computer Music halls, designs and implements the complex musical system used by everyone at the time, then carries on the work through the years. You know there are stories there, right? Especially when the ‘musical system' at hand is the Synclavier Digital Music System, which was used by everyone from Laurie Anderson through Frank Zappa. This system influenced everything that came later, and much of it was driven by Cameron's efforts. In this discussion, we cover his background, his work at Dartmouth, his work with Sydney Alonso on the development of NED (New England Digital) as a business, and the Synclavier as a product. We also talk about some of the technical details that were required to bring it home, and how those details have been maintained through the years as the technology has matured and morphed among hardware hosts. Longer than usual, this podcast required time to come together – but is worth every second.  Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0372.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

I've long been interested in sound design and post-production work, so when I got the opportunity to interview Peter Albrechtsen and David Barber, I jumped at the chance. Peter and David worked on the movie The Killing Of Two Lovers (by Robert Machoian), which is rather unique because it has no traditional musical score; all of the sound in the movie is a combination of location sound, foley and designed sounds, carefully mixed into a minimalist-but-complex soundscape. In our discussion, we learn about how this kind of work was developed, how Peter and David worked together to pull it off, and the lengths taken to perfect the sound of the movie. We also learn about each of their backgrounds, as well as explore the future work they are planning. And, as a bonus, we get to learn about how post-production works in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment. You can find The Killing Of Two Lovers on streaming services, and I strongly suggest you checking it out. It's a wonderful experience, and will open your mind to new ways of considering movie sound. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0371.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Part of my history is attending and teaching at University of Denver in the Emerging Digital Practices program. One of the professors in this department is Chris Coleman, and he was a fascinating person to be around – he was always digging into new technologies, checking out both software and hardware opportunities, and inspiring people to try things outside their comfort zone. In our discussion, we dive into microprocessors, open source software, physical vs. digital concerns and NFT's. And, of course, we dig into Chris' background to find out more about what makes him the artist – and professor – that he is. I really appreciate this discussion because we are able to dig into some technical issues (like NFT minting) that I needed to learn about, and Chris is sharing-first when it comes to everything. I'm sure you'll get that from this interview! You can check out DU's EDP program here: https://liberalarts.du.edu/emergent-digital-practices Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0370.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

When Andrew Pask pointed me toward Plan 9 (and made an initial introduction), I couldn't really tell what I was getting into. The soundtrack work was very interesting, and their recent releases mapped out a compelling set of skills. But then I checked out Modwheel – which is their sample library company – and started to connect the dots: Really unique sound design and instrument design led to quirky soundtrack work, which led to crazy sample libraries, which leads to even more sound design work. An organic circle of life! Speaking with Steve Roche and David Donaldson open the door to understanding how Plan 9 got started, how they developed their interesting and unique sound (can you believe that The Flying Nun makes an appearance?), and how they create a creative working atmosphere that puts them in a position to constantly make great work. Their ‘systemic' approach to building a work life is an inspiration, and has got me paying attention to these Wellington natives. Check out https://www.plan9.co.nz and https://www.modwheel.co.nz to see their work in action. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0369.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

