Base Camp Beta

Latest Episodes:

BCB 127 - At The Electric Café with Heidi Sabertooth Sep 24, 2026

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Heidi Sabertooth joins us this week to talk about her upbringing in Iowa, the electroclash moment in New York, and running Synth Library NYC - a lending library for synths and electronic music equipment that strives to make gear more accessible. Check out Synth Library NYC to get involved and to donate unused gear https://synthlibrarynyc.org/ Check out Heidi's music https://heidisabertooth.com/ JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta

BCB 126 - Spanish Italo Disco Freundschaft Sep 17, 2026

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This week we dive into the world of Spanish Italo Disco - sometimes called Paella Disco, sometimes the "Sabadell Sound" after the Barcelona suburb it mostly comes from. We talk about the distinct eras of Italo qua Italo and embrace the deeper cuts as well as the big cheesy ones. We also do some live reacting to Italo tracks neither of us know. JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta

BCB 125 - Gabber Conga Line with SSPS Sep 09, 2026

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Jon Nicholson aka SSPS aka DJ Porkchop aka Gigi Black aka part of Excepter joins us for a wide ranging trip. Jon is a fixture of the New York scene, but we spend the entire time talking about his early period in Chicago - Ron Hardy playing the high school function, skinheads and ravers, pool hopping, records to get the punkers slam dancing, and about a million other things. Episode on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O83kGFX7uw SSPS Bandcamp https://ssps.bandcamp.com/album/the-l... JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta

BCB X107 - Geodesic Free Improv Dialectics PREVIEW Sep 07, 2026

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UNLOCK THE FULL EPISODE patreon.com/basecampbeta Shawn and Chris compare and contrast two legendary Italian free improv groups - Musica Elettronica Viva and the Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza - and spin out talking geodesic domes, west coast cybernetics, hippies, aquariums, the circuit of capital, and North By Northwest (1959). A very Base Camp Beta episode.

BCB 124 - World Building with Jake Muir Sep 02, 2026

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Jake Muir joins us this week to talk about RPG-style world building with sound, field recording, Argeïphontes Lyre, and his unique approach to source material destruction. Check out Jake's work https://www.jakemuir.org/about and his latest record 'Pareidolia' https://enmossed.bandcamp.com/album/pareidolia JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta Video episode https://youtu.be/S7yTKhmDvkw

BCB 123 - gearz0ne: Compressors Aug 26, 2026

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Shawn and Chris are back in da gear z0ne with an episode talking all about Compressors - what they are, how they work, and how to use them. We look at some of the historically important compressors, talk about compressors as feedback devices, and naturally bring up dialectics. JOIN THE PATREON patreon.com/basecampbeta

BCB 122 - Finding It and Finding Out with ESP TV Aug 20, 2026

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Scott Kiernan and Victoria Keddie join us this week for a deep dive into the history of ESP TV, their long-running multi-disciplinary avant-garde public access variety show (say that five times fast!). We talk cross-country mobile broadcasting, the joys of setting up a 501(c), and the latent spirituality of the DIY ethos. Check out the ESP TV archives at https://www.esptv.com/ and please join our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/basecampbeta

BCB X106 - The Techno Album Trap PREVIEW Aug 18, 2026

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UNLOCK THE FULL EPISODE patreon.com/basecampbeta This week Shawn and Chris dive into the idea of the techno album and why it so often feels unfulfilling or like a paint-by-numbers exercise. We also talk about two examples of techno albums that succeed as exceptional albums - Regis' "Penetration" and Porter Ricks's "Biokinetics" - and why they stand out. We also talk eclipses, if compilations can count as albums, and the constantly changing definition of an album.

BCB 121 - A Critique of Cracked Reason with FaltyDL Aug 12, 2026

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This week we're joined by our friend Drew Lustman aka FaltyDL to discuss the king of music software Reason, growing up in Connecticut, and about a million other things. Check out the video version of this episode at our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubvF_XA56_Q Check out Drew's new label project Freak Technique and the Be My Baby EP https://faltydl.bandcamp.com/album/be-my-baby-ep And of course JOIN THE PATREON for bonus episodes and more patreon.com/basecampbeta

BCB 120 - A Brief History of ARP with Dina Pearlman Aug 05, 2026

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Dina Pearlman joins us this week to talk about one of the undisputed pioneers in synthesizer history - her father Alan R. Pearlman. We talk about Alan's early experiments in electronics instruments (the "Tactovox" from 1948), hanging with Timothy Leary, and chart the course of ARP as a company through the 1970s. Check out the fantastic work done by Dina and the ARP Foundation here https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/ and of course JOIN THE PATREON for bonus episodes, etc. https://www.patreon.com/basecampbeta

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