Sometimes I reach for electronic-based music to lose sense of time and space. Craving escape, I want to be pulled in on a journey. Icarus’ Fake Fish Distribution, “album in 1000 variations,” generates a one-of-a-kind variation for each download, providing the listener with a truly unique experience. I love the idea and after listening to multiple downloads, the synergy of the deviations does indeed deliver!

While this may not be an entirely new concept, with cutting edge tools, Icarus has provided a seamless creation and delivery engine; a notion that I hope others will explore. I spoke to cousins Sam Britton and Ollie Bown about their process and tools including Ableton Live and Max for Live.

Could you first describe Icarus and what you’re doing with that project.

Icarus started out in 1997, 1998. It’s a collaboration between Ollie Bown and myself. He’s in fact my cousin, so we kind of grew up together, and started making electronic music ages and ages ago. He was the first one to have a computer, and we started mucking around with MIDI. Then I bought a sampler, and things kind just developed out of a desire to make music together. From school bands all the way up.

I think what really cemented our interest in doing that professionally was Drum and Bass in the mid-90s. We were in our late teens, and it was just a really inspirational time. Not only for us, but for music culture in general at the time.

Photo: Steve McInerny

It’s interesting; I was chatting to Keith Fullerton Whitman the other day. He does a lot of work with modular synths. He used go by a D&B moniker called Hrvastski. And we were just chatting about how dance music in the ‘90s was just such a predominant force in music culture.

And I think we really got a vibe off that, started producing Drum and Bass tracks in the late ‘90s and basically got signed very quickly, and then just started writing albums.

We got initially quite frustrated, I think, by what we saw as dance-music purism. But actually what has turned out to be, I guess, the phenomenon of the music industry pigeonholing certain styles, certain genres and ways of making music. And selling them as a kind of done deal.

That’s kind of classic music-industry paradigm: define a style, define a way of doing it and stick to that. That way people know what they’re getting.
And I think we initially kind of got frustrated with the fact that most dance music was produced as 12”, and much of the earlier music that had inspired us was all much longer than that. We were kind of more interested in albums, and the variation between different tracks, and how you create a bigger work.

So, beyond the composition of a track, to the composition of a body of work…

Right. So it wasn’t just about having a hit and making great dance-music tracks. It was also about articulating the form of drum and bass, just making stuff and saying, we made this, so therefore it must be drum and bass!

And I think that’s kind of defined the way that Icarus has evolved over the years. With each album, with each record, we’ve accumulated different interests, and the sound has developed in a different way.

So whereas in the late ‘90s it was kind of drum and bass inspired, and in the noughties [‘00s] it becomes more, I think, organic. There’s a lot of inspiration from jazz and improvised music. And we’re exploring more ideas of process and how you program a computer in order to perform, and not only for us to perform but for it to start to generate its own patterns and its own sequences.

I’m curious as to how you apply this album concept to a collection of ‘generative’ music? Is it more of a composition of process?

What we’ve been doing in Icarus and further afield, through our work with improvising musicians and soloists, perhaps amounts to our own skewed take on a musical ‘Turing Test’, in that if, what we are designing our computers to produce, can be deemed sufficiently musical—not only to us, but the other musicians involved as well—then it must have some merit.

That’s not to say that the work necessarily has any allusion to a musical ‘humanism’, but that it exhibits traits that humans nonetheless find interesting in a musical context. I guess, in this sense, it’s perhaps perversely comparable to the fact that chat-bots on Twitter have human followers. Given a sufficiently well-defined contextual framework it’s totally plausible that programmed behavior can be interesting and even captivating.

That’s so true! I never thought about chat-bots in that context.

In this respect, one of the most interesting things about using generative and algorithmic processes in musical composition is how you end up contextualizing them. What’s curious is that quite often in our musical contexts, the idea that the more rigorously researched and well-implemented processes yield more musical results, is often a fallacy.

We’ve often found that ‘cruder’ processes; those that play on context, forcing musical situations and allusions, that you could never have conceived of when programming them at the outset, are incredibly valuable. In fact, the album title Fake Fish Distribution alludes precisely to this conundrum.

During the development of one of the patches used to generate some of the rhythmic templates for the parameter variation, we decided to start using a Poisson distribution instead of our own hacked together algorithm. But we ended up ditching it in favor of the latter, our own, which just seemed to do a better job given the context.

Ollie might not agree with me entirely, but I tend to find that this type of thing is born out all over the place in the music we’re involved in, not only in the album, but in our live performances and the work we do with autonomous software and improvising musicians.

Hello everyone,

So this is the official demo presentation I showcased tonight in Berklee College of Music, as part of my senior project in Electronic Production and Design. This is a software prototype for a game audio middleware that I built entirely in Max/MSP and is controlled by Unity3D. What lies beyond in the future, is to look into creating a patent out of this prototype, of course, after I improve the source code and implement more transitional techniques and most importantly, user-input. The goal for the future is to create the most user-friendly indie middleware for most game engine platforms that won’t be a burden for the client-side.

The demo game is Unity’s tech demo, AngryBots.

The project files are up for you to download, in a semi-open-source form. It’s still for educational use only, but if somebody wants to do something based on that or think they can improve the tool in its current form, please feel free to drop me an e-mail from my website.

For more info on the project: audioprogrammingblog.tumblr.com

Thank you!
Yiannis Ioannides

yiannisioannides.com
vimeo.com/yiannisioannides
soundcloud.com/yiannisioannides
twitter.com/mynameisYiannis

Application (UDP-MIDI, MIDI-UDP) built with MAX

An intermedial artwork inspired by Brian Eno’s ambient work ‘Music For Airports (1978) and Marc Auge’s ‘Non-Places’ (1995). The work explores a digital non place between the digital and haptic senses in which the user can control an antique globe to explore a cold contrast between the virtual reality of Google Earth and the actual reality of the installation space. The movement of the globe controls both the sound and visuals using custom software and electronics.

MATRIK

Digital Audio Patch-Bay for Mac OS X
Simple and powerful control of your audio workflow

MATRIK features a powerful matrix interface that allows you to internally route all audio inputs and outputs in your system (*). Any input can be routed to one or more outputs.
(*) max. 8 inputs and 8 outputs

Easily identify inputs and outputs with your own tags, just as if you would use tape and a marker in a hardware patch-bay.

Settings are a snap, you’ll be working with MATRIK in a matter of seconds. Works great with physical as well as virtual ports.

Working with MATRIK

Using the matrix is very simple and intuitive: a blue glowing pin indicates one routed connection and each input (in columns) can be routed to one or more outputs (in rows).
To create a connection, simply click on an empty pinhole. Clicking on a connected pin will clear the connection. The “Clear Matrix” button will remove all connections. To allow audio into the circuit use the “Power” button.

Locking the MATRIK

The Lock toggle lets you disable all buttons and controls, avoiding possible unwanted modifications. For extra safety, the default behavior of the Lock toggle is to turn itself on when powering on the MATRIK, although you can always turn it back off to make changes while the audio is running.

Tagging the MATRIK

Inputs and outputs can be tagged by simply clicking on the label and typing on the input field. If at any point you want to have all inputs and outputs showing the default label numbering, use the “Reset” button. Remember to turn off the lock control to modify these tags.

Setting up the MATRIK

Settings are straight forward: in the “Settings” view, use the drop-down menus to select your driver, input and output devices. Notice that changing any of these settings will clear out all your matrix connections and tags. You can change these settings at any time, even when audio is passing through the circuit (power on) although we recommend you to turn the power off before modifying them.
MATRIK works great with virtual ports such as SoundFlower, allowing you to internally route audio in many ways between your favorite audio applications.

Check our website www.klankwereld.com to know more about MATRIK.

