Todd Barton's Hordijk Cassette Album Released Today

via supporting MATRIXSYNTH Member Todd Barton:

"Dear Friends,

It's here! Just found out my all Hordijk cassette album was released today!
I'm quite excited about these three original compositions and love the depth that Rob Hordijk's instruments bring to the compositional table."

You can find the release here: http://www.ultravioletlight.blue/product/todd-barton-concatenations

The following are a couple of tracks from the release:



"Electronic musician and buchla extraordinaire, Todd Barton has returned for his second release with Ultraviolet. On this tape, he focuses solely on compositions for the Hordijk analog synth designed by the legendary synthesis guru Rob Hordijk.

3 color fluorescent silkscreen cassette cover.
Edition of 150."



"A preview of excerpts from my original compositions in this new cassette release: www.ultravioletlight.blue/product/todd…ncatenations

Enjoy!"

Music for Easels by Todd Barton, Bruce Bayard, Eden Mononym & Adam Scramstad

via Todd Barton:

"Dear Friends,

I am excited to announce the release of our new CD: Music for Easels!

Digital downloads available soon on iTunes, Amazon, etc.

This is a live recording of a rare convergence on November 7, 2014 at the Schneider Museum of Art in Ashland, Oregon where Todd Barton, Bruce Bayard, Eden Mononym and Adam Scramstad gathered to explore the improvised interactions of four Buchla Music Easels.

In this historic performance these Oregon sound artists met in quadraphonic space surrounding the audience with speakers, offering them a unique listening experience. The CD is a stereo mix of all four channels.

The five tracks on this live performance album range from the world premiere of Todd Barton's composition, Butoh for Easels, to compelling solo improvisations by Eden and Adam to exciting ensemble soundscapes.

All best wishes, Todd"

Postcard Project: Todd Barton Performs Ion Eclipse

Published on Sep 17, 2017

"Modular synthesizer player Todd Barton performs Ion Eclipse (composed by Sarah Belle Reid, July 2017), performed and looped live with his Bucha Music Easel, iProgramCard, Eventide H9 FX, and Boss RC-3 Looper."

Postcard Project: Todd Barton Explains Ion Eclipse

Published on Sep 17, 2017 Sarah Belle Reid

"Modular synthesizer player Todd Barton explains his setup + process on the Buchla Music Easel for his performance of Ion Eclipse (composed by Sarah Belle Reid, July 2017).

This is part of The Postcard Project, an experimental postcard/music exchange project between Sarah Belle Reid and collaborators around the world. To listen to Todd's full performance, visit http://www.sarahbellereid.com/postcar...

This project is made possible with support through Patreon. For more info on how to be involved visit:
www.patreon.com/sarahbellereid

Sarah Belle Reid is a Canadian performer-composer, active in the fields of electroacoustic trumpet performance, intermedia arts, music technology, and improvisation.

www.sarahbellereid.com"

Easel Ambient Palette Patches

Published on May 23, 2016 Todd Barton

"Here's a rough and ready tutorial on suggested techniques for building and performing an ambient music patch on the Buchla Music Easel. Be sure to also checkout yesterday's patch which was derived from this patch.
Here is a link to a photo of the patch:
https://www.hightail.com/download/cUJ...

for one-on-one Skype tutorials go to:
http://toddbarton.com/buchla/buchla-s..."

Easel Ambient Palette Patch Two

Published on May 23, 2016

"Here is a second patch. I recommend watching the first video. In this video I only touch on the main parameters -- there's more detail in the first vid. Here is a link to the patch
https://www.hightail.com/downloa/cUJX...

For one-on-one Skype tutorials go to:
http://toddbarton.com/buchla/buchla-s..."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Cascadia at the Dancespace Featuring Bruce Bayard, Todd Barton and Sean Julian

(Don't miss the new release announcement below!)

