The Soundtransit.nl project has been featured in a selection of essays and articles on open source art and culture published by REFF/RomaEuropa/FakeFactory. This book is available in print form (somewhere…) and electronic form (here). Their website(s) and general presence seem completely disordered and confusing, as only the Italians can do, however it does look like an interesting collection with a few artists/theorists I have heard of before and a lot of new names.

Unfortunately, by the end of the year Soundtransit will no longer exist in its current form. I’ll post more on this later on, however it would be safe to safe the project has run its course.

REFF, RomaEuropa FakeFactory: critique, arts, culture, publishing and augmented reality

REFF RomaEuropa FakeFactory, a book in augmented reality, a performance about critical innovation on cultural policies and forms of expression, an open source system to produce cross-medial publications.

AUTHORS, ARTISTS & CURATORS
(in alphabetical order)

“VOICES”
Richard Barbrook, Tatiana Bazzichelli, Germana Berlantini, Mike Bonanno, Loretta Borrelli, Andy Cameron, Massimo Canevacci, Francesca Canu, Carlo Cappa, Antonio Caronia, Dario Carrera, Stefano Coletto, Fiorello Cortiana, Umberto Croppi, Marco Fagotti, Marc Garret, Alex Giordano, Maria Hellström Reimer e Milica Lapčević, Lorenzo Imbesi, Stephen Kovats, Simona Lodi, Francesco “Warbear” Macarone Palmieri, Federico Monaco, Movimento ScambioEtico, Andrea Natella, Eleonora Oreggia aka xname, Luigi Pagliarini, Federico Ruberti, Marco Scialdone, Guido Scorza, Valentina Tanni, Jasmina Tescnovic, Cristina Trivellin e Martina Coletti

“VISIONS”
0100101110101101.ORG, Antoni Abad, Alterazioni Video, Apparati Effimeri, David Benqué, Jens Brand, Alex Dragulescu, Amy Francescini (Future Farmers), Flyer Communication (FLxER), Derek Holzer, Carlo Infante, jodi.org, Steve Lambert, Les Liens Invisibles, Fosco Loiti Celant, Garrett Lynch, Guthrie Lonergan, Quayola, Rebar Group, Ben Rubin, Adam Somlai-Fischer (Architecture), Sosolimited, Eugenio Tisselli, Troika, Hannes Walter e Stephen Williams (Fluid Forms), Marianne Weems (The Builders Association), Clemens Weisshaar e Reed Kram, Jaka Železnikar

Edited by:
Cary Hendrickson, Salvatore Iaconesi, Oriana Persico, Federico Ruberti, Luca Simeone (FakePress)

http://www.romaeuropa.org

Available in the best bookstores from November 2010

nonlinearity I

nonlinearity I from macumbista on Vimeo.

After touring 3 weeks with 25 Kg of heavy metal synthesizer in a suitcase, I came home wanting something a bit lighter and simpler. My back-to-basics approach uses one SoundBox built for workshops with gypsy children and Afghan refugees in Hungary a few months ago, one contact mic, a Germanium transistor distortion pedal and 10 years worth of found objects collected on trips around the world.

At the heart of this video lies the concept of nonlinearity, that most basic building block of chaos theory and the wonderful complexities of our natural world. The microphone/speaker loop forms a system into which the nonlinear irregularities of 9V electronics, beads, springs, moss, shells and bits of bone produce unique bifurcations and attractors. Shaking things up a bit resets the system and new chaotic patterns begin to emerge…

SoundBoxes in Brussels

Three Neanderthal Electronics works of mine will be shown as part of the moddr_* showcase at iMAL in Brussels this month:

* BlueLightSpecial (2009)
* SoundBoxOne(“handmade”) (2010)
* SoundBoxTwo(“indianblanket”) (2010)

The show runs 13 November – 12 December 2010 and also features far more computer-oriented works by Gordan Savicic, Danja Vasiliev, Walter Langelaar, Julian Oliver, Martin Howse, Jonathan Kemp, Matt Kemp, Philip Lammer and Florian Cramer.

asbl iMAL vzw – 30 Quai des Charbonnages/Koolmijnenkaai 30 – 1080 Bruxelles/Brussel 1080
Opening on Saturday 13th of November, 15:00 – 23:30
with moddr_ workshop and performances, check the complete program! Finissage on Sunday 12th of December.
Opening hours:
Wed > Sat, 12:30 – 18:30. Free admission

BlueLightSpecial + SoundBoxOne("handmade")

SoundBoxTwo("indianblanket")

Thanks to Walter Langelaar for the invitation!!!!

