Joseph Hammer - Dynasty Suites CD

Joseph Hammer cites AM radio station mixing (receiving more than one station at the same time) and an episode of the '70s TV show “Land of the Giants”, where astronauts used tape loops to thwart alien tyrants as a couple of his musical influences. He has developed his own way of making music utilizing consumer audio technology, tape loops, samplers and analog synthesizers to create compelling and varied musical expressions. Since 1980, he has performed and recorded with Points of Friction, Dinosaurs With Horns, Solid Eye, Blue Daisies, Steaming Coils, Debt of Nature (which became Medicine), Vector 3 Niner, Paramecial Wedding, Kitten Sparkles and Dimmer. Dynasty Suites is Joseph’s first solo CD, 51 minutes of real-time tape loop manipulation recorded live at KXLU 88.9 fm 2/14/01 & 12/19/01 on Professor Cantaloupe's Glossolalia program.

"Joseph has kept busy creating cerebral sounds in Los Angeles for over 20 years using the tape loop as his main voice. His first major project, Points of Friction (with Damian Bisciglia, Kenny Ryman and Tim Alexander) began in 1980 with the intention of creating a surreal transportational environment via unidentifiable sounds fused with abstract visual projections. In the mid 80's he worked with LAFMS alumni Rick Potts to form Dinosaurs With Horns. Equally as tweaked as P.O.F., but with a different busier feel. Almost a pop-song structure with a stumbling-down-the-stairs pace. This led to the formation of Solid Eye in the early 90's (Hammer, Potts, and Steve Thomsen), a much more ether-like, hallucinatory voyage which is still active today. 'Dynasty Suites' is Joseph's first solo release. In this he utilizes similar magnetic tape manipulation techniques as in Solid Eye, but it clearly has an instant composition feel as he is recording onto one tape loop in real time. Very organically cerebral, it takes many listens to realize just what the heck is going on here. Unfolding as if the listener was on a gravity-free balloon animal ride through a shape-shifting landscape. 'Dynasty Suites' pieces are 2 separate live performances recorded in 2001 over the airwaves of KLXU radio in Los Angeles. 51 minutes." - label description.