Art + Music + Technology

OK - I'll admit to being a little curious. About Duluth. If you look at it on a map, it looks like the kind of small too-far-north city that might be artistically limited to Soviet-style number stations and not much more than that. But whether you are talking punk, techno or ambient work, Duluth seems to generate way more than its share of great music. From that milieu comes Dean Berlinerblau. Dean first contacted me regarding the Music SDP project, a Max-based modular system for audio processing. It's a cool system, and we talk a bit about it in the 'cast. But as we talked more, I found out about his recent release (Transformational Variances, as Modify), as well as his work developing local Duluth shows and interesting views on performance. He was willing to come down for a visit, and we recorded a nice chat. I hope you enjoy my discussion with Dean, and take the time to check out both his vision and his recording. Cheers!

This episode is brought to you by the zZyzx Society, whose new self-titled album will be released on March 20th on ZSR Records. Talk about great stories! From creating modular systems in Utah, to building a shoebox EVI, to playing on the Apocalypse Now score - to a long history as a session player and soloist, Nyle Steiner has always melded musicianship with technical acumen. I was really excited to get introduced to Nyle by Peter Grenader, and jumped at the opportunity for the chat. We start off talking about his background, but Nyle also is more than willing to share his stories - often in a laid-back way that completely belies the extraordinary level of work (and luck) that he embraced. From hardware developments, to gutting out an introduction into the digitial, to becoming as well known as a player - Nyle has a history of nailing the right thing at the right time. Enjoy this discussion with one of the true pioneers of electronic music!

Sometimes I just get lucky; in this case, I happened to skip over to the 'check your messages' widget in Facebook, and saw that I had a conversation I'd never checked into. It was from Benjamin Hinz of Dwarfcraft Devices, and we started talking about doing an interview. When I realized that he was in Eau Claire (about a 1 1/2 hour drive from me), I knew that we needed to do this face-to-face. And so we did! I got a chance to see the Dwaftcraft offices, say hi to some of the people working their (and see their process in action) and have a lunch at Culver's (which is something that every Midwesterner would understand). Then we holed up in Ben's office - which is filled to the brim with instruments, circuit boards and drawings - and did our interview. He's got some interesting ideas about music-making and circuit and product design, and has come to these ideas through hard work and a player's experience. I always appreciate people that balance the player and design aesthetic, and Ben does that to a T. I had a g

This episode of Art + Music + Technology is brought to you by Recording Magazine. You can learn more about Recording Magazine, check out articles and subscribe at www.recordingmag.com. What a path. From theater tech to hardware manufacturing - who'da thought? Anthony Mattana has taken the hard road, developing a new method for binaural audio recording, developing a wireless interface to your phone (Android or iOS) and funding the whole thing on a wing and a prayer - but he's done it. I got a chance to try the Hooke Verse headphones when I was at NAMM, and they are worth the price of admission. In talking we Anthony, we get a sense of his passion for binaural recording, but we also get a sense of his passion to make it accessible to people. His experience with the $9000 dummy head system pointed out that, as amazing as the recording was, it wasn't something that he or his friends would be able to experiment with - the risk and costs were just too high. Thus, he made a mic! In this chat, we not only talk about

Given that the name of his book is "Don't Make Beats Like Me", you know I'd want to talk with Chris "Mayday" Rucks. Chris has taken his experiences doing music production, production education and music licensing and created a book that is a compendium of advice for budding producers. Rather than focus on "Get Logic and Go Nuts", this book talks about the real hard stuff: networking, self-reflection and honesty about your own blind spots. These are the real trouble spots for most musicians, and Chris is particularly focused on people wanting to move up from beat making and music writing, and wanting to get into full-scale production. His view of the process is unique, because he had been working with a company (Dynamic Producer) that would focus on making people better producers. This put him in the position to interact with hundreds of starters - and some of the stars. From that, he was able to deduce 24 'rules' that really make sense regardless of the style of your music or area of expertise. I had a great

OK - so this one is a little different. Surachai doesn't seem to be very comfortable with being interviewed, and seems a lot more comfortable dealing out the questions. So this interview is as much about 'dueling questions' as anything - we both end up having to share, and it ended up in an interesting place. Which makes sense, because Surachai is a pretty interesting guy. One of the founders of the Trash Audio collective, he's been at the front end of music (and especially the modular scene) for quite a while; his performances are outstanding. So is his video work - his Temple of the Weakening Sun is one of the most beautiful videos I've seen in a long time. He's also a professional audio guy, so he's immersed in the work. This was a fun - if unconventional - interview. I hope you enjoy it!  

As I started digging into VCV Rack, I was entranced by the number of people that had done interesting third party work. One of the developers that caught my attention was Jeremy Wentworth - the creator of the JW Modules selection. Interestingly, he also reached out to me to find out if I was interested in talking to a third party person about VCV Rack. Works out, right? I started digging into his background, and it was clear he was going to be a great guy to talk to. His interests are all over the creative coding map, and his VCV Rack modules were sneaky-good, featuring graphical and generative modules that went way beyond simple Eurorack emulations. Seemed like a great opportunity to get to know a true creative coder. The result is a conversation with a person that loves to do it all, swamps himself with the work that he loves, and spends a lot of time interacting with (and often helping) others. Jeremy has a great vision for his own future - and he has some ideas for us, too! You can find out a lot more abo

I'm always intrigued by a good story. How about "from early music player to Buchla master"? Todd Barton's story is as good as his music - which is damned good. His use of serious electronic music gear to create focused worked is quite unique, and it is reflected in the way that the music sounds awesome regardless of the technology used to create it. And the list of technology is pretty serious: Buchla modulars and Music Easels, Serge modulars and the Haken Continuum - and even the Hordijk Blippoo - are all pulled into play as necessary. Todd has been releasing recordings, but also recently did a series of live shows throughout Europe and the western US. In our chat, we go over his entre into electronic music, how he got drawn into Buchla and Serge gear, and how he makes his choices now. He also talks a bit about the process of doing live modular teaching via Skype, and how he creates his live musical sculptures. Very in-depth conversations on creation; this is a discussion that will prove inspiring. Check out

Do you want to talk about dedication? Let's take a look at Paul Davis, whose efforts behind the Ardour Project, originally released in 2005, are still going strong. Ardour has become as full-featured as any DAW out there, and - along with its commercial variant Mixbus - is capturing the attention of a lot of new users. But Ardour is more than a DAW - it's a DAW that can operate in Linux. Every week I'm hearing more about Linux-based audio production, and Ardour is one of the programs that's leading the way. Paul has long been dedicated to Linux Audio, and is considered one of its current leaders. In this discussion, Paul describes his decision-making on the way to starting the project, his vision for its future, and his deep passion for open-source development in general. He also talks about his relationship with Harrison (who have created Mixbus, which is based off the Ardour code base), and how they have affected the development process. It was great for me to catch up to Paul again, and to learn more about

This is the third episode in a collaboration with Synthtopia.com, featuring open source developers of both hardware and software. More information is available at synthtopia.com... The MeeBlip synthesizer has quietly shaken up music technology. It showed the way for a lot of innovations: small run manufacturing of synthesizers, open-source hardware and software production, desktop format synth tools. While touched on by others, the MeeBlip brought it all together in a way that shocked the system - and was on the front of today's affordably synth revolution. The MeeBlip was designed by James Grahame and Peter Kirn (of Create Digital Music fame), and is the embodiment of many of their personal goals: make things affordable, make things open and make them fun. The fact is that they were able to hit these goals squarely on the head, and the result is a fun little synth that shows up everywhere. James himself is articulate about his vision for the product, and how it holds up to the interests and concerns of a lot

This is the second episode in a collaboration with Synthtopia.com, featuring open source developers of both hardware and software. More information is available at synthtopia.com... What do you call the guy behind the Turing Machine, Radio Music module, Chord Organ and more? I call him a hero, but his name is Tom Whitwell. From the humble beginnings of the Music Thing blog to the current work (particularly in conjunction with Thonk Ltd), Tom is helping us all embrace our passion for cool gear and left field ideas - and is doing it with a personal twist that is unique among all module creators. I've long been a Radio Music user; my module, replete with a bizarro collection of samples, is a goto transition tool for live performance, and a nice addition to a lot of my more relaxed pieces. So many people use the Turing Machine that it's almost a ubiquitous sight in my friends' rigs. So Tom has definitely had an impact! But perhaps more important is the dedication that Tom has to the open hardware and open source

This is the first in a collaboration with Synthtopia.com, featuring open source developers of both hardware and software. More information is available at synthtopia.com... It's been a while since I've seen something with as much momentum as VCV Rack. This system went from "it was just released at Knobcon" to "everybody is using this for everything"! Part of the reason behind its success is the quality of the project - which has been coded by Andrew Belt (with design assistance by Wes Milholen). The system is pretty amazing, with a virtual modular model that is second-to-none. But it is also a completely open-sourced framework, too - one that has been embraced by a number of developers. For example, recent interviewee Michael Hetrick just released a huge set of modules based on some of his explorations; but we also see that Andrew has supported versions of the Mutable devices within the Rack system as well. In our chat, we go over Andrew's background, how he does his development, and what he finds important i

I really like the idea of allowing a concept to grow naturally. Alex McLean sort of lives his life with that as a rule. As the developer of the Tidal (nee TidalCycles) live coding language, the founder and curator of the AlgoMech festival and a big supporter of the algorave movement, Alex has found that interaction with other people - and allowing them to influence change - provides a compelling way to allow an idea to mature. And Alex is full of ideas. The Tidal language is a live coding language with a point: it's all about patterns. Using simple syntax and realtime interaction with the machine, you can weave together complex rhythmic and melodic algorithms into a compelling sonic story. He's taken this further with his development of the AlgoMech festival in Sheffield, which combines the worlds of algorithms and mechanisms in a unique way. He's also big into the algorave movement - which just makes sense. Alex took a little time out of his schedule to discuss his ideas, his life (including his surprising d

Michael Hetrick has his hands in a lot of projects. His main work is as one of the founders of Unfiltered Audio, creators of the SpecOps, Dent and (my personal favorite) Sandman plugin series. He also has a history of modular-style work, having created the EuroMax project (for Max/MSP) and the Euro Reakt package (for Reaktor). Most recently, he's produced HetrickCV - a huge set of VCVRack modules that really extend that platform. Speaking with Michael was a breeze - because he's interested in all the 'good stuff'. Whether talking about modular systems, Max and Reaktor, modular hardware or plug-in development, you get a sense of a guy that has a vision for what he wants, and the desire to spend the time to get it exactly right. The result is a consistently great level of development, regardless of the platform or package that he's working upon. A great talk with an amazing developer. You can find out more about Michael's work at his personal website - http://mhetrick.com/projects - or at the links above. Enjo

Peter Grenader is a bit of a lightning rod. He's a 'personality' in a rather staid business, he's been part of the electronic scene for a long time, but he's always willing to speak his mind and provide his perspective. Some in the industry have written him off for good (he notes in the interview that he's been 'banned for life' from Muff Wiggler, for example), while other people that I respect - like Jill Frasier - find him a compelling creator and collaborator. What you can't argue, however, is his importance in the history of electronic music and the growth in popularity of modular systems. The Plan B business drove things forward from where Doepfer had started it, but brought a level of quality and creativity that was needed to move things forward. Alas, a tumble of problems occurred which caused Plan B to go under, and it was at a time when the modular community was just growing, getting some leverage, and was unwilling to let this just dry up. The result was a huge fight  - one that I didn't witness at

This is the last podcast supporting our Kickstarter campaign for a new recording chain. The campaign runs through December 11th - please help out the podcast: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/823319547/mic-pre-update-for-art-music-technology Paul Birken's name has come up in a few previous podcasts - he was one of the people pushing the techno envelope in the widespread and influential Midwest techno scene. He's still working his ass off; according to him, music remains an 'everyday practice' for him. And his output would back that up, between the massive amount of work available on his Bandcamp site and all of the live tracks he has on the Tonewrecker Soundcloud site, he remains one of the hardest working guys in electronic music. But the interesting thing is that he balances this all with a job and a family - he's been vocal about not needing (or even necessarily wanting) to be a full-time musician. How can this be? Well, he's got some unique insights about musicianship that are quite interesting and i

This is the third podcast supporting our Kickstarter campaign for a new recording chain. The campaign runs through December 11th - please help out the podcast: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/823319547/mic-pre-update-for-art-music-technology Seth Cluett has got his hands in everything. He's an academic at the Stevens Institute, a widely-traveled artist and composer and a prolific writer. He's also currently an artist-in-residence at Bell Labs, which is a damned auspicious posting. He's also keenly tied into a lot of different art movements and activities, and you can see by checking out his website: http://www.onelonelypixel.org/ The fun thing about talking to Seth is the ability to follow trails into obscure musical areas - and realize that this is a well-worn trail for him. Whether you are talking classic computer music concepts, modern sound art expression or working with scientists, it's all in the mix for him - and the combination of backgrounds and skills makes this a great conversation. I had a g

This is the second podcast supporting our Kickstarter campaign for a new recording chain. The campaign runs through December 11th - please help out the podcast: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/823319547/mic-pre-update-for-art-music-technology Rob Hordijk is one of those designers - when he makes something, it seems to hold "the magic". Whether we are talking about the Benjolin, the Rungler, or one of his system 'sections', Rob makes the kind of gear that people dedicate their lives to. I was really pleased to get the chance to talk to Rob, and was amazed at his approach to synth development: he has a design methodology created from his experiences of electronics, art and system design. The combination makes for an impressive process, the the results speak for themselves. It is also interesting to hear about how he pursues the artistic angle of his work, and how he interacts with the art and music worlds. I really enjoyed this talk, and I hope you like listening in. You can learn more about Rob's work at

This is the first podcast supporting our Kickstarter campaign for a new recording chain. The campaign runs through December 11th - please help out the podcast: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/823319547/mic-pre-update-for-art-music-technology Dave Small is clearly obsessed with The Home Run: whether it's the Time's Arrow (a deep and amazing modular sequencer) or the upcoming line of Buchla-inspired modules, Dave doesn't go halfway in any way. He has taken his passion and turned it into product, and the result is a uniquely personal product line. In our chat, we talk about the process of coming up with a unique sequencer, how he decided to pursue a Eurorack lineup that honors the original Buchla 100-series modules, and what he's gone through in order to bring all of this together. He's also open about the process of learning to become savvy in electronics, coding and everything else required for creating modules - having a background in economics! Dave is an inspiration to everyone that roots for determin

OK - Sam Battle is just amazing. He's a bundle of energy - and an obsession with making cool synths. From the famous 'Synth Bike' to the Jacob's Ladder drum machine, his creations span the range from crazy to outright insane. You can get a good taste of his work at his in-process website, or by following him on the Look Mum No Computer Facebook page. This was a great chat - Sam is hilarious, and his story is really quite amazing. From his move from guitar to synth, to his amazing work space, to his adventures in making his own modular in his own format(!), the story is as fascinating as the result. But it comes with some danger (during the interview, we talk about one video that actually scared me - because of the worries about jewelry near high voltage...), but a lot of fun. Sam is rockin' the video world, and all of his stuff is supported by his Patreon site: if you can help him out, I know he'd appreciate it. This is just the kind of guy we want to support! Thanks again for continuing to follow the podcast