It had to happen — button triggering, as popularized by the monome, here meets a conventional two-channel DJ mixer. But the layout I must say is quite spare and lovely, the work of the Japanese-based PICnome project. Furthermore, it’s Open Source Hardware, covered as I have recommended by a ShareAlike Creative Commons license (with no commercial restrictions) and GPL v3. (The creator prefers the term “Free Hardware,” which I love theoretically but have avoided for fear of people demanding we mail them MeeBlips by sending us a self-addressed, stamped box.)

With clean, subtle markings and a nicely-composed layout, it’s hardware that doesn’t scream out its design with big decals or overblown features. It’s just a (colored) grid controller, similar to the monome, combined with controller setup laid out as a two-channel mixer, with the sorts of features you’d expect of each. I love the angled labels, at least aesthetically. (I should note that this is not related to the monome project; the monome is not open source hardware, though it works via open software and commercially-restricted availability to some schematics. It is, of course, deserving of credit for inspiring a whole generation of hardware.)

The controller works with both OSC (OpenSoundControl) and MIDI for maximum flexibility. And, incidentally, this could be an ideal live visual controller, too, especially with that native OSC support.

Good grief; I realize I filled this post with nothing but technical jargon. Hopefully, those of you who speak in such tongue-twisted terms have followed along, and everyone else just looked at the pretty pictures and video.

Carry on.

PICratchBOX – Sneak Preview [atelier.tkrworks]

http://made-in-yamamoto.com/

Japan, hope to come visit you some day soon. Thanks, Regend, for the tip!

Update: Read in comments about some lingering frustration that the original PICnome project was derived from the monome; since the monome doesn’t permit the sale of derivative designs, that could be viewed as an abuse of the available specifications for the monome. In this case, based on what I see, however, I’m hard pressed to see this product as being subject to the same criticism by virtue of having buttons, unless there’s some detail I’m missing. If I am missing something, please let me know.

By the way, if you want to revisit the PICnome project and decide for yourself, that thread is still on the monome community. It’s not accurate to say as some commenters do that the PICnome was a “bootleg” or simple clone of the monome, as it was re-implemented on a PIC chip. The issue is that the product was then made available for sale, because it was built on monome schematics; while those are readily available, they are not licensed for this kind of use. The firmware is free for use; it’s covered under a GPL license, which is non-revocable. However, to my knowledge, those same concerns may not necessarily apply to this project.

To recap: the PICnome project indeed is technically incompatible with the intentions and licensing of the monome project, but the new PICratchBox should be fine. So, here’s to the PICratchBox, which is more interesting precisely because it’s something new.

It is my view that the original PICnome project violated the terms of the licensing of the schematics; whether because of a misunderstanding or not, that’s not something to condone. But the new project does not do so, in my view. I contacted monome’s Brian Crabtree and while we didn’t have an on-the-record conversation, he took no issue with that statement.

From the intrepid grid-playing monome producers comes a whole bundle of goodness: a free album, and along with it, a nice video that illustrates what’s happening on some of the tracks, some reflections on how 15-second samples can bind together a community of music makers, and even, as a bonus, some tips on running Windows software in Linux under WINE. (Whew!)

Via Joshua Saddler, who illustrates his music creation techniques in the video at top, we learn of the monome Community Remix Project album, available as a free download via Bandcamp. (Full track lineup embedded below.)

MCRPv10: MCRP​-​RP, by monome community [Bandcamp]

Josh explains how the “meta-remix” came about — by limiting to 15-second samples, and pooling results, an entire community of producers was able to work collaboratively:

I admit that this is slightly in my own interest, since I’m on this album (as “ioflow”). But even though this is the first album I’ve ever appeared on, being new to the world of electronic music production, what’s really newsworthy is that it’s another outstanding effort by all the monome artists. these guys are super-talented.

This MCRP theme: the meta-remix project. Each participant grabbed a 15-second sample from a previous MCRP track, and submitted the unaltered clip to the pool. the participants then used the pool to craft their own original tracks.

