Solo drums + electronics
So I went on a UK tour recently doing solo drums + electronics.
Here is a ‘showreel’ of sorts, documenting some choice bits from the different performances.
This was the first tour I’ve done since moving onto a laptop as my performance setup. The center piece of that is The Party Van, my all-in-one laptop performance solution. It was nice doing a bunch of (relatively) back to back gigs to really get ‘inside’ the mechanics of my patch/setup.
The footage was shot and edited by my wife, Angela Guyton, who shoots most(all) of my videos nowadays. There’s a longer (10minutes) sort of documentary on me in the works covering my live stuff, instrument building, bands, composition etc… Very much looking forward to that.
Weak Without You (new composition)
Weak Without You is my latest composition commissioned by Distractfold Ensemble.
It looks and sounds like this:
It’s written for three female performers who sing and clap (with a bit of a pitched instrument at end). The performers (Linda Jankowska, Emma Richards, and Alice Purton) did a great job with the piece, particularly considering the nakedness of just singing/clapping.
This is the first piece I’ve composed since starting my PhD at the University of Huddersfield and it’s probably one of my simplest/cleanest pieces. The materials are super stark, and I think it really works.
‘Underneath the hood’ there are some further explorations into some of my ideas about ‘fake’ time. Sections B/C/D in the score make use of these ideas, and during the rehearsals the term “real time” and “fake time” were thrown around a lot (to the initial confusion of the performers).
Here is the full score:
Oh yeah, and it’s a ‘cover’ of Survivor by Destiny’s Child….
Trio with PA Tremblay & Sam Andreae
Had a gig the other night with two of my favorite performers (Pierre Alexandre Tremblay (we just finished recording a followup album) and Sam Andreae.
You can see The Party Van in action on my side, with some more Max/MSP goodness coming from PA. Sam? He kicks it oldschool with some ciat-lonbarde digs, some general DIY grunginess, and with a new school twist, an Arduino.
A Greater Horror – Bastard Video
So been doing this group with Mauricio Pauly and Alex Tod (A Greater Horror) since last year, but more recently it’s started picking up steam. We’ve got a gig at the Manchester Jazz Festival coming up in July and I’m quite excited about it as I finally incorporated my monome/arc/software setup (The Party Van) into the setup.
Here’s a video we made a few weeks ago filmed by Angela Guyton.
It’s pretty brutal.
I Rock the Party that Rocks the Party
So as you may know from some of my previous posts I’ve been doing lots of Max/MSP programming, moving my previously hardware-centric performance setup into the laptop.
I recently put out the v05 version of my Party Van software, and it is looking/sounding great if I don’t say so myself.
Here’s a performance video using solo snare + electronics:
Spring Tour + Festivals + Releases
So I’m doing a solo (drums+electronics) tour across the UK hitting up a bunch of classy cities (details below).
In addition to that, my post-jazz trio, A Greater Horror, is playing the Manchester Jazz festival, as well as releasing our debut EP at the festival.
Speaking of festivals, there’s also the Chorlton Art’s festival, and BEAM festival gig dates in the mix.
Speaking of in the mix (erm, kind of stretching it eh?), my string quartet + computer hard drive piece (It’s Made From Pieces Of From Pieces Of My Skin) should hopefully be premiered by the Distractfold ensemble in a couple of months too, with Angela Guyton making a documentary about the piece/performance.
In addition to the AGH EP release, I’m back in the studio with PA Tremblay to record a follow up to our last CD. Also have some studio time booked with Phil Marks, for a smoking drum duo we’ve been working on, and some more studio time with Richard Knight for a peculiar guitar+no-input mixer thing we’ve been kicking around.
All in all, some rather busy next couple of months. Do stop by some of the gigs and see the new setup/instruments in action.
