LA-based bang Fol Chen (Asthmatic Kitty records) wanted to go beyond the computer as the playback and manipulation device for their music. So they worked with collaborators to invent a solution. In a new video, sounds, and an interview, we can share some of how this came into being.

Built with the monome creators (Brian Crabtree and Kelli Cain) and LA research and experimentation center Machine Project, the Tetrafol is a custom, pyramidal sound device. The object warps Fol Chen’s music using gestural manipulation of playback, but can also use your own samples. And with open-source circuit and firmware, the project could be an opportunity to learn or to build your own creation.

Description:

The Tetrafol is a hand-held tangible electronic sound toy. Circuits enclosed by a wooden tetrahedron detect orientation and motion-gestures to modify the playback of a collection of Fol Chen’s micro-compositions, allowing the user to explore sound through physical manipulation.

The battery-powered device has its own internal speaker but can additionally be hooked up to a headphone or amplifier.

The circuit and firmware are based on open-source hardware and is itself published as open-source, allowing anyone interested to learn about its deepest inner-workings.

Here’s a sample of the project, via the Tetrafol-created Fol Chen track “So Good”:
Fol Chen – So Good by WeGetPress

Built by hand in a limited run of 100, the device sells for US$110 direct from Machine Project. We spoke to monome’s Brian Crabtree about the project – and a new, comically-inclined video shows off the project.

Stems from the track “Back on Kent” come preloaded:
Fol Chen, “Back on Kent” by asthmatickitty

CDM: How did this collaboration come about? How did you work together?

brian: kelli and i have a loving and working relationship with machineproject, a phenomenal organization founded by our good friend mark allen. we’re always amazed at the fantastical variety of projects that are born there. a few inspiring works of recent include a cash machine designed for a children’s museum and a workshop on lockpicking. so when mark approached us on behalf of his good friend adam goldman and adam’s band fol chen regarding a possible collaboration we were all ears. the goal was to design and produce some sort of synthesizer-sampler-effect-instrument-toy-object to accompany the release of their new album. that was about a year ago and we’re happy to see it finalized and soon in playful hands.

in the early stages there was much whittling of ideas (too expensive, too complicated, etc). we arrived at some sort of gestural sample player and a demo video was ready to show the proof of concept (we live on opposite coasts so there was much back and forth through internets and mails) the basic build used a waveshield (by adafruit) and an arduino and some very hacky code i modified.

fol chen provided the sound set. kelli and i proposed a series of enclosures– diamonds, stars, ice cream cones, d20. the tetrahedron ended up being the most beautifully minimal, and incidentally the most cost effective. our friend jason voytilla laser cut a prototype from thin birch ply and we sent the “finished” sample to california where it underwent a series of intense focus groups – thanks to the rigorous machineproject laboratories. after more back and forth, and basic design changes here and there we were in agreement. we used our very reliable production chain that we depend on for monome releases… it was nice really helpful to have that all in place and sped up the process considerably.

the tetrafol accompanies the release of some exciting new fol chen tracks, and there will be a release party of sorts in early december at machineproject. should be very interesting, as the current installation is a 30 foot deep window sill of sorts.

What went into the design? The construction of the thing?

the final circuit board is an arduino, [Lady Ada - Limor Fried] waveshield, and accelerometer smashed together and made very small. i really just put existing technologies together– i can’t take a lot of credit here.

the industrial design was more fun. we didn’t want to use plastic so we experimented with felt and wood. coming up with a size, shape, and feel were the main goals- to create something that was pleasant to hold and sturdy enough to be tossed in the air.

What’s the basic notion of the instrument?

it plays sound loops, or “micro-compositions” written by fol chen. when you pick up and tilt the device it modifies playback: in one axis it changes the playback speed, in the other it triggers a variable-speed stutter (playback position jump). sounds are changed by a shaking motion. given the response is immediate, it comes alive very quickly.

i’d also hesitate to endorse it as an Instrument, though it’s very playable. it’s a bit like a responsive buddha box.

