listen.camp | episode 023 | 06.15.22

The spring season lasts approximately one week in this region- then it's on to monsoon season. This is the time of year for catching up on house painting, landscaping, and keeping weeds out of the garden. episode 023 provided a much needed distraction, mostly because I had the opportunity to have a great conversation with Maryam Qudus, musician, engineer, and producer based in the San Francisco bay area. Much more on that later.

01. improvisation 1 (2022)
Plunkett was at the farmhouse recently, and brought his very nice Les Paul guitar- along with a Chase Bliss Audio MOOD pedal. I set put a couple of microphones on a couple of different amplifiers and left the room. Samples from this session appear throught episode 023.

02. Maryam Qudus interview, part 1 (2022)
Maryam is a legend. Musician, recording engineer, and producer with an extensive AND impressive resume (click here if you don't believe me).

I recently had the chance to speak with Maryam- and we talked about a range of subjects touching on her multiple roles in the creation and production of music. She works across genres and brings a fresh, and sometimes unorthodox, approach to each one.

Throughout this conversation, the backing soundtrack is a sample of both ambient work, under the banner of Doe Eye. Also included in this part of the interview is a piece she recently recorded for the dream/psych band La Luz.

03. SARN vs Emperor X (2011, 2018, 2022)
SARN and Emperor X are two of my favorite musicians. One is on the west coast and the other is based in Germany. I decided to loop a few complementary sections of their work (Drust Jive, Western Teleport, and Sincerely, HG Pregerson) to create an audio interlude for this program. I find it soothing.

04. dog sequence (2022)
This is another piece by Plunkett, accompanied by the Noank Guitar Ensemble. dog sequence is a layered series of guitar loops with a seasonal tone.

05. Maryam Qudus interview, part 2 (2022)
Part 2 of the interview is bookended by a pair of tracks from Maryam's new spacemoth album, No Past No Future. At the beginning, This shit and at the conclusion Pipe and Pistol. These are both banging songs- marked by meticulous production. I will say it one more time, spacemoth sounds like the 21st-century version of Young Marble Giants- in the best possible way.

In the second part of our conversation, Maryam goes into detail on her process of adapting and responding to creative and technical challenges- whether in writing and recording her own music or engineering the work of other artists. In part 2, there is a loop of material by Sad13 and more ambient pieces from the b-room album.

06. improvisation 2 (2022)
The program concludes with an extended edit guitar improvisation by Plunkett. Solo electric guitar, a couple of pedals, and two microphones on a guitar amp (front and back). I tried to weave the mix together using sections from a 48-minute long recording- but he did all of the work.

Program note: This episode is dedicated to our canine companion, Emma Merriwether, who left us on 7 June. No words. Just love.

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