Saturday, June 23, 2007

rachMiel

rachMiel

rachMiel is a sound artist and writer living in Rochester, New York. His website offers many of his columns, as well as examples of his work as a composer. You'll find everything from ambient, drone and noise music to something he calls Classic TV Show Covers. These miniature compositions reduce samples from the shows in question to their essence. Boiled down to the point where sometimes the title of the piece is the biggest clue as to the source material, he refers to these experimental compositions as "extreme covers."

rachMiel writes for Computer Music and Electronic Musician magazines, in addition to Reaktions.com and a blog at his website. Without further ado, here's the SAR Q&A with rachMiel...

*Name:
rachMiel

*Are there any additional names used to describe this project: Classic TV Show (Extreme) Covers.

*Tape manipulations, digital deconstructions or turntable creations: Digital deconstructions. I'm very interested in presenting the known in (sometimes dramatically) un-known ways. so the first step is to find a sonic object that is well known, part of popular culture: a pop song, a tv theme, etc. then I turn to Reaktor, which provides dozens of instruments one can use to de-construct audio by modulating pitch, speed, entry point, loop length, timbre, amplitude, and so on. After de-constructing, I end up with a long block of complex wild sound, which I then edit down, like a sculptor chipping away at stone, until its "true form" reveals itself.

*Another genre descriptor: Extreme covers.

*Why you use this descriptor: Because that's what I feel they are: Extreme interpretations of well known songs.

Is there a story behind your name? It is the Hebrew form of Richard, my Russian Jewish Grandfather's name, a musician who, as the story goes, played for the Czar.

*Location: Rochester, NY

*Original Location: New York, NY

*What is your creative/artistic background: Conservatory degrees in composition, full drop out of academia, descent into underground acoustic madness, electronica.

*History: Electronica about 6 years, acoustic music much longer.

*Born: I was born in Freeport in the last millennium.

*Motivations: Joy

*Philosophy: Joy of endless creation and discovery.

*How would you like to be remembered: For creating equally idiosyncratic (out there) and compelling (expressive, moving) music.

*Web address: rachmiel.org


www.some-assembly-required.net

Episode 177, Some Assembly Required

Episode 177, Some Assembly Required

01 DJ Schmolli vs. Johnny Cash Allstar Band – “God's Gonna Cut You Down”
02 Lecture On Nothing – “Brain Surgery”
03 Negativland – “All She Called About”
04 Wolfram – “Shining”
05 DJ JS-One & DJ Spinbad – “Itchy Vinyl Session Part II”
06 The Tape-beatles – “Whole New Animal”
07 Invisibl Skratch Piklz – “All The Way From Frisco”
08 The Former Yugoslavia - “Highway To Hell”
09 Girl Talk – “Bodies Hit the Floor”
10 Dan Reetz – “Better Living Through Baghdad”
11 DJ Jay-R – “Black and gray”
12 John Oswald – “Untitled (Preplex excerpt)”
13 Think Tank – “That's The Way”
14 rachMiel – “Perry Mason”
15 General Patton vs. The X-Ecutioners – “Warcry/Infrared R'n'B Hallucination/Jungle Operations Exfiltration System”
16 Lenlow – “Sweet Child O Ravi”


Use this address, for your pod software:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/some-assembly-required/JSpD

Sunday, June 17, 2007

DJ Earlybird

DJ Earlybird

A sound designer and electronic musician from Berlin, Germany, DJ Earlybird has been producing mashups since 2006. There are well over fifty unique mashups at his website... and not much else (in the way of information about the artist, that is). So, this is one of those Q&A's which is all the more valuable to the world wide web, as it appears to be the first in what will surely be a long string of interviews with this prolific mashup artist!

In addition to dozens of bastard pop songs, you'll find two special collections at his website - one is a mega mix featuring ninety songs in thirty minutes (DJ EARLYBIRD PRESENTS: Not Enough DJs, Volume 1.1) and the other is a disco-themed album titled Discobootism. You'd have to take an entire weekend to listen to everything on his website, so... the sooner you get started the better!

Without further ado, here's the SAR Q&A with DJ Earlybird...


*Name: DJ Earlybird

*Are there any additional names used to describe this project: I also have the aliases Beaufort Kissdrivel and the flying soccer moms.

*Do you use a pseudonym? Err, yes, as DJ Earlybird is not the name given to me by my mother.

*Members: My full name is Christian Nikolaus Conrad.