17 November: TONEWHEELS performance @ Résonances Electroniques Festival, Museum of Fine Arts, Dijon FR

19 November: TONEWHEELS discussion + performance @ /dev/art/, 19h / 23h, BlackBoxe, 17 rue de la Chapelle 75018 Paris FR, FREE

20 November: TONEWHEELS performance @ I-R-L Performances / Optica Festival avec Art of Failure and Chloé Mazlo & Son of a Pitch, 20h30, Centre Mercoeur, 4 rue Mercoeur 75011 Paris FR – M° voltaire/charonne, paf: 5 euros

Thanks to Octarine Productions, Jack/Kevin/Laurent@RYBN and the beautiful Tomoko Sauvage for support putting this trip together.

Now Playing

kevin drumm–live at bardens boudoir, london, uk 29.01.08 mp3[2008]
kk null–akumu[2008 vital]
mattin (ed.)–noise and capitalism book[2009 arteleku audiolab]
paul demarinis–buried in noise book[2010 kehrer][danke carsten!!!]
prurient+cold cave–stars explode[2010 hospital productions]
merzbow+balázs pándi–live at fluc wanne, vienna 18.05.10 lp[2010]

“Ich bin ein Objekt”: Learning Pure Data as a Language
DATES: 13-14 November 2010 12:00-17:00
COST: EUR 35
LOCATION: NK, Elsenstr. 52/2.Hinterhaus Etage 2
12059 Berlin Neukölln

Pure Data (or Pd) is a real-time graphical programming environment for audio, video, and graphical processing. This introductory workshop is ideal for new users of Pure Data who are finding the “vocabulary” and “grammar” difficult to grasp. We will learn Pure Data as one would learn any other language, taking a series of very basic examples from the Pure Data FLOSS Manual. This workshop gives a good starting point for more advanced Pd workshops, or participation in the Berlin Pure Data users’ group. The workshop will be taught in English ;-)

Participation is limited to 12 participants.

Registration: Pre-registration is required and can be done by sending an email to info@nkprojekt.de

Links:
http://puredata.info
http://en.flossmanuals.net/puredata
http://puredata.info/community/organization/pd-berlin/pd-berlin-users-group

***

Neanderthal Electronics at your Fingertips
DATES: 27-28 November 12:00-17:00 / Presentation 28 November 18:00
COST: EUR 35 + EUR 10 materials fee
LOCATION: NK, Elsenstr. 52/2.Hinterhaus Etage 2
12059 Berlin Neukölln

Learn how to use simple objects from our modern environment (resistors, capacitors, transistors, LEDs, integrated circuit chips…) to design and build your own personal, touch-activated primitive noise synthesizer. Each is a tiny world of its own, using primitive analog computers in combination with feedback, sensors and audio inputs to create a unique sound. Even from the same plan, no two are alike! Participants should bring some sort of box, container or other creative enclosure to put their circuit inside of–past workshops have seen synthesizers made in suitcases, flashlights, film cans, coconuts, children’s toys, super 8 cameras, cigar boxes, knaackebrod, books and hand-sewn masks. Check the videos on the Macumbista website for some ideas and inspiration. This workshop will end in a free public presentation of the instruments you have created, invite your friends!

Participation is limited to 12 participants.

Registration: Pre-registration is required and can be done by sending an email to info@nkprojekt.de

Links:
http://macumbista.net/?page_id=497

***

Now Splice the Tape: Working with Soundfiles in Pure Data
DATES: 04-05 December 12:00-17:00 / Presentation 05 December 18:00
COST: EUR 35
LOCATION: NK, Elsenstr. 52/2.Hinterhaus Etage 2
12059 Berlin Neukölln

Manipulating recorded soundfiles is one of Pure Data’s most powerful features. However, the process of doing this remains one of the most confusing tasks for newcomers. During this two day workshop, we will cover the basics of loading soundfiles to tables, live capturing and looping, adjusting tempo and pitch, changing the looping, starting and stopping points of your playback and an introduction to granular synthesis. We will also examine ParticleChamber as an example of a full-fledged soundfile manipulation application built entirely with Pd. Some previous experience with Pd and/or participation in the “Ich bin ein Objekt” workshop is recommended. This workshop will end in a free public presentation of the instruments you have created, invite your friends!

Participation is limited to 12 participants.

Registration: Pre-registration is required and can be done by sending an email to info@nkprojekt.de

Links:
http://puredata.info
http://en.flossmanuals.net/puredata
http://macumbista.net/?page_id=514 (ParticleChamber)

***

About the Instructor:

Derek Holzer (1972) is an American sound artist living in Berlin, whose current interests include DIY analog electronics, sound art, field recording and the meeting points of electroacoustic, noise, improv and extreme music. He has played live experimental sound, as well as taught workshops in noise art technology, across Europe, North America, Brazil and New Zealand.

