if you’re heading through (or live in) portland be sure to stop in. great workshops and performances happen quite often– there’s a schedule on the site.

i. Instrument, Utensil, Implement, Machine, or Apparatus? which? why? where? if you had to choose just one preindustrial tool, which would it be?

utensil, if i’m only going to pick one, because it serves one clearly defined purpose. i vacillate between wanting to own, or create machines, and wanting to own, or create utensils…. obviously both are useful, but only one may be required (the utensil) of the other (the machine) for it (the machine) to operate. the singularity of intended function of an utensil versus the modularity of a machine or apparatus is an important distinction to me in the sense of sustainability and purchase/ownership worthiness. i like things that do one job very well – that said, the problem often arises that i tend to need lots of utensils to complete one desired function. even still, the more granular the better for me.

one preidustrial tool? hands down, a knife. i can make / modify pretty much anything else i need for life with a knife, and if i need another tool i can probably make that with a knife, or at least make a tool to help me then make that other tool. plus, i just love knives… they remind me of my dad, and my childhood growing up on a twenty-one acre plot divided between my family and my grandfather in the middle of the florida lake talquin state forest. it feels right to always own a nice knife i can depend on.

ii. creativity has been redefined throughout the ages. our most modern tends to focus on process, placement, person, and output (or product). do you find your abilities within this realm of definition or do you see outside influences, such as divine inspiration, muses, daemons, or forces of nature as factors?

both i think. i see the former as a byproduct of the latter. output or product follows a divine inspiration or muse for me. i’m not overtly aware of these divine inspirations, or muses – i simply know that i feel most creative when i’m centered and have a deep connection with other humans… the more aware i am of my sameness, and the less focused on my uniqueness, the more creative i feel.

there’s a ted talk by elizabeth gilbert that i really enjoy – yes, if you’re wondering… i am a bit ashamed that i’m referencing an elizabeth gilbert ted talk here – she talks about the ‘creative genius,’ and the widely accepted idea that to be given to creativity is to live a life somewhat wrought with agony and desperation. she goes on to talk about transferring the idea of a person being a creative genius to the idea of a person having a creative genius or daemon. this is paramount to me and i remind myself of it often… it’s my goal to simply be an available vessel for whatever creativity might desire to flow through me, in whatever form that might take. i’m nearly always outputting something, whether it be music, photography, small electronics projects, coding etc. i stay busy because i feel compelled to. there used to be a pressure to that output for me, a definite desperation to it. over the last few years i’ve calmed down about that though. i just show up to bat now as often as i can, and maybe i get a home run – but the home run isn’t the point, it can’t be… that’s too much pressure for me and then i’m back to that desperation i mentioned – i just bat because i love to.

iii. sound energy is the form of energy associated with the vibration or disturbance of matter. work, a form of energy, is force times distance. in living organisms, energy is stored as polysaccharides. common terms referring to such magical energy include mana, numen, chi or kundalini. how do you derive energy? how would you define your own personal energy?

extremes. all or nothing, but also balance (that’s possible, right?).

a quiet morning in the park with my wife and two kids being completely amazed that my daughter can now hang from the monkey bars when last week she couldn’t – followed by a solo trip to walk around the tenderloin or the mission talking to, and photographing complete strangers, realizing what i have in common with them – and then being completely alone in the midst of everyone in the city, observing, just wandering, recording sounds and taking photos for hours – talking to no one.

playing drums along to some can, or trying to figure out a max roach riff, and then some cathartic mxpx double kicks as fast as possible – and follow that up with slow, meditative droning on guitar or rhodes with three loopers in a chain.

i think contrast gives me energy. as long as things aren’t the same for too long, as long as i can have a very solid routine and then be free to break it – i’m ready for whatever is next.

i don’t know that i could define my own personal energy – not that it’s that complex or something, i just don’t worry about it too much. i hope that i’m warm, and trustworthy, and a bit goofy. i don’t ever want to take things too seriously – though i often do, i know. i really want to sit and have coffee with everyone, and just hear their story – i hope that comes across in my energy. i sometimes feel like i should screen myself a t-shirt that says, ‘hey, i like you. i really do. i’m just incredibly distracted with this project i’m working on or currently thinking about.’ but that’s too much text for a shirt.

