we’ve got some interesting developments and possibly a new bandcamp release in the works. be sure to follow us on twitter and instagram to get the latest news.
New track on SoundCloud
I uploaded a new track to SoundCloud today, about 6’36” of difficult listening called Crosstalk. Check it out here.
elettronica sperimentale at TEMOM – February 13, 2023
A number of tracks on the 2019 release started out as live performances at various venues in Toronto, Canada, including underground shows like the sadly now-defunct Casual Drones, workshops like Frequency Freaks and of course the currently-in-hiatus Toronto Sound Festival. Taking up the torch in our post-lockdown world is Toronto Electronic Music Open Mic, TEMOM for short, which is part of a worldwide EMOM movement that started in the U.K. TEMOM takes place at Handlebar in Kensington Market on the second Monday of the month. I expect to be premiering a new piece on April 10 – hope to see you there!
Play the Hits
Hot on the heels of A Robot… comes Play the Hits, a newly remixed and remastered collection of archival manipulations from previous years. This release includes final versions of Death of the Planet and Bureaucracy, which were previewed here recently. You can also purchase all BandCamp releases to date, including the 2015 EP An Evening at Jay’s for just $14.25 CAD. Have a listen, and if you like them, take them all home!
A robot doesn’t talk back and argue
I’m very excited to announce the first full-length recording by elettronica sperimentale! A Robot Doesn’t Talk Back and Argue is now available for purchase on BandCamp. You can preview it in its entirety below.
Bureaucracy (Has Committed Murder)
Here’s one more preview track from the upcoming retrospective BandCamp release Play the Hits. This was recorded in 2005 under a pseudonym for a songwriting contest – which I didn’t win, due in part perhaps to the fact that it contains no actual singing.
Musically it owes a clear debt to Motown and Stevie Wonder in particular, its stereo interlocking clavinet parts and wandering bass line inspired by tracks like Higher Ground and Boogie On, Reggae Woman. The sample content speaks for itself. I think of it as a tiny musical documentary.
Elettronica sperimentale on The Edges of Dreaming
I had the honour of being featured on The Edges of Dreaming last Saturday afternoon, and spent a very enjoyable three hours chatting with some of their artists and listeners online during the show. The Edges of Dreaming is a weekly online ambient and electronica program on Radio Spiral network, and if you’re interested in electronic music you really should check out both the show and its parent station. Radio Spiral broadcasts 24 hours, with live shows daily.
If you missed the elettronica sperimentale feature don’t worry – it’s available for streaming from the Edges of Dreaming page and as a podcast episode. Most of the material from that 3-hour broadcast will also be available on BandCamp very soon as part of two upcoming releases. Play the Hits, a collection of electronica from 2002-2012, will include a brand new recording of Death of the Planet (which you can preview now in full on SoundCloud). A Robot Doesn’t Talk Back and Argue will be an album of mostly modular compositions, including new mixes of some more recent material, plus the new tracks Tranzac and All These Toys Are Broken, both of which debuted on last week’s broadcast.
Be sure to follow elettronica sperimentale on facebook, twitter or instagram – or right here on RSS if you’re old school like that – for info on release dates and performances.
New track: Death of the Planet
The 90-minute lecture “The Fate of the Earth,” by Sister Miriam MacGillis, was originally recorded in 1986 and distributed widely through a grassroots network of environmental activists. I recorded two versions of this piece in the late nineties, after having heard an excerpt of it on the radio.
The original recordings are lost to the sands of time. The first version was recorded on an Akai MG1214 recording console, a strange beast with a built-in proprietary (possibly Beta-compatible?) cassette tape drive. The backing sequence was composed on an Akai ME20a Sequence Arpeggiator, and consists of a 64-note pattern that is mapped onto a cycle of four chords. The ME20a, in turn, drove a stack of Yamaha DX7 voices in the form of a TX816 rackmount – a true eighties-style synth stack.
The current version is stripped down a bit compared to the earlier incarnations, but I did tip my hat a bit to its FM origins with the introduction of Native Instruments’ FM8.
Sister Miriam’s mission is ongoing. You can learn more about her eco-activism and philosophy in this short interview.
More remixed/remastered tracks are coming soon on BandCamp, including never-before heard material. Be sure to follow on Twitter or Instagram for news about the latest releases!
that video has music by the way
we thought it would be a bit rude to have a background video autoplay with sound. but here it is backed by an excerpt from where restrictions are imposed, which you can look for in full on a bandcamp release later this year.