Billy Roisz – Blue/Red

BLUE/RED refers to the phenomenon of chromostereopsis, a visual illusion where the impression of depth is conveyed in two-dimensional color images, usually red-blue or red-green.

BLUE/RED consists of two sections: BLUE and RED. Each part is a one-take recording in my studio on a hot sunny afternoon in July 2017. It was a lazy afternoon, so my self-imposed rule was to use only one instrument (plus extensions like effect pedals) for one set.

For the BLUE recording I played my electric-bass guitar—petting and hitting it with a necklace and a screw driver, and feeding the signal through a distortion and a freezer pedal. I really like the physical interaction between the body, the instrument, and the moment, and when this viscerality and tactility is transferred into sound.

For the recording of RED my only instrument was my Roland sampler—stuffed with excerpts of live recordings of various projects I am involved with—some of my solo shows, performances with The Elks (a quartet with Marta Zapparoli, Liz Allbee, and Kai Fagaschinski), a duo with Peter Rehberg, and one with drummer ddkern. I played these samples and fed them back into the machine, added effects, played it back, fed it back again. The sonic-feedback cloud grew and grew, until it unloaded itself as sonic rain and electric storms, then it grew some more.

BLUE/RED was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Sperrmuecc Studios on July 22, 2017. It was a sunny afternoon, 30° C.

Thanks to Dieter Kovacic for recording equipment and mastering.