One of the big surprises of the late 2010's was the acquisition of Buchla and Associates by someone local to me: Eric Fox of Foxtone Music. I'd heard of Foxtone, but never visited, and never expected something like this to happen in good ‘ol Minneapolis. But sure enough, Buchla was now based out of the Twin Cities. While I'm not a Buchla user, I've always been fascinated by Don Buchla's work, and I was interested in this new iteration of Buchla – especially given the recent announcement of the official Tiptop 200-series modules, along with the revamp of the Easel that was shown at Superbooth. There was no time like now to reach out to Eric for a chat. Our discussion is pretty interesting: from his start as a punk guitarist, to his entre into music retailing, and finally landing on synthesizers as his ticket, Eric hasn't ever taken the easy road. But through perseverance, and a willingness to be “that irritating guy”, he has created a place – not only in music retailing, but in synthesizer history. See what Eric is up to by checking out the Buchla website: https://buchla.com/ Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0368.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Well, we welcome Mike Metlay back to the podcast. It's been a while, and a lot has changed for Mike since our last discussion (episode 69!), and we find him in his new venture: as the editor-in-chief at Bjooks. If you are paying any attention to the world of electronic music, you'll know that Bjooks just released a new book, entitled Synth Gems 1. Mike had a big hand in this release, and we quiz him about it in this interview. During our chat, we learn about the Bjooks publishing process, how they came up with the idea for this book, and how it was executed. This is a surprisingly complex thing, since their goal was to emphasize the beauty of synths, so it required top-notch images as well as noteworthy text. The story behind this (and the people that helped create it) is fascinating. Take a ride with us to learn more about the creation of the Bjook book, and learn more about it at https://bjooks.com/. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0367.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Paula Maddox is a wonder. She's got an amazing history of synth design, and the work continues; her current company (Dove Audio - https://dove-audio.com/) produces modules in Euro and 5U format, featuring her unique take on wavetables-as-oscillators. We share a passion for wavetables and single-cycle waveshapes, so it was a natural that we talk. In our discussion, we cover everything from her history in electronics, the path to synth design, and a review of many of the synths that she has had her hand into. From the infamous Monowave, through the Modal 008, 002 and 001, and into the work developing the Dove Audio products (including some exciting new designs), we get a chance to hear how it comes together and where it is going in the future. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0366.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Mark Fell is one of my favorite artists – his work is the right mix of comfortable and challenging, and his music is truly as good as his ideas about music! As a result, I end up listening to a lot of his work, from the SND material released by Mille Plateaux to his recent experiments with live musicians. I've also had the chance to speak with – and interview – him in the past (for Cycling '74), so there was already a comfort level there between us. So that should have made for a good conversation… … and it did. We ranged around the idea-space, talking about his history, his latest work, how he gets along with collaboration and how he thinks about time and complexity. We also get some insights into his overall aesthetic (something that is very important to him), and how that affects his composing/arranging practice. Very interesting, and wonderfully insightful. Enjoy the podcast, and learn more about Mark's work on his personal website: http://www.markfell.com/wiki/ . Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0365.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Carl Stone has been a huge influence on me – his work transported me from “Interested in that music tech stuff for making pop tunes” to “Let's get serious!” His exploration into the nature of sampled sounds – and sampled/mashed/twisted tracks – took some of the ideas explored by Schaeffer, Cage, Reich and others, and gave them a whole new context. His recordings blew my head open, and continues to do so today. Some time ago I connected with Carl via Facebook, and finally screwed up the courage to ask for an interview. He was into it, and we had a great talk, covering everything from his various touring systems, to his love of Japan, to his seeming obsession with food and restaurants. Throughout all of it, you get a glimpse of the man – and the artist – that continues to push the envelope of sonic exploration. Much of Carl's older work has been reissued, and is available both in physical form as well as streaming. If you haven't yet dug into Carl Stone's work – get on it! A good starting point is his website: https://www.rlsto.net/Nooz/ Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0364.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Jeff Rona has fascinated me ever since he first appeared in Keyboard Magazine with his “The Reel World” column. It was a time when music-for-film was becoming interesting for tech-savvy musicians, and his writing fueled a lot of people's interest in that work. With a background that includes working with Mark Isham and Hans Zimmer, Jeff has been in the mix for some of the greatest soundtracks in the last quarter century. In our discussion, we review his background in school (with The Dartmouth System!), programming time with Roland, playing with Jon Hassell, working with some amazing producers and then moving into film music. We also get into some of his techniques, how he likes to use particular kinds of hardware, and how he puts together the palette for a film score. We also talk about his solo work (as well as an upcoming release), and learn a bit about what he is doing in games and TV. We are also very excited about a third edition of The Reel World (the book) which he is wrapping up for upcoming release. You can learn about all of this, and more, at his website: https://jeffrona.com You can also see all of the soundtracks that he's been credited for on his IMDB page: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006258/. Sheesh, what a list! Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0363.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Will Kuhn is well-known in the Ableton Live community. He pioneered the use of Ableton in the K-12 classroom, and recently released a new book: Electronic Music School: A Contemporary Approach to Teaching Musical Creativity. I was happy to corner him recently, and we had a great chat about his background, how he approaches teaching, and how he developed the system described in the book. We also dive into some ‘hot takes' from the book, which adds a little flavor to this important text. But perhaps the most interesting part of our discussion was his description of creating the program, and writing the book, and figuring out how to make music instruction both interesting and educational. He also reveals how he is able to teach outside of the pure “music education” stream, opening up an Electronic Music program as an elective for the general population. You can learn more about Will's work at his website (https://willkuhn.com/), and see plenty of videos where he's presented his work (including at the Berlin Ableton Loop). He is also involved in the TI:ME (Technology In Music Education), which you can read about here: https://ti-me.org/ Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0362.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Luke Thornton, one of the three people that make up the band Elder Island, perfectly embodies the self-learning/DIY perspectives that are fueling the exciting edge of current music making. Outfitted with a studio full of interesting gear, a lineup of dedicated friends, and the time to focus on production, Elder Island is producing some gorgeous house-infused pop music – and pushing the envelope on both sound design and production quality with their work. In our discussion, we talk about how Elder Island operates: how they work up their songwriting, how they develop tracks, and how they do their unique sound design work. We also discuss creating their near-cinematic tracks while still leaving room for a vocalist/cellist, and how they use (and learn from) outside production and engineering resources to bring home their work. This discussion was really interesting, because I don't talk to pop-oriented artists very often, but the perspectives and goals are remarkably similar to everyone else that I talk to – regardless of style. What was interesting, though, was the genesis of the band from ‘a pair of mates' to a trio that were surprised to go from art school to full time music production. You can hear it in Luke's voice: he is still floored (and thrilled) by where they've landed. Elder Island's website (https://www.elderisland.com/) is the hub to find out more about what they do, how they do it, and what they might be doing next. You can also find their latest release (Swimming Static) on all the streaming services, and a short documentary is available on  YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdGrIsY9EQo). Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0361.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Lisa Bella Donna is somehow algorithmically connected to me – her work shows up consistently in my social media feeds, the sites that I read cover her work, and (of course) the music really speaks to me. So it's kind of odd that it has taken so long to get her on the pod. Maybe it's because she's pretty laid back about her self-promotion, and maybe it's because she is very busy. But in any case, I'm really glad to be able to talk with her about her career, her background, and her love of synths. In our discussion, we talk about coming up through “the system” – a system that included hotel gigs, regional and national touring, and hours spent in jingle studios. It is also a story of a self-educated musician that has captured the imagination of both listeners and synth manufacturers, leading to work as a demo artist for Moog and a promoter for all-things-ARP. It is also a picture of someone that has been unrelenting in finding their passion and staying true to it. Learn more about Lisa on her website (https://lisabelladonna.com/), and listen to her music on her Bandcamp site (https://lisabelladonna.bandcamp.com/). And check out her concert in support of Sisters With Transistors (https://metrograph.com/lisa-bella-donna-concert/). Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0360.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Tim Exile has been involved in the Music Tech world for a long time. As the developer of a number of effects and instruments for Native Instruments (including Flesh - https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/synths/flesh/ and The Finger - https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/effects/the-finger/), he became well-known for pushing the envelope on what we considered to be ‘normal' devices. And after some great videos, we also saw his Flow Machine in action, where he took live looping in a completely new and interesting directions. Now he is working on a platform, called Endlesss (https://endlesss.fm/) that brings all of this together. It combines some of the interesting interfaces of his NI work together with the depth of live performance tools that were part of the Flow Machine, and has developed a live, flexible and collaborative system for recording. To consider this a DAW would be a mistake – rather, it is more like an alternative to the DAW that helps you work ‘in the moment'. In our discussion, we cover everything from his background (including a little more detail than you normally hear…), to his growth in Reaktor-based development, and on to his efforts to bring Endlesss into being. Along the way, we also learn a lot about Tim's interests in embodied performance, and collaboration, and human interaction. Very interesting – and very inspirational. You can learn more about Tim's work at the above links, or through his personal portal at http://timexile.com/. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0359.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Recently, the Mute label reached out to me to see if I wanted to interview Alessandro Cortini, I had to chuckle a little to myself. Alessandro and I have had great conversations over the years, and I jumped at the opportunity to talk to him about his newest release: Scuro Chiaro. It's an amazing work – added to an already amazing body of work. Of course, in addition to talking about release info, we also rambled into discussions about the systems that he's been using, how he approaches sequencing, effects use with modular, development of the Make Noise Strega, and even his history with guitar. As always, fascinating stuff – and clearly one of the best interviews in our stack. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0358.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

