The Stretta Procedure

Synth Highlights of the Last Decade

2009-12-02T11:43:00.000-05:00

Boards of Canada
Geogaddi (2002)
If I'm honest with myself, 1998's 'Music Has the Right to Children' is a superior album, but Geogaddi is a more-than-worthy followup with 22 (no, I'm not counting the non-track 'Magic Window') glistening, warbly synthesizer gems, many of which clocking in at a minute and change. Favorites include 'Music is Math', 'Sunshine Recorder' and 'The Devil is in the Details'. The appeal of aptly-named Scottish duo is that they somehow manage to convey 1970's-era filmstrip nostalgia, while sounding fresh and fun and listenable. Makes me want a Space Echo or at least spend some time polarizing domains on magnetic tape.

Autechre
Draft 7.30 (2003)
Autechre put out a number of releases in the last decade, including Confieldand Quaristice, but Draft 7.30 is, in my opinion, a masterpiece and contender for synth album of the decade. It sounds like many, many hours of devoted, obsessive work where the final compositions are tuned and processed and edited until they only vaguely hint at their original form. I've often wondered how collaborations like Autechre function in reality, like, who does what? Do they work together or do they swap tracks between them and work in isolation?

Imogen Heap
Speak for Yourself (2005)
Ellipse (2009)
While Depeche Mode and Erasure continued to offer pleasing variations of their core electronica+vocal brands, Imogen Heap found her own voice and dazzled. Imogen is the real deal; a one woman triple threat producer/songwriter/vocalist. What I hear is as astonishing as what I don't hear, and that is the middling input from business people, managers, and A&R people. She is making the music she wants to hear and she has the last say, thank you very much. 'Speak For Yourself' continues to be enjoyable listen after listen and 'Ellipse' is a portrait of the artist at the peak of her powers. This is an example what can be done when a creative, driven individual is in a position where she has the tools and resources to realize her vision.

Nine Inch Nails
With Teeth (2005)
Year Zero (2007)
It was an amazing decade for Nine Inch Nails. 'With Teeth' signaled the start of a new phase of NIN. 'Year Zero' followed with eyebrow-raising rapidity. Then came 'Ghosts' and 'The Slip.' What the hell? Trent Reznor seemed to make all the right business decisions while experiencing a creative peak and sustained prolific output that eluded the troubled 90s version. That isn't to say I don't sincerely appreciate the exquisite craftsmanship of The Fragile and The Downward Spiral, it is just that Trent found his ability to execute quickly. I think this is a combination of technology catching up to the artist and the artist himself finding the right mental space. Trent knows precisely what the hell he is doing and I really like that.

Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles(2008)
Crystal Castles debut has all the intensity, DIY-aesthetic and 'where the hell did this come from'-factor as Pretty Hate Machine did 20 years prior. It is a pure blast and one I'm curious how they'll follow up.

Now it is your turn. What did I miss?

How to buy a monome

2009-11-25T12:55:00.000-05:00

OK, so you want a monome. monomes are built in small batches, so unless your timing is very fortuitous, you won't be able to buy one 'off the shelf'. You have several options.

1) Wait for the next batch. 256s, 128s, 64s and kits are available on a rotating basis.

2) Build an arduinome

3) Buy a used one from the monome forums. There is a category just for this purpose. Used monomes appear frequently, in fact, there may be one there now. Hint: subscribe to the forum RSS feed.

4) There's always ebay

Wireless Keyboard and Touchpad

2009-11-25T11:20:00.000-05:00

I was needing one of these just a couple days ago; a full keyboard and touchpad in a handheld configuration. I have a VNC client and iTunes remote application on my iPhone, but, let's face it, waiting for the iPhone to find the wireless network and launching a VNC connection is less than ideal. I can see many uses for this as I frequently find myself held down by a cat. It would be great for media centers, remote control of DAWs, couch youtube surfing, and... hey - what about live performance? Want! $62

Let the hacking begin!

2009-11-24T10:14:00.002-05:00

Just in time for the holidays, the Bliptronic 5000 LED Synthesizer is in stock and ready for ordering at $49.99 per measure (chain additional units for longer sequences, heh). I give it about two weeks before someone has hacked this into an arduinome.

maxforlive: monome integration

2009-11-24T09:19:00.000-05:00

It is one thing to adapt max patches for maxforlive but it is another thing entirely to construct them so they can handle multiple instances without stepping all over each other by accessing the same data. Then there is the issue of telling monomeserial which instance has control of the monome hardware.

