Graphics are good. Graphics are shiny. But when it comes to reality-bending, emotionally-immersive, perception-shifting power, look to sound and music.

At least that’s the feeling you could get after playing Dimensions. Following their reactive music tools and Inception dream states for iOS, RjDj have turned their mind-altering sonics to gameplay. As with previous releases, these tools are powered by the open source visual development environment Pure Data. Pd engineering wizardry here meetings the compositional and sound design prowess of Hans Zimmer.

You can see a bit of how the musical world works in the teaser video above, and the music sound design video below.

But we wanted quite a lot more information. So, CDM got RjDJ’s Rob, Joe, and Martin to share some detailed thoughts on how the game experience is put together and how it works.

The App

RjDj Team: Most games require your full attention when you play them. You either live your life or play the game. Dimensions is different. It’s designed to be played in parallel with your normal life.

Gameplay is intertwined deeply into your daily life. Some dimensions unlock if you are physically active and others unlock if you are quiet. The app automatically detects what you are doing and syncs the game to it making use of every possible sensor on the iPhone.

You stay immersed in the game by listening to augmented sound and the voice of Emily from Mission Control. She guides you through many exciting challenges like collecting Artifacts and avoiding the dreaded Nephilim.

With Dimensions we are very interested in creating a gameplay experience which is between the device based focus of a casual game and the passive use of listening to music. Its a game which you play by listening – a game that place in parallel to your everyday life.

The Tech: Reading Files

We built our own version of readsf, rj_readsf, in order to be able to read compressed audio and make the samples available for processing in Pd. One advantage of readsf is that possibly lengthy audio assets do not need to be loaded into memory. If memory is limited, especially when Pd may be running in the background, limiting exposure to system memory warnings helps keep the app running and the music playing. Given that compressed audio is roughly ten times smaller in size than uncompressed audio, and that audio assets make up the majority of the size of the entire app, it is a huge benefit to be able to deliver and read compressed audio assets directly, without the need to decompress in memory or onto disk. Dimensions requires that several dozen such players be open and viable at any time, and special consideration was given to concurrent behaviour. rj_readsf can loop a file when it gets to the end, and it indicates with a bang when a file has been loaded (an asynchronous operation) or the end as been reached (in the non-looping case). rj_readsf is built on iOS standard APIs and can read any file format that iOS can.

Ed.: I’m waiting to hear if rj_readsf will be open-sourced. The issue of reading files is one we’ve had around libpd recently. While their rj_readsf sounds great, my sense is the best long-term solution will be a similar object that is independent of the APIs of any one OS, so this same set of problems may need a different solution for the open source community more generally. (Building such a tool is absolutely possible, though it might require more effort.)

The Music, and How the Music Plays with You

The music of Dimensions uses various different techniques from straight sample playback to audio analysis and synthesis:

Realtime manipulation of audio input from the mic:

This is perhaps the most recognisable technique we use. We process audio from the iPhone microphone live in many different ways. It’s kinda like a feeling of being inside the music.

The key thing we do with effects is attempting to analyse the environment of the player / listener and then making appropriate things happen within the effect. For instance, the Flux Dimension features a filterbank on the mic input. We analyse the incoming audio from the players environment and make the filter frequencies change as events occur ( either due to pitch changes or onsets ) this gives the impression that objects and activity around the player is somehow “playing” the music.

In the Ghost Dimension there is an effect which records audio whenever it detects an event, then scrubs repeatedly forwards and backwards through the sample using granular techniques stretching it out in time. This manipulation accentuates the textural and pitch based qualities of the sample as it repeats and works well with the atmospheric music Hans Zimmer composed.

Dynamically-controlled stems:

All the Dimensions use stems and hits from a conventional sequencer in some way, re-arranged live on the device relative to how the player is interacting. These stems were mainly composed in Cubase and Logic.

For example, in the Kinetic Dimension we feed accelerometer data from the device into Pd and drive the music from that. The player hears more energetic beats when they go for a run, but if they stop at the lights to cross the road, the drums immediately drop away. This was achieved with a large number of hits with all the rhythmic sequencing happening in a hybrid reactive / generative way live on the device.