For those of you in the Pacific Northwest:

"Saturday, November 23, 7:30pm

The Dancespace, 280 East Hersey #10, Ashland Oregon

Bruce Bayard’s multimedia performance features guest artists Todd Barton and Sean Julian. An audio soundtrack will be improvised by the three of us, each on the Buchla Electronic Music Easel. The visual projection is a collage of video clips, stills, words and animations.

Tickets and more information here"

---

Also Todd Barton has a new release coming out this Friday. This one is a collaboration with Bruce Bayard, and Nathan Moody.

"Announcing sStart from Silence,' a live improvised collaboration album by Todd Barton, Bruce Bayard, and Nathan Moody. Out this Friday! https://nathanmoody.bandcamp.com

A Few Updates from Todd Barton - New Releases, Collaborations, & Performances

A few synth related updates from supporting MATRIXSYNTH member, Todd Barton:

Hi Friends,

Things keep being busy around here!

"Pre-order this upcoming cassette release of various composers (including me) exploring and moving beyond
my Krell patch."

My recent solo Buchla Music Easel album with the CD cover artwork by Ursula Barton. Download available now. Pre-order the CD here.

I'm delighted to have a couple of pages in this amazing new book which will be out in October. Check it out. It is unique and full of great information, interview, photos and beautifully opens the re-emerging world of modular synthesis to a wider audience. Patch & Tweak, Exploring Modular Synthesis

All best wishes,
Todd


Also: "Just a brief reminder of two upcoming concerts:

Saturday, September 8 at 7:30 pm at the DanceSpace in Ashland I'll be performing freely improvised electronic music with Bruce Bayard. Bruce's video of abstract figures filmed at SF MOMA is not to be missed. Tickets and more information here.

Friday, September 14 from 7:30-10:30 pm at the Butler Bandshell in Lithia Park
Silent Movement presents The Silent Discovery Series with Control Voltage Therapy:
Todd Barton & Bruce Bayard improvising on Buchla Music Easels with visuals by Michael Maag. You've got to see/hear this!! Opening live looping by Landen Griffith.
$5 donation - all ages.

The audio portion will be broadcast with the technical wizardry of Jordan Rose and Landen Griffith (organizers of The Silent Disco) sending separate and mixed channels of our musical improvisations to special wifi headsets (available at the Park), with video mapping on the bandshell by Michael Maag, resident lighting designer at OSF. You will be able to hear Todd in one channel, Bruce in another, and a mix of both in the third channel, with the ability to switch to any mode at any time and wander around and move! A truly unique concert experience.

Stay tuned for my next Notes from Todd with more album release dates and October tour dates in NYC, Krakow and London!"

Uncharted Waters: Advanced Waterphone Performance Sampler

"Welcome to a new and exciting instrument, the Advanced Waterphone Performance Sampler. This instrument for Kontakt 3 and 4 is designed from high quality samples of Richard Waters’ amazing invention, the waterphone.

These samples are rich in microtonality and complex timbres. Our instrument is designed to respond like a waterphone giving you the joy and surprise of exploring some of the random sonic worlds that are born from different bowings, strikes and hits on the waterphone.

Different velocities trigger different timbres, samples and combinations. Some are predictable, some surprising. Please see the video demos [below]

Uncharted Waters is exclusively available through Richard Waters’ website: www.waterphone.com. This introductory offer is a steal at $15 for the complete downloadable instrument."

Uncharted Waters: Advanced Waterphone Performance Sampler from Joel Henigson on Vimeo.

"This is a demo of Uncharted Waters, a sampler instrument for Kontakt 3 and 4 utilizing Richard Waters' amazing invention the Waterphone. The sampler will be available on Richard Waters' site waterphone.com
Made by Todd Barton, Joel Henigson, and Richard Waters"

Uncharted Waters: advanced Waterphone performance sampler from todd barton on Vimeo.

