Art + Music + Technology

Brenna Murphy is about as mediated of an artist as you will find. She combines video and animation with the development of physical objects (through a variety of means), but will also include analog synthesizers in her installations and as soundtracks for her films. Hand-made synthesizers. If you don't know Brenna's work, you need to check it out at http://www.bmruernpnhay.com/ (the site is a mashup of her first and last names...), where you will find a ton of different kinds of work. I especially loved the videos, since their soundtracks often sounded like they were taken straight from the vaults of late 50's sci-fi flicks. But as you dive in deeper, you find an incredible depth in Brenna's work, including the use of 3D printers, fabric printers and other fab systems to create sculptural work from her designs, and collaborations with her partner Birch Cooper (see http://mshr.info/) to create the synthesizers that sonify much of her work. In our chat, we talk about the development of an artist in Portland - a

I ran across Fabrizio's work in a rather typical way - I was trolling through maxforlive.com, searching for something that would interest me (and would make for a good article for the Cycling '74 newsletter...), and I ran across some work by a developer that tagged everything with "J74". That was enough to get my attention on that evening, and I started looking into his work. There were several interesting devices, several of which were related to "guided generative" sequencing, an area that always kind of intrigues me. So I started playing with some of the devices, and got drawn into one of them: J74 Progressive, which is a chordal (harmonic) content generator that can be as simple or as complex as you like - and it draws you in by helping make interesting and fun chord changes. I had to learn more, so I reached out to the developer - Fabrizio Poce - and started a conversation. Next thing you know, we were doing a podcast interview! This is a great one, because Fabrizio is more than happy to share his perspe

In a quiet and self-assured way, Tarik Barri has been turning heads. His visuals for Monolake established him as a serious visual artist, while recent work with Laurel Halo and Thom Yorke are putting him at the forefront of live visual performance and programming. But when you talk to him, you'd never know - he's one of those people that is somewhat self-effacing, and both open and honest about how he feels and how he reacts to his process. With a backstory that included some solitude in Saudi Arabia, several swipes at academia and a long-form software development process, it's probably not surprising to see Tarik have a unique and idiosyncratic (visual) voice. But he is also one of the most insightful people I've talked to when it comes to self-realization, and he was amazingly free with his opinions on how he creates his work, interacts with other artists and balances tech with art. Catch up on Tarik's work by checking out his website, or check out some of the live video captures with him playing with Monol

Joshua Eustis is one of the busiest and most focused people you'll run across. From his many recording/performance entities and collaborations (Telefon Tel Aviv, Second Woman, Sons of Magdalene) or his work with mainline acts (Puscifer, Nine Inch Nails), Josh's influence is woven throughout electronic music. And you know what? Good for us! If you aren't familiar with Telefon Tel Aviv's music, take a listen - it's among my favorite music at the moment. Doing a little research will help you understand the difficulties surrounding that project - including the heartbreak surrounding the death of Charlie Cooper, Josh's collaborator with Telefon.  But there's a lot more to talk about: what was it like touring with Puscifer - or NIN? What works better for Josh's work: hardware or software? And what are some of the tricks that he uses in order to keep up his aggressive playing and release schedule? All this and more... I'm really grateful that Josh would take the time to chat with us, and thanks to Tom Hall for makin

If you have done any electronic music gigs in the US Midwest, or even if you've been listening to previous interviews with people that have come out of the Midwest, you've heard people speak about a mysterious figure: JP. JP helped set up gigs, encouraged people to strike out as players, or to try something new, or to show him something new. He's a dynamo in the area (he's based out of Minneapolis), and is also one of the founders of Slam Academy, a school for learning DJ'ing, production and sound design. JP has a lot of great memories about how the scene developed, and also a lot of ideas (and opinions) about how people can learn this stuff today. He is on the front lines of getting people involved in making music, and some of his concepts refreshingly avoid the hype of 'get a job in the industry!' and replaces it with 'find a way to make your life better!' I have to admit really appreciating that perspective. I hope you enjoy this chat with JP - someone that is not only a friend, but someone who is an inspi

