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Blog archive for June 2005

Meloncillo

June 2, 2005

Meloncillo by Hanns Holger Rutz is a GNU GPL Java based software for audio spatialization. It’s a graphical front-end for the spatial composition of sounds. It attempts to make an abstraction from concrete synthesis models by leaving the audio signal processing to a separate server application such as SuperCollider Csound or MaxMSP/Spat.

The new version of MeloncilloMaxBridge 0.120 runs quite well with the new Spat~ Control realtime plug-in using Spat~ inside Max/MSP. An example session can be downloaded separately.

An older descriptive page can be found here.

retnull

June 2, 2005

Kurt Ralske has moved his web site to retnull. There’s some documentation from the Elektropoesia installation we did together as well. If I can only find the cables for the FireWire disc where I’ve got the documentation I’ll provide him with some sound as well. My studio is a complete mess at the moment…

Theremin kit

June 2, 2005

The Theremin is available as a do it yourself kit. In Norway it’s available from Prolyd and the price is not frightening. Hmmm…

autodoc

June 5, 2005

Today I added a new feature to Jamoma: the ability to autodocument modules as html based on information provided in the module. Cool it I might say so myself.

This followed a length chat session with Tim two days ago in order to discuss a numebr of issues and make some decisions on attributes for one of the core objects jmod.parameter.

Sorry for being techy. I don’t use to blog to much about the Jamoma development but when the blog turns silent for a number of days it tend to indicate either that I’m drawing close to a deadline for a project with little or no time for blogging or that I’ve been spending most of the time on Jamoma development.

Eno’s rare Glitterbug album

June 5, 2005

This site has posted the complete album.

This started out as a sound track to the Derek Jarman film Glitterbug. Eno didn’t think it stood up on its own as an album without the film and hence handed all of it over to Jah Wobble and asked him to do whatever he liked to it. It ended up being released as Spinner. More information on the making of Spinner is given in A Year with Swollen Appendices including a letter from Eno to Wobble commenting on the remixes.

Grab it while you can!

And while we’re at it: Here’s the web site of the new Eno record: Another Day on Eart. What is it about Eno and maps these days?

CURMBOX

June 6, 2005

CURMBOX is a room for electronic and new music in Frankfurt. Their statement is no nonsense:

we artists and performers of the C U R M B O X have been undergoing police repressions abusive laws the pressures of cultural industries and capitalist economy for a long time. to denounce these intolerable pressures we declare that sound art will be so that everybody will demonstrate his know-how and creativity in the dark an international underground! let 10.000 waves joyfully illuminate and fertilize the cultural aridity! the idea of sound art is metaphoric: even if celebrate create have amateur cultural practices emerge among indifference market and daily repression are a fight we demand a pacific action! sound art is a pacific action but it remains a fight! sound artists are working towards another end. this other end is militant: it is a question of producing an utopia. u-topia = lack of proper place. for us in a prospect of action it means being everywhere at the same time. it also means: being numerous but no masses! Iit further means cultural diversity! meeting the others! refusing identity withdraws of all kinds as people can have lots of piercings and be really set in their ways egoist monomaniac or limited. here is the fight: not a fight for sound free punk classic or else! but for all that in once and to keep the possibility of doing that. for the emergence of diversity! for diversity against compact masses! for the right to create to meet freely each others to imagine our future off the pre-formatted frames proposed by the market the security ideologies and the ready-to-think of some activists. to prove that we are organized thoughtful responsible and that we are fully aware of our acts as well during our cultural events as every day. to demonstrate that we represent an important part of the population that we can be your neighbours your friends your family. which way to go?

NIME proceedings

June 7, 2005

Links to the proceedings of NIME 2003 and 2004. I don’t think that the 2005 proceedings are available online yet.

Slitscan. Segmentation and Reassembly of the Digital Moving Imag

June 7, 2005

Elektropoesia is one of the works mentioned by Golan Levin in his An Informal Catalogue of Slit-Scan Video Artworks 2005.

One of the authors mentioned Susanne Jaschko has also written an article on Segmentation and Reassembly of the Digital Moving Image mentioning another project that I’ve been involved in the first leg of the LMW collaboration named Dialogue/Transition.

The quest for lost CPU cycles

June 7, 2005

I’ve just been testing the efficiency of various ways of controlling gain in MSP. The results surprised me somewhat. For each of the solutions I made 400 copies of the objects and measured CPU usage as reported by the DSP Status window. I’ve used a very slow ramp time (5000 ms) in order to be able to view CPU usage during the ramp. All tests were carried out on a Mac TiBook 1GHz running OSX10.3.9.

Here’s the results:



  • ~: Steady-state: 19%. Ramping not possible.
  • ~ and line~: Steady-state: 34-36%. During ramp: 39-41%
  • gain~: Steady-state: 23%. During ramp: 29%
  • matrix~ 1 1 1.: Steady-state: 24-25%. During ramp: 42-43%
  • 20 copies of matrix~ 20 20 1.: Steady-state: 46-49. During ramp: 63-66%.
  • jmod.gain~: Ramp not implemented. Steady-state: 100%

There are two major surprises here as far as I’m concerned.

The first is how light on CPU gain~ is. If you need to ramp signals there’s no doubt that this is the cheapest way to do it CPU wise. The only way to improve on gain~ is by using only *~ but that means that changes in gain levels will have to be handled by control rate signal and the ramp curves will be much less even.

I’ve done a similar test earlier on discussed on the Jamoma-developer mailing list. Back then Tim Place meant that that gain~ ramp is only updated at
the vector rate not the full sample rate hence the CPU savings. I’ve tested that as well and it do not seem to be true. The gain_ramp_study.pat patch illustrates that gain levels are adjusted continuously during ramps. (Click 128 and look at the content of capture~ when audio has been turned of.)

The other surprise is that matrix~ is so CPU-hungry. Some years ago while working on Norway Remixed I had a mail exchange with jhno of C’74 concluding that matrix~ was clearly the most efficient way of controlling gains. It might be that this was in the case of multiple inputs being routed to multiple outputs. This was back in OS9 days so it might be that the swich to OSX altivec optimized in the meantime. Still it’s surprising. matrix~ 1 1 1. shouldn’t be doing anything more than gain~ rather less as there’s no GUI involved.

When 20 x matrix~ 20 20 1. is more heavy than 400 x matrix~ 1 1 1. that must imply that in a multi-input multi-output matrix~ all routings in all directions are encountered for when processing audio even if 95% of all possible routes are muted in this particular case.

The test of jmod.gain~ was done out of curiousity. It’s no surprise that this becomes the heaviest solution. jmod.gain~ is really a horse of a different color routing soudn in two directions for wet/dry processing and mixing the returned signal.

You can download the test patches I used here.

On a side note this got me to think that maybe I should revitalize and open up the maxnerd wiki that I started preparing a long while ago. I’m not sure that anyone but me would bother about this kind of information though.

Hz – new issue

June 8, 2005

The 6th issue of Hz has just been released.

http://www.hz-journal.org

Hz nr6 presenterar följande:

Artiklar:

  • VIRTUAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: Technological Aspects and Their Interactive
    Performance Issues av Suguru Goto
  • BETWEEN ART AND TECHNOLOGY av Sachiko Hayashi
  • COMPOSITION CAMOUFLAGED: On the Relationship Between Interpretation and
    Improvisation av Franziska Martinsen
  • TAKE A CHANCE ON ME: An Essay on the Mediation of the Contemporary
    Condition av Thore Soneson
  • SPACE IN NEW MEDIA CONCEPTION: With Continual Reference to Computer Games
    av Bo Kampmann Walther
  • UNDERVATTENSKONSERT: Underwater Concert av Alison Gerber

Nätkonst:

  • Sonido y Energia av Santiago Ortiz
  • BIOevent av Monica Jacobo
  • Unstable Portrait av Joseph Goebbels av Aleksandar Macasev
  • destroyevil.com av Katie Bush
  • Intervals av Peter Horvath

Hz är publicerad av Fylkingen. För mer info kontakta hz@fylkingen.se

med vänlig hälsning Sachiko Hayashi/Hz

More pics

June 10, 2005

Jana has posted some more pictures of the current installation in Moss as well as “Kunsten å gå på vannet” at her web-site.

