Funny Art Blog

with love

2011-04-07T05:14:00.000-07:00

Hi there

Thought I'd share a bit about recent FAC music-related events with you:

A couple of weeks back I finished work on new music for Ricardo Corrêa's Solo theatre performance: "Coração Dark Room".

Ricardo's tour de force solo performance about the messed up love-life of a drag-queen prostitute life in the gay scene of Sao Paulo re-premiered (with the new soundtrack)in Sao Paulo (Brazil) only days ago!

Though it may sound strange I haven't excactly been able to keep track of developments over there, but everything seems to be running smoothly sofar;) One of these days I'm gonna go back and mix up some kinda soundtrack EP, for those of you interested in what the music sounds like.

Here's a link to Ricardo's page about the play (in Portugese):

http://ciaartera.blogspot.com/2010/03/coracao-dark-room-de-ricardo-correa.html

Right now I'm working on a new EP for the Berlin based Joprec records. The music is gonna be a pretty straight up happy electronic dance music sort of thing, - and I really look forward to presenting the finished result to you!

Here's a link to the Joprec homepage (remember to turn your speakers on):

http://www.joprec.org/

Thanks for stopping by:)

/karsten

www.funnyartcollective.dk

Buddhism

2010-12-12T01:42:00.001-08:00

Studying the Buddha Dharma and practising meditation often ends up at odds with my blogging efforts. At least that goes for blogging in the sense of promoting myself, my art and so on. I mean, what's the use of promoting a self that's not even really there anyway?

On the other hand sharing new found specks of insight would be a cool thing indeed, but alas - my writing skills are mostly horrendously inadequate and I tend to find myself ending up confounded by the age old paradox of using words to describe something that transcends language.

So instead of babbling on, I'd rather point you towards reading materials that I've found helpful, enlightening and often quite funny too:

Ajahn Sumedho's introductory: ”The Four Noble Truths” is a straight forward and humorous reminder of what it's all about:

http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/4nobltru.pdf

Also the collection of his short dhamma talks in: ”Intuitive Awareness” is strong stuff. Ajahn Sumedho's American background often makes these talks very relevant for us foolhardy westerners:)

http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/intuitive-awareness.pdf

All this of course stems from a tradition passed on by the late great Thai teacher, Ajahn Chah:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajahn_Chah

A lot of Ajahn Chah's talks and debates were also recorded, transcribed and released in different formats. I found the printed Collection: ”Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away: Teachings on Impermanence and the End of Suffering” a very good place to start, but a lot of different texts are also freely available on the internet.

While the two Ajahns represent the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism, I'd also like to recommend to you the classic collection of Zen talks by Shunryu Suzuki: ”Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind”. I find the Zen way of thinking to work as an excellent counterpoint to the Theravada thinking, although at times slightly more formal.

If you actually end up reading some of this stuff, I'd love to hear what you think about it!

…

Now - I have to get ready to set up the new mixing board (It's a Soundcraft M8). I hope that given time and effort all this meditation and spiritual work will be able to make cable-spaghettification more manageable in the future;)

Thank you 4 stopping by!

/karsten

On leaving Facebook

2010-10-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

Today - after being a Facebook user for over a year - I decided to permanently delete my account. The bad habits and confusion from using it just got to a point where it was taking up too much of my time and energy, - and it occurred to me that all this focus on maintaining online personae was becoming a hindrance to seeing the world as it really is.

So yeah, that's why you cant't find me on fb anymore.

I hope to see you soon in rl though:)

...and if I don't know you already please feel free to get in touch! Who knows, we might even become friends.

With love,

karsten

Producing new tracks,

2010-09-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

..fighting broken equipment, faulty wires - searching for that special sound to carry the love.

..back to work

2010-08-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

After some kind of drunken psychedelic summer hiatus I'm finding my way back to producing new music.. - ..and since the state of Denmark has kindly donated a full year of economic support for continuing my work I must admit it makes me feel like I actually better do something;)

At the moment Latvian partner Karin Goija is doing experimental video shoots for some brand new tracks, but since Karin is very secretive about her work you'll simply have to wait and see what happens!

Also, further visual experiments are being planned, involving the construction of a miniature city, carboard animation and African witchcraft.

..and I should be able to upload new musical sketches, bloopers and whatnot to Soundcloud soon, - and I'll even make an effort to pick up on this blog as well:)

Line is now working full time doing handmade jewellery, which is something you should probably be checking out! She's updating her Etsy shop with new pieces every week!

Here's a link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/linsepatron

Thank you for dropping by!

/karsten

re-charging

2010-06-01T01:47:00.000-07:00

We seem to have exhausted our batteries lately and more and more we find ourselves drifting into catatonic depressive states of mind. Meaning it's time to shake things up a bit

So we're giving the videos a break, focusing on other stuff instead.