In the Tranquil Dimension, the music introduces more stems the longer the player is quiet. If they make too much noise the music “shrinks away” from them and becomes quieter. If they stay in a Zen like peaceful state, the music grows into a kind of crescendo of serenity.

Reactive synthesis:

We often control parts of the music by doing a frequency analysis of incoming microphone audio from the device and then using those frequencies to determine the notes synths will play within the music. The Travelling Dream in Inception the App uses this extensively. Tranquil Dimension in Dimensions also uses onset and frequency changes to trigger synth melodies in the music.

The synths we use range in complexity from very simple additive synthesis to some great synth patches from the rjlib by Frank Barknecht and Andy Farnell.

Generative approaches:

There are some sections within Dimensions which are generative. These play back prepared samples as well as triggering onboard synthesis. They also feed the results of this through various live sampling and glitching patches. They are governed by various sets of rules which have various long term parameters, like adjusting to the intensity of the audio environment of the listener, or how dense areas of music have been around the present time.

Sample triggering:

Ghost Dimension uses a simple but effective technique of triggering samples from the music on onsets in the environment. This can cause some real jump out of your skin moments. We combined this section with a randomised very short delay on the mic which acts almost like a resonator, turning the mic sounds into creepy atonal pitched noises.

Sound Design

The main hub section in Dimensions, called the Launch screen, acts as a entry point to your augmented adventures. It also displays all available Dimensions via the floating tile icons.

Visually, these represent a snapshot of your previous experience using your location at that time. Sonically we wanted them to have an aura or energy from the Dimensions themselves.

SoundCloud examples:
Dimensions Sound Design Example by rjdjme

Example of using mixture of synthesis and samples to create user feedback when interacting with Dimension icons in the game.

Map Tile Down: several recordings of a synth in Pure Data that is played when the tiles are touched. Each one is slightly different due using two detuned oscillators.

Map Tile Open Only: a sample from Logic Pro for the woosh sound when showing the information view.

Map Tile Click: a sample from Logic Pro for touch events.

Map Tile Open: recording of how it sounds when put together.

Sound is a mixture of samples and real-time synthesis. The energy sound is made using two oscillators (one detuned) to create some modulation for a glowing effect. Added to some harmonics to make it more of a beam sound and some chorus and reverb. The open tile is made in logic, when closed it’s the same sound but reversed and pitched down in Pd.

We wanted the tiles you tap on to feel like each Dimension has some sort of energy radiating out.

Here’s a sense of how the sound design works in the game:

It’s an ambitious app, and the whole cost is US$2.99. I guarantee it’ll change your world more than a latte. (Well … unless we’re talking a really crazy latte. And that might not be legal.) As sometimes-CDM contributor Jaymis Loveday notes, there are terrific choices in coloring Google Maps, and how modes change based on ambient sound and motion.

Requires an iPhone 3GS or better, or third-generation iPod Touch or better, or an iPad.

Dimensions @ iTunes Store

More reading:
Dimensions Augments Reality Purely Through Sound [Leigh Alexander, one of my favorite game writers, for Gamasutra
The Roundabout Tapes – RjDj now plans to game reality with sound [TCTV] [Techcrunch EU]

From an eBay-purchased Atari ST to your phone, you really can make electronic music however you like, wherever you like. Generally, I’ve therefore been skeptical of gimmicks like all-iPad albums, particularly as it seems fairly obvious that such things should be possible. On the other hand, albums produced entirely with less-obvious, less-popular options may lead to more unexpected solutions. And they can both prove my ultimate thesis: you should use whatever makes you happy. If a few extra tools help with that, superb.

Plus, who am I to walk away from potential flame bait?

In this case, an all-Android album from Philadelphia DJ/MC COOLOUT aka Christopher Davis carries another surprise: it’s a damn solid hip-hop album. Some quirky flare from COOLOUT is amplified by the lo-fi aesthetic of the recording technique, making use of the internal mic on an Android phone. With creative sound design, it’s firmly rooted in hip hop, but takes a nicely experimental direction.

I find that it’s fun listening, and whether it’s your musical taste or not, the listof apps the artist has compiled will be a godsend to anyone who’s got an Android phone and is looking for ways to make it more musical.