TortoiseCVS

June 10, 2005

TortoiseCVS is an easy to use GPL CVS client for Windows.

Workshop on acoustics

June 10, 2005

Coming autumn there will be a cross-diciplinary workshop on acoustics at KHIB. It will investigate acoustics and how acoustics can be modified and treated using textiles. The workshop will be lead by acoustician and composer Tor Halmrast and professor Hilde Hauan Johnsen. I’ll participate as well and I’m looking forward to this. Hopefully it will give me some hands-on experience and knowledge that can be of great use in projects in the future.

KHIB is relocating to a new building in 2009 and this project will also be able to provide knowledge that might be of use during the process of building it.

Akustikk

Akustikk er et sammensatt fagfelt og ekspertisen har ofte en svært teknisk tilnærming som er vanskelig å trenge inn i. Samtidig fins det mye teoretisk kunnskap og praktisk erfaring blant komponister lydteknikere arkitekter interiørarkitekter og kunstnere som prosjektet kan dra nytte av.

Når initiativet kommer fra fagområde Tekstil er det med bakgrunn i potensialet tekstile materialer har i denne sammenhengen. Det fins klare indikasjoner på at tekstil i et rom bedrer lydforholdene. Men det er like viktig å undersøke hvordan andre materialer og elementer spiller inn i helheten. Målet med dette prosjektet er å gjøre realistiske forsøk i full målestokk og dermed kartlegge så objektivt som mulig effekten av ulike endringer i samme rom. Erfaringen kan ha stor overføringsverdi når det gjelder kunstnerisk utforming/utsmykning av rom og er relevant for alle avdelinger og faglige ståsted.

Gjestelærer: Tor Halmrast

Forelesninger. Befaringer. Demonstrasjoner. Tverrfaglige arbeidsgrupper som skal eksperimentere med akustiske virkemidler i eksisterende rom.

Click Track for Ali

June 13, 2005

radiaL FTM based delays graphic EQ compressing.

My left hip don’t quite get it

June 13, 2005

radiaL FTM based delays graphic EQ compressing.

Call for entries: Piksel05

June 14, 2005

Piksel is an annual event for artists and developers working with open
source audiovisual software tools. Part workshop part festival it is
organised in Bergen Norway by the Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts (BEK)
2 and involves participants from more than a dozen countries exchanging
ideas coding presenting art and software projects doing workshops
performances and discussions on the aesthetics and politics of open source.
Piksel05 will take place in Bergen october 16.000 – 23.000 2005.

