Bloomingtonelectronic.com is an online resource for local electronic music featuring informative articles, event announcements and related items of interest.
I have a love/hate relationship with the electronic music genre “dubstep”. The syncopated “wobbly” bass lines get old and predictable after a while. But that’s not to say there isn’t room for innovation and I have no doubt that new forward thinking producers will bring an entirely different noise to the genre. Nevertheless, if you want to create those snarling, nasty, 1/3, 1/6 and 12th note LFO bass patterns with modulated distortion and grit, SONiVOX has hit one out of the park on their new “Wobble” virtual instrument.
Last May we had our final Speed of Sound showcase of the season, wrapping up a great year+ of hard work and organizing by the Bloomington Electronic crew. We now take a brief respite for sanity’s sake, but not before introducing our online followers to the latest Speed of Sound performers. At our show at Rachael’s Cafe last May we had the pleasure of hosting Shy Guy Says (we can’t get enough of him), the youthful Dioxin One whom you will hear from shortly, and the subject of this week’s artist interview. Drew Etienne slings his own personal brand of bleak beats he calls “Doomtronic” under the moniker Pendra Gon. He opened with an all out aural assault last May 27th, showcasing his blend of experimental sound design and 8-bit crunch. The sound begs an explanation… Continue reading… «Pendra Gon: Sounds of Impending DOOM»
A few months ago I was invited to be part of a show at a smaller local venue. The night was to be filled with performances of various styles of electronic music from dubstep to acid to glitch to house. The show had been organized by people I consider family in the local music scene, but I have to say certain aspects severely lacked in organization. I had been told I would go on late that night, my style not being the easiest fit in a lineup meant for booty-shakin’. I would end up going on second, since the organizers were nowhere to be seen and none of the other acts (many of which had traveled from Indianapolis) wanted to play so early and for such an initially small crowd. The opener that night had thrown down a killer set of all-original electronic dance music. Pumping flawlessly for nearly an hour. I would have felt worse about the lack of ears and feet on the dance floor had I not grown accustom to this site. The opener rarely gets the love they deserve. Nevertheless, those that were on the floor were moving and he was professional and gracious to those few in attendance early that night. He was content to make any number of people move.
Adria Fish
The noble gentleman sacrificing a wonderful set to the Dance Gods was none other than our good friend Adrian Fish. I would go on after him with my brand of daft-tapped, ill-rendered sample slicing and commence to clear the dance floor of all those that had been, save a few brave souls. After the dust had settled I approached Adrian with a proposition to perform at one of our upcoming Speed of Sound shows to which he agreed. As with all our prior shows, we make a point to pin down our performers and ask them to give us an idea of what drives them to do what they do.
Continuing in our now extensive series of interviews with local electronic artists, we hear from Adrian Fish. He blessed us with a wonderful set at our second Rhinos edition of the Speed of Sound showcase last April and has been a consistent supporter of our efforts here at BloomingtonElectronic.com.
BE: Where are you from? When/how were you introduced to electronic music.
AF: I was born here, raised in California. Been back here in Bloomington for the last 14 years, it’s my home base, I love it and plan on raising my family here for sure.
I started on music in general while living in the woods as a teenager and having nothing much else to do except playing songs as an imaginary radio DJ all day, Electronic Music was just a natural direction for me, groups like Orbital, Prodigy and Nine Inch Nails were crucial for my musical development, they opened the doors to the world of EDM, etc. Continue reading… «Adrian Fish Keeps It Moving»
At our last installment of the Speed of Sound showcase of local electronic musicians we had the singular pleasure of hosting three immensely talented producer/performers in Adrian Fish, Spencer (Ersatz Modem) Hutchinson and, not the least of which, Bloomington’s own John Flannelly; a resident who has been active in the local music world both behind the scenes and more recently as a performer. With a sound and presence that begs ones attention, John is poised to become a staple performer here in Bloomington (in fact, he will be at Rachael’s Cafe 5/29/11). After the show we took a moment to get to know John a bit better and get his take on Bloomington’s burgeoning electronic and experimental music scenes. Here, we introduce John and his otherworldly tunes to the Bloomington Electronic community.