The album is free, and a no-brainer download – it’s some really good stuff. (See also a non-Android remix of music from the excellent label Stones Throw.

There’s some musical thinking behind these choices here – Android becomes a return to what the artist loved about simple digital samplers of yore. COOLOUT tells CDM:

I used a couple of different workflows. The cool thing about Android is that most of the audio apps aren’t as feature-heavy as iOS. Coming from the days of using mono 12-bit samplers with no effects, it was easy to use all the techniques of layering and chopping I’ve known for years. Most times, the instrumental track was completed fully on the phone and I then tracked the vocals in a standard DAW later using the Android device as a microphone. There were no outside instruments used and I tried to stay away from standard plug-ins. It was hard resisting the temptation, but I wanted to represent the sound of Android as much as possible. I only used outside compression on the vocals, all the other effects like delay and filters were from Android apps. If Froyo didn’t have such huge audio latency I probably could have tracked the vocals all on the device.

Another great thing about recording using an Android device is that I was able to write all my lyrics in Google Docs (shout out to Count Bass D for putting me up on that) and have them directly in front of me while recording vocals.

Technical note – it’s not so much Froyo (the Android OS release) that adds latency as a lack of low-latency performance from handsets. The API also lacks the structure you might like for low-latency applications, though if you’re a developer, check out the AndroidWrapper class Peter Brinkmann wrote for libpd for Android, which presents a useful workaround for any audio app.

COOLOUT music is good stuff; see the full site (including the Android album, via Bandcamp):
http://cooloutmusic.com/

The apps (with Android Market links, though there are other ways of getting to them, too):

Virtual Amp
MusicGrid
Electrum Drum Machine
Jasuto Modular
Ethereal Dialpad [see CDM coverage]
MicDroid
PureData/RjDj
Guitar: Solo Lite
Chordbot
VirtualSynthesizer
Brainwave Tuner
Musical Bubbles
Silicon Oxide [retro virtual analog drum machine]
Buddhist Instruments, Tone Dialer (I think that’s this one)
PP-Electone

A look at some of those apps…

Brainwave Tuner:

Electrum Drum Machine:

Chordbot:

Silicon Drum Machine:

Our previous round-up of Android apps – well worth doing, I thought, because these apps have been harder to track down than those for iOS:
Useful Music Tools for Your Android Phone, and a New Sketchpad Joins Groovebox

…and earlier this month, a Game Boy (and iOS) favorite making its way to an all-Android release:
Nanoloop Comes to Android, with its Lovely, Minimal Music Idea-Making Interface

And, of course, if it is iOS you’re interested in (or you swing both ways), you can find all our coverage:
http://createdigitalmusic.com/tag/ios/

Or for all things music mobile – regardless of platform, don’t miss the exceptional, 24/7 online news channel for mobile music apps, the fire hose of news for this growing genre:
http://the-palm-sound.blogspot.com/

The Internet, as the subject of one Oscar-nominated film, is full of short attention spans and flirts, social dysfunction and lust. But there’s another side of the Internet. Someone interested in finding expressive inspiration, in learning the craft of music and sound, can virtually apprentice themselves to artists and engineers they love. There may be no substitute for stepping into a studio with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, or sitting face to face as Greg Russell to talk mixing. But barring that, for the aspiring sound and musical creators of the future, you have immediate access to astounding hours of collected knowledge, to the same technologies that produce the films grabbing the Oscars, and even to simulated, augmented-reality dreams on your phone.

That revelation might not make a good movie, but it’s sure a great thing. And who knows, from Indiana to India, the next studio to craft a great score could be your own.

Rounding up some of the better resources on the Internet, I’m in particular indebted to a couple of great sources, particularly on the previously-unsung craft of mixing and sound. I don’t have a statuette to give them, but I will introduce them:

Designing Sound by Miguel Isaza and Jake Riehle is a fantastic, advertising-free blog dedicated entirely to the craft of sound design in film, television, games, and other media. I’m honored to host the site on Noisepages for CDM, and equally pleased to get to sit back and just read (and not write or edit) the content. This is a perfect opportunity to cull some of the sharp, savvy analysis and exclusive interviews from that site. You might find you have something to do during ad breaks on the Oscars, film lovers.

