KRGA

Seattle area musician Kristian Garrard has a background in computer synthesis and sound manipulation, jazz drumming, and guitar. His current project, KRGA, aims to combine the sounds of any and all instruments around into thick, swarming clouds of tones using self-built sampling software. He uses emphasis on drones and moving textures to create warm and dense atmospheres. Most of these pieces are created using only one or two instruments as sound sources, which are processed and resampled real-time in a computer environment. KRGA live performances surround the audience with live generated synthesis and sampling. Deconstructed sounds swirl around the room, as patiently created beds of tones build into a complex organic storm. Electrical discharge takes deep root in dark soil as sparks spin out of ground holes, lodging above as flickering stars.

KRGA’s first Aphonia Release, Magic Wand, is a two track drone cycle, focusing on the sound of electrical interference, and the promotion of its sound to be the foremost element of the music. The title track finds Kristian manipulating an electric guitar with a vibrator, both using it to excite the strings as well as to interfere with the pickups’ signal. The track slowly grows thicker and thicker, as the sound of the guitar is processed and layered in Max/MSP. The second track, “AC”, focuses on the ubiquitous 60 cycle hum of electrical instruments. An electric guitar is set on the floor, gain cranked up, to allow the hum to ring out. The buzz quickly gains weight as it layers on top of itself, deep rumblings come out from below, until finally dissolving into a simple chord, which becomes fractured and atonal as the song fades out. Both tracks on this mini-album were recorded direct as they were performed. No overdubs occur on these recordings.

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