Mash-Up Video Inside Ableton with a MIDI-Controlled Plug-in

Live-triggered video inside your music host is about to get a lot more popular. Daniel “Herb” Herbert writes to let us know that his Mabuse Software, an “experimental audiovisual software company,” has developed a new AV plug-in for mashing up video. It’s a VST plug-in based on the now-defunct Pluggo, with a Max for Live […]

Pirating a Fundraising Album for an Italian Quake – Really?

Ligabue, one of the contributing artists, live in Berlin. Photo (CC) Matthias Muehlbradt. Sure, many issues around intellectual property are gray. But contributor Jo Ardalan has a disturbing story: what happens when a fundraising album gets pirated? Did illegal file sharing users know what they were doing — is there a need for a donation […]

Inspiration: John Whitney’s 1972 Matrix III, Elegant Early Visuals

As visualists, the sad truth is we have a poorer sense of the history of our medium than musicians. Part of this is simply a lack of access. YouTube is a weak substitute, but it’s a start. In that spirit, Karl (Format K) sends us the minimal geometric machinations of pioneering electronic graphics artist and […]

Inspiration: John Whitney’s 1972 Matrix III, Elegant Early Visuals

As visualists, the sad truth is we have a poorer sense of the history of our medium than musicians. Part of this is simply a lack of access. YouTube is a weak substitute, but it’s a start. In that spirit, Karl (Format K) sends us the minimal geometric machinations of pioneering electronic graphics artist and […]

Gooooooal! A Soccer Ball Music Controller, and Tangible Interface Tips for Music

Free software, a webcam, and some stickers printed on an inkjet can turn any object into a real-world controller. That’s what Paul Rose of Institut Fatima and his team did with a soccer ball (translation for the civilized world: football). The software is powered by the same framework used for the reacTable, but in this […]

Free Tangible Tracking: reacTIVision 1.4 Here, TUIO2 Coming Soon

reacTIVision is able to work thanks to these alien-looking markers called “fluidicials.” Karsten Schmidt aka toxi has developed software for creating more of these markers, and it generates characters like this “teddy bear” seen here. Computer vision for tracking movement is cool. But add the ability to track actual objects, and you can extend the […]

Renoise 2.1, Now with Mac-PC ReWire, Plus JACK on Linux, Live Performance Tools

Renoise has already earned a passionate following among lovers of trackers. The once-forgotten alternative to conventional sequencers, these music editors were beloved for their quick workflow and vertical, atomic approach to assembling beats and patterns. But Renoise is increasingly poised to appeal to other kinds of music makers, too, not just tracker purists. 2.1 you […]

Corrected Tangible Interface Hackday RSVP Links

If you’re interested in getting involved in our tangible interface hackday but had trouble filling out the form, here are the corrected links. Somehow I copied the wrong form keys yesterday. RSVP in New York: New Work City Hackday / Party RSVP anywhere you’re working in the world (no commitment, just so we can keep […]

Corrected Tangible Interface Hackday RSVP Links

If you’re interested in getting involved in our tangible interface hackday but had trouble filling out the form, here are the corrected links. Somehow I copied the wrong form keys yesterday. RSVP in New York: New Work City Hackday / Party RSVP anywhere you’re working in the world (no commitment, just so we can keep […]

Music Video Inspiration: The Dead Pirates – Wood, by McBess and Simon

There’s no supporting lesson to go with this clip, just an extremely good animated music video. Enjoy! (Warning: Stylized cartoon boobies.) WOOD from mc bess on Vimeo. Thanks Karl.