Podcast 352: Anthony Rolando (Make Noise Music)

video by 20Objects

"For my audience, Anthony Rolando probably needs no introduction. As the product designer at Make Noise Music, his work is found in almost every modular system you’ll run across. From his earliest designs (such as the Maths) to his latest (like the Morphagene), he’s helping to define the future of modular systems.

Recently, Make Noise has come out with a new standalone device – the Strega. This is a remarkable system-in-a-box that includes integrated effects and tone generation, and is particularly focused on live play. As a collaboration with Alessandro Cortini, the Strega is a deep, opinionated view on noise/sound manipulation, and launches a new perspective on what an ‘instrument’ is all about.

In our discussion, we dive into depth on the development of the Strega, Tony’s personal musical adventures, and a bunch of follow-up from our previous podcast (https://artmusictech.libsyn.com/podca...​). As with any discussion with Tony, it was revealing, challenging and inspiring.

Enjoy!

Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/trans...​"

Podcast 273: Dan Goldstein (Cherry Audio)

Published on Apr 21, 2019 20Objects

"Dan Goldstein has been living his dream for 20 years. He started off with Sonic Foundry - back in the golden days - creating the future of audio software from scratch. He went on to be a main developer of Mixcraft, and has recently been involved in the release of Cherry Audio's Voltage Modular synth software. It's a powerhouse, and you can tell that Dan is really excited about it.

We took the opportunity to roll through some of his history, and I learned a lot about Sonic Foundry's world. But I also got a chance to see the trajectory of a guy - in Dan - that knew what he loved, and spent a lot of effort pursuing it. You hear it in his voice; despite the fact that he's been doing it for 20 years, he sounds as excited as a teen with his first car.

It was cool to talk to Dan about history, but also about his current work on Voltage Modular. If you are interested in playing around with a new kind of virtual modular, you should check it out - it's breaking some new ground, and is a blast to play with. You can check it out at https://cherryaudio.com/

Enjoy!"

Podcast 330: Stephan Schmitt

20Objects

"Talk about a career! Stephan Schmitt started his journey into audio development by making noisy object as a kid, then got into electrical engineering to work on large format consoles (which is where he took on software...), then co-founded Native Instruments, creating Generator/Reaktor. After years with NI (including the development of Spark, Skanner and Kontour), he set off to work on his ultimate project: a keyboard player's dream synth, called the Nonlinear Labs C15.

In our chat, we talk about his history through the creation of NI, how he finds the synth voicings that are his signature development, and how the C15 fits into the world of modern music playing and production. Along the way, we also learn a lot about the things that (according to Stephan) make a synth 'expressive', and how this can benefit the live synth player.

Super fascinating, and a chance to learn the history behind the earliest days of virtual synth development, and the on-going work creating a niche hardware device. Check out Nonlinear Labs at https://www.nonlinear-labs.de/index.html."

Podcast 272: Aaron Higgins of 1010 Music

Published on Apr 14, 2019 20Objects

"It's pretty hard to avoid gear lust when you see 1010 Music's work in action. Originally launched as the Bitbox, the touchscreen, high-function module has spawned a number of implementations, including the Synthbox, Fxbox, Toolbox and - most recently - the standalone Blockbox. I've been in awe of this system since it was first released, and I'm glad to have the chance to talk with the creator - Aaron Higgins.

Based out of LA, Aaron and his spouse have 1010 humming. By focusing on a specific setup (a touch-based interface on a fully-digital module base), they have been creating some eye-popping modules for sample playback, digital synthesis, realtime sequencing and even laser pattern generation. You have to see some of these things to believe them, but in general you can say that 1010 is pushing the envelope of what we think a module can do.

In our talk, we discuss the development of the platform, the differences in the devices, and Aaron's inspiration and design aesthetic. We also peek at his background as a developer, and look into the future of standalone hardware creation.

I got a chance to see the 1010 Blackbox in action at Synthplex, and am so glad that he took the opportunity to have a chat. If you want to see more about their hardware offerings, check out their website: https://1010music.com/

Enjoy!"

Podcast 279: Doug Lynner

Published on Jun 2, 2019 20Objects

"I first knew Doug Lynner's work as the editor/publisher of Synapse Magazine, an electronic music magazine before most people even knew that was a thing. Doug laid the groundwork for magazine-as-history in our cultural world, and took the opportunity to leverage his position and location (L.A.) to get a lot of great interviews over the magazines short-ish lifetime.

I have a couple of listener requests to have a chat with Doug, which caused me to do a little background work. My God - what a career. Between his CalArts education, the magazine work, his bands and his long history with Serge systems (including being an artist/demo dude for Serge himself), he was clearly a touchpoint for the things that interest all of us.

He continues full-force, doing one-on-one teaching, producing a weekly live performance radio show on KZSU (https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/bl...) and releasing new work based on his Modular Tonalism system. All of it is intriguing, and after listening to this chat, I'm sure you are going to want to learn more.

Check out all of Doug's work at https://www.neatnetnoise.com/, or at his bandcamp site (https://douglynner.bandcamp.com/). Enjoy!"

You can find additional info on Synapse Magazine on the Cyndustries website here.

