Hassler/Butcher

Interconnected Self-Playing Patch

2010-11-19T14:17:00.000-05:00

Don and I were able to meet up a few weekends ago, intent on connecting the 200 and 200e systems for an expanded self-playing patch. Here are the results:

Performance Recording - NOPHEST @ Eyedrum 07.22.10

2010-07-27T10:04:00.001-04:00

A partial recording of our set from the opening night of NOPHEST at Eyedrum. Don - Synthi A, Jason - Buchla 200. Slight reverb added post-performance.

Performance Recording - Eyedrum 07.18.10

2010-07-20T09:50:00.001-04:00

A recording of our set from Sunday's show at Eyedrum.
Don Hassler - EMS Synthi A MK1.
Jason R. Butcher - Buchla Series 200 Electric Music Box.
Slight reverb added post-performance.

Announcement: Upcoming Performances

2010-07-15T12:22:00.001-04:00

Video

2010-07-10T11:21:00.000-04:00

Hassler/Butcher - ConSec (EC: 34X 'OTHER PICTURE NOISE PROBLEM') from Jason R. Butcher on Vimeo.

Performance Recording - Eyedrum 03.31.10

2010-04-12T13:32:00.011-04:00

We had the pleasure to perform this set on Buchla Series 200, 200e, and EMS Synthi A MK1 synthesizers at Eyedrum in Atlanta as opening act for Konk Pack on March 31th, 2010. You can find additional photos of the event here.

UPDATE: It appears a short clip of this performance made it to Youtube. Have a look:

Performance Recording: Eyedrum 02.15.10

2010-02-28T20:56:00.001-05:00

A short set performed on Buchla Series 200 and EMS Synthi at Eyedrum in Atlanta for the first of two International Noise Conference shows on February 15th, 2010. We will perform at the second INC show - also at Eyedrum - on April 2, 2010.

- TRACK REMOVED / ARCHIVED -

Announcement: Upcoming Performances

2010-02-08T23:52:00.010-05:00

HASSLER/BUTCHER would like to announce a few performances scheduled over the next few weeks - all occurring at Eyedrum here in Atlanta.

February 15:
International Noise Conference (preshow)
Doors at 8PM, unknown cover/lineup

March 31:
Opening for KonkPack, $7 Cover. Our set should be an hour or longer.

April 2:
The International Noise Conference Tour
curated in Atlanta by Graham Moore & Justin "SFTP" Waters
Doors at 8PM, unknown cover, (tentative) lineup:

Mato / Hollow Brush / Wilson & Heath / Clang Quartet /
Dick Neff / Subliminator / Self Inflict / Free Borders /
Pony Bones / Kristen Calvarese / Atlantis / Hassler/Butcher /
Autistic Mother / Laundry Room Squelchers

Eyedrum is located at 290 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Atlanta, Georgia. Google map it here. International Noise Conference sets may be limited to 15 minutes per act - though you can expect something longer from us at the Konkpack opening.

Hopelessly.Convoluted.Agitated.Elements

2010-01-23T22:06:00.003-05:00

Don and I were able to meet up and record two tracks this afternoon - all Buchla 200 & 200e with no additional external processing. In regard to my 200 - rather than relying solely on the 259/266 patch I've been exploring quite often lately I also made use of the 281, and most particularly, the magical/brutal 207 preamplifier.

When I arrived Don had already been working on his very deep 291e patch - his machine was utterly draped with banana cables, some towering in stacks of five or more, coil upon coil. It was practically unfathomable, and the results speak for themselves.

Hopelessly.Convoluted. (edit)

Agitating.Elements. (Recording Removed/Archived)

No.5

2009-11-29T20:35:00.010-05:00

At the basis of this performance recorded Friday at Railroad Earth are two self-playing patches Don and I drafted beforehand, with some manipulation occurring during the performance. Sadly not included on this direct recording were some interesting additions added by other artists moving through the area where Don and I were set up.

- TRACK REMOVED / ARCHIVED -

Upcoming Appearance

2009-11-25T15:31:00.004-05:00

Don and I will be performing on Electric Music Boxes this Friday at Railroad Earth. Check their website for location, etc.

