Gearwire’s Crosstalk returns from Los Angeles in its new audio podcast format. Bill Holland is joined by Owen O’Malley, and special guest Liz McLean Knight (Quantazelle, Createdigitalmusic.com, Liz Revision). Meet Liz and hear the Crosstalk picks for the best and worst things at Winter NAMM 2008.
Crosstalk 38: Bashing Something That Deserves It — Guitar Hero
Here is a set I played of all original Quantazelle tracks, most of them unreleased. It’s hosted over at my blog, Liz Revision.
Check out this interview I did with Bill Holland / Mr. Automatic over at GearWire. It’s half super-technical gear talk and half about live performance. If you read closely you’ll learn the secret source of some of my “crunchier” sounding samples.“Native Instruments Absynth, Kontakt, Yamaha PSR-85 And Quantazelle’s Live PA Rig“
Anthony Child better know as the mighty Surgeon, who we feel is one of the most consistently brilliant (and under-rated) players in electronic music scence. “Youknowiloveyou” is sheer, head-screwing dark twisted and full of weirdness track but still very listenable even if it’s a uncomfortable, just how we like it. Detroitrocketscience (Alan Oldham) is one of the old school Detroit players who has recorded classic tunes as HardSignal, DJ T-1000 and Signal To Noise Ratio. Here recording under Detroitrocketscience, he is in slyly ambient mood with “Babymaker”, tweaking a simple two step beat into slow motion funk mind worm.
Who’s that girl with the headphones on the iGo rack cards and ads? It’s Quantazelle!.
iGo is a nonprofit car sharing program in Chicago (and in other cities as part of the Flexcar network). Members pay by the hour at a rate depending on the plan, and you never have to pay for gas or insurance. It’s an affordable, eco-friendly alternative to owning a car in the city.
As part of a marketing push to get more musicians (and others) as members, Quantazelle (aka Liz McLean Knight) was chosen since she is a member and uses the cars to get to and from music gigs, and likes the fact that hours are free between midnight and 6am, since most events run well past midnight.
Quantazelle will be DJing (as Liz Revision) at the iGO Audio Release Party at the Metro on Thursday, May 31.
Read more on Liz’s blog.
| May 8, 2007 | ||
| 9:00 pm |
Machinedrum will school you in partying like you’re in a Brooklyn art loft
[I will be DJing at this. Check out my blog for past setlists and mixes.]
“Which is better, New York or Chicago?” This innocent little question explodes a heated debate between fans of either city. Chicago has less-expensive housing, but New York has a superior public transit system. New York has a phenomenal restaurant scene, but Chicago smells better in the summer. Chicago has Ramp Chicago for quality electronic music nights and New York has Machinedrum’s Cassette fêtes—all-night art / film/ dance parties featuring a who’s-who of contemporary electronic music and indie hip-hop. When Machinedrum takes over the PA at Sonotheque, you’ll get to experience a taste of Brooklyn in the swanky sonic environment of Sonotheque here in Chicago–and you just might just feel the urge to take your shirt off.
It’s easy to see why Travis Stewart’s Machinedrum project has been compared to artists like Prefuse 73, Autechre, and Funkstorung. Take Autechre’s algorithmic glitch, combine it with Prefuse 73’s micro-sampled hip-hoppery, toss in Funkstorung’s genre-crossing prolific remix power, then add the melodic sensibility of Plaid and you can start to imagine his sound. As one of the first artists on the much-lauded (but now defunct) stateside IDM label Merck Records, he sold out albums, raised the label’s popular consciousness, and garnered critical acclaim. Look for two upcoming releases on the Normrex label this year.
And he knows what it takes to make a party go off. Along with two-time DMC World Champion DJ IE.merg he released a ground-breaking battle record for turntablists. Taking his music to the next level, Travis also organizes monthly Brooklyn-based dance parties featuring art openings, live painting, and film screenings under the Cassette banner. Past performers include Jimmy Edgar, Praveen, Telefon Tel Aviv and more.
Make sure you get to Sonotheque early enough to catch local talent Justin McGrath—a one-time producer of dense, emotional IDM who’s switched lanes and now cranks out noisy, analog synth-based dance tracks while still maintaining his characteristic sweeping melodic lines and dense orchestration. Don’t think it can be done? Justin will prove you wrong. And Machinedrum will keep the party going, bringing the sounds of a Brooklyn art loft to one of the best-sounding clubs in Chicago.