*Tape manipulations, digital deconstructions or turntable creations: Perhaps 'hard-disk creations?’ I see myself as a DJ, who does mixes not on a turntable but with the help of a laptop. Generally, the term mash-up is fine with me, I think that hits the nail pretty well, and I hate to use complicated words like recylicstialamagnetics or whatever...

*Location: I live in Berlin, Germany although for a while I was hoping to be able to make people believe that I was from Uganda.

*What is your creative/artistic background: I have always been involved in bands and projects, the most known being a German electronica-project called Rechenzentrum (www.rechenzentrum.org) with which I have released three CDs, some 12"s and done a fair amount of remixing for others to this day (check our page if interested). Professionally, I work as a sound designer for feature films, mostly German films, but have done work for some international productions lately, as for example sound design for the Oscar-winning feature film 'Last King of Scotland' starring Forrest Whittaker (that film got me into the whole Uganda thing, by the way. Beautiful country. Beautiful people...).

*History: I started publishing on the net as DJ Earlybird in March, 2006.

*Born: I am a diva.... so I will always stay 25 and I was born in a small town called Ulm.

*Motivations: God
*Philosophy: If you can't fix it, break it.

*How would you like to be remembered: Next question.

*Web address: http://ugandasfinestmashedpotatoes.blogspot.com


www.some-assembly-required.net

Episode 176, Some Assembly Required

Episode 176, Some Assembly Required

01 Party Ben – “Genius of London”
02 Cassetteboy – “Old Time Romantic Doves”
03 Myeck Waters – “Meantime”
04 Ferdinand Kriwet –“Voice of America"
05 Osymyso – “05why50”
06 People Like Us – “Doo Dah Tango”
07 Cecil Touchon – “Massurrealist Meditation #15”
08 DJ Earlybird – “Hell of a Heavenly Bang Bang”


Use this address, for your pod software:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/some-assembly-required/JSpD

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Phatbastard

Phatbastard

Phatbastard is Matthieu Talbot, a French DJ who has been involved with the recently transplanted Bootie event, which has nights in California, New York and now France. The monthly mashup party, with its San Francisco roots, has now spread to several corners of the globe. Phatbastard has helped to give it wings.

He's got a website - HERE. He's a fan of Austin Powers. He likes to make people dance and he doesn't care what the future has to say about him... Who says the US has nothing in common with the French?

Without further ado, here's the SAR Q&A with Phatbastard...


*Name: PhatBastard

*Tape manipulations, digital deconstructions or turntable creations: "Digital deconstructions." I usually get acapellas and instrumentals on the web (on some P2P or from official remix contests). I use Sony Acid, T-racks and Audacity on a Sony Vaio laptop.

*Another genre descriptor: I'm just using the common names for that type of music: Mashup or Bootleg.

*Is there a story behind your name? Bill was my nickname in highschool. It became PhatBill when I started DJing (I'm a big FatBoy Slim fan). And It finally turned into PhatBastard when I released my first mashups. It’s the name of a character in Austin Powers movies. I like to see the reaction of the people when they see me for the first time ("But you’re not fat at all!" or "You don't really look like what I expected").

*Location: I live in Paris, France.

*What is your creative/artistic background: I've been DJing in bars and in small radio during a couple of years. Nothing "artistic" but the electronic music I used to play is still one of my biggest influence for my mashups.

*History: I started "producing" bootlegs in 2005. Very simple stuff (electro on electro).

*Born: I was born in 1981 in the east of France.

*Motivations: My main motivation is the dancefloor. Nothing can please me more than seeing people dancing on my stuff.

*Philosophy: A very important thing for me is to enjoy what you’re doing. Music is not my “job.” I'll stop producing and DJing when it won't be a pleasure anymore.

*How would you like to be remembered: I'm not sure I'll be remembered. But I don't really care.

*Web address: http://www.ublog.com/phatbill/
update: http://phatbastard.vox.com/profile/
http://www.myspace.com/phat_free


www.some-assembly-required.net

Episode 175, Some Assembly Required


Episode 175, Some Assembly Required

01 PhatBastard – “Get The Sweet Dreams Started”
02 Buttfinger – “Super Gorilla”
03 The Evolution Control Committee – “Eephunky”
04 Ros Bobos – “Zorbarella”
05 People Like Us – “Something In The Way”
06 DJ Danger Mouse – “What More Can I Say”
07 C. Marclay/G. Muller – “The Ransom Note”
08 People Like Us – “Repeat To Fade”
09 Wobbly – “Hey Yo, We Got It, Got It Yeah. Uh Go”
10 Mr. Dibbs – “Captain Splatter Patty”
11 Messer Chups – “In bin eine Hexe”
12 Jason Forrest – “New Wave Folk Austerity”
13 Pimpdaddysupreme – “Pick Up The Phone”
14 Mix Master Mike – “Schwartz via Aghaarta”
15 Kumquat - “Kumquat Manifesto”
16 Jabberwocky – “No bodies”
17 Totom – “Paint the Underground”


