Greetings Earthfriends,
I hope that this message finds you well. I also hope that you are spending time in the sun on this fine Monday afternoon. I'm sitting in a Starbucks while assembling receipts and other documents for governmental purposes unbeknownst to me (aka taxes). The best part about my morning so far has been hearing the music of my fellow-troubadours, Slow Runner (Charleston, SC), played on the house speakers. I really like those guys. The funny thing is that I don't usually frequent the Starbucks anywhere. What a neat coincidence.
Here are a few hip happenings in my life. You may find them somewhat interesting and mostly amusing, but I felt like sharing them with you nonetheless.
Last month, I dedicated time for the sole purpose of finishing up a year-long recording and sampling project conducted in and around my temporary domiciles (various sublets) in Brooklyn, NY. The final product is a seven volume collection of chromatic sounds made by wine bottles, melodica and cellular phone, and a colorful assortment of drum and household percussive "instruments". These can all be heard over at my Bandcamp page.
Now, you may be asking/saying to yourself, "Why would anyone ever want to do the kind of things that this man is doing? It seems a bit random and... futile."
Well, the truth is: as a drummer / electronic music composer / beat maker who works with MIDI, it's nice to write and shape songs that appeal to a certain lo-fi side of home recording. I'm also a illustrator and visual learner, so a lot of these practices collide in a venn diagram of sorts. For me, programming MIDI is like making a puzzle or collage with sounds. As the "composer" or "programmer", what sounds you use can completely and totally be up to you. I wanted to make more sounds available to other like-minded musicians by expanding my soundbank.
I have also recently been digging into researching how wide the world of MIDI programming actually is and I'm somewhere just near the tip of the iceburg. If you have similar stories, tips and/or questions about such quests for knowledge, I'd be so happy to chat about them or try working out some ideas together.
Other examples of how I use my own samples in drum programming can be heard on the albums, Softlings, 3, and most of the albums produced over 2011-2012. I appreciate you giving them a listen. I'm not sure how long this charade will last, but while this platform works, I will utilize it.
Some examples of why I like MIDI/programming/etc. :::
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Gee-wiz. Now that I've unloaded my bunk pseudo thesis on you, I'll mention a few fun things I do with other people, like... actually playing music!
April 11th, 2012 :::
BODYPARTS will be performing at The Delancey in Manhattan (Lower East Side) with a new member on the Casio keys. This now makes us a three-piece. This band continues to baffle audiences. We welcome you to be that audience sometime. Just last night "shared a bill" with a band called Thrillington at Bar Matchless (Greenpoint). I was and remain to be floored by their music. Check it out.
April 28th, 2012 :::
Asphalt Orchestra will be performing at Alice Tulley Hall (Lincoln Center, NYC) for the Bang On A Can 25th Anniversary Concert. This show is special because we've a lot of new material to unleash as well as a first-time collaboration with the incredibly talented drummer Tatsuya Yoshida (of the Japanese prog-rock duo Ruins). Thanks to Bang On A Can for so many awesome projects and events and visions and opportunities.
May 1-5th, 2012 :::
Young Jean Lee & Future Wife perform "We're Gonna Die" in Calgary, Alberta.
I've never been to Calgary, but I'm excited for our Canadian debut of this show. If you have a distant relative or long-lost cousin there, let them know that a very special show will be passing through, like a ship in the night.
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I think that'll be all for now. Thank you for checking up and checking in. See you in the future. If you'd like to send a message about working together, please do so.
[ paperjenkins at gmail dot com ]
sincerely,
Nicholas M. Jenkins
