minimalist casio sk-1 switches for circuit bend
in an effort to keep the traditional tablebeast circuit bend as minimal as possible, i created these removable switches. most togglers or switches break over time, and i don't want to constantly take apart the sk-1 and solder on new ones.
also, a big part of working the sk-1 bends is being able to easily turn on and off an effect, or put on a staccato on/off bend. rca interface is too bulky, and most switches can't handle that kind of wear and tear. these tiny push button switches are perfect. by luck, they also have a metal protrusion that i can use to "clamp" the switch down into the grill speaker section of the casio sk-1. to replace the rca interface for the circuit bends, i basically ripped sockets out of a dip package and glued them in. with this approach, i don't have to remove the speaker for room. it was a cleaner more subtle approach for the bend. this way the casio sk-1 can look like a circuit bent instrument only when it wants to.
interview :: love like deloreans
i admit it, i have a local band crush on love like deloreans. i'm kinda scared about the honeymoon phase ending, but we'll just fly for now. for a brooklyn band, LLD is a refreshing diversion from the scene, sporting a 3 person synth/keyboard onslaught rather then the neo-no wave, tribal avant psyche attack i'm used to for brooklyn [which i love too, no haters]. their music is a keyboard synth dream. instrumental and uplifting, i find myself strangely happy after every set. their sound conjures the dreamy traveling vibes of krautrock, evoking comparisons to cluster and old kraftwerk. other songs take on a more direct synth pop vibe via gary numan's tubeway army, or peter's current closet admiration for 80's italian funk. [
watch video]
:: listen to how to get along with others [DEMO]
we sat down with lorna, derek, and peter to catch up with an alias pail / love like deloreans brunch. i sported english muffins and lorna made this unforgettable keesh. band history, escaping the neu music school, and derek's father's notable korg career were of topic:
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[ap]: originally, you guys are from wisconsin right?
[lorna]: peter and i met in music school in milwaukee. we were score reading partners. he brought candy to class, so i'd sit next to him and we'd read stravinksy scores.
[ap]: so your backgrounds are in classical?
[lorna]: he's compositional, i'm piano performance. we were both into the neu, experimental music classical scene at the time.
[ap]: but you're kinda burnt out from that now...
[lorna]: definitely. i just felt there was a limiting aesthetic to it, i felt uncomfortable going to concerts and being careful about stripping the brochure away from my palm, fearing it would make any noise.
[peter]: it's more fun to drink beer and yell loud and bump into people and sweat.
[ap]: a little too proper i guess. in your songs so far, i pick up the krautrock vibes, and yet it other's it's a little more synth pop derived, is there intention to choose one over the other or a direction?
[peter]: we're just having fun with it.
[lorna]: all our influences come in. peter has more of a funk background, i like the sugar poppiness, and he likes the drones. it all mixes up. minimalism is definitely a huge influence for all of us.
[derek]: i have a neu music background too. my dad was always involved in synths and electronic music. this now, makes a lot of sense for me.
derek's father's job was a designer at KORG USA. he's credited with writing a lot of the preset demos in old korg synthesizers.
[ap]: how did you meet derek?
[peter]: lorna got into banglewood, bang on a can, and steve reich was the mentor.
[lorna]: it's this intense training on neu music. we played a 6 hour marathon. i played steve reich pieces for steve reich. that's how i met cool new musicians then decided to move to nyc. there was a whitney birthday celebration for steve reich and that's how i met derek.
[ap]: are you specific about the kind of keyboards you like to use for LLD? any favoritism?
[derek]: i'm interested in any instrument, they all have their own quirks.
[peter]: we get to a point where we program one sound on one keyboard for one song, and yet we bring the one keyboad for the whole set.
[lorna]: peter's obsessed with mini-keys now.
[peter]: there's no fucking way i'm taking a fafisa to play in a club. it's retarded. we're tailoring it down.
[lorna]: the instrument that brought us together was my first keyboard, the casiotone 701.
[ap]: the band name? love like deloreans?
[lorna]: that's derek's genius.
[derek]: i like deloreans.
[ap]: hektor said he was researching john z. delorean, and said he was a real punk rocker in the automobile industry. the kinda outsider / genius character. since your song are instrumental, are they story line based? one of my favorites is 'how to get along with others,' what's the story behind it?