Any other documentation?

i posted the firmware/hardware source on github. there is a no “build your own” guide as you’d be much better off just looking at the waveshield documentation (which is very good.)

this was a fun collaborative side project– and it makes me even more curious to see how musicians continue to create tangible objects to accompany their releases.

More information:
folchen.com

Tetrafol @ GitHub (firmware + hardware, under a GPL v3 license)

As they did with the monotron synthesizer, Korg has quietly released schematics for its the analog drum synthesis portion of its monotribe synth and step-sequencing rhythm machine. You just see the bits that make the drum sounds, but that’s the interesting and modifiable part.

In order to grab the download, you’ll need to fill out a form with your name and address, saying you acknowledge you’re voiding the warranty and that you won’t turn around and sue Korg. That address doesn’t get used for anything, though, so long as you uncheck the “newsletter” box. Once you do, you get a high-res PDF (low-res image above) with the schematics, marked public. (Liability I know is an important issue. You never know; you might swallow the drum circuits and then sue Korg for feeling ill afterwards. Or something. Ask a lawyer.)

As for the design itself, it’s a notably simple design by Hiroaki Nishijima, an elegantly-minimal set of analog circuits for producing sound. As such, it should be ripe for modification. In fact, the first thing I’d be inclined to do is, rather than void a monotribe’s warranty, simply breadboard this circuit, which would make for exceedingly easy variations on the same basic layout. You might even wind up with something else. (One nice touch in the design: look at how the noise source is cleverly – and necessarily – linked to hat and snare sounds.)

Mods have also worked with MIDI – a port is hidden on the board – but apparently with sometimes-disappointing timing results. More promising is the thought of new drum sounds, and even some breadboarded drum circuits outside the monotribe itself.

And that’s what I think is admirable about Korg’s approach: in the earlier days of sound and music electronics, publishing these kinds of schematics was the norm. As opposed to today’s litigious age, it was more or less assumed that straightforward ideas would be copied and modified. Korg hasn’t said they’re encouraging that kind of behavior, but by releasing the schematics, they at least acknowledge that they’re unafraid of that potential scenario. The point is, you wouldn’t come up with a cloned monotribe – you’d simply learn something about analog drum synthesis, then move on to something that’d be quite different. Korg remains the company with the wherewithal to produce the thing en masse, anyway. It’s not open source hardware, mind, so there’s a gray area as far as your ability to use the circuit, but that shouldn’t stop you from wiring this up and learning from it.

Ultimately, my guess is we’ll hear some new drum sounds out of this, and that’s exciting.

Find the schematics at:
http://www.korg.com/monotribeschematics

More on modifying monotribe:

An extensive, extensive post on MIDI modifications – how to do it, physically and electronically, as well as some of the limitations (which in turn partly explain why this didn’t ship with MIDI):
Monotribe, MIDI and me [Game Boy musician nitro2k01's blog]

Video from above:

And one post on drum mods (I expect there are others, if you wish to share in comments):
MONOTRIBE drum mod and peek inside

In the interest of fairness, Chris Randall posted what I thought was a thought-provoking review of the monotribe. Keeping in mind Chris was apparently a great fan of the simpler, cheaper, smaller monotron synth – and produced an album with it / see link at bottom – his review of the monotribe and its bare-bones analog drums was pretty brutal.

See his original thoughts:
Monotribe Mini-Review…

…followed by some criticism of the monotribe in, oddly enough, an iOS-themed story:
iGear…

Chris isn’t one to mince words or be especially diplomatic, but it’s worth reading what he has to say. He also predicts I’ll like … something just like this story. But it’s worth considering all sides of this little box. And despite what Chris says about my own perspective, I still believe for real modification, open source hardware is best – not that all hardware need be open source, but rather that for hardware you want people to modify, the open source license is a useful tool. I also think that it’s okay to just use gear and not always modify it; playing instruments is great, too, speaking even personally. That said, I still think Korg releasing schematics is a big deal, and I’m enjoying getting inside this particular design. And for the record, Chris still put some monotribe sounds into his music.

