In an explosion of color, buttons, keys, velcro, and fur, and coupled with a cyborg-chic eyepiece, the VoltAxe is controllerism gone Mad Max, a post-acocalyptic keytar bred from salvaged parts. And if you want to make a unique construction of your own, creator Julie Covello – aka New York’s DJ Shakey – is willing to tell all her secrets, as well as why this was important to her music.

In modeling (the basement hobby variety, not the skinny fashionista one), “kitbashing” is the act of combining bits of multiple kits to produce one finished whole. Some custom new controllers are following a similar route, taking the best bits of, say, a keyboard and a Novation Launchpad, and going a bit nuts. Julie’s work deserves special mention not only because it takes that technique to an extreme, but it couples it with a heads-up, hands-free video display to keep feedback from the computer visible without being a distraction.

Julie tells us all the details:

The VoltAxe controller was created as part of my artist-in-residency at the Clocktower Gallery in New York City, made possible with support from the Jerome Foundation. I named my residency “Dj Shakey’s Audio Control Adventure” and wrote a pseudo-blog on Facebook.

To me, exploring Controllerism means trying to make my performance easier, more creative, and more dynamic. I did quite a bit of general research during this project, but with the performance controller, I focused on making a system that allowed me to walk around, not look at the controller, not look at my laptop (remove the barrier between
me and the audience and / or my bandmates), and have maximum flexibility and spontaneity with the sounds I was manipulating.

I had about 5 weeks to work, and I wanted a finished product that I could perform with, so I followed up on simpler solutions and left the hardcore hacking and studying for another time. I was also planning a huge finale party with 23 music and projection artists performing in multiple rooms, so that was on my plate as well.

Here’s a description of the final controller system…
I use Ableton Live — the way I perform, I want to see the laptop screen so I can pick clips at random to suit my mood. I don’t want to memorize my set and I don’t want to stare at my laptop screen either, so the solution was creating an eyepiece that shows my laptop screen within it. To build this I got help from VJ DoctorMojo aka Mark Alan
Johnson of Mojo Video Tech, Inc.. We experimented with a number of hacks, repurposing components extracted from the viewfinders of old camcorders. These experiments yeilded a number of functional miniature low-voltage displays, however these units were all black-and-white and a color image was what I needed. Very long story short, the final solution was to buy a pair of Vuzix
personal video glasses (US$250), flip them upside down and attach ONE screen to a regular pair of glasses so that only one of my eyes is looking at the screen and the other eye is looking out into the world. What I see with both eyes open is my laptop screen floating in the air on top of what I normally see. It’s amazing how easy this is to use!

There was more to do to make this work:
1. I had to run the output of my computer to a scan converter ($100) about the size of a cigarette pack and then run a wire to the little box that manages the glasses, adapters and cables were required.

2. I had to power the glasses, so that meant making the power cable about 10 feet longer so it could be plugged in while I walked around.

3. The image in the glasses was upside-down, since the unit was mounted upside-down (to avoid my nose!), so I rotated it 180 degrees via my Mac OS preferences.

4. The cursor size was too small, so I enlarged it with the Mac’s “Universal Access” preferences.

5. The image of my laptop screen was pretty low resolution, so low that I couldnt read any of the clip names, I referred to the Universal Access preferences to determine key commands for zoom in and zoom out and then programmed
my mouse keys to do the shortcut keys for these functions. Zoom out and I can see levels and stuff; zoom in and I can read type. I also fooled around with the screen resolution so it would be as clear as possible.

Speaking of the mouse, I did more research on the mouse than anything else! I wanted to attach it to my controller, which I was planning on hanging over my shoulders like a keytar. It had to have basic mouse functions AND I wanted buttons that could be programmed to do a series of keystrokes with one touch. There were some pretty cool mice on websites for the handicapped, but they were either absurdly expensive or they didn’t have all the functionality I wanted. I ended up using the one I had on my desk, the Kensington Expert Pro Turbo Trackball. I’ve had several over the years and I love them. They don’t make them any more, so they are hard to get and costly. (US$150 – 300) Also, the trackball is not secured in the socket. I basically just duct-taped this to my controller backing, and secured the trackball (with help from Mojo) with a piece of silver solder and a rubber band so it could move freely but securely. The mouse comes with programming software and I programmed the buttons to do — whatever I wanted!

The controller backing is 3/4 foam board ($5). I need this thing to be light! It is solid and doesn’t flex at all. I attached a number of controllers to this backing, a Novation Launchpad (triggering clips, punching clips in and out), Korg nanoPAD 2 (fx, samples), Korg nanoKONTROL 2 (mixing, fx), and two Vmeters (fx). I also messed around with a Keith McMillen Softstep foot controller which I like a lot and am still incorporating into the set-up. All of these run into a “Plugable”[-brand] 10-input powered USB hub on the back of the unit. I had to add a 12-foot usb extension to reach my laptop, as well as extending the power brick cable. All these long cables were bound into a single cable sleeve running to the laptop and power strip.

In an effort to use the controllers without looking at them, I added textures to many of the keys so I could find them by touch (velcro, rubber, fur). I covered up the keys that I had no plan to use so I wouldn’t hit them by accident. I divided the Launchpad up into 4×4 quandrants with miniature wire and ductape ridges. I’m still adapting to this set-up.

After the whole thing was put together, I hung it from a strap I grabbed off a gear case I had in the room. It took some trial and error to determine where to place the ends of the straps on the controller so that it would hang properly and my hands reached all the controls comfortably. I spent some time with the prototype attaching and re-attaching items until everything was in the right place before cutting out the foam board into the final shape. At this time, everything is attached with checkered duct tape from Home Depot; soon I will upgrade this to velcro (but keep the checkers as
decoration!).

The VoltAxe was ready to test play at midnight the day before the huge event where I was going to perform! Thanks to
Moldover and Mojo, who were with me doing ongoing troubleshooting, configuring went quickly and I was able to rehearse for a few hours and pull it together just in time! At the show, everything went as planned and I couldn’t have been happier – it was
so much fun! I can’t wait to evolve this set-up! My next move is to make it mobile and take it to the subway station to do some busking.

More information:
DJ Shakey : Clocktower Artist-In-Residency [as written up by the video whiz behind the project, Mojo]

Radio interview, talking DJing, “controllerism,” producing, and complete with remixes and original music from Shakey:
DJ Culture: DJ Shakey, The Illustrated Interview

If you like the project and want to see it developed more, you can also vote for it on Artists Wanted

Here’s a track with the controller in action:
Minor schwing by FreebassBK

Thanks, Julie!

What is sound? What does it mean, and why does it matter? It’s never too fundamental, too basic a question to ask ourselves again when we make music. So, I’ll leave this trailer otherwise largely without comment, except to say, it’s well worth watching (or re-watching).

Touch the Sound, produced by German director Thomas Riedelsheimer in 2004, focuses on the work and world of nearly-deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie. See a trailer, below, and excerpt, above. Thanks to Morgan Hendry for the tip.

IMDB link

On this topic, and the inspiration for this link:
For a Deaf Artist, The Process of Sound Art, Transformed: Short Film

And I suspect there’s a reader out there who can tell us more about the experience of sound and music (and the technology thereof) for the hearing-impaired?

Updated: Watch the entire movie on Hulu, if you’re in the United States:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/200692/touch-the-sound

And there’s a TED talk, as well:

The possibilities of a microphone and the world are limitless, so as this week we looked at a recording of music made with playgrounds, a mic, and Ableton Live, readers responded in kind with a fantastic spectrum of sampling-inspired, real world-produced musical wonder. From comments, a few examples:

Diego Stocco, a favorite sound designer on this site, ventures in his latest installment into a dry cleaner. Clean, wrinkle-free clothes and great music – see, you don’t actually have to choose. See top.

“Vega” by CDM reader Cordovan Music (Gregory Reeves), is an eerily-lovely ambient score made from LA’s freeways – and perhaps an ominous, if beautiful, portent of a lot of us driving on said freeways for NAMM in January.

Vega by Cordovan Music

From the experimental and minimal ambient release “Photic”, “Vega” is made entirely from field recordings taken on Los Angeles freeways.
About the album:
Gregory Reeves is a Los Angeles-based electronic artist, composer, and musician. His work can be heard on A&E, History Channel, FUEL TV, Universal, EA Games and many more. His sound art and installation work includes pieces for the Gaffa Gallery, Sydney, as well as creating a soundscape for the huge geodesic dome at the Peats Ridge festival in Australia, New Years eve. Electronic releases under various aliases have received winning reviews in XLR8R, URB, JazzTimes, and Rolling Stone. Remixes include Bob Marley and the Wailers (“One Love” from “Roots Rock Remixed” on Tuff Gong/Quango), Sarah Vaughan, and others.
“Photic” is a collection of minimal, generative ambient works. “Vega” is made entirely from manipulated field recordings taken on Los Angeles freeways. “Dark Field” uses convolved urban sounds to create a brooding ambient soundscape (the piece was originally composed for the DUOscope multimedia installation in Sydney). “Anemone” was created using undersea video footage to generate musical events, while “Haiku in C” is based on classical Japanese Gagaku music. For fans of Brian Eno, Murcof, and Loscil

Reader Cillian John, in the more pedestrian-friendly city of Stockholm, looked instead to escalators.

On and on by cillianjohn

He writes:

The urban environment is full of inspiring noises. I particularly enjoy the mechanical rhythms you hear all round.
The rhythmic element of this track is a field recording of escalator I recorded while on a trip to Stockholm.

Audiovisual remix superstar Pogo, aka Perth, Australia-based Nick Bertke, is embarking on a mission to “remix the world” as has inspired the headline of this post. Check out the spectacular results, and perhaps even get involved (thanks, BenAlex):

http://www.pogomix.net/remixing-the-world/
Kickstarter on Tibet

(I’m awaiting further details, but I am personally angered by the apparent mistreatment of Bertke which recently resulted in a 10-year deportation from the United States of America – and even that only after seemingly-extreme prison time and detainment that required the intervention of the consulate of New Zealand; you can follow on his blog. I’ve been deeply frustrated by the apparent targeting of artists, whatever the requirements of the law, in the US and Canada. More on that soon; anyone with expertise or experience in these matters, I’d love to hear from you. I feel it’s worth bringing up, as I’m sure that someone would have done so in comments as this story has spread.)

I’m sure there are many, many other examples, but this seems to me a nice place to begin – and fertile ground for inspiration to make something yourself.

Roger Linn, he of the MPC and AdrenaLinn and Linnstrument, sends us his friendly walk-through video showing you how to get started actually using the upcoming Linn/Dave Smith Tempest analog drum machine. We’re awaiting details on when this unit is actually shipping; I’ll update this post once we hear.

What you get instead, though, is nearly twenty minutes of Roger walking you through every single function – this is as much a video manual as it is a “quick start.” It’s nice to see some clever workflow features in action, and you get some very in-depth looks at how the Tempest operates. This is documentation, not marketing, in a good way.

Incidentally, lest you think the Tempest is late — or, at least in terms of its last known shipping projection — Dave and Roger technically have until the Autumn Equinox, which in 2011 falls on September 23 inclusive, in order to ship in summer 2011. I’d go further to say that they have until the end of the date of the equinox Pacific time, which gives them a few additional hours beyond even the majority of their customer base. They’re currently listing the Tempest as due in “late summer 2011,” but unless they mean “late” as in early fall, they have until the 24th of September before they become seasonally incompatible.

I believe it’s briefly on the cusp of the Autumn Equinox on which MIDI clocks start running backwards, or vocoders talk without carrier signals, or something.

Happy Labor Day weekend, USA (and labor lovers everywhere). Happy Fifth of September, everyone. Only (??) shopping days until the Tempest ships.

http://www.rogerlinndesign.com/
http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/

Previously:
Tempest, Roger Linn + Dave Smith Analog Drum Machine, is Official [with specs]
The Father of Drum Machines and the Father of MIDI Talk About Design and the Tempest [CDM interview with the co-creators]

List price still US$1999.

Normally, you hear my voice in words on the screen, so here instead – courtesy the talented video crews at Toronto’s NXNE – is me communicating on camera, prior to a talk on tablets, music, and design.

The conversation is one I find myself having with a lot of people these days offline, away from the Web. It goes something like this: “sure, the iPad has been a big thing, and you can obviously do music with it, but what does that mean? Is it going to stay around? Does this change what we’re doing?”

For my talk, rather than examine a device like Apple’s iPad as an isolated phenomenon, I chose to look at the bigger picture, and consider what it can mean for design. Those design lessons could be applied anywhere. I’ll try to finally turn that presentation into an article next week, but as a teaser, here’s the video interview I did at NXNE. And perhaps that’ll start some conversation (or even disagreement) prior to the article. Discuss.