Soundworks Collection tells the story of sound production in extended-format, high quality videos. You can watch video about just about every major release. In fact, their collections may become to those of us who are sound enthusiasts as invaluable a companion to movie-watching as popcorn.

And from the world of paper, Mix Magazine has been doing loads of coverage on the production side in film.

Forgive me for not looking at the “Best Original Song” category this year; arpeggiators everywhere lament the absence of Daft Punk’s “Derezzed,” but what can you do? (I definitely didn’t envy Daft Punk the challenge of trying to live up to Wendy Carlos’ landmark original score.)

Original Musical Scores

‘The Social Network’
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

I’ll come right out and say it: I think this is the film, out of this extraordinary bunch, that deserves the award. In a way, the score embodies the ideas of the film, emotionally and conceptually, more than the movie itself can. From the now oddly-famous small batch synth invention Swarmatron to air conditioners and pianos, Reznor and Ross concoct a sonic and compositional world. It’s relevant, topical, and now, like Facebook – but it may have greater lasting power.

Speaking of dreams and lost, The New York Times got to do what I imagine we all would love to do: step into the Reznor/Ross studio.

And long after the movie is forgotten, I expect this soundtrack will have a beloved spot on the playlists of many readers of this site.

Mashable Interviews Trent Reznor

As it happens, I wound up by coincidence in a conversation with Jeremy Peters, who does licensing for Ghostly International. His thoughts on why this score deserves special mention:

It was great to see them go a bit outside the box and hire Reznor, and I felt like it did what the score was meant to, which is tell the story that is not being told in the visuals and dialogue, and it did it really, really well, so my vote has to go to that score.

Peters also laments, as a person in the licensing business, that so many original songs “stick out like a sore thumb,” when better musical collaborations and licensing are possible. That makes it doubly nice to see fresh faces in the nominee category here.

More Swarmatron, for good measure:

‘Inception’
Hans Zimmer

It’s hard to say much about Zimmer’s stunning score for ‘Inception’ that hasn’t already been said. But it’s worth noting that, outside the film, a ground-breaking interactive app took the dream space into mobile, generative and reactive form. Built on open source technology at RjDj, Inception is the first app to use the libpd embeddable Pure Data library seen here previously. Aside from the musical achievement here, the technical advancement is that delivering interactive music to nearly any platform is no longer just a dream.

In fact, ‘Inception’ could be seen as interactive music’s first blockbuster, topping the charts on iOS. on iTunes

’127 Hours’
A.R. Rahman

Boy, it’s a tough year to compete in soundtracks – and a great year to listen. A.R. Rahman’s fluid, genre-crossing ambient soundtrack is as expansive as the film’s desert landscapes. And it’s another achievement for the connection between India’s titanic film industry and Hollywood’s. (Rahman also contributed “Slumdog Millionaire,” a process about which he spoke to Apple’s Joe Ceillini, since it was done entirely in Logic, from laptop to studio.) The first interview that follows is more specific to this film, but the second, Indian-produced interview I think is … well, better.

‘How to Train Your Dragon’
John Powell

So, the adult dialog was Scottish, the kids are American, and the music was Celtic, even as all the characters were Vikings. It was nonetheless a lovely score (though I’m sorry that last year’s animated ‘The Book of Kells,’ set in historical Ireland with Irish accents and Irish music, didn’t get more coverage, as far as Celtic scores). For more on this movie’s sound – even if Randy Thom didn’t need another nomination this year – see Designing Sound’s interview.

Composer John Powell himself comes from a Scottish background, and says he was influenced, too, by Nordic folk music. In an interview, he explains how he lent the film a lot of its character:

John Powell Goes Epic to Score ‘Dragon’ [The Wrap]

‘The King’s Speech’
Alexandre Desplat

Understated and elegant as the film it scores, Desplat (“Deathly Hallows”) has another beautiful soundtrack. The only bad news: he’s partly overshadowed by one Ludwig van Beethoven. (Desplat says that was originally a temp track. You try out-composing Beethoven.)