[lorna]: we were recording on a shoe box cassette tape recorder and ran out of cassettes. we pulled out my old tapes from high school. i had a cassette, from when i was skipping out on church. mom made a recording of the sermon and fed me the tape, "how to get along with others."
[peter]: if we'd pull out the original, you could turn up the other tracks and hear this sermon in the fuzz.
[lorna]:it's pretty funny. it's a very spacey sound, and i'm really into ufo's, so it takes a new meaning for us.
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we finished with other off topics, coffee, cigs, and mimosa's. filled our bellies on home cooking and lazied the rest of sunday away.
preparation :: bent festival 2008
many of the alias pail circuit bends are very primitive on the technical side of circuit bending. but that's what's great, most circuit bending is very simple. just takes a couple of tools and a little curiosity. the real jewel is finding the right toy to bend. i found this little tikes toy drum off of eBay for a really low price. as the subject of a circuit bend, it's perfect. easy access to the inside and tons of empty space. the color scheme is already perfect, no needed improvements for product design.
the cool thing about the toy is that along with individual electronic sound for each of the four buttons, there's an alternate mode in which each button plays a programmed beat. some subjects for circuit bending don't allow too much variance on tweaking the pitch or the processor speed, but for this one, i was able to find the highest and lowest variances. on the high tip, the beats sound really aphex twin-ish, and the low level, you can hear and follow the low fi sound bit processing come to a grinding halt and stutter. the lfo circuit adds a little choppy start and stop effect to the beats.fitted with a quarter inch output, if you send the signal into a delay or reverse pedal, it's amazing. the toy is also a fun showpiece for younger kids, since it's made as a necklace, inspired by flava flav's obnoxious clock wearing habits. feel free to ask to play with it after our performance at bentfest 2008 in nyc. Labels: bent festival 2008 bent2008
performance :: true primes
true primes took home court advantage last night at glasslands gallery, opening up for samara lubelski. this will be the last nyc true primes show for awhile as che is traveling abroad for a couple of months to help save the declining bee population in europe. go che! che's last appearance will be hosting his o'sirhan o'sirhan zine release party at PLNYWN, april 2nd.
their set is always a suprise, not one ever repeated. lately, their development seems to be more song oriented with moments of improv, where before, it seemed like pure improv. rolyn's fx were keyboard and building abrasive atmospheres from looping. her prominence as a vocalist in true primes is becoming more evident. che's fragmented trash can beats pumping in and out through her layering. their music is adventurous, primal, dark, and sexy.
:: listen to first song*
:: listen to second song
:: listen to third song
*fragmented recording my MD shut off
Labels: performance, true primes
video release :: dollboy
alias pail's first music video is officially out for viewing. directed by jim turner and camy lee, the video is for "dollboy," an unabashful, joyful twee alias pail rendition of my pal foot foot's original. warning! total tweeness. as twee as alias pail will ever be, i promise. "dollboy" is on the upcoming split cd release by alias pail and my pal foot foot, called "my pail split split."
of course i want to thank camy and jim's hard hard work. making this video was harder then i ever thought, and i'm happy it's finally completed and ready to share. of course thanks to my friends who showed up to be my imaginary band: julianna, andrew, and anthony. [at the time i had no real members]
if you view the youtube version, and like it, rate it!Labels: alias pail, dollboy, video
something happened this year. the endless feeds, links, and forkcasts have estranged me from digging intimately into new musicians. while i benefit from hearing so many new songs and bands, i can't help but realize that i'm not at the level of fanboy i usually am. this year, i only have about under five "new" artists i follow closely, the rest of my typical playlist are sentimental artifacts from my back catalog. it's nobody's fault by my own. it's just what happened. lao tsu heeds that "...five tones deafen the ear..", and i think that's what happened to me.
the second song "moeru himitsu" has guest vocals, from kicell, and takes on a more structured song approach. a folktronica dance groove with synthed gamalan instrumentation and harmonica breaks? the chorus is uplifting with an 80's j-pop/folk nostalgia and probably the easiest part to compare to oorutaichi's avant pop band, urichipangoon, with his wife, ytamo, and another couple.
review: oorutaichi single