SWEDEN
Oct 4-8 – Neanderthal Electronics workshop, Nordic Sound Academy, Malmö SE
Oct 8, 19:00 – Neanderthal Electronics presentation/concert, Nordic Sound Academy, Malmö SE
Workshop limited to students of Nordic Sound Academy, presentation/concert open to the public
Venue: Inter Arts Center, Bergsgatan 29, Malmö

HUNGARY
Oct 9, 21:00 – Macumbista performance, UH Fest, Budapest HU
Info: www.fest2010.uh.hu
Venue: Merlin, Gerlóczy utca 4, Budapest

NORWAY
Oct 11-16 – Regenskog/Rainforest workshop, Piksel, Bergen NO
Oct 15-16 – Regenskog/Rainforest installation/performance, Piksel, Bergen NO
Info: www.piksel.no/2010/09/regnskog-bergen-kjott
Workshop by invitation only, guests welcome to visit. Installation/performance open to the public as follows:
– Friday evening from 20:00
– Saturday afternoon 14:00-18:00
– Saturday evening 20:00-23:00
Venue: Bergen Kjøtt, Skutevikstorget 1, Bergen

DENMARK
Oct 21-23 – Neanderthal Electronics workshop, Apparat, Ålborg DK
Oct 23 20:00 – Macumbista performance, Apparat, Ålborg DK
Workshop registration via APPARAT
Info: www.apparatlab.dk/2010
Performance venue: Platform 4, Rapsgade 4, Ålborg

Now Playing

bee mask–living’s just defying the ocean[2006 deception island]
cro-mags–the age of quarrel[1986 profile]
fennesz, daniell, buck–knoxville[2010 thrill jockey]
jon mueller–the whole[2010 type]
pete swanson–feelings in america[2010 root strata]
pop (product of power=karkowski & rehberg)–work hard play harder[2003 absurd]

As part of my ongoing studio cleanup process, I’ve put a number of experimental (and not so experimental) CDs, records and books online. (Yes, I’m a bit broke now since the Cologne fellowship is over…)

Let the games begin!

http://macumbista.net/?page_id=1634

TONEWHEELS @ Résonances Electroniques Festival
17 November 2010, Museum of Fine Arts, Dijon FR

TONEWHEELS is an experiment in converting graphical imagery to sound, inspired by some of the pioneering 20th Century electronic music inventions. Transparent tonewheels with repeating patterns are spun over light-sensitive electronic circuitry to produce sound and light pulsations and textures. This all-analog set is performed using only overhead projectors as light source, performance interface and audience display. In this way, TONEWHEELS aims to open up the “black box” of electronic music and video by exposing the working processes of the performance for the audience to see.

Looking for things to do in Paris 18-20 November. Get in touch!!!!

REGNSKOG

Bergen Kjøtt, Bergen NO, October 11-17 2010

REGNSKOG: a Collaborative Workshop/Performance/Installation in the Spirit of David Tudor
Produced by Piksel.no

INTRODUCTION: HANDS DIRTY ART

Over the past few years, a strong reaction against the sterile world of laptop sound and video has inspired a new interest in analog processes, or “hands dirty” art in the words of practitioner John Richards. With this renewed analog interest comes a fresh exploration of the pioneers of the electronic arts during the pre-digital era of the 1960s and 1970s. Artists and inventors such as Nam June Paik, Steina & Woody Vasulka, Don Buchla, Serge Tcherepnin, Dan Sandin and David Tudor all constructed their own unique instruments long before similar tools became commercially available or freely downloadable–and often through a long, rigorous process of self-education in electronics.

DAVID TUDOR’S RAINFOREST

David Tudor, in particular, has become the focus of intense interest (c.f. Leonardo Music Journal 14, 2004). His transformation from John Cage’s concert pianist to an electronic performer and autodidact engineer in his own right is archetypal for the contemporary media artist, who also must oscillate between the creative and the learning processes. His work Rainforest also stands out as an exemplary model of the collaborative process within a technically defined, yet socially open system.

Rainforest used a series of transducers to play prerecorded and live sounds through various resonant metal objects suspended by wires in the performance space. It was also conceived as a workshop, involving different musicians and artists in a collaborative setting, each contributing their own sounds, ideas and energies to the performances, which often lasted four or five hours! A complex mixer system allowed the sounds coming from one resonant object to be directed through another, spawning chaotic generations of new sound patterns. The sounds played could be heard through loudspeakers as well as the objects themselves, however they could also be physically felt by touching the objects. Tudor was especially interested in two audiences: children and the blind.