"This is a live, real-time performance sampler based on samples made with the blessing of Richard Waters, the inventor of the Waterphone. Samples are mapped to a keyboard in a to give the "feel" of actually playing a waterphone. Velocity, repeated key strokes, aftertouch and mowheel all interact for a surprising and inspiring timbral journey for the sonically curious. This audio file was performed in a single pass without editing or external effects. Original programming and design by Todd Barton and Joel Henigson. Enjoy!"

unchartedWaters.MOV

YouTube via vgermuse — March 25, 2010 — "New Performance Sampler: Uncharted Waters based on sample from this very waterphone performed by Todd Barton...coming soon for Kontakt 3 & 4."

Spatial Frontiers: Quadraphonic Concert Featuring Three Buchla Music Easels This Friday

via Todd Barton:

"Spatial Frontiers: Quadraphonic Concert

Noon, Friday, April 24, 2015
Schneider Museum of Art
With special guest Eden Mononym

The next performance is Friday, April 24, noon at the Schneider Museum of Art on the campus of Southern Oregon University. Todd Barton and Bruce Bayard are joined by Eden Mononym and all three perform on the Buchla Music Easel. The performance begins at Noon and is free and open to the public.

The series continues the exploration of space as a compositional tool, this time, expanding the quadraphonic sound into all four galleries of the Museum. For this performance, in addition to the Buchla Easel: Electric Music Box, Todd adds the Japanese Sho to the ensemble, to continue the investigation of acoustic instruments in the mix.

Eden Mononym is a local sound artist, working for Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments. He began tape splicing at the age of 10, essentially planting the seeds for a self taught journey. Exploring various techniques from modular electronics, computers, live coding, acoustics, to the avant-garde. Eden is always searching for an electro-organic sound, with a focus on expression based approaches.

Todd Barton is former Director of Composition Studies for the Music Department at Southern Oregon University and Resident Composer Emeritus for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Todd is currently Consulting Artist for Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments. After four decades of exploration, Barton is still delving deeply into the ever-expanding frontiers of musical expression: from his DNA derived Genome Music to innovative scores for plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; from performances of Zen Shakuhachi Meditation Music to avant-garde music for electronic synthesizers and computers; from performing with luminaries of jazz and poetry to lecturing on music and composition from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century.

Bruce Bayard began oil painting at age 9, and although briefly attended the University of New Mexico, is largely self-taught. He has worked in various media and techniques including oil, acrylic, casein, collage, lithography, etching, screen printing, pencil, crayon, encaustic and assemblage.

In 2000, Bayard began an exploration into digital technology as a means of creating art, producing archival pigment prints. During the last couple years, he has been exploring performance and multimedia improvisation with an ensemble that combines sound, voice, dance, poetry and video collage.

all best wishes,
Todd"

Todd Barton Live Buchla Video Stream Tonight!

Just a reminder, Todd Barton live in Ashland, OR, will be on USTREAM tonight starting around 7:45 PM PST. I'm not finding the embed code, so just click here to watch when the time comes.

Update: embed for the recorded performance added below.

Update 11/5: YouTube and SoundCloud embeds added below.




Video streaming by Ustream

Todd Barton Live Buchla Improv Concert

Published on Nov 5, 2012 by vgermuse

"Saturday Nov. 3: a live improv concert featuring Todd Barton on the Buchla Electric Music Box. No keyboard, no controllers, no samples, no pre-recorded playback, just a bunch of analog synth modules and lots of knob twiddling. For higher res audio go to:
http://soundcloud.com/user7621213/buchla-improv-11-3-12" [embed below]

Buchla Improv 11-3-12 by bartonmusic

Todd Barton's Buchla Release "ausprobieren" Now Available

"This is a brief album of brief pieces. In literature I am drawn to short forms, especially those of Jorges Luis Borges and Italo Calvino. In poetry: haiku.

Here are thirteen short analog synthesizer explorations created over a three week period of experimenting with a small Buchla 200e Electric Music Box.

For those interested in the modules, here they are: 266e, 259e, 261e, 281e, 292e, 291e, 285e, 206e, 222e

All the vignettes are self-generating patches. All the etudes are layered, mixed and manipulated from various self-generating pieces using Logic Express and various echo, delay and reverb plug-ins, mainly SoundToys and 2C-Aether.
The Buchla 200e is an amazingly deep, complex, and sensitive instrument. These little experiments are only my personal glimpse into the Buchla universe.

