In mid-2014 I was inspired by the Dubstep Allstars mixes to make groovy electroacoustic basslines with my tubas. I eventually learned that I could use Controllermate to control Ableton with a Playstation controller, and I put together my first effect by the end of that year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0IExQclhTE

 

I started rehearsing with a trio, and we tried to figure out a good workflow. It was a good start. https://soundcloud.com/jbaylies/coki-all-of-a-sudden-sousastep-remix 

​

After I moved home from Boston in September 2015, I started developing a live-looping rig. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvS2kmY_6EU 

​

I prototyped this rig regularly with free improvisation ensembles, mostly under the umbrella of Evil Clown Records. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zef4LzKkBhg

 

In a surprising turn of events, I also helped start Nu Mouthpieces with Erik Nugent. Erik’s goal of bringing chromaticism to the didgeridoo and my interest in utilizing didgeridoo techniques on the tuba merged excitingly. Erik crafted nu mouthpiece prototypes with his lathe, and I gave feedback about the designs. We launched a successful crowdfunding campaign, exhibited at ITEC and ITF, and as of now, about 70 musicians are supporting a catalyst for the fusion of two distinct sonic worlds. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1615538060/nu-mouthpieces-bridge-low-brass-and-didgeridoo-tec

 

Although I was playing regularly with the Evil Clown Ensemble, I had found the rest of Boston’s electroacoustic music scene to be lacking. I also realized that I couldn’t teach myself everything, so in August 2017 I enrolled in Brooklyn College’s Sonic Arts program. I took a class on Max/MSP, ported all my Controllermate code over to Max, and developed a huge part of my workflow. Soon I’ll be porting a large part of that whole rig over to an Eventide H9000R. Hopefully by utilizing the best of Ableton, Max/MSP, and Eventide, I’ll be able to perform a top-notch killer dubstep set live with a tuba.