Skateboard + Lit Sparklers + Computer Vision = Flaming Light Drawing

Sparkles from BlipBlip on Vimeo. In glorious black and white, we have a new digital drawing project from Dominique of blipblip industries. And – well, fireworks just make anything better. The brief: Sparkle is an interactive drawing project involving professional skater Danny Wainwright We used a wiimote to track the positions of sparkles attached to […]

Music from Patch Cords, in the Studio with Jimmy Edgar and KOMA Elektronik [Create Analog Music]

Modular music may be associated with densely-layered, sometimes-indecipherable ambiences, but Jimmy Edgar weaves funk and synthesized electro-dance into songs fed by his Detroit roots. (Jimmy’s now on Hotflush, formerly Warp Records, !K7, Poker Flat) In a studio tour with boutique analog maker KOMA Elektronik, he shows off their FT-201 sequenced filter and gestural control on […]

AirBeam: Wireless Camera Streams from an iPhone, iPad to Mac, Syphon

If you’ve ever dreamed of using cameras live, wirelessly, this app’s for you. AirBeam works with any camera-enabled iOS gadget, and streams audiovisual signals wirelessly. Where things get cool: the developers have added Syphon support, meaning you can use your iPhone or other thing as a wireless video source in apps like Modul8, Jitter, Processing, […]

Music and Visuals, in More Flexible Combinations, with Max for Live and a Giant Monster's Mouth

Producing dazzling, elaborate visuals doesn’t have to mean ensnaring live music in pre-defined tracks. In the latest episode of this ongoing series, we look on Create Digital Music at a new show for the act ‘Feed Me’ – the kind of story I love, crossing the Music and Motion boundaries. Here’s a key excerpt on […]

Music and Visuals, in More Flexible Combinations, with Max for Live and a Giant Monster’s Mouth

Producing dazzling, elaborate visuals doesn’t have to mean ensnaring live music in pre-defined tracks. In the latest episode of this ongoing series, we look on Create Digital Music at a new show for the act ‘Feed Me’ – the kind of story I love, crossing the Music and Motion boundaries. Here’s a key excerpt on […]

Novation MiniNova: Little Keyboard, Vocal Effects, $500 – From a Synth Design Great [First Look]

Being popular as a person may be a complex formula. But for keyboard synths, “a fun, cute, cheap date” just about covers it. And — sorry, any snobs out there, but no complaints about that. So it is that Novation has a 37-keyboard that combines lots of sound and effects from the company’s UltraNova into […]

Maschine, in Color: First CDM Hands-On With New Maschine Hardware, Software [Gallery]

Looks smart. There are smart features coming in version 1.8, too – and you get Massive for free. Photos by Arvid Jense for CDM. In living color: the popular drum machine – combining integrated hardware and software – is more colorful, but also more usable, via updates to the screen and pads alike. We’ve gotten […]

Leaked: New Maschine with RGB Pads, Custom Overlay Colors, New Software Features [Hands-on Coming]

RGB pads, custom hardware colors, and time stretching. Photo: Arvid Jense for CDM. Updated: Maschine is now more colorful (via new hardware), has new accessories including a handy stand, and updated, more usable software. CDM has an exclusive hands-on with the new hardware with impressions, updates on what’s changed in the hardware and software, and […]

Playing Live From a Giant, Toothy Monster Mouth: Behind the Scenes with Feed Me

Spectacular spaceship showmanship, or actually synchronizing live electronic dance music performances? For Feed Me, aka Englishman Jon Gooch, the show had to be both. Software developer Mattijs Kneppers harnessed Ableton Live, Max/MSP, and Max for Live to make it all work. You may have seen the video; Mattijs gives CDM a unique look even further […]

Beyonce at the UN: Behind the Scenes of Epic Projection in the General Assembly Hall [Gallery]

The new world of projection is big – really big. Planet big. It’s not a dinky projector pointing at a ragged, wrinkled piece of cloth. It’s something that can stand up to one of the world’s great divas. When you’ve got BeyoncĂ©, and you’ve got the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations in New […]