See also:
Electronic Sounds and Satisfying Limits: Chris Randall Talks About Making Capacitor, Resistor EPs

Circuit bending has a reputation as involving far-out, unstructured experimental noise, of real violence and distortion done to instruments. And there’s probably a place for that. But Reed Ghazala, circuit bending’s spiritual father and electronic practitioner, takes a more organic, evolutionary approach.

Reed recently told me about his favorite application of his iPad, apart from exploring new experimental soundscapes with tools like the brilliant granular app Curtis. He brings it with him into the forest, using GPS for location, and tracking plants and animals, identifying the sounds of bird and beasts.

In our electronic ecosystem, fowl and beast are finding their own electro-diversity. Circuit bending, then, is giving electronic devices a gentle push toward becoming something else, into taking on a unique and individual personality. It’s evolution. So, it’s fitting that New York’s Bent Festival has become an eclectic gathering of musical makers, espousing no singular philosophy or aesthetic.

For a sense of how broad that notion spans — both in Reed’s own head and at Brooklyn’s festival — our friend Kaley at VICE points us to their Motherboard.tv series on Reed, and his 1967 breakthrough of circuit bending, as well as their coverage of last year’s Bent. The Bent Festival, for their part, provide the remaining schedule if you happen to be in the area. At bottom, the classic “what is circuit bending” video by DrRek, featuring monome artist Daedelus.

If you happen to be the area, on behalf of CDM and in recognition of my lack of a) an inexhaustible budget or b) the ability to be a pan-dimensional creature in all places at once, please take photos and videos and notes and let us know what you see! (That goes for artists, too! Find a friend!)

We’ll be at Bent today before hauling off some makers yet deeper into the woods and wilds for the Solid Sound Festival. (Well, okay, metaphor stretched, broken, and beaten — at least further afield than the middle of Brooklyn. It’s Friday. I’m letting my metaphors take the rest of the day off.)

Sound Builders: In 1967, This Guy Invented Circuit Bending [Motherboard]

Bent Festival 2011

Also, notably organizing venue The Tank is again homeless and in need of support:

“Viable spaces for artistic research and development pop up as unpredictably as wild mushrooms, and sometimes vanish just as quickly. The Tank, a hardy nonprofit arts presenter formed by recent college graduates in 2003, has adeptly navigated a terrain in constant flux, taking root in a series of locations around Manhattan.” – Steve Smith, New York Times.

Their campaign to work in conjunction with other organizations to keep programming moving forward: http://do.nr/2sX

Korg’s Monotribe became the surprise hit of gear announcements at this month’s Messe trade show. It’s little, it’s cute, and it seems entirely focused on synthesis and pattern-making fun.

Plenty of videos have circulated, but odds are you haven’t seen the Japanese-language demo above (well, Japanese titles – the video itself speaks the international language of synth). It’s a nice jam on Monotribe and the recently-released Kaoss Pad Quad.

Korg’s James Saveja answers some questions for CDM, rapid-fire style.

CDM: Can you describe the drum voices?

James: Drum voices are all analog. A nice punchy snare, kick and hat part.

CDM: How does the sync work?

James: It’s audio sync. You can use a pulse to keep things synced.

CDM: What’s the workflow like for the step sequencer?

James: Very easy. Hit record and the sequencer runs, and captures what you’re doing at the moments where you’re traversing the 8 steps.

CDM: Pricing I gather won’t be announced until the summer?
James: We’re getting close. Sooner than summer for sure.

CDM: Any impressions you wish to share?

James: I only got my hands on it for a few minutes at the show, and I gotta tell you, it’s got a very special vibe. It’s built like a tank, and the user interface feels extremely substantial. Sturdy knobs and switches, etc. It was a pleasure to play with. I’m excited to get my first production one. Yes, even [product managers] have to wait sometimes! =)

More details: Korg has also posted additional specs on the components. To me, the main thing remains their distinctive-sounding MS-series filter. And I think it’s telling that Korg, of all the major manufacturers, has actually returned to their back catalog of analog designs; in some ways, it’s surprising that no one else has. I’m not entirely sure about an analog pulse being a “return to modular” – that seems to overstate the case a little bit – but it is very, very easy to use a pulse to sync.

