Dark Circuits Festival June 14 - June 23 Brooklyn New York

via Emilio Vavarella on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge. Facebook event page here.

"From June 14 through 23, 2014, Hans Tammen’s DARK CIRCUITS FESTIVAL features performers who work in contemporary electronic music practices such as circuit bending, no-input mixers, laptops, turntablism, analogue circuitry, network sniffers, live coding and soldering, plus other instruments we may have never heard of yet. http://www.darkcircuitsfestival.com/

[Jun 14/15] Workshop: Pure DatrocessorduinoMOS at Harvestworks with Phillip Stearns

[Jun 16] Concert: Joker Nies & Miguel Frasconi’s Omnichord Madness at Harvestworks.

[Jun 17] Concert/Lecture/Screening: Michael Vorfeld’s Light Bulb Music at REVERSE

[Jun 18] Concert/Party: Dark Circuits Festival Party at Silent Barn, with Andrea Parkins, Phillip Stearns, Joker Nies, Dafna Naphtali, Jane Rigler, Maria Chavez, Philip White, RADIO WONDERLAND, Lars Graugaard

[Jun 19] Concert: Andrea Parkins / Matthew Ostrowski, Vortex, and the littleBits Quartet at Spectrum

[Jun 20] Concert: Die Schrauber, wPaul Geluso, Michael Vorfeld and Satoshi Takeishi at Outpost Artist Resources

[Jun 21] Workshop/Concert: MakeMusicNY and Dark Circuits Festival at The Firehouse, Shoko Nagai, Miguel Frasconi, Mario DeVega, Philip White.

[Jun 22] APHERESIS: littleBits Monster Synth & Third Eye Dark Circuits Orchestra at Eyebeam’s CT-SWaM

[Jun 23] Concert: Lars Graugaard, Jean-Michel Pilc, Philip White at Shapeshifter

[Jun 23] CT-SWaM at Eyebeam: The Last Picnic (Goodbye Chelsea)

All events are part of Dark Circuits Festival June 14 – 23 (http://www.darkcircuitsfestival.com/) organized by Hans Tammen, at venues such as Harvestworks, REVERSE, Silent Barn, Outpost Artists Resources, Spectrum, MakeMusicNY, The Firehouse, Eyebeam and Shapeshifter Lab. The festival culminates on June 22 in the performance of APHERESIS at Eyebeam, a large multi-movement piece by Hans Tammen for 14 laptop and electronics performers. APHERESIS was commissioned by Harvestworks with funds from The Multi-Arts Production Fund. The MAP Fund is a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This work is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and Wave Farm Fiscal Sponsorship. littleBits Electronics supports MakeMusicNY and the Dark Circuits Festival by providing their LittleBits x Korg Synth Kits. Eventide supports MakeMusicNY and the Dark Circuits Festival by providing their Eventide H9 Stompboxes.

Special thanks to Emilio Vavarella, Digital Media Strategist and Photographer: http://emiliovavarella.com/ - and to Wayne Ashley for his invaluable contributions to the concept: http://futureperfectproductions.org/"

Happy New Year! The Year in Synths 2013

Happy New Year Everyone!

What a busy year it has been in the world of synths.

This is going to be one doozy of a post, so bear with me. This post is a review of the year in synths for 2013. We begin with Tributes to Those We Lost This Year, followed by New Manufacturers & Makers, Older Manufacturers Added to the Site, New Gear Announcements, Top 10 Posts by Traffic,  My Standout Posts for the Year, and finally This Years' Synth Events. I did my best to keep things as short and concise as possible.

Let's begin with the hardest part of the post.

Tributes to Those We Lost This Year

RIP Bernard Parmegiani - Electronic & Acoustic Composer
Lou Reed RIP
RIP Dick Raaymakers aka Kid Baltan
RIP George Duke - DreamWeaver
RIP Ralph Dyck, Sept 28, 1941 – May 20, 2013
RIP Ray Manzarek

All missed and never to be forgotten. Take a moment to remember them.

