Since beginning my MFA at CalArts in 2019, I have become fascinated with the music of North India. Practicing tabla has become a crucial part of my daily routine, and I am excited to continue delving deeper into this incredibly beautiful and rhythmically fascinating music! Here is a tukda (short rhythmic composition) in jhabtaal (cycle of 10 beats) and ending on count 1 of the cycle. By playing this phrase 3 times with 1 beat of rest in-between, this tukda works as a chakradar in teental (16 beats), still ending on count of the cycle! I used my OP-1 synthesizer to keep the tala (metric cycle). This composition was taught to me by my mentor Randy Gloss!
RFE is a duo band consisting of Cameron Sax on guitar and myself on drum set and electronics. Our music draws from rock, experimental and jazz languages. We started this duo in 2015 while studying at the University of Nevada, Reno, and since then we have released multiple EPs and played hundreds of shows across the states and abroad.
‘greggy on the moon – op1 vignettes’ is a collection of short electronic pieces made through the use of the OP-1 synthesizer and a drum set. The device is so small and portable that one could create electronic music nearly anywhere at anytime. Many of these pieces were composed while I was traveling on planes and trains to new places. The OP-1 offers many unique features that I used to make this music including the FM radio to drum sampler, endless sequencer, tombola and tape mode. To learn more about how I compose with this instrument and integrate it into my improvisations, click here!
