New Compilation

I am very proud to be included on a new drone compilation alongside some truly talented artists. Everything Lasts Forever And Nothing Ever Dies: A Compendium Of Drone In All Its Guises is the new compilation from Difficult Art And Music. It is not only available as a download, but also as an extremely limited edition cassette with a research magazine and audio embedded art print. I have one track included alongside other artists including Anatomy of the Heads, Johnathan Deasy, Distant Animals, Sascha Engel, Cheildon Frame / Drone Day, Brian Grainger, GRST, Heavy Cloud, Elise Plans, Metamorphic Rocks 
OK Soda, Felipe Vaz and Vilhelm Brømander. I hope you’ll check it out!

An Accidental Period Of Time

I have a new album over at The Awareness Factory titled An Accidental Period Of Time a short six song collection ranging from noise to ambient sounds. This is the first digital solo album I’ve put up in quite some time, so I hope you’ll dig it. As always, all albums are available for streaming or download and priced as ‘pay what you want’. I’m excited to be experimenting with sounds again as I emerge from my hibernation. I’m extremely interested in compilations and splits, so feel free to contact me!

I’d be remiss not to remind everyone that my newest chapbook, Automation, Man! Bold Machines is still available on Amazon and priced around six bucks. I hope you’ll check it out, and as always, your support is extremely appreciated!

Blk/Mas @SPNF 2017

Last night, Blk/Mas took part in the landmark 10th annual St. Pete Noise Fest. I’ve been lucky enough to be included many times in the last ten years, and last nights show was yet another stellar showcase of challenging sounds. This years edition took place at Cage Brewing, an hip little craft brewery in a thriving downtown…. right across from Haslams Bookstore (a huge and highly recommended bookstore that the late Jack Kerouac himself frequented, and some even believe he still haunts). We were lucky enough to check out sets from Vasectomy Party, Hell Garbage, Durastatic, Whitey Alabastard, as well as discover several others new acts.

It’s been a fun decade, here’s to ten more!

Blueprint For An Existential Crisis

It’s been a while since we’ve dropped some new noise, but now you can head over to the Awareness Factory and download the newest Blk/Mas album Blueprint For An Existential Crisis. Check it out, stream it or download, pay what you want or snag it for free.

Newest Noise

I’d like to take the time to remind you of the two newest releases that are still available over at The Awareness Factory.

The first is my newest release Angels, Death Dealers, And The Consciousness Of The Unreal. It’s a collage of mellower noise and cut up, with subtle nods to William S Burroughs and Brion Gysin.

The second is the newest release from Blk/Mas, the collaborative project from myself and Shawn Blackburn. This one is a haywire thrill ride of analog and modular madness, a dystopian roller coaster for the singularity.

I hope you’ll check them out. You can download by the track for a buck a piece, or download the entire albums for five dollars each.

Korg Volca Drone Machine Trick

From time to time I’m going to be posting not only some noise jams over at my YouTube channel, but also some tips and tricks for my various equipment… or using musical equipment in non-musical ways. The above video is the first of Volca Sample videos to come, this one is a simple trick to turn your Volca into a drone machine.

Hope you dig the video, if you do I hope you’ll take the time to subscribe to my YouTube channel!

First Impressions Of The Moog Mother 32

A few days ago, I finally got my hands on the Moog Mother 32. This semi-modular synth has been out roughly a year now, but I am often a day late and a dollar short… or in this case, six hundred dollars short. However, as the saying goes better late than never and that certainly rings true here.

Before I go further, let me give you a disclaimer. I am not a technical guru, and am not a professional musician. I am a noise artist who is new to anything beyond your basic synths. If you want a technical review, it is probably best to look elsewhere.

First, a shout-out to Sweetwater Sound, I truly won’t order my gear from anywhere else. They offer fast free shipping and have impeccable customer service. No, they don’t pay me to say that. My package arrived safe and sound, and I had the contents ripped out of the box in record time.

The obvious first impression is that the Mother 32 is a gorgeous machine, sturdy and handmade like you’d expect from Moog. It also comes with a pack of five patch cables, and an extensive user’s manual.

This machine boasts all the controls you would expect on your average analog synth, but with the inimitable lowpass and highpass Moog filters… a difference you’ll notice as soon as you start tweaking knobs. I already had an Arturia Minibrute, which I love, but nothing can beat that classic Moog ladder filter. That’s not a knock on the Minibrute, which is still a valuable part of my rig… but rather a testament to how great Moogs sound really is!

