S1 and the Synth Library are pleased to announce a workshop and conversation with Russell E. L. Butler on. The workshop will focus on the history of improv and how it relates to Russell’s artistic process. Following the lecture, Russell will address strategies and key considerations of improvisation by demonstrating their live set as well as inviting students to patch a modular system as a group.

Russell Butler is an experimental artist and DJ based in Oakland, California. Originally from Bermuda, Russell has developed a process of improvisation that draws from a rich cultural of history rooted in their island and the black, queer diaspora.

Russell has been making waves in the Bay Area music scene for years.Their project Black Jeans evoked the emotional and physical qualities of minimal synth and electronic body music to transport listeners to hidden and forgotten sonic landscapes. For the past few years they have been making a brand of stripped down machine techno that has evolved rapidly with each successive release. Transplantation, evolution, and healing are themes in Russell’s music. They based their 2015 album, “God is Change”, on Octavia Butler’s Parable series of novels, in which these are central tenets of the philosophy that the books explore. Since its release “God is Change” has received major acclaim, with NPR naming it one of their top 10 favorite electronic albums of 2015. In 2016, Russell released Visions of the Future on Jacktone Records, which is a collection of improvised modular synthesizer sessions. A month later, Russell’s follow up to “God is Change”, “The First Step”, was released on Black Opal. “The First Step” is dedicated to the “…black, brown, trans, queer, and gay folks of Oakland” and posits that “…sometimes to resist oppression, all we must do is simply exist. That is the first step. Let us strive to walk without fear.”

Russell E. L. Butler will be playing live at S1 the following nighthttps://www.facebook.com/events/1565770287064141/

Enrollment for this class is on a sliding scale $5-15 and will be collected at the door. The workshop will be on Friday September 23rd at 6:00pm, and will last approximately 1 1/2 hours. This workshop is open for all. Payment is cash only.