Mikronesia

Optimistic Bloom

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:54:00 -0500

Over the winter I was involved with creating some music for a great product through a great agency. Once the official press release goes out I’ll have more information. For now enjoy one of the pieces of music I made for ALOtones - “Optimistic Bloom”

Cutting out the middle man

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:47:38 -0500

Cutting out the middle man

Herzog Remix

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:02:06 -0500

A remix I did for musician and singer Hutch Demouilpied is now out on Entropy Records. You can pickup the double CD Otherness which contains one disc of the original album and one disc of remixes here > http://www.entropy-records.com/release006.htm

Pangaea Recording On Sale

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:03:07 -0500

I had such an amazing and exhausting show for the Pangaea premiere. Thank you to everyone who made it out and to all those that supported the KickStater and to the great cast of musicians, singers, designers and staff that made it possible. Thank You!

You can now purchase the studio recording of this 19-track opera at earSnake.com. The recording is available digitally in high quality MP3/FLAC/ACC, as a digipak CD or a deluxe edition which contains the CD and a 60 page of the lyrics, linear notes, story and drawings (see photos below).

Lots coming up in December, including pictures and video from the premiere.

Trinity Sun

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:28:38 -0400

So today is 11/1/11, 11 days until 11/11/11 what better day to download and check out the first chapter in the Pangaea saga, Trinity Sun.

http://mikronesia.bandcamp.com/album/pangaea-trinity-sun

This free EP is a spoken word tale recited by Solomon Slowburn with ambient music by Mikronesia. It tells the creation story of Pangaea and the fall of the first superhuman beings, The Stonemen (who play a crucial part in the Pangaea: When The Continents Were One opera premiering in two Fridays)

G-Town Radio Interview

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:26:30 -0400

For those that missed the G-Town Radio interview I did yesterday, here’s the podcast. Hear some of the tracks from Pangaea and me discussing the project in depth with host Jim Bear.

http://gtownradio.podomatic.com/entry/2011-10-31T11_20_44-07_00

This is really beautiful. Baroque.me (2011) by Alexander Chen

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 09:40:00 -0400

This is really beautiful. Baroque.me (2011) by Alexander Chen

such a great rehearsal with the strings today! here’s a...

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 17:18:46 -0400

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

such a great rehearsal with the strings today! here’s a clip from “Suite for Land”

Tickets On Sale Now

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:07:41 -0400

We are almost three weeks away from the premiere of Pangaea: When The Continents Were One produced by earSnake’s own Mikronesia. In case you missed the last couple of emails Pangaea is a modern electronic/rock/chamber opera which will be performed by 11 musicians, 6 masked singers, puppeteers and VJs at the Rotunda on Novemeber 11, 2011.

There will be only one performance of Pangaea so don’t miss your chance to see the premiere. About 25 tickets have been accounted for under the successfully funded Kickstarter and tickets are going fast, so get yours today!

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE » http://therotunda.ticketleap.com/pangaea/

PANGAEA: When The Continents Were One
Friday November 11, 2011, 8:00pm
$10 online before / $15 at the door

Vocalists: Lillie Ruth Bussey, Megan Cauley, Brian McDermott, John Morrison, Steve Quaranta, Jalima Shani with Christian Rabin
Drums and Percussion: Jimmy Coleman
Strings: Carlos Santiago, Maura Diberardinis, Steve Heitlinger, Johnell Lawrence and Christine Mello
Horns: Adam Hershberger and Larry Toft
Flutes: Heather Fortune
Keyboards, Guitars and Electronics: Michael McDermott

Video: Nico Dominguez
Masks and creatures: Liza Goodell
Masks: Tigre Bailando

Recording of Pangaea made possible by American Composers Forum
Performance made possible by Kickstarter

Kickstarter Successful!

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:18:03 -0400

The last 24 hours were very nerve-wracking but we made our Kickstarter goal! Thanks hugely to my wife Megan who really emailed, texted and pressed the flesh hard on the final day to raise almost $1800 in 12 hours! Amazing.

To get this project funded by friends, family and patrons of the arts means so much to me. With such a huge group of dedicated people working to create this project, I wanted to make sure everyone was paid fairly for their efforts. Plus we have a lot of costs associated with producing an opera on our own. I simply could not afford to finance such a project on my own. Kickstarter has been such a great resource for funding all sorts of arts and music projects over the years and I’m glad I could be part of it.