I wanted to make it elegant to use. For example, if you click on a track in live that has a monome application running, that monome application is in focus on the hardware. It is this level of integration that makes maxforlive so appealing. So, now you can run as many obos, polygomes, stepfilters, or automatorgators as you like, and the monome switches between them effortlessly. Once you have everything set up, you can save your project for later recall.

So think about what you have here just with obo - an endless MPC or a super burly tenori on.

I never intended for anyone to use polygomé by itself, I always envisioned it as a small piece in a larger context, but that context didn't really exist before. The alternative is to create an application that is sophisticated enough to be a complete system unto itself. Some applications went the monolithic route which necessitated function rows, chording and pages which made the experience a little more impenetrable. I saw the same thing happen with moving fader control surfaces for daws where they tried to do everything from the control surface. People soon discovered that editing plug ins on a small LCD window is actually a step backwards, regardless of tangible controls. Same thing with the monome.

Now with maxforlive, monome apps can be simpler and you can pipe together the functions you need. So, instead of on application being a clip launcher, floor wax and a desert topping, it can do _one_ thing, like a plug in, and the user can select which functions are needed for the task. It is a level of functionality granularity I think the hardware is well suited for. If the apps are simpler, then the need for function rows and pages is reduced (now shifted to live) and the applications themselves become easier to adapt for all sizes of monomes. The five maxforlive apps I have work on the 64, 128 and 256 without having special versions for each type.

I'm getting very close to releasing this suite of monome maxforlive plug-ins. I have to back port some of the features I introduced in obo to the others, and clean up the UI of polygome.

Please check out the video in HD here.

Music Software Popularity Ranking

2009-11-13T09:53:00.002-05:00

Hypebot.com has posted a list of the top 10 music software packages, ranked by popularity. The rank is achieved by an aggregate score of four major search engines.

1 DigiDesign Pro Tools (9.8)
2 Steinberg Cubase (7.9)
3 FL Studio (5.4)
4 Cakewalk Sonar (4.0)
5 Apple Logic (2.9)
6 Ableton Live (2.9)
7 Apple GarageBand (2.3)
8 Adobe Audition (2.3)
9 Band-in-a-Box (1.8)
10 Sony Sound Forge (1.7)

I love this

2009-11-12T09:59:00.000-05:00

maxforlive: obo

2009-11-11T11:50:00.000-05:00

Earlier this year, I offered obo which was a Max version of the popular tonematrix tool. I've adapted obo for use in maxforlive, added monome 128/256 support (not required for operation), 16 pattern memory, edit while play, copy/paste patterns and a scale generator (whew). Here is a video.

As this video involves screen capture, I recommend viewing the video in full resolution at the video's youtube page (vimeo only allows one HD upload per week for plebeian customers, booo), and enable HD. Otherwise, you won't be able to see what is going on inside the user interface.

Feedback

2009-11-09T14:30:00.005-05:00

I don't have a lack of musical project ideas, but I'm curious what you'd like to hear next. I don't consider the results binding, but if there is an overwhelming preference for one kind of music, I'd be more inclined to pursue that direction. If you're not familiar with some of the options, I have posted a page with all my releases available for streaming.

What kind of musical project would you like to hear next?(surveys)

maxforlive: stepfilter

2009-11-09T13:42:00.001-05:00

Some of you may recall a step filter video I created for the monome that used the Doepfer vocoder bank as a set of filters. This was somewhat confusing due to the layers of dependencies. The application generated rough envelope data as MIDI. The MIDI data was sent to a Doepfer MCV24 MIDI to CV interface and the CVs from that controlled the filter bank. Why not create the filter bank directly in Max?

So here is a video of a maxforlive monome-controlled audio effect. There is a built-in noise generator to make it easier to design the step filter operation. Then you can process audio from the track. One nice side benefit is you can move the center frequencies and level of each filter, as well as bandwidth of all filters.

As this video involves screen capture, I recommend viewing the video in full resolution at the video's vimeo page, and enable HD. Otherwise, you won't be able to see what is going on inside the user interface.

maxforlive: polygomé

2009-11-06T13:43:00.000-05:00

maxforlive simplifies monome workflow. For example, if you want to use polygomé with a DAW, you must open your DAW software, open polygomé, set up sync in polygomé, set up sync in your host app, set up MIDI output routings from polygomé, set up MIDI routings in your DAW. There is a lot of overhead. With maxforlive, you simply drag polygomé into your track as a MIDI effect. Then you can start playing immediately. There is no setup. Everything is in sync.