Notably Line is working on setting up a website selling her hand made natural bead new age necklaces, and It's beautiful stuff!! I'll post you a link when she launches the website.

For myself I'll probably keep churning out tracks, but I'm not making any promises at his point. Right about now I'm mostly thinking of dragging my studio-tanned arse out into the sun, have a bbq and get drunk, - shake this fucking depression off my head...

Hope to see you around!

peace

/Karsten

Fighting back

2010-05-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

After re-structuring our work flow, making new internal deadlines and a host of other company style corrections - we seem to be getting back on track:) Also the deranged street work crews seem finally to have finished up, which has already spread a certain optimism. In any case we've managed to upload the two latest videos on time, whether they're any good you should probably decide for yourself:

http://vimeo.com/user834641

/karsten

FAIL

2010-05-08T02:41:00.000-07:00

The weekly video turned out so bad, that we decided not to upload it. Even renewed efforts of fixing it in the 11th hour didn't help. We're hate to disappoint, but we agree that the world is probably a better place this way.

The logistics of producing a music video every week, without resorting to endless junk food, skipping house work along with exercise and having a social life - is turning out to be harder than we thought.. Mainly because we, in our excitement over all the creative ideas, forgot to make plans for all the mundane stuff . And so we're paying for it.

Also the work crews in our street have been making low frquency noise for more than a month now, and the stress of longtime exposure to excessive motor noise has really worn our nerves thin.

Being a sensitive artist is not always a desirable thing...

Anyway, we're going back to work and hope to be able to present you with a wonkin' new vid in a weeks time.

C U then.

/karsten

Headwind

2010-04-30T03:08:00.000-07:00

In spite of technical problems, noisy road workers, running out of coffee and an plethora of other ailments, we managed to finish the weekly video on schedule. We're both kind of exhausted right now but I think that - all things considered - the video turned out ok. In fact Lines imagery is looking stunning:)

This week we've been listening mostly to the new Thomas Fehlmann album "Gute Luft" and a 3CD King Tubby collection "Father Of Dub" I got insanely cheap at Play.com

Here's a link for the vid if you haven't seen it already:

http://vimeo.com/11328457

Time to relax now:)

C ya!

/karsten

Hammering on

2010-04-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

We just uploaded the 3rd weekly video to our Vimeo page. Personally I think it's the best one so far, but you'll probably need to go judge for yourself.

Being forced to work with my left hand due to an injury, I seem to be getting into contact with a different part of my brain, which is kind of interesting... Well, to me at least;)

Here's a link to the Vimeo page: http://vimeo.com/user834641

Coming up is some kind of a mixup with Jon the Au2pilot, and perhaps a collab with dj GNZ.

Keep watching:)

/karsten

Taking it to the next level

2010-04-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

Our plan to relaunch our YouTube channel was thwarted by YT's obscure reformatting practices, - so, after wasting a lot of time trying to make it work - we decided to go to Vimeo instead (and it works too).

Making a new track and video from scratch every week is a lot of work, and so we're working harder than we've been working for a while. Next week will be some kind of space rock techno thing.

Listening mostly to Gonja Sufi, Fluxion and Morbid Angel..

Miss ya!

/karsten

Breaking up, moving on..

2010-04-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

So, what to do?

Well, - in order to claw our way back to an artistic expression unhindered by small town catatonia, Line and I have decided to re-launch the FAC Youtube channel, posting a new FAC video with original music, artwork and commentary ONCE A FUCKING WEEK starting Thursday the 15th of April!!!

It's hard to say what this decision will lead to, but I'm pretty sure it's gonna be an interesting ride...

Don't sleep!

With love

/karsten

being indecisive

2010-03-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

Well, the Au2pilot remix went down well and will apparently be used for an Austrian finger skateboarding magazine DVD.

Yeah, it kind of surprised me too, but I love the idea:)

Austrian skater dude Flo is doing the vids, here's a link to his YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/2fingarabatt

Except for playing 1/2 an hour of freaky stuff tomorrow 22:00 at 1000fryd for the DJ Marathon IV (6th of March) , - I really don't know what to do...

If you have an idea that might work, give us a call.

Miss y'all

/karsten

Blogging after SEX

2010-02-22T12:17:00.000-08:00

The first performance of the SEX piece went rather well. The Show was sold out 10 mins. after opening the doors, - even though we had a snow storm outside! Local TV2 sent a reporter to investigate, resulting in this clip: TV2 Nord (if link is not showing video try using Explorer browser). New perfomance dates will be set a bit later on...

Right now I'm doing music for a new FAC video and a remix for "Au2pilot".

A lot of new ideas have come up, but more on this as we sort them out..