I want to especially thank all the donors who funded this project. Special thanks to Dr. Pesha for his hugely generous donation towards the end of the day which catapulted us over the $3000 mark. To all the backers

Jason MacDonald
Meghan Haugh
Jonathan and Ellie Moniz
William and Hunter Clarke-Fields
Richard Baybutt and Jayashree Patel
Gene Coleman
Robin
Tom Gisondi
Steve Peltier
Kevin Brown
J. Makary
Brian Doyle
Steffan and Emily Shultz
Brian Wainwright
Carl Franke
Pearson Constantino
Joo Won Park
Michele and Brian Semple
Siobhan Lyons
Gary Dann
Deena Weisberg
Gina Renzi
Steven Bullack
Christine and Steve Farace
Duke and Bustock
Pat McDermott and Jack Malgeri
Thomas Fetterman
Bernadette and Chad Waters
Jan Shilling
Sheila Reynolds
Donald Silversmith
Karen Mauch and Diane Zilka
Frank Walter
Linda Marshall
Michael O’Brien
Lisa Steffanelli and Andrew Hawkes
Max Nomad
Nadia Botello
Steven Grise
John Colagioia
Dr. Lynn Rosenthal
Rebecca Klimowicz
Nick Karn
Gary Marshall
Kimberly Logan
Katie Goodrum
Jim Bear
Emily Sweeney and Bilwa
Johan
Brian McDermott
Melissa Franke
Meghann Waters
Jacob Troy
Susan and Ian Baybutt
Mary and Robert Niewood
Dr. Pesha!
RuthieRoots
Greenwind
Patricia and Mike McDermott
Bobby and Michele Niewood
John King
Bill and Florence Niewood
Becky Soll and Karim Olechea
Jason Niewood

This project wouldn’t be happening without your love and support. Thank You!

We’ll be seeing many of you whose pledge gift included two tickets to the premiere on 11/11/11. For everyone else you can buy tickets to this limited seating engagement at the Rotunda on UPENN campus in Philadelphia. Tickets can be purchased here - http://therotunda.ticketleap.com/pangaea/

The scores are printed. The epic poem final text is here....

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:14:00 -0400

The scores are printed. The epic poem final text is here. We’re beginning rehearsals this week. All that’s left is the final $1000 for the KickStarter which ends in 35 hours- pledge now http://kck.st/oM8V0q

Soundscapes Concert Series

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:09:18 -0400

Live set from 2010 in Bethlehem, PA. Rhodes+harmonium+melodica+laptop. Thanks to Bill Fox for putting this together!

Set 1

Mikronesia at the Soundscapes Concert Series - Set 1 from Bill Fox on Vimeo.

Set 2

Mikronesia at the Soundscapes Concert Series - Set 2 from Bill Fox on Vimeo.

I had honestly forgotten about this performance. It’s nice to hear it back after more than a year of space. It’s also nice to watch darkness decent on the streets of small town Bethlehem over my shoulder as the music progresses.

One Week Left For The Kick Starter!

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:26:41 -0400

Almost three weeks ago we launched a Kick Starter online fundraising campaign for the multi-media opera project, Pangaea: When The Continents Were One. With only one week to go (as of Monday) we are about halfway to our goal of $3000.

If you’ve already given money to the Kick Starter, thank you! Supporting the arts is a wonderful thing. If you haven’t yet, or if you know someone who may be interested in donating to the premiere performance of Pangaea, please head to the Kick Starter and pledge today!

Remember if you were planning on seeing the show, or buying the album, this is a great way to buy tickets and CDs in advance and know that your money is going directly to the two dozen artists and musicians who are making Pangaea a reality.

For this final week of the Kick Starter we will be streaming the entire Pangaea: When The Continents Were One studio album, which will be released next month on earSnake. You can listen to the epic opera yourself and imagine what it will take to perform it live. Please repost and send to any arts patrons you may know.

Thank you,
Michael and earSnake crew

Kickstarter Link - http://kck.st/oM8V0q

Streaming Album Link - http://mikronesia.bandcamp.com/album/pangaea-when-the-continents-were-one

Pangaea Premieres November 11, 2011 at the Rotunda. More info and online ticket purchasing soon!

Singing Rocks

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:33:00 -0400

Here the second sneak preview from the Pangaea Opera. This is one sung by Daeon who uses the metal in rocks to resonate his tongueless voice.

