I am currently a year and a half into my five year PhD project at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. My research focuses on historical electronic sound instruments from Sweden and Finland during the 1960’s and 70’s. I have included some work on visual synthesis devices from the 1970’s as well, which continues the Vector Synthesis project I began several years ago.
At the moment, my research is incredibly challenging, and it leaves me little time for creating artworks of my own, so it was nice to take some time to make the video you see in this post. I hope that will change over the coming months. I have also closed my electronic instrument building business and will be passing production onto someone else’s capable hands shortly.
The last couple of years have been challenging for everyone of course, so I wish you all new light for 2022!
Posted in Announcement on November 11th, 2020 by admin
Henrik Frisk and myself are proud to announce a unique opportunity for students of KMH, KTH, and Konstfack to get involved with ongoing research into the history of electronic music in Sweden. The Sounds of Futures Passed workshop invites composers, engineers, and designers of sonic possibilities to investigate rare and unusual sound synthesis instruments formerly used at the Kungl. Musikhögskolan and Elektronmusikstudion EMS Stockholm.
We will speculate on what kind of aspirations for the musical future might have gone into the design and construction of these devices in the past, and on what sort of ideas about the use of sound instruments we can take from them into our own musical futures.
The workshop takes place over three ZOOM sessions (01 DEC, 08 DEC, 15 DEC), with team work taking place at KMH during the days between the meetings to compose with and analyze the functions of one specific instrument, the DATATON SYSTEM 3000 designed by Björn Sandlund in the 1970’s.
Students can send questions or register their interest in participating by email to idholzer AT THE DOMAIN kth.se and henrik.frisk AT THE DOMAIN kmh.se with the subject line: SYNTH WORKSHOP
This is the first in a series of investigations, each focused on a different historical device from the collected archives of EMS, Statens Musikverket, and the Scenkonstmuseet, with the goal of producing new, historically-informed sound synthesis instruments and interfaces. The project is supported by the Swedish Research Council/Vetenskapsrådet.
Posted in Announcement on October 4th, 2020 by admin
Over the weekend of 2-4 OCT 2020, I have been remotely co-organizing the Vector Hack 2020 festival in Rijeka Croatia with Ivan Marušić Klif and Chris King. This event is a result of my involvement in the areas of media archaeology and audiovisual synthesis, and features presentations and works by a variety of contemporary and historical figures in computer and electronic arts.
All talks have been live streamed as well as archived on YouTube for later viewing. There is also an evening streaming program of work screenings.
Featured artists and presenters include:
Francesca Franco, Tomislav Mikulić, Paloma Kop, Rue Bainbridge, Potar Anar, Skooby Laposky/Ben Laposky, Benjamin Heidersberger/Heinrich Heidersberger, James Nolan Gandy, Eric Lennartson, Charles Deluga, Anthony Elliott, Derek Holzer, Ivan Marušić Klif, Alberto Novello, Bernd Ulmann, Stefanie Bräuer, Ted Davis, Andrei Jay, Joseph Hyde, Michael Honeycomb, Shojiro Nakaoka, Miha Vipotnik, Tadej Droljc, Optokoppler, Sofy Yuditskaya, Branimir Štivić, Hrvoje Radnić, Antti Tenetz, David Francus/Hrvoje Nikšić, James Lehman, Dirk de Bruin, and David Françus
Please visit the following sites for further info:
Posted in Announcement on September 29th, 2020 by admin
with DEREK HOLZER and VASULKA KITCHEN BRNO
Tuesday, 20 October, 2020 – 18:30 to 20:30 Thursday, 22 October, 2020 – 18:30 to 20:30 Tuesday, 27 October, 2020 – 18:30 to 20:30 Thursday, 29 October, 2020 – 18:30 to 20:30
The Vector Synthesis workshop, led by audiovisual artist and researcher Derek Holzer, investigates the direct relationship between sound and image. It draws inspiration from the work of artists such as Mary Ellen Bute, Nam June Paik, Steina and Woody Vasulka, and Gary Hill; from the media archaeology of computer graphics; from obsolete technologies such as the Cathode Ray Tube monitor, the Scanimate, and the Rutt/Etra Video Synthesizer; and from contemporary laser display techniques. This workshop is ideal for musicians, sound artists, animators, and visual artists who want to work with oscilloscope and laser imagery.
DATES: OCT 20/22/27/29 2020
TIME: 18:30-20:30 Central European Time
MAX PARTICIPANTS: 12
COST: FREE
Participants will learn how to draw Lissajous figures, render simple two- and three-dimensional shapes, and process photographs and video into vector artwork which can be displayed on oscilloscopes and ILDA laser displays using audio signals. These vector shapes can animated and further modified in real time using external audio sources such as voice, amplified instruments, or electronic synthesizers provided by the participants.