I've been a synth-head for a very long time. As a result, I have these little personal dropping-off points of favorite bits of gear: Ensoniq ESQ-1, Roland JD-800, E-mu Proteus and Morpheus. So imagine my surprise when a recent parcel of Facebook paraded all of my favorite synths. And it was put out there by today's guest – Drew Schlesinger – who was deeply involved in sound design for synth preset for all these devices! Starting with the Casio CZ-101, making patch sheets and patch carts, Drew ended up as a working sound designer throughout the digital MIDI synth golden years. In our discussion, we talk about how he got started, the kind of machines that he found himself working on, highlights and lowlights of sound design, and how he moved on from there. We also talk a bit about his work with David Torn in a little apartment studio. You can follow the discussion/history on Facebook by following Drew on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/drewschlesinger1), and you can also hear the Torn album (Summer Synthesis 1978) here: https://drewschlesinger-davidtorn.bandcamp.com/releases Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0357.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Despite the fact that I feel like I’m ‘dialed in’ to everything going on in the MI (Music Instrument) industry, sometimes I just get whacked in the head by something unexpected. I got an out-of-the-blue contact from some people in Argentina; when I started digging into https://yaeltex.com/, I was kind of blown away by what I saw – a ‘make what you need’ on-demand MIDI controller company that creates some of the coolest hardware imaginable. I chatted with Alejo Yael, once of the team that builds the Yaeltex devices. We chat about hardware development, software integration of controllers, the evolution of their business and the nature of doing it in Argentina. But it’s also interesting to hear the passion that is clear in Alejo’s description of what they do – and what they are planning. It also is interesting to see where the imagine their work going in the future. Enjoy this one, and make sure you check out their work at https://yaeltex.com/! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0356.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

