Shiloh began as a series of improvisations performed on guitar and processed live in Max/MSP. Vocals and synthesizer were added later. Recorded in Houston, TX and completed in Philadelphia at Haverford College as part of a residency at VCAM (Visual Culture, Arts, and Media).

The album title comes from the site of the 1862 battle as part of the American Civil War.

Released on my 40th birthday May 23, 2023

Music, Mixing, and Mastering: Matt O'Hare

Artwork: John Muse, Untitled 11.15.2022 (from the Auction Catalog Series), cut paper, ink, acrylic, digital composition.

Haversounds was recorded November 21, 2021 at the Visual Culture, Arts, and Media (VCAM) center at Haverford College in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

An improvised performance by Brian Wenner and Matt O'Hare created in a single take with no preparation, editing or overdubs. Recorded as part of Brian Wenner's residency supported by VCAM.

Brian Wenner: Eurorack Modular System

Matt O'Hare: Moog Synthesizer and Guitar Pedals

Phaethon is a straight-to-field-recorder album from 2012 when I was living in the front room of a railroad style apartment on Driggs Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Along with the sounds of moving along the floor of my bedroom and the clicking of looping pedals with my fingers, street ambience occasionally slips into the mix.

Phaethon marks a period in my life when I moved away from composing music in DAWs and fully embraced the spontaneity of electronically-assisted improvisation. The result is slowly unfolding, low-fidelity vocal music that anticipates a lot of my subsequent creative output.

A computer-music composition generated in Processing. Follows a converge/diverge algorithm inspired by the text scores of Pauline Oliveros.

Here it is paired with video footage of a New England salt marsh; the natural environment that complements the ecological interdependence the algorithm seeks.

Part 2 of a computer music piece that explores unusual divisions of equal temperament. Realized in the Max/MSP programming environment. Originally performed live at VCAM at Haverford College.

Part 1 of a computer music piece that explores unusual divisions of equal temperament. Realized in the Max/MSP programming environment. Originally performed live at VCAM at Haverford College.

When we begin the synthesis portion of my computer music class, I often demonstrate how the octave is divided into twelve equal parts to create the common tuning of 12 tone equal temperament (12-TET). Just as easily however, the octave may be divided by an arbitrary value to discover less common intervallic relationships. The two tuning systems used here (7 and 9-TET) produce intervals that are both familiar and unnervingly alien to Western ears.

A mix I created that draws from my own record collection and combines the work of classic electro-acoustic composers (Xenakis, Stockhausen, Oliveros) with contemporary electronic musicians (Tim Hecker, Oneohtrix Point Never, Autechre, Aphex Twin).

Various moments take advantage of vinyl as an acoustic medium and feature variation in playback speed, wind-downs, spin-ups, and the characteristic sounds of a dusty, well-worn record.

While primarily a mix of others' music, there are sections that feature my own improvisations that were recorded on my phone and layered into the otherwise analog-sourced sounds. The full track-listing may be viewed here.