Extrusion

Here's a final test image (conveniently 1280x1024 wallpaper-sized) that I made of the 3D object in this post. As I write this, I'm rendering (in HD-sized resolution) the first stage of what will become a video to accompany a finished (but unnamed) track that I recently wrapped up.

3D

Here's a work-in-progress shot of a 3D animation I'm working on. It's a goal to (at some point) integrate these visuals with my songs. If that happens, one thing is for sure: it'll take a long time to render.

And here's a video of the above clip, rendered with transparency and a lighting rig to illuminate the object from all angles. Rendered with raytracing. I experimented with some luminosity from inside the extruded sphere, but ultimately didn't like the look. The look has a lot of potential: expect to see more of it in the future.

Trimpin at the Ojai Music Festival

This last week, I was lucky enough to intern with Trimpin during the installation of some of his works at the Ojai Music Festival. It was a great experience - Trimpin was as gracious and generous as ever, the festival organizers were amazingly helpful, and the general atmosphere was energetic and inspiring. Below you'll find some pictures of some of the pieces that we installed at Libbey Park in Ojai.

Klompen - a series of hanging clogs, each of which has a MIDI-controlled solenoid. It's a strange, ethereal piece with that produces lovely organic sounds.

Next to the stage at Ojai's Libbey Bowl, I assisted Trimpin in installing various modified found objects onto a tree (dubbed the "Percussion Tree"). Here are two Sonic Smash ball game paddles equipped with solenoids, awaiting MIDI messages.

Above is an array of two cymbals - the upper glass cymbal was a piece of hand-blown glass leftover from one of Trimpin's projects where he worked with glassblowers to create spheres of glass. The glass is cobalt-dyed and is struck with a solenoid assembly nestled in the bell at the top of the cymbal. The MIDI messages to these two cymbals are such that each message alternates between striking the glass one and the metal one.

Here is an image detailing the striker on the glass cymbal. The cymbal was constructed of heavy blown glass, and has a beautiful organic, free-form appearance. The cobalt coloring contrasts nicely with the metallic perfection of the commercial cymbals used in the Percussion Tree installation.

After hanging various percussive objects from the tree, Trimpin decided to use a solenoid assembly to strike one of the tree's metal supports. He attached it to the support with cable wraps and sent it MIDI messages that result in deeply resonant metallic sounds. The above picture shows the assembly of the striker: wooden dowels driven by solenoids, metal strikers on the ends of the dowels (giving a sharp percussive sound), and a framework of 80 20 extruded aluminum.

In addition to helping set up the Percussion Tree, I assisted Trimpin in installing "Sheng High," a kinetic sound installation that works by lowering bamboo tubes into water. As the volume of air in each tube changes, the air is forced through pitched reeds. The raising and lowering of the tubes is governed by MIDI data (which in this case was provided by an optical motor driven sequencer - in effect a large infrared MIDI piano roll). Above are the motor assemblies after un-crating and awaiting installation.

Each of the eight pulley groups (resulting in a total of 24 pulley mechanisms) rests on a 10-foot-tall tripod. In the photo above, you can see the pulleys - to each pulley, we attached a bamboo tube. The tube is then lowered and raised within a container of water. The whole installation is very clean and elegant, providing viewers with strange ambient sounds surrounding them from all sides.

The last image is of Trimpin installing Sheng High at Libbey Park in Ojai. I am indebted to him for letting me assist him and pester him with countless questions.

Timeline

From 'waterglitch' (working title, by the way)

Morton Subotnick at CalArts

Morton Subotnick receiving honorary PhD, originally uploaded by Dead Waiter.

Here's a photo by my friend Meason--

At the CalArts graduation last night, Morton Subotnick received a doctorate from the music school. This makes him the first recipient of the school's new doctorate of musical arts.

I was lucky enough to take a two-week workshop with him during this last January. It was amazing to be in the presence of one of the fathers of the Buchla synthesizer, creator of "Silver Apples of the Moon" (one of my favorite early synth albums), and one of the founding members of CalArts.

[5-26 -- looks like this photo is temporarily down-- I'll try to locate it and repost it here]

Jimini Modular + Blacet Modular

CalArts Modular Theater, May 2009.

Sample destruction

Sample manipulation, gate sequencing, sample position randomization. Custom built for an upcoming track!

MLGI

MLGI, originally uploaded by Dead Waiter.

My friend Meason just put up some photos of the interface he's been working on -- It's a proximity-sensitive controller that detects the light levels on the user's hands (the light is generated by lasers) via photoresistors. The resistance is fed into the analog input of a CUI board (a PIC-based USB-compatible controller) and is output as MIDI data. He's using it to control Reaktor, ChucK, and other parameters in other programs. It's open source and very open ended, extremely expressive, and is tons of fun to use. Check out http://laserinterface.wordpress.com/ for more info.

Bullet points.

It's been a while - but in the interim there have been lots of blog-worthy posts. Once I gather my senses, take some cool pictures of the new stuff, and upload some audio, you'll get to see and hear everything I've been up to. In the meantime, I'll post a bullet point list of some cool things.

• Along with Sahy Uhns (my friend Charlie), I've designed, built, and performed with a completely DIY modular synth, using new or modified circuits entirely. It patches right into my Blacet Research system. Four square/tri oscillators, a ring modulator, and a filter at this point. The whole package is very small, and lots of parameters are controllable via control voltage.
• I've posted a few times about the Arduinome that I'm building. I've gone ahead and ordered an enclosure from Machine Collective. It's en route from Europe. Looking forward to integrating it into my live set for both audio and live visuals.
• I've had the chance to use and perform with a Korg Nanopad-- it's very very plastic-y. Still, it's really nice having a $60 controller that includes a pretty decent programming utility (for OS X) - I don't have to worry about having beer spilled on it or whatever.

So yeah-- I want to get some video, pictures, and audio of some of the above points. I'll be sure to post them here when I do!

Analog Electronics

We're earing completion of the analog synth that I've posted about in the past. It'll be probably around 90 percent modular, with 555-based oscillators (better for microtonal stuff than 1v/octave -- designing well-tracking oscillators requires more experience than I have right now), an LM13700-based low pass VCF, an LM13700-based VCA, and a nice little passive ring modulator. There are four oscillators, both of which can be FMed against each other and then ring modulated, creating crazy organic noises.

The picture shows me testing out a part of a VCO by feeding it CV data from my Future Retro Mobius. It sounded beefy, amazing, and very very analog in the best sense of the word. I'll be performing with the beta version (along with Sahy Uhns) this Thursday. Can't wait.