A work-in-progress Max program to view the parameters of the patches dumped from nord lead synthesizer.

Details at https://github.com/larme/nord-lead-viewer

• Download the Recipe 52 patch
• Other tutorials in this series:
  Book 1 (Recipes 00-12), Book 2 (Recipes 14-25), Book 3 (Recipes 26-43), Book 4 (Recipes 44-49)
• See all Recipes

General Principles

• Combining Jitter Matrix manipulations to replicate an effect
• Using sound to distort video

Commentary

This recipe is an old-timey throwback to an earlier time, when you sat in your pajamas and tried to make out the scrambled cartoons on your television while the antenna was bent and wiggled to find a signal. Beyond just replicating the look of a messed up analog TV signal, this recipe also lays down a good foundation for experimenting with audio and video together, combining simple operations into a bigger look, and some classic Jitter techniques.

Ingredients

• jit.matrix
• jit.repos
• jit.sprinkle
• jit.altern
• jit.convolve
• jit.poke~

Technique

Starting at the top of the patch, we bring our image in with jit.grab and pass that through a jit.matrix that has “dstdim” attributes set. This is done to create a black border around the edges of the image. From there it is passed through jit.altern to create the horizontal stripes to mimic the look of scanlines.
The main action in this recipe is the image distortion, which is achieved by combining jit.repos with some audio signals. Here jit.repos is used in relative mode (@mode 1) which is often a bit more friendly to work with, especially in situations like there where we want to push the image around. It’s also set to have a wrap boundmode, which is essential for creating the vsync roll effect. To create the matrix of offset values, we use jit.poke~ along with some noisy audio signals. We can adjust how smooth the distortion is by changing the slide~ values. You’ll notice that the audio input of the computer is also added in as a source for distortion.
Once we get the video distorted, we need to finish the effect with some more spatial noise (jit.sprinkle) and some color effects. Punched up saturation is key to a good analog TV effect, so we add in jit.brcosa and create a little bit of feedback with jit.convolve to do a simple gain-blur so we get some color ghosting.

EMiX is an editor for the Electribe MX. current features are:
-sync with current selected pattern through SYSEX
-real-time sync of all the EMX settings through RNPN/CC (excluding step edit, song mode, and a few lesser used settings)
-save/load curent state to presets (the matrix of white dots close to the midi interface selection)
-”main volume” moving proportionally all the individual volumes (not linked to the master volume on the EMX)
-Audio VU-meter for mixing purposes
-entirely customizable/open source patch for Max users

Quickstart guide:
1) select your midi/audio interfaces in the lower right part
2) select the pattern you wish to sync on the EMX and hit the “sync current pattern” button ONLY ONCE.
3) wait a few seconds so all the message are received, you’re done syncing! Now you can do anything.

*WARNING*
nothing is saved on the EMX until you hit the WRITE button on the EMX. Because EMiX is at a early development stage, there can be errors when translating the midi/sysex messages. You should in a first time use the preset matrix (in the midi interface selection section) and only save it when you are sure everything is properly edited.

«ElectroNight» (“Nuit Electronique” in french) is an immersive setup : public will evolve into a fantastic sound and visual space, in 3 dimensions of listening and perception. An heart of night, a world inhabited by artificial nocturnal beings. A microcosm with its sensitive universe which attracts and transports you into an unexpected dimension on the edge of an artificial and real world, metaphore of a possible life or future, on the borders of microprocessors that populate our technologies. This work has been received in residency at Erasme Center/Living lab in january 2012.

Audium Visium is an audiovisual, sample-based instrument created within a two week time span. It has 8 sample buttons, 3 looping buttons, 4 effects knobs, 1 Arduino, 1 projector, and an iPhone that changes soundbanks when touched. The instrument was crafted, built, and programmed by Kenneth Guglielmino. The motion graphics were made by James Simpson.

