Sonic sculptures (generative modular music)

video upload by Electrum Modular

"(For Paula)

This patch was inspired by hours (weeks?) of listening to Morton Feldman’s exquisite music. It ended up quite different harmonically from Feldman’s pieces, partly due to the limitations of a modular system. The envelope generators and attenuators required some tweaking to get that balance between repetition and divergence, revolving and evolving. In retrospect, I could have left longer silences between notes.
NOTE: no delay effect used here, as it would have reintroduced a pulse.

“Almost all of Feldman’s music is slow and soft. Only at first sight is this a limitation. I see it rather as a narrow door, to whose dimensions one has to adapt oneself (as in Alice in Wonderland) before one can pass through it into a state of being that is expressed in Feldman’s music. Only when one has become accustomed to the dimness of the light can one begin to perceive the richness and variety which is the material of the music...Feldman sees sounds as reverberating endlessly, never getting lost, changing their resonances as they die away, or rather not die away, but recede from our ears, and soft because softness is compelling, because an insidious invasion of our senses is more effective than a frontal attack.”” -- Cornelius Cardew, quoted by John Tilbury in “On Playing Feldman”

Video sequences from Works of Calder (d. Herbert Matter, 1950), an experimental film featuring a soundtrack by John Cage; available at archive.org.

Title image: Tentoonstelling Kinetische Plastiek Am. beeldhouwer Alexander Calder in Stedelij, Bestanddeelnr (October 2, 1969); creative commons.

Modules used:
Expert Sleepers’ Disting EX
Disting mk4
ALM’s Pamela’s New Workout
Behringer Neutron
ALM’s Pip Slope x2
Make Noise Maths
Intellijel Quad VCA
Tesseract’s Sweet Sixteen"

FEEDBACK by Ultraviolet Light

This one is in via Todd Barton who co-curated the release.

"Cassette label Ultraviolet Light is ecstatic to announce Feedback, a compilation of new works from Todd Barton, Dan Deacon, Dani Dobkin, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Doug Lynner, Toshimaru Nakamura, Sarah Belle Reid, Ryan Gaston, Jimmy Joe Roche, and Keith Fullerton Whitman. Each track utilizes some form of acoustic feedback, no-input mixing or recursive patching techniques as the central compositional principle.

Closed circuit and acoustic feedback have been prominent features within experimental electronic compositions for well over 50 years. In 1968 Steve Reich made extensive use of audio Feedback in his work “Pendulum Music”. David Tudor and Alvin Lucier incorporated feedback systems in many iconic compositions. Much of John Cage's interest and questions of noise and its relation to music could be seen as an extension of concepts explored when artists introduce feedback into their performances and recording. Arguably the most prolific and influential artist who integrated feedback into her compositions is the French composer Éliane Radigue.

Feedback is released as a 300-copy limited edition cassette with 4-color risograph printed artwork by Never Brush my Teeth. A digital download card is included with each cassette. 60% of the digital sales of the album will be donated to Earth Justice annually.

Curated by Todd Barton and Jimmy Joe Roche.

Available here on Bandcamp: https://ultravioletlight.bandcamp.com/album/feedback"

Manhattan Bridge Subway Ride (N & Q trains) with original music

video upload by CatSynth TV

"The view looking south from an eastbound subway train over the Manhattan Bridge in New York, with original music. The southern side of the bridge carries tracks for the N and Q lines of the New York City subway.

Filmed in January 2023

The music is built around the original sound from the subway rides. Instrumentation includes:
Arturia EFX Fragments
Tracktion KULT
Cherry Audio Mercury 6 and Stardust 201 delay
Jaymar toy piano
Landscape Stereo Field
Strymon Starlab
QuBit Prism
John Cage Prepared Piano from Big Fish Audio (Kontakt)
EastWest Hollywood Orchestra Solo Cello"

below this time does not exist by Todd Barton

https://toddbarton.bandcamp.com/album/below-this-time-does-not-exist

"The title comes from a phrase in one of my favorite books, The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli. Back in February 2020 while in Italy my daughter and I were fascinated by Rovelli’s poetical unfolding of relational quantum mechanics for the lay person. At that time I selected a few phrases that piqued my imagination and creativity as composition titles for a future album. Coincidentally and spontaneously one day my daughter, Ursula, snapped a photo of me in the Tuscan sunlight which turned out to be quite extraordinary and evocative. We talked about it being the cover for this album. The future has arrived . . . enjoy!