------

New Manufacturers & Makers

Starting last January, I decided to keep a running list of every new manufacturer and maker introduced to the site during the year.  This is something I haven't done before and I thought it would be interesting to see how many there were in the year.   It's easy to focus on the big synth announcements throughout the year, but what about all the new makers and brands? I shouln't have to go considerably into the significance of new designers on the scene, so I'll just say two things regarding them.  One, the number of new makers is a direct reflection on the interest in our scene, and two, these are the creators of new gear which directly translate into new designs not previously available to us.  Think about that for a moment.  These are makers and designs that did not exist before.  They are part of our synth history.  So what is the total count of new synth designers for the year? A whopping 113. Think about that a bit. One hundred and thirteen new synth designers and brands this year alone.

Here they are (note a handful date back to 2012, but 2013 marked their momentum and availability):

CLICK FOR MORE »

Paper Circuit Demo - LED + Push Pull Oscillator (Phillip Stearns)

Published on Jul 27, 2013 phillip stearns·74 videos

"I can't take full credit for the paper circuit idea. Peter Blasser was the first artist I knew of working with paper as a circuit substrate. There are scores of others by now.

The idea here is not to use the paper circuit as a finished product, but as an educational tool to facilitate rapid prototyping of very simple circuits in a way that is easy for the beginner to understand how connections are supposed to be made.

Prototyping with perforated circuit boards may offer a more rigid and durable solution, however, in the classroom setting it can become difficult to illustrate exactly what connections need to be made.

Though printed paper circuits are not as rigid or durable, they do provide a platform by which students can learn basic circuit assembly skills before moving on to basic CAD circuit design.

This project was developed in association with Anyang Public Art Project."

Proto-chiptune live STGO Maker Space Performance Artes Mediales

Published on Jul 26, 2013 phillip stearns·73 videos

"Live performance of Proto-chiptune at the STGO Maker Space in Santiago, Chile for the 1st Annual Artes Mediales event.

Thanks to the Chilean National Council on Arts and Culture, STGO Maker Space, and the University of Chile for making the week such a memorable one!"

Also see: Prototype Demo: Breadboard Based Modular Synth System

FYI, I created a new Phillip Stearns label for his work starting with this and the previous post. He actually has been featured numerous times on the site, dating back to 2009. You can click here and scroll through posts featuring Phillip in reverse chronological order.

Prototype Demo: Breadboard Based Modular Synth System

Prototype Demo: Breadboard Based Modular Synth System from Phillip Stearns on Vimeo.

"This video demonstrates some prototype modules being developed by Phillip Stearns and Pete Edwards for a larger breadboard based modular synth system. The current collection of modules demonstrated here were developed and designed by Phillip Stearns using a stackable, header-based form factor designed by Pete Edwards. Each module features a curated collection of CMOS chips configured into powerful core multipurpose functions. At the heart of the design approach and ethos is the desire for endless musical and electronic invention, exploration, and discovery from the bottom up or the top down.

The current lineup of modules includes:
The Shifter: A complex signal generator that utilizes an 8-bit linear feedback shift register.
Divide by 2 by 2 by 2 by 2...: a frequency divider that produces 12 sub octaves with three programmable 1 of 8 outputs.
Divide by 3 - 10: A frequency divider that produces subharmonics
The Digitizer: A real-time 3-bit ADC
The Rhythm Brain: Three synchronized, independently programmable binary rate multipliers."

via STEIM

Fluorescene (Live)

YouTube Uploaded by pixelform on Nov 29, 2011
Seizure warning: lots of strobe lighting in this one.

"Live Light and Sound Performance by Phillip Stearns at Rabbithole Gallery.

November 18, 2011
DUMBO Brooklyn

Video by Juliana Steele"

Update:

Fluorescene (excerpts)

Final Project for DIY Synthesizer Class

Final Project for DIY Synthesizer Class: Hans Tammen from harvestworks on Vimeo.

"Final projects made at Phillip Stearns' 5-day intensive synth building course at Harvestworks, made from the 4000 series of CMOS logic integrated circuits.

For more information on class please go to:

harvestworks.org

I know you want too!"

Final Project for DIY Synthesizer Class: ThorbjØrn Nyander Poulsen from harvestworks on Vimeo.

