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Ralph “Buzzy” Jones reminisces about his upbringing...

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 21:25:00 -0400

Ralph “Buzzy” Jones reminisces about his upbringing in Detroit, a breeding ground for musical innovators.

CONCERT

feat. Rafiq Bhatia, Ralph Jones, Teddy Rankin-Parker, Christian Smith

All music produced by Alexander Overington

Stage Production by Thread Collective Inc.

FRIDAY THE 13TH OF MAY, 2011
WILDER MAIN, OBERLIN OH
6PM

Tom Lopez reminisces on what he likes most about what Alex...

Wed, 11 May 2011 10:34:19 -0400

Tom Lopez reminisces on what he likes most about what Alex Overington brings to the table. With cream, two sugars.

CONCERT

feat. Rafiq Bhatia, Ralph Jones, Teddy Rankin-Parker, Christian Smith

All music produced by Alexander Overington

Stage Production by Thread Collective Inc.

FRIDAY THE 13TH OF MAY, 2011
WILDER MAIN, OBERLIN OH
6PM

Video

Tue, 10 May 2011 21:26:46 -0400

If you find yourself in Ohio and would do anything for a sneak...

Sun, 08 May 2011 14:44:00 -0400

If you find yourself in Ohio and would do anything for a sneak peak of my recital, its your lucky day! I’m premiering a new piece commissioned by the sciensemble in Fairchild Chapel tonight at 10PM. The six piece band is made up of some of the brightest new music performers in Oberlin — all of whom were excited about experimenting with me in the studio. We started off recording the percussionist, Christian Smith, playing a 12-minute improvisation for wood block (of all things) and classical guitar (which was smashed into multiple pieces, and had homemade circuits and contact mics glued all over the place — see above photo). I then recorded the other performers mimicking the the sounds of Christian’s recording. The resulting tape piece is that of 60 or so layers that have been chopped up, rearranged and sculpted into a 15-minute studio re-orchestration that follows the narrative of the original solo. Although Christian’s recorded improvisation rarely surfaces in the finished product, he will be playing along live tonight with the tape piece, a fitting bookend to the process.

Be sure to check out the other pieces on the program, three excellent new works by composers Eugene Kim, Porter James & Matthew Chamberlain. Hope to see you there!

P.S. For those of you who can’t make it out tonight, I’ll be presenting the piece in a masterclass tomorrow night with composer-in-residence Rand Steiger of University of California, San Diego at 7PM in Bibbins 223.

Lewis Nielson discusses his thoughts on CONCERT, my upcoming...

Sat, 07 May 2011 11:31:00 -0400

Lewis Nielson discusses his thoughts on CONCERT, my upcoming senior show. For those of you in the greater Cleveland area, check it out!

FRIDAY THE 13th OF MAY, 6PM

WILDER MAIN, OBERLIN OH

feat. Rafiq Bhatia, Ralph Jones, Teddy Rankin-Parker, Christian Smith

all music composed by the performers in collaboration with Alexander Overington

all music produced by Alexander Overington

Stage Production by Thread Collective Inc.

A few months ago I was at Greenhouse Studios where enigmatic...

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:00:30 -0400

A few months ago I was at Greenhouse Studios where enigmatic genius Valgeir Sigurdsson was mixing Rafiq’s new record at his studio just outside the center of Reykjavik. Throughout my stay in Iceland I had been continuously infatuated with the concept behind one the country’s most bizarre culinary innovations, Hakarl, or fermented shark. I first heard of this rancid delicacy on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations and ever since then was determined to find out if it was really a bad as it was purported to be.

Luckily, on our final night in Iceland, Hakarl was served with dinner at my request, much to the dismay of the other guests at the studio. The resulting experience is far too hard to put down in words, so I figured I would try to document as many of my friends consuming the rotten meat as possible and let their experiences tell the tale. I smuggled enough meat back into the States to last me a while so I’ve decided to create an ongoing series called A Whiff of This, a collection of the facial expressions and reactions of my unsuspecting friends.

What you’ll find above is Episode I, featuring Meade Bernard. Meade was a good soul to go through with this and I think he did a bang up job. Enjoy!

I’ve had the great fortune over the past few months of...