released December 2, 2022

Instruments used:
Buchla Music Easel, Buchla 227e System Interface Module, 1979 Modular Stereo Microsound Processor, Makenoise Erbeverb, Makenoise Mimeophon, Intellijel Planar 2, TC Electronic Ditto X4 Looper, TC Electronics T2 reverb, U & I Software Metasynth.

Influences:

Though their influences may not be apparent, these Elders have guided me endlessly…

Beatriz Ferreyra, Eliane Radigue, Bebe Barron, Roland Kayn, Morton Subotnick, Gordon Mumma, John Cage, David Tudor,
Toru Takemitsu and Witold Lutoslawski."

ARPchives LIVE! with Steve McQuarry: August 4, 2021

video upload by Alan R. Pearlman Foundation

Starts at 1:46

"Catch the wave ∿ Our ARPCHIVESLIVE series with Steve McQuarry (of Synsor).

As a composer, arranger, orchestrator, synthesist, and visualist, Steve has worked with distinguished artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Laurie Anderson, and the late John Cage. Join us as he discusses sounds, synths, and sequencers with Dina Pearlman!

More of Steve's Music here
https://synsor.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/synsormusic/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-42..."

https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/

ARPchives LIVE! posts

Switching the waves. An introduction to the modular synthesizer with Enrico Cosimi

Materia Films

Massive synthesizers.com and GRP systems. EMS SYNTHI in there as well.

"interview with Enrico Cosimi
Rome, 1 July 2020

filmed by Paolo Parmiggiani

John Cage photo, courtesy Corinto Marianelli

Pierre Vellones and Maurice Martenot photo
["File:Vellones et martenot.jpg" by femme de Pierre Vellones]
is licensed with CC BY-SA 3.0

translation: David Kerr


© Materia Films 2020. All rights reserved (Safe Creative identifier: 2012186259224)"

The Noise Floor of the Universe

MAKEN0ISE

"I love to make noise, and I am also keen to learn about the many ways in which noise makes me.

The observations in this video are not really anything new. If they strike any chord with you, here is some recommended further reading:

Pauline Oliveros, “Some Sound Observations” - perhaps the piece that kick-started my interest in the removal of boundaries between music and sound, sound and silence, listening and playing.

John Cage, Silence - among much other material this includes the famous story of a visit to an anechoic chamber where Cage was unable to hear “silence” because he could always hear the sounds of his own body.

Joe Allen, “Academic Archive Vol XII: The Soul of Hank Shocklee” - Shocklee discusses the unfound sounds and rhythms that emerge, consciously and otherwise, when multiple recordings are sampled and mixed together.

Eliane Radigue with Julia Eckhardt, Intermediary Spaces - Radigue discusses how underlying tones are a necessary bed for the harmonic explorations in her music to be heard, or even to exist.

Daphne Oram, An Individual Note - Oram spends the better part of her book using electronic music concepts as a sometimes clunky but always interesting extended metaphor for the human body.

George Lewis, "Improvising Tomorrow's Bodies: The Politics of Transduction" - Lewis argues for improvisation as key to "the foreshortening of distance between art and life."

http://www.makenoisemusic.com"

Superbooth 20HE: DBS Music and Omsonic Introduce New Eurorack Module

Published on Apr 26, 2020 sonicstate

"DBs Music and Omsonic have collaborated on a new module that takes the idea of probabilistic voltage control and puts it into a eurorack module. It is part sequencer, part random voltage source. Drawing from the John Cage idea that the job of the composer is to create the situation where complexity can occur.

The idea is that every aspect of a note; pitch, duration, portamento, envelope etc is under probabilistic control. So the idea is that instead of programming it like a sequencer or playing it like an instrument you set up the constraints for it to make music and then let it do its thing. As it is creating sequences you can interact with it and loop certain phrases.

