22-05-2008

The latest release on Databloem is a collaboration with fellow music-magic-artist Jason Corder called 'Further To Find Closer'. This collab started out as an interchange of musical fragments and soon evolved in a morphing cloud of texture and pulses. Hope you enjoy it as much as we've enjoyed making this album, so head around Databloem and pick it up; by the way, for every first order you receive an outstanding Databloem compilation.

03-04-2008

Now being pressed: the very first Blue Oasis compilation called 'Perceived Distances', featuring new tracks by Saul Stokes, Lammergeyer, Robert Davies, Beta Two Agonist, Off The Sky, Cymphonic, False Mirror and others. Pick it up at Dataobscura around mid-April.

12-12-2007

Thanks to my friend Ranja Achbar here's an abstract of the live performance by Ranja Achbar + Beta Two Agonist during the opening of the Lopend Beeld 4 ("moving image") festival mentioned in my last post.

The first part is an experimentation with the Rutt-Etra scanline process built in Max/MSP with white noise as input. The audio from Beta Two Agonist effects Ranja Achbar's patch parameters.

24-10-2007

I will be performing a special A/V-set with visual artist Ranja Achbar (from Tekvids) on the fourth of November for the opening of Lopend Beeld, an exhibition of art & animation. This will take place in de Nieuwe Vide, an artspace in Haarlem.

04-10-2007

Anthony Paul Kerby from DataObscura will be starting 2008 with a new pressed cd record label called Blue Oasis. The first release will be a compilation album with exclusive tracks from the very best contemporary electro-ambient artists.

Blue Oasis / Volume One (VA) features an exclusive Beta Two Agonist track called 'Seele' and will be available somewhere in October. More info soon...

Recently I built this midi-controller, because I just wanted some knobs to twiddle without the keyboard and the usual bells and whistles. This is it, just eight knobs really, housed in wood and brushed aluminium.

16-08-2007

It's been a while yes...I have been busy setting up The Sound Machine project and recording some new tracks. It looks like the 'Autumn Perdue' album will be postponed as it was originally intended to be released somewhere around September but this has proven to be difficult. Probably 2008 then, God willing. Anyway, I recorded half an hour's worth of new material which draws its inspiration from my vinyl jazz collection so expect a lot of (intentional) static, clicks and pops. Some guitar too.

Apart from actually making music, I have been tinkering a lot with circuit bent stuff. The latest contraption I built is a device which I will call the 'Feedbox', which basically are three chained tweaked guitar pedal circuits in a feedback loop.

27-04-2007

The guys at Daevlmakr.com, home of the excellent Daevl Plugs, recently invited artists to a creative challenge named 'The 5 Way Path'. Every participant makes a track using the same set of 5 base loops.

Any type of processing or manipulation may be used. There is only one rule: no other samples, synths or audio source of any kind, only the 5-sample loop pack can be used.

04-04-2007

The project 'The Sound Machine' is taking shape quickly. I've set up some details on what this project encompasses:

- This will be a DVD-project inspired by the story 'The Sound Machine' by Roald Dahl, where the music will be accompanied by moving images from visual artists, and with a photo-booklet with photos from renowned photographers;

- The music for this dvd will be inspired by the story 'The Sound Machine' by Roald Dahl, artists from around the world will produce or remix one track for this album. The artist will retain all rights to this material, and the material will only be used by kind permission of the artist;

- I will send every artist a synopsis of the story (non-distributable, for reading purposes only) as a basis to work from;

- The artist has total artistic and creative freedom to do whatever he/she wants, as long as the music is inspired by the story;

- The revenue from this project will benefit the Roald Dahl Foundation, a programme that supports children suffering from brain diseases, blood diseases and illiteracy (www.roalddahlfoundation.org). There are no personal or commercial interests involved! This is an independent project;

- The DVD will be distributed and promoted worldwide through a special website and via festivals and magazines.

I've talked to Rob Young from The Wire and he's very interested in seeing how this develops. So I'm hoping for a lot of coverage in the media.

