Rick Reed - EMS Synthi AKS synthesizer, sine wave generators, short wave/VLF radio, various delay pedals/loopers.
Influences
Some of my musical influences and people I enjoy listening to are: Karlheinze Stockhausen, John Cage, John Duncan, AMM, Disinformation (Joe Banks), Louis & Bebe Barron,Cm Von Hausswolff, Leif Elggren, Hugh Davies, Elaine Radigue, Brian Eno, Edvard Artemiev, David Lynch/Alan Splet, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Bruno Maderna, Enore Zaffri, Conrad Schnitzler, Kluster/Cluster, Thomas Lehn, Morton Subotnick, Robert Fripp, Toshi Ichyanagi, Tony Conrad, LaMonte Young, Tristram Cary, Popul Vuh, David Tudor, Gordon Mumma, Halim el-Dabh, Jean Baptiste Barriere and Walter/Wendy Carlos.
Visual artists: Jules Oltiski, Helen Frankenthaler, Barnet Newman, Franz Klein, Brion Gysin, Mark Rothko, Paul Jenkins - light artists such as James Turrell, Tony Martin and Mark Leonard . Video artists include Nam June Paik, Woody and Steina Vasulka, film makers like Peter Tscherkassky, Ken Jacobs, Paul Sharits, John & James Whitney, Stan VanderBeek, Norman Mclaren, Stan Brakhage, Jurgen Rebel and Thorsten Fleish.
Sounds Like
Here's a new review from Paris Transatlantic regarding my latest LP project Dreamz/Blue Polz....... "Rick Reed's music has an ineluctability that renders it instantly indispensable, a necessary reminder of the place where we all come from, known by no-one, probably non-existent. No surprise then that these tracks were originally conceived as soundtracks to visuals, by Ken Jacobs and Fred Worden respectively, for giving sonic abstraction a pictorial element can be a method of exorcising remote fears while coming to terms with our infinite ignorance, only heightened by our presumption of being "superior". The first of these two transcendental enigmas generated, according to the press release, by an EMS Synthi A, a couple of sine wave generators and a shortwave radio, "Dreamz" is built upon a series of wavering drones whose resonant allure acts on the psyche like a snake charming its charmer; convinced we've grasped what's going .. a few minutes, we're sucked in by a vortex of inexplicable doubts, sounds suggesting an amalgam of darkness and luminescence rather than physical phenomena. "Blue Polz" starts like an advanced scientific investigation of synthesized emissions, but things calm down with the introduction of suspended electronic tones, even if the stability still contains a good measure of mystery. The occasional vinyl pop 'n' crackle – it's a limited edition (260) picture disc, folks – is the only drawback; otherwise, gorgeous stuff all the way."
...........This is new from Jim Haynes, writing for the Aquarius Records website:
REED, RICK Celestial Mudpie (self released) 3cd-r 30.00
Rick Reed isn't really doing himself any favors by calling this anthology of his electronic compositions 'Celestial Mudpie', but if you have the opportunity to sit down with the man for a drink (and you really should!), the title suits his personality perfectly. A Texas gentleman with a bawdy side to match his ever charming demeanor, Rick Reed does not exude the bookish reclusiveness one might attribute to an avid consumer and composer of delirious if occasionally claustrophobic smears of analogue electronics fashioned after the likes of Klaus Schulze, Arcane Device, and Conrad Schnitzler. It's a little strange that Reed has been off the radar here at Aquarius for all these years, as he's released a handful of recordings through Ecstatic Peace, Elevator Bath, and Beta-Lactam Ring. He's also developed a close working relationship with the avant-garde filmmaker Ken Jacobs, having scored several soundtracks. As relative newcomers to his work, we were flabbergasted at how good Reed has been over the years thanks to this fantastic compendium of works that date back from the past 2 decades. His primary instruments are Moog, sine-wave generator, and shortwave radio which must go through innumerable analogue treatments and filters before entering the domain of the digital workstation. Rarified atmospherics and spectral transmissions dominate his compositions which can start as hypnotizing electronic meditations on the music of the spheres before accelerating to a dramatic crescendo of blistered vibration, gaping drones, and some Broken Flag teeth gnashing menace found on the earlier works. He's included both tracks from a recent picture disc LP released on Elevator Bath (for those not inclined to vinyl), as well as several of those excerpted soundtracks for Ken Jacobs, plus some works dating back as far as 1986. Each of the three discs come with a hand-painted piece of artwork of densely sprayed paint, that somehow does not reek of petrochemicals. Kudos to Reed for not stinking up the joint. And kudos to Reed for such impressive work.
Click the appropriate button below to buy a copy of Rick Reed's picture disc LP dreamz | blue polz, postage paid.
$22.00 (USA/Canada)
$26.00 (International)
Click the appropriate button below to buy a copy of Rick Reed's full-length CD Dark Skies at Noon, postage paid.
$15.00 (USA/Canada)
$18.00 (International)
Click the appropriate button below to buy a copy of the self-titled full-length CD Frequency Curtain (trio of Rick Reed, John Grzinich, and Josh Ronsen), postage paid.
Like a lot of people my age who grew up in the 70's, I was inspired by the early albums of groups such as Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. I came to music very late in life, actually sort of through the backdoor . That is to say, I didn't study music in school, I studied art, where with the help of copious amounts of drugs and alcohol, I eventually found a natural link between the abstract painting I loved, and these electronic soundscapes I was listening to while painting (or just laying around my shack in a stupor). In late 1978 I left college and moved to Austin from my hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas where almost right away I got lucky and met a few like minded people who were doing their own experiments with tape recorders and various bits of junk. They soon encouraged me to start making my own electronic music, which I did using cheap synthesizers that were just starting to flood the market from Japan. Over the years I've worked in several mediums besides music, video/film being a great love (of which one of my recent efforts using painted 8mm film can be seen by clicking on my 'video' button under my photo). I've also done sound installations, made field recordings, as well as continuing my first passion, painting (see slide show below). Some local groups I've been involved with include FTC, The Abrasion Ensemble, Field, S.I.R.S.I.T.,The Deep Dream Decoders, The Ethereal Bastards, Knobjobs, and Frequency Curtain, as well as performing solo, sometimes under the name "Careful With That AKS Eugene", named after a sort of cross between the old Pink Floyd chestnut and my trusty synthesizer, the EMS Synthi AKS. Recent activities include a long stint as host of a radio show devoted to electronic/avant garde music called "Commercial Suicide", and as musical director of the long running Toneburst music series, which are held a few times a year here in Austin. My work can be heard on labels such as Ecstatic Peace, Bremsstralung, The Seattle based label Elevator Bath, has just released a picture disc LP entitled "Dreamz/Blue Polz".
Contact me at : richardkreed@hotmail.com and say hello!
Ground shattering 1st release on Doppelganger Records by Galaxian. 7 tracks of sublime electro inspiration. Dark atmospherics, menacing basslines and creeping grooves combine to make this a future classic.
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