CTRL_Voltage

Back from Japan

2009-11-07T00:17:00.000-08:00

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim-murphy/4066873827/)

I've been back in the US for about five days now. Japan was an amazing place, and I learned a ton and was inspired greatly by the folks at the ISMIR conference. Some of the research that I saw presented there will definitely prove to be a groundwork for my projects for years to come (especially in the field of generative music creation).

Also, I was lucky enough to see Carsten Nicolai and Ryoji Ikeda perform at LiquidRoom in Tokyo on Oct. 31st (thanks to my friend Jeff and his sister Olivia for showing us around Tokyo-- which is now my favorite place on earth). The combination of audio and visual elements created an experience that was much greater than the sum of its parts. I really love their aesthetic and can't wait to see them perform again. Opening for them was Ametsub -- I hadn't heard of him before seeing him, but I was really impressed by his music and visuals. Check him out.

Also, check out this visual patch by my friend Dimitri. Very impressive.

Japan photos

2009-10-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

I'm in Kobe, attending the 2009 Ismir Conference and have been logging my trip to Japan here. For more information about what we're presenting, check out my friends' (and coauthors') blog.

Japan is a beautiful country-- I'm lucky to get a chance to be here, and am deeply impressed by the culture, the people, and the landscapes and cityscapes (not to mention the public transit systems).

Quick updates

2009-10-22T01:12:00.000-07:00

It's been nice and busy for the last few weeks-- thankfully, that business comes in large part from cool DSP and music work. Next week, I'll be in Japan at the ISMIR conference helping to present a paper that I co-authored (about feature extraction of electronic dance music genres).

In other news, I've been doing a lot of work with DSP on the AVR microprocessor. It's great-- and very good practice in terms of writing clean code.

Finally, I've continued work on my generative Reaktor patches. They're more cluttered with control than ever, but I've gotta say: it's pretty good to be able to program a song's behavior and just have it generate music when you press play.

Until next time!

Reaktor Time

2009-10-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

I've been kind of obsessing over generative patches in Reaktor. Note that I'm all for minimalism in UI design if others will be using the interface. For my personal use, I tend to like to have a knob for ever parameter, hence the craziness. Anyway, here's a screen shot of my latest patch (probably around 50% done right now).

Renderings

2009-09-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of renderings of simple objects-- the purpose of these pics is to experiment with depth of field rendering techniques in Blender. For the top picture, I followed this tutorial. It's okay, but the technique is finicky and requires some fine tuning. The lower picture involved me wiring up a node called "defocus," feeding the z data from the picture into the node, setting the camera's depth of field in its object edit stack, and rendering.

As a side note, I've noticed a couple of strange render problems on the second image (such as abruptly-starting lines and whatnot), which is part of the reason why I'm putting this picture online. If you've got any tips about getting clean renders when using Bezier curves, reflections, and DoF, let me know!

Speakers and more

2009-09-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy summer. As a part-time job (which has become more than full-time in the past several weeks), I'm doing music tech for a big show that will be at REDCAT pretty soon. For the show, I had to do a bunch of work in Processing and some web design work. Also... I had to work with my friend Meason Wiley (who took the above photo) to build ten six-channel speaker arrays. Not really my cup of tea (I'm more of a "pump a lot of sound out of big speakers" kind of guy), but the project has been very educational: I had to learn how to solder surface mount components with 100% reliability (agh!), solder against a deadline (I soldered up each amplifier in the speakers-- there are two per speaker), and (thanks to Meason's help) learn how to take an Ikea bowl and transform it into a speaker array. I'll tell you what: installing ten copies of Reaktor onto computers used by Reaktor neophytes, troubleshooting a total of 60 channels of audio driven by boards soldered up by yours truly, and keeping a smile on my face for much of the time has been a strain. Hearing those 60 channels pump out ambient music, though, makes a fellow proud.

I've also been busy building a multi-touch table (using the design of my friends' BricK Table) out of 80/20 extruded aluminum. The table will be a lobby display at the show, and the video generated by the table/computer will be projected in the theater onto the floor via four chained projectors.

I haven't even touched on my friend's new online record label whose website I designed, or the funny reggae night that I had to do lights for (it puts bread on the table), or the charmingly-retro innards of an early-80's/late-70's-era Morley wah pedal that I fixed, or the Klee sequencer that I've been working on. Yep-- busy times.

Eurorack Update

2009-08-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in the previous post, I've gone ahead and been bit by the Eurorack bug. I'm very close to starting an FM-intensive, timing-heavy, digital/analog modular system probably using a lot of Doepfer gear (but also some TipTop Audio, PlanB, Harvestman, etc.).

I can't wait to use this as a generative rhythm / minimalistic glitch box. Yeah, I can do that more efficiently and far, far cheaper on a computer (using Reaktor, for example), but I really like the act of patching and physical knob adjustment. Plus, it's more fun to perform with a modular than to hide behind a laptop.

So yeah-- watch this space as I begin to acquire eurorack gear. I'll post photosets, reviews, audio demos, etc. (along with songs and musical clips of my creative output from this gear).