The project is in a very early stage and I'm aiming for a release in 2008, but this is not a fixed deadline. The artists that have confirmed their contribution:

- Jason Corder aka Off The Sky (Stilll/Databloem/dataObscura/Autoplate/Thinner, US)
- Hydrus (Narrominded, NL)

Thank you! This is only after a week, so you can be sure that more will follow. German artist Pole (Stefan Betke) was very interested, but unfortunately though understandably too busy touring and producing to take another project. Audere est facere!

04-04-2007

The driving force behind the Daevl.Plugs Transmogrification Suite, Daevlmakr, recently did a Beta Two Agonist interview, which is now online. Be sure to read all interviews, as they are as entertaining as they are intriguing. You can find the interview here.

An update on the project 'The Sound Machine', based on Roald Dahl's short story: things are beginning to take shape. I've talked to Hydrus from Narrominded Records and they are willing to do a musical contribution, as well as Jason Corder a.k.a. Off the Sky. I've recently contacted Pole, Murcof, Scanner, Colleen, Marsen Jules, Triosk, Matmos, Deaf Center and Fennesz, hoping they have the time and resources to contribute.

The revenue from this project will benefit the Roald Dahl Foundation which supports children with blood- and brain diseases, and fights illiteracy. I'm hoping to get more artists to support this project and make this happen.

26-03-2007

Currently working on a very exciting project. As a child, I was enthralled and mesmerised by Roald Dahl's stories and recently I decided to write a soundtrack to a short story that has intrigued me ever since; 'The Sound Machine'. This is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time.

The idea is to translate in sound the world of strange and unheard frequencies of plants and trees, as if one would plug in headphones in Mr. Klausner's machine. The soundtrack will be accompanied by a photo-booklet of close-ups of flowers, plants and trees, to support this idea visually and contrasted by details of what this machine would look like; a sort of blend between the organic and digital aspects of nature vs. machine, the same aspects inherent in my music.

'I believe,' he said, speaking more slowly now, 'that there is a whole world of sounds about us all the time that we cannot hear. It is possible that up there in those high-pitched inaudible regions there is a new exciting music being made, with subtle harmonies and fierce grinding discords, a music so powerful that it would drive us mad if only our ears were tuned to hear the sound of it."

Roald Dahl, "The Sound Machine" (1949)

05-03-2007

Finished my new album 'autumn perdue'. The album will consist of eight tracks (sair'iss, autumn perdue, lacrimae rerum, kamunyak, luminescence, devils & daffodils, signis, mono-no-aware) and will be a blend of minimal classical motifs, glitchy granulated rhythms, along with a collection of embedded field recordings and percussive/melodic elements, of both electronic and acoustic origins.

10-02-2007

Purchased the amazing Daevl.Plugs Transmogrification Suite from the Daevl himself (check the links page).
definitely ranking #1 in my plugin folder, the suite consists of 9 of the most esoteric (yet useable) VST-plugs I've come across in a long, long time.

16-01-2007

It's been a while since my last post, but that's due to the fact that I had a conflict with my employer, where I worked for the last four years. That involved a lot of bargaining and unpleasant conversations, but we managed to reach a mutual understanding.

On to constructive things:
I've been working on some new tracks: 'luminescence', 'autumn perdue', 'kamunyak', 'signis' and 'devils and daffodils'. They will be part of the full-length album 'autumn perdue'. My album 'zero point field' got airplay on X-Rated, KINK FM's excellent experimental electronics radio showcase. Visit X-Rated's section on the KINK FM site to listen to the podcasts:

www.kinkfm.com/podcasts

The show is Dutch-spoken, but the presenters let the music predominate and don't interfere much with the flow of the show, so that shouldn't be a problem for foreign listeners. Furthermore, I will soon update the audio page player with some new material.
May the year 2007 be a positive and creative one for us all.