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:16:00 -0400

I’ve had the great fortune over the past few months of getting to know the performer and ethnomusicologist, Ralph Miles Jones. I approached him last October about filming a short profile video for the Oberlin website and in the process of shooting we realized that we had a lot in common. Now, we’re in the studio working on an electroacoustic piece that will be performed in May at Oberlin and in July at CalArts (where Ralph and I will be teaching this summer). More about that piece later. But for now, check out this video which I’ve decided should be called: THE MAN, THE LEGEND.

Just finished post-production on Rafiq’s record at Joe...

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 21:33:13 -0500

Just finished post-production on Rafiq’s record at Joe Lambert’s beam-me-up-scotty spaceship of a studio in DUMBO. #jedimastering

Audio

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:27:00 -0500

Listen to the Oberlin Third Eye Laptop Orchestra (TELO) perform...

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:59:00 -0500

Listen to the Oberlin Third Eye Laptop Orchestra (TELO) perform live with visiting artist Hans Tammen. TELO is an electroaccoustic variation on Hans’ established Third Eye Orchestra for which he has developed a system for coaching and directing eclectic ensembles in guided improvisation. This incarnation of the band includes 6 laptops, percussion, piano, violin and voice. Yours truly on laptop, subwoofer and violin processing.

Oberlin Third Eye Laptop Orchestra

Warner Concert Hall

Oberlin, Ohio

October, 19 2010

whoa, thx!

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:33:17 -0400

whoa, thx!:

Internet, thanks for voting! Brasstronaut’s Heart’s Trompet (produced by yours truly) has won Canada’s Echo Prize, beating out the likes of Crystal Castles and Caribou. Couldn’t have done it without you, little monsters. Read the full story on Spinner here.

Heart’s Trompet, a track I produced for Vancouver-based...

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 01:20:00 -0400

Heart’s Trompet, a track I produced for Vancouver-based Brasstronaut is up for best song of the year in Canada via the Echo Prize! Only 5 days left to vote so take action now. The album, Mount Chimaera, came out last January via Unfamiliar. You can download the full album here. For those of you in Eurpoe, check out the dates below for Brasstronaut’s first UK tour…

Oct 10 - Brixton Windmill - London

Oct 11 - The Underbelly - London

Oct 12 - The Bull & Gate - London

Oct 13 - In The City Festival - Manchester

Oct 14 - Bungalows & Bears - Sheffield

Oct 15 - Stereo - Glasgow, Scotland

Oct 16 - The Old Bridge Inn - Aviemore, Scotland

Oct 17 - Hootananny - Inverness, Scotland

Oct 18 - Oporto (FREE SHOW) - Leeds

Oct 19 - TBA - London

I began working with Berlin-based pianist Simon James Phillips...

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:27:00 -0400

I began working with Berlin-based pianist Simon James Phillips at The Banff Centre in January 2010. Simon’s improvisations consist of washes, walls and patterns of sound that explore how music effects the perception of time. Through intentionally simplifying the musical mechanisms available, Simon ensures that even the smallest change in his playing will hit you like a sack of bricks. Recorded in my studio at Banff on a Yamaha 7’ grand with a pair of 414s.

Saw The Rafiq Bhatia Collective the other night at Coco66. My...

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:33:00 -0400

Saw The Rafiq Bhatia Collective the other night at Coco66. My friend and collaborator Oresti Tsonopoulos made the video. Sneak peak of what you can expect from the upcoming record. Excited for the first day in the studio on Monday!

make my dream come true

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 02:29:00 -0400

make my dream come true:

me and my buddy rafiq are trying to make a record this summer. the rafiq bhatia collective wil be joined in the studio by vijay iyer, billy hart, and ICE. visit this kickstarter page if you want to learn more about this project.

“Emily” Here is the last track off Nina...

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 23:53:00 -0400

“Emily”

Here is the last track off Nina Moffitt’s Where I Have Been, an album I worked on with her at Oberlin and in NYC. ”Emily” is Nina’s brilliant arrangement of an already brilliant Joanna Newsom tune off 2006’s Ys.

featuring the Nina Moffitt Quintet:

Nina Moffitt, voice

Rafiq Bhatia, guitar/loops

Jackson Hill, acoustic bass

Timothy Bennett, alto sax

Jordan Goldstein, alto sax

Alex Morris, drum kit

Check out a review of the album here, via The Oberlin Review. More tracks off this record to come soon, but you can download the full length right now over at Bandcamp.

hello world!

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:42:33 -0400

new site is up. check back soon for more updates. to hold you over, i’ve made you this neat ringtone: RNGRNG (right-click and save)