A week equals

That's me, out of breath from running  two miles (fucking football at Cal).

Robocop/Detroit Out on Vinyl

Thanks to Andrew Childers for the photo:

Also, the guy who filmed our last show reported it for deletion on Vimeo, and so its gone. Due to a variety of fucked up circumstances, I am hesitant to explain why. That will happen eventually. In the meantime, we uploaded it youtube. Its not like this guy is getting any work in the near future, but I would advise any bands contacted by an individual using the pseudonym Bernhard Hoffler about doing a video to pass. You'll get burnt.

Trimpin

I've been busy to the point where I've dropped nearly all peripheral activities, but I thought I would give a quick update. I am currently working towards my thesis at Mills, applying to PHD programs, arranging a show for the release of 'Dead Language, Foreign Bodies', TAing a class in computer music and preparing to assist the sound artist Trimpin, with a new installation for the Berkeley Art Museum.

I will post more details later for those in the Bay Area who want to see the work. For those unfamiliar, a trailer for a recent documentary on his work:

Alright, thanks.

- Ryan

Two new Robocop songs

Luke and I had a two day recording marathon last week and if we can get tom on board, we're looking at a new Robocop recording of some sort.

I'm fried from driving to California (from Maine). I'm in a bit of a financial pinch so I couldn't stay in hotels, and had to drive straight from Nebraska to Oakland with occasional breaks to sleep in the front seat of my car (no available backseat space). Regardless, I have a feeling that if I don't post these now I'm going to forget as soon as school starts (I'm graduating from Mills this year).

These tracks are totally unmixed. There was a lot of hyperactive experimentation during these sessions, and I think in their final versions there will be an originality that I find to be lacking in most of my work. Perhaps it's not obvious from the preview, but we developed a lot of ideas on the spot that I think  pushed some of my fixations a bit further.

We also screamed in a bathtub filled with water, with a contact mic in it.

 (other gimmicks include crossfading through sequentially rerecorded sounds ie 'I Am Sitting In A Room', using a shitty software I created to write lyrics, creating a microphone out of an Arizona ice tea can, and generally using the poorly constructed synths and mics I've made in the past year)




That reminds me. We are selling test presses of Dead Language Foreign Bodies on NLHM. They will come with the previously mentioned contact microphones. Essentially the same microphones as we used to record the majority of these tracks.

The second Body Hammer album is also progressing. I have 44 minutes of music that I am cutting down (I'm also recording new tracks) and will be attempting to mix fairly soon. This is going to be a really bizarre release and there is a chance it will fail completely, but that seems to be the only set of conditions that I work well under.

Thanks.

Music for Solo Performer

This past spring I assisted with the electronics on Music For Solo Performer, Alvin Lucier's first electronic composition, and the earliest piece of music to utilize amplified alpha waves in the creation of music. In its most basic sense the work translates brainwaves into a physical force applied to various percussion instruments. I was one of several students working with James Fei and Alvin Lucier in the rendering of this work.

Performing Ryan Ross Smith's Music

Here are a few videos of me performing dynamic scores by composer Ryan Ross Smith. His music is pretty excellent, and typically rendered much more aesthetically than I am capable of. With that said, an important element of his work are scores which simplify to rendering of music as an individual or a group. Perhaps in contrast to this, this score is impossible to play, requiring extremely fast intuitive responses, which I enjoyed failing at.

If you are looking at Give Praise' website...

You'll see this. Feel free to order from them. NLHM will be selling some along with a limited run of test presses that will include a cd of some sort and a handmade/waterproof contact microphone.

Robocop's Last Show

This was the our last show before we went on hiatus. I had pnuemonia, so vocals were not tops. Also video errors were occur throughout (some attempts were made to disguise them with video effects...). Regardless, I can consider this the best documentation of us as a live band.

Robocop - Last Show from Ryan Page on Vimeo.