Tim Stutts: ITP Project Blog

Eric Beug and I will be performing live audio and video in Room 447 for the the Live Image Processing show at ITP on Saturday around 9pm. We will be debuting a new kickass Max MSP / Jitter patch, as well as the sleek and sexy Malleable Electronic Lawn interface. Awesome!

Testing out the joystick interaction, i’ve realized the most satisfying graphical implementation is where there is a one-to-one relationship with the controller parameters and what is occurring on the screen, else the the user is left confused as to what they are actually manipulating visually. As an excercize I’ve constructed a grid with set orginins. The incoming values from the Arduino are applied to parameters that offset the x and y position of linked transluscent quadrangles. When the joysticks are released the orginal grid shape is reestablished, though artifacts of the previous quadrangles remain.

Watch a video of the grid in motion here.

I have yet to find a method–even through the use of arrays–that would compress the exisiting code in a way that would still makes sense visually. view the current source code here.

The following Arduino and Processing code excerpts link communication between the Lawnboard and Computer. In this basic implementation, joystick position controls hue of the squares within the grid. Right now there is a flickering issue that is a result of a fualty bitwise operation. I plan to solve this with some debugging.

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I am currently assisting Cory Arcangel on a project where instructional music video for guitar and piano is borken up the into various notes and their accompanying video segments to build a library of MIDI-triggerable pitches that span a chromatic scale over many octaves. Orginally Cory was planning on using a Perl script to generate an EDL that one could be loaded and rendered within Final Cut, but Max/MSP Jitter, with its interactive video capabilities, seems to be a more viable solution. The end result will parse a MIDI file in Max/MSP Jitter to recompose the entire fugue for Goldberg Variations entirely from training footage. Each of four the voices will be given it’s own video projection and sound will probably be quadraphonic.

In the meantime we are working on a monophonic version using Paganini. I wrote the current patch to disect a video of me playing the bass and singing up a two octave chromatic scale. The patch can load type 1 MIDI files, accept user input, or load note values from a step sequencer. Values that are outside the two octave range are transposed, so that everynote falls into range. Here is a video of this in action! Rawk!

Meditation 2 uses arrow keys < > on the keyboard and x and y mouse position to control parameters–currently unassigned–in Max. The active set is highlighted in yellow. Could be useful somehow. Download patch here.

Up until recently I thought I lived in Kip’s Bay, but according to some folks I’m in Gramercy, Murray Hill or the unnamed mysterious black square that covers my neighborhood on those maps found on the backs of taxi cab seats. My approximate location is E 26h St. between 1st and 2nd Avenue. Perhaps the confusion stems from Turtle Bay and Kip’s Bay fighting over the same body of water, which is hardly even a Bay. And Curry Hill or Murray Hill…what hill? Only in the broadest definition. Manhattan should just own up to it’s lack of natural geography and define it’s terrain by the buildings and urban structures. Midtown range. Central Abyss. Meatpacking Plateau. All the more reason to move to Brooklyn.

M.E.L. or Malleable Electronic Lawn ( the interface formerly known as “Lawnboard” ) is looking sexy. Some recent progress made on the device includes completing 100+ wirings, almost completing the Arduino code to control the multiplexers, upgraded the Arduino to an Atmega 168 for added memory, and working with Luke DuBois on an interactive graphical representation in Max / MSP Jitter. Eventually I would like to model and control a rhombic triacontahedron, a polyhedron that has 32 vertices. Each joystick axis would control the polar coordinate of a vertex. Other tasks still to come include collaborating with Andy Doro on a secondary visualization in Java / Processing and constructing the tactile elements to fix onto the joysticks. One recommendation I’ve gotten is using thin wooden dowels surrounded by soft PVC tubing, which I will likely put together over the next couple days.

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Lordx has just released “Over Easy” on iTunes! The album contains ten whimsical tracks, ranging from the synth heavy hits “Seep” and “Trilogy,” to the more glitchy soundscapes, “Trarszwa” and “Rudratik.” A must have for IDM fans. Get it here!

Liner Notes:

“Over Easy” is the first full-length album that I’ve produced under the alias Lordx. It’s title has to do with a fascination with eggs, both in the culinary sense and metaphorically as a symbol of new life. I took the photograph in my kitchen one weekend, after deciding to document my omlette making ritual. The compositions have flowed, but the album was not “easy” to put together, due to my tendency to change directions compositionally. One month I’ll be working on a Lo-fi sounding electronic bit, the next month, a tribute to 80’s rock and all it’s glory. I wanted to avoid making a compilation or greatest hits album, so instead I made scrambled eggs. The album is an iTunes only release, which is fine with me, aside from the fact that the site does not designate the liner notes afforded by the compact disc. The album was an emotional experience for me, but I’m more concerned that listener has their own subjective experience of this aspect, so here I’ve refrained from talking about the way things feel, but rather the way things are made.

1. “Seep” begins with a slow repeating 5/4 phrase featuring a slightly delay-heavy synth melody, and eventually a brighter, plucked-sounding, deceptively new age, sounding synth. The bass was initially meant to be a acoustic upright, though a synth bass was chosen in the end, to fill out the busy B section of the piece, with it’s thick harmonies and semi-resolving cadences. If the B section’s traditional 4/4 time signature, becomes commonplace, it is quickly reconciled by the track’s dipping into a cut-time feel, which allows for more intricate fills. Following that the initial synth melody takes on a filtered, staccato quality, bridging into a more pentatonic and friendly tonal area, in preparation for an overlap of the original 5/4 theme ( adapted to 4/4 ), the theme from B, and new degraded, organ-like, melody that splits into two, across the high end. What began as a project in Digidesign Protools on a G4 iMac, was reassembled a year later and completed in Steinberg Nuendo on an Athlon PC. The track relies heavily on virtual synths from Native Instruments and Arturia, NI’s Battery for drum sequencing, and additional VST plug-ins, including NI Spektral Delay. The track was mixed on Event 20/20 monitors in Los Angeles. Influences include Steve Reich, “Kid A” era Radiohead, Boards of Canada, older Aphex Twin, Telefon Tel Aviv.