Singing Rocks by mikronesia

Ancient Warning

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:16:00 -0400

After a marathon 10 days straight of mixing and editing the opera, PANGAEA everything is done and ready to be mastered. I wanted to share the first track we did vocals for from the brilliant Steve Quaranta. Steve was one of the first people I asked to be on the opera. He has such a unique and powerful voice, I knew he would be perfect to play the unsung hero of the opera, the wise shaman Snakegar.

Enjoy and please support the Kick Starter for the premiere on November 11.

Ancient Warning by mikronesia

Pangaea Recording

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

It’s been a busy and rewarding summer recording Pangaea tracks. An impressive list of musicians and singers have come through earSnake studios to record parts on the opera, including:

violin: Carlos Santiago
viola: Steven Heitlinger
cello: Eve Miller
percussion: Jimmy Coleman
flute: Heather Fortune
trumpet/flugelhorn: Adam Hershberger
trombone/baritone horn: Larry Toft.

Things are sounding amazingly epic. We’ll be finishing all the group vocals this week with:

Megan Cauley, Steve Quaranta, John Morrison, Jalima Shani Brian McDermott and Lillie Ruth Bussey

I can’t wait to share the Pangaea recordings with the world.

Only two months until the premiere as well!

NEXUS fun(draiser)

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:16:20 -0400

NEXUS is having it’s final Funraising event before it leaves the Crane Arts Building this summer. Happening on the same days as the InLiquid’s Art for the Cash Poor event at Crane. This NEXUS Fundraiser will be a memorable experience!

The fundraiser will happen June 11 from 1-6pm. It will feature:

Participatory sound art installation
“Communi-tree”, collaborative sticker art
One-of-a-kind button making
Decorate your own cupcake
Lemonade stand

I’ll be performing an all day sound installation. For $1 you can come up and say something into a microphone that I’ll be recording and processing all day long making an ambient soundscape out of the names of people who donated $1 to NEXUS.

Post Dunes

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:30:57 -0400

Megan, Jimmy and I had an amazing time at Johnny Brenda’s for the Infinite Sand Dunes release party. We sold lots of vinyl and rocked the house. Here’s a photo below (by Mike O’Brien). We’ve got some dates coming up in June in Philly and New York. Check out the performances tab for more info.

This weekend we’ll be heading to Mutek in Montreal. Expects from tweets from the road.

With the Infinite Sand Dunes release behind us I (along with all my collaborators) will be heading deep into Pangaea world this summer. It’s less than six months away until the premiere and there’s lots of work to be done!

Gemini Wolf - Infinite Sand Dunes

Fri, 20 May 2011 14:34:50 -0400

The day is almost upon us. In January Megan and I went to the dunes to write a record a new spooky album, Infinite Sand Dunes. Many of these instrumental and vocal cuts made it to the final album (albeit with lots of layers of post production and magic). We’re super excited to release this album on clear vinyl record and high quality digital formats. It’s four songs on the A-side and four instrumentals on the B-side.

We’ll be playing the official Philadelphia release party on Thursday May 26 at Johnny Brenda’s. The new Gemini Wolf trio (with Jimmy Coleman on drums) is sounding tight. Please come out, here the new songs and buy the record!

Not Fragile

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:10:05 -0400

I just got back from an awesome week in Marlboro College in Vermont with Perpetual Mvmt<>Snd (Emily Sweeney, bilwa and Zornitsa Stoyanova). We were featured artists at an Embodied Learning Symposium. We spent several days working with a group of students and creating a multi-media performance of music, dance, props and projections. It was a super fun time and I think the people at the school really enjoyed the performance we did.

Coming up this week you can catch some new Mikronesia music playing at NEXUS Gallery for Kathryn TeBordo’s show Not Fragile.

6pm-9pm | Thursday | April 14  | Second Thursdays Opening Reception at  NEXUS/foundation for today’s art

1400 N. American St. Philadelphia, PA

Choreographed by Kathryn TeBordo, Laura Neuman and the performers
Performed by Sarah Gladwin Camp and Greg Holt
Original score by Mikronesia

“Now the relation of human nature to the human mind is this.” – Gertrude Stein

Two bodies, entwined on the floor, move through imagery of wrestling grapples to invoke the battles and reconciliations that happen within each of us as we navigate through life. Playing underneath the surface of antagonistic imagery is a gentle, rhythmic, continuous push and pull between the two dancers. Calm comforting like a heart beat or like breathing, their actions bubble and burst into tiny moments of dancing and laughing.

NOT FRAGILE is a three hour performance sculpture where dancers explode on a scale of centimeters, testing and illustrating the elasticity of the relationship between human beings and their bodies.