Self-Playing Patches

2009-11-14T21:00:00.011-05:00

The recent work Don has been doing on both the 200e as well as the Synthi - pieces in which the instrument is not manipulated during the actual recording - has piqued my curiosity about the Self-Playing process.

In response to the remarkable set of 200e experiments Don distributed via .zip archive earlier this week, I offer my own set of Self-Playing Series 200 pieces. Here are both links:

Don Hassler - Mens Health Issues (19.2MB)
Jason R. Butcher - Self-Playing 200 set 1 (37.5MB)

2009-10-27T11:52:00.006-04:00

Offered here is John K. Diliberto's interview of Don Buchla from the August 1983 issue of Polyphony magazine. Plenty of great information within, both for those acquainted with his family of electronic instruments as well as the uninitiated.

"Despite being an innovator of electronic music design, Buchla claims to know little about the actual technology in his creations."I don't care about circuitry", he asserts. "I design my instruments from the outside in". He speaks of music in terms of language, gesture orientation, and interactiveness. He doesn't seek the touch-sensitivity of so many keyboard synthesists, but rather an almost cybernetic interface between the body, mind, and instrument."

Download a PDF copy of the entire interview by clicking here.

LeFlash Atlanta 2009

2009-10-26T12:28:00.010-04:00

For our fourth outing, Don and I performed for four hours as part of the LeFlash event here in Atlanta on October 2, 2009. Existing at the crux between art walk and street party in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood, this marked the second occurance of LeFlash. Having exhibited a collaborative piece (Fiat Lux - with Scott Carter and Mario Schambon) as part of last year's event, it seemed natural to approach the curatorial team of Cathy Byrd and R. Stuart Keeler about performing on the Buchla in collaboration with Don Hassler for this year's event.

Although we initially had other intentions (which may yet see the light of day), in the end the performance became about using the Electric Music Boxes to control aspects of a visualization developed in Max/MSP. The process leading up to the event was fraught with frustration - but in the end it proved to be an interesting experiment. Don and I were situated at the top of a stairwell and projected the visualization down to the landing between the two staircases.

Photographs are once again provided by artist Alex Kvares. Check my blog in the future for info on another collaborative piece I created for this year's event.

(Recording Removed/Archived)

Synthi Group Vol. 1

2009-08-30T17:13:00.005-04:00

One of my recordings has been included on a compilation of tracks recorded by members of the Synthi Group, and made available through Clinical Archives as a free download.

The track was the first of 35 recordings of free-running, self-playing Synthi patches recorded straight to Pro Tools with no processing, overdubs, or editing. I'm planning on making the remaining pieces available in the future, and a few more from that project are sprinkled on my websites.

Don Hassler - No Subsequent Interaction Synthi Recording No. 1:

Third Collaborative Performance

2009-08-09T19:26:00.008-04:00

Our third live improvisation together - this time at Eyedrum in Atlanta on July 20, 2009. The excellent photography provided by artist Alex Kvares can be viewed in entirety here.

This set is the first not performed exclusively on Buchla instruments, but rather through the developments made on his recent "Work Order" series Don decided to include his remarkable EMS Synthi A as well with interesting results.

Our intention for this performance was to take advantage of the opportunity to perform at a higher volume than we had previously, and rely on some techniques which couldn't be as well explored otherwise.

- TRACK REMOVED / ARCHIVED -

Second Collaborative Performance

2009-08-09T19:08:00.009-04:00

Our second collaborative performance was for the second CitySkies Electronic Music Festival on May 23, 2009 at Kavarna in Atlanta, Georgia. An excerpt from this performance is available on youtube.

As an additional point of reference, a projected presentation of Smith, R. D. (1998) 'Social Structures and Chaos Theory' Sociological Research Online, vol. 3, no. 1 was included.

(track removed)

First Collaborative Performance

2009-08-09T18:37:00.017-04:00

A recording of our first collaboration - a performance on 2/14/09 for the monthly CitySkies electronic music event held at Kavarna, in Atlanta, Georgia.

(track removed)