Karl Steven releases his debut album ‘All of Human Emotion on Microfiche’
Karl Steven is a composer and producer, currently based in Pārāwai (Thames). Steven’s upcoming output is a collage of organic and electronic sources, synthesised down into an ambitious and enigmatic sound. While working mainly with music to picture, Steven has also been a part of groups Queen Neptune, The Drab Doo-Riffs, Heart Attack Alley and Supergroove.
Following the singles Freedom Bells, Tāmaki 5000, Acoma (Phase I) and Utterance and Inscription, Karl Steven now releases his debut album All of Human Emotion on Microfiche.
When asked to reflect on the album Steven says “I’m glad to set these pieces free into the community of music listeners to run wild amongst other musics. While not without humour, these are quite introspective and some would say experimental constructions, so it’s been a very nice surprise how welcoming people have been towards them so far.”
“This is my first non-commissioned release under my own name, which is itself an adventure” says Steven. “To be honest that’s mainly just a matter of me coming to terms with that this is indeed my name and looks set to remain so for the rest of my life, so why not hang my music upon that rack rather than try to outrun my own reflection? (It’s “Karl Steven for life” as I sometimes remind myself.)”
“Aside from that I’m just very grateful to Sunreturn for the encouragement and support in turning what is, in some respects, the sound of my mind occasionally boiling over – or else drying out and crumbling – into hard drives on my days off work. Here’s hoping we can send them out into the world with love.”
Special mention needs to made for Mindfulness For Machines, the generative art practice of Marcel Bellvé (Crap Date, Lipsink).
Bellvé created video accompaniments for the four singles released in the lead up to All of Human Emotion On Microfiche, utilising home-brewed oscilloscopes, audio reactive geometry, 3D, rotoscoping, and video sythesizers. The results were a collection of colourful, and expressive clips that pair perfectly with Steven’s audio.
KARL STEVEN –
ALL OF HUMAN EMOTION ON MICROFICHE
Released digitally on February 4
Photo Credit: Paul Taylor