As this video involves screen capture, I recommend viewing the video in full resolution at the video's vimeo page, and enable HD. Otherwise, you won't be able to see what is going on inside the user interface.

How Education Kills Creativity

2009-11-03T15:50:00.000-05:00

If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original. We stigmatize mistakes, we indoctrinate our children to be afraid of being wrong, thus bludgeoning the creativity out them.

new monome greyscale edition

2009-11-02T09:29:00.008-05:00

Not walnut, but black silicone over a steel enclosure. I was hoping 'greyscale' meant native LED brightness control, but at this point, it still looks to be on/off. $500, available in January. The enclosure is slightly slimmer than the walnut version. Bus-powered 128s (thanks to the lower consumption LEDs) with tilt sensors on the way. More info here.

Piracy vs. Obscurity

2009-10-30T13:44:00.002-04:00

In the introduction to his book 'Makers', Cory Doctorow explains why he is providing electronic versions of the book gratis.

"Why am I doing this? Because my problem isn't piracy, it's obscurity (thanks, @timeoreilly for this awesome aphorism)."

Cory, thanks for that laugh. Best one I had all week. You? Obscure? I guess it is all relative. You're not Paris Hilton famous. However, I don't read boingboing any more because of you. You pimping your books. All the time. Even the most tenuous connection... "Oh yes, that person had feet. You know who else had feet? One of the characters in my book, 'Little Brother' which can be purchased at..."

Next time you feel the need to leverage the mighty resources you have available to publicize your book, just, don't. Show some self-restraint, or, better yet, use the opportunity to promote some other deserving writer who doesn't have the same resources you do.

It's a trap

2009-10-30T09:39:00.001-04:00

The Ricardo Villalobos post on CDM caused quite the uproar. I read a the interview in its entirety, and it looks like the two choice quotes were already extracted. In context, they don't jump out at me like they did in Peter's write up. Basically, he's saying that technology A sounds better than technology B. It is really odd to hear an electronic musician argue for an arbitrary division of good and bad based on what technology was used because, historically, we've struggled with other people making the same argument to us since, well, forever.

This same argument blossomed in various flavors over the years. Mixing in the box vs. mixing on a console. Analog recording vs. digital recording. Analog modeling vs. analog. Electric guitars were not considered 'real' musical instruments because they required amplification, and so on. Any musical instrument except for the human voice is a product of technology. Some good points have been made about the strong and weak points of various technologies, but ultimately, it comes down to how we choose to use them.

I watched 'Up' last night. I don't think Pixar has ever made a bad film. I was skeptical of the premises of the last three films (Ratatouille, Wall E, Up), but I think they've turned out to be some of the best work Pixar has ever done.

Pixar realizes that they're specializing in a technical field - movies made entirely inside a computer - and that high tech gloss fades over time. Therefore, if you want your work to stand the test of time, there has to be something more than the technology at the core of your art. Pixar has consistently excelled at the fundamentals of good film. Good story, strong characters, endearing performances, cracking script, etc, etc... Arguably, Pixar does a better job at the fundamentals than normal Hollywood films.

It is easy to be blinded by technology, to be satisfied by the technical gloss, but this is fleeting. For your music to be truly great, it must have strong fundamentals, or else it is an empty shell. We can blog and discuss technical issues because we can. Specifications are concrete. Blog posts tend to be product-driven. It is far more difficult to talk about the underlying artistic principles. This leads to a lot of blah blah blah about bit depth, mixing engines, SMT vs. thru hole, analog to digital conversion, frequency response and so on, but it seems absurd to be obsessing about this minutia when the underlying music is cardiologically bankrupt.

Z-DSP Experiments

2009-10-29T17:39:00.005-04:00

I'm one of the lucky few beta testers of the new TipTop Audio Z-DSP eurorack module, and boy is it a lot of fun. The Z-DSP is a lot like the TipTop Audio Z5000, except embiggened. A lot. There are three CV controlled parameters per program. There is a feedback loop that you can tap into on the front panel so you can insert a filter or whatever module you can think of inside a part of the DSP process that is usually closed to tinkering. You can change the personality of the DSP by inserting a different card on the front panel. You can even voltage control the clock. This is serious sound-mangling mayhem.

The short audio files I produced represent only one patch idea using one program on one card on this module. I could spend a great deal of time exploring various options without even changing the DSP program on the Z-DSP. The fact that I could load another program is another whole world of possibilities. If, somehow you got bored of that, you can load a card with a different batch of programs. Egads, this thing is endless.