07-10-2006

I want to thank Pieter, Lodi and Rob for their kindness and altruism in printing the album cover for 'zero point field'. Pieter refused any favours in return and this is quite rare these days. They can't imagine how grateful I am for this, it won't be easily forgotten. This is the end result:

The album will be available around the end of the year via the Databloem-site (see links-section) and through selected distributors and webshops around the world. Also, a new download-portal will be functional around that time, offering high-quality downloads and even free tracks from selected artists.
Watch this space for more info!

02-09-2006

Databloem Records will be releasing ´zero point field´, the full length album of about 52 minutes total. I´ve been busy designing the cd inserts and making final adjustments. The album will consist of eight tracks (midian, horta, geode, rainbow, inkling, fontana, cesar, mesm) and will be available as download and as regular release via selected record shops. Keep your eye on this section if you want to pick up a copy. In the meantime visit www.databloem.com for quality ambient and experimental electronica.

17-05-2006

Finished the full-length album, which is going to be called 'zero point field'. New tracks are 'zero point field', 'inkling' and 'atreyu'. Tracks from the unreleased 'midian' ep will also be included. I removed the link to the soundclick site as 'rainbow' is going to be released on a compilation from dataObscura (Databloem). Take your time to visit their site and listen to the excellent releases, visit my links section for their url. Please watch this news-sections for details.

26-04-2006

Just came back from Iceland. While travelling trough southern Iceland I listened to the 'Closelands' album from Danny Kreutzfeldt (among other releases), which complemented the surreal landscape perfectly. It was almost as if I could hear the constant volcanic activity through my earbuds...
I'm working on the second track (probably called 'atreyu') of the new album. This will be a full length album of about an hour and will feature old and new material, (the first ep consisting of 4 tracks: 'rainbow', 'rafael', 'midian' and 'geode'). Visit the audio section to listen to 'midian'.

18-04-2006

An update on the compilation from Databloem featuring the track 'rainbow'; it will be a release from sublabel DataObscura. The date of release is not known at this moment, but I will keep you posted. Currently working on a new album, the first track is already finished. It's destined to be an interlude or intro to another track, but the name will definitely be 'zero point field'. I'll be going to Iceland the twentieth of april, so I hope to fuel my inspiration there and come back with ideas for volcanic pulsating rhythms, icy synths and sulphuric soundscapes from this land of fire and ice...

23-03-2006

Almost a month has passed since my last post; the EP 'Midian' was finished about two weeks ago.
Plans: I'm going to visit the 2006 'Toonfestival' (in Haarlem, Holland), I can heartily recommend it if you are into electronica and cutting-edge multimedia projects, so if you're in the neighborhood.... I performed there last year with Auricular, another side-project (click-and-cut/glitch) and it was very, very inspiring. Big up to the people who make this kind of festival possible. For this year's line-up, visit www.toonfestival.nl

27-02-2006

I'm working on what is destined to be the last track on a new ep, comprised of the tracks 'rainbow', 'rafael', 'geode' and 'midian'. 'Midian' is the name of a place in Clive Barker's 'Cabal'. Underneath Midian's cemetery lay the catacombs of a sacred ground. This underworld is home to the refugees of the modern world, which are made up from freaks and monsters, victims and harrowed souls.

8-02-2006

I finished the pre-master for 'geode', I had to apply some more compression on some tracks, turn down compression and reverb on others and fix some troublesome transients/frequencies. I'm glad to say that the mix is considerably more transparant and pleasant-sounding than before.

23-01-2006

My latest track 'geode' is finished! Geodes (Greek geoides, "earthlike") are geological formations common to the United States (Indiana, the Keokuk area of Iowa and Kentucky), Brazil, and Mexico. Essentially rock bubbles with internal crystal formations, the exterior of a geode is generally limestone or a related rock, while the interior contains quartz crystals and/or chalcedony deposits. Other geodes are completely filled with crystal, being solid all the way though. These types of geodes are called nodules. It is a metaphor for inner beauty. Plain rock on the outside, crystal inside...