The first time I wandered into a Bushwick back room and heard Chaos*Majik, I knew I was getting hit with something special. The contrast struck me immediately; between Todd's relatively small and portable setup, and the voluminous worlds I was hearing, large sonic membranes, sheets of ectoplasm, that were filling the room. You can hear (and sort of see) an excerpt of that performance at the link above.The solo electronics of Todd Brooks (aka Todd Pendu) are a) under-recorded and b) not celebrated nearly enough. He shows up with everything he needs in two hands, and with that gear creates multiverses worthy of the maestros Klaus Schulze and Roland Kayn.
Todd seems to work tirelessly on pendu.org, which encompasses art gallery and occult happenings (like an Austin Osman Spare 123rd birthday party), live music every Tuesday at Brooklyn's Glasslands Gallery, the online pendu magazine, with its popular Artists & Cats galleries, and the Pendu Sound Recordings imprint, releasing albums by Sasha Grey's aTelecine, among others.
In the midst of all this somewhere fits the amazing music of Chaos*Majik, generated by Todd through several small, often home-built or home-modified boxes and devices, suitcase-bound, including a light-stimulated resonator, off which Mr. Pendu mirrors the dancing of a candle's flame. All the Chaos*Majik sound-making devices are labeled and/or held together with dayglo electrical tape—the pendu symbol is absolutely bitchin'—and I'm a shameless sucker for a great combination of sound and aesthetics...I also like multiverses...and alter-verses, and you will, too.
Todd performed on WFMU last November 11 on My Castle of Quiet, as 1/2 of the duo Ghost Moth, with American jazz multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, and that session can be heard here. Todd returns to the Castle, this time solo as Chaos*Majik, to perform a continuous, 45-minute electronic suite, prepared especially for this broadcast.
Photo of Todd Pendu © your author.
"What big knockers!" "Why, zank you, doctor." @ 12 mid.
CM @ 12:30 approx.
WFMU 91.1 FM (NY/NJ)
WMFU 90.1 FM (Hudson Valley)
wfmu.org live on the Web
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