Art' Birthday Intro by Chris from B.E.A.M.S.

VIDEOS: Art's Bday Background
PAST AB HIGHLIGHT REEL
Deadwing: from Dorudon - Pillars of Id (2020) (9:52)

Artist info:

Dorudon is the collaborative electro-psychedelic effort of iso/2 and BlipVert.

VIDEOS: John Armstrong-Killdozer (4:55)
Stefan Damian - Microcosmos (5:25)

Artist info:

John is an artist and producer who has been performing and recording music for more than 25 years. His main instrument is the Theremin, one of the world's oldest electronic instruments, which happens to have turned 100 years old in 2020. He augments his performances with beats, loops, electronic percussion, and effected vocal stylings.

is a sound designer, composer and audio programmer based in Bucharest, Romania. He has been working professionally as a producer, composer, mix engineer, sound designer and interaction designer for various music, film and installation projects that have been displayed on radio, television, cinema or that have been selected in national and international festivals including Romanian Design Week, Spotlight, Electric Castle, Amural, Sonorities and LUMO. He is currently finishing his PhD thesis which explores novel ways of interacting with sound in real-time performative environments, at CINETic / UNATC in Bucharest, Romania, where the main focus is to highlight new areas of convergence between the realms of contemporary performance art, interactive art, and sound design. Previously he was awarded a master's degree in Sonic Arts from SARC - Queen's University Belfast, his dissertation including a 32 channel surround electroacoustic piece named Naufrage which has been also aired on BBC's Hear and Now, and a bachelor's degree from the Film School of UNATC in Sound and Montage. Since 2016 he has been teaching or holding seminars on sound design for interactive media, sound art and film sound at bachelor's and master's levels at CINETic / UNATC.

PRE-RECORDED PERFORMANCE:

Artist info:

Wayne has received classical piano training through Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music, wrapping up several years of studies when he noticed that, while prepping for the final exam, his Grade One piano teachers kept quitting. He has since branched out to work in more experimental forms influenced by the sounds of the city, including snow-clearing graters, racing ambulances, and the street crews of the summer. His work has been performed in various parts of the world of Edmonton's experimental music scene to standing room only crowds - where seating is limited to the bathroom and well 3 is technically a crowd. The reviews at the bar after have been reasonable, ranging from - What the . . . - to - How long have you been doing that for ..." Wayne believes sound can bring people together, causing a groundswell, a grassroots movement, regardless of political stripes, based on shared aversion. Not normal music – almost accepted by freaks and other interplanetary travellers.

VIDEOS: Paul Morris(UK) - Barone (4:29)
Gene Kosowan - St. Marilyn (3:00)
SLIDESHOW: Haylee Fortin & Tim Rechner (3:42)

Artist info:

Paul Morris who created the music is a Founding member of the Boreal ElectroAcousctic Music Society (BEAMS - www.beams.ca) Concerts arranged: Fred Frith/Hans Reichel, Jef Greinke, John Oswald, amongst others Studied Electroacoustics at University of Alberta. On air DJ and engineer at CJSR (www.cjsr.ca)


Gene Kosowan - St. Marilyn
The entire soundscape came from merely 2 seconds of static interference caused by the explosion inside Apollo 13's service module on the way to the moon in 1970. The reference to Mount Marilyn comes from the landform on the moon that Apollo 13 commander James Lovell named after his wife. He named that landform back in 1968 when he previously visited the moon during the Apollo 8 mission. is an Edmonton based painter, new media artist and printmaker. Graduating with distinction from the University of Alberta's Fine Art program in 2015, Haylee has since pursued an interest in art as a means of community engagement with local artist run centres. Through her position as studio assistant, Haylee supports programming for artists with developmental disabilities at the Nina Haggerty Center and contributes to arts initiatives on Alberta Avenue. Tim Rechner grew up in Red Deer, Alberta. He has been living and creating artwork in Edmonton since 2000 after living in Vancouver, Halifax and Montreal.

Throughout the last 15 years he has established himself as a very committed Edmonton visual artist and has been very involved in the Edmonton arts community. He has exhibited prolifically in the Edmonton region including solo shows at The Works Festival, Art Gallery of St.Albert, The Front Gallery, Harcourt House and numerous other venues. He has participated in many group exhibits at a variety of venues including multiple exhibits at The Art Gallery of Alberta, Latitude 53, ARTERY and many other galleries.

He is currently represented by The Scott Gallery in Edmonton. Tim Rechner is also a member of the Canadian artist group Painter8.