Use this address, for your pod software:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/some-assembly-required/JSpD

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Greg Carr

Greg Carr

Greg Carr performs around Minneapolis, using an unusual turntable setup called The Ancient Mix Master, which appears to date from the middle of the twentieth century. Primarily mixing sounds from 78 RPM records, utilizing the contraption's two turntables and three (count them, three) tone arms, he then runs everything through an Echo Plex and an old RCA Tube Amp - and on special occasions will even break out his personal Dreamachine (a dream inducing machine developed and designed by Brion Gysin and Ian Summerville, over fifty years ago). Check out his website to see pictures and read more about the set up.

Carr was the host and producer of a radio program which ran on KFAI, from 1985-1989, called Technological Retreat. The program was a weekly dose of live improvised sound collage, created using found recordings Carr had gathered over the course of the previous week. Innova Records recently released a collection of recordings from these live sessions. Each limited edition CD release comes with a unique, individually handmade cover. Check out the Signal To Noise review HERE.

It's an honor to feature Minneapolis first weekly sound collage radio performer here at the SAR website! Without further ado, here's the SAR Q&A with Greg Carr of Technological Retreat...


*Name: Technological Retreat

*Are there any additional names used to describe this project: No, this was a live radio program and that was the name of the show. When I do live performances, I refer to them as 'Rimes of the Ancient MixMaster'.

*Do you use a pseudonym? Mr. Gosh

*Members: Greg Carr

*Tape manipulations, digital deconstructions or turntable creations: I referred to it as Sound Collage and to myself as a soundtracker and a needle-dropper, but now there are more choices. Mostly I was just a DJ.

*Why you use this descriptor: I like the term sound collage - I thought of the term but don't know if I was the first to use it - probably not. I liked that term because I was trying to recreate in an audio fashion what I was feeling and/or experiencing the week before each show. A visual artist uses remnants of visual material to create a collage, a new image to represent...whatever they want, from that which is around them. That's what I was trying to do with sound: Create a soundtrack for the past week out of lots of pieces... trying to make what the world sounded like to me.

*Location: Minneapolis, MN

*Original Location: Glenview, IL; Denver, CO; Bozeman, MT; and then Minneapolis.

*What is your creative/artistic background: I'm a fan.

*History: I started doing radio in 1982, and was experimenting in simple mixing/collaging by 1984. Technological Retreat was on the air from 1985 - 1989.

*Born: 1963, Chicago

*Motivations: I like the way it sounds. I don't enjoy doing this in a studio setting, I'd rather be live in front of an audience or live on radio. I really enjoy the random and unpredictable nature of mixing sounds together. One has a general idea of what the end result will sound like, but it is always a surprise what actually happens.

*Philosophy: That's a very good question. So, maybe the philosophy would be to allow oneself to ride the crest of your own creativity and see/hear/feel what happens and then actually do something about it/for it.

*How would you like to be remembered: Fairly

*Web address: mrgosh.com


www.some-assembly-required.net

Episode 174, Some Assembly Required

Episode 174, Some Assembly Required

01 Lecture On Nothing – “Other People”
02 Brian Eno & David Byrne – “America Is Waiting”
03 DJ Broken Window – “That dead DJ can spin and dance”
04 Forty One – “Step Now And Smile!”
05 DJ Tripp – “Get ur mode on”
06 Klarc Qent – “Bride of relapse”
07 The Tape-beatles – “Primary Delusion”
08 LF Peee – “Who's On The Turntables”
09 Steinski and Mass Media – “I'm wild about that thing”
10 Greg Carr – “Pirated pirates (sampled scoundrels)”
11 DJ Nikoless – “Disc vs. vinyl (You decide...)”
12 The Wholesome Family Singers - “The Higher Pie”
13 DJ QBert – “Paranoia”
14 Mediatronic Research Laboratory – “News 2 Use”
15 Escape Mechanism – “Human Knowledge”
16 Wobbly – “Yo What's Up 'sup Yo What's You”
17 Martinn – “Lovefool Fiesta”


Use this address, for your pod software:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/some-assembly-required/JSpD