Man, what they did is crazy. I had access to the samples and I still can’t tell how they got those sounds. they’re a fine buncha talented
folks, so maybe this is a news item of interest: monomers around the world coming together to create a free album, created at least in part
with free software (i even used Windows software on Linux), using tracks previously made freely-available on other MCRP albums.

Thanks, and happy listening!

Here’s Josh’s track, too, via SoundCloud:

lines and angles by ioflow

Linux + WINE Tips

Josh also, after my prompting, shares some tips on how he works with Linux and, for Windows compatibility inside Linux, WINE:

I ran Max/MSP under Wine. I ran the “Ricochet” performance patch for the monome, which was tied to Linux-native Renoise via JACK (WineASIO transports audio/midi from Wine to the system JACK daemon). Renoise hosted the samples as sliced instruments, with some more open-source software DSSI plugins loaded (Calf Vintage Delay, etc.)

Ricochet is based on the Otomata website that’s been covered on CDM previously. You can actually see how it translates to the monome on my video for “lines and angles.” Press a button to place an initial “token,” with each subsequent press indicating direction:

http://vimeo.com/25748942 [seen at top]

More details here:

http://nightmorph.livejournal.com/235021.html

(and more monome/controllerism/software/music-related stuff on the “music” tag!)

The Max/MSP stuff, especially MIDI-outputting patches, generally works on Linux exactly the way it does on Mac or Windows. Occasionally I have to do some hacking to get audio/sample-based patches to cooperate, but only rarely do I find something that doesn’t work at all. mlrv1 and mlrv2 are the only ones so far. Most of the challenges stem from the fact that Wine’s handling of Bonjour is broken. The zeroconf layer that’s used by serialosc poses the most problems. For zeroconf-based apps, I got the man himself, tehn, to create a “static” serialosc.maxpat, for which I use a plain text editor to manually specify ports, then copy that .maxpat into each serialosc-based Max patch I intend to use. serialosc itself is developed on Linux, but it uses Avahi there, whereas other platforms use Apple Bonjour. Can’t have two DNS stacks on one machine, so I’m forever hacking on and around Wine to get it to cooperate with the system DNS responder. So far, there’s no way to bridge the app’s zeroconf transport and use it unmodified on Linux.

Workarounds like customized .maxpats are a small price to pay, though, for the pleasure of being able to run monome performance patches. I’m not a coder, so I have to work with what’s available right now. Maybe in the future I’ll try porting some of these things to Python.

I recently got Aalto running under Wine — I posted that to the CDM article a week or so ago. Rules of the MCRP being what they were, though, no external sounds allowed, so I couldn’t hook that in, much as I wanted to. I had a lot of fun learning how to make music with samples for the first time, anyway.

Good to know, I think! For more on WINE, see:
http://www.winehq.org/

But personally, I’m delighted just to have some nice music to listen to – and the price is right. Thanks, monome community!

Ribbons are so in this year. Thanks to Trent Reznor picking up the Dewanatron Swarmatron, they’re even winning Oscar Awards (after a fashion).

Coagula aka Giuseppe Di Cillo has been in touch with me for some time about his evolving DIY ribbon controller. Now he’s pulling out all the stops: his full version includes a professional-looking case, extensive touch sensors, and even a display and menu system. It’s not quite the gorgeous, analog-savvy Eowave Persephone, but it’s a beautiful DIY project and a terrific learning opportunity, as well. He’s shared a complete tutorial, specifications, and tips, all under a Creative Commons license. (It’s not quite open source hardware – I’d like to see the “non-commercial” restriction dropped – but it is tremendously generous and complete.)

The Grobian ensemble from Reaktor is behind the sound. (I’ve lost track of how you acquire Grobian, if a more sophisticated Reaktor user can remind me.)

I was curious about the accuracy and responsiveness of this particular sensing system, especially since I’ve had some issues with similar touch sensors. Giuseppe responds: “I find the sensors very good, but when you touch the position sensor the sensor need few milliseconds to settle. To fix this I put a 5 milliseconds delay on the code. The video is a little out of sync but I assure you that in reality is much more responding.”

