Mouse on Mars Release “Parastrophics” LP; Tech Talk Video in Studio, Listening

Inside their Funkhaus studio, records ready for release. Photo: CDM. In one of the records we’ve been most anticipating this year, Mouse on Mars today release Parastrophics, a densely-layered Magnum Opus of a full-length album. If you want to audition the release before buying, there are two places where you can do so: [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/1439433″ […]

Projection Mapping Meets Turntablism: Serato DJing and Live Visual Feedback

Rooted in pre-digital tradition, the turntables and mixer here get a different kind of digital upgrade: sound-responsive visuals transform the decks. Built by Austin, Texas-based student Mark Morris, artist E.N.S., and collaborators, this work in progress demonstrates what happens if you point the projector directly at the DJ’s rig. Cleverly, they map the platters themselves […]

Useful Music Tools, Built with Max 6, Released on the Mac App Store: Downloads, Developer Info

Make it with Max, sell it here. Photo: CDM. (and yes, this is now the desktop, not the mobile, App Store!) If you’re a Mac user, we’ve got some cheap and free tools for you. And if you’re a Max patcher, you may be surprised with how they were built: they were all exported from […]

Ambient Listening: Cory Allen + Marcus Fischer (USA) Track Congruities in Two Gorgeous Tracks

In two ambient works, musicians Cory Allen (Austin, Texas) and Marcus Fischer (Portland, Oregon) chart connected sound worlds mined from shared samples, in a sweeping opus of a musical environent. Released yesterday on February 22, coinciding with birthdays of the artist and Chopin, it generously has the you’ve-just-got-to-buy-this price of US$2.22, well worth adding to […]

A Virtual Tiger Stalks Paris, Projection Mapping from a Car; Similar Earlier Work

Here’s guerrilla projection taken to a whole new level: hitting the pavement, doing it from a moving object. Hit the road, jack. The result: a digital tiger that appears to “run” across the surfaces of Parisian buildings. A reader tells us: We have seen a tiger on Vimeo projected and prowling around the streets of […]

FIBER Festival, Amsterdam, a Trailer of the Moment, and Visual Networking

Producing slick trailers for electronic and audiovisual events has become all the rage lately, it seems. This one from FIBER Festival is especially lovely, in that it sets the darkly moody ambience of the festival, and fuses sound design and motion elements nicely. Motion by Dennie van Dijk – dennievandijk.com Sound by Tijs Ham – […]

Max for Live Gems: Easier MIDI Mapping, Automation Recording, and Alternative Sequencing

As Max for Live has matured, this tool for extending the functionality of Ableton Live has played host to a growing wave of brilliant custom tools – enough so that it can be hard to keep track. This month saw a few that deserve special mention. In particular, two tools help make MIDI mapping and […]

FRACT, 3D Adventure Game Played with Synths and Sequencers: Myst Meets Music Making

FRACT is a curious combination of music studio and puzzle game, merging elements of games like Myst with the sorts of synths and pattern editors you’d expect somewhere like Ableton Live. You have to make sounds and melodies to solve puzzles; by the end of the game, say the creators, you’re even producing original music. […]

A Kinetic, Experimental Typeface Made by Running Around Cities with GPS

Gallery opening in Berlin, top (photo: Ken Buslay); Klasien among participants from some 13 cities who contributed to the font (photo: Create Digital Motion). With an image in mind of a piece of metal or wood, there’s nothing quite more static in our Imagine typefaces, and your mind probably conjures an image of a piece […]

Slap That Desk: Turn Any Surface into an Instrument, with a Plug-and-Play Accessory

You know the type. The drummer who, even robbed of drum sticks, is tapping on the walls, the car door, the desk… and maybe you are that person. When rhythms and musical gestures are bouncing around your head, the whole world just feels like something you want to play. It seems as natural as breathing. […]