Ben Neill is a composer, performer, and inventor of the mutantrumpet, a hybrid electro-acoustic instrument. Through his use of interactive computer technologies, Neill creates a unique musical and visual experience, melding the worlds of electronic music, jazz, pop culture and visual media.

Interview with Ben Neill.

We discuss why he opened today's show with his song "Chemistry Of 7"; the creating his mutantrumpet with Robert Moog and David Behrman; how the mutantrumpet works; the Chapman Stick; the New Musical Interfaces for Musical Expression conference; the solipsistic NATION podcast; his involvement with the illbient scene in New York; DJ Spooky and DJ Olive; why the music scene has changed since 9/11; the rise of retro rock bands like The Rapture and The Strokes; the Leonardo Music Journal from MIT Press; Squarepusher; his CD Green Machine on Astralwerks; releasing music for Volkswagen commercials which led to his Six Degrees Records release, Automotive; how his relationship with Volkswagen began; DFA and Nike; the benefits of working with Volkswagen; Madonna and The Gap; studying with Jon Hassell and LaMonte Young; performing Young's The Second Dream of the High-Tension Stepdown Line Transformer; Steve Reich and Philip Glass; The Well-Tuned Piano; Tony Conrad; performing Palladio, a live interactive video with Bill Jones; Young's Dreamhouse and the Velvet Underground; his stint as an artist in residence at the School of Visual Arts; his XIX collaboration with Mimi Goese, Jim Mussen and John Conte; Hugo Largo; David Byrne's Luaka Bop label; Moby; Brian Eno's Opal label; Andrew Montgomery of Geneva; other projects he would like to explore.

Featured songs are:

1. "Chemistry Of 7"
2. "Shiny Nickel"
3. "Elegy"