Consonant Dissonance is a series of piano improvisations that examine how human expression in piano performance can be emphasized or contrasted by feeding the signals into a bespoke modular synthesizer designed to sample and reprocess the piano in real-time. For each piece the piano signals are handled in different ways. These include granular synthesis, looping, pitch shifting, reverse, analog filtering, delay, and reverberation, all modulated via a function generator, low frequency oscillators, and a sampling touch controller operated by the performer.

John C.S. Keston is an award winning transdisciplinary artist reimagining how music, video art, and computer science intersect. His work both questions and embraces his backgrounds in music technology, software development, and improvisation leading him toward unconventional compositions that convey a spirit of discovery and exploration through the use of graphic scores, chance and generative techniques, analog and digital synthesis, experimental sound design, signal processing, and acoustic piano. Performers are empowered to use their phonomnesis, or sonic imaginations, while contributing to his collaborative work. Keston founded the sound design resource, AudioCookbook.org, where you will find articles and documentation about his projects and research.

You can listen to an interview with John JC Keston on PRX, a radio program from Minneapolis here.

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