Interview by Scott Holleran

Sound Mixing, Sound Editing

‘Inception’
Sound Mixing: Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo & Ed Novick
Sound Editing: Richard King

Known in particular for its use of Edith Piaf in the score, Inception is clearly our star here (and perhaps a shoe-in, as a result), a film that creates entirely different imagined worlds. Videos and interviews, via Designing Sound:

“Inception” – Exclusive Interview with Richard King

I feel it’s very important to get new sounds for each film. It’s so important to get the sounds which you feel and imagine could be there. There’s always a lot of manipulation afterward of course, but recording new raw material is so important. I’d love to record everything every time, but the most important thing is to find the sound which provides that feeling you’re looking for regardless of where it comes from.Richard King, to Designing Sound

Gary Rizzo Talks About “Inception”

Mix Magazine on the Sound of Inception

Bruce Tanis Answers Reader Questions (a foley and sound effects editor on Inception)

‘The King’s Speech’
Sound Mixing: Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen & John Midgley

‘Salt’
Sound Mixing: Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan & William Sarokin

Greg Russell has an astounding fourteenth nomination for ‘Salt.’

Interview: Greg P. Russell on “Salt” and Mark P. Stoeckinger on “Unstoppable”
More About the Sound of “SALT”

‘The Social Network’
Sound Mixing: Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick & Mark Weingarten

Some of the grand achievements in sound may not be immediately noticeable – like making a loud club party scene where you can actually hear the dialog.

Ren Klyce Talks “The Social Network” Mix

‘True Grit’
Sound Mixing: Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff & Peter F. Kurland
Sound Editing: Skip Lievsay & Craig Berkey

Skip Lievsay Talks “True Grit” Mix

‘Toy Story 3′
Sound Editing: Tom Myers & Michael Silvers

Toy Story 3 may have gone unnoticed by many this year, but it required major innovations in surround sound, making the interviews below must-read. (For the opposite, low-fidelity end of the spectrum, see the exclusive interview for a fascinating story about the “futz boxes” used to make the little snippets of dialog the toys produce.)

“TOY STORY 3″ – Exclusive Interview with Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, and Al Nelson

With Gary Rydstrom we continued the conceit that when the toys are interacting with humans, (when they are inanimate objects), they should sound smaller in scale compared to the human “real” world. But when they are interacting with each other, and walking and talking, they have a larger, almost human scale to their sounds.
Tom Myers to Designing Sound

Dolby Surround 7.1, Toy Story 3 and The Future of Sound In 3D Films

‘Tron: Legacy’
Sound Editing: Gwendolyn Yates Whittle & Addison Teague

More About the Sound of “TRON: Legacy”: Score and SFX Mix

More About the Sound of “TRON: Legacy”

‘Unstoppable’
Sound Editing: Mark P. Stoeckinger

Yes, even Vanity Fair cares about sound editing.

Vanity Fair: Mark Stoeckinger Talks Unstoppable’s Sound Editing

And we’re having a music party, as well. Martin Roth and I will be making noises with Android; I hope to show in a couple of minutes why taking Pd mobile could be a powerful option for musicians. Also in the lineup, some fantastic Swedish artists: Anders Ilar (Pinesky), Pavan, (Flogsta Dancehall), and my own favorite, Håkan Lidbo (Container/P2 Ström). Flyer below. For those of you music hardware and software developers in Stockholm – you know who you are – hope you can make it out. (See also: Facebook.) It’s open to all, not just Android Only conference attendees.

Since the vast majority of you aren’t in Stockholm, I’ll try to bring as much of this to you as I can on Music and Motion by next week.

I’ll be in Stockholm the week of 27 September, speaking at Stockholm’s Android Only conference Wednesday/Thursday 29-30. I’m particularly excited by the lineup, because it emphasizes pushing the envelope of Android and cross-platform development. I’ll talk about how Processing for Android can allow “sketching” audiovisual apps on mobile. Martin Roth of RjDj will talk high-performance audio development. There’s also discussion of advanced uses in embedded hardware, cross-platform PhoneGap development, CouchDB and JavaScript goodness, hardware-accelerated graphics … all good stuff, and all potentially relevant to creative music and visual development not only on Android but future platforms generally.

I need to revisit Android on this site, but in the meantime, if you’re interested in the platform, MusicRadar did an exceptional round-up:
The best Android music making apps in the world today

I’ll have more information for everyone (whether or not you’re in Stockholm) in time for the conference on CDM.