Final Project for DIY Synthesizer Class: Eugene Kogan from harvestworks on Vimeo.

Instrument from DIY Synth Class at Harvestworks

YouTube via hansteg | September 30, 2010

"Participants in Phillip Stearns' DIY Synthesizer Building Class putting together a short documentation of the instrument they created. Here's my contribution... the other videos will be available here: http://tinyurl.com/diysynthhw"

Adjacent Frequencies (Keller + Stearns) - Installation Documentation

YouTube via pixelform | July 15, 2010

"Video documentation of Adjacent Frequencies, an interactive sound and transmission art installation by Phillip Stearns and Lewis Keller. Installed at Cal Arts 2006."

Adjacent Frequencies (Keller + Stearns) - Electronics Prototype Test

pixelform | July 15, 2010

"Test of the electronics used in Adjacent Frequencies, an interactive sound and transmission art installation by Phillip Stearns and Lewis Keller"

Dr. Rek - Live at Bent Festival 2009

YouTube via DrRek
"from the upcoming Bent 2009 DVD from Absurdity.Biz
shot by Phillip D. Stearns
featuring
tr-606 i modded, xOxbOx, korg esx-1, getlofi fuzz distortion kit,
circuit bent speak n read with vactrol CV pitch in, circuit bent elmo toy
and circuit bent sound effect button and knob skill development toy
also my visuals are a circuit bent v-tech video painter that is driven by an audio input
i'm dropping the drum machine from my solo sets for the moment though,
too many machines and not enough focus time during my set, the sampler has got my percussion covered, newer version of the set is available here
http://absurdity.biz/wordpress/?p=269
http://absurdity.biz/wordpress/
http://bentfestival.org"

CMOS MUSIC I - 1 bit Chiptunes w/o the Programming

YouTube via pixelform
"http://cmosmusic.eventbrite.com/

CMOS Music I // 1-bit chiptunes w/o programming
CMOS Music I // 1-bit chiptunes w/o programming

Saturday, January 09, 2010 from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET) Brooklyn, NY...

Learn how to make 1-bit chiptunes music without the hassle of computer programming. This is a musical introduction to basic electronic concepts through the use of CMOS digital logic chips. From a hand full of components you will create the world's simplest oscillator and 8 note musical rhythm sequencer. No soldering necessary, you'll take your project home on your very own solder-less breadboard!

Taught by Phillip Stearns aka Pixel Form. See some of his work at http://youtube.com/pixelform.

All NYC Resistor classes are for people 18-years and up. Sorry, minors."

AANN - Overview by Phillip Stearns (Pixel Form) 2007

YouTube via pixelform
"http://www.art-rash.com/pixelform

This is a short documentation clip of AANN from the 2008 Juried Exhibition at the Torrance Art Museum (City of Torrance, LA, CA, USA).

Dimensions: 4x2x2 hanging installation
Medium: Electronics

AANN is an interactive, handmade electronic sculpture that responds to changes in ambient light and sound. The sculpture itself is 45 interconnected, electronic neurons that are actively responding to environmental stimuli in a display of light and sound. Constructing the sculpture in such a way that function and form are keenly interconnected, borrows from the sculptural, musical electronics works of Peter Vogel. Great care was taken in the design of the electronics to accurately mimic biological neural behavior. The resulting form of the piece was influenced in part by layering models used in neural computing, and by Fibonacci based branching found in natural systems. AANN explores the notion of interactivity with electronics by making physical the abstract processes being used by modern computer scientists to solve complex problems in pattern recognition.

The science of robotics seeks to study, mimic and recreate life through the creation of automatons which are ultimately are designed to complete tasks that serve our desires. Here with the creation of AANN, the desire is to explore the possibility of making a thinking thing, one that is allowed to have its own desires. However, in the end what AANN becomes is a sign of the industrial military complex, signifying not only the possibility of the pursuit of such idealistic techno-fetishistic dreams of machine intelligence, but also their very negation through the terminal exploitation of the very life which it seeks to replicate (and eventually replace).