To hear other uses and sonic revelations in the world of the Buchla 200e please search the internet for works by Richard Lainhart, Alessandro Cortini, Giorgio Sancristoforo, Charles Cohen, Don Hassler, Joe Pascarell, and of course Don and Ezra Buchla to name just a few.

Enjoy!
tOdD BaRtOn
Ausprobieren: German for 'to try it out' or 'to experiment'
© todd barton 2010
website: www.toddbarton.com email: bartonmusic@mac.com"

Todd Barton Solo - 2015 Serge 40th Reunion Event

Published on Feb 11, 2015 djangosfire

"Todd Barton Solo performance at the SERGE 40TH REUNION EVENT - Saturday, Feb 7th 2015"

Update:

Todd Barton Inside Serge Solo

Published on Feb 13, 2015 Todd Barton

"Here’s a slightly closer look at the solo Serge performance. Sorry for flipcam distorted audio – better audio here:
http://youtu.be/BmdxM-XfDhc?list=PLgc...

The first third of the performance I’m manually working the Audio Mixer, DTG and VQVCF while looping (RC-3). The middle third is a preprogrammed sequence from the TKB using 3 oscillators and 2 DSG’s for filtering/eg – no looper from here on out. The last section is the same sequence slowed way down and I’m engaging the Eventide Space reverb. You can see the patch here courtesy of GrantB: https://www.hightail.com/download/UlR..."

Buchla Music Easel iProgram Card Tip No. 3 from Todd Barton & Upcoming Quadraphonic Performance

Published on Nov 29, 2014 Todd Barton

"Just realized even when the iProgram Card for the Buchla Music Easel is in "remote" mode you can still get CVs out of the physical Easel's Inverter out, Envelop Detector out and Mod CV out jacks.
Thus you can synchronize, affect and connect other Buchla modules to your Easel. And you can control, program and save those Easel output settings via the Easel iPad app."

And the upcoming performance featuring Todd Barton & Bruce Bayard:

"Quadraphonic: Space as Metaphor

Beginning Friday, August 1, Todd Barton and Bruce Bayard, performing as the duet Control Voltage Therapy, presented a series of concerts every First Friday at the Schneider Museum of Art. The concerts were every First Friday, August through December beginning at 11am. This coming Friday will be the final concert in this series. The performances are free and open to the public. Performances begin at 11 a.m."

Buchla by Todd Barton

buchla etude eighteen from todd barton on Vimeo.

"music created on a Buchla 200e Electric Music Box by blending and editing a few self-generating patches."

buchla tape piece from todd barton on Vimeo.

"a short "concrete" style piece created from variations on a single self-generating patch on a small Buchla 200e analog synthesizer system."

And...

"a short album, Ausprobieren, consisting of short experiments and explorations influenced by my obsession with the style of music coming from the electronic studios of the 1950’s and 60’s. Go here to download the album/artwork/notes: https://files.me.com/bartonmusic/k1w56k

Second, a set of four ringtones derived from the aforementioned album: https://files.me.com/bartonmusic/9v4l12

And, lastly, also from the album, a set of ten “single-shot” percussive “hits” of varying moods: https://files.me.com/bartonmusic/rvz4on

All compositions created on a nine-module Buchla 200e Electric Music Box: 266e-259e-261e-281e-292e-291e-285e-206e-222e"

via Todd Barton aka vgermuse

Spaces by Todd Barton

Supporting site member, Todd Barton, has a new album out. This one featuring Buchla and Hordijk systems. The following is in via his mailing list:

"I’m so excited to have this album, spaces, out at Bandcamp
with awesome cover artwork by Ursula Barton!!

It is available as a CD or download.

The main instruments at play are various Buchla and Hordijk systems along with some processing via Metasynth.

I hope you enjoy this new album, it was a joy to compose and produce.

