"The Color Is Luxury sound is always improvisational, changing and evolving, ranging from very dense and harsh to minimal and ambient with some beats/pulses, based on their mood at the time and the atmosphere of the space they're playing in. Regardless of the situation, they manage to come up with something memorable for the audience...but not to them."
YouTube via thainmlh "Charles Cohen (on Buchla Sound Easel) and Tyler (on various pedals) perform on the WPRB radio program, "Music With Space" on May 5th, 2009 http://www.musicwithspace.com (for mp3`s of both sets) http://www.wprb.com" Be sure to see this classic video of Charles Cohen on the Buchla Music Easel as well.
Update via Christian in the comments: "if anybody in the phila area is doing electronic music and wants to play on this program, lemme know."
"Lopass Mates @ Rotunda Wed ...all Buchla, all the time Wednesday, March 4, 2009 The Rotunda 4014 Walnut St. Philadelphia 8 PM
Lopass Mates: Charles Cohen, Buchla Music Easel Christian Mirande, Buchla 200 Modular Analog Synthesizer
The Buchla 200 is the Mother Ship of the Music Easel. It only appears around here once a decade. For this improvisational performance it will be piloted by Mr Mirande, an aficionado of Sharks, Coral, Century Series Fighter Planes, and Electro-Acoustic Music.
This colorful video features sound artist Charles Cohen improvising on a 1970's Buchla Music Easel. This extremely rare instrument is one of Don Buchla's 200 series. Buchla (a pioneer of audio synthesis) only manufactured 14 of these units. The entire film was edited from an hour-long set of free improvisation, with audio was taken directly from Charles' mixing board.
All of the photography and editing was produced by Alex Tyson, a sound and video artist from Pennsylvania. The film was shot in 16:9 720p High Definition format, using a 35mm LensBaby 3GPL.
This film is free to distribute, share, blog, vlog, etc. When re-posting, please copy and paste this text to inform anyone about the film.
At this time the film is only available online. While you can stream it in HD, it is best viewed on DVD. Please contact the filmmaker for hard copies if interested.
Charles can be reached at ccohen (at) voicenet.com.
Thanks to LensBabies for making this awesome lens!"
Bottom shot for perspective. Note the small patch point connectors.
Update: Chad made an interesting point in the comments. "You can also brush your finger across the board while playing for cool little blips of sound as new connections are made between your finger and the board. :)"
Circuit bending a Buchla? A bit blasphemous but this would be one way to do it.
Update via Christian in the comments: "charles told me that alex, the guy who filmed the video asked if such a thing was possiable. charles had a blank card, whetted his fingers and voila. it had never occored to him before. charles uses both this technique and programed cards during performances: such as the one him and i will be giving on 3/4 at the rotunda (in phila). i'm playing the big buchla :)"
YouTube via caloriewarp "Charles Cohen and his Buchla Music Easel vs. Chrome Genie NoBuchla Lung Sucker and his vibra-troupe... Cohen KO's Genie in 1st round. live improv at the Cohen residency in Philadelphia: 1/3/09"
This colorful video features sound artist Charles Cohen improvising on a 1970's Buchla Music Easel. This extremely rare instrument is one of Don Buchla's 200 series. Buchla (a pioneer of audio synthesis) only manufactured 14 of these units. The entire film was edited from an hour-long set of free improvisation, with audio was taken directly from Charles' mixing board.
All of the photography and editing was produced by Alex Tyson, a sound and video artist from Pennsylvania. The film was shot in 16:9 720p High Definition format, using a 35mm LensBaby 3GPL.
This film is free to distribute, share, blog, vlog, etc. When re-posting, please copy and paste this text to inform anyone about the film.
At this time the film is only available online. While you can stream it in HD, it is best viewed on DVD. Please contact the filmmaker for hard copies if interested.
Charles can be reached at ccohen (at) voicenet.com .
"here's a picture of a buchla 500 that i've never seen posted before. it's most buchla 200 stuff, that 500 series keyboard controller, and the 300 series patchbay (same as in ciani's) and osc bank (i think, i forget what david told me it was, it's in his 300 too). got it from the buchla 700 group. there's some other shots there too.
# - 500/300 series wavetable osc right? i forget, corrections?
% - 500/300 series patchbay, for get the numbers, similar two the 228-2 (228-1?) or the strips; used in Ciani's 300
Here's a link to a set i played with easel player charles cohen if your interested. i've been trying to get him to do some sound samples or youtube vids. its under br'er and Charles Cohen" [under Music on the right - the track features the Buchla Music Easel]
images:
charles playing out recently, his other 200, the easel (and some guys laptop)
click here for more shots sent my way via Kenneth R. Jackson. Kenneth played a show this past Tuesday and one of the acts on the bill, Charles Cohen / Color Is Luxury, had a Buchla Electric Music Box."
If you don't know who Charles Cohen is, check out this post. Title link takes you to more info on the show tonight. Do a find for Cohen when you get there. If you want to see a Buchla live and you are in Philly, here's your chance. According to Charles Cohen's website, the show starts at 8PM and is actaully free.
"SIGNAL 2 BOYZ is Philly's most angular, funky, and explosive electro-acoustic improv unit, featuring the legendary Charles Cohen! Utilizing a deceptively simple system known as "Transformative Groove", the ensemble creates shifting grooves, timbres, patterns, and structures that are about as unpredictable as they are infectious. Signal-2-Boyz is: -Charles Cohen (Buchla Music Easel Synthesizer/electronics) -Amnon Freidlin (guitar/loops) -Andrew Gaspar (turntables/electronics) -Joe Lentini (MIA: Jamaica) -Evan Lipson (bass/devices) -Dave Smolen (analog electronics) The ensemble's general aesthetic has evolved into a process of sonic layering or lamenationin which sounds may be frozen in real time (and/or from a previous moment), by a hyper-subtle process of looping and manipulation. Careful attention is payed to aspects of foreground and background texture, dynamics, density, pulse, contrasting colors, as well as various modes of poly-rhythmic/metric/tempic playing.This type of playing is smoothly juxtoposed with a more freewheeling yet interlocking language of varying complexity, where a large emphasis is placed upon purely timbral and sonic experimentation. These two areas freely flow in and out of each other, creating a sound that can often become quite raucous and 'grooving' (in the truest sense of the word...an area that S2B generally feels is largely ignored by most in the field of experimental improvisation), or very spatial and reduced in texture..."
Warning: That first track seemed noticably lower in volume than the others. Remember to turn it down before moving to the next track. Watch your ears!!! : )
Via AH. Ever wonder what a Buchla Music Easel can sound like? Well here you go. Well over six hours worth of Charles Cohen on the Buchla Music Easel. Pretty amazing stuff. More on Charles Cohen.
Someone asked if it was all Music Easel:
"charles also uses effects.. but mostly he just really
knows whats hes doing with the easel as hes been
playing if for over 25 years"
Live this Friday night at WPRB