Questions which arose during the course of researching and developing the work branched outwards from the decade old debate about machine intelligence and its potential impacts on society and environment. What is interactivity? What are the preconditions necessary for such interactivity? Does intelligence play a role or is interactivity a generic feature of reality. What is it to think? Is it possible for a machine to think as we do? If it is not yet possible to understand what it is to think and how we humans do it, what is it that drives us to make machines think? Are we too lazy to think for ourselves? How much does structure factor into the functioning of a network both biological and artificial? What are the implications of accepting a networked model of understanding? What is the total impact of technology on society and on the biosphere which supports it? Is it possible for a technological work to affect enough positive change to offset the potential social and environmental damage wrought in its history of development and application? Can technology exist without economies of scale, and if not, can those economies of scale be maintained in an ecologically sustainable manner?"

FRAME - I - (Ripple Counter) - Solar powered Art by Phillip Stearns (Pixel Form)

YouTube via pixelform
"Ripple Counter is a solar powered electronics sculpture that charges in the presence of light and turns on when it is dark. The ideal location for the installation of this piece is a sunny window. During the daylight hours, the circuit will be in a stand-by mode, charging the battery pack integrated in its design. When night falls, the circuitry activates and any sounds that make it through the glass will be visualized as a stream of trickling blue LEDs. It can be calibrated to function in a standard gallery exhibition space where it can charge off the standard incandescent lights and become activated as guests shadows pass over the surface.

Please pardon my whistling..."

Burlap and AANN

Burlap 4 - Phillip Stearns 2006 (pixel form)

YouTube via pixelform.
"http://www.art-rash.com/pixelform

Title: Burlap IV
Artist: Phillip Stearns
Year: 2006
Media: Wood frame, Burlap, Interactive Electronic Components

Notes:

Two tone generators have been programmed to match the pitch of the other. Intervention using various components prevents one from ever quite reaching the other. Shadow falling on the photocells in the middle of the piece will allow the dance of the two pitches to be heard though sometimes they exceed the limit of human hearing in their ascents.

Burlap Series 2006

Burlap is a continuing series of work inspired by Peter Vogel and Marc Nimoy that explores the blurring of the electronic circuit and traditional two-dimensional art forms. Small interactive, physically programmed musical computers have been embedded, woven into a skin of burlap, creating an electronic music composition in the form of a reactive textile. Gallery guests interact with the pieces by casting shadows over embedded sensors. CMOS 4000 series ICs are configured into circuits which produce tones, sequencers, and dynamically behaving oscillators that respond to shadows cast by guests. Each composition explores themes of cyclical and chaotic structures, iterative sequence generation, and dynamical feedback systems. The visual form of the Burlap pieces takes its cues from traditional circuit design and is the result of a dialog between the functions of the different parts of the circuits and the nature of the signals shuttled from one part of the circuit to the next. Weaving the circuits into a canvas of burlap juxtaposes natural construction materials with electronic technologies, and thus presents a challenge to the notion of the circuit as something that is cold, calculated, and non-human. The Burlap itself is used as a semiotically rich signifier indicating, amongst other themes, the historical origins of computing in mechanized weaving, pre-industrial age textiles, and a return to reliance upon renewable natural resources."

AANN (Artificial Analog Neural Network) - Phillip Stearns

"http://www.art-rash.com/pixelform

This is a short documentation clip of AANN from the 2008 Juried Exhibition at the Torrance Art Museum (City of Torrance, LA, CA, USA).

Dimensions: 4x2x2 hanging installation
Medium: Electronics

AANN is an interactive, handmade electronic sculpture that responds to changes in ambient light and sound. The sculpture itself is 45 interconnected, electronic neurons that are actively responding to environmental stimuli in a display of light and sound. Constructing the sculpture in such a way that function and form are keenly interconnected, borrows from the sculptural, musical electronics works of Peter Vogel. Great care was taken in the design of the electronics to accurately mimic biological neural behavior. The resulting form of the piece was influenced in part by layering models used in neural computing, and by Fibonacci based branching found in natural systems. AANN explores the notion of interactivity with electronics by making physical the abstract processes being used by modern computer scientists to solve complex problems in pattern recognition.

