Texas, here we come. Before the armies of bands hit Austin for South by Southwest, we’ve got some events going during SxSW Interactive — the “spring break for Web geeks” festival of online tech.

Laptopists battle it out Saturday night 3/8: The Digital Showcase at the Austin Museum of Art is holding a Laptop Battle for Texan laptop artists. I’ll be judging, along with CDM reader favorite (and reader) proem, and two other judges. The night also  features performances from New Berlin and Richard Gear, plus live visuals from CDMotion contributor Dan Winckler. Details at AMODA, upcoming.org. (A paltry $4-$7, and even 18 year-olds can get in.)

Explore creative interfaces for data Sunday 3/9: My panel with interaction design pioneer S. Joy Mountford (Apple, Yahoo) will look at how Web information can become a fluid, artistic medium for visualization and sonification. Details at Create Digital Motion. (Requires SxSW Interactive badge.)

Live CDM music and motion party Monday 3/10: Bring your musical, visual toys, custom code, and DIY projects and hang out with other CDMers at 8pm, then stick around for live performances from musicians and visualists. Details below; let us know you’re coming at upcoming.org, Facebook, SXSWHERE party guide. Free, no badge required.

More on the CDM party — good chance to chill before SxSW Music unloads on you!

Cornelius’ Sensuous Synchronized tour, with The Cornelius Group, has been stunning American audiences over the past year. I got to a chance to talk to Cornelius, aka Keigo Oyamada, following the New York close to his American trip. The show blew my mind: constant visual stimulation, earnest performances (including audience interaction on Theremin), and perfectly-synced (true to the name) visuals that made the music into a dreamscape you wanted to live in all night. The interview was via email, though, and somehow I got strange and wordy with my questions — I think because I got excited. Cornelius, true to the sharp-edged economy of his music, responded in minimalistic fashion. So, given that too many useless words tend to surround music in general, I’ll be brief:

We all love Cornelius.

The Sensuous Synchronized tour is one of the best audiovisual shows on the planet.

When I feel artistically dry, I watch these videos and feel wonderful.

Cornelius reminds me why I do what I do.

The best way to get Cornelius and share him with friends is to watch the videos.

Go buy the album.

(For more on the visuals in the Cornelius tour, see Momo’s take and discussion on Create Digital Motion)

Now here’s what Cornelius had to say, with some of those videos mixed in because they’re worth countless words:

Some were disappointed that the Segway was not, as promised, “an invention that will “sweep over the world and change lives, cities, and ways of thinking.’” But there’s hope, in the form of Brisbane, Australia-based electronic duo Segue’s vision for the future. Clearly, the first Segway was just a 1.0 device. What it needs is additional accessories to make it the globe-shifting device it should have been. It needs a beer fridge, Ableton Live sync, and Monome control.

Okay, backing up to the “real” Segue, Segue is the combination of Leo Hede and Dave Dri. They regularly team up with visualist Jaymis Loveday, a big force behind CDM and co-editor of Create Digital Motion. Sadly, for now, their rig is not built out of tricked-out Segways, though I’m hopeful for the future:

With two laptops, synths, MPC sampler, MIDI controllers and FX units all triggered live on stage, Segue are willing to walk the tightrope in the live arena where some contemporaries baulk at performing without a safety net. “It’s the eternal and much argued balance between risk and self indulgence” Dri says wryly, and reaction to their sets so far suggests the risk is paying off big time. Leo is more abrupt with his explanation of the extent of their stage setup, stating with a characteristic smile “this is what we enjoy, so this is how we play”.

If you’re interested in their music, here’s some additional background:

Segue’s Chemical Brothers remix featured on Palms Out Sounds [at AU dance site inthemix.com.au]
Chemical Brothers - EBW9 Segue remix [seguesound.com]
About Segue

And if you’re in Melbourne, go check out Segue + CDM’s own VJ Jaymis at Smashbang lounge on October 5 — erm, 5 October.

But I dare someone out there to do something as outlandish as the sketch above.

Estesvan Carlos Benson sends along this film score he created for Godard’s Vivre sa Vie. Keep watching — he’s got a fantastic sense of picking up the rhythm of the actress. He explains:

It was basically produced with a Korg N364 and Sonar, back in 2004. Conceptually I just felt drawn to this scene. The original music created a stark irony (it was swing jazz I think). Additionally, and for whatever reasons, Anna Karina wasn’t quite dancing to the original rhythm. I was aiming for a tone that dealt with the larger aspect of the movie and her character, within the scene and outside of it.

Note to self: if I ever become one of the greatest directors of all time, be sure to get someone like Anna Karina in my movies.

Project details and lots more at his site:
estevancarlos.com

Estevan Carlos will hopefully be contributing some items to CDM in the future, so welcome him onboard!

Yes, it’s the electronic music video you’ve been waiting for. Quotable:

Don’t listen to your body
’cause it only tells you lies

This could also be an IDM anthem. (Glitch remix, anyone? Stems, please, Olde English?) No wonder Michael Gondry started showing up at Olde English shows.

