PRFBBQ 2023 by snwv
The PRF community has been holding events in Chicago for over 13 years, and these are the best examples of grassroots, self-organizing events I know. I'm honored to have been invited to play, but I would have attended anyway.
My plan had been to travel light, so I borrowed an excellent EGC baritone guitar from Christopher Williams of Maple Stave (https://maplestave.bandcamp.com), who was also performing. Without my usual fuzz and wah pedals, I recreated the wah in Max, and turned up the gain on my preamp for fuzz.
There were challenges, but it all worked out. I hadn't thought to ask Chris if his guitar was in standard tuning. It was in a custom tuning, and you can hear me figure this out as the pieces progress. The benefit was that I had to bring my full attention. Also, after three years of performing these at home, with headphones, it was a bit disorienting to hear myself loud, so I kept the volume low. (This recording fixes that.) The last piece, going through the PA speakers, had a wonderful overdrive and pulsing phasing that unfortunately isn't audible here: it was a phenomenon only with the speakers in the room.
My set was scheduled during dinner Saturday, with people drifting in and out of the sonic environment. Initially, the space around me was open, but people collected, laid down on the floor, and listened closely.
This improvisation is dedicated to the fine people of the PRF. The titles are a tribute to the work of Marcia Roberts.
Thank you: Christopher Williams for the loan of the EGC baritone. Nick and Leah for hosting. Thank you to everyone there to listen: Min, Alexa, Scott, Ben, Sandra, Josh, John, and everyone else. Thank you for listening now, too.
Tracklist
| 1. | Galpella | 9:26 |
| 2. | Barren Ridge | 9:36 |
| 3. | Cadiz Dunes | 7:50 |
| 4. | Lavega | 9:25 |
| 5. | Alturus | 9:43 |
| 6. | Palo Prieto | 7:28 |
Credits
Maurice Rickard: Guitar, programming
Signal chain: EGC Aluminum Baritone > Moyo Volume > UA Volt > Max/MSP eight-delay patch with FFT pitch shift, low-pass filter, tremolo, convolution reverb, Arturia Tape MELLO-FI.
Impulses: Inchindown Oil Tanks, Fort Worden Cistern
Thank you to Christopher Williams of Maple Stave (maplestave.bandcamp.com) for the loan of the baritone.
License
All rights reserved.
Maurice Rickard is a musician, sound artist, and Deep Listening Certificate holder based in Pittsburgh. snwv is his project to create ambient environments from finely tuned oscillators and other sound sources as well (guitar, microphones, feedback). Some patches use mostly oscillators, some use delays, some use controlled amounts of randomness. Results range from gentle ambience to chaos.