i. Instrument, Utensil, Implement, Machine, or Apparatus? which? why? where? if you had to choose just one preindustrial tool, which would it be?

an apparatus, although i’d prefer a contraption, contrivance, or perhaps a gadget or gizmo. not only does it sounds the most outlandish and wonderful, it seems like it would be the most complicated and possibly have the most parts that might be reused for other purposes. i’m a fan of general purpose machines, adaptable instruments, and things that can be used in ways that have yet to be conceived. these sorts of creations inspire me to dream up new arrangements and configurations. undiscovered possibilities can be a powerful spark, a treasure hunt for the mind.

the preindustrial tool i’d choose would be a chisel so that i could more easily create other things. i’d probably need a hammer as well, i hope that’s within the rules, or maybe i could use a rock and then make a stone hammer. then i need to find some iron ore and smelt that to make an iron pick. i could use that to mine better materials and at some point, with a little help from the community, we’ll all have monomes and ableton live again.

ii. creativity has been redefined throughout the ages. our most modern tends to focus on process, placement, person, and output (or product). do you find your abilities within this realm of definition or do you see outside influences, such as divine inspiration, muses, daemons, or forces of nature as factors?

i’d characterize my work as driven by process, or subprocess more specifically. over time there is a refactoring of skills and knowledge into more generalized forms and i rely heavily on these subprocesses to fuel my creations as the specific tools around me evolve. in terms of pure creativity i think it’s an internal source inspired by experience and external influences subconsciously. i believe in creative flow and try to find or create instruments and configurations that allow it to happen. there is a lot of structure in the things i create but in most cases the purpose of the structure is to support irrational creative visions.

i don’t necessarily believe in divine forces, although many daemons play an important role in the work i do (that’s a unix joke). i have trouble describing my own source of inspiration or creativity, sometimes hearing a piece of music or spending time with a person will influence it, sometimes there is no definable source. i think my personal muse and the thing that drives me to create is the sea of possibility in music, visual art, programming, people, and the places where they intersect. we live in an absolutely wonderful and inspiring time where we can connect things in new ways using technology and the possibilities of that alone is enough to keep me driven to participate.

iii. sound energy is the form of energy associated with the vibration or disturbance of matter. work, a form of energy, is force times distance. in living organisms, energy is stored as polysaccharides. common terms referring to such magical energy include mana, numen, chi or kundalini. how do you derive energy? how would you define your own personal energy?

i derive energy through the conceptualization of ideas usually during periods of rest and reflection. i think it’s important to work hard to see a vision through to completion, but especially towards the end of a project it can be difficult to maintain energy. it seems like all of the important problems and ideas have been solved and it’s just a matter of busywork to complete it. the period of reflection between work or between projects, when the mind wanders and the cauldron of ideas begins to bubble, that is where i find my energy. the flash of an idea and the mind begins to race down possible paths, this can be consuming and i feel compelled to create whatever it is i am consumed by. i usually start to burn out halfway through when the interesting ideas are finished and only the polishing and shining remain.

i would define my energy as inspired by invention foremost. the excitement of bringing ideas to life has always been the well from which i draw and the driving force in my life up to this point.

i. Instrument, Utensil, Implement, Machine, or Apparatus? which? why? where? if you had to choose just one preindustrial tool, which would it be?

i have a dictionary problem and this question is totally feeding it. for some reason, all of these words are from latin. “utensil” and “instrument” are almost the same, but the former indicates necessity (“the necessaries”) and the latter indicates something more delicate, a specific agency.

well, necessity, what can i say, everyone needs a spoon and a pair of chopsticks and a vessel or two for holding fluids. oh! one’s utensils should be very smooth.

my main instrument is the viola. it belonged to my grandmother. it was made in italy in 1852. it is wood and glue. it is my favorite thing. i am not an instrument.

apparatus… what a strange word. in latin, it simply means “preparation,” but in english it is a “totality of means,” and something about that provokes unease. i could not use this word in a non-facetious way.

