It’s a music-generating bobbing bird! It’s a plane full of interaction designers! It’s a green multi-touch … thing! It’s the global gathering of innovative music technologists gathering to share alternative visions of the future of music making, known simply as “NIME.” (Rhymes with … rhyme.) And our friend Patrick, visiting the NY conference from the MET Lab (Music & Entertainment Technology) of the Electrical and Computer Engineering program at Drexel University (phew!), was kind enough to write up the whole thing, complete with videos and pictures. Enjoy, even if you weren’t there… -PK

The New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) 2007 Conference, held at NYU’s campus, was an exciting and stimulating convergence of ideas and technology in the world of digital music. The conference’s umbrella “Interfaces for Musical Expression” brings together creatives from all over the artistic and engineering world: from music runtime software (MaxMSP, PureData, ChucK to), designers for alternate controller hardware (M-Audio, Making Things, i-cubeX, Photon Wind Research), and educators for music and electronic arts (Columbia Computer Music Center, Harvestworks, NYU’s TischITP) and art galleries/shops (LEMURplex, Eyebeam), just to name a few.

CDM needs your help. The massive, international, annual New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) Conference is descending on New York City. That’s great. There are only two problems: 1) it’s too huge. 2) Most CDMers are not in New York. That’s where you come in.

If you’re traveling to town to attend NIME, to present at NIME, or if you happen to already be here in New York and are going to the NIME events or the concurrent New York Electronic Arts Festival (which seems itself to be perhaps a new creation in itself), let us know what you’re doing. Got a paper? Send us a link and some quick notes on what it’s about. Got a piece premiering? Tell us why it’s cool and link us to whatever documentation you’ve got. Taking photos? Send them to us via Flickr. Attending an event? Write up something, and we’ll run it. It’s one of those few times where I’m happy to post anything you send, provided you write a bit about it — so you’ve got instant publicity for yourself, in the process.

Too often, these huge conferences happen and only the people in attendance can keep up with what’s going on … and sometimes not even they can. I do appreciate your help, and will do my best to keep up here on CDM.

You can get in touch right here: