Artists we Love: Deru, in the Studio, Videos

Deru – Peanut Butter & Patience from Mush Records on Vimeo. 2010 is looking to be a terrific year for handmade computer music from Los Angeles. For one example of why, look to Deru, the composer and live electronic musician. His work continually grows more lush and more organic, drawing from musical strains as diverse […]

Apps of 2009: With 1.1, Maschine Realizes its Potential as the Soft Drum Machine

Maschine’s lovely hardware controller makes the software drum machine more usable – but the software still behaves like software, and now integrates more fully with your setup in hosts like Live. Photo (CC) Joakim Bergman. Drum machines may have no soul, but thanks to an update, Native’s soft drum machine has a lot more meat. […]

Inspiration: Gentle, Liquid Fireworks; Esteban Diácono for Ólafur Arnalds

Ólafur Arnalds – Ljósið (Official Music Video) from Erased Tapes on Vimeo. Esteban Diácono has produced a delicate, fluid animation in a music video for Ólafur Arnalds’ track Ljósið, on the album “Found Sounds” (Erased Tapes Records; available on vinyl/download).You can also buy the video on iTunes (direct link). The results are mesmerizing, without so […]

Modul8 2.6 Available with DMX, Responsive Audio Set to Music by David Last

Modul8 2.6 feature: Sound Analysis from modul8 on Vimeo. As visualism evolves, part of making tools smarter is making them more musical. So what better way to show off the new 2.6 update to Modul8 than to show visuals popping away to butt-bopping beats by David Last. (I’m entirely addicted to David Last‘s grooves – […]

Digi Didgeridoo: Augmented Wireless Digital Instrument with Aboriginal Roots

The Didgeridoo is one of the human race’s great triumphs in instrument design, simple but capable of producing profound sound – thanks, indigenous Australians. Kyle Evans sends us his project to extend the instrument with powerful digitally-augmented sound-making capabilities. The ingredients: Bluetooth wireless data transmission, connecting to a wireless mic Additional controls, including pots, push […]

Augmented Projection: "Magic Projection" Creates Elegant Moving Screens

Where better in the world to introduce elegant moving screens than a country that made narrative on flat surfaces come alive, from painted screens to manga? Magician, visualist, and technologist Marco Tempest sends this brilliant video documentation of the work he’s been doing with what he calls “Magic Projection.” The technique is simple – and […]

Augmented Projection: “Magic Projection” Creates Elegant Moving Screens

Where better in the world to introduce elegant moving screens than a country that made narrative on flat surfaces come alive, from painted screens to manga? Magician, visualist, and technologist Marco Tempest sends this brilliant video documentation of the work he’s been doing with what he calls “Magic Projection.” The technique is simple – and […]

As the Turntable Turns: Digital Vinyl Survives, Real Technics 1200 Dies (Or Not)

Rick Harrison. The legal wrangling over patents and who owns digital vinyl technology continues. The latest development: the court has dismissed N2IT’s claim against M-Audio, as covered by djtechtools. Before you strike this as a victory in the M-Audio column, it’s possible the parties settled out of court. Based on my limited legal background, I […]

Push the Button: One-Button Game Design Challenge with Kokoromi's Gamma4

Photo: Steven Depolo. Game design may be trending toward neural inputs and cameras that sense your body in three dimensions and intelligent agents that respond to your every gesture and word. But interaction design – whether in gaming or music and visual performance – is often about doing more with less. Kokoromi have the ultimate […]

Push the Button: One-Button Game Design Challenge with Kokoromi’s Gamma4

Photo: Steven Depolo. Game design may be trending toward neural inputs and cameras that sense your body in three dimensions and intelligent agents that respond to your every gesture and word. But interaction design – whether in gaming or music and visual performance – is often about doing more with less. Kokoromi have the ultimate […]