Califaudio

Abbey Road Native Instruments

2009-12-10T02:59:00.000-08:00

Native Instruments and Abbey Road Studios have partnered up to create an upcoming line of software instruments that capture the Abbey Road sound.

Abbey Road Studios youtube video tour courtesy NativeInstruments.

Korntved R1 Analog Audio Video Effect

2009-12-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

R1_audio_distortion_video_effect_box from KORNTVED.

R1 analog audio video distortion effect box.

music: come to daddy [little lord faulteroy mix] by aphex twin

www.korntved01.com

Cardboard Synth

2009-12-09T05:11:00.000-08:00

Cardboard Synth from Konservendose.

You can make a synth out of just about anything. Konservendose used a cheap cardboard box with chewing gum paper for touch pads and synced LED lights.

InkQuencer - SunFlower - Pong That Beat + Band of Rock Chairs

2009-12-06T15:13:00.000-08:00

inkQuencer from Sebastian Thielke.

InkQuencer is a step-sequencer that plays music based on camera input. You can draw patterns on paper and then play back the pattern by holding the drawing in front of the laptop's camera. The program receives the images from the camera and draws a scaled down 32 by 30 pixel isometric version. On each beat from the metronome, the scrubber runs through a new column of pixels and plays a sound if the pixel is black.

InkQuencer is one Sebastian Rønde Thielke's projects at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design [CIID].

SunFlower is an interesting music player/DJ app with a lot of possibilities...

Here is a test of SunFlower on an iPhone using Live View.

Pong That Beat is a sound generator driven by a bouncing ping pong ball using piezo pickups and Max/MSP. The collaborative project is the design of Thielke, Jonas Maanson, Anders Hoejmose, and Henrik Oevad.

Also check out Thielke's preliminary work on Band of Rock Chairs, a forthcoming installation of rocking chairs equipped with Nintendo Wiimote controllers that transmit tilt information to control the tempi of beats and melodies.

Audio Guillotine

2009-12-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

Audio Guillotine from Benoit Maubrey.

The Audio Guillotine is an performance art piece consisting of a guillotine demolishing loudspeakers that are reproducing political statements and live sampled sounds.

Materials: guillotine (wood), loudspeakers, samplers.

The Audio Guillotine was brought to life by Benoit Maubrey. Check out benoitmaubrey.com for his previous sound-related works, including speaker sculptures, such as the Audio Igloo and Audio Suitcases, and wearable speaker outfits, like Audio Jackets, Guitar Monkeys and the Audio Peacock, an electoacoustic instrument shaped into a peacock's plumage.

Rolling Stone Hollywood & Highland Venue

2009-12-04T20:44:00.000-08:00

Rolling Stone is branching out and opening its first US music venue at Hollywood & Highland in the Summer of 2010.

The more than 10,000-square-foot venue will feature a restaurant, bar, lounge and upscale private-event space designed by Brodin Design and backed by the Lucky Rug Group.

Tunable Sound Cloud

2009-12-04T02:05:00.000-08:00

Tunable Sound Cloud _ responsive ceiling surface from Fishtnk.

Tunable Sound Cloud is a prototype modular ceiling structure designed to enhance the acoustics of lecture halls, music halls, commercial spaces and domestic environments in real-time. By controlling the openings of the acoustic cloud to adjust sound reflection and absorption, today's multi-purpose venues can fine-tune their acoustics to meet the absolute sound requirements for a specific sound performance.

"Interfaced through Grasshopper and Rhino modeling platforms, the ceiling structure of the Tunable Sound Cloud is controlled and adjusted to accommodate different acoustical settings.
Actuated with Arduino micro-controller and servo motors."

Tunable Sound Cloud is the Master’s dissertation project of Mani Mani at Daniels Faculty of Architecture, University of Toronto with Prof. Carol Moukheiber + Prof. Christos Marcopoulos.

More info: fishtnk.com/tunable-sound-cloud

Surf

2009-12-04T01:33:00.001-08:00

surf from tons of land.

NOISE212 VID001

2009-12-03T07:31:00.000-08:00

NOISE212 VID001 from SolisMusicGroup.

Water Drop Sequencer

2009-12-03T01:06:00.000-08:00

Water drop sequencer from Marten Bergkvist.

The Water drop sequencer is an interactive sound installation which creates sound by drops of water falling on suspended iron bars with piezo elements attached.

Study in Black, White, & Grey

2009-12-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

Study in Black, White, & Grey from The Norman Conquest.

"Audio feedback creates visual trickery. The serpent eats its tail."

Best viewed in full screen [large].

Signal&Noise

2009-12-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

Signal&Noise video art by Paulo R. C. Barros.

Coil: Colour Sound Oblivion

2009-11-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

Threshold House has announced new details on the upcoming Coil DVD box set entitled Colour Sound Oblivion.

The massive collection will consist of at least 12 DVDs of all the incarnations of Coil Live, with simultaneous projection channels, plus at least 2 discs of alternate versions, projections with "karaoke" backing tracks and audio loops so you can sing along or recreate your own versions. Some of the videos were professionally shot with multiple cameras while other concerts were filmed by fans, and the best known sources are included to complete the historical record. The set will contain a total of 14 DVDs or possibly more, depending on the final compilation to be determined by the end of December.