Podcast 292: Ross Healy (VICMOD)

Published on Sep 8, 2019 20Objects

"I think I've seen the handle VICMOD bouncing around the internet forever. I've also been listening to the music of Cray for a while, too. But only recently did I actually put 2 and 2 together to realize that this was the same person!

I've always like the Cray music for its breadth and honesty - it really sounded like a person's inner voice, rather than whatever a synth might naturally produce. And in talking with him, it is clear that this is his primary objective: heartfelt improvisation and sound design.

From his earliest work with a janky 486 computer to his current obsession with Omnisphere (with Buchla, Serge and Eurorack in-between), Ross has exercised almost any machine you can imagine. The result is a person that is looking to be surprised by his environment - and is constantly searching for those surprises.

After our chat, Ross was apparently spurred into digging into the archives, and has release the following for the listeners:

https://vicmodcray.bandcamp.com/album...

You can also check out the whole VICMOD label catalog here:

http://www.vicmod.net/

And, as Ross himself says, check out his work on discogs.com to dig into more of his past:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/621720...

Enjoy!"

Geometric Patterns Made Of Love And Understanding

Mix of unreleased Cray tracks featuring: Buchla 200e, Serge, Roland MC202, Mescaline, Eurorack, Lorre Mille Double Knot, Electron Analog 4, and Octatrack.

Cray, aka Ross Healy of Vicmod, was recently interviewed in 20Objects Podcast292 posted here. You can also find the interview on https://artmusictech.libsyn.com.

Euclid's Gear Box

Published on Apr 30, 2013 davidryle·108 videos

"A quick patch project based on some Euclidean Rhythm ideas recently discussed on the Muffwiggler's Forum. Since I don't own a single module like the COTK C969 Eclidean Bi-Clock Sequencer, I decided to rig up my modular to impersonate the general idea.

Patch details include...
The kick drum, snare and bass line are using variations on 16 beat patterns. The other two elements are 12 beat with 2 fills and 11 beats with 4 fills respectively.

The patterns are as follows...

kick = 16 beat 7 fill
snare = 16 beat 6 fill
bass = 16 beat 4 fill
RM voice = 12 beat 2 fill
second voice = 11 beat 4 fill

The 20Objects.com Ardcore 001 & Ox are handling the 16 beat patterns with the AC14 Gate Sequence sketch.
The Synthesizers.com Q960 Sequential Controller is generating the main clock and the 12 beat pattern with 2 rows of six beats and the first beat output.
The Q119 Sequential Controller is handling the 11 beat pattern by using the voltage output as a gate.
The STG Soundlabs VMS is sending pitch voltages to the 12 beat pattern's VCO's (ring modulated voice).

The Sputnik WCRS is generating quantized random pitch voltages to the 11 beat voice.
All pitch voltages are quantized through the dual Q171 quantizers from synthesizers.com.
The bass line pitch voltage is using a slow square wave LFO through a Q125 signal processor and a channel of a Q171 quantizer for a shifting 2 pitch pattern.
The kick drum is a Polivoks Filter resonance. The snare is white noise through an Oakley Diode Ladder Steep and mixed with the enveloped white noise then a touch of room reverb from a Strymon Blue Sky reverb.

The patterns were first realized using Wouter Hisschemöller's "Euclidean Rhythms Generator" java script. See: www hisschemoller dot com for further info."

ArdCore Output Expander Example #4: Voltage Tracker

YouTube Published on May 20, 2012 by 20Objects

"Control the step playback control of a Q960 Sequencer using the ArdCore with an output expander. This sketch follows incoming voltages, and produces a voltage-controlled sequence."

Podcast 307: Eric Schlappi

Published on Dec 22, 2019 20Objects

"There are a few modules that have been quietly creeping into discussions - and modular rigs - over the last few months. One manufacturer that keeps coming up is Schlappi Engineering - and especially the Angle Grinder module. I'm not sure how you make a quadrature oscillator sexy - but Eric Schlappi seems to have done it!

In this chat, we go over Eric's background, how he came up with some of his modules, some of the technologies that he's exploring for the future, and his own music-making (and performing) process. His modules are opinionated (in that they have design decisions that can drive you in certain directions), but in a way that can still allow you to maintain your own voice. He also talks about his own obsession with analog monosynths, and how this has influenced his own electronics development.

In addition to his modules, you can check out some of his recorded work on his Bandcamp site (https://ericschlappi.bandcamp.com/). Also, for Tier 2 (and above) Patreon supporters (https://www.patreon.com/darwingrosse), we have an extended interview about the performative aspects of the 100 Grit that is particularly interesting.

Enjoy!"

Duocore Arudino and Jupiter Storm

Published on May 9, 2014 spunkytoofers·78 videos

"Dual ardcore running Darwin Gross' bouncing ball sketch along with Fac's fm oscillator with both sketches under pressure and position control. Hexinverter Jupiter Storm is being sequenced by Random Looping Seqencer.

VCAs and Sequencer are being triggered by slewed bouncing ball with the physics of the sketch under pressure control.

Arduino running under the 20objects ardcore circuit:
http://www20objects.com
http://www.spunkytoofers.com"