2. “Legend” was created two years before “Seep,” and embarks onto an epic video game-esque journey, featuring arpeggiated 8 bit synth sounds, flute-like timbres, and more simplistic drum sounds. The time signatures are constantly in flux, through a number of syncopated snare tricks, which leave the listener expecting more to the measure. The melodies work in such a way this inconsistency can go undetected; the beats are built around melody–not the other way around. The track features an exploring synth bass line, which redefines chords ( that would otherwise be repeticious ), and amounts to a bass solo, rich with double stops. The track was composed in Steinberg Nuendo on a G4 iMac running OS9, featuring a number of free virtual synths and plug-ins including Crystal and KT Granulator. The bass is the standard Nuendo A1 with a slight amount of filtering. The track was mixed on Event 20/20 monitors in Miami. Influences include the Legend of Zelda video game, soundtrack to the “Neverending Story” by Giorgio Moroder and U-ziq.

3. “Trarszwa” arose from an odd limitation imposed on a never-released compilation by Cuteheory, in which members would each use sounds from a Star Wars film to build a track. I was assigned “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace” ( which I’ve always thought was a terrible film ), and rebelled by remixing the audio from trailer of the film to such a degree, that it’s source is impossible to distinguish, save the time-stretched Darth Vader breath at it’s intro or the muted light saber battle at the end. Bits of tones are extracted and pitch shifted here and there to create melodies there were none before. “Trarszwa” was created entirely through cutting, time-stretching, and pitch-shifting the source material in Digidesign Protools. The track was made in one day and mixed on Mackie HR824 monitors in Denver. Influences include Shuttle 358, Boards of Canada, and of course “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.”

4. “Sequel” was made with a similar spirit to “Legend.” It’s fat synth intro features quiet church organ backgrounds, and breaks out into a frantic hip hop beat, complete with sprinkler-esque high-hat characteristic of the dirty south sound. The time signature alternates between 6/4 and 7/4. Influences include Plaid and hip hop music.

5. “Take Me Back” is the newest track on the release. Beginning with a filtered rim-shot drum sequence, and a deep funky bass line, a harmonically rich synth pad quickly envelopes ( the Detroit Techno influece ), opening up to a more expressive, wah-wah filtered bass line, and ultra 80’s drum machine sound, complete lo-fi tom rolls, and closing / opening high-hat. For a minute, the reverb is removed from the synth pad, exposing the rawness of it–a hip dated quality, characteristic of the soundtracks “Nightrider” or “Scarface.” The second half of the track, takes on an odd harmonic direction, which features an arpeggiated synth solo, which weaves around the odd progression, as the bass line swells upward. The ending takes the theme to a more consonant harmonic territory. The track was composed shortly after “Seep,” in Steinberg’s Nuendo, running on an Athlon PC. Mixed on the 2.1 section of an Alesis Proactive 5.1 system. Influences include Dykehouse, Jimmy Edgar, and Giorgio Moroder.

6. “Trilogy” in a follow-up to Legend and Sequel, with a similar approach to fluctuating time signatures, though also explores changing key signatures. The spacious, signature-ambiguous section towards the end, with hits train-like high hat, heart-like kick, and high descending piano timbres is one of the track’s more unique features, as is very end, which features a reverb drenched version of the intro in reverse, set to a new chime-like melody. The track was composed and mixed similarly to “Legend” and “Sequel,” though features a different set of virtual synths, such as the reFX Claw. Influences include Jega and “Kid A” era Radiohead.

7. “Reopen” begins with glitchy AM radio sounds, then breaks out into staggered synth chords, amidst fragments of my own speech, reading a letter from an old friend. The second half introduces a MIDI pipe organ phrase flipped in reverse, and more AM radio a la scratch turnable. The track was made in Steinberg’s Cubase, running on an old Dell PC. Features a Panasonic radio and Waldorf Attack virtual synth. Mixed on crappy Altec-Lansing monitors. Influences include various artist from the Kracfive label.

8. “Slamnbod,” the only acoustic piece on the album, is a duet between cello and saxophone, that employs various serial techniques in it’s form. The piece was recorded live a University of Miami. Influences include Anton Webern and Michael Formaneck.

9. “Lull” uses suspension of tones to create dissonance. It’s brassy drones are backed by an ultra-low synth bass, eventually fading to a series of parallel organ chords. The track relies heavily on Native Instrument’s Absynth. Influences include Giorgi Ligeti and Cliff Martinez.

10. “Rudratik” is a live bedroom performance that involving AM radio, metronome, contact microphones, and a mini-disc player, routed through delay and distortion pedals. The choral samples are Gregorian and Tibetan chant convoluted in Sound Hack. A similar setup was used in performance of John Cage’s “Variations II” at California Institute of the Arts.

I met with Greg Shakar tonight to get the multiplexers working with the Lawnboard. Looking at the mess of wires, I’ve come to realize that I will need to horizontally mount a slightly larger breadboard onto the interface, to make space for the multiplexers and wiring. Below is the current bit of code I am using, which I will soon update to allow for 32 incoming values:

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