Do Androids Dream of Electric Synths? Imagining an instrument from a clean sheet of paper is an essential part of the design process. It can remind us of the extent of possibilities – and, sometimes, why compromise is necessary. The German site Amazona.de this week unveiled mock-ups of an instrument conceived by their community. The […]

CPU (Central Processing Unit) – 2min edit vs2 from 1n0ut on Vimeo. The use of illusion to create onstage ghosts (Pepper’s Ghost) dates back to the 19th Century; optical effects and dramatic trickery far further. So, naturally, new digital techniques are sure to provide ammunition for creative theatrical staging, as in this work, “CPU.” In […]

TRON: Legacy Projection Mapping trailer – Southbank London from Guided Collective on Vimeo. The original Tron film, combining optical effects, hand-painted techniques, and elemental computer graphics, had a big impact on my visual imagination as a young person, as I’m sure it did many. The glowing inner world of that movie has surely had an […]

Dead-simple, focused on one task, the Wicks Looper reminds us why we liked looping. And I love the handmade gift case he made to go with it – an idea worth duplicating with other gear. All images courtesy Brian McNamara. For all that latest plug-in may perform every kind of synthesis ever, much of electronic […]

In Robert Seidel‘s “motion painting” Meander, digital video is fragmented into atomic textures, as sound and visuals alike crackle through streams and clouds. Don’t mention the word “glitch” or “datamosh”: it’s really more like digital action painting. Working with the visual development environment TouchDesigner, Robert collaborates with sonic artist Heiko Tippelt, as seen here in […]

Photo (CC-BY) Valerie Renee. Musicians get loads of gift guides. Still photographers, too. Visualists – people who care about live visuals, fun synesthetic toys, experimentation for your eyes, and visual innovation – not so much. Let’s change that. Whether it’s a book about Nam June Paik, a set of lenses, a novel live controller, we […]

Therenect – Kinect Theremin from Martin Kaltenbrunner on Vimeo. Who says technology has to move fast and die young? Leon Theremin may have been a full century ahead of his time, before computers, before transistors, before jet engines or atomic power or rockets. ReacTable creator Martin Kaltenbrunner has a virtual Theremin prototype built with Microsoft’s […]

Well, it’s official – the fact that you can beatbox with Google Translate has gone completely viral. I’ve even heard it crossing over into mainstream media (like the BBC mainstream). This also says to me that the Web could be fertile ground for creating musical toys that distract people from work. (Hmmm… okay, that may […]

Photo (CC-BY-ND) Atomic Sprinkles. A man named Don Waugh, friend of a CDM reader, is facing some serious challenges. He’s just lost his wife, and faces severe, possibly life-threatening health problems. There’s a campaign underway to get him a liver transplant. But Don doesn’t only want to fight for his health: he wants to make […]

Photo (CC-BY) magma666 / Scott. What’s truly wish-worthy? Is it a manuscript paper notebook? An iPhone app? A glitched-out hardware effect? A DAW? A sample library? A CD or book? Before we put together some of our own suggestions for this year’s gift guide, we want to hear from you. You can add to your […]