Best wishes,
Todd
consider supporting my tutorials and projects here.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Todd Barton - Analog Horizonings

"a very mellow collection of ambient soundscapes featuring the EVI-2000 along with the S-P Synthacon, Buchla, Serge and JP-8"

http://cdbaby.com/cd/toddbarton

"After four decades of exploration Todd Barton is still delving deeply into the ever-expanding frontiers of musical expression: from his DNA derived Genome Music to his innovative scores for plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; from performances of Zen Shakuhachi Meditation Music to avant-garde music for electronic synthesizers and computers; from performing with luminaries of jazz and poetry to lecturing on music and composition from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century.

Todd's music has been heard on NPR’s Morning Edition, Westcoast Live, and the Curve of Wonder.

Since 1979 Todd has been exploring electronic systhesis and computer-based music. His love for vintage analog synthesisers continues to this day.

Over the years Todd has collaborated with a variety of jazz musicians and poets including Anthony Braxton, Zakir Hussein, William Stafford, Ursula K. Le Guin and Lawson Fusao Inada.

analog horizonings: ambient soundscapes for vintage analog synthesizers.

all music composed, produced and performed by todd barton"

Note Todd also goes by the alias vgermuse. You can see previous posts featuring vgermuse here and one more here. You might remember him from the Steiner Parker Synthacon and Buchla 200e demos.

Todd Barton Live with Buchla - Saturday, Nov. 3 Ashland, OR

one oscillator improv from todd barton on Vimeo.

"Dear Friends,

This Saturday, Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. at the DanceSpace 280 East Hersey Street in Ashland, Oregon I will be performing a solo analog synthesizer concert on a Buchla Electric Music Box.

I’ll be creating sounds from various tone generating modules then folding, unfolding, sculpting, twisting, caressing and distorting them into one long, free-wheeling improvisation.

And my pal, digital artist Bruce Bayard will be unfolding a collage of video images gathered from this past week. Hope you can join us.

Another way of looking at this sonic experience is that I will be creating an new electronic musical instrument which I will listen to and quickly learn its charaterictics/personality in order to learn to play it. I will then perform this new instrument and record it onto a track of my looper pedal at which point I will connect different modules together to create yet another new instrument, learn it, perform it, loop it . . . and so the process continues. . .

Like folding a square piece of paper into unusual and surprising shapes, think of this evening as sonic origami. Hope to see you there! All best wishes, Todd

Here’s a very rough sample of this process [embed above]

Here's more information:
First Saturday Concert Series

TBA stands for Time-Based Art, or To Be Announced. With the first series complete, Todd and I are now moving into the next phase of monthly concert presentations. These performances will consist of various experiments in the audio and visual world. The next First Saturday concert is November 3, 8pm at the DanceSpace in Ashland. Todd Barton will compose an electronic score in the moment, using the Buchla synthesizer with a setting (patch) that creates a wonderfully expressive sound. I am putting together some video clips that I hope will find some resonant synchronization with Todd's music.

Tickets are $5 at the door.

http://www.toddbarton.com
http://vimeo.com/user2359061
http://soundcloud.com/user7621213"

Update: embed for the performance here.

Shakuhachi | Todd Barton's Morphagene Reel.

Cinematic Laboratory

"The Shakuhachi is a Japanese bamboo flute with a beautifully haunting sound. Mr. Todd Barton has creating an amazing Morphagene reel which contains a few Shakuhachi riffs, long notes and textures.

You can find the Reel here: https://freesound.org/people/makenois...

Mr. Barton's album 'Ro' https://todd-barton-ro.bandcamp.com/r..."

Todd Barton Live in Ashland, OR - MATRIXSYNTH T Spotted

via Brian Comnes:

"Today's improv show in at Noon in Ashland at SOU Schneider Gallery. Today was Todd Barton on Hakem Continuum X-Station and Theremin , joined by Bruce Bayard on X-station , Michael Vannice on reeds and Terry Longshore on Roland HPD15 Handsonic and Korg WaveDrum."

I hear it's also Todd's b-day. Happy Birthday Todd!

