I've been composing/producing/releasing music as KRUDLER since the beginning of 2015. So far, KRUDLER has been a solo recording project in a similar vein as THE STEVEN LASOMBRAS (but not as thematically specific). I'm venturing a little further out to explore texture and song construction, often using the modular synthesizer as a composition tool. KRUDLER releases have featured indulgent electronics, attempted metal, sloppy math, suspicious drones, pseudo-industrial baloney, and always way too many synth layers.
We're working on the best way to present some of these songs in a live setting. For now, enjoy these quality recordings:
KRUDLER 12: HERMIT
When my daughter was very small, one of the most reliable ways of getting her to sleep at naptime was to take her downstairs and patch up a repetitive modular synthesizer sequence. Bouncing gently to pulsing sounds and blinking lights would knock her out. I’d leave everything set up, then return at night to record.
Most of these minimal modular synth pieces based on those naptime patches. The title of this collection refers to the drawing I did for her (she likes crabs), the solitary process of recording this music, and settling into the role of Weird Suburban Stay-At-Home Dad.
As with KRUDLER 6, all sounds were recorded live and edited later.
KRUDLER 11: DREAD Score
Another short for a local filmmaker (and, as it turned out, some of the same people worked on DREAD and RUINER). It was fun to work (relatively) quickly on a (relatively) more minimal score. While only some of the drones made it into the film, the full score I recorded is available HERE.
KRUDLER 10: RUINER Score
This was my time composing for film. I responded to a local filmmaker’s call for submissions and it ended up being a great fit. Since it’s a silent short, the music was able to demand more attention than a typical score. In the end, they isolated just a few layers at a time for a more minimal sound, but the full composition is available HERE, presented along with bits and pieces from my first drafts.
KRUDLER 9: K-9
K-9 is a short sampler of the kind of noise textures I normally incorporate into a heavily-layered recording. When isolated, the particular quality of these sounds can really stand out.
Each piece was created with assorted pedals in a Death By Audio Total Sonic Annihilation feedback loop, or with a noise-based modular synth patch.
KRUDLER 8: PRE-CHEWED
This collection of instrumental pieces plays as the soundtrack to an old movie you watched too late at night. You vaguely recall the protagonist fleeing across a city, emerging from queasy darkness into hideous light with the fanfare of ambulance sirens announces their arrival to the crowds of leering ghouls. It's unclear now whether the final scenes of post-apocalyptic stillness were part of the film or something you dreamed.
KRUDLER 7: IMBECILE
IMBECILE ended up taking two years to complete. Changing jobs, moving, other projects, AND impending fatherhood all contributed to the delay...
I started out aiming for a stripped-down, earnest affair indebted to Seaweed and old Albini-recorded Touch & Go albums. Of course, one thing led to another, and here it is.
I'm proud of these songs.
KRUDLER 6: ACCESS
My goofy idea of a "more accessible" KRUDLER release was a collection of improvisational synthesizer pieces.
All sounds were created with Eurorack modular synthesizer and MOOG Sub37, recorded live - plenty of edits, but no overdubs.
"Their Teeth Danced" was originally intended for a compilation that Klint Finley was putting together. (Much later, I learned I was the only one who'd actually submitted a song. Oh well!)
Most of the sounds here were made with the EasyBeats iPhone app running through a bunch of fuzz pedals, and a circuit-bent Casio SK-1.