Artist Feature: Dr. Rek
Derek Sajbel (Dr. Rek) (@dr_rek) is a producer, DJ, and video artist. His first introduction to the world of video began in elementary school with broadcast effects gear similar to a CVI in his public library. After receiving a camcorder from his uncle, he began to make artsy films or comedy sketches with his friends, but it wasn’t until Seeing a Nam June Paik installation, at the SF MOMA in 1996 that he first realized what video art installations could be. “I was so impressed, and when I looked into his work further I was amazed by his pioneering video synthesis work. I made video art and visuals using software and footage I shot or sourced from 1999 - 2010”. In 2018, he finally got his hands on an all-in-one video synth (Vidiot) and began to truly delve into the video synthesis community.
Dr. Rek’s creative process is always evolving, from experimenting with different hardware routings, patches, and techniques to doing research to find new looks and inspiration. Although his setup has hence grown in size and source, his first setup included live Tritron video feedback, Vidiot, and a Roland V-4. Nowadays his setup has shifted for more convenience into a Videomancer with two Recursion Studios, VideoGem, v-8hd, and a v-02mk2. “I make or curate patches for the Recursion Studios, VideoGem, and Videomancer through exploration and finding what matches my visual tastes”. From there, he composites with v-8hd and sends output to Videomancer and v-02mk2 before compositing the raw output with Videomancer’s affected output.
Currently, Dr. Rek is working on post production of his previously filmed live recordings so he can share them online, including finishing up an all David Lynch audio visual mix he performed at Chillits last year. During this time, he’s focusing on making new Recursion Studio patches and Videomancer user presets for upcoming gigs. For the remainder of this year, Dr. Rek is looking forward to integrating Chromagnon into his live visuals setup, collaborating with other artists, and getting back into releasing music.
