███ [Selected Demos] released jun. 23 2024
a subsection of a larger collection of music for a new project. much, much more to come soon :)
00: sebastian suarez-solis, synthesizer, sampler, voice, production;
10: rory glassford, guitar; andrew chanover, drums; sebastian suarez-solis, congas, gongs, drums, percussion, synthesizer, sampler;
30: exodus moreno, voice; sebastian suarez-solis, production;
40: sebastian suarez-solis, prepared vibraphone, gongs, metals, percussion, synthesizer;
50: sebastian suarez-solis, prepared found violin, prepared bass viol;
60: sebastian suarez-solis, 5-limit disklavier, piano; trevor treglia, temperament;
70: sebastian suarez-solis, marimba, percussion;
80: sebastian suarez-solis, room tone, outboard gear/equalizer, percussion;
recorded at the Dizzy Gillespie Digital Recording Studio at CalArts between October 2023 and June 2024.
String Theory released aug. 22 2023
The third album of cybernetic harpsichord music from Sebastian Suarez-Solis. Presented as one sonic event, this offering explores new terrain on the harpsichord through old school time-stretching techniques. An improvisation of improvisations, there is no barrier between composition and extemporization. Thirty minutes of harpsichord improvisation (on the keys and on the strings, with electronic bows and other preparations) are layered, manipulated, and stretched by several orders of magnitude to creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee aaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaa fffffeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnn ngggg ooooooooofffff eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttteeeeeeeeeeee ddddddddddddddd ttttttrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnsssssscccccccc ccceeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnddddddddddddeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeee
prepared harpsichord, sebastian suarez-solis
SHORT DRONES released aug. 18 2023
4 short (less than 5 minute) pieces of music featuring drones, largely static in harmonic content, from samples of prepared harpsichord, modular synthesizer (VCV Rack 2), and organ.
LISTEN LOUD AND IN ORDER // each piece transitions directly into the next
drone i: harsh noise and heavy bass meets harpsichord drones
drone ii: harpsichord drones with electronic percussion
drone iii: harpsichord drones with noise
drone iv: harpsichord drones meets electronics, sampled organ drones, and sampled harpsichord.
prepared harpsichord, sebastian suarez-solis
this work uses samples from dex digital sample library, including prepared harpsichord, sebastian suarez-solis, and; organ, midori ataka. for more info, visit dexdsl.com/copyright
feedback music released mar. 3 2024
a collection of sounds and video exploiting acoustical feedback. all tracks are live recordings of captured feedback. any distortion you hear is caused in situ.
in Cyber-Theremin I & II, i turn my laptop into a feedback machine by running a patch through my computers microphone and speakers at the same time (+video).
in Squaring the Circle, i use sine waves in a custom 7-limit a''=415 temperament to paint shapes on a lissajous oscilloscope (+video).
in Mixer, with and without input, a no input mixer set meets input.
in Plate I & II, i use metal plates to create reverb and feedback. in the first, i take a thin sheet of metal (presumably aluminum) and attach two exciters to it. the exciters are fed directly to to a microphone, which is sometimes stationary, sometimes moving about the body of the plate. in Plate II, I run the same setup through a heavier metal plate, playing a piano through persistent feedback to cause live bitcrushing. there is no artificial bit reduction applied, either digitally or electronically. What you are hearing is acoustically generated, occurring in physical space.
in pia/o (pronounced like the instrument), a piano signal is fedback into itself through a controlled exploiting of hearback monitoring. the piano was recorded hot intentionally, so as to cause distortion. monitors were placed on the piano body, which reverberate the distortion, which the mics pick up, feeding back upon itself.
sebastian suarez-solis, audio, video, editing, mixing, mastering
Recorded February 2024 Digital Recording Studio, CalArts, Santa Clarita, CA.
1. & 12. Created on a VCV Rack 2 Free patch “Sound Follow” by Sebastian Suarez-Solis. Uses modules Chronoblob2 by Alright Devices; Modal Synthesizer by Audible Instruments; Black Octasource by Erica Synths; PRESSOR by Bogaudio; Supercell by Grayscale; Sunflower and Wilt by NOI; Ice Tray by Path Set; Audio, Audio 8, Logic, and Recorder by VCV. This patch utilizes various freeware and software under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. The patch is also under the GPL-3.0-or-later license.
2. Video created using Oscilloscope II by Hansi Raber.
free temper released aug. 05 2023
an improvisation of new techniques on the harpsichord, in free temperament. long live the liberated notes.
through preparations and extensions of the instrument, along with a specially prepared temperament with almost no octave equivalence, the harpsichord is transformed into a wildly new vision of sonics and musical possibilities.
LISTEN LOUD AND IN ORDER // each piece transitions directly into the next
a: exploration of electronic bow on one steel harpsichord string
b: exploration of keys and their relation to the harpsichord, exploring tuning
c: the harpsichord as percussion.
sebastian suarez-solis, prepared harpsichord (electronic bow, chains, hand manipulation, superball mallet)
valence released nov. 5 2023
A series of improvisations on two side-by-side Soma Pulsar-23 synthesizers. at times their clocks are connected, at times they are not, creating both strict and free polyrhythms. The album is divided into three parts, presented as three structures. These structures are full-length, uncut improvisations (mostly), split into tracks, which gradually change and morph over the course of the structure's construction.
Their delay outs are wired to each others' delay ins for a harmonious filtered delay feedback. Often times, envelopes from one device are sent to the other to make organic rhythms out of the control voltage from one module, using fundamental beat patterns (4 on the floor, tresillo, etc) as a source rhythm. The Pulsar-23 synthesizers are really adept at making IDM/EDM.
audio, sebastian suarez-solis
photo, sebastian suarez-solis
Recorded at CalArts on Nov. 3-4, 2023
AMPLIFICATIONS released oct. 16 2023
a series of improvised compositions, utilizing multiple pianos as resonating bodies to extend the sustain of various instruments. with various metal implements scattered throughout the piano bodies, the strings sympathetically reverberate along to the improvisatory sounds of each instrument, at times a whisper, at times a roar.
microphones are placed inside the body of the piano capturing a large, harmonious reverberation, a ghostly chamber ensemble of one.
marimba, viola da gamba, music box, multiple percussion, desk bells, sebastian suarez-solis
audio, sebastian suarez-solis
photo, sebastian suarez-solis
recorded at California Institute of the Arts on Oct. 13-15, 2023.
Interference released jul. 15 2024
A suite of music recorded with interference from Apple AirPods using found violin (prepared with gut strings) and piano samples. When you track music in a DAW connected to AirPods, they cause interference, which I utilized for these low-fidelity recordings. The suite is accompanied by a field recording of a ranch in Trade, TN near Grandfather Mountain.
singles
BWV 1001 Adagio, forward & in retrograde released aug. 05 2023
exactly as the title says: the adagio movement from JS Bach’s 1st sonata for solo violin, played on harpsichord, both in normal time and in reverse. digital retrograde, as it were.
sebastian suarez-solis, harpsichord
Color Field released jun. 10 2024
An impromptu composed in a 7-limit a'=415 temperament I created. Please listen with headphones for the best effect.
audio, tuning, photo, sebastian suarez-solis