Roedelius - Selbstportrait Vols. I - III

Epitaph

First they exterminated the native population, and then they brought in slaves to work the fields. After a violent, bloody war the slaves went off to work in factories, keeping their former masters rich and idle while the descendents of the slaves still worked very hard, earning only pennies on the dollar. Instead of trying to make life better and fairer for everyone, as many had in the past, the people quickly forgot these noble Enlightenment goals and soon made it their business only to prosper at the expense of others, just as it had been before the advent of democracy. 

Nonconformity was at first encouraged, then only tolerated, then violently stamped out. 

Meanwhile the rivers were dammed, the trees felled, the lakes surrounded with vacation cabins and retirement condominiums to house all the people trying to escape their newfound imprisonment. What little forest remained caught fire and burned, and the Earth and even the air people breathed gradually filled in with waste products and poisons, further reducing the people's ability to think, plan, or even to do much of anything at all.  

So then, bereft of fortitude or dignity, they decided to elect a Fascist Dictator, in order that their numerous and mounting problems be solved for them, for once and for all. 

It was nice to know that someone cared about them, since by this time practically no one else did.

Pigs on the wing

It is difficult to determine where the "meaning" of anything (waiting, we suspect) lies to be found...

Only that when we have found the meaning, it lies not with the thing betokened.

 

 ≡  Intrinsic meaning is not a feature of our universe.

Seen this movie?

One side likes to wave signs. The other likes to flash guns. Neither seems to have any particular claim to morality, legality or even common sense. 

Just where does one find such bad actors? such pretenders to the throne of decency, virtue, or humanity?

"Long live President Bacon and his Piggy Parvenu Posse!" vs "Justice for the Uninformed, Tasteless and Mediocre!"?

Please tell us there isn't a sequel planned.

Ambient / experimental mix

@insectoid_intelligence · island2island

Featuring works by Chris Carter, Forrest Fang, Haruomi Hosono, and Catarina Barbieri

One hour, for your listening pleasure. No interruptions.

(ed. note: Apologies for the initial errors in the tracklisting. They have been corrected). 

Morning juice

[Taken from the AP live feed, 21 October 10:50 AM CDT] 

"The U.S. president and Australian prime minister welcomed press into the Cabinet Room to announce that the two countries will sign a critical minerals deal.

Australia is rich in rare earth resources that the U.S. is eager to tap, as China imposes tougher export rules on its own critical minerals.

Trump said the agreement had been negotiated over several months.

Albanese stressed the close relationship between the two countries, and said the criminal (sic) minerals deal was 'just taking it to the next level.'"

Considering that one party to the deal is in fact a convicted felon, it would seem that sometimes the truth just can't be reined in. 

At least our president isn't an "illegal drug leader". 

Whatever that actually is, it sounds pretty awful...

Happy Birthday, Brad!

This month saw what would have been Bradley's 59th birthday. Happy Birthday, friend! There's nothing particularly special about 59, but it is both prime and one short of 60, the basis of the sexagesimal system of numbers used by the ancient Sumerians and Babylonians. Therefore it represents the largest digit in that system of numbers:

Unlike Mr. Smith (and, evidently, some National Geographic readers), I happen to have precious little interest in the supernatural, but even I might have to admit that it sometimes feels as if he never left us.

The pleasure was all mine. I have indeed kept it up, in my own peculiar fashion. It may not bear much resemblance to the aesthetics of previous eras, nor would perhaps even some of my contemporaries think much of it. But it's not up to them. I prefer to think that some of my best work always lies ahead, not far behind in some distant era. Isn't that what the word "progressive" is supposed to mean? 

After all (and this is one of my very own expressions), "life is chiefly for the living."  

So here's a big fat bowl for you, buddy! You were amazing, and I will always honor your memory for the gifts you shared so eagerly and without any assurance of recompense. They were extraordinary. We would do well to follow your example. But clearly our task has only begun.

These are dark times. There are no easy answers. We know we're up against practically impossible odds. But why give up? Merely because the end for each of us is already known, should we allow ourselves to become the instruments of our oppressors? Let us rather continue to strive with renewed vigor for a world that is more supportive, inclusive and humane. If we fail, we have no one to blame but ourselves. 

Keep it up!