Generative hardware {edited}

2009-07-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

I've been really into making generative patches in Reaktor (and pd to a small extent) lately. Since deep down I am (and always will be) a hardware fan, I'm looking to create a small Eurorack system that serves as a generative rhythm engine, a complex gate generator, and a rhythmic noise machine. I've become much less interested in making a "classic" synthesizer in modular format (i.e. a patchable Minimoog or an Arp 2600 emulator), which was my main interest when getting into modulars a couple of years ago. Now, I'm more interested in strange routing possibilities, magic worked by boolean gates, and minimalist crackly noises with strange rhythms. Basically, I want to have a phsycially patchable Reaktor/Pd -- granted, it'll never be nearly as flexible as being able to instantly lay out 250 XOR gates to see what happens, but I like the act of physically patching the synth enough that I'm happy with the tradeoff.

The point of this whole post is that I've been using the modular planner (here) to lay out a system (click on the above image to enlarge it). I'm in the early planning stages, and it'll cost about twice what I could currently get if I sold off my Frac Rack system, but I'm really excited about it. Let me know what you think of the current layout.

[Edit-- I took some of the suggestions in the comments into account and created V2.0 of the modular. After looking at a lot of my favorite Reaktor patches, I noticed that I use banks of oscillators, often in FM situations, to create pseudorandom gates and whatnot. As a result, I added a Hertz Donut and a z3000 (I really like its frequency counter). I also added a second filter-- having one filter for all of those oscillators seemed a little strange. Let me know what you think! The new image is below, click to enlarge.]

TGIMBOEJ

2009-07-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

I just signed up for The Great Internet Migratory Box of Electronic Junk (TGIMBOEJ) - a traveling package of electronic components that moves from user to user via a wiki list.
It's a cool idea - I have a few pieces of junk that I can't use but others might, and I hope to find some weird parts or other to add to my collection (and maybe use in a noisemaker or LED light show or something). I'll post pictures here when/if the box makes it to me.

Bitwise

2009-07-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

In between various odd jobs and projects this summer, I've been experimenting with generative and procedural music-making. Using Reaktor, I've put together a suite of several random and near-random instruments-- most of them make use of AM or FM, and all of them rely on the behaviors of Boolean logic gates to gate or otherwise create "sequences."
I'm still in the instrument-building phase, but when I move to record these instruments, I'll probably not use any traditional DAW (other than to do a little mixing), and will let the gate sequencers do the work of song structuring. This will be a nicely different approach to my usual method of obsessively placing each drum hit and glitch sound (I don't usually use any software-based "IDM Creation" plugins, preferring to hand slice and granularize my stuff, laying out automation by hand in each track [automation by hand -- is that an oximoron?]).
Anyway, I'll update this blog with sound samples and maybe a Reaktor ensemble or two. Watch this space!

Extrusion

2009-06-26T00:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-22T00:56:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-10T14:10:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-04T02:36:00.001-07:00

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

Morton Subotnick at CalArts

2009-05-16T15:55:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-15T00:52:00.000-07:00

CalArts Modular Theater, May 2009.

Sample destruction

2009-05-13T01:07:00.000-07:00

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

MLGI

2009-04-26T12:18:00.001-07:00

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.

2009-04-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-06T02:01:00.001-07:00

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.

Song Alert!

2009-04-03T01:56:00.001-07:00

Turns out I had to crank a song out as a deadlined project (is "deadlined" a word?). Anyway, I figured I'd pop the track up online. Details: made pretty quickly (I'd forgotten about the project until about four days before it was due) using all samples, no synthesis. Made in Ableton Live, mixed pretty quickly. Not my usual style of music at all, but I had a lot of fun putting it together. I know-- it's kind of anemic, but if you're in that sort of mood it might be all right.

Here's a link to an mp3 of the track.

The Wizard

2009-03-25T23:56:00.000-07:00

I'm continuing to work on The Wizard-- it's a Reaktor sample playback engine and granularizer that I named after a horrible wizard t-shirt that I sometimes (jokingly) wear. Added is a picture by my friend Eric Mattison and a graincloud delay along with its own mini four-step sequencer. Starting to sound pretty okay- expect some samples in the coming days.

Reakting

2009-03-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

Finally taking some time to learn about event sequencing in Reaktor. I figured that it was pretty lame that I could do it in code-based languages but not in a graphical environment, so I sat down for a couple of hours and figured it out.

A thought: Reaktor is great for creating instruments that only you (or a few who you can directly instruct) will use. If I was intending to distribute the pictured instrument widely, I'd make it cleaner, easier to pick up and use, and less cluttered.

All the same, it sounds cool.

Mobius

2009-03-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

Future Retro Mobius sequencer with some Blacet modules visible. Click image for full size.

Graphics Bending

2009-03-02T23:02:00.000-08:00

I'm not normally into circuit bending in a big way. Just not really my thing (I've heard it done amazingly well, don't get me wrong-- I just like to build my circuits from the ground up, I suppose).

Today, though, I tried my hand at video circuit bending and I enjoyed it a lot more than the audio stuff I've done in the past. My friend had one of those little video game arcade joysticks that you plug into a TV and play. I popped it open and found that the video chip was hidden by a glob of black plastic. Not to be deterred, I scraped away some of the PCB's insulation and began crossing leads. For about a half hour (before the poor machine stopped working entirely), my friend and I got some lovely video glitchiness -- I was tricking the machine into sending video bit data into the wrong pins. I think I'll be doing more video circuit bending in the future-- it would be fun to actually VJ a live set using only bent gear.
Anyway, expect to see some more bent graphics stuff from me. It was fun and ridiculously easy.