A trip to Electronic Music MidwestOctober 18th, 2008

We just got back from a day of electronic music and traveling.  The Lewis University campus is beautiful, and Cassie and I were excited to check out a couple of shows.

We unsurprisingly heard and saw a variety of unique performances, including some familiar eight channel surround pieces and a piece with live surround effects using live trumpet.  The shows were presented in a cozy theater on campus, along with the 60×60 installation in the lobby, and some of the strongest coffee I’ve had in quite some time.

We ran into some familiar faces, including Elainie Lillios!

My kudos to everyone involved in the event who made it such a smooth and professional event.  It is exciting to keep up with all that is going on in the electronic music world.  It was well worth the trip!

Fellow Annexer Evan Merz already has a slew of great EMM content on his website at www.thisisnotalabel.com

EMM Festival this weekend!October 16th, 2008

My wife and I are looking forward our trip to Lewis University in Romeoville this Saturday to check out the Electronic Music Midwest festival.  It’s amazing how such a great festival is almost right in our back yard!

We are going to check out a few of the shows, and hope to meet some great composers.  It should prove to be a great experience!  All of the info can be found at:  www.emmfestival.org

60×60 composition in the “Midwest Mix”!October 13th, 2008

I am pleased to announce that my 60 second composition was chosen as part of the Midwest Mix for 2008, and will be performed at the EMM festival this week along with the other 59 selections in succession.
Here is the 60 second piece:  “Glass Elevators”

My program notes:  “Glass Elevators” uses a sample taken on a hotel elevator in Chicago to create a simultaneous feeling of whimsy and dread.  The tone of light flair represents our everyday interactions that surprise us and brighten our lives.  The underlying dread signifies the part of our subconscious that is aware of the possibility of a sudden and unexpected danger that may exist at any moment.  This piece explores this increasingly acute sense of danger, and the ways we attempt to subdue that fear.

More information about 60×60 can be found at the website:  http://www.voxnovus.com/60×60/

Imogen Heap “Hide and Seek” CoverOctober 8th, 2008

This is a cover I did a while back while experimenting with some software vocoders.  I would like to assert that there is nothing quite as fun as singing into a vocoder.  This particular performance isn’t ideal, especially since I was losing my voice during the song, but It wasn’t bad for a first try.
For those not familiar, Imogen Heap is a popular solo musician and composer.  She specializes in electronic composition and live looping.

Audio Clips from Elainie Lillios’ VisitOctober 5th, 2008

My colleague Evan Merz has posted some great sound clips from Professor Lillios’ Visit:  Evan’s Blog Post

While you’re at it, be sure to check out his entire blog, which is filled with excellent and up-to-date info about what’s going on in the electronic music and software world.  www.thisisnotalabel.com

Zoom H2 Surround ExperimentationOctober 2nd, 2008

I’m excited to have just purchased the Zoom H2 “Handy Recorder”!

This is a compact stereo SD card recorder that is similar to many others currently on the market, with one big exception.  There are four capsules in the unit, giving it the capability to record in “surround” or technically, quadraphonic sound.
The front two mics are a 90-degree pair, while the back two are a wider, 120-degree pair.  The unit gives the option of either recording only the front stereo pair, the rear stereo pair, a front-back combination stereo mix, or all four mics simultaneously.

When recording in “surround” mode, the unit saves each recording as two separate stereo files.  There has even been software made which encodes the output into 5.1-channel surround for DVD and home theater purposes.  I am very interested to experiment with the capabilities of the unit and will be getting back with sound samples and my reactions.  See the H2 on the Samson website.

Here’s a great video by Portland Music Company showing off the H2: