How do global environmental institutions effect activism on campus? Listen in as LAS Global Leader, Colette Schlie, addresses this question in her exclusive interview with Dr. McKenzie F. Johnson, Assistant Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at Illinois. Colette and Dr. Johnson discuss the implications of global governance, how they can aggravate international inequalities, and what that means for community members on and off campus. Learn more about Dr. Johnson's journey to finding her passion in the intersection of environmental and social sciences, the current state of the environmentalist movement, and how we can continue to take action here in Urbana-Champaign!

S3E6: Global Initiatives + Environmental Justice

FRAT SOUNDS Vol. 2

Temple of Low Men were at the peak of their powers in 2004 and seemed poised to take over the world when their new album, likely titled 'Swing', was released. And then life happened. 

Album sessions at the Parasol building and the old bank building connection to the current Two Main building in downtown Champaign had yielded some incredible takes of concert staples like "Loose From The Race," "Level," "Snocone" and more. This left overdubs and finishing touches to be completed.

On August 30, 2004, TOLM entered Mark Rubel's famed Pogo Studios to do a live recording to also be broadcast live on WEFT Sessions, via the cable run out the Pogo console, out the back door of Pogo and down the block into WEFT's front door on Market St. This still remains one of my greatest moments in 20yrs of booking WEFT Sessions.

Listeners were treated to a set of mostly unreleased songs. Only two came from 2001's 'Degree of Slither' and one from 2003's 'Normal As Can Be EP'. That left seven songs that have never otherwise seen the light of day. (Until Anthony Gravino decided to take a fresh pass at 'Snocone' in 2022.)

Selected here is 'Concentrate', which I love so much that I included it in my Great Cover Up set -as- Temple of Low Men. It's a blistering salvo with Brandon T. Washington's voice coming straight for your throat. This is a LIVE TAKE y'all. Every member is operating at peak performance.

This whole set deserves a release, TBH.

Considering this week's devastating loss of Mark Rubel, it felt appropriate to dust off one of the greatest recordings ever captured there. (Also check out the Morris Minors track on here, recorded at Pogo!) Mortality has been all of our minds lately with so many losses in the C-U music scene, and the announcement of Ian Shepherd (drummer on this very track; seen in that vest-with-no-shirt combo in the photo) being diagnosed with cancer. His GoFundMe link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ian-shepperd

Guitars: Andy Lund, Anthony Gravino
Bass: Josh Walden
Drums: Ian Shepherd
Vocals: Brandon T. Washington

Full setlist:
01 - Scream
02 - Concentrate
03 - Loose From The Race
04 - Snocone
05 - Cinnamon Lover
06 - Level
07 - Outside
08 - Normal
09 - Half A Step
10 - Fire Escape
11 - Hold Yr Fire

Absent from that era's songs: 'Infinity Daylight,' 'Feeling Sideways,' 'Swing,' & 'Stone Cold Ho' (all recorded at Parasol) and '15/16' which was never fully laid down to my knowledge.

Live at Pogo Studios (WEFT) 2004-08-30

Temple of Low Men - Concentrate (Live at Pogo Studios) (2004)

Language and culture are “intertwined, interconnected, and they can never be separated,” asserts Jude (Duah) Mensah, a PhD student in UIUC’s French Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Education program. In this episode, Jude’s passion for language learning and teaching is neatly juxtaposed with his thoughts on language as a vehicle for cross-cultural connection. Listen closely as he situates complex linguistic concepts into real-world examples that any language and culture enthusiast would appreciate.

S4E2 Language as a Tool for Connection

One word commonly used to describe the study abroad experience is “transformative.” While this holds true, there are many shades to the immersive foreign experience that are often overlooked or unreported. In this episode, Global Studies graduating senior, Eva Sypsis, and podcast host, Nikia Brown, take a behind-the-scenes look at some of the challenges that accompany education abroad. They underscore the importance yet difficulty of taking risks with language learning and navigating cultural identities stigmatized by the host society. As you listen in, you quickly learn that the transformative nature of study abroad is not attributed solely to the adventures and joys of traversing life abroad, but also the resilience and clarity gained through overcoming unforeseen obstacles.