Via Adam Conover, editor and co-creator of the video. See also: Olde English’s blog.

As digital musicianship grows, it’s critical to have places like Robotspeak. This small, basement-level music shop on San Francisco’s lower Haight is a brilliant music tech boutique by day. On regular evenings, it becomes a venue, packing in fans of genre-bending electronica. Walk off the street, and you feel like you’re in someone’s basement — someone with lots of toys and a great affection for throwing great musical parties.

I got to play Robotspeak last month on a program with some terrific players: the legendary Daedalus, armed with the prototype device that inspired the Monome, the fabulous Chachi Jones, and the sonic explorations of acoustic ensemble Pineresin. Thanks to the power of video, we can share a little bit of that performance with you, complete with discussion of the tools. Tools are not incidental, either: it’s great to see the range of ways people approach exploring sound and performance, even in this small cross-sampling of artists.

My favorite video it the outtakes, but I’ll resist the temptation to start with that — suffice to say, yes, all of us laptopists face the same problems. Be sure to look to the end for that one.

I had an incredibly great time — there’s nothing like being in a really supportive venue, one that values musicians taking some real risks. Now, the videos:

If you’re going to San Francisco (or, like, live there), come hang with some fellow laptop and electronic musicians at a special Macworld edition of the Backlit Lounge electronica party, which has been featured regularly on the CDMusic forums. I’ll be playing a featured set myself, and it looks like a great lineup. It’s the most logical place for CDMusic readers to meet up during Macworld week — especially since it’s free to all, even without an expo pass. Maybe I’ll bring a flag.

If you plan on coming, say hi in comments or email me directly. (I may just check out early, since I have to lead a day-long presentation Friday!)

And if you want to play yourself, I think the organizers are still accepting more players; head to the Myspace page below.

Macworld goers, this is very close to the Moscone Center.

Backlit Lounge SF
San Francisco’s Laptop/Electronica Lounge
January 10, 6 pm to 2 am
Rx Gallery
132 Eddy Street, San Francisco [Map]

Information, friend adds, photos, video, and those interested in performing:
backlitloungesf @ Myspace

Video series on the event, so you can relive Backlit Lounges vicariously (pour yourself a beer or two):
Backlit Lounge @ revver

See also the visual salon with workshops and VJ jam on Thursday night.

Grooves Magazine, dedicated to experimental electronic music and music tech, wasn’t exactly a formula for massive mainstream newsstand appeal. (I don’t think I ever spotted a copy in a truck stop. For a better example of how to make a magazine succeed, at truck stops and elsewhere, look at Easyriders: scantily-clad and topless women + motorcycles. See a comparison of the formula after the jump, in case this is unclear.)

Grooves didn’t make it on the newsstands, but it’s been reborn as an online-only publication, and that’s a good thing: now anyone can get to it and browse through it easily. US$10 buys you four issues, and well worth it (and much easier than tracking it down before). I personally prefer reading music magazines online, because then I can check out the music I’m reading about. (Reading about music just isn’t the same.)

Grooves Magazine Online

[Updated: I incorrectly indicated the subscriptions were free. They're US$10 for four issues.]

The current issue (#20) has plenty to appeal to CDM readers: Matmos on the cover, a roundup of custom ensembles for Native Instruments Reaktor, gear and music reviews, and even live music coverage. The spirit of the magazine I think is embodied in this shot from Brooklyn’s No Fun Festival. (Deathpile, photographed by Pierre Richardson.) I go for more of a well-groomed thang, myself, but it’s great to see one magazine avoiding the hype and heading straight for electronic music’s raunchy, punk underbelly. On the downside, the magazine continues to suffer from the “White guy hanging out along somewhere looking dour” syndrome with the artists it covers, but the online format makes it even easier to skip ahead to the geeky bits. And unlike some attempts to create online magazine interfaces, this one is fairly readable, with a download option.

Technology is creating some unusual new opportunities for composers. Aside from producing music for video games, we can now get inside your head while you’re working out. (Well, okay, we could do that before via, erm, Walkmans and such, but now it’s more interactive.)

Electronic duo The Crystal Method has produced a continuous album called Drive designed for use in a 45-minute workout, promoting Apple’s new partnership with Nike. The Nike + iPod combination is more than just marketing: a sensor in the shoe transmits data to the iPod Nano and gives you aural feedback on how you’re doing. You can upload the results to Nike’s website and view your progress in a nice, Flash-enabled viewer. The music itself isn’t interactive, so you could use it with any player. What The Crystal Method have done is to pace their music to encourage you through your workout, down to “power phrases” repeated in the vocals. (”It’s time to get moving,” “Here we go,” “Move your lazy ass,” “Thanks for moving your lazy ass; now you are truly an awesome demigod of fitness,” etc., I think is the general gist.) And, of course, there is something about electronic music that motivates motion.

NIKE+ Product Site

The Crystal Method: Drive