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
— Piksel05 – october 16-23. 2005
— call for participation
— deadline 15.000 august 2005
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Piksel<sup class="footnote" id="fnr1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> is an annual event for artists and developers working with open
source audiovisual software tools. Part workshop part festival it is
organised in Bergen Norway by the Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts (<span class="caps">BEK</span>)
<sup class="footnote" id="fnr2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup> and involves participants from more than a dozen countries exchanging
ideas coding presenting art and software projects doing workshops
performances and discussions on the aesthetics and politics of open source.
Piksel05 will take place in Bergen october 16.000 &#8211; 23.000 2005.000
The development and therefore use of digital technology today is mainly
controlled by multinational corporations. Despite the prospects of
technology expanding the means of artistic expression the commercial
demands of the software industries severely limit them instead. Piksel is
focusing on the open source movement as a strategy for regaining artistic
control of the technology but also a means to bring attention the close
connections between art politics technology and economy.
One of the results of the past Piksel events is the initiation of the Piksel
Video Framework for &#8217;interoperability between various free software
applications dealing with video manipulation techniques&#8217;<sup class="footnote" id="fnr3"><a href="#fn3">3</a></sup>.
Piksel05 will also feature the release of the Piksel LiveCD<sup class="footnote" id="fnr4"><a href="#fn4">4</a></sup> a Linux
distribution containing the software used and developed at Piksel. The
package contains a suite of innovative audiovisual and artistic software
free video plugins and documentation from the past Piksel events.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
open <span class="caps">CALL</span> for <span class="caps">PARTICIPATION</span>
The last two Piksel events has focused on live art/audiovisual performance
but for Piksel05 the main focus will be an exhibition in collaboration with
Hordaland Kunstsenter<sup class="footnote" id="fnr5"><a href="#fn5">5</a></sup>.
For the exhibition and other parts of the program we are interested in
submissions in the following categories:
1.000
Audiovisual installations created and run solely using open source software.
The theme for the exhibition will be loosely related to &#8216;games&#8217; and the gaming
experience.
2.000
Live art realised by the use of open source software.
3.000
Innovative artistic tools or software art released under an open licence.
Please send documentation material &#8211; preferably as a <span class="caps">URL</span> to on***line***
documentation with images/video to piksel05@bek.no
Deadline &#8211; august 15.000 2004
Use this form for submitting (or go to the online form at
http://www.piksel.no/piksel05/subform.html):
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1.000
2.000
3.000
4.000
5.000
6.000
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Or send by snailmail to:
<span class="caps">BEK</span>
att: Gisle Froysland
C. Sundtsgt. 55
5004
Norway
More info: http://www.piksel.no/piksel05
piksel05 is produced in cooperation with Kunsthoegskolen in Bergen dep The
Academy of Fine Arts Hordaland Kunstsenter. Supported by <span class="caps">PNEK</span> Bergen
Kommune Norsk Kulturfond BergArt.
links:
<sup class="footnote" id="fnr1"><a href="#fn1">1</a></sup> http://www.piksel.no
<sup class="footnote" id="fnr2"><a href="#fn2">2</a></sup> http://www.bek.no
<sup class="footnote" id="fnr3"><a href="#fn3">3</a></sup> http://www.piksel.org
<sup class="footnote" id="fnr4"><a href="#fn4">4</a></sup> http://www.piksel.no/pwiki/PikseLiveCD
<sup class="footnote" id="fnr5"><a href="#fn5">5</a></sup> http://www.kunstsenter.no

CPU tests for Max

June 14, 2005

Ali Momeni’s list of CPU results for a number of Macs/PCs when using MaxMSP and the test patches used.

Many-to-many mappings

June 14, 2005

In gesture controlled digital audio systems the term

“mapping” refers to the relationship between the
gesture/control data and the digital sound processes. The
ability to choose and control this relationship makes digital
instruments fundamentally different than acoustic or electric
instruments.


Different types of mapping have been developed over the
years often using idiosyncratic methods. Recently mapping
methods have been the subject of formalization and discussed
in several papers 1-9. Generally mapping strategies are
separated in three different classes: one-to-one one-to-many
many-to-one. By combining these classes many-to-many
mappings can be built. Interestingly it has been recognized
that such complex mappings are more satisfactory after a
learning phase than one-to-one mappings 2.
Nevertheless there is still a lack of practical tools to
implement complex mappings in a relatively intuitive manner.
For this reason we are currently developing a series of
Max/MSP externals and abstractions the MnM toolbox based
on the free FTM library.


MnM: a Max/MSP mapping toolbox
F. Bevilacqua R. Müller &amp N. Schnell
Proceedings of NIME 05


Teaching Sound Art

June 21, 2005

Teaching Sound Art: Philosophies and processes in teaching electronic

and acoustic sound art


Invitation for teachers and others with teaching experience or
affiliations to submit a discussion on their approach to the art form
as teachers and artists. It is anticipated that the areas to discuss
will include: what the author values most in the art form their
personal journeys within the form influences on their creative
processes as both teachers and practitioners and other areas they
see as valuable to the discussion. The submissions should include
discussion of how these influences are transmitted through their
teaching practises at all levels of study.