From the source:

Classic Analog Components – VCO, LFO, VCA
The VCO offers a choice between sawtooth, triangle and square wave. White noise can mixed in to the oscillator signal in any amount. The Octave selector covers a broad range, from deep bass to piercing lead-lines. Three EG (Envelope Generator) presets provide the VCA with impressive versatility and dexterity. The LFO can be patched to the VCO and/or the VCF, creating impressive dynamic effects. The Range switch allows the LFO to deliver stirring cyclic changes over tens of seconds (SLOW) or superfast (FAST) audio-range FM ringing. Switching the LFO Mode to the 1-shot setting allows the LFO behave as a second envelope generator – a truly powerful addition!

Vintage MS-10/MS-20 Filter
The monotribe features the same VCF circuit found on Korg’s classic MS-10 and MS-20 analog semi-patchable synthesizers. Distinctively analog, this sharp and powerful filter adds dramatic change to the sound, imparting the uniquely memorable character of Korg’s early analog synthesizers. Using the audio input, any audio source can be enhanced by passing through the filter section. Process an instrument, a voice, or a complete mix form CD or MP3 and create larger than life filter effects!

Sync Jacks: A Return to Modular
The monotribe provides both Sync In and Sync Out jacks, empowering multiple monotribe units to play and work together for a synchronized performance. Not just other monotribes, either. Audio line level pulses can trigger the Sync Input so the monotribe can be synchronized to a DAW system, for example. In addition, the polarity of the pulse waveform can be changed for both the input and output, so you can enjoy synchronized performance with a variety of equipment equipped with Sync connections.

Monotribe Product Page

By the way, one dirty little secret: almost all gear from recent decades uses some analog circuitry and some digital circuitry, this of course being no exception. I’ll let you conclude from that what you wish. To me, it’s design and use that gives electronics soul, not how analog or digital something is. What the Korg devices remind us is that analog circuits remain an affordable, practical solution to many problems.

Anyway, rest assured we’ll be watching for one of these boxes to arrive in the New York metro area. (Hmmm… I’m in NYC. Korg is on Long Island. The Monotribe and a number of other pieces of gear run on battery power. Synths on the Beach party, anyone?)

For all that latest plug-in may perform every kind of synthesis ever, much of electronic sound boils down to a few basic techniques. Perhaps that’s part of the appeal of DIY electronics: it’s a chance to do less.

What strikes me about Brian McNamara’s work is how elegant it is: simple boxes interconnect with basic functions. These are digital instruments – inside those black boxes, the soul of the thing is a microcontroller – but tightly focused on a simple task. I asked Brian to walk us through his favorite projects. You may have seen the Wicks Looper before, but it’s just as nice to see these three side by side. The common theme: finding a single, focused idea, and executing it in an object whose design makes its function clear and accessible.

Here’s Brian describing his work.

Swooftronic Pi

The Swooftronic Pi was the first sound project I made that was fully my own design. It consists of two small boxes joined by a cable. One box goes in each hand. Each box has a light sensor in the top; as you let more light into the right hand sensor, you increase the frequency (pitch). As you let more light onto the left hand sensor, you increase the length of the note played. At the heart of the Swooftronic Pi is a Picaxe microcontroller; it is used for the two analog inputs and the stereo sound outputs.

Wicks Looper

The Wicks Looper is probably my most popular project. It’s a very simple device that allows you to build up sound loops using a push button and a rotary potentiometer. When the write button is pressed, a sound is written into memory, corresponding to the position of the pitch control. The sound is then replayed next time the loop is run. Once you have built up the loop you want, you can adjust the tempo control to make the loop go as fast or slow as you like.

EM-Tronic

The EM-Tronic is one of my more recent projects. It’s a super simple synth that has 2 controls — one for the frequency and one for how fast the sound is repeated. This device creates some really interesting sounds from the delay circuit when the speed and pitch are increased together. The speed control also allows modes to be selected that change the sound of the basic tone.