Catch previous posts featuring Todd's videos and audio here(vgermuse) & here (todd barton).

video here

Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles Demo Mix

Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles, set to be released on Oct 19, features the following supporters of MATRIXSYNTH: Todd Barton, Parallel Worlds, and Dave Bessel.

Details:

"Various Artists Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles DiN:TS02

Release date 19th October 2018

Limited to 500 copies. Digipak CD format.

Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, continues to explore the world of modular synth music.

This second compilation “Module No.2 Elements and Particles”, like its predecessor, features nine artists from different musical backgrounds with the common thread being that all the tracks were composed entirely with a modular synth system.

The album opens and closes with the ambient soundscapes of two tracks by Todd Barton and
 r beny. Barton is a world renowned exponent of Buchla modular systems as well as the Music Easel employed on this track. Austin Cairns (aka r beny) has a penchant for lo-fi looped synth atmospheres which combined, in this case, with a field recording creates a haunting, evocative piece. The next three pieces by Bluetech, Parallel Worlds and Paul Nagle build up rhythmic and sequenced elements with a fascinating amount of detail that modular systems are so good at. They also all use various methods to produce a poly-rhythmic, fractal feel as patterns shift and change throughout their tracks. The middle of the album then sees a fascinating experimental ambient interlude by Dave Bessell (a member of the synth group Node) using waveguide physical modelling in the analogue domain. The second half of the album has a rawer, more gritty feel with Richard Quirk building up a crescendo of wonderful textures in his track “Radar Hill”. This is followed by Hainbach using the exotic Ciat-Lonbarde series of hand built instruments to produce, in his words, a piece of “pure electronic music”. Nathan Moody then brings proceedings to a climax with a gnarly, muscular track using a Buchla modular system before the blissful ending piece “Marine Layer” closes out the 60 minute sonic journey the listener has just travelled.

Boddy has curated both the artists and tracks on this album to flow in a musical way and not just be a collection of equipment heavy demos. Though fascinating and always cool to look at, it is important not to get lost in the gear for gear’s sake syndrome. Having said that this album features Eurorack, Serge, Buchla & Ciat-Lonbarde modular systems and the nine tracks show how varied and flexible these instruments can be.

'Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles' continues the journey down the rabbit hole of possibilities and sound worlds inhabited by artists and musicians working in this ever fascinating and varied musical field.

01 Floating World by Todd Barton 8:41
02 Magnetic Lullaby by Bluetech 6:36
03 Additive Procedure by Parallel Worlds 5:56
04 Euneirophrenia by Paul Nagle 7:52
05 Overtone by Dave Bessell 6:37
06 Radar Hill by Richard Quirk 7:22
07 Your Strange Glitter by Hainbach 5:02
08 Prophet & Loss by Nathan Moody 5:02
09 Marine Layer by r beny 7:02

Total Time: 60:24

Released by: DiN

Release date:
19 October 2018"

Todd Barton Spatial Frontiers I - in memoriam richard waters

"Here is the set of Buchla Music Easel duet improvisations. The first piece in the performance was a for solo waterphone and can be found here: [in memoriam richard waters SoundCloud & Video below]

Todd Barton and Bruce Bayard performing as the duet, Control Voltage Therapy, begin another concert series at the Schneider Museum of Art. The series continues their exploration of space as a compositional tool, this time, expanding the quadraphonic sound into all four galleries of the Museum. Besides the Buchla Easel: Electric Music Box, Barton and Bayard will be exploring other acoustic instruments beginning this Friday with the waterphone."

"On July 4, 2013 we lost Richard Waters, inventor of the Waterphone. Here is my humble tribute to a wonderful person, friend, musician and instrument builder.

For more information: waterphone.com

In this performance the waterphone is being looped then processed through a Buchla Music Easel another amazing instrument by genius invetor/designer, Don Buchla. buchla.com"


in memoriam richard waters Published on Feb 28, 2015 Todd Barton

"this is just for visuals -- the sound did not pick up all the speakers places throughout the museum space."