You are currently browsing the Interactive category.
Many of you already know what I’ve been working on for the past few months with Jon and Mike – Mujik, a charming and fun music toy for the iPhone. We have submitted version 1.0 to Apple and we are just waiting for them to approve it and put it on the app store. In the mean time, here are two sneak peek videos that show what Mujik is all about…check back very soon for more details. Lots more to come!
Here’s a short video of the Gelkies in their current home at the Hannah Maclure Gallery in Dundee!
The Gelkies will be at the Hannah Maclure Gallery in Dundee as part of the “Word Games” exhibit with Gayle Meikle. The opening is tonight at 6pm, and the show continues until July 17th. Here is the text that will accompany the piece:
The Gelkie is a strange and mythical creature, whose very existence was in doubt until recently. Native to Scotland, the Hannah Maclure Centre is delighted to present these highly endangered specimens in something resembling their natural habitat. Researchers are still puzzling over their mating habits, but what is clear is that male and female Gelkies must form pairs in order to communicate in their peculiar language of light and sound. A solitary Gelkie is a sad sight indeed, unable to express the slightest noise. But while they naturally form couples, scientists are perplexed by their tendency to spend most of their lives arguing. With time, and your support, Gelkies can flourish throughout Scotland. Please contact the Scottish Gelkie Appreciation Society (SGAS) for information about how you can help these remarkable creatures.
The Maker Faire was absolutely incredible for all sorts of reasons, not the least being meeting all sorts of brilliant people working on amazing projects. I brought my camera along to San Francisco with the aim of interviewing some of the other musical Makers. These videos are now on Create Digital Music, but I thought I would post them here too.
First up, Elly Jessop, a Masters Student at the uber-cool MIT Media Lab, and her Vocal Augmentation and Manipulation Prosthesis (VAMP):
Next, Barry Threw from Keith McMillan Instruments shows off the K-Bow (and accompanying software) for extending stringed instrument performance into the digital realm:
And finally, the amazing Moldover and his totally bonkers Syncomasher:
Here’s a little demo video of me playing around with a synth I finished building this weekend. It has just three knobs (whose function I don’t really understand) and it sounds crazy cool!
This project, like the Jam Jar, was inspired by a tutorial on hackaday.com. All of this synth building will eventually culminate in an interactive installation called “Don’t Talk Back”. More on that later…
I’m working on a project right now that involves building digital synthesizers that react to light. As a first step I made a small synth that I was able to fit inside a jam jar. I creatively named it the Jam Jar, and it totally rocks. Here’s a video that explains what it is and shows me jamming out with Ableton Live!
For more pictures check out my Flickr set.
[edit]> I neglected to mention that I built this synth with enormous help from a tutorial on hack-a-day!
Tomorrow night I will be doing a performance at the launch event for the new issue of Yuck n Yum, a publication by a group of pretty hip artists in Dundee.
This show is going to be a bit of a departure for me, as I will be doing some new things that I have not yet tried in public! Hurray! Because of this, I thought it would be fun to give a sneak peek of just what exactly I will be doing. That’s what blogs are for, right?
This picture shows most of what I will be using, conveniently labeled for you (click to enlarge).
The equipment list is:
I’ve set out a process for creating sound out of all of this mess, with video as the starting point (another first for me).
The first step, then, is the video. I made a patch in Jitter for controlling two video streams independently, and overlaying them. The two videos can be warped, stretched, colored, and mixed together in real time. The output of each manipulated video stream is being analyzed, and sent to a synthesizer which is creating sound based on the visuals. Thus, by manipulating the videos, which are then generating sound, the video manipulation becomes an “instrument” of sorts.
In addition, the audio of each video can also be used independently of the visuals and passed through various effects.
The guitar, meanwhile, is fitted with various sensors that are plugged into an Arduino. These sensors will control sampling and playback of the guitar signal, creating textures underneath all of the sound from the videos.
Finally, the webcam on my laptop will also be activated, using live footage of myself to trigger more synthesis in Jitter.
Where do the Wii remotes fit into all of this? Well, rather than sitting in front of my laptop clicking through my Jitter patch, I will be using several wii remotes to control it all, with the ultimate goal of being able to do the whole performance without touching the computer at all. All of the video manipulation, audio effects, guitar sampling and playback, and synthesis will be controlled with the Wii remotes. The rotation of each video, for example, will be controlled by twisting and turning my left hand, while the playback speed of each video will be mapped to the movements of my right hand. A wii remote will be attached to the guitar, so the angle of the instrument will dictate the pitch of the sample playback.
Does that makes sense? My goal was to try and combine video mixing, Wii remotes, and music. If you’re in the Dundee area you should definitely come along. If not, the show will hopefully be recorded and I will definitely post the video as soon as I can.
This Saturday I will be playing a set at the Buff Club in Glasgow. Electrorock duo Any Color Black will be playing a show and taking tons of pictures in order to create artwork for their upcoming EP, and I will be remixing some of their songs with the LoopMachine! Expect some crazy Wii music action, and a generally wild night overall.
It’s free, starts at 7:30 (doors at 7) and you can get into the dance party that follows for free! Check out the event website for details. See you there!
apologies to those who have already read this on wiiloopmachine.com
Yesterday I handed in my thesis. I’ve been working on it since May, and I think it turned out pretty well. It was an interactive sound installation that tracked the location of a listener and changed the sound according to their movement. Check out the website for video, audio, and more.
Tomorrow I’m heading back to the states, and I’ll be travelling all around the world for the next month or so. I’ll be getting back to serious work on the Wii Loop Machine, so hopefully within the next couple of weeks I’ll have some new toys for you.
My friend Pete Vilk and I recently finished a little website about our Tea and Jam project. Check it out!
The idea was to build an interface where people could come help us make some sound and music while drinking tea in a relaxing atmosphere. We’re going to keep developing it, so this will probably evolve a lot in the near future.
This week I’m working on a short video. It will be done by Friday, I’ll upload it here as soon as it’s finished. See you then!