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FADER Mix: Aaron David Ross

An unpredictable set inspired by the “temporal compression” that iTunes shuffle produces.

January 12, 2016

The sound of shattered glass—swift, sharp, and jarring—opens this unpredictable FADER Mix from N.Y.C. artist Aaron David Ross. As he explains below, the mix was inspired by "the 'temporal compression' that happens when iTunes shuffle channel surfs between genres, centuries, cultures, and emotional states via algorithmic indifference." What that sounds like is a very modern take on radio tuning—one moment your ears alight on Mozart's architectural lines, the next they're catapulted into hostile territory wrought by Amnesia Scanner and Bill Kouligas. There's also room for Rihanna, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Tri Angle signing SD Laika; it's a fun ride. Listen below, and find out what to look forward to when Aaron David Ross performs his new album, Deceptionista, live at New York's Museum of Arts and Design on Thursday 21 January (info and tickets).

Where are you right now? Describe your surroundings.

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I'm at work in my new studio at Yamaha's midtown piano showroom... at a Nuage console staring at posters of dead maestro pianists.

Tell us a bit about this mix—what do you imagine people doing while listening to it?

The mix is called "Filter Failure" to reference the "temporal compression" that happens when iTunes shuffle channel surfs between genres, centuries, cultures, and emotional states via algorithmic indifference. Listeners should expect surprises...?

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How does the format of your new album Deceptionista differ to the standard, and what made you want to explore a new way of releasing?

With help from my friends/collaborators Bill Kouligas, Harm van den Dorpel, and Tabor Robak, we released the album as an interactive video game-like environment packaged on an SD card. I think music created with / inspired by digital processes doesn't usually make sense in the same somewhat stale distribution formats of past decades.

You're performing Deceptionista live at MAD very soon, what can people expect from the show?

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I'm really excited about this! The show is in two parts, first is a live-sampling of recently uploaded Vine clips, creating improvisations from the stream. The second is performing the video game we made in full. They are very different experiences visually and musically, but have a lot of connective tissue? Seeing them together explains the processes at work on both sides.

What's the last book you read that had a big impact on you? And why?

I'm almost done with Douglas Rushkoff's Present Shock, recommended to me by Mat Dryhurst. It's a highly inconclusive but totally fascinating study of the now; the ways in which time compresses online to completely shift our perceptions of ourselves and the world, unique specifically to this new age. It's fun and intense. Highly recommended.

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And finally, what's your favorite dish to cook and how do you make it?

We should probably just order sushi...

Tracklist

Stephan Micus - Gates of Fire
Future Sound Of London - Vit
Wagon Christ - Kwikwidetrax
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Lulu
SD Laika - Peaked
Omkara Techichi - Kiss of Poison
Muslimgauze - Shaheed
Guillaume de Machaut - Kyrie III
Ken Ishi - Popgun
AFX- Batine Acid
W.A. Mozart - Requiem in D Minor
Amnesia Scanner + Bill Kouligas - Lexachast
Ramzi - Etwai
James Ferraro - Tinted Windows
Art of Noise - Dreaming in Color
Above & Beyond - Sky Falls Down
Lorenzo Senni - XMonterX
ADR - Lifeline
Pérotin - Viderunt Omnes (Hilliard Ensemble)
Earl Bullhead - Jingle Dress Beat
Aka Pygmies - Bobangi
Dirty Loops - Crash & Burn Delight (+12)
Slava - Wit U
Rihanna - Where Have You Been
massacooramaan - Binary Impolsions
Doobie Powell - Love
Kanye Video Vanguard Award Intro (feat. Samuel L. Jackson)
Plastikman - Outbak
Enya - Ebudae
Brad Fiedel - Desert Suite
Laurie Anderson - O Superman (for Massenet)

From The Collection:

FADER Mix