Audiopad: Experimental Live Performance System

.:Audiopad Website:.

Here is something that I cannot believe I have not blogged about before. I am sure it must have been on the blog, but apparently not. Anyways, Audiopad is an experimental audio control interface that uses a computer and projector to determine the location of objects on a screen or table top. The manipulation of these objects then manipulates the sound. The project was originally a thesis project, but rumor has it a commercial application is being developed. Videos of the device in action can be found on the website in Quicktime format.

Audiopad is a composition and performance instrument for electronic music which tracks the positions of objects on a tabletop surface and converts their motion into music. One can pull sounds from a giant set of samples, juxtapose archived recordings against warm synthetic melodies, cut between drum loops to create new beats, and apply digital processing all at the same time on the same table. Audiopad not only allows for spontaneous reinterpretation of musical compositions, but also creates a visual and tactile dialogue between itself, the performer, and the audience.

The Jury is in: head scratchers from NAMM '07

Well kiddies, the long and lustful days of NAMM are over, giving the music world a chance to sit back and digest some of the odder and more interesting revelations this year's convention had to offer. While much of this year's fare mostly featured new extensions of existing technologies, not to mention more than a few gimmick guitars, a few strange and slick electronic jewels have appeared to give us LivePA types newer, shinier daydreams.

Among these were a few new analogue-style sequencers, most notably the Octopus by GenoQs Machines and the Surfin' Step Sequencer by Surfin' Kangaroo Studios, both of Dusseldorf, Germany. Another strange one, which might not be ready for the masses just yet, is the Axis Natural Keyboard by C-thru Music, which seems anything but natural, or "c-thru", for that matter. (While it looks badass, the revies haven't been kind, and its function is somewhat obtuse.) On the plus side, many new and curious filters and effects generators hit the scene, such as the Metasonix Scrotum Smasher and the Ebb un Flut by Schippmann Music, both of which seemed to re-invent the art of artistically fucking up one's sound. And last but not least, a treat for the retro at heart: Haken Audio has taken its popular Continuum Fingerboard and given it its own CV/Gate module. While a MIDI fundamentalist myself, I know a few retro and modular enthusiasts whose interests were piqued by this one.

For those of us who like to use microphones for things, the Samson G-track USB condenser mic made a big impression, what with it being a mic and an audio interface, with all kinds of built-in geegaws and gimcracks previously unheard of on mics, like headphone outs and a peak meter. And of course, there's these two: the Audio Cubes by Percussa, which generate controller data by sensing their relative locations to one another, and finally a peice of hardware so cool and complicated, nobody has any idea what it actually does-- including the people at the booth. It's the Resonator Neuronium, and even after reading writeups on the website, I still don't get it. Once again, like the Axis Natural keyboard, at least it looks wicked. Guaranteed to be the next Theremin, I think.


I can't wait until next year.

Luciana Haill: Litterally Producing Music With Her Mind.

.:Luciana Haill Information:.

Ok, talk about doing it live. Luciana Haill (awesome name btw) is making music with her brainwaves, by hooking up an electroencephalogram (EEG machine) wired with bluetooth that then runs to her computer. The data sent via bluetooth then triggers samples to form a song. She is taking her great idea on the road with thirty other artists in the .:Future of Sound Tour:. allowing audience members to wear the headset and participate in the music.

.:Video/Audio Examples:.

quote via Wired.com

The brain operates in the same units sound waves are measured in -- hertz," said Haill. "You're getting raw data from the prefrontal cortex but feeding it through software -- a little bit from the left hemisphere and a little bit from the right...I want to create something that we can all listen to even if we don't quite understand it... I want people to understand that brain waves are changing. It's not something you could have as a ringtone, but you could trigger a film clip, for example, when your mind is slipping into that twilight."

Haill has been using her brain-scanning hardware for the last 14 years to play MIDI with her mind, but says it is the inter-application events protocol in Apple's OS X operating system that allows her to trigger different GarageBand samples and other devices for each type of neuro activity and for each side of the cortex.

Battery Collection Live: Akron Ohio - 09/03/06

.:Battery Collection Live: Akron Ohio 09/03/06:.

