BackgroundIve been making music since I can remember, some of my first memories are recording sloshing my leggos around in their box and messing with the tape, and playing my sisters tiny vltone Casio, I loved casiochord mode. I played violin in elementary school, and was in choir for a bit (awesome, surrounded by girls, there was like 1 other guy in there). I also started animating very early as well, making flipbooks of sonic the hedgehog for my dads birthday. I think he still has it. My friend across the street, who was in high school when I was about 7, helped me learn basic programming and electronics, and I would program simple generative audio visuals and video-games. I also made a very simple keyboard. When I got a computer with a real soundcard I would spend days messing with my voice in soundedit16 or goldwave.
Favorite Hardware
My favorite would have to be my infusion systems ICUBEX sensor kit. I was given it by the Museum Of Contemporary Art in trade for doing a performance for their Merce Cunningham dance series. We hooked this awesome dancer, Ana Mendez up to it and had her movements control the audio and visual. Its really great because it gives me direct intimate control over sound and visual design, in a way you could never draw automation or design sounds with a keyboard or sliders. It allows me to create organic, synchronized audio and visuals at the same time, live. I have some videos of it up on my site (Internal Reflection, E-Merce at MOCA, and [http://www.axiom-crux.net/video/Sensor_test.html]). I own a cello, sax, flute, and a bunch of other instruments that I love, I find organic played instruments can be more soulful then sequenced.
Favorite Software
I love logic 8, I feel like with a good mac and logic 8, and the Native Instruments Komplete bundle, you could make anything. Max/msp/jitter is something that I felt a serious connection with since I was first introduced to it. I feel unlimited when I use that software. I'm liking the free Michael Norris spectral plugins, and the grm tools are always classic. Metasynth, I love the swishy spectral quality, and you can get so detailed with a single sound. I was also circuit bending and building some custom electronics stuff a few months back. It's insane what you can do with raw electricity. So much different then the sound of digital, feeding back parts of the signal into places they aren't meant to go, it can get insane very fast. I'm also designing my own software that I plan to make into a commercial product. Its very different from anything I've seen on the market. It will be for sale through my website.
Workspace and Environment
I feel that this is one of the most important things about working. When I lived in Detroit in a cold basement, it provided a totally different type of inspiration then living down here on Miami Beach. I used to go to Cranbrook art community campus, amazing forests and lakes, installations and walk around for my inspiration. It is so immensely beautiful there. I would love to have more nature around me, right now Im living in basically a tourist mall of sorts, on Lincoln road, and I can look out my window and see these art deco pastel buildings, one of them looks like its from greece, but when you go closer to it, the facade is all painted on, haha its so great. I would love to go down to the beach and write a track, but sadly the logistics of that are problematic, all the sand, water, and bums don't make for safe computer use. Though we did have an amazing DMT drum circle. I think I would ideally love to have a studio in Tokyo, in a crazy downtown area, or the total opposite, like a minimal contemporary style building in a forest... maybe a futuristic solar powered tree-house?
Extra Curriculars
I did some stuff for a japanese game earlier this year. I can't speak japanese that well so I don't even know what its called. I do sound for TV commercials right now, all pre-production stuff though, My day job is making animatics for the worlds largest ad agencies. I did music for one feature length indy film, and one animated short film named "Tristella's Tears" back when I was in college, I ended up winning best original score in the chicago film fest for "The Passage"
First Piece of Gear
My violin, as a little kid. as far as electronic gear... I got a jp8000 in highschool. I love the feedback oscillator on those.
Wishlist
Buchla 200e, Just a minimal setup, 2 oscs, filter, phasor, and their midi translator would be plenty, then I could control with my sensors and max/msp sequencer. Kyma, Nord modular g2. UE10 in ear monitors. A Synthi aks.. I also wouldn't mind getting an SH-101 or a real Korg MS20.. something full discrete analogue. And a reel-to-reel for warming my masters.
Mobile and Live Setup
MacBook Pro and Novation remote sl 37, mbox, a few nice mics
Where were you born and how did you end up in the location you currently reside?Saginaw>Lake Orion>Royal Oak>Bloomfield/Detroit>Miami
When I was born, my dad was working at GM, he worked his way up at the company, and then we moved to a bit bigger place in Lake Orion. He started his own company doing robotics training manuals, and made a load of money on it, so we moved to a really awesome house in Bloomfield, where I spent my formative years. I went to school at CCS in detroit for animation, and played tons of raves out there, and after I graduated from college I decided to move someplace that isn't depressing and cold. I rented a Uhaul and drove down to Miami, it just so happened that during the middle of my trip hurricane wilma hit and I had to stay with Richie for a few days, we went on this really strange mini-tour around Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. We stayed with these really cool cats who had hens for pets, and played at this biker bar that was straight out of a David Lynch movie. It ended up that my mom that I hadn't seen in a year or so lived half an hour away, and she drove out to see me play, we all sang her happy birthday... strange adventure. I finished my trip to miami through the post havoc of the hurricane. What a twisted introduction to miami. I couldn't even get gas because all the stations were out of power, I made it to my new condo with the red light of the gas tank blinking. I may end up moving to California soon. There's tons of motion-graphics and sound work out there.
Studio Evolution
The basement in Michigan that previously housed my studio is now under a foot of water, the guy who bought our house didn't pay the mortgage and went into foreclosure. I went back there during my close friends wedding, it was a foggy night, right out of twilight zone, we found a way in and walked through the house, there was still pumpkin pie and gallon of milk still on the table from 2005 when I moved out. I tried to go to my old studio in the basement, and it was in a foot and a half of nasty sewer water. My gorgeous mural that adorned the vast walls, created over many years by my close friends and I was trapped, it was rather strange feeling. You really can never go home again.
OOO (axiom crux) can be found on Planet Mu, Sublight, Detroit Underground, Melted Mailbox, Rolax, Circuitree, and a bunch of other compilation appearances. Videos and music can be found at his website: www.axiom-crux.net
2 comments:
I'm posting first because a 3 year old pumpkin pie and milk are too great to be ignored. I've never heard about them in an audio interview....
i sat in the photograph when i was 16. jimmy edgar was playing the drums behind us. i had no clue what was going on. and you probably have no clue who i am.
-thegreatmundane-
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