Tag Archives: drone

collaborations Live Bootlegs

Bananahat – Live From Stafford 20 December 2008

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Title: Live from Stafford 20 December 2008
Artist: Bananahat
Album: Live from Bryan, TX
Date: 2008

When all three members of Bananahat happened to convene in Bryan, Texas around the Christmas of 08, good things happened. SkullF*cker had a show booked at Stafford, and along with Bryce Clayton Eiman, Bananahat was around to pull the electro-noise-house vibes out of the winter downtown air.
Technically, this was Bananahat plus, as we had two at-large members join us on stage in masks and stuff. There’s laptops, live vocals, a feedbacker modded-sp303, akai mpc, korg er-1, tuning forks, contact mics, more feedback loops, and most importantly the magic of the season and weariness of the road.
The actual performance was about 30 minutes, but the recordings got started a short ways into it. Major props to Houston for hitting that record button…I don’t know how I could ever remember much less describe Bananahat at their finest hour.
Chappy Chanukah to all yall.
Download: 01 Live at Stafford 20081220 (right click and choose ‘save as’)
Bananahat ca. 2008

Sober October

Noggin – That Old Orange Guitar

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Title: That Old Orange Guitar
Artist: Noggin
Album: Sober October
Date: 2011

Final version of the ambient track I posted earlier this year (bonus track after so you don’t think I’m double dipping).
All the sounds in this one came from my first guitar, recently rigged up with piezo, plugged straight into my sampler. I got to say thanks again to my uncle for that guitar, cause it basically was my gateway into wanting to learn to hone my craft.
I want to dedicate this one to my good friend Kyle of California.
MPC straight to 1/4″ reels via Mackie mixer and LXP-1 on send.
Chuck originally called this one “Leftovers” (and I like that).
Full album available at http://soundcloud.com/djnoggin/sets/sober-october
Download: Noggin – 05 – That Old Orange Guitar (right click and choose ‘save as’)

Live 8 bit Rancho Relaxo

Noggin – 8 bit set at Rancho Relaxo part 00000010

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Title: Live 8 bit set at Rancho Relaxo part 00000010
Artist: Noggin
Album: Live 8 bit set at Rancho Relaxo
Date: 2008

When I moved back to Texas in 2008, having spent the previous year doing nothing but producing music (and doing lots of math in the process), I had sound exploding out of me. Ethan Master of the Hawaiian Ukulele, Steward of Rancho Relaxo, asked me to participate in a pre-AMODA “8-bit” show. Now, I’ve never considered myself strictly 8-bit, but I jumped at the opportunity to basically drone out in a dark basement and maybe make people expand their understanding of what things like 8-bit are really about. Recent experiments into feedback loops through the ER-1, music written for gameboy (had to meet the criteria), and a custom-built distortion box (think of it as analog 8-bit sound) all came together to produce a swath or digital crustiness reverberating off the graffiti’d stone walls of the Rancho Basement. The wonderful visuals provided by no less than three video artists of course helped the ambiance.
There are some re-worked Noggin classics in here, and part 1 will be up at some point.
This is Noggin doing noise, if that aint your thing, open your ears and mind or please, move on.
Download: noggin-8bit-set2 (right click and choose ‘save as’)

Pictures of Clouds

Pictures of Clouds – Nematode

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Title: Nematode
Artist: Pictures of Clouds
Album: Pictures of Clouds
Date: 2010

Not having a good day.
This is an amen break on auto-repeat, spit forth from a schizophrenic mpc, fed through an auto-tune and then feeding back on itself with careful application of the aux knob. Not really POC style, but came from those same sessions, so they can claim it.
Download: 16 – Pictures Of Clouds – Tapedeck16 (right click and choose ‘save as’)

As Yet Unknown From Inside The Furnace Instant Jams

Noggin – Never See You Again

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Title: Never See You Again
Artist: Noggin
Album: As Yet Unknown
Date: 2011

