Arcade Buttons and Gyroscope: New Midi Fighter 3D from DJ Tech Tools

Building on the original Midi Fighter, a 4×4 array of arcade push-buttons, the Midi Fighter 3D adds interactive, light-up color feedback and gyroscope-powered motion sensing. The work of electronic music site DJ Tech Tools, it’s an impressive-looking piece of work. But if you’re not interested in the “3D” sensing, don’t overlook the clever color feedback […]

New Vimeo is Here, and It's Brilliant; Creative Commons Visualist Community, Anyone?

You’ve likely already seen it, but now that we’ve had some days to adjust and it’s rolled out to everyone, it’s worth noting that the new Vimeo is simply awesome. (It’s available to all, though you do have to opt in, which I recommend.) I don’t want to get carried away with fanboyism, but to […]

New Vimeo is Here, and It’s Brilliant; Creative Commons Visualist Community, Anyone?

You’ve likely already seen it, but now that we’ve had some days to adjust and it’s rolled out to everyone, it’s worth noting that the new Vimeo is simply awesome. (It’s available to all, though you do have to opt in, which I recommend.) I don’t want to get carried away with fanboyism, but to […]

In a World of Sonic Toys, Sound Design Craft Comes Alive: Simon Pyke Short Film

As pundits lament the loss of the album or conventional musical roles, it might be easy to miss a barely-hidden revolution in the craft of sound. Pieced together from the simplest of found acoustic instruments and strange electrified sonic organisms, fashioned with the most sophisticated of digital tools and computer music production machines, artists open […]

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 – […]