Communicator profile picture

Communicator

I am NOT drinking any fuckin' merlot!

About Me

Born in Chicago to Mexican parents, I am the oldest of three children, the only boy. I am a visual and musical artist, former spraycan vandal, bibliophile, audiophile, and graphic designer. In love with the world, the potential of humankind, and engulfed in the constant pursuit of knowledge; my mind never stops working, a curse and blessing.
I grew up in the early 80's in front of the radio and was captivated by funky Disco grooves, the synthesizer melodies of Italo Disco, the relentless percussive rhythms of Chicago House and early Detroit Techno, and the aggressive textures of Industrial. I have since then developed a manic obsession with music and sound and been influenced by many artists across seemingly unrelated genres and mediums, from John Cage to The Doors. From Surrealist Automatism and Abstract Expressionism to Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Nitzer Ebb, Sonic Youth and Ø. I now only hope that you will enjoy my contributions to the world of sound.
Any work of art that can be understood is the product of journalism.
—Tristan Tzara


Other Stuff:
You Should Check Out
• My favorite online destination:
• Enough said:
• This video for one of my all-time favorite songs.
"Our Darkness" by Anne Clark
• Influential Industrial band Front 242's "Headhunter"
Video directed by Anton Corbijn, 1988
• This article by Chicago's legendary Steve Albini about the shadyness of the music "industry".
Books:

Just put this one back in my bookbag: Mary Midgely - Wickedness
One-liners:
Birth Date: June 1, 1978 | Gift Ideas
Zodiac Sign: Gemini
Smoke / Drink: No / Yes
Children: Someday
Education: See below
Occupation: Artist / Graphic Designer / Musician
My School:
School of the Art Institute Of Chicago
Graduated: 2005
Degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts
Major: Graphic Design, minors in Philosophy and Sound
Dates attended: 1996 to 2001 (yeah 2005, I know, it's a long story)
/ / C O M M E N T H E R E : / /

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/30/2005
Band Members: Me, and the ghosts and spirits of influences and heroes. I summon thee!
Influences: Depeche Mode, Nitzer Ebb, Front 242, Ministry, Joy Division, New Order, U2, Nine Inch Nails, 2AM/FM, I.B.M., Billy Corgan/Smashing Pumpkins, OMD, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Concrete Blonde, Erasure, Kraftwerk, Yaz, Anne Clark, Pet Shop Boys, Public Enemy, Queen, Liaisons Dangereuses, Ian Pooley, Roulé Records, Relief Records, The Pharcyde & J-Swift, Björk & Graham Massey, Anything Box, This Mortal Coil, Prince, Radiohead, Carl Craig, Green Velvet, Jeff Mills, The RZA, Luke Slater, The Advent, James Ruskin, Britsh Murder Boys, Sandro Perri, DJ Premier, Tricky, Plastikman, The Doors, The Beatles, Sonic Youth, early Rolling Stones, PJ Harvey, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Alec Empire, funky-ass Disco, Belgian New Beat, Hi-NRG, Italo-Disco, early Chicago House, early Detroit Techno, classic Industrial and the ideas of John Cage.
Non-Musical:
Visionaries, people who forge their own way of existing in the world.
Art: Marcel Duchamp, Rene Magritte, Dadaism, Conceptualism and Surrealism, Gerhard Richter, Jenny Holzer, Francis Bacon, the Japanese Gutai art and Bokujin-Kai calligraphy movements.
Writing: The Oulipo group. Italo Calvino, Paul Valery, Walt Whitman, Guillaume Apollinaire, Umberto Eco.
Design: Vaughn Oliver, Peter Saville, Tibor Kalman, Willi Kunz and my teacher Stephen Farrell.
Simple Things: Patterns in nature, chaos, urban & industrial decay (Chicago's good for that), signage and typography, graffiti, colors, lights, unexpected urban noises and speech (especially when listening to music), people's handwriting (if found even better).
Great Film: Godard, Kubrick, Fellini are some favorite directors.
Sounds Like: Machines getting smart, emotional, and later losing their minds.
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Cassette Mix 1999

I recently discovered an old mixtape of mine recorded in 1999.Filled with a number of Chicago records, in that they were loved by the pioneer Chicago DJs and also tracks made by Chicago producers, amo...
Posted by Communicator on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:16:00 PST

Kostner Narrative Mix

A mix of House tracks (mostly Chicago artists), Techno, and some Disco stuff.Some artists include:" Gemini" 69 (Carl Craig)" Marta Acuña" Cloud One (Patrick Adams collab)" Plastikman" DJ Rush" Ron Har...
Posted by Communicator on Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:11:00 PST

Waveform Beatdown Techno Mix

Been missing that extra bite in Techno lately? Well look no further! I just finisheda new Techno mix sure to beat you down with it's relentless waveforms, percussion,and a bit of distortion for good m...
Posted by Communicator on Sun, 12 Aug 2007 12:04:00 PST

Cosmic Thing Era B-52's Photo

I like this image a lot. It does a great job of capturing band's vibe in an iconically memorable way. They are prety much in a category all their own. No other group could have pulled off what they di...
Posted by Communicator on Thu, 17 May 2007 09:01:00 PST

Yaz - Too Pieces

My iPod played this while on shuffle (as it always is since I like surprises) this morning and it's been stuck in my head ever since. The lyrics are great, the arrangement is great, the synths are gre...
Posted by Communicator on Wed, 16 May 2007 01:02:00 PST

Will Disco For Fun Mix

Yeah, now this is what I'm talking about. Perfect to welcome summer with. Straight funky shit: Disco, Italo Classics, some new stuff that sounds classic, some Housey, some mistakes, but all JAMS, enou...
Posted by Communicator on Thu, 10 May 2007 08:56:00 PST

Communicator Fact .1

Communicator Fact: People would much rather partake in an ego-boosting activity as opposed to something that challenges them.Can you blame them? Humans are after all, very simple creatures.Oh, what is...
Posted by Communicator on Tue, 08 May 2007 10:29:00 PST

Latest Mix. Delirious Signals.

176.2 MB Zip file so make sure you have enough drive space. 1 hr 36 minute mix.Click here to download. A bit much for some I'm sure; enjoyable for those with an electronic soul.Mostly Techno with some...
Posted by Communicator on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 02:13:00 PST

How do you handle "creative block"?

Whether you create visual, musical, or literary art. We all come across the dreaded creative blocks that face us when we reach a point where we're not sure what to do next. Our inspiration and decisiv...
Posted by Communicator on Tue, 26 Sep 2006 08:52:00 PST

I want you to shiver.

I have been wondering if it is possible to design and sculpt the sound that will break your heart. Or simply, to create something in sound so chilling and touching. Tell me, what should it sound like?...
Posted by Communicator on Wed, 06 Sep 2006 09:08:00 PST