The inspiration for all of my projects is my interest in electronics and music. Until I started building these projects as a business, I always worked in electronics workshops and played in bands in my spare time. Building these projects seemed like a good mix of the two. You can find more info about my projects at my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/rarebeasts and project site: http://www.freewebs.com/rarebeasts/index.htm

Operating small runs out of his basement, Justin Owen is on a mission to bring his idiosyncratic, all-analog sounds to musicians in affordable, portable form.

“Affordable” and “portable” often aren’t associated with analog, though even players as big as KORG have gotten in on the game recently, with KORG’s monotron. Now that musicians are spoiled for choice in “things making noise with numbers or electricity,” though, I think there’s added pressure. For lack of a better way to put it, you have to be interesting.

And Justin’s circuits are indeed interesting. The latest addition is entitled “Kicker,” a 100%-analog “low frequency percussion synth” that’s as specialized as it sounds. At GBP95, I don’t doubt that some of the few dozen of these that will ever be made will find their way into digital workflows. For my part, I’ve hidden my wallet in the other room and placed a block filter on eBay. (Don’t ask about the other evening when James Grahame of Retro Thing and I narrowly avoided investing in multi-port MIDI merge racks.) But I have got some details on this gear for you, and some thoughts from Justin about his approach.

First, the specs on Kicker, Justin’s latest creation.

100% Analog, hand-made and tested in-house
Dual sine-wave oscillators with independent Pitch control
Punch switch for aggressive, high-impact sounds
Attack switch & Envelope Decay control
Can be Triggered using line-level Audio or a CV Pulse
Kick drums, sub drops, bass hits and more
Capable of very low frequencies
Manual available for download as a PDF file
Chrome-plated case & pro hardware
Runs off a standard 12 Volt DC adapter (not included) at approx. 300-500mA with a Negative Tip.
Limited-edition run, on sale while stocks last

You can have a look at the full manual:
Kicker manual [PDF]

Here’s a sense of the sound range of the device – overdubbed, but completely dry:
Kicker Preview 02: Deep Drops, Hard Hits & Bass Percussion by abstractjuz

And here’s the sound of just one of the two kick oscillators:
Kicker Preview 01: Single Oscillator Kick Drum by abstractjuz

“Abstract Data is currently just me and it’s still early days. I run this entirely off my own back out of my basement,” says Justin. “My priority right now is the design and build of affordable, portable, analog instruments and effects that sound good and are good to play.”

I asked about whether he’d consider going open source with his designs, and Justin says he’s interested, though lacks the experience to make that a priority. (Open sourcing hardware is not trivial by any means; I’ll be covering some of those issues later today and through the fall.)

Here’s Justin on his approach to sound:

I have fairly specific views on how analog should sound and part of that is that it’s not always linear and easy to control. Sometimes it’s downright unpredictable. Sometimes that contradicts ‘good’ design rules – so getting it working alongside the digital domain is something that needs to be done right – rather than just poking a micro at it.

FYI – the core circuit is based on my own implementation of the Twin-T oscillator which has been around since at least the 70′s. It’s a *great* circuit with loads of funny little oddities to explore and for people who are into tinkering/modding/hacking I’d definitely recommend they look up some variations of it and get it on a breadboard.

Naturally, unpredictable and non-linear don’t exactly scream “MIDI control,” but that’s something that may be on the horizon, as well:

MIDI control of my instruments is a huge priority and that is coming. OSC is another thing I’ve had my eye on for a while now. Small steps and for now my priority is building ‘instruments’ – not computers.

For now, what you get instead is a unique box full of personality. I can imagine for people with computer-based rigs, having something like this to inject some unpredictable analog goodness can have a lot of appeal.

The Hex range of analog synths and effects are also quite nice to look at; here’s a glimpse of them all in action:

More info on Justin’s official site:
http://abstractdata.biz/

…and his eBay page:
http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/ad_tools

How much can you do with a suitcase full of soundmakers? Quite a lot, as it happens.

The 20th Century gave sound two great achievements. One was the successful modeling of filtering in digital software form. The other was the production of the electronic filter, first in quartz crystal form. Today, all of those advancements are available in cheap, often battery-powered devices that fit in the palm of your hand. Spurred by yesterday’s discussion of sonic mobility and battery power, Sasa Rasa points us to the recent work of Chris Carter (of Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey fame).