But beyond Android…

Calling All Swedes! CDM is co-hosting a party Wednesday night 29 September at the conference venue in Stockholm, with .SE, Dialect, and most importantly the fantastic Swedish music mag Studio Magazine.

If you’re a CDM reader and music artist in the Stockholm area and have a project/studio to show off, and/or if you’re up for playing (with or without an Android device involved), please let me know right away, send some music/files/info, and we can discuss details. We’ll finalize the lineup over the weekend. I’ll also try to make a visit or two in my free time, limited as it may be.

For many musical artists, the frontier of reactive, interactive music has been a long time coming. RjDj, an app which we first saw as a series of interactive musical scenes on the iPhone, is now being expanded by its developers into a mini-ecosystem of interactive music tools for creation and distribution. I don’t think it’s likely to work for everyone – some artists may have their own ideas about how to distribute such work, or may take this concept in different directions for performance. But it’s nothing if not stimulating to watch.

Here’s the basic formula:

1. Authoring: The RJC1000 looks like an MPC-style drum pad, but it’s actually a tool for assembling scenes. (Currently Mac-only, but I believe built in Python so it could show up on other platforms.) In “expert mode,” you can write your own modules in the free patching environment Pd (Pure Data).

2. Playback: The RjDj on the iPhone and iPod touch, and now the Voyager app on iPad (top) provide “player” mechanisms – whether for your own performance, or as a way to distribute your work as “interactive albums” to listeners/users. Check out the RjDj apps for more. (Little Boots and AIR each did their own, exclusive artist app based on the same tech.) Lest you think this is all about Apple platforms, there’s also an “RjDjroid” Android app.

3. Network of music: The RjDj network is a means by which artists, for free, can get their work in the hands of users.

4. Open-source tools and patches you can steal use: Not everything the RjDj crew have done has been open sourced, which I have seen generate some disagreement. But there is some very nice stuff in the developer sandbox, a public API, and best of all, a brilliant Composers’ Pack chock full of Pd goodness. In fact, it’s probably the most useful set of Pd patches I’ve ever seen, a whole mess of useful macros for building usable instruments.

Check out the Voyager app, in particular. I love that it breaks out of the traditional interface paradigms — even those RjDj themselves are exploring with the MPC-style authoring tool. Voyager reimagines music listening not in lists of tracks or grids of beats, but in the liquid, alien landscapes of your dreams.

RjDj isn’t enough for you? With the open source tooling behind RjDj, there’s the possibility for an “ecosystem” beyond just the RjDj universe. (Pardon the use of that ecosystem word again. Let’s translate to “other good stuff could be happening,” or “general hoopla is involved,” or “see also: awesomeness.”) It means if you like the idea but not the implementation, you can try your own ideas. And it means, thanks to Pd’s ability to run just about anywhere (thanks to support for ARM architectures and Linux and not just the narrow world of x86 on Mac and Windows), the future isn’t dependent on one company’s vision. It can depend on yours.

I do think RjDj and the Pd development team that worked with them deserve some credit here, though. For the first time, we’ve seen an interactive “label” that’s devoted to making music dynamic and changing for the listener. If they’ve got it right, that means there’s far more to come.

And seriously. Go “steal” those patches. That’s the whole idea.

Here’s a look at the authoring app, in video demo form, running on the Mac:

Michael Breidenbrücker of RjDj has more to share with CDM. He writes us:

Scenes produced with the RJC1000 can currently be distributed into two different apps that have different interfaces and use cases. This is a strategy that we will increasingly apply. I think with the RJC1000 we have a very powerful authoring tool for reactive music. Music which is produced with the RJC1000 can be listened to or consumed in different ways on different RjDj apps. For example we implemented a very simple paging interface in our iPhone app because we think that is a good interface for the device. On the iPad though we did implement a drag and drop and twist and push interface for scene playback. The important point for the producer is that he only produces once and cans distribute his creation into several apps. The next app we are working on is a music game…

With the RJC1000 we are releasing a free authoring tool which is the tool to get your music into the RjDj network http://more.rjdj.me/make-music/ . We will continue development on new apps even on different platforms and the RJC1000 will increasingly be our main tool for that.