Gary Chang says it himself: “I've always portrayed myself an obscure electronic music composer, whose side gig is scoring Hollywood movies and tv shows.” I don’t think I could frame his work – or his attitude – any better. He takes an artist’s view of everything he does, whether it is his own music, the music he does for ultra-popular directors (like John Frankenheimer), or even assembling the musical instruments that fill his studio. A quick peek at his IMDB entries (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005999/#composer) will give you a sense of his ability to ‘get it done’, and to do so at a very high level. I first ran across Gary as an owner of Wiard Synthesizer modules (most of which are modified versions of the blue-plate units Grant Richter created); but also tracked him as he pushed the envelope on great uses of modular gear in many different areas. In our chat, we discuss his background, how he got into music technology – and music composition – and how it all came together for him in various places around the country. Weaving together stories from Boston, Pittsburgh and LA, Gary’s life is another instance of the idea that “there is no blueprint for success” in the musical world. Enjoy, and check out Gary’s work anywhere you can find it! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0355.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

As the head of content development for Nonlinear Educating (the home of MacProVideo, Ask.Audio, Ask.Video and more…), Steve Horelick has been in the media tool education game for a long time. He’s had his eyes on music software since Logic was an Emagic product. But he also has a long history as a musician and sound designer, with some pretty impressive scoring projects under his belt – most notably, the musical world of Reading Rainbow! In our discussion, we talk about his history in music and scoring, his love and respect of All Things Buchla, how he transitioned into education, and how he keeps his musical chops sharp. During all of this discussion, he also reveals a lot about collaboration, and opens the door to a lot of information about being yourself in the crazy world of music and composing. If you aren’t familiar with Nonlinear’s offerings, you can check it out at my favorite: MacProVideo (https://www.macprovideo.com/), or get some reading in at Ask.Audio (https://ask.audio/). There is so much there to explore… Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0354.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

KamranV is dedicated to new technology for music. From his work at Interscope New Media, through his work on the Phonocut vinyl lathe, Kamran is pushing envelopes at every turn. One of his on-groing projects is the QUARK plug-in system, which provides and easy-to-assemble toolkit for quad encoding and decoding of tracks. The stuff is ‘cooked’ enough that it was used for Susan Ciani’s Live – Quadraphonic record; if it is good enough for Susan, it’s good enough for me! In our interview, we cover everything from Kamran’s time growing up in Oklahoma, through his time at Interscope, and into the world of studios, hardware development and software experimentation. Through all of it, you get an impression of Kamran’s dedication to the “new” in New Media, and his entrepreneurial approach to anything in his path. You can find out more about everything that Kamran is up to by visiting his namesake website: http://www.cykik.com/ Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0353.html Exclusive extra content on the Patron page: https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse

For my audience, Anthony Rolando probably needs no introduction. As the product designer at Make Noise Music, his work is found in almost every modular system you’ll run across. From his earliest designs (such as the Maths) to his latest (like the Morphagene), he’s helping to define the future of modular systems. Recently, Make Noise has come out with a new standalone device – the Strega. This is a remarkable system-in-a-box that includes integrated effects and tone generation, and is particularly focused on live play. As a collaboration with Alessandro Cortini, the Strega is a deep, opinionated view on noise/sound manipulation, and launches a new perspective on what an ‘instrument’ is all about. In our discussion, we dive into depth on the development of the Strega, Tony’s personal musical adventures, and a bunch of follow-up from our previous podcast (https://artmusictech.libsyn.com/podcast-152-tony-rolando-of-make-noise). As with any discussion with Tony, it was revealing, challenging and inspiring. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0352.html