machine… well now, thats another story! “machina” : a thing that transforms energy. anything! machines can have a lot to say. i am a machine, of course.

pre-industrial tool? stylus. or singing? is that a tool?

ii. creativity has been redefined throughout the ages. our most modern tends to focus on process, placement, person, and output (or product). do you find your abilities within this realm of definition or do you see outside influences, such as divine inspiration, muses, daemons, or forces of nature as factors?

what a gnarly question! dang!

it seems natural but disingenuous to pretend not to think about audience and context– even if the preferred audience/context is (nominally) nobody and nowhere. but i always think the best art comes from mindlessfullness, which takes practice. personally i go in little phases of attention to this or to that or to very little, but there’s always something getting made. sometimes the things take a long time to make and assume a highly specific form, other times (more times) i revel in disaster and the practice of chaos (and yeah that takes a certain commitment too). and there is a lot of room in between. sometimes you stop wherever the deadline falls, and sometimes a thing comes fully formed from nowhere. wait, no it doesn’t! that’s impossible! in any case the raw material of time-spent-in-process is, i think, always perceivable, no matter how simple the final form or how sudden its emergence.

i’m sorry that this is not really an answer. i believe in silent oracles.

iii. sound energy is the form of energy associated with the vibration or disturbance of matter. work, a form of energy, is force times distance. in living organisms, energy is stored as polysaccharides. common terms referring to such magical energy include mana, numen, chi or kundalini. how do you derive energy? how would you define your own personal energy?

modulation. wait, no! vibration. vibration is better, even if you already said it.

speaker pushes air. heart pumps blood. both will burn out and die if pushed in one direction only.

periodicity engenders perception. movement establishes relative frame. disrupted periodicity is information. shared context is exformation, and can be discarded when communicating.

potential energy is only that. it just sits there until molecules are broken down and, one way or another, usually recycled into others (through some kind of machine, of necessity.) each cycle has a parameter-space, and trajectories within that space which maximize this or that. any complex system contains multiple periodicities, perhaps easily broken or modulated, perhaps tending inevitably towards unending oscillation, perhaps towards stillness and maximal thermodynamic entropy (or, if you like, minimal information-entropy…)

each periodicity has a frequency. some people would say each chakra is a frequency. chakra means wheel. (the tone wheel is a beautiful invention. machine. instrument. not an apparatus!) prana is breath (keep breathing. do it now!) numen is perception – of “divine will.” chi is flow – of “life force.” i don’t know quite what those words in quotes mean but, evidently they are each supposed to be doing something besides sitting there by themselves.

the sudden halt of car-crash-impact, or sudden audibility of loud-high-sine-wave, are most damaging to the ears. a slow enough swell of noise or tone won’t even be noticed. how much louder is the world today than 100 years ago? 500 years? 5000? 2 billion (maybe its quieter now)?

notes colors paths functions stories vibes. i wish i knew where it all came from. none of it belongs to me. there is a theory that organisms have “negentropy”, that they are attractors or generators of pattern. i don’t buy that but it’s a nice thought.

this machine runs on vibration. and magic. and coffee and angst and weird dreams.

i. Instrument, Utensil, Implement, Machine, or Apparatus? which? why? where? if you had to choose just one preindustrial tool, which would it be?

Instrument, as an extension of the body and mind. Yikes, what a hippy-dippy way to start! Let me try again.

Instrument, as extension of the body, and thought. (Not much better, but it will do).

My background as an instrumentalist informs nearly everything I do. Even though a large part of what I do is make things (both hard and soft) each thing I make is an instrument in the manner that I interact with it. This even, and especially, rings true with software. One of the reasons that I got Max/MSP to ‘stick’ after many years and failed attempts to learn it was coming to it with a clearer idea of what I wanted it to do and, more importantly, not do. There’s only so much capacity to interface with something, so an instrument must be specific and limited in what it does, to be generic and limitless in what it can do.