5 May 2012 – Birmingham – Solo Drums+Electronics
9 May 2012 – Sheffield – Solo Drums+Electronics
10 May 2012 – Manchester – Solo Drums+Electronics
22 May 2012 – Manchester – The Noise Upstairs Ensemble
23 May 2012 – Chorlton – Solo Electronics
25 May 2012 – Manchester – Takahashi’s Shellfish Concern
30 May 2012 – Kent – Solo Drums+Electronics
6 June 2012 – Leeds – Takahashi’s Shellfish Concern
19 June 2012 – Manchester – A Greater Horror
22 June 2012 – Manchester – Drums with PA Tremblay
23 June 2012 – Manchester – Takahashi’s Shellfish Concern
24 June 2012 – London – Solo Drums+Electronics
29 June 2012 – Manchester – The Noise Upstairs Ensemble
5 July 2012 – Manchester – Takahashi’s Shellfish Concern
7 July 2012 – Sheffield – Drums with Federico Reuben
12 July 2012 – Manchester – Drums with Federico Reuben
14 July 2012 – Manchester – A Greater Horror
19 July 2012 – Manchester – Takahashi’s Shellfish Concern
26 July 2012 – Huddersfield – Solo Drums+Electronics
16 Figures
I’m very excited to release “16 Figures”, a improv trio CD I recorded last year with Ray Evanoff and Iain Harrison. After recording Ray’s duo ATEMNT for The Noise Upstairs records last year I proposed an improv project to Ray, which quickly turned into a trio with Iain on sax. The original idea was to have lots of short improv pieces, but after rehearsing and discussing ideas, we scrapped the short pieces idea and just left it completely open. I sort of glazed over what the actual idea was from the start for the sake of everyone involved, but let me just say that it involved a movie with Vin Diesel….
NUS Label Launch Party
After joining The Noise Upstairs last year, Anton and I put a lot of things in motion to help The Noise Upstairs grow and improve. Among them have been excellent workshops, podcasts, and now a new Sheffield Noise Upstairs, but one of the biggest has been The Noise Upstairs Records. We just released our third CD by the amazing Huddersfield duo Atement (formerly Gift of Life, which performed back in November last year). We decided it was finally time to make a big deal about it so we had a label launch night party. Continue reading »
GEMDays Festival
After speaking at the Max/MSP Symposium at last years GEMDays Festival, PA Tremblay mentioned that he’s going to try to get me to perform at this years festival. One year later, it came to pass. I shared the night with Phil Archer. We were both interviewed before the concert, which was wonderful to hear how similar our paths had been, even though the results were rather different (we were both still playing on the ‘circuit-bending’ night). Continue reading »
Xiu Xiu & me and you
So like, one of my bands, Deaf To Van Gogh’s Ear is opening up for Xiu Xiu next month (February 23rd). This is super, absolutely, truly, amazing. It’s the second time we’ve opened up for someone ‘starstruck-able’, the first time being when we opened up for Extra Life last year.
Awesome.
Piano + Laptop Improv
Had the opportunity to open up for Ingrid Laubrock as part of The Noise Upstairs Presents. Since the venue (Cross Street Chapel) has a nice grand piano, I decided to forgo my recent ‘solo drums’ improv and do a piano set. I invited Scott Hewitt to join me on Laptop/Sampling. We hadn’t rehearsed prior to the gig, and had only played together as part of larger ensembles at Inclusive Improv sessions, so it it’s pretty fresh as far as fresh goes. Continue reading »
Takahashi on Tour
Just finished a tour with Takahashi’s Shellfish Concern. It was amazing. We played in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, London, Huddersfield, and finally Manchester. Some amazing highs (Edinburgh & London), and some horrible lows (Glasgow). Continue reading »
Drum & Bass: And The Horse You Rode In On
I am very excited to present “Drum & Bass : And The Horse You Rode In On”. This is a duo CD with PA Tremblay that was recorded in early 2009.
We shared a stage in 2008 and after exchanging some e-mails we decided to hit the studio. I showed up at Huddersfield University’s Studio with my ‘drums’ setup. PA had his 6-string fretless bass + Laptop setup, and we let it roll. After months of editing and mixing we carved out this gem. It’s 13 tracks of pure joy. The improvs range from textural laptop-scapes, to grimy stutter-hop, to some smooth jazz, and many other things that I can’t pretend to come up with names for (those above are inadequate enough). Continue reading »
DRUM & BASS : And The Horse You Rode In On
The recording session I did with PA Tremblay back in February is finally coming into shape. The title is going to be “DRUM & BASS AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON”, and above is the cover art, as usual, by Angela Guyton. We’re still narrowing down tracks and working on general mix/edit stuff, but I’m very excited about the project. It’s all improvisations that range from textural laptop-scapes, to grimy stutter-hop, to some smooth jazz, and many other things that I can’t pretend to come up with names for (those above are inadequate enough).
We’re both very busy at the moment, but it should hopefully be out in a couple of months as, most probably, a self-released, hand silk-screened type thing.
I AM YOUR DENSITY : Live in Glasgow
I submitted “I AM YOUR DENSITY” to an open call for works for the Red Note ensemble, and it was one of the chosen pieces. I asked my ‘usuals’, and Angie, Anton, Ramsey, and Holly all agreed to take part, and make the drive up with me (Anton actually did the driving). Continue reading »