Phelan Kane is a force of nature – when he recently signed up for the Max Certified Trainer program, I got a chance to see him in teacher-action, and also got a sense of his writing and presentation styles. Wow! Adept at everything from cogent DSP explanations to crazy Max DSP external development, he blew me away with all of the stuff that he could pull off. Then the interview – and I find out about his prior work in the studio. A-maz-ing! I had no idea about his background as a studio rat, but he was In It – right up until Napster kneecapped the whole industry. Speaking with someone that has such serious teaching experience (15+ years), massive studio experience, his own personal music exploration and a complete obsession with synths – well, you can imagine how that was going to go. We got along like old friends, and I was just consistently knocked out over the stories he was able to tell. Check out the interview, and check out Phelan’s teaching over at Music HackSpace: https://musichackspace.org/whatson_list/list/?tribe-bar-search=Phelan Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0351.html

Yay! It finally came together! I’ve been working on getting James McCartney  for a while, and it happened! And the chat was as good as I hoped – we got to completely geek out on music/audio programming discussions, he introduced me into a class of new instruments, we talked about the past and the future… It’s what makes this podcast so awesome to produce. As I said, we wandered around the landscape, talking about his interest in the Jankó keyboard (and his acoustic piano of the same), how he got started in computer music programming, the early development of SuperCollider, and his current exploration into new programming languages. I came out of it understanding both James and his work much better. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0350.html

Joshua Hodge is someone that is dedicated – dedicated to helping people learn to do what they love. Oh, and to get a job, too! His project – The Audio Programmer (theaudioprogrammer.com) is a central location for learning about how to become an audio programmer, and it combines his passion for music with his love of programming, and teaching. In our discussion, we talk about his background, how he got involved in programming, and why he decided to take on audio programming as a vector for his teaching. We also learn about his musical history as well as his own personal programming practice. All-in-all, it’s a good view of someone that is “all-in” on audio programming. You can check out Joshua’s work at The Audio Programmer (theaudioprogrammer.com), and take a peek as his programming tutorials on his YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpKb02FsH4WH4X_2xhIoJ1A). In addition to the free YouTube videos, he also has a series teaching JUCE plugin development that is pretty powerful. If you are into programming audio projects at all, The Audio Programmer is a resource you should be dialed into! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0349.html

If you listen to any of the music that I do, you have seen the name of this week’s guest: Taylor Deupree. He is a mastering engineer extraordinaire, but he is also an amazing artist and collaborator, as well as running the 12k label. But for all of this work, Taylor is amazingly laid back, and our discussion was fantastically chilled. During our talk, we go through his background, getting started as both an artist and mastering engineer, how he approaches collaboration and what it is like to live in rural New York. Each part of this discussion is filled with surprise, and the whole interview really helps you understand – and appreciate – his work and his perspectives. Warning: it’ll also drive you into listening to a lot of his work, too! You can learn more about Taylors work at his site (http://www.taylordeupree.com/), his mastering site (http://www.12kmastering.com/), his bandcamp page (https://taylordeupree.bandcamp.com/) and his label site (https://www.12k.com/). Enjoy the exploration! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0348.html

I doubt that I have to introduce Andrew Huang. His online entries are a strong contender for “YouTube Channel Most Responsible For Music-Making Coolness” (https://www.youtube.com/andrewhuang), and he simultaneously does tutorials, gear demos and production technique tricks/tips. This is one of the few people that I’ve interviewed that all of my kids knew – which is a pretty serious barrier to beat! Andrew has just finished up work on a new iOS app called Flip Sampler (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flip-sampler/id1486629619): a sample-based music making system that is super-intuitive while still being functionally significant. I got a chance to play with it for a week-or-so before our discussion, and was amazed at how easy it was to use, but was still useful for serious work. So we had a chance to talk about the development of that app. We also, however, spend a lot of time talking about his background, how he taps into creativity, and how he balances his channel work with his own musical creation. An interesting view into the life of a full-time, full-on creative. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0347.html

Dr. Cecilia Suhr is an amazing individual: academic, performer, installation artist, painter, recording musician – she’s found herself in the midst of so many artforms. When one of my listeners pointed her work out to me, I was fascinated by the breadth of the work – but also the focus on interactivity, and the ‘honoring of the audience’. Whether it is the high-velocity painting series, ‘happening’-like event installations like “I, You, We” or her variety of augmented reality pieces, Cecilia’s work is highly personal while still being really engaging. She’s found a way to draw people into her performances, and is able to take advantage of interactivity to produce complex artistic result. In our discussion, we talk about her musical journey, how she ended up in academia, how working in Ohio affects her art efforts, and how she is planning to expand her vision for intermedia work. It really makes me want to track this work down (once COVID isolation is behind us…). You can learn much more at https://www.ceciliasuhr.com/ Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0346.html

Tlacael Esparza was introduced to me by my friend Dave Hill Jr. – he pointed to Esparza’s Sensory Percussion as an example of the new electronic music instrument industry. This system (which you can check out at https://sunhou.se/) uses a sensitive microphone, combined with bleeding-edge machine learning software, to map a drumhead into multiple playable zones. And with that comes flexibility and creativity! A brief tour of the drummers that are taking advantage of the Sensory system points to individuals pushing the envelope of performative musical work, and blurs the line between percussion virtuosity and extreme sound manipulation. And it’s that kind of blurring that really defines the direction that development is moving. Tlacael has a great story behind the creation of the software, but it also points to the fact that, beyond being entranced by getting some coding out the door, he is dedicated to making the system more artistically satisfying for its users. This means constant redefinition of the goals, and staying connected to players and their needs. This is one of those interviews where it might really help to have some background information. Go to https://sunhou.se/ and run through some of the videos on the ‘blogs’ page; this will let you know what we are talking about. And don’t forget – if you want to support the podcast, or hear more from Tlacael, check out the Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse). Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0345.html

Rachel Palmer is originally from my neck of the woods – the Minneapolis area. But she’s now in Berlin (like so many people whose work I love…), expanding her visuals-for-music practice, and – germane to this interview – promoting her new music release: Antecedent, on Modularfield Records (https://modularfield.io/rachel-palmer-antecedent). It was just released on November 27th, but I had a chance to check out the pre-release, and was quite drawn in by the work. The music has many of the cinematic qualities that I think of with Modularfields’ releases, but the tracks are also unique in the individuality – each one sets itself as a unique entity, and it harkens to both Rachel’s personal story and her history in songwriting. In our chat, we discuss her background – which includes serious live visual work as well as a long musical history, her struggles finding a musical voice, and some of the concerns that exist for artists living through a pandemic. A thoughtful chat with an artist unafraid of exploration. Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0344.html

I was first drawn into the music. The album “Pineapple”, by Grand River, has been part of my playlist for a while, and has embedded itself into my subconscious. The concept behind the One Instrument label jumped out at me, and I was intrigued by everything that I heard. When I reached out about the label, I was blown away to know that I’d be talking to the artist as well. Lucky me! Aimée Portioli is a busy soul. One Instrument (https://oneinstrument.bandcamp.com/) keeps up a steady stream of output, featuring individuals willing to dedicate themselves to making a track using only a single instrument – and, in the case of modular synths, a single oscillator. The limitations also limit effects usage to only a reverb, which greatly changes ones approach to the single-instrument concept. The work that Aimée has collected is super-interesting, ranging from laptop junkies to vibraphone masters. The selected artists work through the process thoughtfully, and Aimée’s curation holds it together. As Grand River (https://grandrivermusic.bandcamp.com/), Aimée is putting out releases (most recently on Editions Mego) that combine environmental looping with succinct whiffs of melody, and have become favorites of mine. Prior to the COVID-19 isolation, she was an active performer; alas, the pandemic has slowed that down - but she has plans! In our interview, we discuss everything from her background as a child choir prodigy to her methods of “research” behind her releases. A really insightful interview. Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0343.html

One of the most enduring record series from the late 90’s and early 00’s is Pole’s 1/2/3 combo. These albums turned people’s heads when they were released, and remain often-mentioned favorites of the introspective ambient/glitch world. Stefan Betke – aka Pole – has just released a new album, Fading (http://mute.com/mute/has-announced-the-brand-new-album-fading), and opened the door for a chat. Woot!! In our discussion, we spend a fair amount of time on his production process, learning how he builds a track, some of his tricks for honing the work, and how he sets things up for live performance. He also fills us in on his history – and why his famous 4-Pole Filter failure could speak to him when it would have felt like a failure to most of us. You can learn much more about Stefan on the Pole artist site (https://pole-music.com/) and Bandcamp site (https://pole-stefanbetke.bandcamp.com/music). And, of course, the release is available on Mute Records: http://mute.com/ Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0342.html

In this second of two interview sessions, we talk with Ned Lagin about the compositional process behind his work (including echoes of Renaissance music), his Seastones collaborators, the ups and downs of the Seastones release(s) and his subsequent technical career. Ned Lagin is legendary. As a former performer with the Grateful Dead, he toured with a crazy rig that featured both standard keyboards as well as an E-mu modular controlled by a computer system. All this during the early 70’s (http://spiritcats.com/nedbase.html) – ya’ dig? You can learn more about All Things Ned Lagin on the Spiritcats website (http://spiritcats.com/index.html), and about the vinyl release of Seastones on the Important Records website (https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12081). Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0341.html

