AFK – Bergamot

Bergamot is my first original solo track out since Lush which came out on Proton Music a couple years back. I find myself enjoying collaboration quite a bit and as a result, solo stuff has taken a back seat for a significant amount of time. The wait is over, though, and Bergamot is the result of a whole lot of Earl Grey Tea consumption, time spent at the keyboard (shh – don’t tell!), and inspiration from friends and heros. In particular, this tracks production style was inspired by Shiloh, a group I used to get to spend more time with but lately have not been able to. Additionally, the entire track is done with 5th note increments on second oscillators and twin instruments with balance shifting back and forth.

This is meant to reflect the complexity of flavour between the bergamot oil and ceylon black tea leaves which, together, make Earl Grey Tea. In the middle of the track there is a breakdown where almost every element has vanished and notes rise through the space in the track to convey brewing. There’s some other bits in there that I could equate to the tea making ritual but I will leave that up to your imagination to make those connections. The remix comes care of Hungary’s prog-breakbeat king, Retroid. Enjoy, and as usual please do comment in the comments area below.

Release tracklisting:

  1. AFK – Bergamot (Original mix)
  2. AFK – Bergamot (Retroid remix)

to look forward

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I appear to have a spare moment so here I am. Pacific Front’s new release is out on promo on Beatport now. I’ll be posting shortly about that with some details and samples. Anand is coming over tomorrow and we’ll be jamming on some new Tiebreaker material, which I am thinking is going to sound a lot different than anything we’ve done in the past. I sent over the parts for Emily’s China to Justin earlier this week so we may see a remix of that at some point in the future, which would be very interesting to say the least.
British Columbia had an election this week and I am not too sure what happened. I voted but the majority of eligible voters did not – only 48% did. STV got shot down in a pretty serious manner – in 2005 it garnered 57% in favour, and in 2009 it only held 38% in favour. I am not too sure what happened but the facts are there – people don’t want it. Except for in Victoria – Beacon Hill, 62% of people were in favour. Only one other riding had that much approval for STV and it was one from Vancouver. The next closest riding was down around 55% and that was also in Victoria, but almost everywhere else was much lower, hence the results. For STV to be approved, a 60% “supermajority” of the popular vote was required, and needless to say it wasn’t even close.
Why is British Columbia so apathetic when it comes to voting? Was anyone else surprised by the results?

out in the wild

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A heads up – the new blog at www.gdc.net is live and I will be writing more about design there, as previously mentioned. Check it out if you’re into design! Also if you’re not into design, this might be a good opportunity to learn a bit more about it and what some of the broader issues are that can relate to things far outside of the creative suite.
I took the above shot in North Vancouver near the auto mall. It’s a birdhouse in the middle of a small woodland area, about 12 feet off the ground. I’m not sure how I’d feel about seeing this at night, but the face on a tree looked pretty cool in the daytime. Many plans for the weekend, not the least of which is a lot of reading on the topic of consumer behaviour, and I am sure writing is in there at some point!
This morning, Keith pointed out how different the pro-STV site and the anti-STV site are in terms of design roll out. The differences are pretty stark. I have a few ideas of what this might mean and why it might be but I’d like to hear what you think. Why are the designs so different? What difference do you think it might make to the viewers? What does it reflect in each organizer?

designing content

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This isn’t a post about design, but lets say that it is because what I will be doing is writing about design, and that’s what this is about. In the next day or two, the GDC National Blog will relaunch, with myself as the editor. I’ll be contributing entries on a weekly basis, some of which may find their way back here, but not necessarily in their entirety. The scale and scope of entries there will be related to design on a national level, issues that reach beyond geography and issues that relate to the core motivations behind the GDC as an organization. Topics will include:

  • Design’s role in Canada
  • National trends in design
  • Design awareness
  • The business of design
  • Design outside of Canada
  • Interdisciplinary design
  • The relationship between design and marketing
  • Sustainability in design
  • Design ethics
  • National efforts of other organizations like the GDC around the world
  • Project management and design
  • Designer interviews
  • Other items as they come up

The above topics might sound like news categories, but I will be writing it from my own point of view, keeping my own voice. Otherwise, it would be a lot closer to being news, and that role is already being filled. Ultimately the goal is to provide a glimpse at bigger picture issues (which I love) with the tone of a designer (which I am.)
I’ve also given some thought to assembling a cross-Canada national blogging team. I’ve got a few ideas of who would be good for the middle and west coast of Canada, and I’m keeping my eyes open for some good candidates from the east coast. I am concentrating on getting the new National Blog launched before taking on more organizational items. For now, the above topics will be the focus and I’m looking forward to getting into a new routine.

Photos from the GDC AGM 2009

GDC AGM 2009
GDC AGM 2009
GDC AGM 2009
On Thursday evening, we caught a flight from Victoria to Calgary, had a short layover and took off for Winnipeg – we arrived 20 minutes early. The Winnipeg airport has a sign that proclaims “WINNIPEG WELCOMES THE WORLD.” It’s very retro. It reminds me of being very young and seeing 70s stuff everywhere. All that said, it looks like it’s been kept in really good condition and I saw that a new airport is being built.
We caught a cab to the Fort Garry Hotel. You can tell right away that this hotel is from the rail era. At first we thought it was a Fairmont hotel because of the style, but it isn’t – it’s got its own history which is best explained on the Wikipedia page. We arrived around midnight and went down to a place called Johnny G’s for a beverage to finish off the evening of travel.

Continue reading “Photos from the GDC AGM 2009”

Live from the GDC AGM in Winnipeg

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I’m at the GDC AGM in Winnipeg, getting a sense of the pulse of the organization at a national level. There’s a lot of productive dialogue going on regarding communications, the web, and moving the organization forward in a sustainable way outside of the web.
I’ll be doing a tutorial later this afternoon on the GDC Chapter pages – explaining the ins and outs of the blogs, events systems, where it is, where it is going and what is on the way. A roadmap for chapters and the GDC website, if you will. Pictured above is Valerie, Rod and Tara.