Chris has built out a set he calls “Chris Carter’s Chemistry Lessons,” featuring a suitcase rig of noisemaking gadgets. Among other devices, this includes a new experimental, DIY noisemaker kit that came out of a collaboration with Dirty Electronics / John Richards. The setup, and accompanying performance, were recently the featured item at an event at Amsterdam’s STEIM, a hub for experimental sound. The contents comprise a veritable guide to what’s useful in mobile music making, without resorting to mobile phones or similar devices, and without, even, any use of MIDI.

Below, one of the setups, combining specialized and custom electronics with some familiar sound objects.

He describes a sample set using the rig on his blog, proudly entitling it no MIDI no keyboards:

I generated some rhythms using two [KORG] Kaossilators – going through two mini KPs, and manipulated some bass loops with a Korg KP3 pad. I had a Chimera BC16 synth (the LFO and the ADSR) voltage controlling a BC9 synth and two Eventide stompboxes. I synced and beat matched on the fly using ‘tap-tempo’ buttons on the Korgs and Eventides.

Equipment shown:
Two Kaossilators, two mini Kaoss pads, a KP3 Kaoss pad, a Tom Bugs WOM synth, Chimera BC8, BC9 and BC16 synths, two Zoom PFX-9003 effects, an Eventide Modfactor, an Eventide Timefactor, a Dirty-Carter E.S.G.I synth, a portable Edirol mixer and a Zoom H2 for recording.
No MIDI, keyboards, laptops or desktop computers were used.

Here’s that set recorded to his Zoom H2 mobile recorder:

no MIDI no keyboards by chris_carter

Is there an advantage to working this way as opposed to assembling a similar arsenal of tools in a computer? Not necessarily. But maybe that’s part of the point: whether you assemble a set of hardware sound boxes, some custom circuits and DSP processing in hardware, a Pd or Max patch on a computer, or a set of effects, you’re engaging in what is fundamentally the same process. The fact that you have all of these choices means there’s really no excuse for not finding some set of tools with which you feel comfortable, and with which you can push the envelope of your own performance style.

Not only that, but even the most die-hard computer lover is likely to find something here – the mobile recorder, one or two of the effects boxes – that would nicely complement their rig.

And what I like about Chris’ examples is that, within the “experimental” aesthetic paradigm he’s set out, there are rich compositional and sonic ideas, modeled in the flow of signal betwixt his noise gadgetry.

Lots of great ideas for useful hardware came up in comments on the battery-powered story, so watch for a further compilation.

Looking for all the world like it was inspired by the Gakken SX-150 synth, but packed with Korg analog electronics, the monotron has to be one of the biggest surprise announcements from a major vendor in recent memory. The tiny has the filter from the classic KORG MS-10 and MS-20 and is called a “real analog” synth.

It’s also likely to be very hackable, though we’ll know more about that soon. I think we’ve found the stocking stuffer of 2010, and it’s only March.

Pricing: MSRP US$85
Availability: August 2010
(note: this is official information from KORG USA; for some reason some other dates and prices are floating around)

Specs:

• A ribbon controller for vibrato, glide, and pitch
• Circuitry: one voltage-controlled oscillator, one voltage-controlled filter, one low-frequency oscillator.
• Controls: five knobs, one switch.
• LED blinks with the LFO.
• Same voltage-controlled filter circuitry as on the legendary KORG MS-10 and MS-20 semi-modulars – now, if we could only convince KORG to give us a monotron Pro with more of the MS in it.
• Runs on two AAA’s
• External audio input (updated) for filtering any external input – awesome. (Thanks, arne/styrofoammusic!)

Official product info:
Monotron Page @ KORG

Videos:

Via Engadget, MusicRadar, Gizmodo

Making your own instruments may not be for everyone, but getting to witness the bleeding edge of musical DIY can give real insight into how electronic music performance can work, and what matters in sound. Last week, the famous sound research center in Amsterdam STEIM generously hosted an edition of Handmade Music, inviting inventors to make noises and performances with their self-made creations and to talk about their work.

