Designing myUniverse (part 01)

I decided to bring you in my furious train running through those strange & sometimes abstract electronic & digital territories of my research.
Before to understand where I want to go here, I’d suggest you to read this post.

So at the same time, I begin to design some very early bits, I’m also sketching many ideas using evernote & skitch.
First ideas

The basic statements were:

As many great & strong (and especially personal) ideas, that one came naturally.
I always thought about it since around 1 year, but it became clearer since one month.
I need a meta tool.
Something stronger than a straight (even if some are a little bit non-linear) sequencer.
Something that could be that everything I need.
Something evolvable & which I could change, modify, improve not only during 1 month, but more, further in the future.
Something not only for experimental music.
Something that could drive me into very new and uncommon music research approaches.
But something fun at the same time !

Those statements had not really evolved but are more defined today.

The way I’m currently taking is:
I’ll design a 3D world with interfaces providing a way to compose and play.

Compose means : I’m placing objects, with particular properties and I’ll save maps (= presets), and I’ll restore maps etc.
Play means: I’m moving my current position into that world, altering objects, or not, observing, listening.

So there would be at least 2 strong parts :
- visuals
- sounds

Many frameworks exist for all of these jobs to accomplish.

First frameworks chosen
At first, I’m strongly involved in Max6 (and MSP & Jitter, less in Jitter saying … til today!)
I’m also strongly involved in C++ side of OpenFrameworks. I mean, I can add libraries to it, play & twist it etc.

My natural choice, at least for the core & brain logic is Max6
I could generate everything in Max6, from visuals to sounds.

Because I want to explore another new world for me named SuperCollider, I’d probably go with it for all the sound related stuff.

The idea is also to have 2 different binaries running not at the same place in memory ; intuitively, I feel that thing better than generating everything in the same one, even in Max.

The second reason for SuperCollider is the easy ability to create/set synthesizers & their voices programmatically ; indeed, everything is natively done programmatically in SuperCollider.
OSC is totally native in SuperCollider and it will be the way I’ll glue the two parts.

First explorations
I entirely dived in Jitter today.
I already knew a lot about it but now, I’m inside.
Especially, I tested Javascript (JS) with Jitter.
Indeed, as everything (or almost everything) in Max, you can use the patcher only, but you can also code some routines by typing code.
JS is totally integrated inside Max6. The 1.5 is very fast now.
It means you can wire a lot of stuff on one side or use JS to make the same thing on another.

It can be totally required as soon as you want to have a dynamic number of stuff. Stuff equals objects, in the sense of OOP especially.
In my case, how to deal with the creation/remove of a bunch of objects in my 3D meta environment only with patch objects ? It would be a pain, and I know that because I already worked A LOT like that in Max.
So, let’s go programmatically, we’ll have more efficiency both in the development step but in the use too !

In my system, I’ll use, directly Java and not JS
Since Max6, Java in Max is again easier.
Indeed, you can code, compile without leaving Max which is very powerful & ergonomic.
The object mxj is used to execute the code inside one and only one JVM launched in Max. Mxj also takes care of all communications between the JVM and Max itself.

Circle packing for iOS …

My life is a technology & art exploration.
It can be defined more as explorationS. Plural is important.

I love the circle shape.
A lot of concepts are related to that shape.

You probably see DIGITAL COLLISIONS, I’ll release in few hours MOBILE MOOD MACHINE … every time the circle is here or there.

Here is a picture processed with a java algorithm around the circle packing concept.

Here is a nice scientific publication around the concept :
http://web.sau.edu/lilliskevinm/wirelessbib/CollinsStephenson.pdf 

I’m currently designing a small application.
You’ll be able to take a picture (or grab one in the library of the iOS device), you push a button and it calculates a nice circle packing with circles having the color of the mean of all color “under” the circle (on your picture)

The render is nice.
Maybe a couple of button to tweak (maximum size of circles, border contrast etc) but not sure.

You’ll be able to share the picture on Twitter, Facebook, Email and much more social stuff.
Maybe we could make a little packing contest

Let’s see how it can go

Inside’s video clip by Sonia Laura

Here is the rendering of a powerful collaboration I had with the great artist Sonia Laura.
I designed the music and you can also listen to it there on soundcloud.

The result is very impressive.

Here are some words written at the first sight:

I love the mood
scientists are working
strange projects
including humans but very beyond of usual conscious states
I love the part about 3:10
state of consciousness are becoming interesting
maybe, dreams
brain activity is changing
exporing algebra vectorial spaces
strange dreams are unburried
the rabbit, some ghosts
all the history , the past, are becoming clear
like if the everything theory, made by us was only the fact the universe was INSIDE us.
that Hz counter is so nice
OMG that smoke.

Designing my granulator machine

Granular synthesis is fascinating.

It is basically based on the sampling technic, but with a very unconditional feature.

AVAILABLE HERE ! 

Here are 2 samples coming that sound blender named THE GRANULIZATOR.

To understand the granular synthesis, you have to get that.
Take a sample.
Play a little slice, then another one.
Change the order of playing, size the slices differently & dynamically, add a bit of noise (randomness) in the play making the playing window moving a bit around a global controlled and moving value…
The slice is named the grain.

The name of synthesis is important here: indeed, there is a literally synthesized new output coming from the sample named here : the source.

Then, we can add some interesting features at a macro level (the global parameters like the manner the playing window moves) or at a very micro level (the grains themselves)

Here are some links about this field:
- http://granularsynthesis.com (nice portal)
- http://ftwem.com/forums/techniques/granular-synthesis-and-microsound-primer (nice forum post)
- http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec05/articles/granularworkshop.htm (VERY nice article by SoS)

I’ll release finally this new synthesis tool asap on designthemedia.com
I could also port it to … iOS. I’d love. Granular synthesis, especially if it involves a huge number of voices/grains, is a bit hardcore for the chip/cpu. It means I have to experiment a bit.
Of course, it will be possible. Some people already did it (with more or less success, I have to confess)

Stay Tuned!

Early lines from my next iPad app

When you are coding, you need visuals, sometimes.
Working on my next 2D sequencer for iPad, I just illustrated some values inside the sequencer engine.

Btw, the final product will be very visual but polished & beautiful

Things go well & fast considering it totally works on my iPad for the gui (not yet shown), the sound engine (at least the global part), the sequences (multi sequences system)

More, you won’t have seen something like that before.
Stay tuned !

A nice interview by ADEMAIN.TV

This is just me talking about, en français pour une fois, my project temporarily named Mobile Drone Machine
This is a project I’m currently developing myself around iOS framework.

The official place of that video is: http://ademain.tv
BIG UP to Axelle Benaïch / Design the future Now !

I’m currently at the specifications & sketching step.
More infos soon et vous moquez pas de mon accent qui chante!

The Protoclidean sequencer for Ableton Live

Announcing the next sequencer for Ableton Live. Based on euclidean algorithm, it offers a very nice & flexible way to distribute your notes in a time interval.

It will be available very soon at http://designthemedia.com/theprotoclidean 

I enjoyed to design it because I tried to use the sketch javascript object inside JSUI Max6 object.
This is a very nice way to embed UI + engine inside something that is … very fast.

I hope you’ll like this new unusual sequencer.
As you already know, I don’t like boring usual stuff.

Break the line, go where noone waits for you then become unique!

My M4_U feelings & report

I wrote “my” because I wanted to relate my feelings, my perception of this very great & unique event made in Leicester and at which I have been invite by Sean Carroll.
My M4_U started a bit late, because I was travelling.

Indeed, I caught my flight around 10h50, landing on Gatwick Airport, then took a train to St Pancras Intl, and then another one to Leicester.

Continue reading »

2 lives performance scheduled in UK

I’ll play 2 music live performances very soon in UK in Leicester.
Thanks to Sean and the team to have invited me.
I’m sure we’ll have fun

Check the event global schedule here

Here is a VERY smal extract of the live I’ll perform on next saturday (the 14th)

Here are all the informations required:

Friday 13th january
Between 7:30pm – 11:00pm @ Fabrika, Humberstone Gate, Leicester
One sound performance exploring ambient soundscapes & haunting noisy drones.
This will be very close from what I’m currently composing for my Lovecraft’s project.

Saturday 14th january
8:30pm @ Phoenix Square, Midland Street, Leicester, LE1 1TG
One sound performance exploring syncopated rythmed & noisy glitches IDM.

I hope to meet you there!

I can also link my artistic website here: protofuse.net