The Mother also boasts a 32-step sequencer, which has a bit of a learning curve, at least for me, I’m sure more experienced, and knowledgeable musicians could dive right in. However, after just a little reading I am more than in love with its features, which include the ability to program in KB or Step mode, accents, ratchets, etc.

Then of course, there is the 32-point patch bay for extended modular possibilities. I have a lot to learn in this regard, but there are enough resources out there to get you started in the right direction. The patch bay was a major selling point for me, as I’ve always been interested in learning modular, and this is an affordable option. Once you find yourself going down the modular rabbit hole the Mother comes out of its desktop casing and is eurorack ready!

This synth also plays well with others via the patch bay and a MIDI input. I have hooked this machine up to other synths, sequencers, and even my theremin… as if the Mother wasn’t already awesome enough!

Whether you are a total synth novice or a seasoned pro, you will be having fun with this minutes after it’s out of the box. If you are like me and have always wanted a Moog, but didn’t necessarily want to spend the money, this is a great starting point.

I absolutely love this machine, and can tell it’s going to be a part of my live rig for a long time to come.

Of Noise And Random Self-Analysis

We pulled into the industrial complex around dark, parked, and I cracked open a beer in what is the usual pre-show ritual. A small crowd was starting to build and there were already a few familiar faces of folks just as strange as us, people gathered here at the Venture Compound to do strange things in the name of art.

The Venture Compound is St Petersburg’s best-kept secret, and easily the most important destination in the Tampa Bay area for avant-garde youth, weirdos, and outsider artists of all disciplines. While nestled inside the warehouse arts district, the graffiti covered façade is hard to miss… standing out like a beacon to purveyors of all things odd.

This night was a special; it was the kick off of the ninth annual St Pete Noise Fest, a two-night celebration of noise/experimental music. Once again, our band Blk/Mas was lucky enough to be a part of the festival.

Due to my job’s constraint on my schedule we don’t play shows anywhere near as much as we used to… in fact, I had to hold on to my very last vacation day just to insure that I would make this, my favorite show of the year… the first night, anyway.

Three beers later, it was already time for us to play. My buddy Shawn took his place behind his modular system, while assumed position behind a theremin and a turntable. It’s comical that no matter how many times I do this I am utterly nervous beforehand. However, once we start our set I lose my self-consciousness, and what we do becomes the aural equivalent of spontaneous prose. Fifteen minutes and it was done, another one in the books.

I got to see many bands I hadn’t had the pleasure of watching before, and I don’t think our set was half-bad either. It’s odd. We have been doing this since we were teenagers, I don’t think I ever really imagined ourselves in our forties taking on the role of reluctant elder statesmen of the noise scene amongst some people half our age. It’s fine… and I imagine myself still doing it another twenty years from now provided the scene will have me.

Of course, I use the term “elder statesmen” because it sounds cool… dignified even. The truth is we are probably more accurately described as a couple old weird middle-aged guys. However, here at this place, a haven for the adventurous and the outcast, it is okay. Perhaps we signify hope in the fact that you don’t ever have to grow up.

I’m overthinking it though, we are two shy wallflowers likely not noticed by anyone until we take the stage. That’s fine though, it is not about us… it never was, it was always about the sound.

We left several acts later in the night as festivities still rolled on. As always we found ourselves reinvigorated and inspired by the St Pete Noise Fest. However, hunger and real life was calling. It would be back to the factory soon, but I would be returning to work feeling much lighter on my feet… the result of another catharsis of glorious noise.

4 Poems and The Return Of Blk/Mas

I’m pleased to announce that I have four poems up in one of the best blog/zines around for challenging literature, Otoliths. It is another issue packed with exceptional writing, if you’ve never checked out Otoliths you are missing out.

The electronic/noise/experimental project of Shawn Blackburn and myself, Blk/Mas has finally returned with a new album download. X + Quantity Of Me may be our best effort yet, and I hope you’ll check it out, along with all the other stuff we have to offer over at The Awareness Factory.

 

Angels, Death Dealers, And The Consciousness Of The Unreal

My newest album of experimental noise Angels, Death Dealers, And The Consciousness Of The Unreal is out for immediate download over at Awareness Factory Recordings. It is a very short meditation on exploring inner spaces, with nods to William Burroughs and Brion Gysin. Mellower than some of my other offerings, perfect for meditation and dreamachine.