Since I like the look/feel of the paper format (and to archive this stuff digitally so I have copies of it around), I’m posting here a scan of the “Breakout Artists 2009″ article written by Jason Foumberg of NewCity. Enjoy.
Dr. Rek has finished assembling his documentary masterpiece and hot damn! It looks pretty.
A little preview is available online, including the section containing my interview and performance with Memory Selector:
Memory Selector - Bent 2008 mpls from Derek Sajbel on Vimeo.
I highly recommend ordering the DVD for anyone who’s interested in circuit bending- the interviews coupled with performances by each of the performers gives great depth & breadth of the why and how of the whole movement. Plus, all the folks here are really fun and engaging. Make sure to check out Tim Kaiser- that guy blows me away every time.
Also hilarious is Dr. Rek’s performance at the very end- he’s got a crazy Teletubby-on-acid costume that has to be seen.
You can order the DVDs through Dr. Rek’s site here: http://absurdity.biz/wordpress/2009/05/bent-2008-mpls-dvd-now-available/
Man, what a fun time that was. Big thanks to Patrick of Roth Mobot for putting it all together. And my new handmade sequencer synth worked!
Live set at MEECAS 09, handmade synth from Michael Una on Vimeo.
Live set at MEECAS 09, handmade synth part 2 from Michael Una on Vimeo.
Live set at MEECAS 09, handmade synth part 3 from Michael Una on Vimeo.
Anyone in Ireland this weekend should check out the Synth Eastwood show in Dublin- there’ll be a live music performance featuring Beep-it, among other excellent multi-discipline art happenings. Click the image for details.
Pixillation, 1970.
Film/animation: Lillian Schwartz
Moog: Gershon Kingsley
There’s an article in Chicago’s NewCity this week called Breakout Artists 2009: Chicago’s next generation of image makers. And who is one of these breakout artists? Moi. Does it matter that I’m not much of an image maker? Not in the slightest.
Head on over to their site to check out the story, or grab one from the box if you’re a Chicagoan.
Also- work on the sequencer/drum machine continues, as evidenced by this video (which also features a guest appearance by Roger the cat):
I’ve found some new little JamBoxes that have a sweet pitch bend. All the individual hits are playable, and the kick drum is especially fatty. The preprogrammed beats are also weirdly sequenced- whoever engineered this thing has never heard funk in their life, which makes for some crazy glitchy tweaks.
Lil’ Red Jam Box from Michael Una on Vimeo.
I’ve got nine of these babies for sale at michaeluna.etsy.com , with more on the way.
A “mini beatbox,” which selectably plays a handful of funky beats, has been circuit-bent to control tempo and pitch. The resulting sounds are glitchy, IDM-like drones and rhythms.
Fans of Aphex Twin, Squarepusher and the like will enjoy the sounds this little device makes. Any electronic musician looking for unique sample sources need look no further.
You can purchase one here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22329206
Multiples of this item are available- I found a treasure trove of these little guys.
Circuit Bent Mini Beatbox from Michael Una on Vimeo.
I’ve been working on my sequencer-synth a bit more. In fact, I’m stopping development of this little box to start over again from scratch, but I wanted to document it first. So here’s my first stab at a sequence-driven synthesizer:
Seq-it prototype v2 from Michael Una on Vimeo.
I’ve written a little article cataloging various DIY sequencer projects for Createdigitalmusic, with a very early preview of my own sequencer prototype. You can read the article here, and if you’re interested, here’s a little video of the sequencer:
