Base Camp Beta

This week we are thrilled to be joined by the head of the Institute of Sonology Kees Tazelaar. We talk about the early history of electronic music in the Netherlands with Philips, the founding of Sonology with Gottfried Michael Koenig, and the incredible work realized there over the years by Jaap Vink, Luctor Ponse, Konrad Boehmer, and Roland Kayn. Check out Kees' fantastic book 'On the Threshold...

It's all over the place, this one. Chris and Shawn talk Nathan Fielder, Michael Douglas, plot-twist cinema, Hypnotic Tango, Lacan, Stockhausen, and the professionalization of the DJ mix. JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta

Jean Louis Huhta joins us this week to talk about his incredibly long and varied career playing drums in punk and go-go bands in Gothenburg, his work in the ambient techno collective Lucky People Center, his jamming acid as Dungeon Acid, and how to make rent at the end of the month. Lucky People Center International https://youtu.be/YEdKdqu0cvk?si=J5NnLMUaRif9KnaB Tactical Survival Unit https://ww...

UNLOCK THE FULL EP ON PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta It's a ghoulishly good time on BCB this week with Shawn and Chris discussing a socialist halloween, the films of Jean Rollin (yes, again), and who the most goth GRM composer is. We also touch on favorite halloween candies, the Friday the 13th franchise, and get sidetracked talking about the NY staple of the Baked Ziti slice for about 10 minute...

Artist, composer, and technologist Chloe Alexandra Thompson joins us this week to talk growing up in the early 00's Vancouver arts scene, chilling at tide pools, acoustic ecology, and defending indigenous and First Nations rights. Chloe on Acoustic Ecology https://www.highpitchmagazine.com/issues/issue-02/untitling-chloe-alexandra-thompson Defend the Treaties: https://raventrust.com/campaigns/defe...

Shawn and Chris are back in da gear z0ne with an episode talking all about the most famous drum machine of all time - the Roland TR-808. We look at the many genres it birthed, its iconic sounds, and talk about some of our favorite 808 tunes. We also dive in to the DIY process a bit and talk about how to go about making your own 808 from Dinsync. Youtube version: https://youtu.be/kEqmuDDxWy0 Dinsyn...

Shawn and Chris dive into the wonderful world of Conny Plank this week - talking about his studio techniques and what made him a great producer. Mostly we just list all the great records he produced - Cluster, Rita Mitsouko, Michael Ranta, Moebius/Plank, DAF, Eurythmics, Kraftwerk, Liasons Dangereuses, etc. etc. etc. JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta

PREVIEW CLIP. Join our Patreon to get the goods, *uncensored, uncut*! http://www.patreon.com/basecampbeta In our tireless efforts to bring you, dear patrons, nothing less than the Most Premium of Content, we've frankensteined together some ramblings about Fassbinder, pizza, and electronic music pedagogy. It's as Beta as our Camp gets, and y'all better be here for it. Like the saying goes, drop in,...

Heidi Sabertooth joins us this week to talk about her upbringing in Iowa, the electroclash moment in New York, and running Synth Library NYC - a lending library for synths and electronic music equipment that strives to make gear more accessible. Check out Synth Library NYC to get involved and to donate unused gear https://synthlibrarynyc.org/ Check out Heidi's music https://heidisabertooth.com/ JO...

This week we dive into the world of Spanish Italo Disco - sometimes called Paella Disco, sometimes the "Sabadell Sound" after the Barcelona suburb it mostly comes from. We talk about the distinct eras of Italo qua Italo and embrace the deeper cuts as well as the big cheesy ones. We also do some live reacting to Italo tracks neither of us know. JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta

Jon Nicholson aka SSPS aka DJ Porkchop aka Gigi Black aka part of Excepter joins us for a wide ranging trip. Jon is a fixture of the New York scene, but we spend the entire time talking about his early period in Chicago - Ron Hardy playing the high school function, skinheads and ravers, pool hopping, records to get the punkers slam dancing, and about a million other things. Episode on Youtube http...

UNLOCK THE FULL EPISODE patreon.com/basecampbeta Shawn and Chris compare and contrast two legendary Italian free improv groups - Musica Elettronica Viva and the Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza - and spin out talking geodesic domes, west coast cybernetics, hippies, aquariums, the circuit of capital, and North By Northwest (1959). A very Base Camp Beta episode.