I used three TipTop Z3000 oscillators to perform some additive synthesis, using triangle waves, as I wanted a few extra harmonics in there. The mixed output went into a Cwejman RES-4 filter, with the frequencies of all the filters modulated by a Cwejman VCO-6. This is what I fed into the Z-DSP. I inserted the Elby Synthacon filter into the Z-DSP's feedback loop and controlled the feedback with a joystick. I recorded the output, and played with the joystick, audio input on the Z-DSP and filter settings in real time. The Synthacon filter is interesting as I can selectively bring low pass, band pass, and high pass variations into the feedback loop whenever I want. This was interesting to control as feedback loops can be very unstable, but this always seems to be easier to 'feel' in the analog domain.

I made another pass using the stepped output from the VCO-6 and played with that for a while. These are creative commons license, so feel free to download and use yourself if you like.

Drone 1
Drone 2

I processed the two drone passes in the DAW and back out the modular and recorded the filtered and triggered result back in.

Processed drones

Next is the drum pattern. I started with a stock BPM pattern, then I edited the pattern slightly, then I edited the sounds. The next clip demonstrates the progression of results.

Drum edit progression

Lazily recorded a bass line using the Prophet 5. I wasn't too concerned about mistakes as I intended to edit the snot out of the recorded audio in the DAW.

Prophet bass

Recorded another mono pass, panned each left and right, making it stereo.

Stereo Prophet bass

Post edited result.

Processed Prophet bass

Here are all of the elements together.

Composite

I'm not sure if I'll do anything with it, but I thought you might enjoy listening through the process.

UPDATE: removed the embedded quicktime links in favor of linked MP3s as some people were having compatibility issues.

Lego Foosball

2009-10-15T14:36:00.001-04:00

My son is really attracted to foosball tables, and, if I'm honest, I'd have to say I am too. I considered the idea of buying a small, tabletop unit, but I was unsure how much use it'd see. I was afraid it might become one of those things you play with for a bit, then collect dust. Once again, I see a solution in the form of Lego.

I personally prefer the design and building stage, and my son enjoyed that too, but he REALLY enjoys playing with it and now insists we play a couple matches every night. While I'm not the first person to build a Lego Foosball table, it is always interesting to see other people's take on a similar idea - especially when you're constrained by whatever Lego elements you have available. I found prettier examples online, but the design I came up with is functional and fun to play.

I edited the video together and again noticed it needed a background audio track. I always seem to figure this out too late. Anyway, I threw together some beats from BPM, an old ambient track from 'music for two cd players' and some vowel filter fun from FAW's Circle. Shake and bake.

Edit: Wow, this seems relevant.

Seven Reasons Why Every Studio Needs a Cat

2009-10-13T10:09:00.000-04:00

1) The muffwiggler forum is about cats and modular synths. But mostly cats.

2) Errant cat fur is good for synths. It's science.

3) Cats and synths are yin and yang

4) Cats don't care about your feelings. If you ask a cat's opinion of your work, they're universally unimpressed, Try harder. (Note: if you're actually seeking a cat's opinion about your work, please consult a doctor immediately)

5) Cats enforce periodic work breaks, thus reducing the risk of repetitive stress injuries.

6) Cats are continuously plotting your demise, which should remind you of your own mortality, which serves as a motivating factor. Hurry up and make music while you can, because you'll be dead soon.

7) Serendipity. Cats are like a furry, mobile deck of oblique strategies.

Eigenstates

2009-10-09T15:32:00.002-04:00

Everyone is talking about the eigenharp. What do I think of an eigenharp? It is a combination of a monome, french connection and warr guitar, all of which I play. It is a monome due to the button grid and LEDs. It is a French Connection (or a Haken Continuum, which would be a better example) due to the multiple vectors of expression under an individual note. It is a Warr Guitar because it looks and feels very similar on stage.

So, yeah, sure, I'm interested. I want to play it. I want to develop software for it. I've also been clamoring for controllers with more expression. This is what will drive electronic music forward. The torrent of data flooding out of this instrument must be unbelievable.

I realized that if you're going to make electronic music, and want to stand the test of time, it all comes down to the performance. The kinds of sounds that work well with a high-bandwidth controller are simpler, relying on the physical input of the musician. Based on the Sonic State interview (embed below), it sounds like they came to the same conclusion I did. Overly complex sounds obscure the expression coming from the instrument.

