myriad

“myriad” is a piece of music for 10,000 tracks of audio.  i began the piece as an improvisation on harmonium on november 4th, 2007.  i hope to be finished around november 4th, 2010.  check out this rough mix from january 2010 (approximately 5,500 tracks):

myriad (january 2010 demo)

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the list of performers (as of 6/25/10):

The Norman Conquest, Brian Gleeson, Shayna Dunkelman, Theresa Wong, Zachary James Watkins, Agnes Szelag, Marielle Jakobsons, Ava Mendoza, Noah Phillips, Sarah Palmer, Andy Strain, Jason Hoopes, Jordan Glenn, Jon Porras, Evan Caminiti, Emily Packard, Damon Waitkus, Preshish Moments, Alee Karim, Joyce Teale, Bruce Teale, Gregg Kowalsky, Johanna Borchert, Ellen Fullman, Dave Holton, Patrice Scanlon, Sean Clute, Aram Shelton, Eli Wise, Kristine Barrett, Kevin Adams, Varun Kejriwal, Caroline Penwarden, Luis Maurette, Cory Wright, Angela Hsu, Ri Crawford, Matthew Pusti, Kate Mcloughlin, Marty McGinn, Mike Guarino, Kimberly Miller, Phoebe Lehr, Chuck Johnson, Michael Gardner Cox, Phillip Greenlief, Hilary Overberg, Luke Selden, Karl Evangelista, Ben Bracken, Sam Ospovat, David Ryther, Deborah Katz, Victor Lowrie, Amelia Lukas, Kathryn Thompson, Heather Vorwerck, Hande Erdem, Lauren Elledge, Polly Moller, Ashley Morro, Maryclare Brzytwa, Jennifer Harper, Kate McLoughlin, Lisa McGee, M Mara-Ann, Michael Elrod, Suki O’Kane, Tom Duff, Vanessa Beggs, Bob Marsh, Kurt Kottheimer, Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, Matthias Bossi, Zeena Parkins, Shahzad Ismaily, Jewlia Eisenberg, Kristin Slipp, Chris Cutler, Kanoko Nishi, Theresa Wong, Jen Baker, Dennis Somera, Zachary James Watkins, Melody Ferris, Steini Gunnarsson, Paul Scriver, Ivor Holloway, Derek Monypeny, Amy Friebertshauser, Jefre Cantu Ledesma, Maxwell Croy, Tony Cross, Steve Dye, Adria Cardwell, Jozef Van Wissem, Matthias Jentsch, Daniel Feese, Heath Thacker, Patrick Allen, Luciano Chessa, Blixa Bargeld, Beth Custer, Oscar Kaiser, Alejandra Ortiz, Saed Muhssin, Kala Ramnath, Moe! Staiano, Leah Rae Mittelmeier, David Gamper, Stuart Dempster, Manuel Sala, April Coker, Eddie Rich, Evan Fraser, Heike Liss, Burt Winn, Rachel Kast, Lisa Mezzacappa, Marco Eniedi, Darren Johnston, Sheldon Brown, Anantha Krishnan, Sam Wambach, Nadja, Nathan Fritz, Amir Shirani, Erik Larson, Matt Marks, Liz Albee, San Francisco Symphony, Jesse Quattro, Charity Chan, Quentin Sirjacq, Antoine Berthiaume, P.L. Grove, Leif Shackelford, John Kessler, Angel Gold, Michael Gold, Robert Lautenslager, Ivan Piesh, Nathan Snider, Robert Miller, Matt Miller, Jerry Smith, Sarah Howe, Sammy Kruger, John Abbott, Erika Pipkin

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and the instruments played:

harmonium, voice, supercollider, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, baritone electric guitar, toy guitar, lap steel guitar, xylophone, citara mini harpa, long string instrument, gamelan, singing bowls, bul bul tarang, gu zheng, lou harrison koto, autoharpguitar, mandolute, marimba, vibraphone, lou harrison xylophone, drum kit, electronic drum kit, drum machine, electronics, congas, bongos, maracon, guasa, tamborines, shakers, timbales, djembe, cell phone, wine bottles, beer bottles, omnichord, mandora, handbells, iphone, slide whistle, tonkori, violin, cello, sitar, harp, dulcimer, sruti box, charango, chromatic harmonica, toy piano, sanxian, melodica, pitch pipe, portative organ, pipe organ, chord organ, accordion, electric organ, banjo, double bass, piano, piano zither, harpsichord, fortepiano, celeste, glockenspiel, ukulele, baritone ukulele, tuned feedback, psaltery, santur, viol de gamba, yangquin, rebec, steel tongue drum, kokle, tuning fork, tuner, tabla, dan bau, ocarina, oud, coffee cup saucer, toy xylophone, tin can mandolin, bass banjo, yamaha tx81z, waldorf micro Q, doepfer modular, moog low pass filter/freqbox, paia stringz n’ thingz, nord lead, yamaha an1x, yamaha sk20, MOTU bassline, novation bassstation, MOTU model 12, MOTU modulo, MOTU nanosampler, MOTU polysynth, MOTU proton, roland em10, roland super jv1080, yamaha psr140, automat, cheeze machine, freealpha, casio celviano, ticky clav, yamaha dx21, yamaha dx7, korg microkorg, nord electro, ARP2600, ARP axxe, ARP avatar, buchla modular prototype, alesis qs8, stylophone, korg electribe, sequential circuits pro one, the amen break, tympani, tubular bells, crotales, electric cello, novation bass station synthesizer, rhodes electric piano, electric violin, alto trombone, large bore trombone, small bore trombone, slide trumpet, vibraphonette, glockenspiel, autoharp, 5 string acoustic violin, musical saw, banjo, wine glasses, ukelin, flute, max/msp beats, max/msp synth, clarinet, dobro acoustic guitar, electric tanpura, long string instrument, tonkori, blossom, no-input mixer, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, recorder, casio sk1, roland tr707, coke bottle, pump organ, m’bira, bombo, cajon, chango, seed shakers, marimba de chonta, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto flute, gongs, tympani, feedback, bassoon, veena, chromatic lap zither, viola, prepared guitar, koto, baroque lute, nyckelharpa, bass harmonica, oud, berimbau, cellphone sruti box, tabla, french horn, philicorda, mandolin

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pictures of recording sessions from the last three years:

a couple more releases!

an album (titled “la chambre claire”) by my dear friend/amazing pianist/composer quentin sirjacq that we recorded in france back in january of 2009 will be released in september on the new french label brocoli records!  check his myspace page for samples!

one last thing, my friend kristine barrett just released her two part opera via bandcamp!  we mastered “lily maude horseman” about a year ago, and added loads of dirt and grit to her “ancient rock”.

current/upcoming projects

just an update as to recent comings and goings:

-recorded with phillip greenlief a coupla months ago.  alternating between single-tracked and overdubbed pieces, they’re all extended technique saxophone tracks inspired by the art of eva hesse and robert rauschenberg.  the album should be out within a month or so on evander music.

-just started working with the fabulous classical indian violin virtuoso kala ramnath and the stupendously amazing mridangam player anantha r. krishnan.

-alee karim just posted his album alee karim & the science fiction for FREE DOWNLOAD on bandcamp.  amazing science fiction chamber pop songs in the vein of berlin-era david bowie, brian eno, talking heads, the microphones, etc.  featuring marielle jakobsons, agnes szelag, shayna dunkelman, and jordan glenn!

-been recording with my band, the atomic bomb audition, for our next album, tentatively titled “roots into the see”.

-my other band cosa brava, just spent two weeks in europe touring and recording.  the next record should be out in 2011 on intakt records.  fred’s new tunes are INCREDIBLE!

-and from the beautiful st. mark’s church in san francisco, the lush orchestral piece “unweathered embers” by my favorite duo of eastern european soundstresses, myrmyr.

-just finished mastering a new album by jon porras (elm) of barn owl.  should be out on root strata sometime in the next few months!

-speaking of barn owl, i recorded their next album “ancestral star” and it’s due to be released on thrill jockey in november!!!

-from the cassette-only UK label the tapeworm, a release by zachary james watkins titled “black spirituals” that i recorded back in sept. of 2009.  doepfer modular synths + gospel field recordings + marshall half stack + the amazing drumming of jordan glenn = holy shit!!!

-and then a special super secret surprise release featuring me, barn owl, theresa wong, and ellen fullman.  it’s gonna be released on important records around november!  two words- mega drone!

-this just in, the recording from ilyas ahmed at the 2009 root strata on land festival will be released this month!  limited edition of 25 10″ vinyl records, all with unique hand-collaged cover artwork by ilyas.

mantra in a one minute video

my one-minute video edit for my lifelong piece “mantra in a” has been selected for the Video Channel Cologne’s One Minute Film Collection!!!  video to follow soon!

myrmyr’s “unweathered embers” at st. marks in san francisco! saturday, june 12th 7pm!

OMG COME CHECK OUT THIS SHOW IT’S GONNA MELT YOUR MIND!!!

details:

$10-15 sliding scale

Performance Time: 7:00p, Doors: 6:30

Location: St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, St. Mark’s Square, 1111 O’Farrell St at Franklin, San Francisco

Public Transit: MUNI 38, 31, 42, 47, 49