Data Cult Audio

About:

John McVay, a.k.a. Go As DeatH, sources sounds from found-cassettes, tape loops, and field recordings which are then modified with guitar effects pedals and loop pedals to compose densely-layered soundscapes. Responsive mixing leads the compositions, with a focus on blending and creating a meditative, yet creepy and unsettling tone. Rolling loops and swirling distortion meander across a vast, expansive void, dragging muffled transmissions of voices from the abyss that whisper warnings within crowded electrical pulsations. A smothering force bombards with over-saturation and disarms our sensibilities. It embodies conflicting qualities: introspective/loud, evolving/constant, vast/dense, peaceful/turbulent. This collection of recordings crackles; covered in dust, melted, these tapes are riddled with decay.

The tracks presented here are based on improv and are edited very little from the live recordings, showcasing the crunchy and slippery textures of the magnetic tape involved in creating and recording the sounds. McVay has worked as Go As DeatH, as a collaborator in Hillsgoteyes and the Insect Worship Collective, participates in Sound Art Arizona and the Low Data Collective, and has designed live or recorded soundtracks to accompany video art performances and pieces. He performs strange tape music for people semi-regularly and also creates paper collages and collage-based screenprints.

Links:

https://goasdeath.bandcamp.com/

https://soundcloud.com/goasdeath

https://domesticsurveillancetapes.bandcamp.com/

https://hillsgoteyes.bandcamp.com/releases

http://www.soundartarizona.org/

http://www.johnmcvayart.com

https://artworksbyjohnmcvay.bigcartel.com/

Instagram: @johnjohnmcvay

About:

From the acidic and dusty factories of the electronic underground, through the devastating and pure immaculate nature of Sardinia, is born an explosion of anger and melancholy darkness. This sound is the transformation of electronics into an orchestra of cinematic proportion created by mebitek aka Claudio Melis.

Born on the island of Sardinia, Claudio was living in Bologna, Italy when he created the mebitek project in the late 2003. 

In the beginning, mebitek's sound was influenced by Bologna’s underground music scene and was mainly hard techno with tribal influences. Over the years, Claudio’s experimentation led him to develop a “cinematic electro dark ambient” cinematic music.

In addition to music, Claudio also creates art installations such as his 2016 creation ‘The Sensegration Box’, short films such as his trilogy “The Unconscious”, and video art.

Links:

http://www.mebitek.com

https://twitter.com/MebitekOfficial

https://www.youtube.com/mebitek

https://mebitek.bandcamp.com/

https://soundcloud.com/mebitek

https://www.facebook.com/mebitek

https://open.spotify.com/artist/05xfh2Dnt40p29CmaXsAH4

About:

Vara Sky is Amy Swart. She demonstrated a talent for music at an early age, learning how to play several instruments at a private elementary school on a full scholarship in Rochester, New York. She continued with vocal and piano lessons throughout her teenage years until she moved to Colorado at age 19. After going to her first rave as a teenager, Amy became obsessed with “how they were making those sounds,” and began organizing underground parties with her friends, DJing with a laptop and a mixer.

In 2010 she moved to Los Angeles, California and was classically trained in composition at the Herb Alpert Music Academy on a performance-based scholarship. To her, music is an energetic language we connect with one another through and all of her compositions are written with the intention of connection.

Her influences are rooted in industrial music and she cites Trent Reznor as one of her biggest inspirations.

She wrote music for the 2017 documentary film ‘Parque Central’, directed by Ricky Gaona. Her debut EP ‘Transmission’ was released by Vudeux Records in December 2018 on Beatport. Her latest release with thismachineinme ‘Between Two Worlds’ is available now on her own independent record label, Corporatocrazy.

Links:

Beatport: https://www.beatport.com/artist/vara-sky/717771

Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/vara-sky/1436555423

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/varaskymusic

Bandcamp: https://varasky.bandcamp.com/

About:

Though most known to musicians as the founder of Noise Engineering, Stephen has been creating music and sound for nearly his entire life. Early experience started with childhood piano lessons and playing bass in an orchestra throughout his teens. As the use of computers to make music became feasible Stephen experimented with every format he could. This eventually grew into a small MIDI and analog studio. Around this time Stephen was also finishing his undergraduate degree in Mathematics while making his living developing software. Soon after in a fit of extreme wanderlust he uprooted his entire life and moved to Dallas, Texas to get another degree. This degree was for video game programming and led to Stephen moving to Los Angeles for a job. Eleven years of audio software development for video games ensued. Stephen worked closely with sound designers to implement systems and tools for a popular video game franchise. During this time was Stephen’s second introduction to modular synths which rapidly became an obsession and eventually his next step professionally.

Notes on the piece:

This piece is one of many in a series (currently around 35 hours of recordings) of extemporaneous improvisations using a small modular case (208 HP + external sequencer) that has been evolving over nearly two years. This case has been the inspiration and the proving ground for many of Noise Engineering’s recent products. This jam was the first test jam using the recently released Viol Ruina. It is the grittiest in the entire series of recordings in large part due to Viol Ruina. It was recorded on May 16, 2019.

Links:

https://stephenmccaul.bandcamp.com/

https://noise.engineering

@noiseeng

About:

Random Brothers consists of two siblings, Randy Danistha and Nara Anindyaguna. Their music is inspired by the randomness found in everyday lives. With this belief that randomness can lead to new and unexplored grounds, the duo uses a modular synthesizer as a weapon of choice to create random patterns of sound, and over time compile the patterns to form musical arrangements.