P.S. Happy birthday to my late grandparents as well, one of whom happens to share a birthday with the late Bradley Smith :)

Gonna need a van :/

I've long since given up any illusion that I have anything like an audience. In fact it might be more accurate to say that I've never suffered any particularly strong expectation that one would eventually materialize. Be that as it may, I do feel compelled to apologize profoundly and sincerely for missing Art Wauk this month. It would have been epic. I know a simple "sorry" won't suffice. In fact I am profoundly disappointed in myself, despite possessing the intellectual understanding that the real blame very likely lies elsewhere in the wider world. Sadly, I'm not a miracle worker. The world is what it is. 

Here's the trouble: I'm fundamentally an electronic musician, not a DJ. No offense, but there it is. In order to put on a proper show outdoors or indeed anywhere lacking existing sound reinforcement, the amount of gear I need to bring almost certainly weighs in excess of 200 pounds. I won't do a laptop show, because in my opinion that's not a show. That's what people do in offices. I play music on instruments. That's what being a musician is. When you listen to my music, you don't hear a lot of samples or short clips of pre-produced audio being repetitively triggered in Ableton or on an MPC. That's not my approach, nor has it ever been. In fact I have had to almost deliberately force myself to use samples where I thought it was appropriate - even against my own personal preferences! I prefer to play synths, because that's what I like. Synths are heavy, and the stands they go on are bulky and awkward to transport. I don't own a car. You do the math. I'm extremely sorry.

See you all next time!! Wish the kids a Happy Halloween!!!

11 / 1 S M A R T B A R

Resident Advisor · RA.1000 Theo Parrish

ArtWauk!!! Zombie Wauk edition!! plus: some news

This summer saw the first official live performance by Insectoid Intelligence since leaving my home state of Minnesota, a significant milestone to be sure and something I plan on celebrating by... you guessed it! Performing at Art Wauk again this Saturday! I'd like to extend my deep and sincere gratitude to everyone who makes this extraordinary monthly event possible, and of course to all who managed to brave the scorching summer heat and stop by Post Marketplace to catch a snippet or two of my, erm, adventures in sound! Yes, there was the obligatory feedback squeal before reverting to my usual "no microphones" policy (and for this I have Wendy Carlos and her excellent "Secrets of Synthesis" cassette to thank); yes, it was too hot and the poor Prophet 2000 promptly started glitching out as the board connector harness expanded*; yes, some of my monosynth solos could have been described as slightly meandering. But the spirit was there (well, at least for the June gig, before getting fatefully thrown off by a totally predictable Korg MIDI driver bug the following month), and in the end I got a wonderful chance to do something like The Orb Meets Edgar Froese Meets The Paul Bley Synthesizer Show in Downtown Waukegan in front of an audience of... roughly seven. It was epic. We'll see if I can spare a moment to break open my box of self-produced, hand-made cassettes this time, instead of leaving it unopened on the table next to a pair of giant gold scissors like some kind of bizarro David Lynch pisstake (yes, that's what actually happened last time). Come on down! Show starts at 5 pm! Don't miss it!!! 

SPECIAL NOTE: My performance will NOT be taking place at Post Marketplace as in the past. Also, it will be raining. Dress appropriately (costumes highly encouraged!). Watch out for me making some positively spooky synth noises underneath a tarp or overhang somewhere in the vicinity of the Genesee Theater. 

So what else is happening with this old bag of bones (exoskeletons?) these days? Well, the good news is I'm completely cleared to begin receiving supplemental disability income payments from Social Security on account of my ongoing severe health inconveniences. The bad news is... I still haven't seen a single cent. (Wonder if it would be worth getting in line and calling about it on Monday? LOL) This, in combination with the lack of car, inherited (from a previous occupant) outdoor broom and Ukrainian pentagram festooning my battered front door, you'd think my life had somehow stumbled onto the set of The Blood on Satan's Claw, Witchfinder General or some other early 70s quasi-historical horror flick: a far cry to be sure from whatever ill-defined notion of corporate-enabled graft some of my apparent detractors seem to have been picturing of late. I mean, I'd invite you over for dinner but the little Ikea table which was a direct replacement for the one I had in every single apartment during my serial apartment phase is now completely covered in electronic parts and circuit prototypes. Where will I put my Alfa chips while you avail yourself of the avocado dip? Sorry it's taking me so long to release a full-length and make YouTube videos or whatever. I could offer some excuse, but it's clear there's just no pleasing some people. You'd almost think it was just the idea that bothers them...

Have a very Happy Halloween, everyone!!! 