LIVE PERFORMANCE:

Artist info:

I like weird electronic stuff.
Just some of the positive feedback I've received:
"James' music had a hypnotic effect on me! What day is it? Where am I? Why am I cover in blood?" -Shawn Platt
"You're weird." - Mom
"Who dat?" - Some guy
"You make my life a living hell every week." - Bailey
"Why is this song an hour long?" - Some guy
"It's really hard making these up." - James Parrot

VIDEOS: Marion Garver - Stampede Rustling (3:44)
UnpopularMechanics - WhatCouldHaveBeenABrokenSuiteForBrokenPeople (3:00)

VIDEOS: Christine Miller - Seredadada (14:02)
John Oparyk - Return to Aspen Gardens (5:00)

Artist info:

is one of the most important movers and shakers in the music industry. Preferring to stay in the background and from the confines of his home-based studio, Technical Difficulties Productions, John has been responsible for some of the most significant releases coming from Edmonton since the 1990s, carving a reputation that still stands today. Christine Miller's creative film ventures focus on the alchemy of the creative process and the collaboration and expansion of ideas creating visual landscapes fused with meaning and symbols.

SLIDESHOW: Jeff Collins, Audio By Hagai Izenberg (4:58)

Artist info:

I am an artist living in Edmonton, AB Canada with over 23 years of studio practice. My formal studies were at Red Deer College and the University of Alberta. I have received many awards and recognition for my artwork, notably the Telus Courage to Innovate in the Arts Award. In 2013/14 I served as the City of Edmonton's inaugural Artist in Residence. My paintings have sold nationally and internationally. As an art educator and facilitator I strive to connect people to art and creativity, encouraging skill building, laughter and personal growth.

PRE-RECORDED PERFORMANCE:

Artist info:

is the Noise / Electroacoustic / Computer Music project of Abram Hindle.

PRE-RECORDED PERFORMANCE: Dead Space Chamber Music (10:39)

Artist info:

Bristol UK group called Dead Space Chamber Music playing a piece called "O Virtus Sapientiae," a reinterpretation of a chant by Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179). It was recorded May 12, 2020 at St. Thomas The Martyr church in Bristol and originally ran as part of the Dark Alchemy streaming series.

Interesting to note there is an Edmonton connection with this outfit in that they collaborated with Rose McDowall of Strawberry Switchblade fame. Rose recently completed an album project with Shawn Pinchbeck.

Pre-Recorded PERFORMANCE:

Artist info:

Brick Road is the most recent creative vessel for Ethan Bokma (Holy Drone Travellers, Heavy Beak). It is another organic body grown from the school of music for heads (ie: psychedelic sounds). The Brick Road ethos is simple: Flesh out all ideas and open all creative doors as they appear. And through these things, remember what the music is about: Growth (Spiritual, Mental) > Cultivation of Mindfulness > !!!LOVE!!! > Brighter futures for all.

VIDEOS: John Osborne and Don Ross - Colours for Clarinet-long (4:47)
SLIDESHOW: Evelyn Berg (5:45)

Artist info:

has been involved in both art and science throughout his life. After graduating in engineering from the University of Toronto in the late 60s, he began experimenting with abstract images on film. He later worked for two years at a computer animation studio in London, England as the principle operator of a novel hybrid analogue computer making some of the first computer animated television commercials in the early 1970s. On returning to Canada, he began a 30-year career with a large multinational company working in Ontario, Alberta and Michigan in areas of information technology and environmental research.

In early 2000, he returned to the computer as a creative tool and began experimenting with evolutionary algorithms to generate patterns and abstract images. To compliment this activity and rekindle his interest in animation, he began using these images with After Effects to make abstract films to music. He has also made a number of more narrative-based animated films and personal documentaries.

John is a member of the Edmonton Film and Video Arts Society (FAVA) and is currently serves on the Board. His films have been shown in festivals in North America and Europe.

LIVE PERFORMANCE: Allison Balcetis and Kelly Ruth

Artist info:

began playing together on amplified weaving loom, electronics, and saxophones in October 2019. What happens when you plunk these two artists together on stage, one a musical luminary and the other a sonic... loom-inary? Well, they create an unlikely sound world using old and new technologies. While separately Kelly and Allison each perform in several different configurations, composed and improvised, sartorial and sonic, when the conditions are just right, the wind is gently blowing in from the East, and the moon is full, they can be found on stage delivering the listener to dreamy, unusual terrains.

