Art + Music + Technology

Tim Thompson first came on my radar back in the day - he created a development system called KeyKit which allowed for interesting sequencer creation through focused coding. It was one of the first times I'd experienced a system that was clearly set up for "creative coding", and I was intrigued. In the intervening years, I've continued to run into him at various times, and he always seemed to be showing a new invention. I ran into him again last year, and got a chance to experience his "Space Palette" - a system that he describes as "mousepads in space". It's an apt description, but doesn't imply the outright fun that it is to play with it - especially when paired with some of Tim's unique sound and video performance tools. Now, as you will hear, Tim is working with Roger Linn on software for the Linnstrument - the result seems equally fun and interesting. You can check out more of Tim's work at these links: His website: nosuch.com His YouTube page: Tim Thompson's YouTube Page Enjoy the interview, and check ou

Jesse Sola, who goes by the name of Numina, is one of my favorite artists in the 'dark ambient' space. His work speaks to his comfort with electronic music, sound design and ambient structures. He's also an engaging character: he's willing to talk about music-making at the drop of a hat, and open to examining his own work process. And guess who came knocking at his door! In this chat, we talk about his history with music (his dad's Minimoog!!!), influences (shoe-gazers???), favorite gear and ideas about releases. We also get to shed a little light on his sound design and loop library work as well as his work with different labels. All-in-all, a great insight into the mind of a fabulous musician. Check him out here: www.numinamusic.com numina.bandcamp.com Enjoy!

I recently returned from a Cycling '74 company retreat, and had a chance to spend some time with this week's guest: Rob Ramirez. Rob is an interesting character, fluent in both 3D graphics and conceptual art, and was willing to submit to the podcast. So I took him up on it! One of the things we talk a lot about is a recent work he was involved in: An Evening With William Shatner Asterisk. You might want to see a bit of it; you can check these out: The first episode, full experience: https://vimeo.com/110142074 A closeup of the video and captions: https://vimeo.com/86626560 In this discussion, we talk about the technical side of art, but we also talk about the 'soft' side: how the design of a work comes together, what it is like to be showing work in the hothouse of New York, and how attribution happens in a complex work. I think you'll find it quite interesting... Enjoy!

This week's chat is very different from most weeks'. In this episode, we talk to Marco Buongiorno Nardelli, a research scientist in the area of material science. Huh? Well, in addition to his role as a scientist, he is also a composer, and he is working on ways to mine the deep databases of science to create interesting compositions - and maybe find new ways of viewing materials as well. As always, we dive into Marco's background to figure out how someone gets to be both a composer and a scientist. But I also take the time to talk about data-to-music mapping, and how this sort of system can work for both musicians and for non-musical scientists. Very interesting stuff! Now, after listening to this - or maybe even before - you will want to review his site: http://www.materialssoundmusic.com/ It's full of video, audio and image content that will illuminate the work that he is doing. I hope you enjoy this talk, and that it opens some doors for you in your search for more inspiration!

A few months ago, Paul Rothman from littleBits reached out about a new set of tools they were going to create: a set of audio, MIDI and CV bits that would allow interaction between the littleBits system, a computer and a modular synth. Once I picked my jaw off the ground, I started waving my hands and shouting "Ooh, ooh" to try to work with them. Apparently I made enough of a spectacle of myself; I got an early set of the interface bits and did some video/example work that showed the bits in action. As part of that project, I got to know a little more about Paul, and was quite intrigued. He let slips some info about a NIME visit, and something about guitar pedals, and something about Max. And in this interview, we find about about his life as a maker, his development of the fridgebuzzz guitar pedals (with the awesomely named Land Of The Rising Fuzz) and more. This was a great dive into the brain of a full-on creator, and I hope you enjoy the conversation. Sorry for the Skype buzziness, but the content is wort

Jean-Marc Pelletier popped onto my radar some years ago; I was doing my Masters program, and was (of course) paying attention to the work of a lot of people around me. One thing that I noticed was that everyone was using the Kinect hardware, but were also using it in combination with a variety of blob tracking, color tracking and optical flow tools. And doing them in Max... Digging a little deeper, I found that almost all of these projects were based on a single person's work: the work of Jean-Marc. His library of computer vision objects for Max, called the cv.jit objects, we at the heart of a lot of work. As I started exploring it myself, I found that this library offered an extensive set of functions, but also included help files that were great starting points for my own projects. I was a believer. Over the years, the cv.jit objects were getting a little creaky - mainly due to changes in the Mac OS and Max itself. Luckily for all, a group of us at Cycling '74 chipped in to rework it into current shape, ref

Here, as promised, is part two of the interview with the Vasulkas, where they discuss Buffalo, Santa Fe and the future. Enjoy!

I first got to know the Vasulkas through their association with David Stout and Cory Metcalf (of Noisefold), and during one of their visits to University of Denver. I was charmed by them immediately (as so many are...), and we've hung out many times over the subsequent years. They often probe other people about their backgrounds and interests, but often are shy about talking about their own. During a workshopping visit to Seattle, the Woody and Steina were visiting the Cornish College of the Arts, and we got a chance to get caught up. They were willing to be interviewed for the podcast, so we went forward. But, alas, the damned Tascam recorder didn't work correctly, so the only audio capture that I got was fro the backup laptop. So I'm sorry about the audio quality... This was a long interview, so - based on listener request - I broke it up into two pieces: the 'early years' (Europe through New York City) and the 'later years' (Buffalo to Santa Fe). This is part one; part two will drop in a few days. In the m

I've know Hans Tammen for quite a while, but almost all of the 'knowing' related to hiw work at Harvestworks in New York. I was surprised, for some reason, when an interview with him was released (and publicized on Facebook) on the Prepared Guitar blog, and I learned a lot about him in just 13 questions. So I asked about the podcast, and he said "Yes", and here you go! I really like the way he talks about his work - it's as if he is on a constant search for wonderment and surprise, and I found it really inspiring to hear about the lengths he go to in order to keep himself on the edge of his seat. I also liked hearing about the trials involved in managing *two* large scale ensembles as conductor and composer. If you want to see/learn more about Hans Tammen, you can check out his work at tammen.org, and hear/see some of the work embeddded in the Endangered Guitar page. Enjoy!

My friend David Fodel is an amazing cat. He is a busy artist, constantly creating new artwork. He is also a teacher at UCD (University of Colorady - Denver), currently working with a group of sculpture students. But perhaps most interestingly, he is the creator/coordinator/developer of events and festivals, most significantly the MediaLive festival in Boulder, CO. I've often been curious about what it takes to create festivals, then have both the strength and faith required to swing the doors open for the public. Since I'm in the process of working at one of Dave's events (Mediatized, April 16, Emmanuel Gallery on the grounds of UCD, Denver CO), I thought I'd connect with Dave for a discussion about his background, his ideas about community, and his vision for his personal art. Enjoy!

Picking a person to appear on episode 74 was pretty easy once the door was open; during a meeting, David Zicarelli said "Hey, who is going to be podcast #74?", and I said, "Um, how would you like to do it?" When he said "Sure!", it was Game On. I've known David for a decade-and-a-half, but we'd never gotten a chance to talk about his early years of programming education, how he got into music software development, where Max came from - nor what he thinks are the important core concepts. This kind of stuff doesn't come up very often in day-to-day conversation, so it was great to open that door for this chat. i hope you enjoy this talk with David Zicarelli, the founder of Cycling '74, and innovator in so many areas of music software and one of the most intelligent people I've ever met. Let's rock!

Margaret (Meg) Schedel's career has blown up since we first talked to her in podcast Episode #3. I caught wind of this by watching her Facebook feed - it seemed like there was a daily barrage of place gone, things being done, and open doors for others to get involved. Meg isn't self-promotional (in fact, we talk about it in this episode...); rather, she's promotional - she helps people see what is going on, and is always willing to swing the door open for others as well as entering it herself. This episode talks about some of the edgy new stuff that's out there (and that she's documenting), as well as the practicalities of managing a busy, engaged life. We also get a glimpse into the mind of a very busy person, and see how she makes decisions, sets priorities and organizes her efforts. My experience with Meg is that every conversation is packed full of information and ideas - this one is no exception. Enjoy!

If you would give me an hour and ask me how I'd want to spend it, talking with Paul Schreiber would be at the top of my request list. I appreciate his sense of humor, his strong feelings about thing, and his willingness to share openly about any subject that might come to mind. I also appreciate that, by having been a 'hobby' synth maker, he has always been able to stay at arm's length from the grittier side of the industry. Some of this podcast covers similar ground to my first discussion with him (podcast 13), but as is the case with Paul, each discussion about something reveals new information. And Paul is a treasure trove of information, having been there at the crusty beginnings of the new modular revolution. Enjoy, and let your friends know about the podcast!

One of the things I've always been curious about has been the Institute of Sonology, a Dutch center of electronic music studies. I knew that Gregory had been a "Sonologist", as had Gerhard Behles of Ableton and many others. But I knew practically nothing about the place. Gregory had always been circumspect about it whenever I talked to him, so I finally cornered him w/r/t doing a podcast about it, and here we are. The podcast starts with a continuation of the Dockstader discussion, but it folds into the Sonology discussion quite easily. I think that you'll find the whole thing - including the influence of the Philips Corporation on the world of electronic music. If you ever wondered why scenes grow up in different places, this might open your eyes a little. Thanks again to Gregory, who always teaches me without making me feel stupid - the primary attribute of a wonderful educator.

I'm not going to editorialize on this one - its importance should be self-evident. Justin Brierley had been interacting with Tod Dockstader and his daughter Tina for some time, starting with his interest during a stint at school. He subsequently was able to work with Tod's computer (containing much unreleased material), but perhaps more importantly he was able to spend time with Tod before his death, talking about music and more. Rather than have me blather on, please check out the following links: Unlocking Dockstader (Justin's site)The Unofficial Tod Dockstader siteStarkland Records Home PageStarkland's Dockstader PageWired Magazines overview of Tod Enjoy, and please learn more about Tod!

Magazines have long held my attention - even after they have seemingly become irrelevant. We talk to newly-made "official" A+M+T historian Mike Metlay about the early days of music magazines, fanzines and their influence on the music, and how magazines remain useful in the age of endless webpages and forums. Mikes got some unique (and heartfelt) feelings about magazines - obviously so, since he's the editor of one - and his willingness to share honestly is what makes him a great guest of the podcast. So, enjoy a trip in the wayback machine as we remember old gear mags, their writers and editors, fanzines and the fans and New Jersey(!) in Magic Podcast #69. But watch out, we might have a case of Two Old Guys Shouting At Kids (which ought to be the name of my next podcast...) going down here!

I've been following Soy Sos's posts on the Muff Wiggler forum for quite a while - he has a unique view of the gear, and fills a role as an intermediary between the hand-wavers on MW and the Pittsburgh Modular company. Cool gig! But I also knew that Herman Pearl was a serious recording head, and when Mike Metlay mentioned that he'd be up for an interview, I was in! As our chat progressed, we found ourselves talking about the current state of the recording studio industry, and how the current generation of recording artist is engaging with both the technology and the world. With his interesting view on current artistic direction, Herman maps out the landscape for us in a way only available from an insider. If you are interested in Herman's studio, you can check it out at the Tuff Sound Recording site, and if you need to reach him, his email is found there. In any case, I had a great time talking with Herman, and I hope you enjoy listening it!

One of the most interesting people I met up with at NAMM was Sam Botstein of Tipsy Circuits. Sam is the producer of The Distillery, a podcast that also talks to media art people, focusing primarily on music (and often analog) people. But Sam was at NAMM showing off a new Eurorack module - the Emperor, an Intel-loaded computing box-in-a-module. I have to admit that it was pretty damned cool to see Max, Maschine and other products running within a Eurorack system. So we set up an interview date/time and pulled it off. But it turned out that Sam has a much more diverse background than most folks - in this discussion, he took me on a journey from playing with the Extreme Trumpet Mafia, through Keith McMillen's CalArts and Mills tribes, slipstreaming through turntablism and lymphoma, and ending up on the NAMM show floor with a Great Big Module and an even bigger plan. It was a wild ride. And he's only 21. An amazing individual share an amazing story. Enjoy!

One of the bits of hardware that keep showing up around me are the Percussa AudioCubes. I would keep on running into Percussa's owner, Bert Schiettecatte, at trade shows, would run into users in different places, and even found out that my friends (see Mark Mosher...) are seriously into them. So when Mark opened the door for me to chat with Bert, I rushed in! Bert's story is a somewhat common one - a guy with a vision of a product that works hard to make it happen. But when you start talking about all the different things that he had to learn - and master - for this implementation to succeed, it seems like an impossible task. So how does one person make the impossible happen? That's what we talk about. I hope you enjoy this one - it is very revealing, but also points to one of the most innovative products out there. Enjoy the podcast, and check out the cubes! Addition: You can see the MIDIBridge working in this video by Mark Mosher.

Chris Stack is about as multiply-experienced as anyone you can imagine. He was a marketing manager at Moog Music, and was instrumental in the launch of the Moog Guitar. He's been working with Paul Vo on his new and unique brand of synthesis. And he runs a little site called ExperimentalSynth.com that highlights interesting new developments in music hardware, and keeps an active feed on Facebook that keeps all of us up-to-date with cool videos. But the thing that really intrigued me about Chris is that he comes from a similar background to my own: born and raised in a rural setting, he juggled jobs, learning both music and technology - eventually to land in the MI industry through a combination of determination and luck. It's interesting to hear how the twisty passages of The Real World can end up leading to something really wonderful. You can learn more about Chris at this Moog Foundation link. Enjoy!