The core of the workshop will be ready-to-use examples written in the Pure Data programming language.
The language of this workshop is English.
The maximum amount of participants is 12.
REQUIREMENTS
No experience with Pure Data is required to participate, beginners are welcome.
A background with either digital audio or digital moving image is helpful.
Participants are required to attend all four days of the course, and to complete three assignments in total between the sessions.
Participants should have their own computers, with software installed according to pre-event instructions sent by email.
Participants may wish to use an external audio interface or MIDI controller, however neither are required.
TIMETABLE
All sessions from 18:30-20:30 Central European Time.
Pre-workshop: participants should make sure all software required is installed and configured before the first session. Detailed instructions will be sent once participation is confirmed.
TUE 22.10.20: Installation questions, introduction to Vector Synthesis principles (vector vs raster images), introduction to Pure Data environment, working with signals to generate sound and image, first assignment.
THU 24.10.20: Viewing of first assignments, assignment questions, working with 2D and 3D image files, external audio inputs, second assignment.
TUE 27.10.20: Viewing of second assignments, assignment questions, working with digital image and video files (scan processing), MIDI and presets, third assignment.
THU 29.10.20: Viewing of third assignments, assignment questions, working with hardware (oscilloscopes, vector monitors, Vectrex consoles, ILDA laser displays), capturing with video cameras, conclusions.
By the end of the workshop, participants will have written at least three Pure Data compositions, one of which will be chosen and recorded to video for public presentation on the Vasulka Kitchen website.
HOW TO APPLY
Please write an email to Vasulka Kitchen vasulkakitchen@gmail.com with the subject line VECTOR SYNTHESIS WORKSHOP by the end of 04 OCT 2020 (23:59 CET). In this email, please describe:
Your artistic background.
Why you are interested in taking this workshop.
Any experience you have with the creation of sound, moving image, and/or interactive media on the computer.
We will make a selection to ensure the most diverse group possible, and inform the selected participants by the end of 06 OCT 2020.
WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR
Derek Holzer (USA 1972) is an audiovisual artist, researcher, lecturer, and electronic instrument creator based in Stockholm. He has performed live, taught workshops and created scores of unique instruments and installations since 2002 across Europe, North and South America, and New Zealand. He is currently a PhD researcher in Sound and Music Computing at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, focusing on historically informed sound synthesis design.
Posted in Announcement on June 27th, 2020 by admin
There have been some big changes for me in the last few months, and soon I will be moving to Stockholm to begin a PhD focused on recreating historical synthesizers used in Sweden during the 1960’s and 70’s. Before I move, I will do one last batch of instruments in July, to be shipped by mid-August.
If you have any interest in one of the following instruments, please get in touch by email to macumbista@gmail.com before Monday 06 July.
A double Benjolin with extensive cross-modulation possibilities including the ability to clock both Rungler control voltage generators from the same source.
EUR 1065 (incl. 19% EU VAT) / EUR 895 (shipped outside the EU), plus shipping costs.
A battery-powered, 1 Watt amplifier with Germanium transistor feedback and circuit bending touchpoints.
EUR 225 (incl. 19% EU VAT) / EUR 190 (shipped outside the EU) plus shipping.
A 50% deposit will be required to secure your order. All instruments ship from Helsinki, Finland.
This will be the final batch of instruments I sell within the foreseeable future. So if you have considered ordering something, now is the time to do it. Unfortunately, I do not have time for any custom work, nor for other instruments not on this list.
I wish you safety, health, and well-being during these wild times. Derek
Posted in Announcement on March 28th, 2020 by admin
I #staythefuckhome making analog synthesizers so you can #staythefuckhome playing analog synthesizers.
Six Macumbista Benjolin V5 instruments available in green, blue, and grey. Email macumbista@gmail.com for details.
All BV5 backorders shipping soon. Butterfly Benjolins next in the queue. Thank you all for your support in these strange days!
PRICE
The price of the Benjolin V5 is EUR 565 (incl. 19% EU VAT) / EUR 475 (for customers outside the EU), plus express shipping costs. Every Benjolin ships with two banana patch cables and a universal 110/220V AC to 12V DC power supply.
DETAILS
The Benjolin is a standalone synthesizer designed by Rob Hordijk from the Netherlands. It contains two oscillators (one LFO and one VCO), a voltage controlled filter and a circuit called a “Rungler”, which allows chaotic cross-modulation possibilities between the different parts of the circuit. Hordijk refers to the Benjolin as a circuit which has been “bent by design.”
These hand-made Macumbista Benjolins are officially licensed by Hordijk, and have been further customized with a patchbay, which can be used to interface with other modular synthesizers or to setup further control voltage feedback systems within the Benjolin itself, attenuators on the three control voltage input and LEDs displaying the internal state of the Rungler.