Go, wonder, absorb knowledge:
Coagula MIDI Ribbon Controller 2.0

Number stations, making their appearance in the post-war radio landscape, were shortwave radio stations of streams of symbols, mysterious to their listeners and apparently code. Here, the idea of lost and indecipherable broadcasts inspires a wonderfully-varied collection of reflective artists, in a free, Creative-Commons licensed compilation by PublicSpaces Lab. That Barcelona-based netlabel has been reliably curating some of the smartest, most forward-thinking music collections around. This time, the artists are impressive not only in their output but in their range of backgrounds and extra-musical sources of inspiration.

[PS025] Various Artists – Number Stations part II by PublicSpacesLab

The set, curated by Made by Robot (whose own, mechanical track lives up to the artist’s name), begins with an amiable and catchy vocal tune but then covers a wide gamut of constructed frequencies. Kieron James’ Preska Zero Zero helps the compilation hits its stride with grooving repetition of numbers. ambienteer and (monome creator) Tehn sit comfortably back to back with cool-but-cosy layers of samples, stretched and pitched like tents. % and ro have gently-swinging, sparse takes on the theme. Marcus Fischer, Dionysiac, Weather Balloons, and Swaying Smoke really sound like strange, intercepted transmissions. Grooveshysta’s cinematic montage of scenes and beats sets up the otherworldwly conclusion. Concrete Sound System (Primus Luta, appearing Saturday at our own Handmade Music) launches the whole list into outer space with a dense, alien-sounding raucous wall of sound.

So many compilations release artists but tell you nothing about them; here, PSL has produced a thoughtful PDF insert that reveals a lot about the artists and their approaches to production. It’s not so much a matter of recording on tool XX as it is beginning to understand what happened that made the sounds you hear happen. For me, at least, it gave me a different appreciation of what I got from my ears, like adding an additional dimension.

We definitely need a new genre name, as I don’t hear leftfield often, ambient doesn’t really describe everything here, and IDM is … well, just sort of over. Smart electronica? Or just … music? I’m open to suggestions.

Head to the blog post to download the compilation as an MP3 or FLAC. (See tips on how to listen to lossless FLAC from earlier today) The files are hosted by The Internet Archive thanks to their free license.

[PS025] VA – Number Stations part II

And check out part 1 of this series, featuring many of the same artists – and some other surprises.

[PS015] VA – Number Stations by PublicSpacesLab

[PS015] VA – Number Stations

(Note the low number of PSL releases – they are thoughtful about what they put out, rather than dumping too much stuff.)

The beauty of physical, human motion is that just about anything kinetic, any gesture can work. If you were left only with motion in your toes, you could play a live set. And whereas these gestures were once tied to specific acoustic instrumental effects, in the digital realm, they can be anything.

We’ve seen the rise of the grid controller, popularized by the monome and later seen in mass-market devices like the Launchpad and APC. And while it’s hardly the first “big knob as controller” concept, we’ve seen the encoder celebrated in the monome follow-up arc. So, buttons – check. Encoders – check. How about faders?

Herrmutt Lobby has been building simple Max for Live patches that do more with less. Beat Fader assigns note triggers to control points spread along a fader. This is similar to what the monome community have built with a row of buttons, but instead with continuous input. The fader still works like the buttons – instead of tapping a toggle, you move past a control point, for eight events. As you’ll see in the screen patch, the patch itself doesn’t do much; it’s really up to how you configure your Live set.

In a similarly economical invention, Counter increments a series of notes from a single trigger.

The advantage of Max for Live is that these little creations, long the sort of thing that’d make up a larger patch, now can be dropped as modules into a Live performance set. But you could easily use this idea outside Max for Live, in any tool that processes MIDI events, and with or without Ableton.

As usual, performance virtuosity is what makes the difference. There’s a nice thread on the monome forum about this to read – thanks to them for inspiring this story.
Beatfader [monome community]

Grab the patches for free (if you haven’t already gone and made something similar yourself, though these have nice preset control, etc.):
Beat Fader
counter lobby

Controllers seen above:
Novation Nocturn, street about US$90
Hercules DJ Console, I think the MK2, street around US$250 (but variants available much cheaper)

One video to take us out:

Your OS is there, in front of you, daily – some of us for many, many hours a day. it often makes sounds at you, very rarely welcome sounds. Here’s an opportunity to change that.