Some grimy vinyl based ambient tune coming to you courtesy of the Ensoniq EPS. Samples taken from a Jobim record I believe but once again I think it’s safe to say they are flipped enough that one might have a hard time spotting them.
Image is from some video I did for Mom (aka Sleep Whale) during some of their live performances.
Download: neverseeyouagain (right click and choose ‘save as’)

collaborations Live Bootlegs

Bananahat – On Looking Live Score

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Title: On Looking Live Score
Artist: Bananahat
Album: Live at Terman Engineering
Date: 2008

After successful recording sessions and promises of international touring, Bananahat regrouped for their first live work. We were commissioned to provide a live score for part of a modern dance act who were doing the finale of their dance suite in the fountain at Terman Engineering building.
Boy did we piss the cops off with this one. Besides the dronetones and feedback at high volumes, we actually had permission to be making said noises, and the authorities couldn’t do much but let us go on and try to enjoy it.
We practiced a few times, felt really good about it, and then did the show in late May.
This recording is missing a few things, namely the entire first movement, all the signal that Max was making (running a couple underwater mics [read: good mics in condoms], and some pvc tube contact stuff), and of course the general atmosphere of the whole event. It worked really well. The three of us really tuned into the dancers and they really fed off of the speakers as well.
It starts out with the part where the dancers started stripping off clothing, then moves into more ambient, watery territory, and it’s awesome in headphones (god bless you Cobi), then stick around for the drone at the end. We had it timed with the fountains and everything. A+ drone fool.
Big thanks to Cobi for organising this, and to both her and Max for being in this thing with me.
Really appreciate all the comments, as always.
Video and photos here: Bananahat Live at Terman Engineering with Red Rover Dance Troupe
Download: bananahat-redrover080528 (right click and choose ‘save as’)

collaborations Listening Room singles

Cooper and Spratt – Heptadecimal ER1

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Title: Heptadecimal ER1
Artist: Cooper and Spratt
Album: Listening Room
Release Date: 2008

(this one is long and I have to leave, so once again, the upload will be completed later tonight once it is done)(EDIT: It’s live now)
A tribute to Tsutomu Katoh, founder of the Korg corporation. Korg has made some really great synthesizers in their day, and, via the second hand market, I’ve come to work with a couple. First was an original ER-1 drum synth I picked up in Eastern Europe from my DJ partner. This is a really great synthesizer, geared for rhythm and drum lines. However, when it’s your ONLY synth, you can start taking it into territory other than clicky drums (clicky describes the overall character, but that bass drum is phenomenal).
One trick I got really into was using the audio ins to process other gear via a send. It didn’t take long before I started processing itself within itself, for some wicked, wild feedback loops. There have been open mics I’ve played with just this machine and a patch cable patched from one output back to the audio in. For drones, it really excels if you can manage to tame it.
This is a piece Kyle and I recorded early summer in Palo Alto, CA, using nothing but that one piece of gear and a cheap mixer. It almost feels like all the digital knowledge we had gained in such a frantic, short period of time, just came exploding out in one 45 minute speaker rape. We never intended to do this piece, much less record it, but once we got into the Hexagon, it wasn’t hard to get the ‘tapes’ rolling. This is largely untouched, minus a small section at the beginning where the gain pot started scratching. I don’t remember much talking between us during the practice, but communication definitely was going on as we both tweaked minor changes that would explode into much larger sonic metamorphosis.
It’s long, noisy, and droney, and loud enough, it will get the cops called.
Download: Cooper And Spratt – 00 – Heptadecimal ER1 (right click and choose ‘save as’)

Classic Trash

Noggin – Trainbient

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Title: Trainbient
Artist: Noggin
Album: Classic Trash
Release Date: 2001

Alright cooling it back down a bit. I don’t have too much to say about this track…it’s all Buzz, that’s for sure, and I’m pretty sure it was made over a holiday trip back to Bryan from San Marcos…deeply rooted in headphoning and granular synthesis.
Download: noggin-trainbient (right click and choose ‘save as’)

Classic Trash

Noggin – Dormlife

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Title: dormlife
Artist: Noggin
Album: Classic Trash
Release Date: 2000

I’m sick. I’m sleep depraved.
Insomnia has always been a huge part of my life. This is to convey that to yall, one god forsaken Tuesday evening in the year 2000.
Download: Noggin – Dormlife (right click and choose ‘save as’)