NOTE: This podcast is the fifth and final interview in our collaboration with Synthtopia.com on expressive MIDI controllers developments. You can listen to the podcast here, on the Synthtopia website (in an embedded player) or on iTunes. But you can also read the interview as well as search for information by viewing the transcription on at the following location: http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2016/12/25/keith-mcmillen-interview-modern-instruments-should-combine-traditional-expressiveness-with-new-power/ Back in podcast episode #54, I talked to Keith McMillen about his background, his experiences in developing new musical tools, and the development of his 'smart fabric' technology that is at the heart of KMI's controllers. This time - and on the success of the Kickstarter funding of the K-Board Pro 4 - we talk with him about his experiences working on expressive controllers, and his long term goal of making every instrument able to interact with the computer. I like talking to people with large visions,

NOTE: This podcast is the fourth interview in our collaboration with Synthtopia.com on expressive MIDI controllers developments. You can listen to the podcast here, on the synthtopia website (in an embedded player) or on iTunes. But you can also read the article as well as search for information by viewing the transcription on at the following location: http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2016/12/18/jordan-rudess-interview-on-new-instruments-the-future-of-keyboard-performance/ In the music instrument industry, Jordan Rudess is a rock star. He is a tremendous product demonstration guru, and is able to figure out - and shred upon - almost any controller at the drop of a hat. His history with Korg, Kurzweil and others map out the best of keyboards, and he's been a demo machine with all of them. In the software development business, Jordan Rudess is also a rock star. He's designed some of the most interesting and playable iOS music applications (including MorphWiz, SampleWiz and GeoShred), and is working with othe

NOTE: This podcast is the third interview in our collaboration with Synthtopia.com on expressive MIDI controllers developments. You can listen to the podcast here, on the synthtopia website (in an embedded player) or on iTunes. But you can also read the article as well as search for information by viewing the transcription on at the following location: http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2016/12/11/continuum-creator-lippold-haken-on-the-future-of-electronic-instruments/ No matter who you talk to about expressive MIDI controllers, one device keeps coming to the forefront: the Haken Continuum. Developed by our guest, Dr. Lippold Haken, the Continuum defined a new class of instrument that put a sensor-based system at the hands of the player. As part of creating the instrument, Dr. Haken had to invent many supporting technologies, and we see some of that in the emerging MPE specification. But there is a lot more to Haken's work than a spec: there is also the details that he explored in the development of the Conti

NOTE: This podcast is the second interview in our collaboration with Synthtopia.com on expressive MIDI controllers developments. You can listen to the podcast here, on the synthtopia website (in an embedded player) or on iTunes. But you can also read the article as well as search for information by viewing the transcription available here: http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2016/12/04/geert-bevin-mpe-interview/ Everyone in the MPE/expressive controller game talks about Geert Bevin. He got his bones working on the Eigenlabs Eigenharp, but has been instrumental in helping a number of instruments come onto the market - most recently the Roger Linn Linnstrument. But Geert is more than just a coder; he's a long time musician, guitar player, songwriter and instrument experimenter. He doesn't just work on the code, he works on the instrument, helping each device to sing its own peculiar song. Talking with him helped me understand the reverence that others had for him, because he sees the holistic nature of instrumen

NOTE: This podcast is presented as a collaboration with Synthtopia.com for the presentation of people working with and creating expressive MIDI controllers. You can listen to the podcast here, on the synthtopia website (in an embedded player) or on iTunes. But you can also read the article as well as search for information by viewing the transcription available here: http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2016/11/27/roger-linn-mpe-interview/ Roger Linn is one of my Music Tech heroes. His development of the sampling drum machine has defined a significant portion of my musical life, and I still surround myself with tools that he designed or helped develop. In this podcast, Roger and I get to chat a little about how he got started (including his design process for the MPC, which is a little mind-blowing!), his current mission to replace on/off switches and how he perceives his own future. He also gives us some real-life example of the value of expressiveness in MIDI controllers, and talks about the musical implicati