Computers are extraordinary creative canvases for our work, but corporate branding can’t really respect that. Because Ubuntu is a free operating system, it can provide content that is free to be reused, remixed, and re-imagined. An OS’ soundscape could be provided by a user, not just a brand, and it could in turn be changed by someone else to fit what they want. And as awareness in the Linux community grows that their software is essential to musicians and artists, not just the “average” computer user, the music and sounds that a new OS release showcases have a second role. They can be a musical soundtrack to a powerful idea: the idea that all of these lines of free code are a tool for someone to use for expression. We need to make that message get across to developers and the larger free software community.

Actually, let me put it another way: knowing the community on this site, I’m eager just to hear what musical score, or sound scheme, you’d create. The results would be free to use not only in Ubuntu but anywhere you wish. Free as in freedom, free as in the beer I’ll buy you if I see you in person and you do something great. (And, hey, Brian Eno and Robert Fripp each got to try scoring sounds for Windows, so why not you as the next OS composer?)

Possible candidates here:

• A startup sound
• A sound scheme (for GNOME; I’d actually have to research how that works, but it could simply be an idea)
• A piece of music that stands on its own
• A song
• Ambient music to listen to while coding the Next Great Audio App.
• Something else I haven’t thought of that’s also sound.

It’s really open to your interpretation. As readers note, many of us find the best sound scheme for an OS to be … silence. But you could share a piece of music or soundscape. If it’s culture (according to you), and it’s free, it’s game.

I’m honored to be a judge for this year’s Free Culture Showcase, now accepting works through March 1:
Free Culture Showcase [Canonical Design Blog, itself often a good read]

To submit, you can join Ubuntu’s SoundCloud group. In addition to CC-licensed music, I’m particularly interested by the sound scheme idea. OS sounds have been largely disappointing and distracting; imagine if they were actually good. Way back in 2006, CDM readers did some amazing one-second sounds to honor the “leap second,” a chronological aberration by which clocks have to be adjusted to keep years in sync with the Earth. I’d be thrilled if some of you were to submit to this, too.

Whether or not you’re an Ubuntu user, if you believe in free licenses as a tool and option for artists, if you believe in the utility of free software, I hope you’ll get involved. There are no particular rules to the tools you use to make the work, either, and I think that’s only appropriate. I’ll be curious to hear if you do use free tools or Ubuntu, though, just to know how they’re working for readers.

Let us know if you submit, especially because entries will be free for CC use (and likely worth featuring on CDM) even if they don’t make the Free Culture Showcase cut.

Given the vastness of music available today online, “best of…” lists, while nice to have, can be disappointingly predictable. Not so with music selected by readers of this site. We asked for your favorite albums of last year, and you responded with extraordinary variety. I’ve selected entries from readers – some must-have inclusions, some that were simply well-described or surprising – for your enjoyment here. In these mid-January doldrums, it’s a perfect time to catch up on musical inspiration, then hole up and create some digital music of your own. I’ve called attention to some specific choices with images and videos and audio embeds, too, as you’ll see.

If you’re like me, creating often must begin with listening. Here’s plenty of listening to get you started.

Hollow
36
36, Album (full-length)
http://3six.net/album/hollow

Fine musician with an ear for ambient texture and melody. People ought to pay attention!

Suggested by Peter Dines http://modulations.noisepages.com

2010
$.99 Dreams
Bandcamp/$.99 Dreams, Album (full-length)
http://ninetyninecentdreams.com/

2nd album delivers a novel mix of dark jazz, instrumental hip hop, and a raw improvised aesthetic.

Suggested by Mat

Music for motion pictures
Åbäke
Åbäke, Album (full-length)
http://itunes.apple.com/se/album/music-for-motion-pictures/id403203224

Cosy and cute. This is a soundtrack that fits all seasons of the year and I always listen to it when I travel by train!

