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LATEST PHOTOS: Playa del Carmen, Mexico
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February 21, 2010 This past week I've been able to finish a couple of new tracks for my next album - 'Sum of Parts'. This one, Grindstone, features more mayhem in the form of reverberated synth arpeggios and a more militaristic rhythm track. Those with keen ears will also hear a bit of influence on the DM side. As usual, I had a blast hammering out the percussion for this one - it's as bombastic as anything I've done. Vacation Photos Now Posted
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| Avionik - Disembodied |
August 4, 2009
A new (old) track in the Industrial genre today. No vocals on this one and no real melody either. But hey, if you're into percussion and drones - and the odd scream, listen up.
| Avionik - Soul to Keep |
July 31, 2009
It's turning out to be a fruitful summer, musically, and perhaps this coiincides with the fact that we've had a lot of rain and cooler temperatures in Ontario. I began writing this new track, Soul to Keep, in 2005, but didn't write the lyrics until this week. This time the subject matter is war, and the track is written from the perspective of a soldier engaged with the enemy. I wanted to be more subtle with the electronics this time, and used multiple track envelopes and controller (filter) automation to help tone things down - but still ramp up to the chorus. The vocals were sung into my new Rode NT1a mic, and processed with Voxengo Voxformer. I wanted a more intimate Roger Waters sound, and I think I at least got partially there. Enjoy!
Update: My track 'Rainbows. Unicorns. Crocodiles.' reached #5 (of 12,536 songs) in Soundclick's Industrial chart! I've previously tracked no higher than #17 on this chart (with my track The Shroud).
| Avionik - Rainbows. Unicorns. Crocodiles. |
July 11, 2009
I'm back with something much, much harder (upper-left)! It's an industrial/aggro/EBM assault! A bombastic sonic wall-of-sound with hidden treats and big, big beats! It's a song about drug abuse [insert suitable disclaimer here] in the style of Ministry and KMFDM. No soothing sounds here! Started two years ago and only just finished and mixed, this song is loaded with multiple layers of vocal effects, found sounds and a rhythm section comprised of several drumkits. Because the subject matter was dark, I thought it best to warp the vocals into sort of an Alice in Wonderland type semblance - replete with nasty distortion and a distant convolution reverb. This one needs to be played LOUD for full effect.
| Avionik - Little Flag July 5, 2009 |
July 5, 2009
My newest vocal track, Little Flag, is now available for preview (see the upper-left corner). This is the first track I've recorded using my new Rode NT1a condenser mic. This microphone from Australia is one of the most popular mics around - and now I, too, can vouch for the quality! On this track I've comped my vocals from about a dozen passes and layered them both to thicken them and add interests as I had sung harmonies on a couple of the runs through the song. Vocally and lyrically I don't know where the inspiration comes from. I write the music first and the words come near the end. I programmed the rhythm parts in Guru and used Cakewalk's Dimension Pro and Alesis S4+ Quadrasynth for the strings.
I raise a little flag for you, and I, shake a little bell ... and in mourning ... I thee wed ...
Holguin, Cuba
June 15, 2009
My partner Shawn and I were in Holguin, Cuba in this - the end of the rainy season and beginning of hurricane season. Holguin is a city of just over 400,000 people and is about an hour from the resorts in the Guardalavaca region. Like all Cuban cities - Holguin is safe; one is only bothered occasionally by someone begging for a convertible peso (CUC), or asking if they can have your cap or shoes. Many items are dirt-cheap. Example: a beer and a Coke costs 1.38 pesos. One peso = $1.24 CDN. Honey is about half the cost of Canadian honey. Beer is .60 pesos/ea. We were surprised to see the American product Coke on the shelves in Cuba, but it looks like it's manufactured in Mexico and actually tastes a little different. My favourite Cuban beer is Bucanero, though the national Cristal is passable. See all the photos in my Holguin set on Flickr.