Jake Muir joins us this week to talk about RPG-style world building with sound, field recording, Argeïphontes Lyre, and his unique approach to source material destruction. Check out Jake's work https://www.jakemuir.org/about and his latest record 'Pareidolia' https://enmossed.bandcamp.com/album/pareidolia JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta Video episode https://youtu.be/S7yTKhmDvkw

Shawn and Chris are back in da gear z0ne with an episode talking all about Compressors - what they are, how they work, and how to use them. We look at some of the historically important compressors, talk about compressors as feedback devices, and naturally bring up dialectics. JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta

Scott Kiernan and Victoria Keddie join us this week for a deep dive into the history of ESP TV, their long-running multi-disciplinary avant-garde public access variety show (say that five times fast!). We talk cross-country mobile broadcasting, the joys of setting up a 501(c), and the latent spirituality of the DIY ethos. Check out the ESP TV archives at https://www.esptv.com/ and please join our...

UNLOCK THE FULL EPISODE patreon.com/basecampbeta This week Shawn and Chris dive into the idea of the techno album and why it so often feels unfulfilling or like a paint-by-numbers exercise. We also talk about two examples of techno albums that succeed as exceptional albums - Regis' "Penetration" and Porter Ricks's "Biokinetics" - and why they stand out. We also talk eclipses, if compilations can c...

This week we're joined by our friend Drew Lustman aka FaltyDL to discuss the king of music software Reason, growing up in Connecticut, and about a million other things. Check out the video version of this episode at our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubvF_XA56_Q Check out Drew's new label project Freak Technique and the Be My Baby EP https://faltydl.bandcamp.com/album/be-my-baby-e...

Dina Pearlman joins us this week to talk about one of the undisputed pioneers in synthesizer history - her father Alan R. Pearlman. We talk about Alan's early experiments in electronics instruments (the "Tactovox" from 1948), hanging with Timothy Leary, and chart the course of ARP as a company through the 1970s. Check out the fantastic work done by Dina and the ARP Foundation here https://alanrpea...

Just Shawn and Chris today. We had every intention of talking music but got sidetracked and spend the first half of the show talking about seafood and 'tinned fish'. Later we talk some Serge as Shawn spent the past week at NYU making Serge dub and getting the most out of two (!) Wilson Analog Delays. JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta

Arnau Sala, esteemed musician, artist, and zine-maker, joins us to discuss the politics of degrowth, advanced meditation techniques, and the joys of shallow listening. Scope his multimedia label Anomia here: https://soundcloud.com/anomiaprod And a friendly reminder to join our Patreon! http://patreon.com/basecampbeta

A very freeform episode today. We talk about pizza for maybe too long and then talk a lot more about movies - mostly centering on David Lynch, but with a nice amount of John Carpenter and James Bond in there for good measure. To hear the full episode JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta

Lea Bertucci joins us this week to talk graphic scores, playing with foil, and the dawn of music. This podcast was recorded and broadcast in 432 Hz for ultimate sonic wellness. Check out Lea's work: http://lea-bertucci.com/ Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/basecampbeta

Elizabeth Davis aka Wilted Woman joins us this week to talk the comics/noise scene, recording music on flip phones, and how to make music commodity again. Check Lizzie's work out https://virtual-slap.net/info and her latest record 'Flowers' https://wiltedwoman.bandcamp.com/album/flowers and of course JOIN THE PATREON www.patreon.com/basecampbeta

We're joined this week by producer, musician, technologist, distributor, and CD burner extraordinaire Keith Fullerton Whitman to talk digging for Japan-exclusive Duran Duran mini CDs in the West Village, fine Digitech products, and the kindness of strangers. Video for this episode at our YouTube here https://youtu.be/FMC7VurjMbE Check Keith's work at https://keithfullertonwhitman.com/ JOIN THE PAT...

It's a heat wave all over Europe so in this PATREON EXCLUSIVE episode Shawn and Chris talk celsius vs. farenheit for far too long before moving on to talk about some of the pieces of gear that have most marked their own music. To hear the full episode join the Patreon patreon.com/basecampbeta