Suggested by Lars Jönsson

Mimikry
Alva Noto and Blixa Bargeld
Raster Noton, Album (full-length)

Suggested by strunkdts

Cavalier
Antix
Iboga, Album (full-length)
http://soundcloud.com/mpdqx/sets/antix-cavalier

A buddy of mine put this CD in his Oldsmobile in the middle of the Snoqualmie National Forest at about 2am. Pitch back outside. Damp from the moisture of the forest, and smelly from the smoke of the campfire. I was in the back seat and I remember being transported by this album. It really is a trancey record. The bass feels warm, and the percussion is so nicely done and crisp. I love the different noise sweeps and use of side-chain compression. The first disk of the album plays back in the form of a Mixed set, however all of the songs are by Antix. The second disk contains single versions and remixes of the album’s songs. Check out Manta (Beckers Remix) for some good cheese. Mmmm. Cheese. It’s both smooth and crunchy at the same time. I chose this record because I really don’t think it should be missed. It is a great trance record.

Suggested by Adam

In D
Arandel
Infiné, Album (full-length)
http://www.myspace.com/arandelmusic

Got impressed by this string-techno-driven-glitch mixture… great album!!!

Suggested by flogistox

Consume, Adapt, Create
Architect
Hymen Records, Album (full-length)
http://www.hymen-records.com/all/y781.html

A perfect mix of dubtep, ebm, experimental, techno, ambient, cinematic, Daniel Myer is a master sound designer and an expert hook maker

Suggested by cooptrol cooptrol.com

Oversteps
Autechre
Warp, Album (full-length)

Old bastards don’t miss a hit in my opinion… This new full-length is brilliant!

Suggested by Gilieu

Oversteps
Autechre
Warp, Album (full-length)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vWoxs47oiE

It’s ridiculous. It’s probably one of the best albums ever. The sounds, the music, the algorithms (at least it sounds very algorithmic (in a good way), in Treale for example). I don’t know what to say really. But it feels like I’m about to rethink everything I thought I thought was important in music. Again. A good thing, i guess.

Suggested by Max Wainwright soundcloud.com/maxwainwright

With takes on the Vince Guaraldi Trio and Tchaikovsky, the sound-slicing members of the monome community have turned their button-encrusted devices to spreading holiday cheer to you, for free. A new, CC-licensed album is available for download. (One caution: CC licenses don’t cover sample clearance for works sampled on these albums, so beware.)

They wouldn’t be geeks if it didn’t have an acronym:
http://mcrpmusic.bandcamp.com/

There’s some really creative stuff in there. I’d love to hear this live.

Found other favorite holiday downloads? Let us know in comments and we’ll do a round-up later this week.

Making music, making blips and bleeps, turning knobs, plugging in keyboards, and having the freedom to modify your gear – these are good things. And that’s why I’m so excited that today is the day the MeeBlip launches.

It’s been several years in development, but now it’s finally here. It’s a hardware box that makes noises – virtual analog synth noises, chip-sounding noises, good noises, bad noises, noises you can make into music. It’s got physical knobs and switches on it, plus a MIDI DIN in port so you can connect that keytar you bought on eBay. It’s also a digital synth you can build, modify, and hack, down to the way every knob is mapped and every sound is blipped.

The MeeBlip is the creation of James Grahame, of Retro Thing and Reflex Audio fame. (He tells the full history of how it came to be.) But we’re serious about the Create Digital Music name going on there, too. We’ll be documenting and helping develop this instrument for some time to come, and we’ve begun building a site and community for the instrument so you have a place to meet other people using it.

The MeeBlip, from code to schematics, is open source hardware. You can hack it, read through the code, make your own and sell it. At the same time, just because it’s “open source” and “hackable” doesn’t mean the MeeBlip is just for hackers. On the contrary – we wanted a synth anyone could play. With the Quick Build Kit, you can assemble the MeeBlip without a soldering iron or, really, much skill, in a matter of minutes. Plug it in, turn some knobs, and you can make some sounds. And if later you decide you want to go deeper or even change the way the instrument works, you can do that, too.

The MeeBlip is available today, shipping worldwide, for US$129. (Kit versions are available for those who know what they’re doing, for $79, as are a la carte parts.)