Thank you for caring:)

/karsten

SEX

2010-01-15T10:07:00.000-08:00

Working with the Sandro Masai Dance Troupe has so far been inspiring a lot of new music in a very short time.

1st up it's the "SEX" performance, which will take place on the 18th of February @ TRANSFORMATOR (in Aalborg, DK)!

Here's a link:

http://www.transformatorweb.dk/

Some sketches that will not be used in the performance is currently available via Soundcloud:

http://soundcloud.com/funnyartcollective

Oh yeah, - we decided to stop using MySpace since these days it's mostly used by corporate spambots anyway... Hope they'll actually let me go;)

Thanks 4 dropping by!

/karsten

Sandro Masai vs FAC

2009-12-15T16:58:00.000-08:00

At the moment I'm doing new music with Sandro for upcoming performances, which will be a mixture of dancing, singing improvising and just plain having fun. A lot of new songs are already taking shape, and we're looking for the best possible way to kick it off. Meanwhile Line is getting into her new camera and doing weird experiments with our scanner. Make sure to check her Flickr account for more eye-candy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/linsepatron/

TNX

/karsten

Surviving the flu season.

2009-11-16T05:11:00.000-08:00

First of all, if you've been hit by all these fancy new flu vira, - you have our sympathy. Damn that shit is tough..

Anyway, we're picking up the pieces from were we left off. So, Line is buying all kinds of new video gear for video and photo editing, new speakers and so on, practically meaning we're settin up a 'studio B' in the other end of the house. The main reason for this is to be able to work on seperate projects simultaneously, which we haven't been able to do before. Line should be uploading new stuff before too long (if the gear fairies don't hex the gear that is).

Personally I'm still working on new stuff for Sandro's dance crew, since I've had to abandon my first attempt. Maybe also starting a band, but this is still pretty unlikely.

Oh yeah, I'll be playing a live/DJ set at 1000 fryd december 3rd (Klub Taktlös), check it out if yo'r in the area!

peace and good health y'all!

/karsten

slipping and sliding

2009-10-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

Visiting, meeting and making new friends in Berlin has been a creative revolution, my mind still struggling to take it all in;) Much love goes out to all of you inspiring freaks making the trip such a great one!

Well, I was supposed to have been producing stuff with Francesco 'Nil Wu Ming', but circumstances led to a whole array of other stuff. So we've decided to go for a by mail collaboration instead, which I'm looking very much forward to doing.

I'm still doing music for Sandro Masai's dance group, while hoping to do more social music projects riht here in Aalborg (come on you guys, I can't do it alone!).

Also Line has new video works underway, and a new Flickr profile as well:

www.flickr.com/photos/linsepatron/

Thank you for stopping by:)

/karsten

Moving on

2009-09-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

Whilst battling the flu, we're almost done with the Luxshan video material, which means i can start editing the treehouse sessions!

On 10/10 I'll be playing the: ”Danish Vaishyas' og DK74's underlige festival”, which is basically a festival in a small appartement (and the cellar), with a small ”stage” in the shower. Still not sure exactly how it'll work, but it should be a lot of fun!

The address is: Danmarksgade 74 st, th 9000 aalborg and it starts @ 17:00 and it's all free (with a cheap bar)!

Hope to see you there:)

/karsten

Autumnal update

2009-09-22T04:14:00.000-07:00

Having just returned from a wonderful trip to Latvia (taking part in the Passportmusic workshop and exploring the wonders of Riga), work is kind of hard getting back to. For those of you with whom I shared this amazing experience: thank you so much, - I already miss y'all terribly...

Well, I'll be editing "treehouse recordings" and uploading them as soon as i get this flu out of the body. Also the Weaving Music seems to need a remix now that I've given it a spin on my studio monitors, and of course I'm remixing Frankie "nil"s italian tekno punk track a bit later on

I'm hoping the Girlz will be doing som kind of Latvian mailing group so I can send you download links...

Next thing we'll be doing is the somewhat delayed Luxshan DVD, which will be kind of a street style messy live video from his performance @ Salon Électrique a couple of months ago.

We'll also be recording new stuff with Charlotte CBN Bisgaard (and som guys I don't know yet), along with new experiments with Sandro Masai - and some new stuff of our own as well...

Hope to see you soon:)

/karsten

1st post

2009-09-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Hi there.

Trying to put an end to endless html battles this is the new FAC blog.

Also, it seemed that doing monthly updates in the beginning of each month didn't always make a lot of sense. With a blog we'll (hopefully) be able to update you whenever stuff happens.

At the moment we're doing daily recordings, getting in shape for an upcoming line of new collaborations.

Also we're decorating our "recording booth", before the guests start arriving:)

Thanks for stopping by!

/karsten