S4E3: Behind the Scenes of Study Abroad

Can corporations ever be “good”? Or will the pursuit of profit always stand in the way? In this episode, guest hosts, Isabel and Sameer from the LAS Global Leaders Program, engage in a discussion about corporate social responsibility (CSR) with Dr. Charles Fogelman, professor of Global Studies at the University of Illinois who researches the relationship between land and people. During the podcast, the trio tackle pressing ideas related to CSR in Global South countries, diving into Professor Fogelman’s research in Lesotho, South Africa. Also, they uncover the role of the average consumer in the larger global economy and what responsibility we can all claim as citizens of a capitalist system. Through the guiding lens of John Ruggie's book, Just Business: Multinational Corporations and Human Rights, this podcast unravels the truth behind CSR. Is it a real vehicle for change, or simply a passing fad?

S4E4 Profit or People: How Multinational Corporations Use Power

Here's my set I played at the Quad Day After Party! Enjoy and thank you to all who came out!

Quad Day After Party - Cennturi

As Nikia Brown passes the podcast torch to new co-hosts Ashish Gaur and Jasmine Morkeh, they kick off season 5 by revisiting Cindy Wilson, the author of Too Much Soul, to unpack the topic of “Multicultural Circumstance.” Throughout the episode, Cindy shares her perspective on her struggles with social identity and belonging while growing up in the South with an African American family as a Korean adoptee. She advocates for listeners to explore various aspects of their own identity to embody openness as they engage in meaningful relationships with diverse communities.

S5E1 Multicultural Circumstance

Tsk Tsk - A Musique Concrète Étude

Tsk tsk. A clicking sound, often read as /ˈtɪskˌtɪsk/ interjection — used to show disapproval often in a humorous way. Accessed October 11, 2024, Britannica Dictionary.

The work is a satirical meditation and reflection on life, and how people all around us sometimes take offence so easily and quickly - tsk tsk-ing here there everywhere… when we should learn to tune out the noise and not miss out on the beautiful things that are around us if we learn to listen more carefully. As per my modus operandi, a cool “easter egg” can be found in this composition. Hope you will have an Amazing time finding this Grace-ful insert.


Process
I was always fascinated by the sounds that one could draw from normal instruments via extended techniques. I’ve wondered why so many orchestration and composition textbooks do not seem to think of, or talk about the human voice and body as an instrument, let alone cover possible ‘extended techniques’ that the voice is capable of. Au contraire, the human body deserves a far longer chapter than any man-made instrument - in the hands (pardon the pun) of a creative mind, and in view of the sophisticated state of artificial amplification of sound today, the human body is capable of contributing a palette of colours and sounds that might be more interesting and wide-ranging than a violin or an oboe!

I explored numerous possibilities that included extended vocal techniques and timbres ranging from overtone singing, vocal fry, modal voice, falsetto, to the tapping of the body in unusual places, vocal percussion etc. Experimentation with conventional microphone distances, as well as extremely close microphone distances due to the nature of sounds that I wished to collect (teeth tapping was especially challenging). Despite having collected over 20 unprocessed sounds, the final mixing and assembly of the étude saw a major “composing with an eraser”, using 4 objet sonore and employing the full gamut of processing techniques on both the processed sounds and the final étude: 

Cut, copy, and paste
Fade in/Fade out
Waveform reverse
Tape speed variation (affecting pitch and duration simultaneously)
Amplification
Multitrack sound layering
Stereo panning (L/R balance and spatialisation)


Albert Tay
11 October 2024
22:22hrs
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
Urbana, Illinois, USA

Tsk Tsk - A Musique Concrète Étude

second attempt at a synthwave track this time with Ableton live 12 as my DAW.

Current student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

making the world a bassier place

http://push.fm/fl/cennturi

Highlighting the best music from Champaign-Urbana, past and present. Re-posting great current stuff and uploading amazing older tracks.

Welcome to Our Global Campus: Engage the World through Illinois. This is a podcast series produced by the International Programs Team within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This Podcast features the international and intercultural experiences of students and professionals, who dare to explore life on the other side of their cultural assumptions. Each episode unpacks the complexities that often attend the journey of - finding one's place in the world.

New tracks tagged #UIUC