#andrew wayne

[creativespark]

Andrew Wayne

[catsynth-express]

Outsound New Music Summit: Electro-Plate

The third night of the Outsound New Music Summit featured three sets that spanned a wide range of electronic music history, from analog modular synthesizers to digital laptops and an eclectic mix of technologies in between.

First up was a “power trio” on Serge Modular synthesizers featuring LX Rudis, Doug Lynner and Dmitri SFC.

[Photo PeterBKaars.com.]

I have heard all three perform of Serge synthesizers before, but never together in this way. The result combined their very different performance styles, with intricate and meticulous musical details from Doug Lynner and driving beats from Dmitri SFC. There were also a variety of drones, noise hits and other sonic elements throughout the performance, which consisted of a single 40-minute improvisation.

Next up Instagon with edition 684 of Lob’s long-running project. This all-electronic mixer set featured Andrew Wayne, Tim White, Thomas Dimuzio, Marc Schneider, Mark Pino and Jack Hertz.

[Photo PeterBKaars.com.]

As with most Instagon mixer sets, each of the performed improvised freely in his instruments, with Lob conducting and sculpting the performance in real time on a mixer. The result is at times chaotic and cacophonic, but appropriately so and mixed with sparser moments where the details of a particular playing were brought out. One of the unifying elements was recorded text that appeared at various times before being obscured beneath the noise.

The final set was a digital laptop trio featuring Thea Farhadian, Aaron Oppenheim and Tim Perkis. This was an ensemble formed specifically for this concert.

[Photo PeterBKaars.com.]

For a while it was rather common to see musicians performing solo or in ensembles exclusively with laptops and digital-processing software. It seems to be less common at the moment with the resurgence of hardware synthesizers, and it is becoming more common to see electronic musicians including analog synthesizers like the classic Serge modulars from the first set. This transition is something I have myself participated in as a performing electronic musician. But the trio on this night reminded me of some of the unique sounds that digital systems can create, with access to samples, jumps, and signal processing that takes advantage of artifacts and computation, such as FM and granular synthesis. There was also more subtlety in the music for this set, with some very quiet moments. Unlike the previous sets, this one was broken up into a few distinct compositions.

Overall, it was interesting to hear the different strains of disciplines within electronic music juxtaposed as they were on this evening. Perhaps an interesting follow up would be to pair a modular synth performer with a digital laptop performer in a future concert.

Outsound New Music Summit: Electro-Plate was originally published on CatSynth

[lets-review]

Prime Suspect

                                Prime Suspect premiered Sept. 22nd and airs Thursdays at 10PM on NBC.

"Prime Suspect is about Jane Timoney, an iconoclastic female detective who has to make her bones in a tough New York precinct that is dominated by men."

As I've said in previous posts, I'm not a big fan of cop shows.  There's something about this one that makes me like it though.  There's something that I can't put my finger on that makes Prime Suspect enjoyable, even for me who doesn't like cop shows.  One thing that I like the the tough woman in a man's environment theme. The concept of a strong woman is always something that draws in an audience. There is action, drama, and a little sarcasm sprinkled in.  Maria Bello, who plays Jane Timoney, does a great job at making her character real.  You really feel the struggle she's going through, trying to work in an environment that thinks she's sleeping with people to get to the top and doesn't respect her.  That part of the story is something that many women could probably sympathize with, but that isn't the whole story.  Every episode, like all other cop shows, focuses on a case that needs solving.  That is the part of the story that most people will watch for. Either way, Prime Suspect is worth watching. 

Rating: 

Follow me on Twitter!