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NoVo / Nouveau: Live Audio, Day 3 – Nathan Bell (2010.03.04)


Photo credit: Greg Szeto

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  1. MP3: Untitled
  2. MP3: Untitled
  3. MP3: Untitled
  4. MP3: Untitled

Download the entire set in FLAC.

Nathan Bell (feat. Ami Dang)

drum overheads – shure sm81s
banjo amp – sennheiser 421
banjo spot – oktava 012
sitar amp – sennheiser 421
acoustic guitar with pickup – shure sm57 on amp
stage – apex 460 tube (set to omni)
stage – mxl 990 (angled at 45 deg in towards the middle of the stage)
mid room – oktava 012 (x/y)
back room – AT boundary

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Matthew Leffler-Schulman @ Mobtown Studios

NoVo / Nouveau: Live Audio, Day 3 – Gregory Rago (2010.03.04)

Photo credit: Tedd Henn

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  1. MP3: They Will Seek to Poison You
  2. MP3: Untitled Instrumental
  3. MP3: Augusta
  4. MP3: The Quivering Gyre of the Mid-Atlantic

Download the entire set in FLAC.

Gregory Rago

Acoustic guitar – Shure SM81 pointed at the 12th fret
Room Mics – Oktava 012 (x/y)

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Matthew Leffler-Schulman @ Mobtown Studios

Tracked with Logic 9.1

NoVo / Nouveau: Live Audio, Day 2 – Expanding Man (2010.03.03)

Photo credit: Tedd Henn

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  1. MP3: The Dirge
  2. MP3: Origami
  3. MP3: Church & State
  4. MP3: Interpretation of Dreams

Download the entire set in FLAC.

Expanding Man

Vibes – Shure SM81 (x/y)
Guitar – Shure SM57
Drum Machine – DI
stage – mxl 990 (angled at 45 deg in towards the middle of the stage)

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Alex Champagne & Matthew Leffler-Schulman @ Mobtown Studios

NoVo / Nouveau: Live Audio, Day 2 – JDay (2010.03.03)

Photo credit: Tedd Henn

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  1. MP3: Untitled

Download the entire set in FLAC.

JDay

DJ Set

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Alex Champagne & Matthew Leffler-Schulman @ Mobtown Studios

NoVo / Nouveau: Live Audio, Day 2 – Field Athletics (2010.03.03)


Photo credit: Tedd Henn

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  1. MP3: Chalkboard Skies
  2. MP3: Old World Streets
  3. MP3: Pulley and Breeze
  4. MP3: Ring-Tone Rain
  5. MP3: Gargoyle
  6. MP3: Snow Plow
  7. MP3: Island Barnacle

Download the entire set in FLAC.

Field Athletics

kick – shure beta 52
snare – shure sm57
floor tom – sennheiser 421
drum overheads – spaced pair (angled out) – shure sm81
guitar amp – sennheiser 421
stage – apex 460 tube (c12 clone) (set to omni)
stage – mxl 990 (angled at 45 deg in towards the middle of the stage)

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Alex Champagne & Matthew Leffler-Schulman @ Mobtown Studios

Tracked with Logic 9.1

NoVo / Nouveau: Live Audio, Day 2 – The Water (2010.03.03)


Photo credit: Tedd Henn

Keep checking back as we post recordings from the rest of NoVo Festival!

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  1. MP3: Mercury Switch
  2. MP3: Cornish Guilt
  3. MP3: Mr. Fritz-Fantasia
  4. MP3: Future Nails
  5. MP3: No Huffy
  6. MP3: Fallsway
  7. MP3: Space Caesar

Download the entire set in FLAC.

The Water
Kick – shure beta 52
Snare – shure sm57
Floor tom – sennheiser 421
Overheads – spaced pair (angled out) – shure sm81
Guitar amp – sennheiser 421
Keys – DI
Dan’s pod – DI
Stage – apex 460 tube (set to omni)
Stage – mxl 990 (angled at 45 deg in towards the middle of the stage)
Mid room – oktava 012 (x/y)
Back room – AT boundary

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Matthew Leffler-Schulman @ Mobtown Studios

Tracked with Logic 9.1

NoVo / Nouveau: Jason Urick, Microkingdom, noteNdo

Photo credit: Josh Sisk

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MP3: Jason Urick – The Eternal Return, Live @ the Hexagon

Jason Urick (ex-WZT Hearts) had a banner 2009. Finally releasing his solo outing signed to Thrill Jockey, Husbands is a glorious burst of swirling experimental instrumentals, at once sunny and brooding. The album received much fanfare, both local and national, and Jason played a number of phenomenal shows locally before shipping off on a European jaunt in early 2010. He even worked on a killer split 7″ with Jason Willett for WildfireWildfire. This is his first show since coming home, and the perfect opportunity to see and hear how his worldly travels have affected him.

Fellow WZT Heart Jeff Donaldson isn’t doing so shabbily himself, continuing to push the boundaries of the chiptune genre with his noteNdo project, and some killer game system-generated visuals. Since WZT Hearts’ dissolution, Donaldson has been working out of New York around the Tank and 8bitpeoples scene. After playing the Windup tonight, he will hang around town for a the 8-Bit Alliance show on Sunday featuring fellow NYC’ers Anamanaguchi at Sonar. Check out our exhaustive interview with Jeff from 2008.

Microkingdom will debut their newest iteration, Prism Leisure: the core of Will Redman, Marc Miller and John Dierker will be supplemented by experimental cellist Audrey Chen and Microkingdom first-timer Chris Pumphrey on Fender Rhodes piano. Their abstract jazz paintings are near and dear to us at Aural States, playing one of our favorite sets of 2009 opening for our showcase featuring So Percussion. According to Will, we can expect a little bit of old, a little bit of new, and surprises as always. One of Baltimore’s most challenging and extreme acts, on what’s sure to be a night filled with instrumental bliss.