Ned Lagin is legendary. As a former performer with the Grateful Dead, he toured with a crazy rig that featured both standard keyboards as well as an E-mu modular controlled by a computer system. During the early 70’s (http://spiritcats.com/nedbase.html). Yeah. He also produced an amazing work, called Seastones, that is a ground-breaking electronic music collection. Unfortunately, it fell between the cracks of some label flip-flopping, and never received the attention it deserved. Featuring guest spots by some amazing collaborators (including Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, David Crosby and Grace Slick), the album has been reissued as a CD by Ned (http://spiritcats.com/music.html), and on vinyl by Important Records. In this first of two interview sessions, we discuss his work, his background and the various technologies that he employed (and in some cases had to invent) in order to play and produce his musical work. We also talk about the many people that influenced him, and the twists and turns of his musical – and technological – journey. You can learn more about All Things Ned Lagin on the Spiritcats website (http://spiritcats.com/index.html), and about the vinyl release of Seastones on the Important Records website (https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12081). Enjoy! Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0340a.html

Jean-Baptiste Thiebaut is someone I have had the chance to work with at Cycling, and has been on an amazing journey. JB’s background is quite amazing, combining a background in computer science with advanced research in computer-aided composition. He then entered the MI industry – working at Novation/Focusrite in product development, then directing product development at ROLI. Through all of that, he founded and nurtured the London-based Music Hackspace, a place for music hackery to thrive. When the COVID pandemic hit, JB decided to expand the reach of Music Hackspace to include industry expert presentations and a wide variety of workshops and tutorials. The breadth of it is quite impressive, ranging from hardware hacking on ‘musical pom-poms’ to tweaky Node for Max workshops. Lots of different technologies, and a steady stream of interesting work. If you are interested in checking out the Hackspace’s lineup, you can find out more at the ‘What’s On’ list (https://musichackspace.org/whatson_list?). Are you interested in teaching a music or art technology workshop? Contact JB and crew at curators@musichackspace.org. Enjoy!

As one of the founding members of the band Can, Irmin Schmidt left a permanent mark on the world of music. Since Can’s breakup, Irmin has left his mark on film music, having been credited as composer on more than 40 films and TV shows. Recently, he has released two albums on Mute Records featuring solo prepared piano work, with “Nocturne: Live at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival” coming out earlier this year. In our chat, we talk about his background, his sources of creativity, and his interest in prepared piano. We also learn more about his development of an opera (Gormenghast), and how he chooses the work that he releases. It’s an amazing view into the imagination of a groundbreaking artist. You can find out more about his Mute releases at mute.com (http://mute.com/artists/irmin-schmidt), and check out “Can – All Gates Open”, the book he co-authored on the band (https://www.amazon.com/All-Gates-Open-Faber-Social/dp/0571311520). Enjoy! Transcription: http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0338.html

I'd heard about the artist Strategy from Portland friends in the past, and always appreciated the subtle complexity that threaded throughout his work. When Joshua Clayton opened the door to speak with Paul Dickow - Strategy - I was excited to take the chance. As I prepared for the talk, I was surprised by the number of projects that Paul was involved in, and also his involvement with community support. As we got talking, I also found out that we shared something else: a love of samplers. Getting a chance to dig into the quirky differences between different machines is loads of fun, but also a way to find unique ways of pulling unique sounds out of a variety of gear. Paul also talks about how collaboration keeps him moving forward; how different group efforts lead him down different roads, and different labels helped push him into completing different sonic expressions. I came away with a sense of a guy that is sensitive to the world around him, and remains open to its influence. Check out Strategy's work at http://soundcloud.com/strategydickow and https://strategy.bandcamp.com/, the Community Library project at www.community-library.net, and the Common Language label at commonlanguage.bandcamp.com. So much great music! Enjoy! Transcription: http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0337.html

Scott Lawlor reached out to me to start a conversation, and after hearing his story, I was anxious to get his story on the podcast. He is part of numerous collaborations, does live performances (including his "isolation concerts" during this COVID lockdown) - but my bell was rung when he mentioned that he'd done around 250 releases. 250 releases! I had to learn more... It turns out that Scott's work is really flow-oriented, and that he is able to drop into 'recording mode' really quickly. He also really enjoys long-form recording, so much of his work greatly exceeds the EP/LP-length work we've come to understand. He also fluidly moves from genre to genre, one day working on New Age piano pieces, the next day doing experimental noise pieces. Talking with Scott about his recording efficiency, style morphing and music-life balance opened some real perceptual doors for me. Check out his work here - https://scottlawlor.bandcamp.com/music - as well as on many netlabels. You can also check out his Isolation Sets on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgabrCpbhSheucDCf3V3Q1g Enjoy! Transcription available: http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0336.html

