Thanks to everyone who came out to The Space last Wednesday. We've got footage of the brand new BRIAN! piece and a clip from the new improv electronics duo known as Problematic. Check 'em out!



BRIAN!


-Problematic-

Ithaca Underground is proud to present Diamond Terrifier and Patrick Higgins on July 18th at The Space (700 W Buffalo St, Ithaca, NY).

Diamond Terrifier is Sam Hillmer of ZS - his saxophone and electronics solo project, to be precise. Named after the English translation of the Indo-Tibetan god-name Vajrabairahva, Diamond Terrifier is concerned with the potential positive qualities of destruction as mediated by noise/drone sheets of sound music.  Check out some footage of this performance in Philly earlier this spring and last year in NYC:

Ithaca says "Good-bye!" to Elsa & The awesomeAWESOMES tonight at The Space.  Get ready for an extra special performance with more costumes, gags, interactivity, and more. He's on second. Headlining is the return of The Emotron with the first appearance of Andy The doorbum in I-town. Paper Armies to support.  Read more for details and more video!

Thanks to everyone who came out for Ithaca Underground's five-band night on Wednesday. If you missed it (or just want to relive it) check out the videos below - including the surprise reunion of Crime Pays! No word on whether more shows are in the works but we'll keep you posted. A pleasure seeing you all as always and thanks for your continued support!  Special thanks to McNeil music who have been a huge help this spring with PA equipment, especially with the sub for this one.


The American Dollar - Fade In Out


The American Dollar


Crime Pays


Crime Pays


Paper Armies


Paper Armies


The Atomic Forces


Kites In Space


Kites In Space

This Sunday at Waffle Frolic, Ithaca Underground presents the Ithaca return of Moldover, the godfather of controlerism, once again in collaboration with our friends in Deep beatZ.  DB's Laika was able to track down the Godfather mid-tour to discuss said tour, the controllers, his jack-of-all-trades approach to his varying live performances, and of course, world domination. 

Laika: Last time, you really "rocked" Ithaca, if you don't mind my saying so. How much of your performance is improvisational and how much is prepared beforehand?

M: It varies depending on the type of show.  For bigger venues and festivals I do a mostly prepared thing.  For more intimate/underground shows I stretch out a bit more and do about 50% prepared, 50% improvised.  More improv usually means more fun for me :-)

Laika: Last time, you unveiled a pretty sick controller.  Can you talk a little about the controllers you use during performance and what they do?

M: The last time I played in Ithaca I was using a seldom-seen prototype of my custom "Mojo" controller.  For the show this weekend I will be playing the finished production-ready Mojo.  I use The Mojo to dub-mix and remix the songs from my album, and do various controllerism tricks.  I compliment the controller work with live guitar and effected vocal parts.

Laika: When you start building or hacking a controller, what features do you take into consideration?  Are you aiming for a specific sound, e.g.: supreme mash-ability?  Or is it more important for the controller to integrate seamlessly with the software?

M: I've been hacking and building controllers for many years now, so I take a lot of things into consideration.  I think a lot about general instrument design concepts like ergonomics, functionality, and build quality.  I also look at practical issues like portability, how easy it will be to repair, and the cost of parts and labor.  It's hard to balance all those factors, but in the end I believe I'm creating instruments that are musical, intuitive, and simply fun to play.

Laika: In addition to your live performance, you also design controllers for installations, so that anyone can make music or jam with others.  How did you get involved with this effort?  Is this part of a not-so-secret Moldovian agenda to inspire future controllerists and take over the world?

M: I draw a lot of inspiration from events like Burning Man, where the majority of the art and music is created by participants.  I love being on stage and performing for audiences, but I also love creating things that flip those roles and put the tools of creation into the hands of everyone, and this is why I started making multi-player instruments like The Octamasher.  This has turned out to be a popular concept, and the demand for these kinds of instruments has kept me busy building and touring with these gizmos for several years now.  Yes, I think this kind of inspiration and multiverse domination go hand in hand ;-)

Laika: You perform live, you Dj, and you set up sound installations, all in a number of venues, from house parties to big-name festivals.  Do you find more support for one activity over another?  Where do you think electronic music is going in the United States?

M: I have no idea where electronic music is going in the United States, but it's going to kick ass when it gets to Mars.  I've always been sort of a "Jack of All Trades".  I think it's part of my personality.  Sometimes I feel a little scattered and schizophrenic, but usually it turns out that the different projects feed into one another, keep things fresh, and help me grow as an artist.  My friends and fans seem to enjoy and support all the things I do, so I plan to keep on doing all of them. 

Laika: We are so excited to have you back again, here in Ithaca.  Where else are you going and what's new for this northeast tour?  Any plans for the future?

M: I've been all over the north east US in the last three weeks.  This is the last leg of the tour, so after Ithaca I'll be in NYC, Phily, Boston and then I fly back home to San Francisco.  I'm excited for April because I'll be releasing a new pocket-sized USB-memory version of my Light-Theremin circuit board album.  It has a full-length video from a festival I played in the UK, and a bunch of source-sounds from the album which you can use to make your own music, or use as ring-tones for your mobile phone.  Besides that, I'm excited to plan another tour in the near future and come back to Ithaca.  I miss you guys!

Don't miss MOLDOVER live this Sunday with David Ezra Brown and Paper Armies at Waffle Frolic on the commons (146 E State St), Ithaca, NY 14850 | 7PM | $5 | All ages

Band Name:
Paper Armies.  When I first started writing I used the name Semantics, but after some internet searching I found many a hip-hop artist named Semantics, so I decided to switch to Paper Armies.  I'm the worst when it comes to coming up with a name, so when I came up with Paper Armies I just decided to stick with it.  It actually took me a long time to come up with something I was kind of happy with.  No real meaning behind it.  Really.

Location:
Lansing/Ithaca, NY depending on the time of year.

Formed:
I'm not exactly sure when Paper Armies really started since it's just me.  I guess Fall 09?  That seems like a really long time ago.  I've done a lot of electronic music over the years, and at the time I was doing a lot of experimenting with music without a beat and solo piano music.  I started recording myself playing the piano with a handheld recorder and combined the two ideas.  Then I added some guitar.  That's pretty much how it got started.  Some people tell me it sounds good sometimes so I keep making music.  And I enjoy it.

Members:
Jason Calhoun- guitar, piano, various recording devices.

Releases:
I released a self-titled album last summer, you can find it here (and it's free): 
paperarmies.bandcamp.com

Tell us about yourself!
I have a really hard time describing what my music sounds like.  I always hesitate to use the word ambient because sometimes I think people get the wrong idea.  There's certainly a shoegaze/post-rock influence somewhere to, but I'm not sure how that exactly fits in.  It always seems sort of destructive in a way to me, but maybe that's more of the process. 

I'm very much looking forward to the show at Waffle Frolic on the 20th.  I'm also playing another show (thanks to IU!) on April 20th with The American Dollar, The Atomic Forces and Kites in Space at the Annex.  I'm very excited for that as well.  I don't get out of the house much. 

I'm currently working on a second album, not sure when it'll be released.  Things are getting there, but it could be awhile.  Who knows.