You can hear what it sounds like with some samples I’ve uploaded to SoundCloud. This is the MeeBlip completely raw – no effects, no sequencing, just me playing live and turning knobs, right into Ardour.

MeeBlip: The hackable digital synth – SOUND DEMO by cdm

We’ve got a massive site for you to go learn about MeeBlip and, if you like, grab one for your own. (The first batch ships within the week, if you get in on the first order.)

http://meeblip.noisepages.com/

Enjoy. I’m personally thrilled that the MeeBlip goes from being silent to making some serious noise.

To me, a license is a tool: it’s a means to an end. But that means that the tool ought to be doing the job you chose for it.

After news broke that the Canadian public broadcaster CBC was moving away from Creative Commons, we launched on CDM into a somewhat informal (and occasionally heated) discussion of CC licensing and specifically the non-commercial restriction most musicians attach to their music.

Here’s a summary of what I can conclude from those conversations.

• Abuse of non-commercial CC material is rampant. Very often, publishers and broadcasters think Creative Commons material with non-commercial licensing is free for them to use when it isn’t. Almost all publishers fall under the category “commercial” – even “public” broadcasters like the CBC. That’s not to say CC is a bad thing – abuse of copyrighted material is rampant, too – but if well-meaning publishers are abusing the license, it’s an opportunity to educate people.
• The CBC went to the opposite extreme. Tossing all CC music just because “most” is non-commercial doesn’t make any sense. There’s still a large volume of material that is explicitly free for the CBC to use that lacks the non-commercial restriction. It’s not hard to find, and the licensing – unlike NC – is very, very clear.
• Some of you apply “non-commercial” because it’s really what you mean. Great! No problem! (Actually, one problem – see the first point above. While it’s an abuse of the license, you may find people blaze right past your “non-commercial” clause.)
• Some of you apply “non-commercial” and it’s not what you mean. If you’re restricting uses under the license that are cases where you actually want people to be free to share, then the NC requirement probably isn’t a good idea. This is what ultimately prompted me to drop “NC” myself.

Matching the license to what you want people to do is important. It’s like putting up a big “KEEP OFF THE GRASS” sign and then wondering why no one’s dropping by for a picnic. Conversely, if you don’t want people to have a picnic, it’s well within your rights to post a “KEEP OFF THE GRASS SIGN” — and if it’s your lawn, frankly, it’s not my business. It’s the same with your music or images.

I still think that the non-commercial rule in CC is vague to a fault, though that’s best left to a separate discussion. And I don’t want to overstate my complaint. I believe the CBC is right – and I’m equally confident that CDM qualifies as “commercial” based on the previous CC study. So, the larger problem with non-commercial may not be that it’s unclear, but that it’s not understood – and that at least some of the musicians who are using it don’t understand the extent to which it restricts use of their work.

As for the CBC, Creative Commons has responded to the story, and have pointed out that there’s nothing stopping them from using CC works that are available for commercial use:

It is good to know that the CBC will continue to use CC-licensed works in some cases, and their explanation of why not in others. And it is true that only a minority of CC-licensed music is released under a license that permits commercial use — for example, about 26% of the nearly 40,000 CC-licensed albums on Jamendo.

However, as Michael Geist, Cory Doctorow, and many others have subsequently pointed out, CC-licensed music that does permit commercial use ought be allowed.

They also have some tips for finding music that’s free for commercial use, in case you’re looking yourself:
Commercial music guide on the CC wiki
Music on SoundCloud, Wikimedia Commons, Libre.fm

Read their full response:
On CBC podcasts and CC-licensed music available for commercial use [Creative Commons blog]
…as written by CC VP Mike Linksvayer. (Thanks, Cameron Parkins!)

Just as with production tools, I believe our role on CDM is to talk about how to best use the tools you want. Copyright, Creative Commons, public domain, open source, commercial, free, non-profit, whatever it may be can be a means to your end. So, I hope we’ll continue to follow this story and find some information that’s useful to musicians.

Someone in comments brought up the question of whether the music is crap. But, you know, as artists, I don’t think you even know the answer to that question. Mostly you want to find a way to do something with your s***, and hope, at least, it’s good s*** someone enjoys. Carry on.