Ben Terwel, one of the artists, shot the video above. It includes discussion in both Dutch and English, but if you don’t speak Dutch, you’ll still get the gist of a lot of the musical demonstrations. (It’s actually nice to hear the native language included, since I came in and spoke English, which you get plenty of here on CDM!)

A number of themes emerged from the work we saw:

Elegant circuits, multiple applications: Several pieces made use of Michel Waisvisz’s Cracklebox, the legendary hardware design born at STEIM. What’s remarkable about this design is the way in which it can be incorporated into other ideas. Waisvisz has written about how important the act of “touching” the sound can be:

Sometime in the early-sixties I started touching the inside of my fathers short-wave radio receivers. Before that with my brother René I had given ‘concerts’ at home by placing our fingers on circuit boards of transistor radios that were ‘wrongly’, but usefully, interconnected with wires. The little electrical shocks were nice and the changes in the sound were exiting and magic mind-openers. Through touch I was able to start playing with short wave sounds in a way that would later become ‘sound music’.

I had already heard some of the early recordings of electronic music, but these often sounded so dull, so constructed, so without musical soul. Touching the inside of audio electronics was way more exiting to me. I knew this could change ideas about electronics and music. Touched electronics sounded rougher and sort of rebellious against the clean and high-tech quality of the electronic music from the fifties and early sixties.

If you want to experiment with the Cracklebox, you can buy one from STEIM for EUR60 + shipping. It’s a very accessible design, so an excellent choice even as your first hardware.

Code and hardware, hand in hand: At Handmade Music in New York, we’ve tended to see projects that focus on either hardware or software. But the assembled creators in Amsterdam had some terrific examples of fusing the two designs. Many made use of Pd (Pure Data), the free and open source patching environment, which also enabled the use of Linux and low-cost, low-power, compact computing hardware. In fact, with access to such hardware, there’s no reason a traditional computer can’t be as svelte as an “embedded” solution. While wandering the labs at STEIM, I saw some other, similar examples.

One example (and the most literal case, aside from the Robot Cowboy): an audiovisual interface made from a paint palette and paintbrush. It was astounding to see how immediately people “got” this interface.

More:
http://visualpaco.blogspot.com/

Making performance work: Whether the Robot Cowboy wearable-music-making outfit (which easily stole the show), or custom turntable rigs and more conventional knobs and touch controllers, live performance was a key element. Obviously, these variables impact how audience members perceive a performance. But the artists also spoke about how significant these decisions were to their own happiness, the quality and satisfaction they could derive from their playing.

Standardization and communication: The question you see me answering in the video above is whether some amount of standardization can allow control via protocols like OSC to work more effectively – and, indeed, whether OSC could be as standardized as MIDI. In both Amsterdam and (later that week) Stockholm, I got into many more conversations about this, both regarding control messages (“hey, you just pressed my antennae on my wearable sound suit”) and sync (“gee, what if we want our two delay effects to not sound like crap together?”). I’m excited that we can now get into implementation on many of these issues. When you see a room full of strange, new creations, it’s not hard to recognize that strict, rigid standardization of messages can’t work. But what could work – both for the evolution of MIDI and for new protocols – is communication that allows you to interconnect all that stuff that’s not standard.

Anyway, to conclude, the whole evening was fantastic fun. I’m really grateful to everyone from Amsterdam (and well beyond) for attending, sharing so many terrific ideas, and showing off this fantastic work. I come home really inspired. We’ll have more documentation on some of these individual projects, as well as new discussion of where would-be DIY artists can get started, and how all of the underlying technology can be better documented, extended, and improved.

If you have photos, videos, or follow-up documentation, let me know! I’ll follow up once I, uh, get my body’s clock back on East Coast time!

This week – Sonic Acts: My only regret is that I can’t hang around Amsterdam for the festival Sonic Acts; fascinating-looking lineup, so if you go, let us know about it.