The RJC1000 runs on Pd (like everything we do which means it is a very powerful tool. You know we have started off with Pd as our main authoring tool but soon discovered that it is way too abstract for many musicians and their approach to music. I think with the RJC1000 we have found an elegant way to get musicians and producers on board and at the same time keep Pd very close.

Got questions? Made anything cool with those Pd patches and macros? Let us know.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year in New York. Mark your (advent) calendars. And for non-New Yorkers, let me know – who do you want interviewed? What do you want covered? Whose music do you want us to podcast? Our gift to you will be coverage of these events. New Yorkers and metro-area residents of the Northeast US’ Megapolis, I hope to see you there.

Wednesday, December 2: CDM 5th Anniversary Party. At Love Nightclub, CDM celebrates its 5th anniversary at Love Nightclub with Philly’s own King Britt, David Last joined by Brazilian baile funk vocalist Zuzuka Poderosa, laptronica artist and CDMer Ganucheau, and IJ Catling DJing, all one one of the city’s best sound systems. Compete in Twister and you could walk home with a new laptop yourself (HP Envy 15′s Beats Limited Edition). Free + open bar, Manhattan. (Facebook)

Thursday, December 3: TurboTax. Our friends at XLR8R Magazine continue their monthly with future-bass Dub War resident Dave Q and friends, proof that NYC can do dubstep, too. Free + free beer, Williamsburg.

Saturday, December 5: RjDj + Pd Skill Share @ Eyebeam. Brush up your patching skills in the free and open source patching environment Pure Data (Pd) with some of its best developers, Hans-Christoph Steiner and the team behind reactive music environment RjDj. See also RjDj’s hackshop (hoping we can add some extra sprint time not opposite in/out fest) and a party for their new creation on 12/11. All events at Eyebeam. Free, Manhattan.

Friday, December 11: Saturn Never Sleeps. A live beats lineup wrangled by King Britt hits the new Knitting Factory; I’m doing live generative visuals for the evening. DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Saturday, December 12: in/out Festival at The Tank. A new entry this year, in/out Festival looks to be a packed day of unusual music control. By day, the fest features workshops on Jitter, Reaktor, Max for Live, and … felt. (Yes, the Grant Sisters are back with felt as a music controller.) I’ll talk about OSC and visualizing music and musical messages. By night, we make music and visuals, with a lineup ranging from Lori Napolean on appropriated telephone switchboard to monome creator tehn. Tix are cheap at $10 for the whole day. Tickets. Manhattan.

Thursday-Saturday, December 17-19: Blip Festival. The annual 8-bit music and visual chipfest returns with three nights of events. Gowanus, Brooklyn.

That’s just the fests and special events. I know The Glitch Mob play Webster Hall on December 10, among others.

So we have very little to complain about in NYC, and it’s my duty to bring the goodness to the world beyond our Megapolis.

BLIP FESTIVAL 2009 from 2 Player Productions on Vimeo.

Code, hardware, and software: Hack Days are all about getting actual stuff made. Berliners, the Music Hack Day that took place in London at The Guardian now gets underway in Berlin this weekend. For anyone who thought the first event was overly Web-centric, there are some new players in Berlin. Ableton is a sponsor, and Ableton, Native Instruments, and RjDj are all presenting hack sessions (in addition to the more Web-focused / consumer-focused 7digital, Songkick, Cloudspeakers, Mufin, SoundCloud, and Echonest). The awesome German musician magazine DE:BUG is also in on the action. I also see our friends at Future Audio Workshop (developers of Circle) in the lineup.

Check out the details:
http://berlin.musichackday.org/
Weekend schedule

So, German readers, who’s going? I’d love to have some spies tell us what the discussions are with NI and Ableton.

I’m, as always, interested in how we can get past geography and share work internationally. So if you’re doing a project, be sure to take lots of pictures, screen caps, code pastes, and the like, and we’ll feature your work here on CDM.

Future events are planned for other cities, and I hope CDM will be involved in some of them. Boston will be the first US event, but it’s on a date I can’t make it. Anyone have a space here in New York you’d like to suggest?

Editing drum patterns in RjDj/Pd from Frank Barknecht on Vimeo.