The entire project was programmed in MAX5. I made my own patch for the instrument itself and then used the Maxuino Patch to communicate with the Arduino and then the C74 patch to communicate with the iPhone.

The project patches can be downloaded here: http://www.mediafire.com/?5eedl516djf0kel.

The entire process, along with other ongoing projects can be seen here: http://2week-instrument.tumblr.com.

Data-Feed-Powered Synthesizer

::Features::

Multi-waveform synthesizer — sine (with optional FM), triangle, saw, square

Paste data feeds from anywhere (as any sequence of numbers separated by spaces) to create array waveforms

–feeds can be obtained from online sources such as Pachube.com — depending on the source you use, you will have to determine how to extract the feed data–

Alternatively, you can draw in your own custom waveforms

Amplitude and frequency modulate synth-sounds using array waveforms

Easy MIDI mapping of controls and effects

Master effects chain — delay, reverb, distortion, ring mod, and more

In-built Recording

Save/Load all synth, sample and effect settings

Nimmersatt – das Spiel mit den Hungrigen! (interactive operation)
(Insatiable – The Game With The Hungry Ones)
by Michel Winterberg

An interactive mechanical sound installation with 25 pots and lids, 25 servo-motors, two speakers, a Mac mini, Kinect and Arduino Mega.

“Nimmersatt” was exhibited in the store window of the second-hand store Glubos, Rappoldshof 12 in Basel, Switzerland, from January 10 to February 29, 2012. Automatic operation from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and interactive operation from 4 to 11 p.m.

“Nimmersatt”/”Insatiable” is exhibited in the store window of the second-hand store Glubos, Rappoldshof 12 in Basel, Switzerland, from January 10 to February 29, 2012. The lid of each pot is opened or closed by a cable. Automatic sequences forming geometric patterns can be seen from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – interactive operations take place from 4 to 11 p.m., with the lids opening or closing depending on where the passers-by are standing on the sidewalk. Loudspeakers transmit the sounds of the lids.

Conception, tracking, sound, Max MSP Jitter programming: Michel Winterberg
Team: Simon Burkhalter, Georg Egli, Valentin Felber, Pan Thurneysen, Mauro Tammaro, Yvo Waldmeier

Vimeo-video:
Camera and Editing: Florian Bitterlin
Sound: Michel Winterberg
Passer-by: Diana Pfammatter

Thanks to: Kaserne Basel, Glubos Brockenstube, Claude Winterberg, Silvia Bergmann, Stephan Athanas, Institute HyperWerk HGK FHNW Basel. Jean-Marc Pelletier, Nenad Popov and Andrew Roth, for jit.freenect.grab

The SubtleSonic EnvelopeShaper processes the sounds by boosting or cutting the attack or decay. It does this by comparing the difference between two volume levels, one fast and one slow. You can use it to extend the sustain of a sound, or soften the attack…or do the opposite.

The video demonstrates more drastic modifications, but you can also use it to subtly boost attacks or decays as well.

Available as a free MaxForLive device or a Max 6 project on the SubtleSonic website.

Improvisor is a music composition application created for the AudioCubes by Percussa. It is a music sequencer that allows you to compose complex melodies and rhythms in a generative way using the AudioCubes. The application can also be used together with other MIDI compatible software and hardware, and can used without the AudioCubes. There is also “helper code” in java/script and max/msp available to build your own applications around improvisor

• Download the Recipe 51 patch
• Other tutorials in this series:
  Book 1 (Recipes 00-12), Book 2 (Recipes 14-25), Book 3 (Recipes 26-43), Book 4 (Recipes 44-49)
• See all Recipes

General Principles

• Pixel animations
• Feedback with OpenGL
• Color and spatial effects

Commentary

Sometimes the most effective projections are simple geometric animations. With that in mind, I put together a relatively simple patch that renders a gridshape as if it was a paintbrush. The image is then passed through a feedback path that includes some color and spatial manipulations. To give the whole thing a nice crunchy, demoscene-inspired pixel look, we can drop the dimensions on the captured texture and blow out the color scaling. I can almost hear the filter sweeps.

