User:Carpettak/Cytoplastik

Carpettak/Cytoplastik
Carpettak/Cytoplastik
	File:Cyto1.jpg
Founded	1997
Founder	Kevin Morris;
Genre	Electronic
Country of origin	US
Location	Baltimore, MD
Official website	http://www.cytoplastik.com/

Cytoplastik is a collective of artists and musicians based out of Maryland and California.

The group began in the planned community of Columbia, MD, and is now active throughout the greater Baltimore/Washington D.C. area and Southern California.

History

The name (originally spelled Cytoplastic) came from Kevin Morris, who in 1997 along with Miles Gannett and Florian Mosleh sought to create a record label for their music.^[1] The spelling was changed in 1999 to avoid potential copyright infringement of an industrial product that already bore the name. The logo, a stylized round 5 petal flower image, was created by Florian.

Over the next few years several additional musicians and artists from around Howard County and Columbia, MD became involved.^[2]

Prior to forming as Cytoplastik, early members of the group had been experimenting with electronic composition using software that was free or cheaply available via the internet such as Softsynths and the DOS program Impulse Tracker.

The first release to bear the Cytoplastik label was Miles Gannett's 1997 "Puppet Games", which he self-produced as a limited run of cassettes. The album cover features a distorted image of the "People Tree", an iconic work of public art in Columbia.

Beginning with a series of experimental performances and recordings by Elgaroo Brenza and Miles Gannett (released as "Thee Psychic Enema"), and continuing on with several larger jam sessions and house parties more expansive visions for the group began to take shape, along with the collaborative, improvisational, psychedelic, electronic-and-live-instrument multimedia styles that would characterize later events and productions.

From 1999 - 2001 several members joined up to play mostly experimental jazz and psychedelic influenced improvisational sets at local Baltimore venues under the name Lorem Ipsum.

During this time, while part of the band Lorem Ipsum, Florian created the song "Wax Music Box" which would later be used as a rare piece of score on an episode of HBO's The Wire, First Season: Episode 6. ^[3]

The track was composed and recorded in 2001 (under the moniker "Indigo"). It appears on his solo album "Some Antics".^[4]

Royalties from HBO helped to fund the release of a compilation of tracks from various Cytoplastik artists, all electronic compositions made with Impulse Tracker and similar software. The CD, entitled "PODS", was completed in 2002. The compilation does not contain any music featured on The Wire.

From 2003 - 2006, Cytoplastik members organized a series of art gallery exhibits featuring live bands and electronic musical performances along with graphic arts, painting, and sculpture by members and other local artists. These have been mainly held at The Whole Gallery in downtown Baltimore.

Several members have since relocated to Ventura, CA and are active thereabouts in various productions and performances.

In late December of 2006, the group began holding a yearly event series in Baltimore bringing together members from California and the East Coast to perform along side other regional electronic acts.