I first got to know Ned Rush through some glitch-based sample packs that he made available - a long time ago. He's continued creating - making sample sets, music releases and Max for Live devices, and has also been making interesting videos on his YouTube channel. Now, he's started a remote weekly performance series called "More Kicks Than Friends" that brings together a lot of people that you know from other online locales. I was very excited to get Ned on the horn for a chat, and we cover a lot of ground - from his background as a guitar nut, to his entry into electronic music, through jacking into making videos and running MKTF. Along the way, we dig into his preference for cut-up editing, and some of his ideas for meshing guitar playing with effective music production. Very interesting, very revealing. You can follow Ned through his Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/NedRush), YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIbbeIvZgBiXikUJaYWXTcQ) and his Isotonik device page (https://isotonikstudios.com/vendor/ned-rush/). Such a fun conversation - I hope you enjoy it, too! Transcription: http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0335.html

When I first got clued into the A-Mint system, I was very curious: I've not been 'entranced' by AI and ML systems for music, and I tend to be kind of skeptical. But some of the video and audio examples I heard of Alex Braga's A-Mint were quite surprising - especially in their realtime use with other performers. This is something that caught my attention, and I wanted to learn more. Alex is an engaging interview, and our discussion ranged from his background, to his love of nerdy machines, and into his love of performing. The work that he and his collaborators are doing is in trying to create 'augmented' tools - tools that help you be more adept at the things that you want to do. You can learn more about the A-Mint project at its website: http://www.a-mint.it/ or you can see more of it (and Alex) in action, as well as learning about his "Spleen Machine" release, at his website: http://www.alexbraga.me/ I hope that you enjoy the discussion, and find Alex's enthusiasm as infectious as I did. I'm looking forward to trying this out! Enjoy! Transcription: http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0334.html

Roger Neill is living a pretty charmed life. Working on film, TV and game music, he is able to dive deep into music of all styles, and create extended storytelling by working with directors of films like Valley Girl, 20th Century Women and TV work like JJ Villard's Fairy Tales. All of this requires the depth of knowledge that comes from getting an advanced degree in music, but also an emotional connection that comes from playing guitar in teenage rock bands. We had a great conversation that covered his education, his entre into the film composition work and how he approaches film score development. It's an improbable tale - but one that also shows the combination of talent, hard work and good luck that it takes to get a gig in Hollywood. You can learn more about Roger's work at his website (http://rogerneill.com/), and check out his music at his SoundCloud page (https://soundcloud.com/roger-neill-2). It's a pretty impressive body of work, and hearing about its creation makes this a fabulous interview. Enjoy!

I love it when I get suggestions from my listeners for something to research. Hearing about "acreil" - and tracking this down to Scott Nordlund - was a lot of fun, mainly because the starting point was on Bandcamp, and his music is so good. I'd learned that he was deep into working with Pure Data, and he had a great collection of releases, so I was all in! And it was worth it. Scott has a clear opinion about what works - for him. He doesn't really worry about the general case; he's focused on what works best for him. And the result speaks for itself: check out his releases on Bandcamp (https://acreil.bandcamp.com/) and you'll see what I mean. He also has a fascinating Wordpress site (https://acreil.wordpress.com/) where we get to find out about his research in Pure Data, his teardowns of EPROMs from different devices, and even in-depth dives into the obscure chips found in oddball synths. All of this is wrapped up into a thoughtful and focused package. I love it - enjoy! Transcription: http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0332.html

I try not to reveal my super-fandom very often, but Robin Rimbaud (aka Skanner) maps to a critical time in my life. Back when he was putting out the early Scanner stuff, my ears were opening to more adventurous electronic work, and his efforts slammed directly into my interests. I've been a fan ever since, and was blown away to get to talk with him. And what a great conversation - we cover everything from his background (of course) to details on working on the Vex project - a site-specific work done in conjunction with an architect. Combining that we discussions about the surveillance state, the value of literature in an artist's life, and making a career without surrounding yourself with managers, agents and publicists - we were all over the map, but in a good way. If you aren't familiar with Robin's work - well, I'm not sure what to say about that. But you should be. You can check it out, as well as his ongoing stream-of-consciousness blogging, on his website: http://scannerdot.com/. This is a great jumping off point for all sorts of interesting parts of his different practices as well as his quirky view of the world. If you haven't guessed, this is probably my favorite interview ever. So I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Transcription: http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0331.html