I'll admit it: one of the reasons I moved over to Eurorack systems was because of Make Noise music. I found the Maths module a remarkably musical combination of utility and fun, and the Optomix has the right bump for the money. It also had a kooky look that screamed "fun" instead of "study more"! So yeah, it was a pretty easy transition... I was pleased to get a little of Tony's time for the podcast, and he didn't disappoint - not only did we dive into the development of his modules and systems, but I also got him to talk a bunch about how he got started in electronics, and what were the influences that drove him forward. We also talk a bit about his manufacturing process, and how he things about running a modular synth business. It's a great interview, and really reveals a lot about how great a person Tony really is. I hope you enjoy this, and if you aren't familiar with Make Noise, you should check out their work. But in any case, enjoy my chat with Tony!

Tim Place is one of those amazing guys that, at a fairly young age, has already accomplished so much. He is one of the main designer/programmers behind the Jamoma project, developed the Teabox sensor system (as well as designing and building the best sensors in the business...), created the Hipno plug-in package and has been developing objects and systems for Cycling '74 for almost a decade. I was anxious to talk to Tim for many reasons, but one of them was to talk about his efforts in getting his doctorate in music, why he sort of stalled out on that process, but how he was also able to leverage that experience into a useful career. And his discussions about career are somewhat familiar to me as I surf the variety of people that make it in music tech: he puts out a lot of feelers, works really hard on a lot of things, and one of them happens to 'hit'. In Tim's case, a number of these things are still on-going concerns, with the Jamoma package at the forefront. But it's interesting to talk to Tim about his co

Here's one of the great ones. Tom Erbe is an amazing cat. He's been on my radar for almost as long as I've been serious about electronic music; his early work with Soundhack (subsequently expanded into plug-in and app form) was inspirational, and opened my ears for computer music outside the realm of standard sequencing. He's a serious experimental music engineer and producer, and has implemented a Williams Mix performance and recording (available on his personal website). Most recently, he's garnered a following for his work with Make Noise on the Echophon, Phonogene and Erbe-Verb. I watch amazed as Tom float from hardware to software, all the while creating head-bending, fun results. With all of that, it's amazing to find that he's the most laid back, easy going person you'll ever talk to. What a great talk! Enjoy. [ddg]

I don't often get to talk to superstars - there are simply too many layers between who I am and what they do. So, generally, gear and creativity talk aren't in the mix for most stars' PR blitzes. However, Jesse Carmichael (Maroon 5) and Jason Lader (pretty much EVERYBODY!) have put out an EP as "The Circuit Jerks", and they reached out to me to talk about the process. This release, called EP1, features some unusual tracks, including two 1:11:11-long tracks that are pretty mind-bending. What I really enjoyed about this conversation is the recognition that star status doesn't change your passions - and these two guys are rabid modular fans. I'm sorry that this chat is going to disappoint Maroon 5 fans that want to know about Jesse's love life, or train spotters that want to know what kind of shoes Elvis Costello wears in the studio. We talked hard core gear-geek talk, praising Doepfer modules, video performance tools and imagining a future of net-based sync. Alas, at the end of the chat the real world steps in

Douglas Eck and the Magenta Project first came onto my radar by doing a podcast that was posted on the Web Audio API Weekly email, and I found his discussion about music and machine learning to be compelling and focused. I reached out to him, and things came together quickly: he invited me to Google for a visit with his team, and also got the planning into motion for this podcast. Once it cleared all the hurdles, we were on! We didn't have a lot of time, but it is clear that Douglas is experienced in presenting the Magenta team's vision "in the time allotted" - whatever that time might be. He certainly packed a lot of information into the small amount of time I was able to talk to him. Trying to understand how machine learning can work within a musical environment - as well as how it can draw musicians in, rather than pushing them away - is something I'd never considered, but it is clear that this is a big part of how the team is imagining their work. If you are interested in musical machine learning as a con

