Now and Xen Now and Xen

Check out Danny Playamaqui’s electronic music, a hugely expansive discography using a staggering variety of techniques. Danny conducts by-ear-tuning editing, strategic de-tuning, varispeed tricks, and poly-systemic techniques in addition to starting out with xenharmonic tunings as templates. Luckily, 4 bars a day keeps the doctor away (or is it an apple? Perhaps a lemon, or some paprika). We take inspiration and feedback from what is around us, trying to counterbalance that with boredom, motives, gimmicks, and alter egos. Animals and food, the ultimate kid-friendly songwriting subjects, here ironically take a bitingly sans-vocal formation. Tunings may or may not include Wendy Carlos scales, meantone tunings, 9-TET, 11-TET, 16-TET, 17-TET, 22-TET, and/or 31-TET.
Music
[Intro] Ichi-go ichi-e [New album!] - Danny Playamaqui
Correcaminos [479^2] - Danny Playamaqui
We Can’t Be Blamed [Harmony Hacker] - Sevish (22-TET)
Lemongrass [VEG ༼༼༼༼ ◕◕◕ ༽༽༽༽] - Danny Playamaqui
Tigre [479^2] - Danny Playamaqui
Nuggets [479] - Danny Playamaqui
Truffles [479] - Danny Playamaqui
Una Tortuga de Patas Amarillas [479^2] - Danny Playamaqui
Bears [479^2] - Danny Playamaqui
Octopus XX [New album!] - Danny Playamaqui
Chocolate [479] - Danny Playamaqui
Silver Bells [cover, xenharmonic chocolate] - arr. Stephen Weigel (21-TET)
♥ ◕ ༽つ ♥ [VEG ༼༼༼༼ ◕◕◕ ༽༽༽༽] - Danny Playamaqui (31-TET?)
Bitter Melon [VEG ༼༼༼༼ ◕◕◕ ༽༽༽༽] - Danny Playamaqui
Turmeric [VA] - Danny Playamaqui
Little Fox [479] - Danny Playamaqui
[Outro] Lynx [New album!] - Danny Playamaqui

Danny’s music:
https://playamaqui.bandcamp.com/album/479-2
https://soundcloud.com/dannyplayamaqui
https://www.youtube.com/@playamaqui/featured
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Come join us for a pleasant studio chat with Bryan Deister, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and jazz pianist extraordinaire. Recently he has been exploring microtonal covers on the Lumatone, with massive success on TikTok. He has also written many albums featuring microtonal music in various tuning systems, generally equal divisions, the most recent fully microtonal one being “In Your Hands.” Our conversation covers many topics relating to context switching, genre, surveys, paucitonality, and unusual instruments. Technical points include discussion of Lumatone layouts and pseudo-octave tropes, the too-perfect ring of JI soiling holy counterpoint, adolescent hatred of microtonality, translating between different tunings (transfer), and Scriabin. 
 
Music
[Intro] The Call [In Your Hands] - Bryan Deister
Apprehension [In Your Hands] - Bryan Deister
Go Away [In Your Hands] - Bryan Deister
Gasoline [In Your Hands] - Bryan Deister (5-ED(5/4))
Uneven Halves [In Your Hands] - Bryan Deister
Lavender Town (Pokemon) - Bryan Deister Lumatone cover (13-TET)
32edo - Bryan Deister
33edo - Bryan Deister
34edo - Bryan Deister
35edo - Bryan Deister
36edo - Bryan Deister
37edo - Bryan Deister
38edo - Bryan Deister
39edo - Bryan Deister
40edo - Bryan Deister
41edo - Bryan Deister
42edo - Bryan Deister
Microtonal improvisation in 43edo - Bryan Deister
Zinnia Riplet - Stephen Weigel (32-TET)
Minimal Progress - John Moriarty (~32-TET)
In the Dark [The Dying Savior] - Bryan Deister (24-TET, 23-TET, 22-TET, 21-TET, 20-TET, 19-TET, 18-TET)
In Your Hands [In Your Hands] - Bryan Deister (8-TET, 9-TET, 10-TET, 11-TET, 24-TET)
Come [Spines of the Heart] - Bryan Deister (19-TET)
Sunrise - HEHEHE I AM A SUPAHSTAR SAGA (19-TET)
Fair [In Your Hands] - Bryan Deister
Liquid Smooth (Mitski) - Bryan Deister Lumatone cover (17-TET)
True Love Waits (Radiohead) - collab Stephen, Levi McClain, Braelen Addison (31-TET) 
Shadow Play [Supernova] - Bryan Deister
[Outro] The Window [In Your Hands] - Bryan Deister
 
Check out Bryan’s incredible music on Bandcamp!
https://linktr.ee/bryandeister
https://bryandeister.bandcamp.com/album/in-your-hands
https://www.youtube.com/@BryanDeister
https://www.tiktok.com/@bryandeister
 
Support us on Patreon! (If we get 60 patrons, episodes will be released regularly instead of sporadically)
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Chris Bandy, a cappella maestro and creative polymath, joins us to discuss the microtonality of his spectacular arrangements on YouTube. He works in Logic Pro using FlexPitch. Most of his microtonal strategies involve tuning standard adjustments and drifts, or moving microtonal distances. His most xenharmonic sounding arrangement is likely “Where is Love,” and his latest video, “Silent Night,” gets really in-depth and has pioneered several extremities of his style (vocal agility, subtle and long tuning drift, range, complex slide editing, etc). Check out his videos on YouTube, and his Patreon!  
 
