Indexical Podcast

This episode features musician and photographer Billy Gomberg. Commitments to improvisation; exploration of internal and external spaces; and interpersonal relationships as pathways of cultural and emotional exchange guide their work.

In this conversation with Indexical Executive Director Michael Flora, Gomberg discusses the influence of 90s industrial music, their beginnings in software synthesis, and their introduction to photography through a day job. The conversation took place following a live performance in support of their exhibition “Several Paths Together” at Indexical on June 14, 2025.

Recording by Ben Krasner | Mixing and Editing by Jay Negron

Indexical is pleased to present a conversation with artist / educators Jonathan Snyder, Dani Derks and leshy. In this conversation we talk about the lines community, electronic music composition, and Habitus, a series of workshops focused on new music and creative coding within the context of the norns sound computer. Throughout the conversation you'll hear excerpts from solo music performances from Jonathan Snyder and Dani Derks, recorded on May 24, 2025.

Mixing and Editing by Jay Negron

Indexical is pleased to present a conversation with composer Dominic Coles. His work investigates the interactions of place, personhood, and power as they are articulated in sound and speech. In this conversation Coles' talks about their background in music, early beginnings in jazz guitar, studies in music composition, interest in speech as a compositional tool, and the pedagogical and political aspects of a musical work.

*** Note: There were a few audio glitches in this recording, but we felt the quality of the conversation was worth sharing. We hope you agree!

Mixing and Editing by Jay Negron

Indexical is pleased to present a conversation with computer musician and music software developer Wayne Jackson (aka Later Days). Jackson’s fascination with computer music and emergent systems spans four decades and has been critical to both his artistic life and professional career. With a strong homebrew DIY aesthetic Wayne has created a wide palette of audio and visual softsynths which exploit the genetic algorithm for augmented creativity, and uses only these in performance and composition. He founded the experimental music festival Woodstockhausen in 1998 and continued to run it annually until 2003.

In this conversation, Jackson discusses their introduction to electronic music, development of algorithmic music systems, and the creation of Woodstockhausen.

Recording by Rae Sheaperd | Mixing and Editing by Jay Negron

This episode features interdisciplinary artist Ann Alstatt. Altstatt's work explores temporality, the intersections of scientific inquiry and mysticism, and the hidden stories of the material world. Ann graduated from the Digital Arts and New Media MFA at University of California, Santa Cruz in 2018. As a founding collective member at The Fábrica textile workshop since 2010, their arts practice remains informed by community engagement, collaborative processes, and material reuse.

In this conversation with Indexical Executive Director Michael Flora, Alstatt discusses their evolving and multifaceted artistic practice. The conversation took place during the closing reception for their exhibition "Why is There Something Instead of Nothing?" at Indexical on November 2, 2024.

Recording by Ben Krasner | Mixing and Editing by Jay Negron

This episode features Joy Guidry in conversation with James Gordon Williams. Guidry is a bassoonist, versatile improviser, performance artist, and composer of experimental, daring new works that embody a deep love of storytelling. Williams is a pianist, composer, cultural theorist, and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of California – Santa Cruz. The two discuss Guidry’s life, work, influences, and third album release AMEN. Their conversation took place after Guidry’s performance at Indexical on October 17, 2024.

Today’s episode features an interview with Madison Heying and composer, educator, and organizer Casey Anderson. Anderson discusses his approach to composition, his record label A Wave Press, and his activities as an educator and concert organizer.

Throughout the episode you’ll hear excepts of Anderson’s ghostses performed by Bent Duo.

This episode features an interview that Madison Heying recorded live with vocalist, composer, and band leader Amirtha Kidambi on one of Indexical’s recent Twitch Livestreams. They talked about the importance of collaboration in Kidambi’s work, her reticence to perform on livestreams, her politics, and her hybrid approach to incorporating practices from different cultures in her music.

Throughout the episode you’ll hear excepts of songs by Kidambi’s group Elder Ones including “Eat the Rich” and “Dance of the Subaltern.” For clarity’s sake, in our interview they talk about a live video version of these songs.

This episode features a conversation with Madison Heying and the multi-media band, The Powers ( Emily Pelstring, Katherine Kline, and Jessica Mensch). They talked about The Powers’ working method, which centers around the creation of a feminist cosmology, inspired by such disparate sources as Greek Mythology, campy 1980s horror films, and the scholarly work of Donna Haraway. Throughout the episode you’ll hear excepts from The Powers’ performance of Sistership TV in Santa Cruz on November 16, 2019. Additionally, you’ll hear “Bunny,” an unfinished unreleased track from their upcoming album, in the middle of the episode.

If you have thoughts or questions about this episode or the Indexical podcast in general, we’d love to hear from you! You can reach out on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, our handle is: @anindexofmusic. Madison is also available via email at [email protected].

This episode features an interview that Madison Heying recorded with sound artist Anna Friz on April 23, 2020. In the conversation, she shared her ideas about the relational and material nature of radio - how radio can build communities across difference and distance - as well as her thoughts on issues surrounding mediation, transmission, and transduction. Throughout the episode you’ll hear excepts from Friz’s February 2018 performance at the Radius Gallery in Santa Cruz.

If you have thoughts or questions about this episode or the Indexical podcast in general, we’d love to hear from you! You can reach out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, our handle is: @anindexofmusic. I’m also available via email at [email protected].