* This turns out to be the only identifiable issue behind the odd aforementioned Prophet glitch problem: it only occurs if the machine is operating at a sufficiently high enough temperature. Otherwise it's fine. With the benefit of proper AC and / or convective cooling, I have never experienced any performance issues! There are a couple of potential scenarios that might explain this. One is the ordinary thermal expansion of solder joints I already mentioned, probably in the area of the wiring harness I replaced several years ago. One or more could be loose, or occasionally shorts out with its neighbor as the metal expands.  On the other hand, I seem to recall this instrument has always suffered from occasional sample playback errors, even before any repair (something reported frequently enough by other users), and it may simply be that the overall stability of my Prophet was never all that stellar to begin with. Its low serial number, despite all the upgrades and mods described in the technical manual having performed by some service tech at some point in the past, may be partially or entirely repsonsible. After all, low serial Prophet 5s had some stability issues as well if memory serves!         

Stacking your weekend :)

90s - 00s downtempo / trip-hop stalwarts Kruder & Dorfmeister have been tearing it up all year, taking their unique blend of noir-ish electro jazz to the masses, converting new fans and triggering fond memories for legions of mind expanders of a certain age who had their copy of G-Stoned spinning lushly in the background as they possibly engaged in spiritual and recreational activities that were - let us not forget - still very much illegal at that time in most areas and occasionally subject to severe penalities. That aside, what has enabled their music to endure is its charming and utterly laid-back expression of a distinctive sensibility. Their approach benefits from a universal appeal that succeeds at being both highly accessible and relatively specialized: a rarity in an age when many artists seem content to satisfy one such pursuit at the expense of any other. Having seen a couple of other recent shows posted elsewhere it would seem the hype is fully justified, and what a welcome moment to celebrate something that has seemingly nothing at all to do with the topsy-turvy and distinctly authoritarian turns the world seems to have taken since many of us last lifted our headphones from the K & D Sessions... Three enthusiastic thumbs up!!! 

"...Echoes 3" available now @ Name-Your-Price!

Released Friday, the 10th of October, "...Echoes 3" is finally available for public consumption!

LISTENER ADVISORY: Driving is not recommended as a concurrent activity when playing this extended track / mini-album.

Letter to the next generation

Get ready, kids. Fasten your seat belts. The following is something like the raw, unvarnished truth from someone who's learned all of this from direct personal experience. Candor of this sort is rare.

Everyone says they love "art" and culture, but what they really like is conformity, obedience and making money from selling lots of little trinkets and doo-dads. A lot of this takes place underneath white plastic tents in parking lots. The worst sin that is possible to commit in the American Midwest is to actually produce or pursue original ideas. Be prepared. You will be left with few friends. Your work is likely to be alternately ignored, deliberately misinterpreted, and ridiculed; finally it will be stolen once someone recognizes its true merit. You will not be compensated for your loss. 

Other artists, not to mention critics and journalists, will publicly slander you or your work. If your work is long and dense, they'll say it's indulgent and pretentious. If it deals in miniatures or fleeting images, they will claim insubstantiality. If it sounds clean and hi-fi they will accuse you of being a commercially-motivated sellout; if it sounds raw and dirty they will get up to polish their university credentials and complain about declining production values. Meanwhile, they're all trying to figure out what you're doing so they can copy you and pretend it was their idea first. 

Above all, what they really want is for you to never achieve anything of value for yourself. See how this works?

What you have to do, then, is simple: Ignore them all. Keep working, and when it is done, stand by your work. That is all you have to do. I didn't say it was easy. But that is what is required, if you truly want to do something original or creative in a world like this.

Still interested? 

Best of luck!

 

You're going to need it.

Bee yourself

 

 

Does this... bug you??

"...Echoes 3" demo available for streaming

@insectoid_intelligence · ...Echoes 3

I've never been very good with deadlines. I'd had the rather brilliant notion of releasing the long-awaited epic "...Echoes 3" (which I've been working on now for some time) on October 3rd, since Bandcamp was running one of their promotional 'Friday' events. Well, obviously that didn't happen. It seems my commitment to artistic integrity pretty well outstrips anything like practical utility most days of the week around here, and this weekend was no exception. Sorry, I tried. It's just not quite done yet. It's really close. REALLY REALLY close! I just don't want to release anything I'll seriously regret later on and be left wishing I'd done it differently. I'm a musician, not a numerologist, after all, nor am I a slave to the calendar.

Hang on! No, wait, don't go! Here's the demo!! Play it! Really, just play it!!! It's great! 

Mmmmkay

SHUT DOWN THE PRESIDENT