Ramp Chicago Flyer Image
* Tuesday, May 8th at Sonotheque
* 1444 W. Chicago Ave.
* $5
* 21+
* 9pm to 2am
Glitch-hop / IDM sensation Machinedrum stops in from Brooklyn to share his sound with Chicago at Sonotheque. Local musician Justin McGrath opens with gritty electro party beats and residents Emulsion and Liz Revision DJ ambient, glitchy techno, electro, and IDM.
Someone hacked into my web host and deleted all my databases, so I’m stuck with an old version of my site. Some other things are missing or broken, and all my events went down. I’ll start fixing it as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience. -liz
Check out Quantazelle’s participation in ICoM with the track she created on Jan. 14, 2007 at one of their events: [quantazelle: iron chef track].
Here’s a review and overview of the competition and night: IRON CHEF OF MUSIC: Kracfive’s sample-chopping, beat-dicing “producer battle”
January 19th, 2007
BUY STUFF here
FULL LENGTHS
Coaster (2004 - subVariant Recordings) CD
Coaster’s sweet melodies swirl over quirky-yet-alluring percussion crafted from mangled bits of environmental noise, lovingly coaxed into structures appropriate for chill sets and dancefloor transitions.
TRACKLISTING:
1. Braking (Hushed) {2:53}
2. It’s Fizzbang {5:00}
3. Late Blazing Kinch Theme {3:00}
4. Wineglass Chopstick Clinkrush {3:56}
5. Ping Query {5:01}
6. Belmont Killa {4:03}
7. Pedwards {3:07}
8. Clue Minus You {6:02}
9. Sunken Projectile {3:17}
10. Pansy Beatmatch {1:59}
11. Vanity Knobs with Groove Grimace {5:13}
12. Stereofoam {4:43}
“Braking (Hushed)” (1) opens the album on a strong note with a pounding kick, persistant bassline, and an obliterated vocal sample combining to form a hiphop-like base for the uplifting, hopeful melody that soon steps in to take center stage. “It’s Fizzbang,” (2) creates a hand-drum percussive pattern out of tapping and scraping a vintage acoustic-electric guitar. The third track, “Late Blazing Kinch Theme” takes a catchy synthesized-harp melody, loops it, and adds harmonies and quivering percussive elements to create a sonically-intriguing supportive texture for the subsequent harmonic exploration within the track.
The title “Coaster” refers to the tongue-in-cheek packaging concept behind the album: the disc can serve as a beverage coaster when not needed as a music CD. The case itself is designed to mimic the packaging of a stylish electronic accessory–such as a mobile phone–complete with a cover photo of the Coaster in its (optional, not included — see SUBV001c) carrying case and a concise “instruction booklet” outlining the process for using the disc as a beverage coaster. The disc itself is silver and black, with a guide for correct beverage placement.
Coaster EP (2003) CDR
CDR EP with seven tracks packaged in a case with a wriststrap. Very limited quantities were made (under 50) and they are hard to find.
A Cold (2003)
A 3-track, downtempo EP featuring a 3″ CDR that comes in a petri dish. Add this to your collection and you can legitimately say, “I got a cold from Quantazelle.”
TRACKLISTING
1. sik_cschme
2. sik_melly
3. sik_lme
Beets (2002)
Has part of a Quantazelle interview on the inside and some photos from a live performance.
Tracklist:
1. euhumm
2. pson
3. buhg
4. doorcl
5. clechtro
6. junglagla
7. plek-b
8. awcruk
9. dher
10. likepre
11. bday
12. mifblah
Beets for Lunch (2002)
A custom, silver Quantazelle lunchbox with Beets and a tshirt inside. Has a photo on one side and the “q” logo on the reverse.
TRACKLIST:
1. euhumm
2. pson
3. buhg
4. doorcl
5. clechtro
6. junglagla
7. plek-b
8. awcruk
9. dher
10. likepre
11. bday
12. mifblah
The Toaster One (2001)
TRACKLIST:
1. On
2. Hurch
3. Brktss
4. Wek
5. Bats
6. Altolala