Side note: North by Northeast is a brilliant festival. It has the cross-media notions of South by Southwest, as well as the rich musical lineup, but it’s small enough that you can actually get around and see stuff. There’s a different content mix than you get in Texas, and Toronto doesn’t get overwhelmed by the festival in the way that Austin does. SXSW is great, too, but NXNE is like a more livable version.

Other side note: I think my head looks huge in this video. Part conehead / all egghead?

Full disclosure: I love waves. Analog, digital, acoustic, we’re talking vibrations in sound (and other substances, as well — and light). I don’t think you get into this area without having a certain wave addiction. If you love waves, you could easily get lost in exploring videos of vibrating guitar strings and pondering the physics of the string.

This story begins not with how guitar strings actually vibrate, but a curious phenomenon when combining the regular oscillation of the string with the rolling shutter of a CMOS digital camera — namely, the iPhone’s. To accurately capture motion, you need to record an image all at once (or at least come close). Rolling shutter or line scan as exhibited in a CMOS camera sensor like the iPhone is a side effect of the capture being scanned from top to bottom, so the bottom portion of the image is saved later than the top. That causes motion to skew across the image. (Long before digital, people played around with the same effect in analog video and even using film photography – all you need is something moving and a way of capturing the image that moves gradually in a different direction.)

When the regular oscillation of the scanning combines with the oscillation of what you’re filming – as with a vibrating guitar string, or the rotating propeller on an airplane — the two frequencies effectively phase, causing some curious distortion. In the case of the guitar, this means seeing the appearance of standing waves that, while they can occur in nature, don’t occur on any conventional guitar. (You can also think of the basic effect as aliasing, as seen optically when video shutters capture the frequency of rotation of a rotating car wheel in such a way that it appears to move backwards.)

As with many concepts in physics, it’s all easier to see than explain, so I’ll turn it over to some terrific videos. I’ve contrasted two at the top of the story; here are more examples.

Below, a high-speed camera operating at 600 and 1200 frames per second, played back 20x and 40x, respectively, slower than you’d see with your naked eye.

And here’s another example of how that might appear on a camera like the iPhone:

Of course, that means – fodder for our sister site Create Digital Motion – potential for more creative abuse, beyond the mere novelty.

What’s also amusing is the heated discussion this triggered as the iPhone video went viral. Read some angry comments – and some solid science among them — at Reddit:
Guitar string oscillations captured on video [reddit.com]

I’m glad people don’t behave (yet) in person the way they do on the Internet.

In person: “Excuse me; I think your fly is open.”

On the Internet: “That guy’s fly is open. He doesn’t even know his fly is open. That’s bullshit. I mean, what kind of person leaves their pants just *(&$#ing open like that? Look, look, look at his open fly. I’m never talking to him again. I’m not even going to wear pants from now on.”

(Seriously, happily, many of the comments are perfectly polite and well-informed!)

School’s out for just about everyone, but I’m going to remember to file this away for the next time I have to explain sound vibration. Now, back to the beach, or wherever you’re relaxing.

Thanks to Alexander Chen, from whom I lifted this via Google+. (See his own work on CDM here and here. Alex is just the kind of person I want to see this, as he’s been working with the aesthetics of vibrating strings! So, hurrah, Google+…

He’s built an open-source, retro-tinged 8-bit sampler, “Where’s the Party At?” (I’m been building the second generation now, so expect a review by early August.) He’s had electronic instrument designs on shelves at the retail chain Target and on the walls of the Whitney Art Museum in New York. He just completed a set of luxury chandeliers, when he wasn’t making waves in the circuit bending scene. Todd Bailey is the kind of Renaissance artist at the center of the new DIY scene. There was a time when engineers and artists were separate groups, and big laboratories worked how to get them together. Now, they’re the same person, a bundle of creative power.

If that makes you feel intimidated, don’t be: an overwhelming common theme as we gathered Todd and other DIYers last month at the Solid Sound Festival was that almost no one in the scene planned to wind up doing what they were doing. Instead, an appetite for new sounds and lots of trial and error led them to teach themselves, aided by wealths of information and communities in sharing.