The first 200 copies of Colour Sound Oblivion can be reserved starting today for £175, including worldwide shipping. These Advance Patrons Editions will include a special framed certificate and bonus extras in the Coil tradition.

Visit thresholdhouse.com for more info on what else is included in the box set. Colour Sound Oblivion Advance Patrons Edition pre-orders are available now.

Third Trimester

2009-11-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

entering the third trimester. exciting times! three months to go...

Street Musicians: Vasyl Fomytskyi + Dusty Rhodes

2009-11-04T11:01:00.000-08:00

I enjoy the music and stories of street musicians.

Vasyl Fomytskyi is a street musician who plays the double-bass for a living in Central Park in New York City. The acoustics produced by the arcade make it an ideal location for many musicians who perform in the park.

Jazz saxophonist Dusty Rhodes plays music for a living in Washington Square Park in NYC.

Videos by Eric Alfredo on YouTube and CNN.

Beatles USB Apple

2009-11-04T00:07:00.000-08:00

Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music have announced the worldwide release of a limited edition Beatles Stereo USB on December 8th in the UK and December 9th in the US.

The apple-shaped USB drive is loaded with the re-mastered audio for The Bealtes' 14 stereo titles, as well as all of the re-mastered CDs' visual elements, including 13 mini-documentary films about the studio albums, replicated original UK art, rare photos and expanded liner notes. A specially designed Flash interface has been installed, and the 16GB USB's audio and visual contents will be provided in FLAC 44.1 Khz 24 bit and MP3 320 Kbps formats, fully compatible with PC and Mac.

Limited Edition USB Stick - Contains Entire Digitally Remastered Catalog (BEA48315)

Albums:

Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Magical Mystery Tour
Yellow Submarine
The White Album
Abbey Road
Let It Be
Past Masters

I preordered mine at the beatles.com store for $279.

Neumann TLM 102

2009-10-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Neumann TLM 102 is the newest microphone in Neumann TLM line and is 13% smaller than the TLM 103.

The affordable TLM 102 is a transformerless large-diaphragm cardioid condenser that can handle high SPLs [144 dB] and gives a slight presence boost above 6 kHz. Made in Germany. Street price: $699.

I Like Music by Stuart McMillen

2009-10-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some clips from the "I Like Music" comic strip by Stuart McMillen on the Recombinant Records website.

Be sure to check out the whole cartoon. I like it.

Thanks, Mark, for the link.

Symphony of Science: We Are All Connected

2009-10-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

Symphony of Science [aka John Boswell] created "We Are All Connected" by sampling Carl Sagan's Cosmos, the History Channel's Universe series, Richard Feynman's 1983 interviews, Neil deGrasse Tyson's cosmic sermon and Bill Nye's Eyes of Nye Series, plus added visuals from The Elegant Universe (NOVA), Stephen Hawking's Universe, Cosmos, the Powers of 10 and more. It is a tribute to great minds of science, intended to spread scientific knowledge and philosophy through the medium of music.

Lyrics:

[deGrasse Tyson]
We are all connected;
To each other, biologically
To the earth, chemically
To the rest of the universe atomically

[Feynman]
I think nature's imagination
Is so much greater than man's
She's never going to let us relax

[Sagan]
We live in an in-between universe
Where things change all right
But according to patterns, rules,
Or as we call them, laws of nature

[Nye]
I'm this guy standing on a planet
Really I'm just a speck
Compared with a star, the planet is just another speck
To think about all of this
To think about the vast emptiness of space
There's billions and billions of stars
Billions and billions of specks

[Sagan]
The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it
But the way those atoms are put together
The cosmos is also within us
We're made of star stuff
We are a way for the cosmos to know itself

Across the sea of space
The stars are other suns
We have traveled this way before
And there is much to be learned

I find it elevating and exhilarating
To discover that we live in a universe
Which permits the evolution of molecular machines
As intricate and subtle as we

[deGrasse Tyson]
I know that the molecules in my body are traceable
To phenomena in the cosmos
That makes me want to grab people in the street
And say, have you heard this??

(Richard Feynman on hand drums and chanting)

[Feynman]
There's this tremendous mess
Of waves all over in space
Which is the light bouncing around the room
And going from one thing to the other

And it's all really there
But you gotta stop and think about it
About the complexity to really get the pleasure
And it's all really there
The inconceivable nature of nature

Check out another Symphony of Science project: A Glorious Dawn

youtube via melodysheep

4 Ways Sound Affects Us

2009-10-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Julian Treasure TED Talk on how sound affects us in four significant ways:

Physiological
Psychological
Cognitive
Behavioral

Check out Julian Treasure's Sound Business book - blog + The Sound Agency if you are interested in using sound to grow your business.

Thom Yorke Echoplex Orpheum

2009-10-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

Thom Yorke put on some really great shows in LA earlier this month. First, a surprise rehearsal set at the Echoplex on 10/2/09, followed by back-to-back shows at the Orpheum Theatre.