It seems clear to me the really interesting technology here are the keys themselves. How about a piano keyboard layout using this technology? I would love a keyboard controller that allows me to manually articulate amplitude and vibrato polyphonically on individual keys. The Continuum can get you there, but the eigenharp keys are real, physical things that you can actually wiggle. The down side is you can't slide into notes the way you can on the Continuum. There may be ways to approach this technique on the discrete-button eigenharp, but the Continuum will be naturally better at this.

Physical instrument modeling is obviously a natural fit for the eigenharp. I personally feel that modeling existing instruments is only a starting point. I'm far more interested in modeling things that have no real-world analog. Playing a realistic-sounding clarinet on the eigenharp is a good demonstration, but under what circumstances is that actually better than recording a real clarinet? Also, electric guitar patches are never, EVER a good idea, even ironically.

It sounds like a lot of software development went into the eigenharp, and it shows. I wonder what would have happened if they developed the hardware and threw the software development out to the community? I guess there is a big difference between a community of people around a $450 device and a community of people around a $8000 device. If you're spending that much money, you probably just want to play the damn thing and not sit coding stuff for it. On the other hand, how much of the price of the Alpha is represents software development? Would it have been out sooner?

Bravo for understanding that our existence on the planet is temporary, and it might be a good idea to ensure that the eigenharp will continue to function in the future by making the software open source.

The musical examples I've seen left me underwhelmed, though. If you subtract out being wowed by the technology, I wasn't left with much. The audience wants to understand the direct relationship between the performer and the sound that is produced. After that is established, then the technology fades and the experience becomes entirely about the music and performance. So I found myself asking, "What kind of music can ONLY be made on the eigenharp?" and "Is this actually better?" and "Do I like this?" I can see a role for an eigenharp player in certain contexts, but I don't believe I want to see an entire ensemble of eigenharps.

Good demos may be a matter of time. This is what I consider a great controller demo: Note to Haken: make your product videos easier to embed. Hint. Hint.

Here are a few things I'd like to see. They may be addressed already, or in the discussion phase, but I'll just put my prejudices out there:

Native OpenSound Control support

Allow developers access full access to the behavior of the LEDs decoupled from the button presses. Based on the different software demonstrations, I'm pretty sure this is possible, but I wonder if this could all be done via an open protocol like OSC, or if this access is wrapped up in a different development layer.

Direct CV output. John Henry Lambert mentioned something about the development of this capability. The implementation may be a bit tricky. I'm imagining several possible paths. Should be interesting. Maybe a four note polyphonic output box similar to the Continuum CVC would work.

I'm not interested in the Pico. The buttons are super interesting, but 18 keys does not do it for me. The Alpha has potential, but this isn't something I'd ever be able to afford. Still, it'd be fun to borrow one for a while and make some videos.

Hamsterdunce

2009-10-06T10:43:00.004-04:00

The estimable Dr. David Lovelace, Esq. is busily pooting out a regular web comic based on his cute, adorable, and often bloody rodent characters. As both a fan of his work, and falling-safe humor in general, I recommend you become a regular visitor to Hamsterdunce. Even rock-stars like Dave could use your support.

Analog sequencing

2009-10-05T16:10:00.001-04:00

@redvoid asked some questions about the mechanics of Error Correction, and then sent a nice tweet (thanks!) so I figured I'd follow up with a blog post since it turned out somewhat lengthy.

First, a few comments about gate signals, trigger signals and clock dividers in an analog modular, then I'll talk a little about analog sequencers.

Gate signals are just what they sound like. When you press a key on a keyboard, the voltage goes high. When you release a key, the voltage goes low. This signal is usually used to trigger an envelope. On key down, the input gate signal goes high and the envelope goes through the attack and decay stages. The envelope stays at the 'sustain' level of the ADSR until the gate voltage goes low, at which point the envelope proceeds to the drop down to zero from the sustain level at a rate indicated by the 'release' segment of the envelope.

You could use a gate signal to directly control a VCA (an 'organ'-like gate), but the sudden voltage change usually results in clicks. Best to soften the attacks and releases with an envelope or lag processor.

Triggers are like gate signals that disregard note off. They're really short little blips - gate goes high then drops to zero promptly. Sort of like a 'bang' message in Max. These are good for triggering drum sounds or for times when you want to control envelope contour via external modulation sources or some other means.