The Spotlight Awards
June 7, 2009
The Spotlight Awards are internal awards handed out every year within the Ontario government to Communications branches who excel in any of the dozen or so award categories. 76 entries were submitted this year and 10 awards were given out. My unit won in the 'New Media' category for our Research & Innovation website - cited as being the best example of the use of Web 2.0 and other multimedia technologies on an Ontario government website. In the last year we've added RSS Newsfeeds, HD A-roll and B-roll video for use by broadcast media outlets, iTunes enhanced podcasts, iTunes video podcasts, high resolution photos suitable for print media, audio podcasts, in-place Flash photo and video galleries and more. What makes this award particularly satisfying is that the panel of judges is composed of half Ontario government representatives and half people from outside government. We have a very creative team who are passionate about their work. :)
Now Tweeting
May 23, 2009
There are so many social networks and applications for same that it becomes a full-time job just to maintain a full-time presence on many of them. But the one that requires the least amount of 'work' is Twitter. So, should you have the urge, you can now follow my muse. I'll have periodic updates via my cell too. Fun? We'll see.
The Carlu Shoot
May 3, 2009
Well I've finally posted some of the photos from my Carlu shoot of a couple of weeks ago onto my new Flickr Pro account. The shoot itself was a whirlwind 2 hours on the 7th Floor of the old Timothy Eaton building building. What an incredible and massive retro space it was! From the lounge area to the green room, the kitchens to the theatre, and the bars to the bathrooms the space was a fascinating study into the period Art Moderne style. This spectacular Art Deco interior was inspired by the trans-Atlantic crossing ' Ile de France' ocean liner. And thanks to a loving restoration (rather than a redecoration), the Carlu retains it's high-society 1930's look and feel and attracts A-role stars such as Brad Pitt, Glenn Gould, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Bryan Adams and others.
| Avionik - Bones |
April 13, 2009
My latest song, Bones, was written a couple of months ago and marks a return to vocals. The song is a dark piece about a much earlier period in my life. Featured are 'Big Bad Guitars' from Nine Volt Audio's excellent sample library. Check it out in the left-hand panel.
Shooting the Carlu
April 13, 2009
This week I'll be joining fourteen other photographers as we gain unparalleled access to shoot the Carlu in Toronto. The Carlu, known as Eatons College Street back then, opened it's doors on October 30, 1930 and was designed by famous French architect Jacques Carlu - known for other oceanic architectural designs, as well as for famous landmarks such as the Trocadero in Paris. The Carlu is available in limited scope to photographers only during Doors Open Toronto, but this shoot will allow complete freedom of movement and use of a tripod and flash. Historic photos await.
| Avionik - Automate |
March 9, 2009
It's been a while since I'd worked on a song strictly in a Kraftwerkian style, but I took some queues from Anthony Rother and Karl Bartos and whipped up some beats and Robocoder vocalizations and came up with the track 'Automate'. Check it out in the left-hand panel.
The Price of Losing
March 9, 2009
Around a year ago or so I purposely let my 'elektroniqa.com' domain lapse. I thought the word wasn't distinct enough from the musical genre and might confuse people. It didn't take long for a cybersquatting company to snatch it up and then attempt to auction it. No one bit though, so the company started taking offers. My $35 offer was refused outright, but several months later I received an email asking if I was still interested, and if so, to submit a significantly higher offer. Ok. $75. This was kind of fun. And, as it turned out, more than a little low. If nothing else, these people have a fairly decent sense of humour. Say, $4,500 worth. Leapfish.com, however, values it at $22. And according to dnscoop.com it's worth $41. Estibot.com values it at $50, and Cubestat.com values it at 74.46.
Kevinburke.ca is valued at $120 (Estibot.com), and $144.54 (Cubestat.com). So I guess I won't be changing my name anytime soon.
Music News:
A new album release under my new moniker - Avionik!
This new 2009 album, entitled 'Disarticulated', has taken more than a year to create. The disc has been mastered, the artwork is complete, and I'm currently sourcing manufacturing. Although physical CDs are not yet available, you can download the album in it's entirety right now!
And with lots more music already written, 2009 is going to be a great year!
Photography News:
I can't wait for the weather to warm up. It's been a winter with record-setting snowfalls and low temperatures. But while I've been waiting, I grabbed a Sony GPS-CS1 GPS tracker which will allow me to geotag my photos and associate the pictures I've taken to points on a map.
I've also been working a lot with Adobe Lightroom 2 - specifically with camera profiles and presets for the Develop module. This will enable me to selectively develop certain photos in a more artistic way, or simulate some of the older films and processes.
And, after seeing something similar on an urban explorers website, I also want to take some time and attempt a High Dynamic Range (HDR) self-portrait.