Noah Thorp: "Making Music With Ruby" at RubyConf 2009

In Noah’s talk at RubyConf 2009 “Making Music With Ruby: Patterns, Context, Fun” focus’s on frequently unfamiliar open source libs that people may find useful and makes reference to a number of BArCMuT presenter’s projects. There’s a lot of talk about using Ruby and Chuck, SuperCollider, solving sync issues, etc, etc. You can find the source code for the presentations on Github

Rabbit's Rum music for Capacitor's "Perfect Flower" TED performance

Jodi Lomask of Capacitor performs in the “Perfect Flower” at TED 2009. Music direction and production by Noah Thorp and Vocals by Kristina Forester-Thorp (a.k.a. Rabbit’s Rum). Sculpture by “Mark Nichols”.

Capacitor Digging In The Dark Collaboration

“ingenious… [Capacitor] compared heavenly bodies to human bodies and found them equally amazing.” -New York Times

Synthesizing dance with new circus, innovative props, and interactive media – Capacitor sends you on a journey through the layers of Earth into the core.

Music direction and composition by Noah Thorp. Additional composition by Lucas Kuzma, Kraddy (Glitch Mob), Chris Hegstrom Performances at Project Artaud Theater (San Francisco), American Theatre of Actors (NYC).

Rabbits Rum: You're Invited EP

San Francisco orchestral electronica band Rabbit's Rum swings moods from tight electronic song forms to spacious harmonic ambient soundscapes recollecting Goldfrapp (Supernature), Massive Attack (Mezzanine), and Bjork (Vespertine). Rabbit's Rum features the vocals and cello work of conservatory classical musician gone renegade Kristina Forester and the sound design, beat craft, and custom code of SF underground alumn and polymath Noah Thorp (founder of audio think tank record label Listen Labs and the Bay Area Computer Music Technology Group). The duos collaborations include work with the Capacitor dance troupe (Capacitor.org), composer and producer JMage, Arcade Fire & Tom Waits saxophonist Colin Stetson, Stanford Laptop Orchestra founder and composer Ge Wang, and many more. Rabbit's Rum innovates on and off the stage with custom built software and instruments from SuperCollider and Max/MSP to hacked Wii controllers and bent circuits. As the enigmatic duo sharpens the edge of culture, Rabbit's Rum enchants while breaking the rules.

The EP was nominated for a 2009 Independent Music Award.

Raw And Rooted: J Mage Crazy Heart 12" Vinyl EP

Jeremy Mage’s raw rooted breaks unite top players from New York to Ghana in a passionate blend of Dance Hall, Dub, Afrobeat, and Batucada. Top musicians and J Mage’s tight production skills make this one of the best vinyl releases of the year.

“…cool, seriously horny dubwise arrangements.” – Ron Nachmann (XLR8R)

“Tight syncopated beats to move your feet and lush melodies to soothe your headspace…the best combo for a music lover who also loves to dance!” – Ms.E (FutureBreaks.FM, KUSF)

• Side A: 510 (Jazz Mix). Brilliant tenor saxophone by Jacques Schwarz-Bart (Meshell Ndegeocello, D'Angelo) floats over a steady throbbing groove.
• Side B: Light and Dark. Moving from a dreamy soundscape into a conga laden utopia with a gritty bass line, “Light and Dark” syncopates and elevates it’s way towards a classic Afrobeat low end melody.

These musicians, and then some, played on the album:

• Jacques Schwarz-Bart – Tenor (D'Angelo, Meshell Ndegeocello, Roy Hargrove)
• Eric Garland – Drums (Subnautic, Brass Monkey)
• David Ewell – Upright Bass (Vivendo de Pao, Subnautic)
• B-Love – Heavy Dubbing (Brown Fellini’s, Redlight)
• Valentino Pellizzer-Selgado – Drums (Smooth Booty Pro., O-Maya)
• Marivaldo Dos Santos – Drums (Steve Coleman, Stomp, Ogans)

"Sync, Synthtic" and Noah Thorp vs. Transmission Remixes, 12" Vinyl EP

“Sync, Synthetic” and Noah Thorp remix the San Francisco jazz group Transmission: Colin Stetson (sax), Stuart Bogey (clarinet), Eric Perny (bass), Andrew Kitchen (drums).

Awash in a sea of mechanized murmers “Sync, Synthetics” montage of broken horn melodies and chattering drums create a haunting mood for lulling the chill room into a deep trance (Side A).

Building a potent polyrhythmic stew of swirling saxophones and brooding bass, Noah’s breakbeats crack open the ground and let in the spirits beneath the dance floor (Side V).

This record’s versatile sound breaks new ground for breakbeat and chill room DJs.

Found Underground an SF Speakeasy

Hush hush an SF speak easy...

Electro-accoustic performances by:

• Colin Stetson
• Eddie Pollard
• Jessica Quatro
• Kristina Forester
• Noah Thorp
• Roger Riedbauer
• Sync, Synthetic

Breakbeats:

• DJ XJS
• MC Linzee
• DJ Robbie Socks

Visuals and installations:

• DAS of eyes anonImous
• VJ Ubik

Pluralities Festival

A New Music Conspiracy is a collective of diverse performers that explore the depth and breadth of expression in the contemporary landscape. The three-day Pluralities festival at Venue 9 features the musical offerings of A New Music Conspiracy accompanied by video/film projections, and graphic arts.

The musical palette includes: traditional Eastern European folk music, highly charged free improvisation, live electro-acoustic ambient/jungle/down-tempo, and 20th century classical compositions. The sounds are juxtaposed against ubiquitous data mined moving images of past, present and future; also in the media-mix are images developing point-line-plane concepts, dreams, and stochastic portraiture.

Thursday March 8th – Electro-acoustic selections by Connector; ambient, jungle, and down tempo electronic improvisations by Noah Thorp and “Sync, Synthetic”; Eastern European folk/fusion by the Peoples Bizarre; video projections by VJ UBIK.

Friday March 9th – Mosthumbz perform groove and ambient oriented avant-jazz with vocalist, Jessica Greer, and slide projections and narration by Susan Fauman; an original soundtrack for the bizarre animated film “The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb” performed by Mosthumbz, Eric Perney, Colin Stetson, and Sarah Jo Zaharako.

Saturday March 10th – The Transmission trio performs a tribute to the late Saxophonist Thomas Chapin, and the Transmission Large Ensemble performs a collage of compositions/improvisations accompanied by an original video piece by Nathan Jongewaard.

Gallery showing of artwork by Susan Fauman, Darren Koepp, and D.A. Struble.