For a deeper understanding of the module Phin gives us a demo of how you would build a sequence."

The Galaxy Electric - Improvised Electroacoustic Music - Bebe and Louis Barron Theme

Published on Mar 24, 2020 The Galaxy Electric

"Thanks for listening! Come on a musical voyage with us where we'll send you a new song every day, a cosmic story, and a chance to earn space treasure: https://thegalaxyelectric.lpages.co/5...

The Avant-Garde meets Sci-Fi Soundscapes

Inspired by the famous 1950s electronic music duo behind the film score for Forbidden Planet, Bebe and Louis Barron - we set out to improvise in the style of their early work with avant grade artists like John Cage and Anais Nin, whose poetry is featured in this video.

Join us every Wednesday for a ride on The Galaxy Electric Express 🚀

We perform a LIVE (improvised) Cosmic Tape Music soundtrack for your retro-futuristic travels 💫 You never know what planet you will land on…but you know it’s going to be an unforgettable journey…

Gear:
Buchla Music Easel
1979 Digital Resonator
Buchla 266 Source of Uncertainty
DIY MFOS Noise Toaster"

Light Splitting | minimal ambient with test equipment, pedals and four track cassette

Published on Feb 6, 2020 HAINBACH

"In which I perform a composition on battery powered test equipment, pedals and a four track cassette recorder.

This track stems from many ideas - the first inspiration was my visit to Willem Twee studios and their beautiful setup of sine wave oscillators, with which its possible to create all kinds of amazing tone clusters. It gave me the idea of trying a minimal take on that technique. I did not feel like engaging the test equipment wall, I wanted something small, maybe even portable.

I started with he Brüel & Kjaer 1621 bandpass filter I got as a gift from Felix of the fabolous @Fewjar , as its small and runs on batteries. It takes a saw from the @KOMA Elektronik RH301 and filters it, creating pulses as it jumps from high-low setting. The TouelSkouarn Ar Merc'het Brao is a dual filter but I love it as an oscillator, controlled by the infra-red sensor of the RH301. One out goes into the Cooper FX Outward MK2, which creates more brassy pulses and new harmonies. I then realized that I could power this all from the Koma Elektronik Strom Mobile, which lasts for about 5-6 hours on a single 6000ma USB power bank with this setup. So I set that up instead of crawling under the desk for a free power slot.

Because the setup is small I thought of ways to get more voices, so I did what Stockhausen did - record the sounds to tape. The Fostex X28H to the top right has a cassette loop running. I recorded different pitches on three tracks and play them into the Alesis Wedge reverb to the top left.

When composing and playing it I recalled Silences by John Cage, and tried to think of leaving a broad empty canvas, with music only filling up small parts of it. I hope you enjoy it!

get this track and support what I do on http://patreon.com/hainbach"

Death Valley [Episode 190]

Published on Oct 11, 2019 CatSynth TV

"From the depths of Badwater Basin to the heights of the Amargosa mountains, we explore and celebrate the beauty of Death Valley with original music by Amanda Chaudhary.

For more adventurous music, please subscribe to CatSynth TV and visit www.catsynth.com

Software instruments:
Tracktion BioTek
Arturia Mellotron V
Arturia Pigments
Arturia CMI V
Arturia Prophet VS
Arturia Piano
MOK Waverazor
Kontakt (John Cage Prepared Piano, Grindhouse, World Impact)
EastWest Orchestra Gold

Hardware Instruments:
Vintage Minimoog Model D
Sputnik Modular Dual Oscillator
Qu-Bit Prism module

Additional foley and sound effects via samples."

[John Cage] In a Landscape Transcription (vol.50) - Akihiko Matsumoto

Published on Apr 8, 2019 Akihiko Matsumoto

Transcription Session Live Series by Akihiko Matsumoto (2019 - )

Music by Akihiko Matsumoto - http://akihikomatsumoto.com
instagram - https://www.instagram.com/akihik0ma/
twitter - https://twitter.com/Akihik0MA

Concept : Akihiko Matsumoto
Operation : Akihiko Matsumoto
Programming : Akihiko Matsumoto
Sound Material : [John Cage] In a Landscape
Generative Software : Cycling '74 Max8
Binaural Decorder : IRCAM Spat
Audio I/O : RME Fireface UCX
MIDI Controller : Novation LAUNCH PAD XL
Camera : Sony a7RII(Zeiss Sonnar 55mm f1.8)

Original Max for Live Plugins
http://akihikomatsumoto.com/download/

John Cage - 4'33'' on Moog Sub 37

Published on Apr 1, 2019 Luca Di Gennaro

"Split screen cover of 4'33'' by John Cage just with a Moog Sub 37!