Above is a video I took of "The Hollow Earth" at the Echoplex. The show started with an Eraser set with the whole band of Yorke, Flea, Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronker and Mauro Refosco. Then Yorke did a few new songs on his own and then the band came back for a few more. It was a jam-packed, sweaty show. The vibe was super cool. I never would have guessed I'd see Flea play with Thom Yorke. Great band. Zack de la Rocha, Daft Punk and Rick Rubin were in the joint.

Thom Yorke Echoplex Set List 10/2/09:

the eraser
analyse
the clock
black swan
skip divided
atoms for peace
and it rained all night
harrowdown hill
cymbal rush

open the floodgates
lotus flower
skirting on the surface
judge, jury, executioner

paperbag writer
the hollow earth
feeling pulled apart by horses

The Orpheum show was also great with the larger stage and light show. Thom Yorke said he's planning to get the band back together next year for another run of shows...

Dewanatron Dual Primate Console

2009-10-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

The Dewanatron concert at Spaceland in Silver Lake last night [10/13/09] was nuts. The 2 cousins, Brian Dewan and Leon Dewan, invited audience members to bring instruments and join them onstage. It was part cool, part unlistenable. At one point, a guy wrapped in a bed sheet was conducting the orchestra of weirdo synths, drums, guitars, circuit bent toys, trumpet, violin, melodicas and various percussion [including ping pong paddles on empty water jugs, wooden spoons on cookie trays] along with an MIA-wannabe female rapper.

I grabbed the first open instrument I found on the stage: a balloon. In a situation like that, it's definitely more fun to play than to watch.

Most interesting was Dewanatron's crazy synth, the Dual Primate Console. Two people can play it on opposite ends at the same time. It's a got a bunch of oscillators and funky synth circuitry going on. Rhythms are dialed in by actually dialing numbers on the old school rotary phone dial. Wow!

Check out more details on the Dual Primate Console and Dewanatron's other instruments and music at dewanatron.com.

NIN TDS Webster Teaser + Wiltern Pics

2009-10-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

Nine Inch Nails fans are compiling audio and video footage of the now legendary performance of The Downward Spiral live at Webster Hall in New York on 8/23/09.

The teaser youtube clip [via trentsinmypants] above of "The Becoming" is the video trailer for the upcoming fan release on thisoneisonus.org. It looks pretty good for a fan video.

Speaking of fan-produced content, check out this flickr set of some great pics of the Wave Goodbye final concert at the Wiltern in LA shot by johnkraw323:

Update: http://theninhotline.net/features/TDSlive/

Sequenox: One Man and Two Oscillators

2009-10-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

Sequenox performed a great live set at Partikel 3 on 9/19/09. The piece, entitled "One Man and Two Oscillators," was composed on a new Synthesis Technology MOTM modular analog synthesizer with a Doepfer sequencer + Korg Kaoss Pads.

Modular:
(1) MOTM-650 Midi-CV Converter
(2) MOTM-310 Micro VCO
(2) MOTM-390 Micro LFO
(1) MOTM-440 Discrete OTA VCF
(1) MOTM-490 Micro VCF
(2) MOTM-320 VC LFO
(1) MOTM-101 Noise/Sample and Hold
(4) MOTM-800 Envelope Generator
(1) MOTM-190 Micro VCA
(1) MOTM-830 Dual Mode Mixer
(2) MOTM-910 Cascade Multiple
(1) MOTM-940 Patch Panel
(1) MOTM-900 Power Supply
(1) MOTM-950 Power Supply

Sequencer:
(1) Doepfer MAQ 16/3 Midi/Analog Sequencer

Effects:
(1) Korg Kaoss Pad KP3
(1) Korg Kaoss Pad KP2

The modular sounded incredible and the performance was very interesting. I really enjoyed it and couldn't believe it when I found out that Sequenox had only been using his modular for a few weeks!

Sequenox: "I have only been working with the modular for about a month. It has been very inspiring. I plan to keep exploring the modular and performing whenever possible.

Every time I use the analog modular I'm surprised with new sonic discoveries. I had rehearsed for this set about five times. Each rehearsal was totally different and the performance at Partikel 3 was different from the rehearsals in many ways. I had five sequences ready, but ended up using only two, improvising with micro tonal scales, random triggering, and tempo variance."

Looking forward to the next Sequenox live performance.

Noise for Airports + Orchestrion

2009-10-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Noise for Airports is a cool new blog that features interesting audio-related experiments + ideas. It's written by Nick Seaver, a graduate student in Comparative Media Studies at MIT who wrote his undergrad thesis at Yale on the relationship between social conceptions of noise + recording technologies: “Noise in the Age of its Mechanical Reproducibility” [pdf].

Plus, I'm a fan of noise, and Noise for Airports is a great name for a sound blog that plays on the concepts of Brian Eno.

Here's a youtube video I found on Noise for Airports of an Orchestrion similar to the one I checked out recently at the Mansion:

This Seeburg Model H Orchestrion was restored by Reblitz Restorations in Colorado Springs for Johnny and Tish Duckworth.