Rheology

Published on Aug 25, 2014 John Keston

"This piece is a mix from a live performance using AVGM, software that creates real-time audiovisual granular synthesis through the use of a touch interface. Accompanying the AVGM is the DSI Tempest, Korg Volca Keys, Novation Bass Station II, and Electro-Harmonix Memory Man Delay."

http://audiocookbook.org/avgm-rheology/

Duet No.4 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree

Published on Aug 4, 2014 John Keston

"This is the fourth selection from takes during a five day recording session and performance series at the Singing Ringing Tree (SRT) in Burnley, UK, a wind activated musical panopticon in Northern England. The sculpture was designed by architects Tonkin Liu and completed in December 2006. I performed accompaniment for the SRT binaural recordings simultaneously using a Novation Bass Station II connected to a USB battery. I also ran the Bass Station II through a Moog Minifooger Delay.

NOTE: This is a binaural recording combined with a monophonic synthesizer track. Although it sounds great through speakers, circumaural headphones must be used to experience the binaural effect."

All parts here.

Duet No.3 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree

Uploaded on Jul 19, 2014 John Keston

"This is the third selection from takes during a five day recording session and performance series at the Singing Ringing Tree (SRT) in Burnley, UK, a wind activated musical panopticon in Northern England. The sculpture was designed by architects Tonkin Liu and completed in December 2006. I performed accompaniment for the SRT binaural recordings simultaneously using a Novation Bass Station II connected to a USB battery. I also ran the Bass Station II through a Moog Minifooger Delay.

NOTE: This is a binaural recording combined with a monophonic synthesizer track. Although it sounds great through speakers, circumaural headphones must be used to experience the binaural effect."

Follow-up to Duet No.7 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree

Duet No.7 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree

Published on Jul 26, 2014 John Keston

"This is the sixth selection from takes during a five day recording session and performance series at the Singing Ringing Tree (SRT) in Burnley, UK, a wind activated musical panopticon in Northern England. The sculpture was designed by architects Tonkin Liu and completed in December 2006. I performed accompaniment for the SRT binaural recordings simultaneously using a Novation Bass Station II connected to a USB battery. I also ran the Bass Station II through a Moog Minifooger Delay.

NOTE: This is a binaural recording combined with a monophonic synthesizer track. Although it sounds great through speakers, circumaural headphones must be used to experience the binaural effect."

Follow-up to Duet No.1 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Treehttp://www.matrixsynth.com/2014/07/duet-no1-for-synthesizer-and-singing.html

Duet for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree

Published on Jul 21, 2014 John Keston

"This is the first from dozens of takes during a five day recording session and performance series at the Singing Ringing Tree (SRT) in Burnley, UK, a wind activated musical panopticon in Northern England. The sculpture was designed by architects Tonkin Liu and completed in December 2006. I performed accompaniment for the SRT binaural recordings simultaneously using a Novation Bass Station II connected to a USB battery. I also ran the Bass Station II through a Moog Minifooger Delay.

NOTE: This is a binaural recording combined with a monophonic synthesizer track. Although it sounds great through speakers, circumaural headphones must be used to experience the binaural effect."

Current Playlist:
Duet No.1 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree
Duet No.3 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree
Duet No.4 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree
Duet No.5 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree
Duet No.6 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree
Duet No.7 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree

AVGM Performance Demo

Published on Jul 5, 2014 John Keston

"During Northern Spark 2014 I performed a version of Vocalise Sintetica at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery. The event, timed with Northern Spark 2014, also marked the opening of The Audible Edge (May 27 through July 26, 2014), a sound art exhibit of which I am also taking part. Since it was a local performance I decided to introduce the DSI Tempest into the setup (along with the Bass Station II, Korg Volca Keys, and Memory Man Delay). See more at: http://audiocookbook.org/avgm-with-te..."

John Keston's performance at Echofluxx 14, May 7, 2014, Prague

Full details and additional pics at Audio Cookbook. Filing this one under the art installations/art performances category.  It's pretty amazing.

The gear: Novation BSII, Modded Volca Keys, Minifooger Delay, and a custom audiovisual granular synth.

"Each movement is a playlist of five audiovisual objects that are instantly available to be projected and amplified while being granulated in real-time by a performer using a multitouch interface. The performer may loop their gestures applied to the audiovisual objects in order to bring in additional synthesized sound layers that contrast or mimic the audiovisual objects."

Duet No. 2 With The Singing Ringing Tree

via John Keston on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge via Audio Cookbook

"Bass Station II, Minifooger Delay, and gorgeous wind-activated sculpture recorded live in Northern England... The piece is only SRT for the first 30 seconds and then the BSII/Minifooger fades in. At the end the SRT fades out by 3:42."

"This was the second take on day one of my "Duets" recording project with the Singing Ringing Tree (SRT), a wind activated musical panopticon in Northern England. The sculpture was designed by architects Tonkin Liu and completed in December 2006. I played accompaniment for the SRT binaural recording simultaneously using a Novation Bass Station II connected to a USB battery. I also ran the BSII through a Moog Minifooger Delay.

NOTE: This is a binaural recording combined with a monophonic synthesizer track. Although it sounds great through speakers, circumaural headphones must be used to experience the binaural effect."

Update: the bird sounds are birds. A bit of a trinity piece: nature, nature through human art, & synthesis through human design. All nature in the end.

Audiovisual Grain Machine Demo

Published on Mar 30, 2014 John Keston·34 videos

"I designed this software to do audiovisual granular synthesis. It allows a performer to apply granular synthesis to sound and corresponding video using a touch interface such as MIRA (shown). The audio and video are accurately synchronized creating uncanny effects. The software also has the capability to capture and repeat gestures so that the performer can accompany the projections with multiple layers and arrange compositions in a performance setting. This demo granulates the voice and image of Lister Rossel. In addition I use analogue synthesizers to contrast the digital manipulations."

Instant Cinema: Duet for Synthesizers and Mobile Conductor

Published on Nov 10, 2013 John Keston·27 videos

"Duet for Synthesizers and Mobile Conductor is a piece composed and performed by John Keston in collaboration with David T Steinman who also performs in the piece as the mobile conductor. Steinman creates a real-time audiovisual score that is broadcast into the performance space from a remote location. This score consists of textural, atonal, and arrhythmic "sound features" produced with artifacts from Steinman's apartment. The imagery and amplified sound become content within the music as it is interpreted through improvisations by the synthesist, John Keston. Keston accompanies the sound features while controlling three analogue synthesizers (Novation Bass Station II, Korg Monotribe, and Korg Volca Keys). This use of an audiovisual score is a means to harness the sensory influence of non-musical sounds and images in our environments, elevating these sources to compositional structures.

Duet for Synthesizers and Mobile Conductor was performed on November 7, 2013 at the Strange Attractors festival, St. Paul, Minnesota. This video was captured during a private performance made shortly after the public showing. The piece was made possible by a grant from the American Composers Forum with funds provided by the Jerome Foundation.

For more information please visit:
http://audiocookbook.org/duet-for-syn..."

QuNexus with Korg Monotribe and Volca Keys Demo

Published on Nov 4, 2013 John Keston·26 videos

"A quick demonstration on how to use the QuNexus to play the Korg Monotribe. To duplicate this technique you will need to update the Monotribe to version 2.10 or later then connect a TRRS mini jack to the sync in port on the Monotribe. All the cables you need are in the QuNexus cable kit. I also synched-up the Volca Keys to add a simple chord progression.

See http://ausiocookbook.org/qunexus-mono... for more info."

QuNexus on eBay
Monotribes on eBay
KORG Volcas on eBay

Bass Station II Self Oscillating Filter Demo

Published on Nov 1, 2013 John Keston·25 videos

"I have recently been trying out a Novation Bass Station II monophonic analogue synthesizer. I am quite impressed with this big sounding synth in a small package. While digitally controlled, Novation have focused on packing in proper synthesis features rather than trying to gloss over the sound with onboard effects. For example, as I have illustrated in the video, the filter self oscillates nicely with a clean sine wave that can be modulated in unique ways especially with distinct features like oscillator slew.

The video starts with the self oscillating filter getting modulated by LFO 2 using the triangle wave. After that I switch to using the sample and hold setting creating the well-known 60s computer sound of random notes. Here's where it gets interesting though. Once I switch the LFO to sample and hold I start turning up the oscillator slew I mentioned earlier. What this does is variably smooth the wave shapes created by the LFO. You'll hear this come in at 0:28. It sounds like portamento. At 0:35 I switch the LFO to the square wave, but with the slew on it sounds more like a sine. As I reduce the amount of slew the square wave regains its recognizable character. Next I switch it to the saw tooth wave. The nice thing here is that the LFO amount can go into negative values allowing the saw to be reversed.

Another distinctive feature is the oscillator filter mod setting. This modulates the filter with oscillator 2. Since the oscillators range from subsonic to almost supersonic this feature offers modulation effects that are not possible with the LFOs. At 1:29 you will start to hear the oscillator filter mod come in using a pulse waveform. What makes this interesting is that while oscillator 2 is modulating the filter it can also have the pulse width modulated by LFO 1. This can cause bit-reduction-like effects that can be heard between 1:49 and 2:19. At 2:20 I start tapping the octave and waveform buttons on oscillator 2 illustrating what happens when the modulation source is instantly shifted an octave at a time. After a bit more messing around I added a final, manual filter sweep at 3:20.

http://audiocookbook.org/novation-bas..."

Novation Bass Station IIs on eBay

Fauxpocalypse

This one submitted in the spirit of Halloween via John Keston on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

A bit of a gear demo as well.

"This is the fifth in a series of mixes that I am creating by improvising on the DSI Tempest synched to the Korg Volca Keys, which is in turn synched to the Korg Monotribe. Minor editing for length and simple processing has been applied, but there's no extensive post-production or mastering. Produced in preparation for the event Pop-Up Northrop: Postfauxpocalypse on October 24, 2013"

Noise in KORG Volca Keys Delay Circuit

Audio Cookbook has a post up on the KORG Volca Keys Delay Circuit and noticeable noise introduced by the circuit. You'll find demos and additional details in the full post. Pic of the Volca Keys signal flow diagram below.