Music
Silent Night - arr. Chris Bandy [tuning standard adjustment]
Silent Night - arr. Chris Bandy [tuning standard adjustment]
America the Beautiful - arr. Chris Bandy [tuning standard adjustment]
Where is Love - arr. Chris Bandy [144-TET] - m. 92
Where is Love - arr. Chris Bandy [144-TET] - mm. 3-4
Where is Love - arr. Chris Bandy [144-TET] - mm. 99-100
Where is Love - arr. Chris Bandy [144-TET] - mm. 73-75
Where is Love - arr. Chris Bandy [144-TET] - mm. 83-84
Where is Love - arr. Chris Bandy [144-TET] - m. 89 (phase 1)
Where is Love - arr. Chris Bandy [144-TET] - mm. 90-91 (phase 2)
Where is Love - arr. Chris Bandy [144-TET] - mm. 91-92 (phase 3)
[Outro] Silent Night - arr. Chris Bandy [tuning standard adjustment]
 
Chris’s stuff:
https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisBandyJazz
https://www.patreon.com/chrisbandy
https://chrisbandyjazz.wixsite.com/mysite
 
Support us on Patreon! (If we get 60 patrons, episodes will be released regularly instead of sporadically)
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Dave Keenan and Douglas Blumeyer have written an in-depth, specific guide about the mathematical principles of regular temperament theory that are groundbreaking in their consistency and explanatory power. We have them on to discuss how the exchanges evolved, de-mystify some theory concepts, and get spicy with terminology.
 
Music
[Intro] Dave Keenan - Tumbling Dekany four six five seven nine [JI]
[Outro] Douglas Blumeyer - Blumeyer Comma JI Unpump [JI]
 
D&D’s guide:
https://en.xen.wiki/w/Dave_Keenan_%26_Douglas_Blumeyer%27s_guide_to_RTT
 
Other resources:
https://sethares.engr.wisc.edu/paperspdf/Erlich-MiddlePath.pdf
http://tonalsoft.com/enc/e/equal-temperament.aspx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCRb6r5shD8
https://sagittal.org/
 
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Experimental bagpipe and bass legend Mat Muntz brings his Croatian folk music expertise to the table… a topic most would say he has matsered in depth. Check out his latest album “Phantom Island” on Bandcamp, which freely combines folk music and jazz idioms into a grand polysystemic masterpiece. A lot of our conversation revolves around the intriguing differences between instruments such as bagpipes and double reeds, folk music/other influences, and tuning systems existing together in the same piece. The process of solving microtonal “issues” in an ensemble setting is one we describe as constantly bringing weird findings that cause learning, and joy. Also, keep your ears ready for connections between geography and tuning, and the latest conspiracy about Tartini!

Music
[Intro] Mat Muntz - Phantom Islands (track 3)
Vex Collection - Fugue
Beethoven - Ode to Joy (in Istrian scale)
Mat Muntz - Cembalo Brutto (track 5)
Mat Muntz - Phantom Islands (track 1)
Mat Muntz - Cembalo Brutto (track 3)
Agustín Castilla Ávila - Gemiden
Stephen Weigel - Tenacious Chorale
Mat Muntz - Phantom Islands (track 1)
Mat Muntz - Phantom Islands (track 4)
Mat Muntz - Phantom Islands (track 3)
Mat Muntz - Phantom Islands (track 4)
Traditional - clip of Croatian women singing
[Outro] Mat Muntz - Phantom Islands (track 3)

Mat Muntz’s music on Bandcamp:
https://matmuntz.bandcamp.com/album/phantom-islands
https://thevexcollection.bandcamp.com/album/the-vex-collection

Support us on Patreon! (If we get 60 patrons, episodes will be released regularly instead of sporadically)
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Check out this conversation with Aaron Myers-Brooks, Pittsburgh prog guitarist/composer extraordinaire. His latest album, “Oblique,” is a microtonal odyssey exploring various quirky polyrhythms, applications of 17-tone equal temperament, electronic sounds, and distortion flavors. We get an inside exclusive look at the scores to “Energy Shapes”, figure out why one might use up and down arrows instead of Gould accidentals, and talk about “drawing” microtones in the highC program.

Music
[Intro] Aaron Myers-Brooks - Energy Shapes (V - Emerge)
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Eight HighC Miniatures (VII - Chitter)
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Sonata for 17-tone Guitar (I - Wistful and Halting)
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Prelude and Entity
Aaron Myers-Brooks - The 11th and 6th Caves
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Energy Shapes (II - Oblique)
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Sonata for 17-tone Guitar (I - Wistful and Halting)
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Sonata for 17-tone Guitar (II - Angular and Aggressive)
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Chasm [from album “Energetic Bursts”]
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Energy Shapes (I - Wisp)
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Energy Shapes (II - Oblique)
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Energy Shapes (III - Chop)
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Triads and Arpeggios 
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Energy Shapes (IV - De-Sync)
Aaron Myers-Brooks - Energy Shapes (V - Emerge)
[Outro] Aaron Myers-Brooks - Sonata for 17-tone Guitar (III - Somber and Deliberate)

Aaron Myers-Brooks’ music (on all streaming sites):
https://aaronmyersbrooks.bandcamp.com/album/oblique
https://www.youtube.com/@aaronmeterchanges

Support us on Patreon! (If we get 60 patrons, episodes will be released regularly instead of sporadically)
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