We’re going to have our monthly jam/experimentation session at Villa Montalvo this Wednesday (i.e. tomorrow), from 7:30 to 10:00pm. Details/directions can be found here:

http://montalvoarts.org/events/sharesj_oct08/

We’re going to be in the Carriage House Theatre.

MIDI (wired and wireless) and OSC (wired and wireless) will be distributed in various experimental ways. We’ll have a number of people doing video as well as audio. Much fun will be had. Come join us. Observers are as welcome as participants. Bring cables if you bring equipment.

…Tim…

Technorati Tags: sharesj

Along with Derek getting a mac, more good news is that I got pure data working, so … this movie cracks me up. Thanks D!

Technorati Tags: PD, pure data, puredata

No glockenspiel, but… that’s them alright.

Technorati Tags: oingoboingo

Download audio file (derekscott_at_blissfactory_DEFSF_2008.mp3)

Derek Scott, aka The Rhythmist [Dobox], has probably the best ear for song selection I’ve ever heard. His taste in music is astoundingly interesting to me. Maybe it’s the benefit I’ve had of having innumerable conversations with him about music and what makes a song great, but every time I hear a DJ set from him, I feel like I’m listening to something special. He’s a walking encyclopedia of knowledge for electronic music… from its long history, to todays production methods and new ways of promotion. I think this gives him a unique combination of skills and sense of aural aesthetics that are not like anyone else. If you’re into minimal techno, you’ll probably enjoy this set. To say it’s minimal isn’t quite right, because minimal tech usually isn’t this funky and full of soul. It’s not “house” per se, because there’s an unmistakable *tech* streak all the way through. So, yeah… it’s hard to pin down exactly what kind of music this is. Ok, like this:

This DJ set was recorded on April 25th, 2008 from DEFSF’s Radio Integrated show out of Bliss Factory in Alameda, California. Runtime is approximately 01:50:00. Many apologies for my relatively weak DSL bandwidth and the subsequent skips in the audio stream you’ll hear. If and when we can get our hands on the original audio feed file from DEFSF, we’ll point you to it.

You may catch a few tracks you know in this amazing set, but you’re going to be exposed to some tracks you won’t hear anyone else play, and I think you’ll want to hear more. Definitely head on over to the netlabel he founded named Dobox Recordings.

The weather around here is warming up, and so will your speakers after you play this new release. French Techno maestro Jemset presents us with his ‘Untitled EP’. But these beats are so good, the release really doesn’t even need a name. ‘Invitation’ is appropriately the first track, and gets things pumped up with its pulsing groove. Then it’s time to have a seat (or not) for the ‘Galactic Dinner’. Thick and meaty, this tasty track will definitely feed your head and your feet. Jemset definitely brings his own style to the Techno table, and we’re sure you will all agree that it’s a style worth listening to. Enjoy!

Download audio file (dbdf039-jemset-invitation.mp3)

Invitation
Download audio file (dbdf039-jemset-galactic_dinner.mp3)

Galactic Dinner

Complete release in a .zip

http://doboxrecordings.com

Today MBM released “Autoimmune”…

Along with definite nods to the mode firmly established on their 90’s era Satryicon album, the solid lineage of progress shows throughout the album. Dubstep / Grime in places, hiphop backup band in others… This album is much heavier than “At the Center”, but it still feels connected to it. You can definitely feel the fantastic attention to detail on everything from the heaaaavy drums and bass to the vocal treatments and etherial melodies floating around.

production quality is amazing. Basssssssssss… beat-driven with modest inclusion of procedural glitch. That’s my sweet spot. I like glitch, but I don’t love glitch-based music. I like beat-based music with some glitchy elements…
ok, I’ll live with one completely abstract track on this album.
Ha, I like the album artwork. Structured, but randomized and grimy at the same time. Yep! That sounds about right.

final verdict: AWESOME!!

iTunes:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=276970538&s=143441
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016OAQH6/ref=yml_dp

Bleep (this is actually a slightly different set of tracks.. so I’ll have to save my pennies and pick it up someday soon):
http://www.bleep.com/player/?/ZIQ202CD/134405/maxiplus/D3F9D3/575757/00D126

Technorati Tags: MBM, meat beat manifesto

Technorati Tags: arduino

Using the DIY kick pedal that I’ve been working on…

I was able to capture and graph the data that the sensor is outputting. Here are a few screenshots of the highlights:

This first screenshot shows a good peak, right at the beginning of the strike. Then the ringing begins. If, for instance, I had the threshold set to 500, this would trigger not just one, but *three* midi notes. Ok, but what if I had set the threshold to closer to 750? a big problem with that is that I’m losing a lot of the dynamic quality of the kick pedal. I’d have to hammer on it just to register above the minimum value, and then there’s no way to play it quietly. Every kick would end up being 750 or higher.

But wait, there’s more! Here’s another reading:

Wow, so even if I had set the threshold to 750, I’d *STILL* get three notes off this one kick pedal strike! And then just to mix it up even more:

Here is yet another pattern of the data. a short hop at the beginning well under a reasonable threshold of 250, and then a reading over 500, and then an even higher reading on the “second wave”…

So, the question still remains… how to get a clean sensor reading? Here’s my current idea:

Charting it out helps. Now I just need to try to write the code so it follows this to test it out. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Technorati Tags: ardrumo, arduino, DIY, drum, e-drum, mschaff, tigoe, todbot, trigger