Labels and artists are only now catching on to the idea of letting fans remix their music, and are even slower to give those fans access to individual stems. But where musicians have embraced this idea, they’ve gotten surprisingly big outpourings of support — thank a culture that’s gotten savvy with digital music tools and consumes more music than ever.
While that change continues to spread slowly, though, audiovisual remixing could already have a jump start.
Radiohead: Big news for fans of data visualization, the coding tool Processing, and Creative Commons: Radiohead have "shot" their latest video using only 3D scanning devices in place of cameras, and they’ve made source code and the data (in friendly CSV files) free. The whole thing is released under a non-commercial / ShareAlike , which is well-suited to remixes in general. So, to anyone who was disappointed that Radiohead didn’t use a Creative Commons license for their , now you’ve gotten something you didn’t even ask for — three-dimensional, animated data of Tom Yorke’s face. And because this is essentially raw data, it’s unusually open to interpretation.
Visual stems? By total coincidence, Create Digital Motion’s Jaymis wonders aloud if the entire A/V scene couldn’t be given a jump start by two obvious (but strangely elusive) decisions: 1. release video "stems" for music videos to give people free access to them, and 2. go get a real visualist. Some artists have done #1, of course, but there wasn’t a specific name given to the result, and they’ve more often than not released full videos — so here you go.
Both stories are covered today on Create Digital Motion:
But I think it’s well worth asking readers here on CDMusic, too. Music sampling and even remixing may be old news — even if copyright protection remains the norm. But could opening up visual remixes and free visual interpretation re-energize how people think about music?
Of course, this isn’t just for the sake of doing it. Jaymis launched his discussion partly because he wanted something more expressive at a performance, and Radiohead’s CC decision allows them to take an experience that would be pretty limited (a few minutes of cool video) and make it far less so (live data and code remixed by especially-savvy fans). Likewise, the CC license is essential in the latter case; there’s far less incentive to fans to code their own visual software if they can’t share ownership of the result, or — just as importantly — share the resulting code with each other. (The tool the band’s video used, too, wouldn’t even exist without the open source community that created it.)
So, what’s next — particularly if you’re not as famous as Radiohead?
, you will find some useful music apps in the iTunes App Store – you can at least get some fine tuners. ( was excited on Twitter that one of them helps him tune his ukulele, thanks to four string support!) We do expect more hefty music tools in the coming months, and via the jailbroken platform.
But some of the real stars on the iPhone – or whatever your favorite smart mobile device may be – have to do with simply storing ideas and keeping your life together. That means one of the best downloads so far for the iPhone is . As writes in comments on CDM:
The app I’m most excited about for music is Evernote. You can record voice notes, text notes, and it even recognizes the text in iPhone pictures. So next time you write a killer hook on a bar napkin, snap a picture and sync it. Cool.
I’m a huge user of Evernote on my desktops and, via its web browser, on my Blackberry. The iPhone app looks especially great, though; I’m jealous.
My friend Francis Preve has written a whole set of useful tips for DJs that apply to any gigging musician / artist (which he’s been refining since the first iPod, in fact):
[Beatportal]
Some highlights:
Keeping email templates for gig announcements on your device so you can send them quickly. (Recognize this scenario? “Hey, what’s new?” “I’m playing Friday.” “Oh, really?”)
Mapping: Some providers require you to enable mapping capabilities on your device. Do it. Both the “real” GPS (via a dedicated radio) and the assisted GPS can be lifesavers if you travel at all. (The iPhone 2.0 update adds this feature, in the assisted form.)
Rescue tracks: The iPhone is a capable music player, so it can, um, save you when your laptop dies or someone . It even has video out capability, for you readers.
And the fact is, you can easily apply these ideas to whatever phone / smart device is your favorite. These could also put you over the top as far as cameras with phones – not because you’ll necessarily be taking attractive photos (dedicated cameras are a must for that) but because they can aid visual memory. (Airport parking spot? Check!)
I especially like Fran’s idea of logging creative time. Invoicing aside, I find that it’s so often a fight to get time to yourself that I really like the idea of keeping track of that time, whether it’s in the studio or just sitting in the park thinking about a new song. It could help give you some positive reinforcement for setting aside some working time or even badly-needed quiet time.
Going back to my first Palm (the PalmPilot Professional, no less), I’ve always found even simple mobile devices can help reduce stress, particularly on the road. And that to me is priceless.
Other ideas that boost your productivity, in terms of gigging, travel, and creativity? Let us know.
Previously:
(which, surprisingly, isn’t all that outdated by the App Store launch – we expect bigger announcements in the coming weeks)
PSPSeq, the latest release of this powerful sequencer with real-time synthesis and sample playback on Sony’s handheld game console, is now available in version 3.0. (We but it’s now actually available for download.) In this release:
Synthesizer presets
7 MB sample memory
FM feedback with configurable routing (nice)
Shortcuts and workflow improvements
Randomization with various controls (range, etc.)
Looping improvements
Now, if anyone has smart ideas about how to buy up used PSPs, I’m all ears…
USATODAY.com - LOS ANGELES - Movies and music from small, independent creators push the pop-culture envelope with fresh ideas. Now, game developers are set to do the same with a wave of low-priced - and often offbeat - titles on the new online video-game system networks from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.
AFP - An Australian woman described as the world's oldest Internet blogger has died at the age of 108 after posting a final message about singing "a happy song" in her nursing home.
Reuters - There were a lot of questions
surrounding the "Guitar Hero" videogame when it first came out.
Would gamers agree to pony up extra money for the special
guitar-shaped controller needed to play it? Would the music
industry agree to license master tracks? Would the addition of
downloadable content be successful?
I guess we've all heard the arguments by now. With the digital revolution making it so easy for any artist to put out and distribute their music, the music itself as a physical product was bound to be devalued.
I've seen numerous arguments on "the future of free", meaning that music itself has become so devalued that fans actually feel it's their right to get it for free. I guess this is probably natural, considering that most of the kids coming of age now have never experienced life without LimeWire or Bearshare.
All of this is understandable. But what does this mean in terms of the overall music industry? Is it headed for a slow death?
8-bit and robots and odd Max and Reaktor patches and custom visual software and visualizations of data packets and sound made from plants and mutant trumpets and gloves for DJing and laptop music – we’ve got quite a lineup here in New York this week.
Friday night, a live audiovisual lineup from the worlds of createdigitalmusic.com / createdigitalmotion.com invades the , aka Hackers on Planet Earth, the three day-long convergence of tech hacking. $10, open to all, 11-2a Friday July 18 at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York. It’s a live digital, technological variety show in a with an audience of famous and infamous hackers. (Think Kevin Mitnick and MythBusters’ Adam Savage and Steven Levy, .)
; also on
Here’s a look at the performers and projects. If you can’t be in New York, this should give you a little taste of the range of work people are doing here and in our community in general, and I hope to have more coverage after the event.
from on .
from on .
Michael Una’s live-looping, robot-drumming, circuit-bending experience
CDM contributor, Circuit Bending Challenge coordinator and sage of all things DIY and sound art Michael joins the ensemble with robotic assistance:
I will be using custom-built interface devices, acoustic and circuit-bent instruments, and a robot drummer to create a rhythmic, textured and melodic sonic experience on the fly.
(Hey, does anyone know why Renee and Michael’s site is being blocked by Google? Was it the beat bike or the prayer wheel? What gives?)
from on .
Joshue Ott / superDraw (visuals)
Ezekiel Honig (music)
Ott is the creator of superDraw, a home-made software application which manipulates simple line drawings to create something beautiful and far removed from the original input.
A New York City native, and founder/label manager for the Anticipate and Microcosm labels, Ezekiel Honig concentrates on his idiosyncratic brand of emotively warm electronic-acoustic music. Using the loop as more of a tool than a rule, Honig paints outside the lines, nestling into a comfortable space between techno, house and ambient - using them as reference points from which to stray, rather than as steadfast frameworks. Drawing on the rich history of musique concrete, Honig looks to incorporate a material nature into his music by imbuing it with a host of field recording/found-sound sources in the search for a balance between digital software innovation and the physicality of the world around us. His music is one of contrast and contradiction, combining minimal, abstract tendencies with a core of timeless harmonics - pairing fuzzy chords with clunky and dirty "mishaps."
Ben Neill’s mutantrumpet.
Ben Neill will present a new set of music for Neill’s newly redesigned original instrument, the mutantrumpet. Dubbed “the mad scientist of dancefloor jazz” by CMJ Magazine, Neill’s music “masterfully blurs the lines between electronic dance music and jazz sounds” (Billboard). This new set of future dub jazz is the most recent chapter in Neill’s musical evolution which has included the CDs Green Machine (Astralwerks), Triptycal and Goldbug (Verve) and Automotive (Six Degrees). Neill has also recently created a new version of his unique electro-acoustic instrument, the mutantrumpet, thanks to a residency at the STEIM studios in Amsterdam.
We’ll have visuals with Ben’s work, too; final confirmation of the visualist soon.
Bill Jones, visuals
Bill Jones, Neill’s longtime visual collaborator, has created a new set of interactive video for the set. The imagery is primarily black and white and evokes a late-night urban vibe inspired by sci-fi noir films such as Godard’s Alphaville. The video and music are created as one hybrid form of expression, and the new capabilities of the mutantrumpet make it possible for the visual and sonic elements to be seamlessly integrated in real time.