My preindustrial tool would be sadness. True, open, heartfelt sadness. Or maybe a pointy stick. Pretty multitask-y. Not with a spearhead on or anything, just the stick, the wood. I could hunt and fish with it. Play music with it. And if it came down to it, burn it.

ii. creativity has been redefined throughout the ages. our most modern tends to focus on process, placement, person, and output (or product). do you find your abilities within this realm of definition or do you see outside influences, such as divine inspiration, muses, daemons, or forces of nature as factors?

I’m definitely more a process guy. A big part of what I do is improv based. That’s all process. There’s a nakedness to it. That is, the actual ‘stuff’ of it. It’s me, sat there, making decisions. On top of that is a layer of aesthetic, which is my sound world. But that’s almost secondary. The ‘carrier of content’, as it were, lies underneath that. It is the process. It is me.

I’m not a spiritual person at all, but I do think inspiration is a receptive act. When I sit down to compose, or if I’m working on something creative, I clear my mind, and wait. Objectively, I would imagine this is a very introspective/subconscious type process that kicks in, but it feels more like an antennae-like process. I dial in. To what?

The object/output dilemma for a process-based art is a tricky one. There’s an implicit commodification involved in music making, largely due to historical baggage. I am a victim of that habit. I’m trying to move away from that idea, and be more honest with what I do, and how people interact with it, but it is difficult. As trite as it sounds, the internet is great for this.

iii. sound energy is the form of energy associated with the vibration or disturbance of matter. work, a form of energy, is force times distance. in living organisms, energy is stored as polysaccharides. common terms referring to such magical energy include mana, numen, chi or kundalini. how do you derive energy? how would you define your own personal energy?

It’s all about learning for me. I try to learn as much as possible.

I have a theory about computers, which is a bit contradictory considering I make custom/complex software, which I try to apply to everything I do with them. I try to use default settings, no custom shortcuts, I always update to the latest everything etc… with the idea being that my ability to use a computer (and by extension, technology) is not defined by my ability to shape the tool to me. It is by my ability to shape myself to the tool. This makes my ability liquid with regards to technology. Everything is always new, but I learn and adapt quickly as a result. Aptitude vs ability.

While I’m on speculative theories and energy, I have a theory about the nature of creativity and how we function within it. It’s not very clear to me yet, but the idea is that there is fundamental creativity (be it the big bang, or something along those lines), and then there is a tree growing from that, which has all the possible types of creativity stemming from it. Far down a branch of a branch of a branch is art, and down that brach is music. By choice, that is my aesthetic domain. It is the singular point, along a continuum of creativity, that I function on. Around that point is a window, which is defined by my ability to ‘think outside the box’. It is what lets me approach creative problems with creative solutions, nonlinearly. While it is a bit of a complex set up, the main point of it is to say that choosing your aesthetic domain and window is as much a part of the creative process as what you actually do within that.

monome on thosewhomake.

i. Instrument, Utensil, Implement, Machine, or Apparatus? which? why? where? if you had to choose just one preindustrial tool, which would it be?

ooh, that is a tough one… but i would have to go with instrument. i am a firm believer that (in the musical sense) anything can be an instrument. if you spend enough time learning the ins and outs of anything, you can coax something magical out of it. because i tend to mix musical and non musical things together quite a bit in my work, i’ve learned ridiculous things like which bamboo whisk (when crushing the bristles in my hands in just the right way) can make the most beautiful walking-in-frozen-leaves sound -or- how to place a contact mic in just the right spot on a small piece of foil where you can make the sound of a large piece of metal bending and bowing under it’s own weight. if you dig deep enough, you are bound to find something worth keeping… or at least worth showing to a friend.

in the preindustrial era i would choose the drum as my tool of choice. for communication or entertainment, you can’t go wrong with a drum.

ii. creativity has been redefined throughout the ages. our most modern tends to focus on process, placement, person, and output (or product). do you find your abilities within this realm of definition or do you see outside influences, such as divine inspiration, muses, daemons, or forces of nature as factors?