Clock dividers take a clock signal, which itself is a series of pulses, and output a multiple of the input. LIke, we may get a clock signal at 96 pulses per quarter and divide that down so we get one pulse per 16th note. Or, maybe we just want to trigger something every eight pulses. Clock dividers are important when integrating other gear (like a drum machine) with your modular, or if you're really serious about completely-analog sequencing or self-playing patches/compositions and you need to manage, distribute, change and play with events occurring totally within the analog realm. This is where you'll find use for other 'analog computing' logic modules.

I'm kind of a strange bird when it comes to modulars and sequencers. I like hardware sequencers, but I'm not a fan of hardware (analog) sequencers with memory. Adding memory just mucks everything up, in my opinion. I understand and appreciate the impulse, and the thought process leading to the goal, but, in the end, the implementation seems to take everything away from what I like about analog sequencing to begin with, and you're back in the land of LCD menus and knobs that take on multiple functions and so on. So, when it comes to through-composed sequencing of actual notes, I prefer to use a computer. When it comes to hands-on creation of cyclical, nested modulation sources, I prefer analog sequencers. Currently, I'm using a pair of Doepfer A-155 modules. In the past, I used two Fat Controllers, but they're a bit bulky and require external power supplies and such, so I switched over to the A-155s. Numerology occupies a point between - offering an unlimited modular step sequencing environment, albeit, one involving a computer.

To be fair, sequencing analog from a computer in the past resulted in awful timing, sending MIDI notes out a MIDI interface, then through a MIDI to CV box and the additional latency and jitter, but Volta solved all of that for me. Also, due to the multiple step sequencers built-in to Volta, I find I'm using the A-155s not so much these days, either.

Repetition breeds familiarity which people seem to enjoy in the short term, but this leads to the music having a short shelf life. If a piece of music is too repetitive, it doesn't stand up to repeated listenings very well. If there isn't enough, the the music tends to be a bit dense and without any mechanism for the audience to latch onto. So, a balance needs to be struck, depending on your goals. If you're going to repeat something, some small bit of the repetition needs to be altered to sustain interest. There are many ways to do this, sometimes I'll add or subtract a beat, create timberal changes, etc.. I love unexpected harmonic turns, so sometimes I'll throw in a little modal interchange or chromatic shift while maintaining the same diatonic structure or something along those lines.

Incidentally, this process that I'm describing; setting up an expectation and breaking it, is the same as the definition of humor. Good music and a good joke are essentially the same process.

feignroom audio

2009-10-01T18:15:00.003-04:00

Here is a downloadable MP3 version of feignroom.

download

I just heard Imogen Heap's 'Ellipse' for the first time last night. 'Earth' blew me away and aggravated my long-aching desire to hole up in a studio for a year and do nothing but record an album of heavily-produced a capella music. Who would like to fund such a project? ONE AT A TIME, PEOPLE. NO PUSHING.

Return to Boston

2009-09-29T19:32:00.002-04:00

I've posted some photos from my tour around the UK including iDesign09, interface amnesty and leeds expo where my good friends Dr. Nick Rothwell, and Lewis Sykes debuted Peal, a virtual bell tower controlled by fricken laser beams.

I had fun exposing lots and lots of people to the monome.

I even played a gig in Liverpool with my monome 256 and 64.

Photo credit: Gareth Goodison

And I made some new good friends like Jens Heinen of Lichtfaktor.

It was all pretty awesome.

edison... live at love tech

2009-09-21T13:55:00.001-04:00

Watching edison perform is always a treat. enjoy!

monoming about the UK

2009-09-19T18:50:00.005-04:00

Because tehn, daedlus, edison, makinthenoise, %, ro, and altitude sickness are all occupied with the monomeet in princeton, it was suggested that the EIGTH best representative of monome tour the UK next week. Unfortunately, Nick Rothwell is occupied with his own installation work, so they settled for me instead.

So, starting Wednesday, September 23rd, I'll be running around the UK doing monomey things and may even play a set or two which is very rare indeed.

Wednesday, Sept 23th
At Musion Academy.

Thursday, Sept 24th
At i-Design09. Sometime in the afternoon I'll give a short presentation.

Friday, Sept 25th
At Expo Leeds Unconference. Presentation on the monome.

Saturday, Sept 26th
At Abandon Normal Devices, Liverpool. Hob nob. Early evening performance.

Tuesday, Sept 29th
At Old Spitalfields Market, where we'll take over a small section and wave monomes at the unsuspecting public and possibly subject them to a performance in the early evening.

I can't decide out if this photo of the Dell Mini 9 and monome 256 makes the dell look big or the monome look small.

UPDATE: I should note that all this is preliminary and subject to change. Check my twitter feed for updates.