The latest Macumbista Benjolin V5 instrument has been redesigned during the spring of 2019 in collaboration with Pete Hartman of Frog Leg Synthesis. The filter input has been improved, and the main output of the instrument buffered for lower noise and ease of use with a wider range of mixers and DI boxes.
The wooden enclosures used to create these handmade analog synthesizers all date from the 1960’s and 1970’s. There are individual variations in the exact color, the size, and the marks which history have left upon them. A number of different colors are available, including a natural finish as well as three different types of “hammered metal” paint finishes in grey, green, blue, and (infrequently) red or purple. Please see the photos at the bottom of this page for examples.
Please contact me using the CONTACT page here, or through MACUMBISTA at-the-domain GMAIL dot COM.
The Benjolin V5 contains the following modifications from Hordijk’s original Benjolin circuit:
LOOP SWITCH: The LOOP switch locks the otherwise chaotic pattern of the Rungler into a loop. The LEFT position is a loop of 4 steps going forward, the MIDDLE position is the normal chaos of the Rungler, and the RIGHT position is a loop of 4 steps forwards and 4 steps backwards.
EXTERNAL INPUT SWITCH: The external input 6.3mm jack on the back of this Benjolin allows a signal from another source to be sent through the Low Pass Filter of the instrument. Selecting EXT on the FIL INPUT switch sends this signal to the FIL input, where the cutoff and resonance controls of the filter can be used to affect it. When the FIL INPUT switch is in the INT position, the PWM signal, mixed with a small amount of RUN voltage, is sent to the FIL (this is the normal Benjolin signal path).
EXTERNAL RUNGLER CLOCK:: A banana jack on the back panel of the instrument provides a switchable clock source for the Rungler of the instrument. The EXT switch position clocks the Rungler from OSCILLATOR 2 of the instrument, the INT switch position clocks it from the external clock input.
Posted in Announcement on February 14th, 2020 by admin
The Vector Synthesis workshop, led by sound and light artist Derek Holzer over three full days, investigates the direct relationship between sound and image. It draws inspiration from the media archaeology of computer graphics, and from obsolete technologies such as the Cathode Ray Tube monitor, combined with contemporary laser display techniques. This workshop is ideal for musicians, sound artists, and visual artists who want to work with laser imagery.
Participants will learn how to draw Lissajous figures, render simple two- and three-dimensional shapes, and process photographs and video into vector artwork which can be displayed on oscilloscopes and ILDA laser displays using audio signals. These vector shapes can also be further modified in real time using external audio sources such as voice, amplified instruments, or electronic synthesizers provided by the participants.
The core of the workshop will be ready-to-use examples written in the Pure Data programming language.
A presentation of pieces created in the workshop is planned for the final evening, where participants will show their creations on the laser with sound.
The language of this workshop is English. The fee for the participants is EUR 50. The maximum amount of participants is 12.
Requirements
• Experience with Pure Data is not required to participate, beginners are welcome. • Participants are required to attend all three days of the course • Participants are required to bring their own laptops with software installed according to pre-event instructions sent by email. • Participants should bring any external audio interface or MIDI controller they would like to use, however neither are required.
Timetable
28.2–1.3.2020, 12–18 daily The first day is devoted to a technical overview of possibilities, and the following two days to experimentation and development of a demo to be projected on the final evening. 1.3. 18–20 public presentation
How to apply?
The participants are chosen in order of enrollment. To apply, send mail (in Finnish or English) to valotaiteenseura@gmail.com, including your full name and phone number. The first applicants will get confirmation and instructions for paying the course fee. The fee must be paid in three days and is non-refundable.
There’s a quota of 50% for members of FLASH (the Finnish Light Art Society Helsinki). This only applies to members, whose membership fee has been paid. Please state your membership status, if you’re applying in this quota.
Workshop Supervisor
Derek Holzer (USA 1972) is a sound + light artist based in Helsinki & Berlin, whose current interests include DIY electronics, audiovisual instrument building, the relationship between sound and space, media archaeology, and participatory art forms. He has performed live, taught workshops and created scores of unique instruments and installations since 2002 across Europe, North and South America, and New Zealand. http://macumbista.net
Holzer will be assisted in this workshop by sound and visual artist Jani Hietanen, who is also a student of Sound in New Media at Aalto University.
Posted in Announcement on January 15th, 2020 by admin
I’m proud to announce the next Vector Synthesis workshop, taking place Feb 08-09 2020 at New River Studios in London.
The Vector Synthesis workshop investigates the direct relationship
between sound+image. It draws inspiration from the media archaeology of
computer graphics, and from obsolete technologies such as the Cathode
Ray Tube monitor, combined with contemporary laser display techniques.
This workshop is ideal for musicians, sound artists, VJs, and visual
artists who want to work with oscilloscope or laser imagery.