Neill and Jones are continuing to explore ways in which the dynamics and improvisation of live musical performance can be translated across the boundaries of sound and vision. Their past projects have included the Pulse series of sound/light sculptures, widely exhibited in the 1990’s, MIDI controlled slide projector shows for Neill’s Sci-Fi Lounge tour with DJ Spooky, and Palladio, a VJ movie based on the novel of the same name by Jonathan Dee.
Todd Thille, with Duncan Laurie and … houseplants.
Custom circuitry with an Arduino base will acquire electromagnetic signals from plants and use them to influence generative audio and video inside Max/MSP and Jitter.
from on .
Paris: Digital Visuals
Paris Treantafeles (aka Voltage Controlled) is an open source software expert and live visualist, regularly associated with the local 8-bit scene. He builds custom visual software for 8-bit game systems.
Don Miller / No Carrier
Don is another DIY software visualist, writing his own visual tools for NES, Commodore 64, and most recently Game Boy (yes, even in black and white!)
Animalstyle
Animalstyle (aka Joey Mariano) has a different twist on 8-bit music: he’s a guitarist, but routes his instrument through 8-bit fuzz pedal, uses a Game Boy foot controller, and mixes guitar and 8-bit sounds.
vade and Mary Ann Benedetto
vade (aka Anton Marini) performs visuals on . He’s doing something mysterious involving data packet sniffing visualization and joining our VJ/visualist crew for the evening. He’s also a contributor and tipster for Create Digital Motion.
will also be visualizing and reinterpreting geeky things, likely including munging the Linux kernel visually. Expect some visual surprises – and source releases on CDM for a couple of those visual tools!
Roger Tsai
[Groovy Hand] allows DJ to use hand gesture & head shaking to manipulate music. These gestures visualize how DJ play music, and also ask for sound from audience to generate interactive entertaining experience.
In a great music performance, musician are usually encouraged to express themselves with body language and do all kinds of gestures to enhance entertaining effect (such as exaggerated move of guitarist). However, unlike other performer, DJ doesn’t have many chances to use gestures because most of the DJ instrument are not helping him showing gestures, they’re just knobs and buttons.
Also, audience doesn’t get a clue how how a DJ produce music because there are only limited visual information from DJ’s movement and gestures. Base on these observation and interview, I created [Groovy Hand], that allows DJ have fun with innovative way to manipulate music. At the same time, visual and verbal interaction between DJ and audience brings audience a new experience of DJ show.
from on .
Peter Kirn
I have no idea who this person is, but he kept tagging around, so we had to include him.
Okay, it’s me. I’ll be doing a live music set with keyboard and laptop with some custom Reaktor / Kore music tools, plus the debut of a rig for working with Nintendo’s Wii Balance Board.
I may jump in on visuals, as well.
PETER KIRN is a composer, digital musician, and media artist/visualist. Classically trained, he has extended his work into experimental music for acoustic instruments, historic instruments, and digital sound and visual technology. The Boston Globe describes his music and live visuals as "poetic" and "delicate." He has been a Digital Fellow at Dance Theater Workshop with collaborator Christopher Williams, and has taught music, interactive visuals, and technology at Harvestworks, 3rd Ward, Massachusetts College of Art, CUNY, and Sarah Lawrence. He is completing a PhD in music composition at the City University of New York Graduate Center.
Be there
Where: The Hotel Pennsylvania, New York City (); head to the main door, on your left is the entrance to Penn Pavilion and you should see a table there.
When: Friday, July 18 2008 – performances run 11pm – 2am
Cost: US$10 at the door. First come, first served. (free if you have a conference badge; if you need a press badge)
Image credits (top): Michael Una by ; plant installation by Todd Thille; Roger Tsai by ; mutantrumpet designed by Ben Neill; Peter Kirn by Todd Thille; screenshot of visuals by Anton Marini; Don Miller (no carrier) by ; cover from Ezekiel Honig’s “”; screenshot of superDraw by Joshue Ott; the Hotel Pennsylvania by ; screenshot of visuals by Paris.
Reuters - Professionals and amateurs alike
will have the chance to remix the third single from Mariah
Carey's platinum-plus album "E=MC2" via a contest hosted on a
startup social network Web site for musicians, Billboard has
learned.
Reuters - Vintage concert performances by
such acts as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bob Marley will soon join the
nearly 500 recordings already available for download purchase
at the music and memorabilia site Wolfgang's Vault.
I guess we've all heard the arguments by now. With the digital revolution making it so easy for any artist to put out and distribute their music, the music itself as a physical product was bound to be devalued.