Now and Xen

"Welcome to Alien August!" Elaine Walker comes down from her celestial spaceship to give us the scoop on her microtonal mini-movie album, "Macrochip!" The album is constructed entirely in Bohlen-Pierce tuning and Elaine created all the clips using human-made stock footage (no AI). The album is classic Elaine, strikingly visual, timbre-rich, and tonal.

All music from Elaine's "Macrochip" in Bohlen-Pierce tuning...

"Welcome to Alien August!" We present our conversation with certified extraterrestrial Tachy Bunker, the interdimensional shaman, conlanger, and electronic dance music producer. Tachy uses a huge variety of chromatic tunings mainly consisting of EDO's, high-dimensional just intonation (including primodalities), and mixtures of these in polysystemic music. Check him out live if you can for his primal energy!

Mu...

"Here we are in J.I. July!" Owen Garnder, guitarist of the iconic experimental rock band Horse Lords, gives us a rundown of the band's philosophical and aesthetic visions, influences over time, and a first-person account of what playing polymetrically and microtonally in this band entails. In the latest album, "Demand To be Taken Into Heaven Alive!" we see more guests than usual as well as harmonic ventures into new ar...

"Here we are in J.I. July!" We sat down for a talk with esteemed composer-performer Catherine Lamb about navigating justly tuned systems, writing in high-limit systems using low-numbered concordances, her 10 Hertz system, and individual approaches towards intervals.

Catherine Lamb's website and bandcamp:
https://www.sacredrealism.org/artists/catherine-lamb/
https://catherinelamb.bandcamp.com/music
...

In this historic 100th public episode, we celebrate and catalogue the creation of Christopher Bailey's monumental choral work "Lost and Found Things" in 17-TET. In the first conversation, Stephen Weigel, Thomas Scheurich, Jacob Barton, and Christopher Bailey discuss the process, and in the second conversation, Stephen Weigel and Christopher Bailey dive into the sound of the finished project and some of the thoughts beh...

In this episode we talk about UnTwelve Microtonal Recording Retreat (formerly known as "praxis sumer camp") with Jacob Barton, Vito Sicurella, and Ian Blaylock (phlub) in an initial conversation, and then with Thomas Scheurich in a secondary conversation. Most of our topics are on how music making practices and the camp itself is changing significantly over time. (At the beginning of the episode, I also mention the "Un...

"Join us for Experi-MAY-ntal music MAY!" We interview Dan and Jason of the 32-year old instrument-building band "Neptune" (minus Mark) about their new album releasing June 5, "Play Some Music," in which they fully commit to microtonality. These legends have been exploring found sound, electronics, and scrap metal for years to refine their distinctly jam-based, noise-inspired aesthetics. Among others, the xenharmonic in...

"Join us for Experi-MAY-ntal music MAY!" Today's episode features Max McCargar, a guitarist, performer, teacher, and polysystemic explorer. In this philosophical episode we touch on what it means to play music live with others, and upon the natural benefits to improvisational approaches.

Music:
Intro: Ethernet Flirtatious (from snake and slug, rejected) - Sononym
Alternate Soundtrack to the Seashell an...

"April WEATHER… ahem… I mean… April XEN-ther, rain and sunshine all together!" Here we have XENTAR, right after we had XENPILLED! Xentar is a free online tool where you can interact with microtonal guitar tablature, connecting a host of features many had long since given up on. You can create your own guitar songs and share them (with playback), explore scales and EDO's (even harmonizing within tha...

"April WEATHER… ahem… I mean… April XEN-ther, rain and sunshine all together!" Here we have XENPILLED, and next, XENTAR! Gordon Wery, who runs the YouTube channel "xenpilled," joins us to talk about cool microtonal scales using sharp 5ths and dual fifths, tuning choices and benefits of focused approaches, streaming and simulcasting, synthesizers, and practicality. We get a demo of the Linnstrument,...

Join us for a conversation with the mad conlanger and electronic musician "Lamplight!" We create Lamplight's unique style from the ground up, joining them in the DAW, and muse about the possibilities in their composition, tuning, and music. Lamplight's conlang and microtonal thoughts are highly connected to their color-based synesthesia and phenomena they have experienced about the world for years and years.

C...

Peter Jung demonstrates his microtonal software for us - it has a lattice interface that allows one to visualize regularly constructed scales, perform operations related to them that are intuitive, and connect that to synthesizers. The working title is "PitchGrid" - but if others have suggestions feel free to comment! This is an extremely visual episode, so one might get some mileage out of the YouTube video as well.

Join us for a chat with Stephen Altoft about all things microtonal trumpet, going over mechanics, tuning, and the composition scene. Stephen shows off several trumpets and flugelhorns and their valve systems. Other topics include affordable instruments, conferences, venues, composers, extended techniques, and improvised vs. notated music.

[Music]
Kerata for Straton (19-TET) - Coreen Morsink
shadow(ed) ...

Big thanks to Genoël for joining us on the Now and Xen podcast. This episode is a bit unconventional, as Genoël, in large part, is interviewing me for issue 144 of the "Positionen magazine" which was released in August. Go check it out online, as well as Genoël's compositions! A lot of our discussion revolves around where xenharmonics and microtonality is headed, historical and social shifts, and thoughts on our works....

Cellist, guitarist, vocalist, and compositional viral icon Maddie Ashman joins us on the Now and Xen podcast to discuss her work. Topics of choice include musical influences, feeling microtonal colors, hurdles when playing such music, and how to find your way.

Instagram clip of "dark" (Maddie Ashman) from otherwordly
Instagram clip of hocket type beat (Maddie Ashman)
Instagram clip of cello notes from ...

Composer Alyssa Aska stops by Now and Xen to talk about her microtonal compositions for fixed media and various combinations of electric and acoustic pianos and organs. She draws inspiration from video game music and early music, and often shifts the tuning system used over time for deliberate effects. We talk about software and setups.

Exciting opportunity: Alyssa invites you to submit abstracts and/or pieces...

Finnish jazz legend Kari Ikonen joins us on Now and Xen to go over the specifics of his new invention, the "Maqiano," a clamp system that allows pianists to retune individual piano keys microtonally, and quickly, without needing to call a piano technician. For a good idea of what it sounds like in practice, check out his latest album "Al-Bahr" with the jazz fusion ensemble "Wishamalii."

Music: La Eterna Paz [f...

Chris Kline and I discuss his Projective Tuning Space app and constructed instruments. The app allows one to visualize various connections between temperaments, Lumatone layouts, and microtonal sources for whichever tuning you choose to work with. His self-made instruments involve 3D printing and range from flutes to ukuleles to death whistles.

Atlantis Theme [from Banjo-Tooie]
Atlantis Theme [from Banjo-T...

Come check out Phillip's new composed album with us, "Loop 7," featuring his characteristic style but infused with 22-tone equal temperament. Grammy-award-winner Joseph Branciforte joins us as well to share how the acoustic pianos were recorded and treated as "one instrument" in the process.

Find "Loop 7" here:
https://phillipgolub.bandcamp.com/album/loop-7

Sites for Phillip and Joseph (label "greyfade"):<...