New piece posted under “Audio” today called Cumulus Refractions. It features a ton of programming, plus a little bit of that acoustic performing I occasionally do. Program notes follow.

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Cumulus Refractions is about speed – or rather, what happens when something is slowed down to incredible levels and contrasted with sounds recorded at their natural velocities. Sound samples were collected and slowed down before being granulated to create static clouds of millisecond long fragments, indistinguishable from their original source. Over these textures, instruments both live and processed are superimposed and arranged in a contrasting [gradually accelerating and decelerating] manner, occasionally synchronizing with the computer edited sounds. Eventually, these mergers give way to areas dominated by electronic materials and accelerating rates of events, before coming to rest in one final cloud of sound punctuated with a brief accelerando in the live instruments.

The relationship between the acoustic and electronic forces is not just based on speed and density though. The electronic segments are primarily composed of samples of the live instruments (and a few other things found lying around my studio), manipulated into new forms, and then controlled by the pitch and volume of other live instruments. The end result is a subtle and evolving look at the speed and contrast of materials from the acoustic and electronic realms.

I’ve uploaded two videos – the version of Meditations that was exhibited in Brazil/East Lansing/Chicago, and the first of the ukulele etudes (yes, they are playable, and yes, I’ve added tabs to the score).

Well, the new site is up, except for the video section, which is coming soon – after a major ftp upload. However, all art, audio, scores, and refills from the previous site have been transferred over. Additionally, I’ve uploaded both Max/MSP and PD patches to the list of downloadable items.

And for everyone who’s asked me about the uke etudes – yes, I’ll post videos of them, and yes, I’ll post all seven of them. I just need to finish tabbing them first.