Novo / Nouveau: Nathan Bell (feat. Ami Dang)

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MP3: Nathan Bell – Moonsblood from Nathan Bell @ 2640 (2008)

Nathan Bell probably needs no introduction, particularly to those of you familiar with Baltimore music. In recent years this elder statesmen of Baltimore music (one-time bass player for Lungfish) has come to prominence for his transcendent instrumental expeditions on banjo, as well as his Human Bell project with Arbouretum’s Dave Heumann. Bell explains the appeal of solely instrumental compositions simply: it’s all about “room.” He laments that vocals can often make a song feel confining to the listener, and the extra space for interpretation and musical exploration is appealing to him. Leaving the imagination wide-open for one to wander wherever the musical spirit takes you is key to his approach. Local label West Main Development captured Bell’s solo music in most glorious form with its release of a intricate live performance at the 2640 Space in 2008; the result is perhaps the most expansive and epic EP I’ve ever laid ears upon.

What may be most exciting about his headlining set tonight, is a potentially Earth-shaking collaboration with local sitar-wielding treasure Ami Dang. She was a casualty of inclement weather at Aural States Fest II, one of the more disappointing things to happen that night. The chance to catch up with her playing, a relative rarity nowadays as she records with Ehse Records for a highly anticipated release, will be a welcome opportunity.

NoVo / Nouveau: The Water

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MP3: The Water – Future Nails

Tonight’s headliners are one of the newest acts on NoVo’s roster. Baltimore duo The Water only really started playing out in 2009, and swiftly gained some traction and notable fans around town, snagging big gigs like the Metro Gallery’s Rufustival. Comprised of Dan Cohan (drums, electronics) and James Klink (guitars, keys, electronics), their self-titled and self-released EP was recorded with NoVo co-curator Matthew Leffler-Schulman in 2009, and serves up a strong cut of straight-up post-rock. Technically tight, but not overly complicated, their music works in the realm of nuance with an ear for great arrangements.

All well and good, but it doesn’t do justice to their immersive and dazzling live show. This is to be expected, considering what Dan told WYPR’s the Signal at the end of last week: “We spend a lot of time on what a show should look like. As much time as we spend on what it should sound like.” Undoubtedly, their pièce de résistance is a fast-track to myth, homemade “light obelisk” that changes color when they play. And as anyone can tell you, light shows and post-rock go hand-in-hand like chocolate and peanut butter.

The pot gets even sweeter when you consider that tonight’s set will feature a collaboration with guest drummer Mike Lowry of Lake Trout & Big in Japan. The lineup also features experimental guitarist Carlos Guillen’s The Expanding Man project and DJ JDay. Check out live footage of The Water’s set from Rufustival by Guy Werner after the jump.

Read the rest…

NoVo / Nouveau: Introductions

You’ve probably seen or heard something about this week’s inaugural NoVo (No Vocals) instrumental music festival somewhere around town (City Paper, Fox45, WYPR’s Maryland Morning and the Signal, the Baltimore Sun), and with such an impressive lineup, you’d be a fool to miss it.

Since opening the Windup Space, owner Russell de Ocampo (also a member of instrumental band Yeveto) has yearned to hold a festival that would highlight the different flavors of instrumental music in Baltimore. When asked why instrumental often gets the short shrift, de Ocampo mused that ” a lot of people tend to view it as soundtrack music, or background music, so I think that it kind of gets that stigma to it. People don’t tend to think of it as something to be watched at a live show, or to be listened to directly.” In an effort to combat this perception, de Ocampo teamed up with Matthew Leffler-Schulman (owner of Mobtown Studios) to create this 5 day showcase of instrumental splendor.  However, Matthew Leffler-Schulman notes that instrumental is not without its successes in the realm of pop music, citing singles such as “Green Onions” from Booker T. & the MGs whose riff has become almost ubiquitously associated with slick and cool.

Taking a historical look at European attitudes towards strictly instrumental music, it is clear that religious institutions and figureheads, who played large roles in direction of culture and society, had an unfavorable view of instruments themselves. In fact, little remains of ancient music despite the fact that evidence suggests Romans and Greeks had extensive systems of musical notation. This is largely due to their destruction by the early founders of the Christian church. One pillar of their reasoning was that the best praise for God would be using God’s gifts (ie- voices) and not crude, man-made implements. Furthermore, instrumental in the period of Early Music (6th-17th centuries) was so closely associated with dance that it was demonized as the flawed and sinful province of the salacious and deviant. As the era of Early Music progressed (particularly through the Medieval period), instrumental music gained prominence outside the realm of dance owed to the growing tradition of theater.

Through huge leaps in musical notation in the Baroque period, and the advances in polyphony through Early Music, instrumentalists rose in prominence and finally had a codified language to write music with, likely facilitating the development of classical music (probably the genre most associated with instrumental composition). While a lynchpin of classical and jazz, instrumental compositions and artists have gotten more than their fair share of negative press within the broader consciousness of fans outside of those two genres. This makes NoVo a brazen choice, particularly for a popular music venue, to strictly focus on solely instrumental music. Thankfully for them Baltimore’s wellspring of talent operating in this realm is overflowing.

Tonight everything gets kickstarted with the free Out Of Your Head Collective’s 1 Year Anniversary featuring three sets from local invaluable improv-ers, such as pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn and reed-man John Dierker. Check back here throughout the week for more info on daily performers, and starting next week we’ll be providing full live recordings of the entire festival.

Check out the NoVo website for full lineup and schedule.

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