new music, distortion test

Here is a new electronic music sketch:

Improvisation on July 12, 2010 (3:56, MP3, 9.0 MB)

This sketch is an experiment with distorted amplifier feedback.  I like how it adds an aggressive edge to soundwaves, reminiscent of industrial textures from 1990′s groups like KMFDM and Rammstein.

Experimenting with an organ synth (part 2)

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I’ve been playing with the Korg X50.  Here is more drone-like trance organ; love it or hate it:

Organ Improvisation on September 22, 2009 (7:27, MP3 17.1 MB)

further audio experiments with Edirol R-09

1. Improvisation April 5th, 2009 – MP3 (4.3 Mb)

. . . walking along the Opal Creek with Tarantula.

2. Improvisation September 15th, 2009 – MP3 (5.8 Mb)

. . . Here is some new music I made, using a Korg X50 music synthesizer, a Peavey TKO(tm) 65, and recorded on an Edirol R-09.

new short fiction

San Francisco author Kerry Donoghue recently published her story “The Hungry” on the Fiction Circus.  She asked me to create an audio version of the story, which you can listen to here:

“The Hungry” by Kerry Donoghue, music by Victor Hanson-Smith, 44:03

New Music

M. Ramirez arrived at my house with an Edirol R-09, and recorded Jon and me playing some licks.  I chopped the session into tracks; my favorite is the final track (#6).  You can download the session here:

The Mike Ramirez Sessions, 01.2009:

1. Yoga: tuning and warmup (4:08, 3.8 MB)
2. Five Taken (6:14, 5.7 MB)
3. Blues Interlude (1:18, 1.2 MB)
4. Jon’s Song (3:03, 2.8 MB)
5. Seas Too Far To Reach (an Okkervil River cover) (3:29, 3.2 MB)
6. B Minor (7:36, 7.0 MB)

Piano: Victor Hanson-Smith
Violin: Jon Lidbeck
Vocals: Victor Hanson-Smith and Jon Lidbeck