REGNSKOG

Regnskog is conceived as a contemporary re-interpretation of Rainforest as a workshop, performance and public installation. In the spirit of Tudor’s work, much of the equipment and materials will be built by the participants/performers themselves.

PARTICIPANTS

Harald Fetveit, Oslo
Signe Lidèn, Bergen
Ryan Jordan, London
Derek Holzer, Berlin
Julien Ottavi, Nantes
John Hegre, Bergen
Jørgen Træen, Bergen
Gisle Frøysland, Bergen

Now Playing

bitchin bajas–tones & zones lp[2010 important]
burn–burn 7″[1990 revelation]
chen santa maria–chen santa maria[2008 gssd/shit on]
drudkh–handful of stars[2010 season of mist]
eleh–repose[2010 touch]
j.d. emmanuel–wizards[1982/2010 important]
prince rama–shadow temple[2010 paw tracks]
seijiro murayama–4 pieces with a snare drum[2010 petit label]

(click photo to enlarge)

Still available:

Doepfer Pocket Control 16 knob MIDI controller, early version with black/blue paint and yellow lettering SOLD
Doepfer A-128 Fixed Filter Bank  SOLD
Doepfer A-135 Voltage Controlled Mixer SOLD
Doepfer A-175 Voltage Inverter SOLD
Doepfer A-198 TRC Trautonium Ribbon Controller SOLD
Doepfer A-199 Spring Reverb SOLD
Doepfer A-174-1 Joy-Stick SOLD
Doepfer A-136 Distortion/Waveshaper SOLD
Doepfer A-138 Mixer (exp) SOLD
Doepfer A-100P6 Suitcase 220V SOLD
Dual Lag Processor (DIY Livewire Dual Bissel Generator) SOLD
Dual Lag Processor (DIY Livewire Dual Bissel Generator)  SOLD
Dual Tonepad Rebote Delay (DIY digital delay) SOLD
Dual Tonepad Rebote Delay (DIY digital delay) SOLD
Assortment of Patch Cables 11 x 25cm (black), 7 x 50cm (gray), 9 x 75cm (red) SOLD
Analogue Systems RS-30 Frequency To Voltage Converter/Envelope Follower SOLD
Analogue Systems RS-40 Noise / Sample & Hold / Clock SOLD
Set of 31 undrilled blank aluminum panels SOLD

This Eurorack system is located in Berlin, Germany. All modules are in perfect condition unless noted, and all modules are fully functional. Prices do not include shipping, I will send a quote for that once we have agreed on what you would like to buy. I would be happy to show the system to anyone in town, or make additional photos for those in other cities/countries. I can offer a discount to anyone purchasing several modules at once, and the best price would be for the entire remaining system. This page will be updated to include any changes in availability or pricing.

From tomorrow, 18 August until Tuesday 24 August I will be in Dortmund Germany taking part in the Heavy Matter exhibition by the KHM Cologne for ISEA. I will perform on 19 August and 23 August, and you can find details of that performance below.

Heavy Matter
Westfalenforum Dortmund / Orchesterzentrum|NRW, Dortmund
20th to 29th of August 2010
Exhibition opening hours: daily 10:00-20:00

Opening @ Westfalenforum: Thursday 19 August 2010, 18:00
Performance evening @ Westfalenforum: Monday 23 August 2010, 20:00

At the turn of the 21st Century, new media has become a matter of course and the technology of electronic data processing is constantly being perfected. Just how immaterial is data really? Does it not carry a certain amount of weight, after all? In the exhibition – developed by students and members of the teaching staff of the KHM – the immaterial is exposed as “Heavy Matter”. Heavy does matter: objectively, physically and financially. Matter appears as an autonomous (disruptive) factor between transmitter and receiver.

Exhibition with the participation of:

Céline Berger, Jongwon Choi, Tobias Daemgen, Anna Gonzalez Suero, Akiro Hellgardt, Echo Ho/Lasse Scherffig, Derek Holzer, Hörner/Antlfinger, Sion Jeong, Sunjha Kim, Theresa Krause, Karin Lingnau, Ji Hyun Park, Jun Park, So Young Park, Laura Popplow, Martin Rumori, Miri Shin, Wonbaek Shin, Tine Tillman

Orchesterzentrum|NRW
Brückstraße 47
44135 Dortmund

Westfalenforum
Kampstraße 37-39
44137 Dortmund

Cthonian Cell Observation I (Continuous Pressure Wave for Elevator Car)

DEREK HOLZER
Sound Performance, 2010

An evening-long concert drawing on the underworld mythology of heavy metal and noise music for an audience of one, taking place in the narrow confines of an elevator car filled with an overpowering, physical mass of sound pressure.

More info on this performance here.