The science of robotics seeks to study, mimic and recreate life through the creation of automatons which are ultimately are designed to complete tasks that serve our desires. Here with the creation of AANN, the desire is to explore the possibility of making a thinking thing, one that is allowed to have its own desires. However, in the end what AANN becomes is a sign of the industrial military complex, signifying not only the possibility of the pursuit of such idealistic techno-fetishistic dreams of machine intelligence, but also their very negation through the terminal exploitation of the very life which it seeks to replicate (and eventually replace).

Questions which arose during the course of researching and developing the work branched outwards from the decade old debate about machine intelligence and its potential impacts on society and environment. What is interactivity? What are the preconditions necessary for such interactivity? Does intelligence play a role or is interactivity a generic feature of reality. What is it to think? Is it possible for a machine to think as we do? If it is not yet possible to understand what it is to think and how we humans do it, what is it that drives us to make machines think? Are we too lazy to think for ourselves? How much does structure factor into the functioning of a network both biological and artificial? What are the implications of accepting a networked model of understanding? What is the total impact of technology on society and on the biosphere which supports it? Is it possible for a technological work to affect enough positive change to offset the potential social and environmental damage wrought in its history of development and application? Can technology exist without economies of scale, and if not, can those economies of scale be maintained in an ecologically sustainable manner?"

You can find more here.

VGA Synth - Documentation 2008 - Phillip Stearns (Pixel Form)

YouTube via pixelform
"http://www.art-rash.com/pixelform

Statement:
Within all media technology, signal and noise are held apart as polar opposites. The vary nature of digital encoding and transmission technologies eliminates the possibility of noise from corrupting the fidelity of a signal. This feature is necessarily political in nature and brings with it myriad issues of content creation, control, and dissemination. There are political ideologies embedded within the very systems we use to create art and express ourselves from the manufacturing and distribution supply chain arising from post-industrial systems of capital to the capturing devices of media technology, all the way down to the software we use to cut, splice, effect, process, and manipulate streams of data. Apeiron | Peras is not overtly political in nature, but starts with the notion of blurring the boundaries between analogue and digital signals video as well as audio - as a metaphor for dissolving hierarchies and exploring interrelatedness. The resulting audio visual work is the end of a process seeking to exert some measure of expressive control over an otherwise raw electronic signal stripped of its usual conventions of format or data type.

Design Concept:
The concept behind the VGA Synth begins in the design of a finite, circularly organized circuit which produces complex and unpredictable behavior in response to minute external changes. The system stands as a representation of binary relationships codified in the design of the core electronics. On one hand is the continuity and fluidity ascribed to analog circuits and on the other is the abstract, quantified discrete and discontinuous nature of digital electronics. However, the electron indifferent to human intent - cares not for digital or analog. Audio signals are converted into a video outputs which is then fed right back into the instruments audio inputs, closing a loop that is constantly churning out electronic signals shaped by the slightest change in the system. There is an intricately tangled relationship between what is heard and what is seen as the sound and image cycle through, taking turns leading and following the other."

TI99 - Modifications Documentation - Phillip Stearns (Pixel Form)
"http://www.art-rash.com/pixelform
Documentation Clip of my Texas Instrument TI99/4a computer modifications. I started outwith a circuit bending approach and moved gradually to more advanced modifications and hacks. 5 Different versions exist. The prototype and v1 Pixel Maelstroms, as I've named them, are both raw circuit bent machines. Version 2 introduces some rudementary audio ractivity circuitry for functions resembling a glitched music visualizer. Version 3 integrates an onboard oscillator bank in addition to the audio reactivity circuitry, creating the possibility for mixer fascilitated feedback. Version 4 integrates light sensors in addition to the onboard oscillator bank and audio reactivity circuitry."

NES - Circuit Bent Mod - Phillip Stearns (Pixel Form) 2008-2009

"I have been commissioned to modify another NES console. This audio reactivity mod will feature 3 x 12 position rotary selector switches to combine up to 3 different bend points at once. Audio reactivity will also be selectable from one of 4 filter outputs. There are some special features in there too. This clip shows the prototype circuit in action, which I'm currently tranferring to a final perf board layout.

http://www.art-rash.com/pixelform"