Strings of tour dates and electronic music often mean crowd-friendly dance music, but there’s a growing, impassioned audience for more contemplative concert sounds, too. Composer-musicians Lesley Flanigan and Tristan Perich are pulling into the last stop on an extended tour of their work, here in New York Friday at Galapagos Art Space. For many, electronic music, in particular that made with computers, becomes about abstraction. For this duo, electronics become a chance to grow even closer to the tangible, acoustic sound – techniques they share in workshops as well as performances.

And would you believe… antique harpsichord?

In the tracks below, you can hear some of the results. Lesley’s work begins with harsh, crackling ambient sounds, but move into delicate, sung harmonies. Tristan’s work goes another direction entirely, combining his 1-bit electronics with elaborate keyboard textures. Those become a kind of post-minimalist jam; “Dual Synthesis” even begins to recall the composer György Ligeti’s micro-polyphony. Tristan’s harmonic language is inventive, set into abruptly-shifting, asymmetrical phrases and polyrhythms.

Allow yourself to slip deeper into their musical world, and the sounds become increasingly welcome.

I asked the two artists, known under their solo names as well as part of the ensemble Loud Objects, to send us some sounds and notes from the road. Be sure to catch them tomorrow night if you can, and I hope we’ll get more music from them soon, as well, especially with Tristan’s upcoming 1-bit album due soon. (And naturally, with Loud Objects and Handmade Music, we hope to share some of the electronics behind some of their sounds, too.)

Music to hear

Lesley Flanigan: “Snow” (for speaker electronics and voice) from her album Amplifications

Snow [MP3 download]

Lesley Flanigan: “Thinking Real Hard” (for speaker electronics and voice) from her album Amplifications

Thinking Real Hard [MP3 download]

Tristan Perich: “Dual Synthesis” (for harpsichord and four-channel 1-bit electronics) excerpts from live performance at Eliot Street Collective, Denver, CO

Dual Synthesis, excerpts/live [MP3 download]

Tristan Perich: “qsqsqsqsqqqqqqqqq” (for three toy pianos and three-channel 1-bit electronics)
from live performance at Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, NY

qsqsqsqsqqqqqqqqq [MP3 download]

Notes from Tristan and Lesley

We’re on the home stretch of our US tour; we’re sharing a blowout homecoming show with New Amsterdam Records and the NOW Ensemble on December 18th at Galapagos.

The tour has centered on two performances: Tristan’s new composition for antique harpsichord and 1-bit electronics (Dual Synthesis), and Lesley’s work for hand-crafted speaker feedback instruments and voice (Amplifications). We both deal with similar ideas of physicality of electronic sound, treating electric instrumentation as acoustic. Each of our sets has paired traditional instruments (harpsichord and voice) with our own primitive hand-built electronics (1-bit circuits and amplifying feedback circuits). A few of the early shows alternated with Tristan and Kunal Gupta’s noise soldering project, the Loud Objects.

We hit up a multitude of different kinds of spaces, from art galleries in San Francisco, Chicago and Nashville, community-run venues in Providence, St Louis, Denver and LA, colleges like Wesleyan and Ball State, a bar in Milwaukee, to a science museum in Little Rock and a ton of other spaces in between. We also got to debut our new albums: Tristan’s 1-Bit Symphony (which will be officially released by Cantaloupe Music in the Spring), and Lesley’s Amplifications.

It was great to check out the local experimental scenes, and share shows with our favorite musicians along the way, like Joe Grimm, Lucky Dragons, Jib Kidder, Travis Weller and Blevin Blectum. A bunch of people even told us they found out about our work on Create Digital Music.

Oh yeah, we also hosted a couple Loud Objects noise-toy making workshops along the way (you remember how we like to do this ).  One was at Noisebridge in San Francisco and another was at a prep school in Little Rock. We’re hoping to get involved with more schools doing this stuff. You can check out what we’ve been making on loudobjects.com.

Looking forward to finally getting back to NYC!

For more information:

www.lesleyflanigan.com

www.tristanperich.com

Feel free to forward comments / questions for Lesley and Tristan and I can send them their way for follow-up.

All photos courtesy the artists.