Keyboard: Moog Sub 37"

And the maestro himself:

John Cage performs "4:33"

Published on Dec 2, 2008 Eugène Zassadko

And an image of John Case with a Roland System 700 modular system via momento by diptyque paris

"John Cage (1912-1992) en 1978 (photo©Corinto Marianelli)"

CatSynth TV Episode 99

Published on Dec 25, 2018 CatSynth TV

"A special video for our 99th Episode!

Video shot along Highway 99 in California from Manteca through Stockton and heading towards Sacramento. Additional video and photography at CatSynth HQ in San Francisco.

Guest appearances by Sam Sam and Big Merp.

Original music by Amanda Chaudhary, based on melodies from "99 is not 100" by Moe! Staiano.

Synthesizers used:
Minimoog
Arturia MiniBrute 2S
Big Fish Audio John Cage Prepared Piano Sample Library (Kontakt)
Nord Stage EX
Mutable Instruments Plaits
Metasonix R-54 and R-53
2hp Cat module
4ms Spectral Multiband Resonator
Make Noise Echophon"

Patch from Scratch: "Eurorack Ambient"

Published on Nov 21, 2018 MAKEN0ISE

"Relax.

The patch for this video was inspired by classic ambient and furniture music, as well as by currently popular ambient modular composers here on YouTube.

Erik Satie first introduced the notion of “furniture music”, music specifically made not to be the center of attention.

He made some other musical innovations that are pertinent to ambient music, including;

1. The removal of bar lines from sheet music. (The experience of playing pieces in this style, such as the 6 Gnossienes, is that of finding the meter that arises between the note durations rather than having it dictated by the outward structure of the piece.)

2. The notion of exact temporal durations in minutes and seconds being prioritized as the main structural element of pieces.

In a letter, John Cage once wrote: “the importance due [Satie] [is], I believe, to have consistently structured his music on lengths of time rather than harmonic relations. I’m sure he was aware of doing this but I doubt whether he knew its real importance, which is real: liberation from the Beethoven yoke, far more real than that granted by S[choenberg] with the 12-tone row.”

The best known pioneer of “ambient music” *as such* is Brian Eno.

For Eno, Ambient music should function equally well in the background and the foreground. “It must be as ignorable as it is interesting.”

CLICK FOR MORE »

Cage Morphagened

Published on Aug 21, 2018 Todd Barton

"This rather intense composition was created from a 30 second sample of John Cage's prepared piano piece, And the Earth Shall Bear Again, using the MakeNoise Morphagene module developed by Tom Erbe. Video by Bruce Bayard http://brucebayard.com/
Better audio at: https://soundcloud.com/user7621213/ca..."

The Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s Variations V

Variations V (1966) - Merce Cunningham Dance Company Published on Oct 14, 2013

"Merce Cunningham
1966, 49:05, b&w, sound

First composed and performed in 1965, 'Variations V' is a true testament to 1960's experiments with "intermedia"—a coexistence and cutting across of artistic genres that profoundly informed Cunningham's choreographic practice. Video is materially integrated into the performance, with projections by Stan VanDerBeek and overlaid TV distortions by Nam June Paik enveloping the dancers. Twelve sound-sensitive electronic poles dot the stage; sound is triggered by the dancers' movements and then altered or delayed by the musicians. 'Variations V' predates Cunningham's 'video-dances,' demonstrating a different moment in his relation to the technology.

MUSICIANS John Cage 'Variations V'
DANCERS Merce Cunningham, Carolyn Brown, Barbara Lloyd, Sandra Neels, Albert Reid, Peter Saul, Gus Solomons Jr.