John Flannelly
BE: Where are you from? What sparked your interest in electronic/experimental music?
JF: I grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and went to college at IU. I graduated a few years ago and have been hanging around since then. It’s hard to say exactly what sparked my interest in experimental/electronic music. I’ve always had an appetite for discovering new music. To me, it just seems like a natural progression of an open-minded listener to eventually end up in the promised land of experimental music.
BE: How do you describe your style of music, your sound?
JF: I like being able to able to communicate through unfamiliar sounds. Lots of unique sounds, always different, driven forward by the energy of the creative process and letting my mind wander. I take a keyboard and some pedals and basically just do whatever I feel like doing. I would also say that pedals are the driving force behind my music.
BE: You seem to be a hardware guy. What does your current live rig consist of?
Lately, I’ve mostly been expressing myself musically through effects pedals. But I can honestly say that I’m not a gear person. I like to keep a lot of naiveté when it comes to hardware because it allows me to experience it as freshly as a listener might. A lot of my equipment is borrowed or inherited too, which is pretty cool because it basically means that every show is guaranteed to be a little bit different because of the things that I will and won’t be able to do. For that Speed of Sound show in April at Rhino’s, I was playing a keyboard… a Roland of some sort… and had three pedals: distortion, whammy, and echo/delay. Continue reading… «John Flannelly»
Jerel Hall aka 'Lone Logician' performing at the Bishop
When watching visual media, be it television, film, or even a live performance, it is common for there to be some kind of aural accompaniment, be it sound effects, an all out symphony, or a score. In all accounts it is a delicate art where the composer/performer is challenged to augment the already existing scene and create an overall mood and progression the visual aspect is otherwise lacking or incapable of producing. Locally, one such composer of experimental electronic music is up to the challenge, but tackles it conversely; at times choosing video to accompany his musical composition, and somehow arrives at a similar effect. The focus of this week’s BloomingtonElectronic.com artist interview is Bloomington resident Jerel Hall who performs live electronics as Lone Logician. We caught-up with Jerel after his performance at the last Speed of Sound event at The Bishop on October 26th and took a moment to delve into the mind of the loner himself.
BE: From where do you hail? What peeked your interest in electronic/experimental music?
JH: I am originally from Sacramento, CA. I started the Lone Logician project just before I moved to Bloomington, in 2005, and have continued to produce on and off since then. My interest in electronic music was born mainly from my exposure at a young age to Mike Oldfield, Brian Eno, Delia Derbyshire (I’m a huge Doctor Who fan), and horror movies. I listened to a lot of unsigned artists at first – individuals who put their work on the web for free.
BE: How do you describe your sound to people that have never heard your music?
JH: I try not to give too much away (because how you describe such things in words?) but I emphasize the focus on composition and the overall narrative structure I try to achieve. When trying to explain my work, I find that it helps to draw parallels to Japanese visual arts, especially Japanese cinema.
BE: I see you have a knack for scoring to film. That is, your music seems to fit nicely with the imagery you choose to project during your live sets. Is this a cultivated skill or something you have gravitated toward over time?
It sounds how this looks.
JH: I think that a fascination with film has always played an integral part of my making music. Film and music offer something extra-linguistic to communication and I try to destroy or at least exploit verbal communication in my work. In a sense, the “score” is always informing my music. I’m probably more entertained than anyone by the instances when my compositions compliment events on-screen, but unless they are my own films, those instances are entirely accidental.
BE: Is there a philosophy behind your composition? Well I guess there must be if you’re a Logician…
JH: I try not to be too serious when composing or thinking about my music. I prefer to play around with things…I’m more interested in creating a mood or an environment. Most of the time I write things that I would potentially fall asleep to.
BE: Who/what are some of your musical influences?
JH: Well, those mentioned above, of course. More recently I’ve been listening to a lot of music outside of your typical electronic music lineup, stuff by Lustmord, Ulver, Wolves in the Throne Room, and other doom and metal-oriented groups. I also have an affinity for medieval and renaissance music, although, I’m not sure how much that finds its way into my work. Continue reading… «Reasoning with a Lone Logician»
