I'm so excited about this week's chat - with DiN label owner and prolific musician Ian Boddy. Ian pretty much defines the continuing production of classic electronic music, and his various works - with ARC, collaborations with Robert Rich and Markus Reuter and others - keep him active and not pigeon-holed. But he is also an active library music developer and even sound designer.

So yeah, Ian is pretty busy.

Luckily for me, he was willing to chat for a bit about how he does what he does, what are some of his inspirations and how he is able to keep 'fresh'. This was a great opportunity for me to see inside the mind of are real "producer" (in that he is always producing).

If you haven't spent much time around the DiN label, you should check it out here:

http://www.din.org.uk/din/

Enjoy!

Alec Brady is a new friend - he introduced himself as part of my "if you know somebody that should be interviewed" request, and I realized that I'd seen a bunch of his work in the Max for Live Facebook group. He's also a fan of the podcast - so that helps!

Alec presumes to be a beginner, but I find his MFL work to be inventive and fun, and his perspectives on music making to be quite mature. He is also surrounding himself with music-making and music technology, and the result is someone that can talk with experience on many, many topics.

This is a little different from most of the podcasts: it isn't single-focused, but rather wide ranging and current. This makes sense, because Alec believes that he is at the beginning of his journey - although we should all be feeling that as well. I really enjoyed this chat, and I hope you do too!

Alec Brady is a new friend - he introduced himself as part of my "if you know somebody that should be interviewed" request, and I realized that I'd seen a bunch of his work in the Max for Live Facebook group. He's also a fan of the podcast - so that helps!

Alec presumes to be a beginner, but I find his MFL work to be inventive and fun, and his perspectives on music making to be quite mature. He is also surrounding himself with music-making and music technology, and the result is someone that can talk with experience on many, many topics.

This is a little different from most of the podcasts: it isn't single-focused, but rather wide ranging and current. This makes sense, because Alec believes that he is at the beginning of his journey - although we should all be feeling that as well. I really enjoyed this chat, and I hope you do too!

I'm trying to explore some new parts of the media art world, and one of those less explored areas has to do with broadcasting. So often, media art seems to be driven by net-stuff, computers and streaming something-or-other. But if you look at some of the most interesting media-based storytelling, it occurs on and through the radio.

My guest (and coworker) August Black has a history with this stuff, having worked with art-broadcast people in creating guerilla radio systems. His view on 'creating a place' for art to happen is an interesting view of an alternate media art, and his distrust of traditional art structures makes it seem a bit radical - until you start thinking about it, and it just seems smart.

August has got a lot of work on the web - he just chooses to hide it well. You can see some of his work at the following links:

standupradioSimple Worlduserradiofundamental radiodatadadaThe Wavefarm Project

Enjoy!

I'm trying to explore some new parts of the media art world, and one of those less explored areas has to do with broadcasting. So often, media art seems to be driven by net-stuff, computers and streaming something-or-other. But if you look at some of the most interesting media-based storytelling, it occurs on and through the radio.

My guest (and coworker) August Black has a history with this stuff, having worked with art-broadcast people in creating guerilla radio systems. His view on 'creating a place' for art to happen is an interesting view of an alternate media art, and his distrust of traditional art structures makes it seem a bit radical - until you start thinking about it, and it just seems smart.

August has got a lot of work on the web - he just chooses to hide it well. You can see some of his work at the following links:

standupradioSimple World
userradio
fundamental radio
datadada
The Wavefarm Project

Enjoy!

John Keston came onto my radar in sort of a random way - he sent me a link to some of his music, and I kind of fell in love with it. It was sound designerly, but also musically deep. Then I started digging into his work, and it touched on a lot of my interests.

So wouldn't you know that, when I interviewed him, I find out that our paths were constructed in similar ways. Musc, tech, art - it boils together to become an interesting - and personal - mix. In John's case, this was programming, music and gigging, expansion into visual arts and finding a way to bring it all together. Some of his concepts on scores and improvisation are incredibly insightful, and I really appreciated him sharing his background and perspectives.

Some of the links to his work are useful for getting in deeper:

johnkeston.comaudiocookbook.orghttp://isikles.bandcamp.com/releases

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

(Note: There was a factual error in a previously published version of this interview. Fixed now!)

John Keston came onto my radar in sort of a random way - he sent me a link to some of his music, and I kind of fell in love with it. It was sound designerly, but also musically deep. Then I started digging into his work, and it touched on a lot of my interests.

So wouldn't you know that, when I interviewed him, I find out that our paths were constructed in similar ways. Musc, tech, art - it boils together to become an interesting - and personal - mix. In John's case, this was programming, music and gigging, expansion into visual arts and finding a way to bring it all together. Some of his concepts on scores and improvisation are incredibly insightful, and I really appreciated him sharing his background and perspectives.

Some of the links to his work are useful for getting in deeper:

johnkeston.com
audiocookbook.org
http://isikles.bandcamp.com/releases

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

(Note: There was a factual error in a previously published version of this interview. Fixed now!)

I'll have to admit something: I'm a big fan of the double bass. It's an instrument that is as much about physicality as it is technique (although technique is incredibly important). But mostly, its presence in a room - or in a recording - is huge. So when Todd Reynolds opened the door for me to talk with bassist/composer Florent Ghys, I jumped at the chance.

What I found was a person that is comfortable in almost as many skins as there are in the media arts. He's obviously an accomplished bassist, and has done compositions for many serious New York-based groups. But his solo work reveals his interests in programming (primarily with Max) - but in a way that is inclusive of his audience. He's also starting to branch out into video art, and talks about that effort as well.

I had a wonderful time talking to Florent - twice - due to recording problems. So you get to hear the second, but perhaps more personal, chat between us. It is an interesting insight into the mind of a versatile artist.

Enjoy!

I'll have to admit something: I'm a big fan of the double bass. It's an instrument that is as much about physicality as it is technique (although technique is incredibly important). But mostly, its presence in a room - or in a recording - is huge. So when Todd Reynolds opened the door for me to talk with bassist/composer Florent Ghys, I jumped at the chance.

What I found was a person that is comfortable in almost as many skins as there are in the media arts. He's obviously an accomplished bassist, and has done compositions for many serious New York-based groups. But his solo work reveals his interests in programming (primarily with Max) - but in a way that is inclusive of his audience. He's also starting to branch out into video art, and talks about that effort as well.

I had a wonderful time talking to Florent - twice - due to recording problems. So you get to hear the second, but perhaps more personal, chat between us. It is an interesting insight into the mind of a versatile artist.

Enjoy!

The largest US manufacturer of Eurorack Modules is Pittsburgh Modular. They are inexpensive, sound great and are readily available from a lot of retailers. The company also produces a set of pre-loaded systems that make it easy to get started in modular synthesis, and has created an excellent bit of documentation to go with them.

I was hoping to talk to the owner, Richard Nicol, for the podcast; with the help of Jim and Elisabeth at Synthtopia, it came together for this episode. Richard talks about his start as a fledgling builder, his work with other circuit designers, his vision for the product line and his perspective on module creation. It was really intriguing to hear about his ideas, but also reassuring to see a plan laid bare.

An awesome interview, and a great way to understand how a database developer becomes a "modular mogul" (triple-grins to this - wait until you hear about his personal modular system...).

Enjoy!