@annaloffing Hypnotic, relaxed or monotonous stuff works best for me. #Techno, such as #KangdingRay, #Rrose or anything else from the #StroboscopicArtefacts Monad series. When I am tired, it has to be faster, like #Nervasystem. For more relaxed days I listen to #Amapiano like #KabzaDeSmall or #KelvinMomo while working.
On other days I turn to #DoomMetal, faves are #Slomatics, #Bongripper or #Ufomammut.

#music

[If you got an update notice from your app about this intro, 90% odds it's from me updating the ages and dates below, or else it's changing the music and live show comments and recommendations.]

OK, an #introduction: dwenius = plord = Paul, he/him, been online forever, and have enjoyed it pretty much the whole time. I still miss Usenet; I still mourn the demise of LJ (DW is great, but the communities I was part of did not migrate); I was mildly annoyed at losing birdsite, where 15 years of careful follow-curation gave me a mostly positive, energizing, low-doom-quotient timeline, but with the GLARING exception of adequate racial diversity, the fediverse has completely filled that niche. Good work team! I’m SUPER annoyed at losing the specific gaming and music sub-Reddits I used to frequent (kbin seems extinct and Lemmy just ain’t the same), and positively apoplectic about the risk of losing Bandcamp while waiting for more widespread adoption of various federated replacements.

So, I'm all in on fedi. Show me your pets being clowns, or the wildlife in your yard, tell me what you are reading or listening to, boast about your awesome friends and family and the cool things they did. I'm here for it and will boost.

Currently living in VT with my best beloved @anne, by way of 15 years in S.F. and Berkeley, after quite abruptly fleeing northern VA (perhaps a story for another time..."Gallivanting around the countryside in a state of howling delirium can be highly instructive in myriad ways" - (misquoting) Grant Morrison).

I still talk endlessly about my kids like a new father, even though they are 27, 21, and 18. I'm told this is endearing? whatevs, not gonna stop now. They are amazing human beings, and I'm so very glad to share this earth with them.

My personal blog went offline quite a while back and I haven't finished the work to resurrect it. I will self host it with Ghost; there are a few technical hurdles left to sort out and free time is scant. At /very/ irregular intervals I am apt to drop a lengthy blog post over at One Post Wonder, a lovely little social site with a one-post-per-day policy, run for many years now by a friend; almost all those are private though, so you'd have to sign up to follow me there. Only you can decide if it's worth it!

I collect music obsessively; my #AmbientHouse, #GoaTrance, #TheOrb, #Ultramarine, and #jamband (several flavors) libraries are approaching reference-quality, and I have literal terabytes of live jazz. I'll listen to almost anything (that is not a request or a challenge...).

Currently in heavy rotation: Alice Coltrane “The Carnegie Hall Concert”, the latest #Polyphia release "RTYWD", a live #FionaApple concert from 1997, working through the summer #Phish shows I didn't catch on livestream, and Marcin's “Dragon in Harmony”.

Never far from the rotation since they were released (desert island list I guess?): #TheOrb "U.F.Orb", #Ultramarine "Bel Air", #Material "Hallucination Engine", #Yes "Close To The Edge", a #SteveKimockBand live recording from the Great American Music Hall on 12/29/04, #Cosmosis “Synergy”, #Nervasystem and Aether’s absolutely twisted “The Mama Matrix Most Mysterious”, and #Seefeel "Quique".

2023 concerts: #Shakti #TMBG #Polyphia #GarciaPeoples #LivingColour #MollyTuttle #TheCometIsComing

Upcoming concerts: #BEAT tour with Belew, Levin, Carey, and Vai, #DebashishBattacharya, #BruceHornsby

I play guitar half-decently and modular synth like a relentlessly tinkering gnome, including making my own pedals and synth modules. I have shamelessly copied #SteveKimock's entire rig up to and including the #Two-Rock amplifier and handmade #ScottWalker guitars but alas, gear is no substitute for talent. The Modular is built around a set of #Wiard modules from Grant Richter and Cary Grace, and includes a bunch of bespoke 1-of-1 type specialty modules I either built or commissioned. The most recent adds to the studio are a Koma Komplex sequencer and an Erica Synths DB-01. Most of my output is ephemeral live performances (I'm in parts of https://garciapeoples.bandcamp.com/album/100-years-of-solid-dudes for example) but there will be actual releases here. Soon. This decade for sure. I'm getting closer. While you wait, check out the 30 minute "Quadrone" video in my bio, which was a one-take jam I recorded on the modular for an all-night-stream early on in the pandemic.

I have a separate side-hustle tying custom flies and building heavy duty fly rods for people who enjoy suffer^H^H^H^H^H^H chasing pike, musky, and other large North American apex predator fish (Shop link and IG in bio for the 3 people on fedi who may be interested).

That I'm still even here to ramble on like this is thanks to the miracle of modern OTC neurotransmitter catalysts, the gift of several years with an extraordinary therapist, and the love of my family. In hindsight, running away from my problems for several decades was a flawed plan. I'm much better now.

I have been reading less lately, absolutely no good goddamn reason, but I am currently waiting for the next volume of #Monstress, hoping for another Innsmouth Legacy novel from @r_emrys, tracking N.K. Jemisin and @aliettedb releases, and keeping current with #GirlGenius both online and by backing every KS for the print versions.

I do not talk about my job or employer online except for vague complaints about broken software/processes. This is a fertile field for the tilling...

OK done for now. Tootles.