Murder in the Dark Album Release

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We are really excited to announce that as of today This Line has a new album and a new video. This has been long in the mix and we are really excited for more people to finally listen. Check out the new video below! Stream and download the album at Bandcamp.

Paul Fonfara and the Ipsifendous Orchestra

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Recently we interviewed Minnesota composer Paul Fonfara (maker of the above Kickstarter campaign) for an episode of The White Whale that should be out next week. Paul is not unknown to the worlds of CyNar, as we did a number of live films and music videos for his band the Painted Saints a few years back. 

What many may not know is that this year he was recipient of a grant to fund his development as a composer. This project is coming to a conclusion at The Cedar  with Jim White and Brass Messengers on December 5th.

If you know Paul's work you know he is a unique in crowds of complacency. Never wanting to dumb it down or limit his natural inclinations in the musical arena, he is going forth into narrative storytelling with the same considerations - hoping that what is normal for him could become normal for cinematic sensibilities. 

As part of the show he has also been amassing some incredible artwork and a host of players who should really help bring this multimedia extravaganza to a head as Paul performs the entire album with films playing at the head.

If you are interested check out the record on Soundcloud and support his current Kickstarter campaign to help offset some of the costs not covered by the grant.


Place of Theory

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"Theory wrapped me in an entire climate of description. Theory was simply, shoulder-shruggingly, the only thing that helped me to see what I was and where,"

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KCRW #RadioRace

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This weekend we are making a go at the KCRW #RadioRace. Stellar event bringing in exceptional producers from all around with some great ears behind the judging table. Besides eventually getting a new piece from us, what exactly does this mean for you?

Well, you get to track our progress. Social media is stressed by KCRW - so much so that an award is given for best use - so we will be representing. You may have noticed some extensive use of the desired hashtag aRound Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

weird photos

odd assortments of words

usual nonsense

We are going to be very busy and probably overly tired. So, you must give us a pass as we try to entertain while live documenting what is not necessarily a unique experience for us (we have made pieces in shorter time spans), but usually happens quietly in our confines. 

Enjoy the ride and have no fear, Sunday will still bring you a new episode of The White Whale. It's already in the bag. 

 

#PM15

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If you follow our social media accounts you'll know we are spending this weekend amongst audio greats at Podcast Movement. First time visiting this particular conference, and already excited for the next one. Yes, they have it set.

This kicks off a couple busy weeks as we are continuing to put out The White Whale every Sunday, have some work for other shows in the mix and are playing participant to the 24-hour Radio Race from KCRW next weekend. Yes, we have asked ourselves what we are doing. Too fun to take that reality check. 

If you are new to our podcast as of #PM15 please take a listen in whatever order you please. First season is chronological, but as conversation of the records and films speaks to listening and watching in whatever order you please we have designed each episode to be part of a larger whole that can be heard unto itself.

Cheers to all following and participating in this crazy business. We are having fun. If looking for us tonight we will probably be mixing some radio somewhere in the ether. Feel free to steal attention. 

Keep Moving Forward

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There is a lot of work on the horizon as we round the corner of summer into August. Not only is The White Whale's first season wrapping up in a couple weeks, but we're honored to be contributing to a few other productions for which we are long-time fans.  

After the season ends we'll have a slight break. An album collecting original music from the first season is being whittled down. Something we're excited to release, but there is a lot to go through.

We'll also have some one-off productions covering the work of people we love. That's a secret we will hold for now though.  

Second season is already under-way as well, though it's subject is still ours to tell. While its approach and aesthetic will be much in line with the first season, this is also going to be a very different experience and very different story. Much more dealing with a particular perspective of the last half century and how it changed the world. Pretty rich and cool stuff. Not a story we imagine you have heard.

What else? What else? 

Surely there is more, but the audio world seems enough to highlight for the moment. We just released the newest music video from Scott Wooldridge, something many years in the making, and have a few other tricks up our sleeve in that end. There may be some fiction we wish to visualize as all this audio work is really presenting new worlds and wouldn't mind finally releasing some new photography from the last few years. See if we find the time. 

Event Horizons

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If you follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ you know we are very busy. Anxious Machine's second season has started and our remix for ARRVLS is in the airwaves. We also had a big hand in the recent episode of SisterStory Presents: with Jo Piazza. A lot of music and producing went into making that happen. 

There is also a lot coming down the road including a new music video for Scott Wooldridge as well as some others. The White Whale is kicking strong and growing a larger fan base everyday - but that is closer to its season end rather than beginning. We are going to fill that space with some different one- off radio docs as we prepare the second season. That is going to be a pretty different narrative, but built upon similar foundations. 

This post specifically though is about a new mixtape American Residue Records is dropping tomorrow. Called Event Horizons, if you have heard any of the recent podcast episodes we have been a part of then you have heard some pieces.  These have quickly gained some listeners so time to release.

follow our channels for all the updates and look for the new record tomorrow! 

Études

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We have a new album coming out tomorrow - solo release by Garrett called Études.

According to Wikipedia,

An étude (/ ˈeɪtjuːd/; French pronunciation:  [eˈtyd], a French word meaning study) is an instrumental musical composition, usually short, of considerable difficulty, and designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidly growing popularity of the piano. Of the vast number of études from that era some are still used as teaching material (particularly pieces by Carl Czerny and Muzio Clementi), and a few, by major composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt and Claude Debussy, achieved a place in today's concert repertory. Études written in the 20th century include those related to traditional ones (György Ligeti), those that require wholly unorthodox technique (John Cage), and ones that are unusually easy to play.

Our version of this idea is a first release of some of the original music you have been hearing on The White Whale as well as podcast episodes produced for the oral history project SisterStory. Engineered by John R. Barner, these are not as you heard them in the podcast, but developed variants that allow new life and new ideas.

We just released our newest episode of The White Whale and are hard at work on Sunday's release as we prepare for the MEGAPOLIS Audio Festival (http://megapolisfestival.org). We will also be releasing a new Mixtape shortly called Event Horizons. Lots of great material! Keep checking Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to the podcast!

 

Funayūrei Cover Art

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We released the cover art for John's third act tonight. Album is set for release Tuesday and as per the other releases we have films lined up. Next few weeks should be exciting as we send all this material out in the world. 

This has been a long road and it's not over yet. The podcast has lots more material to cover - we just introduced this album, but we're going to travel back a bit so we're nowhere near the end. There are the upcoming films too.

And...John has talked of a special edition Trilogy release that would feature additional material not on the separate records.

We'll see what happens, but while this is an end in some regards, it's also just a beginning.

 

 

The Yokai Trilogy on the podcast!

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It's been a few weeks since we have written. We've been busy getting new content out in the world and it's limited the time to write a proper update. 

The White Whale season 1 is in full swing as of yesterday with the first episode introducing John Barner properly and the ideas that have built his trilogy. Brimming with tales of ghosts and mechanical malfeasance - this should be a pretty great ride.

You'll recognize music from the catalog and certain approaches to sound unique to the games we play. The storytelling will keep evolving as the conversation evolves and grows richer so stay tuned for some impressive arrangements.

Any of the original material we bring into the mix will also get a certain mixtape remix - as we've done in the past, though this obviously being the first with music original introduced in a podcast. So, what you hear will come back around again. New shapes and forms to embrace the ideas we come upon through this journey.

We're always looking for a way to give you new work and new perspectives.

Release of the final album, Funayūrei,is also fast approaching. Album is ready,  though release date has yet to be set. We are working tirelessly to finish up the films first so you will have the full experience from get go.

Other adventures are in the mix, but for now listen to The White Whale.

The White Whale is an audio production of CyNar Pictures and its record label American Residue Records. Built upon the ideas of Residual, the blog of CyNar, each episode is an extension of the blog offering visions behind the curtain of art collaboratives in video and audio. CyNar Pictures is a multimedia lab experimenting with image and sound. It's owned and operated by Garrett D. Tiedemann. http://www.cynarpictures.com


Set Apart Podcast Episode 102 - Special Treatment

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Before we can get started with our own podcast, we've found ourselves in the worlds of others. The recently begun Here's My Secret has a theme song by Garrett Tiedemann and a new podcast mini-series called Set Apart  also by the oral history project SisterStory has just started and amidst the layers of sound and other music you may hear familiar material if you have listened to our previous releases.

From what we here there will be some other appearances in other productions of some new original work in addition to previously released material so stay tuned.

For now, check out this second episode on Soundcloud or YouTube and see if you can hear us in the mix. Cheers!

Here's My Secret Podcast

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There is a new podcast produced by the oral history project SisterStory called Here's My Secret. What is it? To quote the podcast write-up,

“Here’s My Secret is a podcast produced by Alicia Beyer about the oral history project SisterSTory. Through interviews with student oral historians she learns more about their experiences and the valuable relationships forged between them and their Sister during the semester process. By reading the SisterStory blogs (www.sisterstory.org/student-blog) and personally getting to know each student prior to interviewing, we gain insight through Alicia into how this experience has changed individual lives and evolved perspectives on women religious.”
— https://soundcloud.com/asisterstory/sets/heres-my-secret

So, you may be asking why we at CyNar are highlighting this production. Well, despite it being a great new podcast offering a unique perspective of a cool project, the theme music was done by Garrett Tiedemann along with a lot of guidance as to its production. So, dear reader, if you so wish, have a listen.

We will decide later if this theme will be released as a single. Cheers! 

Marc Streitenfeld - After the Fall

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This space is typically reserved for CyNar related materials. However, something recently came our way that needed some highlighting.

Marc Streitenfeld has a new score. Most notably known for his impressive work with Ridley Scott on films like Prometheus and Body of Lies. He also worked extensively with Hans Zimmer for years and his abilities as a sound constructor are well known.

Working as a composer he is quite versatile. Very much a chameleon of sound who can go where the narrative takes him, he also is quite adept at minimalism - as exemplified by his work on films like The Grey and Killing Them Softly. He's stunning when minimal and doesn't receive enough credit for an ability to pull back and yet create something complete.

His most recent work is for the film After the Fall and it is in line with this more minimalist approach. In times when music is more often than not needing to prove its reason for being, After the Fall is refreshing for not. It's lightly touched, utilizing a few themes to organize the ideas.

Check it out when you have time. 

Weekly Recap - Minnesota Public Radio

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This week was really busy in the land of Minnesota Public Radio with new interviews coming out every day. Monday brought about an interview with the great Daniel Hart whose work was covered last year in a piece about under-recognized scores of 2013. His upcoming work, both for the film and the record, is fantastic and he offers great insight into how he does what he does.

On Tuesday we put out an interview with Christopher Lennertz whose work you have almost certainly heard. As discussed in the piece, he has worked with an incredible amount of gold standard composers and it offers great insight into how his stylings are becoming entwined with modern-day comedy.

Wednesday was a surprise with a really quick interview of Mark Henry Phillips from Serial fame. His work is a huge part of why that podcast series has become so popular. With insanely fast production on every episode, he didn't have time to try and make things 'perfect' and that restriction adds to a sensibility that greatly benefited the show's reception.

Lastly, something different. Our friend Silas Hite was in town last year and we were able to get him to sit down for a terrific interview that became the newest episode of Top Score; Emily Reese's terrific podcast that is working really hard to broaden how we think about video games and music. Please take a listen and share it around.

Next week we should finally have three new films for the John Barner album (sssh, don't tell him. we have as yet to let him know) and Hanan is kicking into high gear with shooting of the music video taking place shortly.

Stay tuned. Keep a look out over at Minnesota Public Radio and Happy New Year to everyone! It's so far gotten off to a great start at CyNar. 

 

Location Scouting

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The music video for Hanan is moving forward quickly. Script is almost finished, props have been bought, and now locations are being found. 

This is always the best stage of production. All the ideas on the table, everyone's excited, and nothing has been extinguished.

Soon enough we'll start shooting and reality intervenes. It's the place where truth often derails ideals. All the amazing dreams come crashing down on time of day, length of shoot, and whether or not someone remembers the camera.

It's where the film takes shape and everything you inevitably capture is what was supposed to be. The difficultly capturing something worth capturing - a moment in time that talks to you; makes you feel lucky for all the work that brought about singular beauty.

Doc Pomus, Lou Reed, and Greil Marcus Walk Into a Bar

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Greil Marcus' new book The History of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten Songs is floating around the office as of late. Wonderful material. If you haven't found yourself a copy go get one. Say it's a Christmas present, or whatever you have to do. 

In it, while discussing This Magic Moment, Marcus references Reed reading Pomus:

"The important thing is to be the poet. Not the famous poet. There's so many uncontrollable intangibles that make up recognition and success. It's the life we choose that sets us up, in the hierarchy of humans, that proves our courage and understanding, and sensitivity. I'd rather be the worst poet than the best agent."

...

It's possible to go on and on about the importance of these words and how they are the foundation of whatever is good at the moment. But, really, why try and follow-up Doc Pomus? Unless of course you're Lou Reed.

"Why won't you dance with me?"
 

Yokai Trilogy

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So it's Thanksgiving 2014 and time to give thanks. It's been a busy year for CyNar and American Residue with a lot of new material and a lot more to come in short order. What we are thinking most about right now though is this trilogy almost complete.

John Barner has been working an a very big project this year. With two albums already available, the third album is going to be called Funayūrei. It's an exciting adventure soon to be complete and we are waiting with as much anticipation as you regarding it's sound and vibe. 

We'll keep you posted on its release with album art, expected videos, etc. We need to of course complete the second stage in video land, but those are short coming and by the end of the year part two should be complete.

When the third installment is released we have big plans. The entire arc will be titled Yōkai and with it we are going to produce a whole new collection of all three acts with some additional material only available in the release entire. We have also altered the site a bit to reflect this project entire and you can find it under the video section titled Yōkai Trology. We'll keep updating this section to better your involvement as time allows.

Take care on this holiday of gathering. Give thanks and listen to the world around you.

Cheers!