To Greener Pastures, Once Again…

As some of you may have noticed, things have been a bit quiet around these parts here lately. This is mostly a function of me being less than enthused with what WordPress actually allows me to do. As a result, I’ve decided to move myself over to Tumblr, where I’ll be posting videos, musics, pictures and links to all kinds of digital goodies on a (semi-)regular basis. I’ll be keeping this domain registered as a sort of link dump, but for all intents and purposes False Reactions on WordPress is no more. So, set your bookmarks to http://crtgr.tumblr.com/, and we can start all over again. Just you and me. It’ll be like the good ol’ days…I promise.

Nah Und Fern

Tonight, I’m making the trip up to Miller Theatre at Columbia University to see Wolfgang Voigt perform the U.S. debut of his seminal GAS project. Needless to say, I’m quite excited! Ever since I first heard Pop back in college, Voigt’s music has been a major influence in my own production work, and I’ve been revisiting the GAS catalog often since Kompakt saw fit to reissue it as a box set last year. The rustling ambience, weathered orchestral loops and muffled rhythmic throb that typifies the GAS aesthetic is elemental in its simplicity, but completely devastating in terms of its emotional impact. Of course, Voigt’s contributions to modern electronic music are undeniable. From Studio 1 to GAS to Mike Ink, he basically invented both Minimal and Ambient Techno through the recorded output of his various guises, all while building one of the most enduring Techno imprints around: Kompakt Records. Basically, the dude’s a machine! I’m not entirely sure what to expect from this evening’s performance, but it will no doubt be an epic and awe-inspiring experience. I’m going to be traveling with my girlfriend and her fancy schmancy SLR camera, so I’ll post some pics as soon as I can. For now, take a gander at these videos of Voigt throwing down the blissed out jams in Berlin at this year’s edition of the Transmediale Festival:

Maple Drip

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been hard at work recording my debut release for Full Spectrum Records. I thought I was finished with it, but yesterday I pieced together another long-form composition to complement the three tracks I had originally set aside. Entitled “Maple Drip,” the track is a dense, textural drone built from looping guitar passages and lightly processed field recordings. The player below contains an unmastered mixdown. Enjoy!

Cracked Frame, False Reaction

With my attentions being divided between a neverending job hunt, stitching together a forthcoming album for Full Spectrum Records and tending to the newly revamped Fish.Cloud page, I’ve let this blog get a bit overgrown these past few weeks. Can you blame me? As a result, I’ve decided to switch gears with the site’s content. While False Reactions will still serve as a portfolio of sorts for any writing I may do around the web, I’m going to start treating it more as a homepage for my ongoing musical pursuits, posting information regarding Radere-related events, as well as short loops and snippets of audio from the studio. For now, head over to my Myspace profile to hear some new sounds.

For those in the Philadelphia area, I’ll be performing this coming Sunday at an Aesop Collective event. We’ll be doing a special screening of We Call It Techno!, a recently released documentary profiling the heady early days of Germany’s rave and techno culture, followed by DJ sets by Francis Krause, Pandemix and Aesop resident Carlo Flamingo, as well as a ‘Chill Out/Grill Out’ featuring a showcase of the Collective’s ambient artists, including live performances from Fidget, D. Elias Tinker and myself. Should be a great Spring evening, so head out if you’re in town this weekend! Check the flier below for more info:

Waiting For The World To Go By

I’ve been following the work of Brock Van Wey, AKA the elusive (yet prolific) Bay Area Producer/DJ/Artist Bvdub, for some time now. His low key Dub Techno emissions and lush Ambient soundscapes hit just the right note for me, falling somewhere between Wolfgang Voigt’s seminal Gas releases and Loscil’s sanguine work on the Kranky label. I’m not sure how this slipped under my radar for so long, but Van Wey cobbled together a mix for the well regarded MNML SSGS blog just about this time last year, and it’s proven itself to be a fairly constant soundtrack for these last fitful days of winter. Head over to their site to download it for yourself…and don’t hesitate to check out some of Bvdub’s original tracks while you’re at it!

mnml ssgs mix01: Bvdub presents ‘Waiting For The World To Go By’

The picture at the top of this post is lifted from the debut issue of And I Still Miss You, a PDF art magazine edited by Peter Skwiot Smith (the man behind the now-defunct Five To Nine mag). The issue features an in-depth interview with Mr. Van Wey that’s well worth your time, as well as some fantastic art…so head on over and download yourself a copy! It’s free!

City In The Dust On My Window

Hammock have been staples on the Post-Rock scene for years, but their most recent release, the gorgeous ambient epic Maybe They Will Sing To Us Tomorrow (released last year via Darla), saw them refining their sonic palette, ditching percussion and ‘pop’ formats in favor of a set of blissed out drone pieces. The end result was more beautiful than Sigur Ros and more stately than virtually anything Stars Of The Lid have put out, and that’s saying something!

They recently shot a video for “Mono No Aware,” a cut lifted from the aforementioned LP, and it doesn’t fail to deliver on all the slow motion beauty and elegiac grace that the track deserves. Have a look for yourself:

more about “Mono No Aware,” posted with vodpod

Elements

Next weekend, I’ll be participating in the debut of a new monthly series at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center. Dubbed ‘Elements,’ the series is part of Rochester’s ongoing First Friday initiative, where art galleries and performance spaces across the city open up their doors to the public, hosting open houses and special viewings all night long. I’ll be performing alongside a variety of local DJs and producers, who will be throwing down everything from Ambient to Techno to House, so there’s a little bit of something for everyone! Peep the flier below for all of the necessary info…

Fish.Cloud, Inc.™

Just a little heads up for anyone out there who might be clamoring for a comeback of the retired Fish.Cloud blog I used to run with my good friend Dan Lisowski (all 2 of you)…I’m pleased to announce that we’re slowly getting back in the saddle! We’re going to have a whole new layout and approach, ditching the music commentary and mpFREEs in favor of a pan-media collage blowout purpose-built to make your eyes and ears very happy indeed. That’s all I’m going to give away for now, but keep your browsers at the ready! We’re shooting for a Mid-March re-launch, and it’s coming up fast. Onward with the aesthetic revolutionary conquest!

…Let’s Rock The F*** Out!

I saw this and just couldn’t resist! Isn’t DRM humor great?! Via Randall Munroe’s XKCD webcomic.

Field Report 01

Just a quick sampling of pics from the weekend’s show, paired up with some choice live sets from The Sight Below, Lusine and myself. Enjoy!

Radere (me):
Radere, Live @ The Hexagon, Baltimore, MD – 2.15.09

The Sight Below:
GhostlyCast #18: The Sight Below, Live on KEXP Seattle

Lusine:
Lusine, Live @ Percussion Lab, 2005
Lusine, Live @ Decibel Festival, Seattle, WA – 9.20.07