Realistic

February 24, 2006





*Name: Realistic

*Are there any additional names used to describe this project: No

*Founding Member: James Towning

*Tape manipulations, digital deconstructions or turntable creations: Digital deconstructions... I mostly use the application Cubase SX on my Mac with various software synths, samplers, and effects. After many years of wrestling with MIDI hardware and OMS, I really like it being self-contained in one box now. When mining for audio content, I tend to choose sounds that are from everywhere in my life. I moved to Brooklyn, NY a few years ago and I have a portable digital recorder that I carry with me most of the time. There's such a rich texture of sound and visuals here. I'm constantly entertained with what I record. And I continue to collect thrift-store records and cassettes. I love composing little sound pieces using whatever source material I choose. It's a cathartic, fun, and essential part of my life.

*Location: Brooklyn, NY

*Original Location: Ohio

*What is your creative/artistic background: Art school in the 1980's. I work as a graphic designer now.

*History: In 1986 I started recording electronic music under the name Fact TwentyTwo. Initially it was me and another guy - Dave Butler. Dave would sing and I would make music using a Roland 303/606 combo and some Casios and an Ensoniq Mirage sampler. We were in art school in Ohio at the time. We had lots of fun. Eventually, Fact TwentyTwo became my solo project. I sequenced the music on an Ensoniq synth MIDI-connected with various samplers and drum machines. I would then record everything including my vocals to an 8-track reel-to-reel and then master to DAT. In the early 1990's the graphic design magazine Emigre started a record label and they released two Fact TwentyTwo CDs. A third CD called Sticky Pop was self-released in 1995. At that point I started putting the Realistic "Maidenhead" album together using the application Deck and a Macintosh computer. My process hasn't changed much since then.

*Born: I was born in 1963 in Marysville, CA

*Motivations: It makes me happy

*Philosophy: None really

*How would you like to be remembered: As a relevant artist

*Web address: http://www.blackmail.com/realistic