The duo lives on the philosophy that the music they are creating is a showcase of art in the form of sound; meaning that their music should be experienced as you would a piece of art in a gallery. Listening to their album should give the same sense as entering an exhibition, and taking the time to enjoy the works of art one by one; in this case, track by track.

Like most exhibitions, the artists would try to make the artwork engaging, and interactive to the audience. During live performance, the Random Brothers experiment, by using a frequency that is known to trigger creativity in the brains. The hope is to spark creativity amongst the audience, and inspire them with ideas as they leave the venue.

Links:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4wRgU7OAENL4LHadb0thBx?si=01ttp4bDQQyrHIs9SIq91g

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpSIIPp3k-YS23Gh8JDYhag

https://instagram.com/randombrothersbyblood?igshid=v81v2jx4fkdg

https://www.beatport.com/artist/random-brothers/671106

https://soundcloud.com/randombrothersbyblood

About:

Alissa DeRubeis currently resides in Portland, OR, where she works for 4MS and S1.

A co-founder of the S1 Synth Library and Synth Library Prague, Alissa enjoys teaching intro workshops at home and around the world, patching pre-amps and resonant filters, and playing improvised music.

Links:

www.alisssa.com

About:

Lon Lon is the project of Benjamin Sochko, a synth-obsessed gearhead, the runs a small label called Sinetology.

Sinetology reflects Benjamin’s interest in gear by featuring hardware based artists, and releasing everything from ambient and noise, to techno, electro and IDM.

He also throws local monthly nights revolving around hardware, live PAs and all vinyl mixing; with intentions to remain as true to the machines as possible.

On a personal level, Benjamin is an avid lover and user of modular synths. This love has caused him to venture into collecting synthesizers of all sorts, and recently to venture into video synthesis. He finds excitement and inspiration in being able to control sound and visuals with machines each with their own character.

For Lon Lon’s Data Cult Audio set, the audio was recorded live to tape with Oliver Long & Raph helping out manning synths and pedals.

Links:

Sinetology: https://sinetology.bandcamp.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9E14BuSL9B-_vND80b_8vg

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/llranch

About:

Scottish sound artist and composer Jimmy Peggie uses microsound recordings, electronic fragments and atmospheres as a basis for producing sparse, environmentally based, digital sound pieces.

As an electronic sound artist his practice is not focused on music and the traditional use of harmony, melody or rhythm. Rather, It’s more concerned with sound in all its forms and the way it can be used to convey emotion, and for artistic expression.

His work uses cinematic sketches woven together to put the spotlight on what may be obvious but also what lies beneath the surface - a meditation on small details that are often hidden or lie unseen and unnoticed. Low volume particles, silence, drones, and happy accidents feature on both a noticeable and also perhaps subliminal or subconscious level.

“Look beneath the surface; let not the several quality of a thing nor its worth escape thee.”

― Marcus Aurelius

With an extensive background in rock, jazz and improvisation his current focus is sound composition, lofi electronics, sonic installations, field recording and interactive art.

Links:

Website: http://www.jimmypeggie.com

Recordings - http://www.subjazz.com/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/avantologist/

About:

Tulpa | Dusha projects are two worlds, expressed by Anna Martinova, DJ, music producer and a singer. Anna is originally from the Baltic Sea, born in Dobele, Latvia, currently living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Her DJ career started in 2000, playing styles like Dark Psychedelic Trance, Tech Trance, Old School Goa Trance. Circa 2014, Anna started to playing around with Dark Progressive, as this this style was closest to her Tulpa DJ sets.

She began to have an interest in DAWs such as Reason, Ableton, and Logic. This interest eventually lead Anna to enroll in the SAE institute. After getting her Electronic Music Producer diploma in 2012, Anna started the MM - Micro Monkey project. The MM project explored her interest in deep, melodic aural journeys, and harmonically transformed into Dusha project. It was here she found her musical voice. Dusha is mainly ambient oriented subliminal audio journeys, which evolved into Anna's interest in modular synthesis.

Meeting Erica Synths visionary Girts Ozolins, Anna had the idea to start Modular Moon; a Modular Synthesis School, Teaching others has allowed her continue growing as modular synthesis performer. Through modular exploration Anna found herself evolving toward minimal techno live performances. It was here Tulpa DJ sets became modular live sets.

Tulpa live is psychedelic techno live performances, based on intuitive search of audio satisfaction, in a moment of time. Every recording is unique, no overdubbed and night dance powered.

With the help of her with her close friend and partner of Jacopo Fresia, Modular Moon | Modular Synthesis School continues to educate, and highlight the importance of live performance over pre-recorded laptop music. They dedicate their activity towards live performances, opening modular synthesis to public, supporting the industry and growing along with it.

Tulpa | Dusha currently performs worldwide with both DJ and modular projects. She is active member of Kyma Symbolic Sound and modular communities, mother of a son Tristan.

more about Anna:

www.chipeky.com

Modular Moon | Modular Synthesis School :

www.modularmoon.com

www.modularsynthesisschool.com

more about Anna:

www.chipeky.com

Modular Moon | Modular Synthesis School :

www.modularmoon.com

www.modularsynthesisschool.com

About:

Chaka, Philly native and Central High School grad, grew up on a diverse diet of local music ranging from Schooly D to Sun Ra.  He's brought those learnings to various projects across a multitude of genres.  He has work under the name Trikonometry using midi and software synthesis.  In the past couple of years, he has focused strictly in the hardware synthesis realm, and has a deep and abiding passion for the Eurorack format.

Links:

https://soundcloud.com/chaka-benson

https://www.facebook.com/chaka.benson

https://bandcamp.com/chakabens