Permalink @ blip.tv. Thanks to Glitch P-udding of Worship The Glitch for the link.

Martians by Zia

“ZIA is an exclusively electronic band who began performing on the East Cost in 1992. Founded by Elaine Walker, ZIA bangs out pro-space and sci-fi music on futuristic instruments. The notes and samples are triggered ALL LIVE with drum sticks! Microtonal musical scales run rampant throughout the ZIA repertoire. In the pop genre this is a monumental task which adds an eerie, futuristic edge to the songs.” (source)

ZIA is by far my favorite pro-space electronic band. They just released their new album Martians. Ordered mine last week. If you’re curious as to what ZIA sounds like, check out their myspace.

flickr photo by Frank Lynch

flickr shot of me by me

Made it down to the Los Angeles area this weekend, where I attended this years CalArts Halloween Bash. Despite the party being a bit on the lame side, I did have a great time. Probably because I ran into an old friend, Johnny Chang, whom I hadn’t seen since graduating in 2002. We did a lot of catching up, and we’re already talking about collaborating on a new project.

I also got a chance to talk with CalArts Bob about the heightened state of security this year. Guards everywhere. Seems like the traditional loose nature of CalArts culture might finally be tightening up after all these years. These events used to be infamous for their outgoing hedonistic tone. So much so, that one year way back in the past, the town successfully stopped the Halloween party from happening. Well, a lot of good that did them. That spring, CalArts threw a new type of party, the Erotic Ball. CalArts now throws two parties a year.

US Patent 3,475,623:
Electronic High-pass and Low-pass Filters Employing the Base-to-Emitter Resistance of Bipolar Transistors

“I have been collecting copies of Moog patents, those invented by Robert Moog and as well as those assigned to Moog Music, Inc., and the synthesizer-related patents of Norlin Music, Inc., the company that purchased Moog Music. I present them here along with some hopefully entertaining commentary.”

- J. Donald Tillman

Visit Moog Patents at www.till.com.

flickr photo by erinwaters.

Halloween by Hans Mikelson:

hallown.orc
hallown.sco

You’ll need to download Csound to render these two text files into an audio file. And in case you are wondering what Csound is:

“Csound is an incredibly powerful and versatile software synthesis program. Drawing from a toolkit of over 450 signal processing modules, one can use Csound to model virtually any commercial synthesizer or multi-effects processor. Csound literally transforms a personal computer into a high-end digital audio workstation — an environment in which the worlds of sound-design, acoustic research, digital audio production and computer music composition all join together in the ultimate expressive instrument.” – Dr. Richard Boulanger (source)

In other words, a straight-up hard-core modular computer music language. Csound makes my top three list of favorite synthesizers of all time. For more info, visit Csounds.com.

Csound Instr

I’ve recently started the painstaking process of compiling all of my compositions into one cohesive online portfolio. Already, I’ve discovered I’ve lost some older works. Oops! The butterflies are nibbling at my stomach as I type. My hope is that some of the people I’ve collaborated with in the past have copies. There is always the possibility that one or two pieces exist in an archive at CalArts. But I’m going to have to face the reality that some of my works are forever lost…

The blunt of the project should take me about two weeks. After which, I will slowly add to the collection. I have a few papers and tutorials I’ve written I will eventually include, though the priority for now is the music. I want to note that I’m re-releasing most of these works under a Creative Commons license. I subscribe to the philosophy that putting too many restraints on art can kill the art. Creative Commons allows me to free my music so that it might someday find an audience, and hopefully inspire derivative works.

Thanks to Glitch of syntheticelation for the link.

My Recent Tracks

Last.fm is a service that records what you listen to, and then presents you with an array of interesting things based upon your tastes — artists you might like, users with similar taste, personalised radio streams, charts, and much more.

Are you a playlist exhibitionist? Then “show us your tracks!” Last.fm is a prime example of the social voyeurism we experience daily in the age of the internet.

Thanks to my friends at blip.tv for tuning me in.

“It works okay, I guess.”

I’ve recently taken a detour from the alien world of circuit-bending into the greater cosmos of electronics. And what better thing is there to do with my new found hobby than to build modules for my Doepfer Modular? If you answered “why nothing,” you deserve a cookie.

Inside the box

Above you’ll see the result of my entire Saturday, the Shinola Low-Pass. It is a simple, passive knob-controllable low-pass filter. Its constructed from an old GBA-SP box, two capacitors, wire, two 3.5mm jacks and a 50k potentiometer.

It works okay, I guess. I intentionally crowded the jacks and pot into the corner, giving me room to expand it’s functionality later. The cutoff only goes so low, which could have been fixed with higher capacitance capacitors. Still, not bad for a first try. Despite being mostly useless, I’m quite proud of it.

Tim Burton’s ‘The Nighmare Before Christmas’ re-cut with Marilyn Manson’s version of ‘This Is Halloween’ for the re-release of the film in Disney Digital 3-D and 2-Disc Special Edition Soundtrack.

This video is the cat’s meow. Link stolen from fark.

“How high can you get?”

Thumbuki was originally conceived as a video game blog. The name itself is derived from Thumb, the primary gaming appendage, and Kabuki, a form of traditional Japanese theater. With that in mind…

Nintendo is kicking some serious ass in Japan right now (they must be all out of bubblegum.) I had not fully realized this until a few days ago while reading the console charts at The-MagicBox.

If you compare Nintendo hardware sales (DS Lite, GBASP, GBM, GC, DS, GBA) to the other consoles in the top 10 (PS2, PSP, 360, Xbox), you’ll see that Nintendo has sold 2.5x more units this year, most of which can be attributed to the insanely popular DS. The fact that Nintendo holds 6 of those top 10 slots is in itself an indicator of their enormous success. And the year is far from over.

Both Nintendo and Sony are releasing their new consoles in about a month. Though it is unclear which system will be more popular in the long run, Nintendo will have the edge coming out of the gate. The initial availability of the PS3 is going to be extremely limited, giving the Wii a distinct short-term advantage.

This is an educational film from 1983 describing a little bit of the history and tools of electronic music. The best thing about it is that it is behind the times for 1983, and seems more like a 1970s film. Frequently featured is a Moog modular! Also featured is a Fairlight, but as an analog obsessive, I’m less interested in that.

This reminds me of the old Encyclopedia Britannica films we watched back in high school. Despite being quite vintage, the content of the film is still relevant today.

• Discovering Electronic Music Part II
• Discovering Electronic Music Part III

“We send probes into deep space to listen to alien worlds. But alien world’s aren’t always that far away.” – Reed Ghazala

I recently finished reading Circuit-Bending: Build Your Own Alien Instruments. This is probably the easiest, and quickest way to get you up to speed in the field of Circuit-Bending. Reed Ghazala, the internationally recognized “Father of Circuit-Bending,” provides a concise compendium of most issues that will arise during your alien spelunking adventures.

Is this book for you?

Depends. For myself, the book was absolutely worth it. My background is mostly digital. The text introduced me to very rudimentary skills required to build these instruments. Skills such as: soldering, quasi-electronics, drilling, painting, etc… If you can already do these things, even on a basic level, you might not get much from these chapters.

Where this book truly excels is Ghazala’s personal insight and experience. His writing is candid, humorous at times, and allows the reader to get a glimpse of how his thought process works. In many ways, this book is more than just a DIY guide. It is also about composing through the process of electronic experimentation.

In other words, good stuff.

Part of Get Bent.