© 2013 Merce Cunningham Trust. All rights reserved."

via @moogmusicinc

"On this date in 1965: Bob Moog collaborated with John Cage, Nam June Paik, and others on The Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s visual, sonic, and kinetic happening Variations V."

noyzelab Regional Arts Fellowship - Field Report 5 Featuring Rare Colorful Vintage E-Mu Modular & More

via noyzelab, where you'll find the full report:

"Included in this post is a look at some creative outcomes for my 2017/18 fellowship activities in USA and Regional NSW => Mentorship with Doug Quin and residency at Syracuse University, residency at Important Records HQ including a visit to local studio to see an ultra-rare Emu Modular, and giving workshops and working in the field/studio in regional NSW. I've included a number of soundcloud links giving excerpts of some the material I was able to record."

The synth pics are at the bottom, but be sure to check out everything leading up to them. It includes an inspiring piece on the use of field recordings for sound design, a visit to the legendary Belfer Audio Archive and Preservation Laboratory with a signed copy of John Cage's Variations I score and the book Silence, as well as a copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band signed by George Martin, and a visit to John Brien's Important Records in Groveland, Mass with a Serge/STS system, EML Electrocomp 101, EMS Synthi A and SCI Prophet 5.

There are quite a few pics of the E-Mu system including close-ups of the inside. Do not miss them.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Inauguration (Non measurement)

Published on Jul 16, 2017 UncertainMusicCorps

"First in what is planned to be a series of works using a very compact and self-contained modular system (known here as Tiny Dynamite v2) primarily under generative control via Wotja (by Intermorphic) on iOS.

In the spirit of the project, it seemed only right that a cut-up John Cage should act as MC.

As ever the recording is direct to camera and unedited. Headphones are recommended.

The layout of Tiny Dynamite can be seen in detail here https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/461188

Information about Wotja is here http://intermorphic.com"

KOMA's Field Kit launched on Kickstarter!

"After a year of development, testing and prototyping, KOMA Elektronik is proud to present the latest addition to the KOMA family: the KOMA Elektronik Field Kit! On Kickstarter now! The new KOMA Elektronik Field Kit is the perfect tool for everyone who would like to experiment with electroacoustic sound. Use everyday objects, amplify them and use them to make sound, like our heroes John Cage and David Tudor used to do!

The Field Kit is optimized to process signals from microphones, contact microphones, electromagnetic pickups and able to run DC motors and solenoids. On top of that it can receive radio signals and convert signals from switches and sensors into control voltage. The Field Kit boasts 7 separate functional blocks all focussed on receiving or generating all types of signals. They are designed to operate together as a coherent electroacoustic workstation or alternatively together with other pieces of music electronics with the ability to use control voltage signals:

Four Channel Mixer
Envelope Follower
DC Interface
Analog Switch Interface
Analog Sensor Interface
AM/FM/SW Radio
Low Frequency Oscillator
You can easily interface the Field Kit with a Eurorack modular system. At the backside of the PCB you will find a power connector you can use to power the unit from your system. The total panel width is 36HP. You can buy the Field Kit as a finished unit or build one yourself with the DIY Version."



"All audio has been recorded straight from the Field Kit, using a DC Motor, Solenoid Motor, a DC powered fan, Roland TR-8 and Berlin's local radio station Antenne Brandenburg as audio sources."

Additional details via Kickstarter.

"The KOMA Field Kit

The new KOMA Elektronik Field Kit is the perfect tool for everyone who would like to experiment with electroacoustic sound. Use everyday objects, amplify them and use them to make sound, like our heroes John Cage and David Tudor used to do!

The Field Kit is optimized to process signals from microphones, contact microphones, electromagnetic pickups and able to run DC motors and solenoids. On top of that it can receive radio signals and convert signals from switches and sensors into control voltage!

We have finished development of the Field Kit, are ready for production and we need your support to make it happen!

[Pictured:] The final Field Kit prototype, ready for production!

It's all about the things you connect to the The Field Kit! To get you started we decided to offer an Expansion Pack with a bunch of different sources that you can use and connect to create your own signature sounds.

CLICK FOR MORE »