Ingredients

• jit.gl.gridshape
• jit.gl.node
• jit.gl.pix
• nodes

Technique

This patch uses the nodes object as the main drawing interface for the OpenGL gridshape position and scaling. By moving the node around and scaling it (Option/Alt-drag) we can reposition and resize the shape onscreen. This is an unusual way to use nodes, but it provides a nice interface for this purpose, and the values are easy to parse with a few route objects.

You’ll notice that as you move the shape around, it leaves behind a trail of shapes. This is achieved by accumulating captured frames with texture feedback. You may not see any patchcords making a loop, but the feedback in this case is accomplished by rendering a background videoplane with the previous captured frame mapped to it. By passing the captured texture through a jit.gl.pix object (similar to jit.gl.slab), we can store each frame as it goes. We also pass the captured texture post-jit.gl.pix to a videoplane that is rendered onscreen.

Now if all we were doing was accumulating shapes onscreen this patch would be pretty boring. Using jit.gl.pix, we also have some zoom, offset, and color scaling/biasing happening to each frame as it comes through. The accumulation of these subtle manipulations each frame adds up to some dynamic effects.

To get the pixelated look, try turning off @adapt on the jit.gl.node object and changing the “dim” control. To prevent the texture from getting a fuzzy linear interpolation look on output, we send the message “sendoutput filter nearest” to both the jit.gl.node and jit.gl.pix objects.

AntiLoop M is a new application for the creation and use of markov chains to make music. Novel aspects of AntiLoop M include an intuitive GUI for creating chains and controls for sparsity and syncopation.

The flext external allows max/msp developers to easily create applications for the AudioCubes, because it is an add on object for Max/Msp. You can directly talk to the AudioCubes using this external and receiving information about the location and orientation of the audiocubes in a network, or change the colours of the audiocubes.

JONO is a software musical instrument inspired by modular synthesizers.
By providing mixture of classical and experimental elements it can serve as an interesting addition to your setup or as a standalone tool.

Control the custom modulation curves of an analog modular synthesizer using Evolvor, Arduino and Max/Msp. Evolvor has the ability to create complex LFO waveforms, and by creating a max/msp patch and an arduino we can control a hardware modular synthesizer

• Download the Recipe 50 patch
• See all Recipes

General Principles

• Animating OpenGL objects
• Using audio to drive motion
• Working with jit.path for smooth motion

Commentary

After the RoboMoves recipe, I wanted to try a slightly more complex structure and work with a simple audio responsive motion control. The repeated, branching structure of a tree provides the basis for this animation patch, and we use the amplitude of an incoming audio signal to scrub around the animation. While this recipe follows much of the same structure as RoboMoves, the effect of this is really different.

Ingredients

• jit.path
• jit.anim.node
• jit.gl.light
• jit.gl.material
• jit.gl.gridshape

Technique

First, we’ll look at the structure of the animation nodes. To create the tree, I created a repeated branching pattern with each parent node having 2 child nodes. By scaling the each jit.anim.node, we get a structure where the children keep getting smaller as we go down the hierarchy. The nice thing about this sort of repeated branching structure is that it was mostly just duplicating and connecting objects to get it set up. If you wanted to make it even more complex, all you need to do is add in another layer or two of branching children.

To animate the tree, we use jit.path, just like in RoboMoves, but instead of a looping counter, we have a peakamp~ object driving the eval message. The bline is there to smooth out the transitions and make it a little less hectic looking.

Evolvor is a sound design software created in Max/Msp by Percussa. Although Evolvor was developed for the AudioCubes, it can also be used without the AudioCubes. In Evolvor you can create and control 4 LFO waveforms.

We created a collection of Max/Msp patches to develop dynamically varying sounds using Evolvor.