i feel that my creative abilities are always at odds with each other and are competing for my time and attention. sometimes i really wish i had fewer interests. maybe i would get more done… or maybe i would just produce (even) more boring work… it’s hard to say. I think that because i am always spending a little bit of time on a lot of different things my creativity is defined by cycles and chance. I seem to get caught in a pattern of working on one thing over and over again for a while until something bumps me out of that locked groove and into another one. i don’t know what causes the bump… maybe it is inspiration, or a force of nature or just simply a desire to move on. i am in a heavy photography phase right now… but i am wishing i were in a music phase.

iii. sound energy is the form of energy associated with the vibration or disturbance of matter. work, a form of energy, is force times distance. in living organisms, energy is stored as polysaccharides. common terms referring to such magical energy include mana, numen, chi or kundalini. how do you derive energy? how would you define your own personal energy?

my energy comes from constantly being surprised by the things around me. learning something new and then suddenly seeing it everywhere. finding the magic that happens when you combine two things… falling hail with the tines on a toy piano. listening. traveling. meeting people from different places. seeing how my three year old daughter discovers the world. my energy also comes from simpler places. making my wife laugh… then seeing if i can do it again moments later. holding something well designed in my hands and thinking about what care went into making it. remembering places and people… and thinking about what they mean to me.

i hope my personal energy is perceived as a hushed, warm, welcoming (and sometimes humorous) wave… but it isn’t up to me to define.

thank you for your consideration.

i. Instrument, Utensil, Implement, Machine, or Apparatus? which? why? where? if you had to choose just one preindustrial tool, which would it be?

apparatus, without a doubt the sole option. the apparatus is the only one which will tell you what it wants to do rather than waiting for instructions. intention as a starting point but disruptive truth revealed through handling the literal form, instead of the loaded image. a fork as one line ending with striation. a book as a collection of joined flexible planes, their true strength in numbers. total physical environment and objects not only as form, but as hidden revelation. the potential collaboration between inanimate/inanimate and sentient/inanimate relationships which can guide us in today’s materialistic societies.

the boomerang seems a fitting choice from the preindustrial era- its base technique rooted in flight, and of utilitarian origin, now able to be abstracted and representing leisure, or more precisely the luxury of deeper research. its the ultimate dream: turning gravity horizontally, while at the same time allowing for other objects to behave in the traditional manner when the two meet. a classic double gravity situation. that we know a boomerang best when it spins only strengthens its ability to morph between symmetry and asymmetry when interacting with the world.

ii. creativity has been redefined throughout the ages. our most modern tends to focus on process, placement, person, and output (or product). do you find your abilities within this realm of definition or do you see outside influences, such as divine inspiration, muses, daemons, or forces of nature as factors?

the ultimate goal for me has always been consciousness. but for all of the systems, methods, structures, theories, rules, regulations, tactics, and routines- the very last step, no matter how infinitesimal, is always blind. the details can be organized, premeditated, and planned. a collage possibly even creating a fresh interpretation, but still a collage. revolutionary concepts are born outside the process. they arrive in such simple form as to almost seem to be from the past; ancient history.

i absolutely don’t believe in divine inspiration, and that disbelief is itself my muse. a trick of the mind to build a fortress from rational logic, and then find all the cracks… or suffocate and start anew.

iii. sound energy is the form of energy associated with the vibration or disturbance of matter. work, a form of energy, is force times distance. in living organisms, energy is stored as polysaccharides. common terms referring to such magical energy include mana, numen, chi or kundalini. how do you derive energy? how would you define your own personal energy?

energy spreads from connecting the dots, flowing along these lines but also producing new dots. the energy of never completing the picture, a perpetual motion machine. community and generations. cultural differences play a huge role. keeping a balance gives more than it receives; the extremes feed each other in the middle. balance is a supreme paradox, the illusion of rest brought by constant expenditure.

the joy caused by metamorphosis- all that potential energy becoming kinetic. trite but inescapable. seemingly solid objects, vibration of particles, ellipses, parabolas, visual rhythm. a pulse you can see and not just hear or feel. obsession with orbits on all scales. the apollo missions, landing on the moon.

that moment when anything is possible, and no one knows what is going to happen next.

photo by frida flodin