If making your own musical tools seems like a lot of work, you’re not wrong. The beauty of making your own stuff is all about making your own reusable modules that help you build musical solutions more quickly. Finding those useful modules can also help people new to programming or patching.

In Pure Data, the free and open source cousin of Max/MSP, one form of these reusable modules is called the “abstraction.” It’s an object that you can stick into your creations to help build what you need without a lot of fuss.

Translation: even if you’ve never patched before, you can start making fun drum pattern makers quickly using all-free software. The folks at RjDj, who have been creating mobile interactive toys for the iPhone and iPod touch (see our interview, recent story) have also been building a library of useful abstractions. Because that library is also free and open source and built for Pd, it works with your Mac, Windows, or Linux machine.

Here’s a great starter tutorial, useful for even newcomers:
Editing Drum Patterns in RjDj

For more Pd learning (see additional tips in comments):
Be a Music Geek Ninja with Electronic Music Programming in Pd: New Book

If you create stuff with this, be sure to share with us! And it’s brand new, but feel free to come join our Pd group on the in-alpha/beta Noisepages:
Pd Group

I wish I could be in London in July, but since I can’t, hopefully some readers of this site can make it to the upcoming Music Hackday, which features RjDj and lots of other online music projects (Soundcloud, Last.fm, the music API for The Echo Nest, 7digital, more):
http://musichackday.org/

Dreaming of a future in which music, instead of just being rendered audio files, arrives in fully generative, interactive form? Albums might “listen” to the world around you, and listeners could record their own alternate versions of music and share with others.

RjDj, the generative mobile music platform for Apple devices, realizes that future right now, instead of at some nebulous time in the future. In addition to the iPhone, you can make use of a second-generation iPod to use it. (You’ll need a headset with a mic; I have one by Griffin I’m testing.) And the RjDj folks have a whole bevy of significant updates to share:

• Free downloads (limited time): All three RjDj releases are available now for free. That includes the RjDj app itself (from which you can now grab and share releases), as well as RjDj Album (with a selection of generative/interactive/reactive releases) and the new RjDj shake.
• Download “scenes”: From the beginning, we knew that RjDj was imagined as a platform for other people to release interactive music. Now you can download scenes for free or fee. (Paid scenes currently redirect to the browser, but with iPhone SDK 3.0, you’ll be able to buy right from the app.)
• Share recordings: Because RjDj-generated music is controlled by the user and often records from the environment, the music may sound different each time. You can now share recordings with others from the device and the new social site.
• RjDj.me community: The RjDj folks have built a little community where you can share your favorite scenes and upload recordings, and keep track of scenes coming out from other artists.

By the way, with all of these releases, I know there’s some confusion. RjDj is the main app — the platform from which you’ll be able to grab scenes in the future. RjDj Album is a collection of “player”-style RjDj scenes — ones we have seen released previously. RjDj Shake is a newer, accelerometer-powered set of scenes. It comes with the amusing admonition that you should “PLEASE TAKE CARE, DON’T HURT ANYONE AND DON’T SMASH YOUR DEVICE.” If you missed Shake before, it now also has the recording sharing features. But the main RjDj app is the big release going forward.

We’re also awaiting news on more “sprints,” community-driven development efforts for making new scenes. And if you’re a fan of this sort of thing, RjDj isn’t the only game in town. RjDj itself is powered on Pure Data, the open source patching cousin of Max/MSP. Pd is making its way to other mobile devices; I even have it working on the BUG Labs gadget. At the same time, I’m curious to see if the RjDj gang can succeed in building a platform for lots of people doing this sort of work.

Regardless of how you look at it, more mobile generative / responsive music is most definitely in your future. Stay tuned.

Elsewhere:
Free trip into the rainbow vein: reality-enhancing iPhone app RjDj free with social update [Boing Boing Offworld]

RjDj.me community site
RjDj 0.7 out now [RjDj News]

RjDj [iTunes]
RjDj Album [iTunes]
RjDj Shake [iTunes]

Be sure to see our previous interview with the creators:
Exclusive RjDj Interview: Interactive Music Listening, Everywhere You Go

Also, expect more iPod/iPhone news and hands-on’s soon — I’m way behind, but let’s assume that means the best stuff will rise to the top.