ale{atori}c » news

Chef Menteur new videos, kickstarter, shows, etc!

aleatoric — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:49:15 +0000

A lot has been going on in Chef Menteur world, as we try to get our album made.

Two new videos this summer (so far) featuring songs from the album, and we just announced another show.

http://chefmenteur.org/blog/

(I’m not gonna duplicate too much info across blogs, you can follow what’s going on over there.)

BUT…. Please support our Kickstarter project!

Psychic Summit iPhone app

aleatoric — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:50:17 +0000

My day job for the past year or so has been writing software for iOS. Not nearly as often as I’d like, but occasionally my interest in making music intersects with my work, and in this particular case I don’t think it’s ever intersected better. (The only time making music for work even came close to being this fun was perhaps when I made sound effects for a CD-ROM game in the mid-90′s, or made music loops for kids’ games in the early 2000′s).

For this app, however, I got to be an active part in the design process from the drawing board to the implementation. My interest in ambient music, generative systems, pseduorandom patterns, etc, all played into both the visual and aural aspects of the Aquarium 2 app. We make no secret of being inspired by devices like the Buddha Machine, apps like Brian Eno and Peter Chivers’ Bloom, or even those 1970′s new age ambient record series called Environments that you could pick up for 99 cents in bargain bins.

What resulted I think is a great app for constructing ideal ambient soundscapes to match your taste and mood. Each color wheel is a set of samples that you swap out with the next one by swiping across the screen; the background plasma colors change as well. You call up samples by pressing a colored wedge; the sample fades in after your touch. Touch it again and it gently fades out. The samples are mellow synthesizer loops constructed by ambient soundsmith Morgan Kuhli, or field recordings of natural sounds of the forest and ocean that you can blend. Whether you are looking for some soothing sounds for baby (c.f., Raymond Scott), something to read, meditate, or fall asleep to, you can probably build a sound with this app that will work for you.

Read about it more at the Juggleware Developer’s Blog.

Or, check out the app on the App Store.

Automagic Jazz Improvisation

aleatoric — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:07:34 +0000

Just heard an interesting story on NPR about a Georgia Tech professor’s algorithmic modeling of improvisational styles of jazz musicians like Thelonious Monk and John Coletrane. (I’ve been working on a really basic thing in Max/MSP that can play like Terry Riley on A Rainbow in Curved Air).

There’s video on their site as well with a robot that plays the marimba. Check it out.

RIP Jack Rose

aleatoric — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:36:50 +0000

It has been confirmed that acoustic guitar master Jack Rose aka “Dr Ragtime” has passed away. He was only 38.

Jack Rose was one of the leaders of amazing Virginia experimental band Pelt, and a brilliant fingerstyle guitarist in the “American Primitive” tradition of John Fahey. I only got to see him play once (at the Circle Bar in New Orleans) and a second solo show last winter at the Hi Ho happened to come when I was down with a bad flu, and I remember being very disappointed that I had to miss it, but never imagined that would be my last chance to see him play ever.

A nice tribute to Jack, including video of him performing, from Arthur Magazine.

Documentary about Sandy Bull released

aleatoric — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:59:13 +0000

I can’t find much info about this film about the oud and banjo psych-folk pioneer, but I’d love to see it. Hope it comes to New Orleans sometime. Apparently it’s by Bull’s daughter.

Arthur Magazine: Sandy Bull documentary showing in Brooklyn

sandybull.net

Konami: 2009 remaster by proswell free download

aleatoric — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:52:33 +0000

My friend proswell has re-released “Konami” on his own Eerik Inpuj Sound netlabel. It’s 8 years old but now remastered; a really nice collection of impulse tracker songs in the IDM genre. For fans of Boards of Canada, Autechre, etc.

You can download Konami at Bandcamp. You can pay any amount you like, even $0.

“Live Coding”

aleatoric — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:50:54 +0000

Not just using laptops, but coding in a live performance? See this story on BBC News’ web site.

No mentions of what languages are being used, but screen shots seem to suggest Max/MSP and either CSound or ChucK.