This call is open to any and every field of sound art practise be
that electro-acoustic techno sound design (for film theatre and so
on) installations orchestral computer generated and any other
related area.


This is to be published as an ebook with hyperlinks cross-referencing
relevant ideas issues and areas.


Roger Alsop
Lecturer in Sound
School of Production
Victorian College of the Arts
234
SouthBank
Victoria Australia 3006

E-Mail: r.alsop@vca.unimelb.edu.au


Generator.x

June 21, 2005

Generator.x curated by Marius Watz is an exhibition and conference on software and generative strategies in current art and design practice to happen in September. He has also set up a blog on the topic that’s well worth reading. I’ve been invited to participate in the exhibition.

 

The Generator.x project is a conference exhibition and weblog examining the role of software and generative strategies in current digital art and design.


The computer has become an essential tool in all forms of cultural production and as such it has become the constant companion of creatives everywhere. Increasingly the computer is both the means of production and the architecture of presentation. In the case of meta-media like HTML and Flash the software is the medium.


Intrigued by the power of computation and the realization that all digital media are in fact software a new generation of artists and designers are turning to code as a means of new expression and a way to better control their medium. They have realized that software is not the transparent interface it has conventionally been thought to be. Instead software is a material that both limits and permits personal expression.


True literacy means being able to both read and write. If to use pre-existing software is to – read – digital media then programming is the equivalent to writing. The Generator.x project focuses on artists and designers who embrace this new literacy not as a technical obstacle but as a way to redefine the tools and the media they work in. Through a conference an exhibition and this blog we will explore the following topics:


  • Generative aesthetics: How can generative strategies be used to create dynamic systems with aesthetic parameters whether to give new solutions to specific problems (computational design) or as an end in itself (generative art)?

  • Designing processes: A computational approach to design changes static objects into dynamic processes. What implications does this have for design and architecture whether used for analysis aesthetic expression or information visualization?

  • Performative software: Musicians and visual performers are using generative systems to create complex instruments for live performance trying to overcome the convention of simply mimicking physical interface. How can a software instrument becomes as complex and expressive as a physical instrument that has been perfected over centuries?

  • Software by creatives for creatives: Artists and designers are increasingly creating their own software to meet special needs not covered by commercial packages sharing their results as Open Source.


A history…

June 22, 2005

…of loudspeakers.

a continuos condition of the environment

June 22, 2005

I want the music to be as much as possible a continuous condition of the environment something that you add to your environment something that creates an atmosphere in it or a continuous aspect of that environment in the same way that painting is. And therefore I want the music to be capable of being entered and left at any point. So this mean that I’m not going to have a narrative structure. I’m going to have somehting that is if you like a constinuous texture or an ambience which is why I use the phrase “Ambient Music”.

Brian Eno 1986

Hands on electronics for artists

June 23, 2005

This week I’m attending a workshop on “HANDS ON ELECTRONICS for ARTISTS” at BEK with Peter Flemming. So far we’ve been playing around with the 555 built a touch switch (or toggle) using the QT113 and assembled a Basic Stamp.

I’ll assemble useful links here as I go along over the next few days.

Eclipse

June 28, 2005

According to various mails on the MaxMSP mailing list Eclipse seems to be a good IDE for Java/mxj/mxj~ development. Nick Rothwell has posted a description of how to set up Eclipse projects for Max/mxj development.

Quote of the day

June 28, 2005

07.04 After an hour of e-mailing the in-box is at 106.

08.52 The in-box is now down to 113.


Robert Fripp

Multiple audio interfaces

June 29, 2005

OK I’ve just seen the first major argument for upgrading to Tiger: The ability to use multiple audio devices together to increase the number of input and output channels.