Extra Links:
Allison Balcetis
https://soundcloud.com/allisonbalcetis
Kelly Ruth
https://kelly-ruth.bandcamp.com/album/forms

VIDEO: m.o.a.i.n. - Art is a dish best served dark… (10:00)

Artist info:

As an Edmonton-based musician, recording and visual artist, Chris Samson was part of a trio that scored a soundtrack to a film that won two festival awards in North America. As a solo act, he's turned heads locally for his innovative melodies and technical prowess in experimental music, particularly in the ambient and alternative-electronic genres. He's also a visual artist, self-taught multi-instrumentalist, producer and sound technician working several live events every year. And one more thing: Chris Samson is also a hearing-impaired truck driver.

PRE-RECORDED PERFORMANCE: gintas k

Artist info:

Gintas K (Gintas Kraptavicius) a Lithuanian sound artist, composer living and working in Lithuania.
Gintas has been a part of Lithuanian experimental music scene since 1994.
Gintas K was a core member of the first Lithuanian industrial electronic music band 'Modus' .
From 1997 to 2000 he worked as an editor on the radio station 'Kapsai' for an alternative radio show titled 'The Ways and Mistaken Pathways'.
He became known for his sound actions, theatrical performances and conceptual art in the manner of Fluxus.
Gintas is working in the field of digital experimental and electroacoustic music, making music for films, sound installations. His compositions are based on granular synthesis, live electronic, hard digital computer music, small melodies.
Collaborations with sound artists @c, Paulo Raposo, Kouhei Matsunaga, David Ellis and many others.
He has released numerous of records on labels such as Cronica, Baskaru, Con-v, Copy for Your Records, Bolt, Creative Sources, Sub Rosa and others.

VIDEOS: Mescalin - Ortona 2020 Remix Edit (3:00)
Stephen Sereda - Boys Beware (3:30)

PRE-RECORDED PERFORMANCE:

Artist info:

is an Edmonton, Alberta based electroacoustic music composer, sound designer and media artist. Active as an artist since the mid-80's, he has worked with many aspects of electronic music and sound engineering. First gaining recognition for heavy synthesizer and noise based electronic music, which charted on campus radio stations around North America. Then later for his ambient spacey electronic music, which gained media attention in Canada and abroad; even being featured in the book "The Billboard Guide to Progressive Music". His recent work centres on interactive sound and video installations, software based artworks, dance performances, electroacoustic music composition, live electroacoustic music performances, VJ'ing and circuit bending.

Jaaki Fantoomid, the phantoms of Jaak. It's for the statue outside my studio window which has caused a lot of controversy. Not only is it really ugly with flashing lights and music from the person it's commemorating, but there was dodgy politics involved with its creation and the awarding of $125,000 to the artist that made it with rumours that that politicians got a portion of that in kickbacks.

SLIDESHOW: Brenda Philp functional wearable art
Paintings by Will Truchon
Music from Phiqual Poynte(Duration: 9:46)

Artist info:

(Edmonton, AB) is a fibre artist who creates unique and functional wearable art. Her passion for colour, composition and texture are influenced by a lifelong love of the arts and music. For Brenda, creating wearable art with natural materials is her way of connecting the past to the present.
Introduced to felting in 2009, Brenda remains fascinated by the endless possibilities of this colourful, tactile and expressive artistic medium. Brenda views every encounter as potential for experimentation and discovery. Wool is a renewable, natural fibre that can be manipulated in many ways to create contemporary wearable art pieces. Blending ancient techniques with a modern twist leads to the formation of some very practical and unique works of art. In 1992 Will Truchon earned a Bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Manitoba, in 1995, a Master of Fine Art from the Ohio State University and in 2011, a Master of Architecture from the University of Calgary. Since the mid eighties he has held a variety of positions as a gallery technician, ceramic technician and art instructor. As an artist, Will works in several mediums such as ceramics, painting, multi-media sculpture and photography. Among his other artistic interests are life-long passions for architecture, industrial and graphic design, film, music and general entertainment. From 1997 to 2007 he was a partner of the Hot Pot Studio, that designed and distributed hand painted tableware to Western Canada. From 2001 to 2007, he was Artistic Director of The Works Art & Design Festival showcasing quality art in Canada and abroad. As an Intern Architect registered with the Alberta Association of Architects, Will is enjoying the developmental process to fulfill his certification.

Pre-Recorded PERFORMANCE:

Artist info:

are an English trio: Caroline Vile, Andy Brain and Luke Sample. They are long-term collaborators within various bands including Keshco and Bleak House. This is their debut VBS set, recorded specially for this event. The VBS style involves loops created from household sounds; their musical improvisations (guitar, synths, vocals, etc) are also sliced and diced. New compositions are then created using those loops as foundations. They often add polyrhythmic clapping percussion.

LIVE PERFORMANCE:

Artist info:

Wrap of the evening with Chris and the Chat room