Todd has done a terrific interview for Art:21, a real champion for new and experimental visual art in the US, in a scene that often lacks the kind of quality independent, non-commercial TV and Web reporting the outfit does. Adding to Todd’s badass aura is the fact that he’s picked up some “gnarly” (his description) injuries from a bike accident. (The US needs better bike infrastructure, too, but we’re working on it.)

We’ll have more thoughts from Todd and others this month as I share video from Solid Sound, but I’ll let Art:21 get the first word:
A Good Engineer [interview w/Todd Bailey] [Art:21 Blog]

And for the sampler, see Todd’s site:
http://narrat1ve.com/

Okay, I’m not sure the computers can break a sweat (at least not without some serious consequences). But all the people projection-mapping generatively sequencing live audiovisualism electronic thingamabops sure are working hard in the above teaser video for Amon Tobin’s live ‘ISAM’ show. Not a lot of cities get to see the results, but those that do are promised a fully-immersive experience of this sound design extravaganza, complete with new sensory happenings for your eyeballs.

It’s live. It’s audiovisual. It’s not, says Ninja Tune, “DJ-centric.” Amen, brother.

The dates:

1st June – MUTEK, Montreal
9th June – Astra, Berlin
10th June – AB, Brussels
15th June – Melkweg, Amsterdam
17th June – Roundhouse, London

The collaborators:
Blasthaus, San Francisco-based live collective
VSquared Labs, virtuoso visual lab in LA founded by Vello E Virkhaus
Vita Motus Design, another event design shop (not sure about their specific contribution here)
Leviathan and “others” are involved, too.

Another preview, below, features the arresting photography of Tessa Farma’s organic sculptures, though you’ll have to guess at how this work – featured in a touring gallery show – will be interwoven with the motion materials. But whatever’s happening, the ambitions here are compelling.

http://www.amontobinisam.com/

Previously: Listen to Amon Tobin’s Sound Design Magnum Opus ISAM; Commentary, Behind-the-Scenes Details

“Handmade music” has now been taken up by groups in cities around the world, without any central organization. It’s an open celebration of experimentation in music making and sound. Here, we get a look at the event series we’ve been running here in New York that helped spawn those others.

Part of what I like about playing live is that it is unpredictable. We get to get together and try things, play wildly divergent styles of music, and explore ideas for what to play, all with a friendly group of people. So, here – thanks to the lovely videography of our friend Thomas Piper, himself a terrific musician – we have footage of an all-MeeBlip performance, Michelle Temple & Aiwen Wang-Huddleston’s startling Diptych with paper and contact mics and speakers, and, below, Philippe LeSaux and Chris Gilroy with live electronics. (There were other, dancier, Game Boy-ier acts, too, though we don’t have video of those.)

It’s a variety show, so each night can be completely different. If you’re in NYC, mark your calendars for Saturday, April 2 at Culturefix. But wherever you are, we can find some ideas about how to imagine live electronic playing today.

And for a completely different take, at the bottom we have the latest video from Porto, Portugal’s own Handmade Music.

Photo Slideshows: Handmade Music NYC, Plus Open Lab

This installment, we also led an “open lab” at which people could bring in and hack any project they like. We got a MeeBlip assembled and tested, we had monome artists modifying patches (including none other than proto-monomist Daedelus), we had strange NES and Arduino creations … check that out, as well.

Handmade Music Porto, Portugal

Digitópia, at Porto, Portugal’s hulk of an arts space, Casa da Música, runs their own show-and-tell. What’s special about this performance venue is that, situated in the lobby of a set of theaters, it’s completely open to the public. (By contrast, walking into, say, the Disney Hall or Lincoln Center typically requires tickets.) And they’re doing terrific research and creation, too, as part of their series. I hope we get to check in with them soon.

“HALO: REACH” Game Audio Profile from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Our friends at Designing Sound have been rocking out on that site, with extraordinary original and linked content for sound designers, ranging from work on games, broadcast, and films to sonic exploration for the curious field recorder or producer. (Designing Sound is hosted by CDM and Noisepages – hence the new template, which will benefit from some corrections we’re making over the coming days.)

Now, they’ve launched a second site just to pull together video content.

If you love sound design of any kind, get ready to curl up on the couch with this one. I could say more, but instead I’ll simply give you a moose and some Halo above, and let every minute you have be spent watching sound design videos:
http://designingsound.tv