"To illustrate the noise introduced by the delay circuit I created a few versions of a simple test sequence. One without delay, one with the internal delay, one with Ableton’s Simple Delay, and finally one with my Electro-harmonix Memory Man Delay. The sequence sounds pretty clean on its own, but buzzy, high frequency aliasing becomes audible when the Volca’s delay is introduced. In comparison, Ableton’s Simple Delay doesn’t add any noticeable noise, while the Memory Man adds a little noise (and pleasant chorusing), but nowhere near as much as the Volca delay."

via John Keston on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

KORG Volcas on eBay

iPad with QuNexus and AudioBus Demo

iPad with QuNexus and AudioBus Demo from AudioCookbook.org on Vimeo.

"This track was performed and produced exclusively with the iPad, QuNexus and apps including AudioBus, Samplr, Sunrizer, and Propellerheads Figure (not shown in the video). The process started in Figure where I created a drum pattern, bass line, and synth melody. I then used Sonoma AudioCopy/Paste to get the parts into Samplr on separate tracks. Next I recorded an arpeggio from Sunrizer into Samplr that I used in two of the slots, but setup quite differently from each other. Finally I recorded a bit of vocal straight in via the internal mic to use as a effect. During the performance I used the touchscreen to manipulate the layers and adjust the processing in Samplr, then I used the QuNexus connected via the iPad Camera Kit to play a mono synth patch in Sunrizer. See more at: http://audiocookbook.org/ipad-with-qunexus-and-audiobus-demo/"

via John Keston on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

Duet for Synthesizer and Spin Cycle

Duet for Synthesizer and Spin Cycle from AudioCookbook.org on Vimeo.

"NOTE: This is a binaural recording mixed with a monophonic, analog, synthesizer performance. Please use headphones to experience the binaural effect. For more info please visit http://audiocookbook.org/duet-for-synthesizer-and-spin-cycle/"

via John Keston on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

Follow-up to Duet for Synthesizer and Rail Cars

Monotribes on zZounds | Monotribes on eBay

Dueling Monotribes 140BPM

Published on Jan 3, 2013 John Keston·20 videos

"This video features John Keston and Lucas Melchior improvising on two synched up Korg Monotribes. The Korg NanoKontrol is being used to apply swing to the sync signal as well as control delays and filters. The two electronic musicians are teaching a class, titled "Drum Machines," starting January 17, 2013 at the Ableton certified training center Slam Academy in Minneapolis. Learn how to make music by synchronizing your musical devices, old and new. Featuring Ableton Live, Dave Smith Instruments Tempest, Expert Sleepers, Korg Monotribe, Sequential Circuits Pro-One, and more!

Sign up for the class here:
http://slamacademy.com/2012/11/09/drum-machines

Slam Academy:
http://slamacademy.com

John Keston:
http://audiocookbook.org
http://soundcloud.com/ostraka

Lucas Melchior:
http://mkr.northerntelcom.com"

Dueling Monotribes 150BPM

Published on Dec 31, 2012 John Keston·19 videos

"This video features John Keston and Lucas Melchior improvising on two synched up Korg Monotribes. The Korg NanoKontrol is being used to apply swing to the sync signal as well as control delays and filters. The two electronic musicians are teaching a class, titled "Drum Machines," starting January 17, 2013 at the Ableton certified training center Slam Academy in Minneapolis. Learn how to make music by synchronizing your musical devices, old and new. Featuring Ableton Live, Dave Smith Instruments Tempest, Expert Sleepers, Korg Monotribe, Sequential Circuits Pro-One, and more!

Sign up for the class here:
http://slamacademy.com/2012/11/09/drum-machines

Slam Academy:
http://slamacademy.com

John Keston:
http://audiocookbook.org
http://soundcloud.com/ostraka

Lucas Melchior:
http://mkr.northerntelcom.com"

Dueling Monotribes 85BPM

Published on Dec 28, 2012 by John Keston·17 videos

"This video features John Keston and Lucas Melchior improvising on two synched up Korg Monotribes. The Korg NanoKontrol is being used to apply swing to the sync signal as well as control delays and filters. The two electronic musicians are teaching a class, titled "Drum Machines," starting January 17, 2013 at the Ableton certified training center Slam Academy in Minneapolis. Learn how to make music by synchronizing your musical devices, old and new. Featuring Ableton Live, Dave Smith Instruments Tempest, Expert Sleepers, Korg Monotribe, Sequential Circuits Pro-One, and more!

Sign up for the class here:
http://slamacademy.com/2012/11/09/drum-machines

Slam Academy:
http://slamacademy.com

John Keston:
http://audiocookbook.org
http://soundcloud.com/ostraka

Lucas Melchior:
http://mkr.northerntelcom.com"

Dueling Tempests

Published on Dec 21, 2012 by John Keston