This one was a bit difficult for me: when I'm talking to people about gear or circuits or code, I have no problem. But when it comes to talking about how our bodies work? I'm generally at a loss. Luckily, El Larson was very helpful as I stumbled through the words to talk about what she does. So when you hear me struggling, there it is. In any case, it is really cool to hear about El's work with the Tibetan Bowls and a modular synth. She's thoughtful about the way that she integrates the instruments into her practice, and is also willing to talk about it. So finding out how she works, how she prepares for a session and how she deals with the variety of personalities she encounters - it's all in the open. Additionally, though, it's great to hear about a completely different musical practice, and to find out how sound can be used to physically help people. I've not participated in a session (although now I'm pretty intrigued), but I've heard incredible things from friends, and am very curious. In addition to the

What can be said about Robert Henke that hasn't already been said a thousand times? A tireless inventor, music producer, visual artist and programmer, Robert has been at the front of so much - and for me he's been a constant inspiration. He's also become a good friend over the years, and I can believe it's taken me this long to interview him for the podcast. But I always want to be careful about his time; luckily, he's at a good point for a chat, and you get to listen in! In this talk, we go over Robert's ideas about music gear, collaboration (he's worked with some amazing people...), balancing different types of work, and choosing areas to explore. He also reveals himself to be an "obsessed pragmatic": he's has a love for detail, but he has to fight his inner voices to make sure that he produces work. Who can't understand that? So please enjoy this talk, and if you get a chance, give a listen to the latest Monolake release: VLSI. It's a great combo of analog, digital and hybrid, and makes for some inspiratio

Marielle V Jackobsons has a very interesting practice: she's part of Date Palms, does live work with bassist Chuck Johnson, and has developed an amazing instrument that she calls a "Macro-Cymatic Visual Music Instrument". She actually was a history of building unlikely instruments - and most of them are focused on vibrations in some interesting way. If you can't quite imagine what I mean, you should start by checking out her website: http://mariellejakobsons.com/ (click on the big image to get into the site...). You can get a nice tour of her artistic statement as well as a lot of her work; once you see it, you'll want to find a way to see and hear a live show.  With her recent release on the Thrill Jockey label, Marielle delves deeper into the mix of computers and analog systems, melodies and ambiences. It's an excellent release, and has been on constant play here in my hideout. But diving back into some earlier work (Date Palms, the Glass Canyon release) you can find a variety of styles, influences and even

When my friend and coworker Andrew Benson said "Hey, you ought to check out Jonathan Snipes!", I didn't think I'd get what I did. The work that Jonathan is doing with the band clipping is a whirlwind of machine-gun rap magic and bizarre - and amazing - sound design. The use of hand-grabbed samples and handmade synth lines conjures up the best of old-school rap while simultaneously pointing to the most up-to-date sound design and music production techniques. Remarkable. Then, in talking to Jonathan, I find out that he's got his fingers into movie and TV music as well, and has a history doing show design work with Max, and does all this realtime manipulation during shows, and... Unbelievable. Rather than tell his story here, I'll let him do it on the podcast. But you should also check out his personal website: http://www.jonat8han.com/, and also see him in action, doing the live variation thing in this YouTube: video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J_TUYGUW7o Enjoy!

Chris Lowis first showed up on my radar via an episode of the JS Air podcast. He was talking about the history and concepts of the Web Audio API to a bunch of Javascript-heads. He seemed equally comfortable talking about either audio or programming, and I knew he'd be a great interview for my podcast. I couldn't have been more correct. Chris has a great history; studying acoustics, working at the BBC and being involved with the standards groups that are pulling the Web Audio API spec together. The effort is starting to show some great results, with recent Web pages really lighting up some spectacular devices: synths, games and other goodies. Where you you go to find out more about this stuff? One place is Chris' home for his Web Audio Weekly blog: http://blog.chrislowis.co.uk/waw.html. This is the de-facto clearing house for new apps, devices and libraries that work with the Web Audio and Web MIDI specs. If you want a little more active call-and-response, you can check in on the Web Audio Slack Channel. Final