Participants will learn how to draw Lissajous figures, render simple
two- and three-dimensional shapes, and process photographs and video
into vector artwork which can be displayed on oscilloscopes and ILDA
laser displays using audio signals. These vector shapes can also be
further modified in real time using external audio sources such as
voice, amplified instruments, or electronic synthesizers provided by the
participants.
Posted in Announcement on January 13th, 2020 by admin
The first 700 copy edition of the Vector Synthesis book has completely sold out. If you are one of the Kickstarter campaign supporters, or if you ordered a copy directly from me, I would like to thank you for making this book such a success. To keep it available, I have placed it as print-on-demand through the Lulu website.
Vector Synthesis: a Media Archaeological Investigation into Sound-Modulated Light is a computational art project inspired by theories of media archaeology, by the history of computer and video art, and by the use of discarded and obsolete technologies such as the Cathode Ray Tube monitor. This text explores the military and techno-scientific legacies at the birth of modern computing, and charts attempts by artists of the subsequent two decades to decouple these tools from their destructive origins. Using this history as a basis, I then describe a media archaeological, real time performance system using audio synthesis and vector graphics techniques to investigate direct relationships between sound and image using analog CRT displays. Key to this system is a didactic, open source approach which encourages reuse and modification by other artists. The conclusion of the book reflects on how the project and the research surrounding it has contributed to the larger experimental audiovisual arts community through events such as the Vector Hack Festival.
An Ebook PDF version is also available. Please note that Lulu is responsible for the shipping and handling of your order. For wholesale orders, please contact me directly for a discount.
Posted in Announcement on December 15th, 2019 by admin
The Benjolin is a standalone synthesizer designed by Rob Hordijk from the Netherlands. It contains two oscillators (one LFO and one VCO), a voltage controlled filter and a circuit called a “Rungler”, which allows chaotic cross-modulation possibilities between the different parts of the circuit. Hordijk refers to the Benjolin as a circuit which has been “bent by design.”
These hand-made Macumbista Benjolins are officially licensed by Hordijk, and have been further customized with a patchbay, which can be used to interface with other modular synthesizers or to setup further control voltage feedback systems within the Benjolin itself, attenuators on the three control voltage input and LEDs displaying the internal state of the Rungler.
The latest Macumbista Benjolin V5 instrument has been redesigned during the spring of 2019 in collaboration with Pete Hartman of Frog Leg Synthesis. The filter input has been improved, and the main output of the instrument buffered for lower noise and ease of use with a wider range of mixers and DI boxes.
The wooden enclosures used to create these handmade analog synthesizers all date from the 1960’s and 1970’s. There are individual variations in the exact color, the size, and the marks which history have left upon them. A number of different colors are available, including a natural finish as well as three different types of “hammered metal” paint finishes in grey, green, blue, and (infrequently) red or purple. Please see the photos at the bottom of this page for examples.
PRICE
The price of the Benjolin V5 is EUR 565 (incl. 19% EU VAT) / EUR 475 (for customers outside the EU), plus shipping costs. All my instruments are made-to-order, and require a 50% deposit to begin work. The current batch should be completed in March 2020. Every Benjolin ships with two banana patch cables and a universal 110/220V AC to 12V DC power supply.
Please contact me using the CONTACT page here, or through MACUMBISTA at-the-domain GMAIL dot COM.
MODIFICATIONS
The Benjolin V5 contains the following modifications from Hordijk’s original Benjolin circuit:
LOOP SWITCH: The LOOP switch locks the otherwise chaotic pattern of the Rungler into a loop. The LEFT position is a loop of 4 steps going forward, the MIDDLE position is the normal chaos of the Rungler, and the RIGHT position is a loop of 4 steps forwards and 4 steps backwards.
EXTERNAL INPUT SWITCH: The external input 6.3mm jack on the back of this Benjolin allows a signal from another source to be sent through the Low Pass Filter of the instrument. Selecting EXT on the FIL INPUT switch sends this signal to the FIL input, where the cutoff and resonance controls of the filter can be used to affect it. When the FIL INPUT switch is in the INT position, the PWM signal, mixed with a small amount of RUN voltage, is sent to the FIL (this is the normal Benjolin signal path).
EXTERNAL RUNGLER CLOCK:: A banana jack on the back panel of the instrument provides a switchable clock source for the Rungler of the instrument. The EXT switch position clocks the Rungler from OSCILLATOR 2 of the instrument, the INT switch position clocks it from the external clock input.
Derek Holzer (USA 1972) is an audiovisual artist, researcher, lecturer, and electronic instrument creator based in Stockholm. He has performed live, taught workshops and created scores of unique instruments and installations since 2002 across Europe, North and South America, and New Zealand. He is currently a PhD researcher in Media & Interaction Design at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, focusing on historically informed audiovisual synthesis.