This is a live set from another one of my favorite livePA artists around, Battery Collection. Battery Collection is based out of Indiana and he rocks out some great quasi-chiptune sounding IDM breaks. He is a big Elektron user a Monomachine along with a laptop, and it even looks like he as added a Monome to his arsenal. He rocks out on a little bit different gear then most PA artists are doing, and for the positive his music shows it. Not many can say they have a sound like he does.

If you enjoy this liveset be sure to check out more of Battery Collection's music over at his website: .::.Batterycollection.net:.

RhythmDroid: Live Techno Jam

Artist RhythmDroid has been posting a series of videos of himself performing some live improvisational songs. More videos can be found by clicking, and heading over to his profile on Youtube.

Jonah Dempcy: Electronic Music Production as Design?

.:Jonah Dempcy: Electronic Music Production as Design?:.

Above is an article where the author Jonah Dempcy talks about electronic music as a design and art compared to traditional songwriting. It is a nice little reflective post on the broader continuing debate that surrounds electronic music as a genre in general.

I'm sure others have made this comparison before, but I was thinking about how electronic music production vis-a-vis conventional songwriting is similar to the dichotomy between design and art. It is conventionally argued that design is concerned with craftsmanship and functionality while art (be it painting, illustration or other forms of self-expression) is concerned with creative expression. So, although a Steinway piano may be a beautiful work of craftsmanship, the creators of the piano were not trying to express creativity but to make a high-quality functional product. The beauty inherent in the craftsmanship is a side effect of the craftsmanship, rather than being a goal unto itself.

LivePA 101 by Remixmag.com

.:LivePA 101:.

Remix Magazine has a quick article up on their site that covers some of the basics of LivePA. Nothing particularly ground breaking here, that isn't covered more indepth by the getting started guides offered by this site and LivePA.org: (LivePA Blog Getting Started Guide, LivePA.org FAQ), but it does offer a unique perspective for those DJ's who are wishing to make the change to livePA, and explaining what to expect in that change.

Sustainable Live Electroacoustic Music

.:Sustainable Live Electroacoustic Music:.

Above is a link to an article that discusses the sustainability archiving of electroacoustic music. The author states that the sustainability of the genre is in jeoporady becuase of the fast eveolving technology curve with gear in the genre, and in music production in general. Quite and interesting read. We always think about how the progress of our computer based music environments progresses our music, making us able to perform anything, yet we fail to realize that some music may be lost due to the aesthetic or inane qualities of the orginal tools. Chiptune and old tracker music that utilizes .MOD files immediately comes to mind. These were once the staples of playing music on the computer, and now many musicians don't even know what they are, or computers require emulators to play back the .MOD files.

Abstract:

Real-time/performed electroacoustic music (also known as live electroacoustic music) is currently facing a serious sustainability problem: while its production is indeed considered very recent from the music history point of view, several technological generations and revolutions have gone by in the meantime. Thus, most of these works can hardly be performed because the technologies used have gone lost since a long time and no long-standing notational precaution was taken. This paper presents some typical case studies and examples and introduces some techniques that might lead to a partial — when not completely adequate — solution to the sustainability problem.

MAKE: Blog: Video Podcast Introduction to Circuit Bending

.:Make Circuit Bending:.

This week's Make Video Podcast has a fantastic introduction and how to into circuit bending. In this episode they bend the classic Speak N' Spell, and a few other toys. If you subscribe to the podcast there is also a PDF avaliable with high resolution photos and instructions on what they did.

You guys know how much I have blogged about Make Magazine on this post over the past couple of months. As a little form of advertising for them I highly reccomend to any of you out there. If you subscribe to one video podcast in your life, check this one out. Also try giving the magazine a try at your local shop. It is a little expensive, but it really is great to support something like this.

Ubuntu Studio: Multi-media Distribution Linux Build

.:Ubuntustudio.com:.

Promising news for those out there who are looking to do media production in Linux. The ever popular Ubuntu OS, which is an extremely easy to use and flexible Linux buid, is hoping to release a version of the OS specifically designed for multi-media production. IT currently looks like it will come in a couple of different packages, each designed around a different media form. Audio, Video, Art, etc.

Here's hoping the project takes off.