Experimental

Experimental

Get Bent: 2010 Bent Festival Details & Workshops Announced

April 6, 2010 | Joshua Kopstein | 1 Comment Share this

By now I’d hope you’re all familiar with Blip Festival, the mecca of chipmusic that rises each year in New York, Europe and now Japan. What you might not know is that the people who bring us Blip every year have another music festival that might pique your interests.

Bent Festival is New York City’s annual celebration of circuit-bending and DIY music culture. Each year, the Fest assembles the world’s top electronic tinkerers to give presentations, run workshops and perform on stage using circuitbent instruments. The Fest organizers recently announced full details for the event, including a list of circuitbending workshops, interactive art installations and a lineup of performers. It all goes down April 22nd – 24th, and OSV will be there to see it all and deliver the goods to you, our dear readers. If you live in or around New York City, definitely make an effort to get out to DUMBO (that’s ‘Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass’ for you out-of-towners) to check out everything the festival has to offer.

Hit the jump for a video that explains a bit about the practice of circuitbending and the community of artists that drive it forward. (more…)
Demoscene

Camomille and Apegenine Recordings Shut Their Doors With a Very Special Release And Sale

June 8, 2009 | Robert Halvarsson | 1 Comment Share this

It’s the most distressing thing when netlabels call it quits and slowly fade into the abyss. While it’s inevitable that many of the people who dedicate their time and energy to these musical ventures will eventually move on to new vistas, it’s always a shame to see them go. I suppose it can be viewed in the context of a larger cycle of life. However, it’s always preferable to receive a formal goodbye rather than be left wondering what ever happened as the site ceases to be updated and eventually goes offline without a word.

In that regard, while it’s sad to see Camomille and Apeginine Recordings go, at least they’re doing it the right way. Instead of dropping off the face of the Earth, the labels have released a joint album featuring well-known artists from the demoscene titled Hypocondriac. We are not only left with the fond memories if their amazing CD and digital releases over the past 7 years, but are able to form new ones with this final distinguished crossover electronic offering.

Read about this thoughtful goodbye after the jump. (more…)
Indie Music

Born To Be Wild: Experimental Drummer Jaxson “Derehctub” Payne

February 10, 2009 | Robert Halvarsson | 2 Comments Share this

Jaxson Payne is an UK musician who takes drumming to a completely new level. Well beyond what one could call the “beta” stage, Jaxson seems to be one of the few artists who reinvents what it means to actually play the drums in front of an audience. With a MIDI drumset and tons of samples that he improvises upon, he manages to blend various styles into something that is coherently dark and technoid. And this is without anything prerecorded to boot; quite a delicate task in itself. To actually get it to sound good and impress the folks who come to watch you is a different thing altogether.

Listen to the above video. It’s part of a live gig recorded in 2008. Reportedly the last gig Jaxson performed under his moniker Derehctub. It gives you enough to be able to catch a glimpse of what sets this artist apart from his peers.

I haven’t had the time to delve into his numerous album releases over the years, but I expect seeing him perform live is an entirely different experience. You can check out some of the mp3 samples on his website to get an idea of what to expect. After some searching, I actually found a three-inch CD and mp3 release titled Ehff from back in 2002. It’s an IDM-esque two-track oddity with soft lingering voices and the stuttering randomness that is very much part of the genré. Not totally unlike some of Aphex Twin’s work. It is straight up my alley and is highly recommended, even for those who normally avoid IDM. Another LP release, also from the Koept label, aptly reads: “Do not expect consistency.” With Jaxson Payne, I suppose we won’t. I am personally very much interested in listening to what he comes up with after leaving his Derehctub moniker behind.

Where will the final frontier of electronic music stand? And more importantly, will this place serve a decent cup of tea?
Demoscene, Reviews

Apeginine Recordings’ Pillow drifts: More Free Holiday Music From The Demoscene (Review)

December 25, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Apeginine Recordings’ Pillow drifts: More Free Holiday Music From The Demoscene (Review) Share this

But it’s not what you’d expect. These tunes aren’t the holly jolly Christmas songs that are one of my favorite things about the holidays, but rather are more in line with Robert Halvarsson’s recent winter demoscene recommendations. This free download release from Apeginine Recordings is still an interesting offering, featuring some chilling winter atmospheres across 24 minutes of music.

The artists featured include Apeginine Reocrdings owner and founder Vincent “Muhr” Fugère, Emanuele Errante from Italy, and a friend of my own Mephtik Netlabel, ambient extraordinaire Shiftless. While this release may not brighten up your holiday, the music is amazingly well produced, so be sure to check out our impressions below.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Hit the jump for our thoughts on Pillow drifts from Apeginine Recordings. (more…)
Game Music

My New Favorite Soundtrack: LittleBIGMusic (LittleBIGReview)

December 17, 2008 | Patrick Gann | 6 Comments Share this

I couldn’t be more pleased about this release. One of the greatest things about Media Molecule’s hit game LittleBigPlanet for PlayStation 3 is the strange feeling of cohesion between all its elements. The gameplay mechanics, the “build-your-own-world,” the visuals, and the audio all seem to blend and swirl in some sort of watered-down psychadelic trip that could only come from the minds of 21st century British artists and programmers. I had hoped that a separate soundtrack would be published for this title. Behold, it has!

After the jump, check out our “little big review” for the music to LittleBigPlanet! (more…)