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.

Nice live performance, nice feelings!

Yesterday, I played my latest live performance at Théâtre National de la Criée in Marseille.
It was a very nice set and I think people appreciated it.

The official/unofficial Protofuse‘s manager was there: BIG thanks to Lucien de Baixo for his precious & infinite help !
He took some photos & I’ll post them asap here.

BIG Thanks to my other friends Denis, Ilaria, Jonathan & Guillaume I didn’t even talk with because of the busy mood of this evening !

Strange & new setup for my close next music live performances

Explorations HAVE to be made on a real exploration mode.
You can decide to explore this or that forrest, ok, but if you want to walk close of the tree #12, then the #14, then the 143 etc you aren’t exploring, you are .. like .. working and in any case, you’ll bore yourself in a very deterministic way.

I decided to explore as protofuse, and not to determine the path before as an a priori
And it comes with some dead end, and lost moments but never really lost.

These little sentences are just about analogies with my musical explorations.
Indeed, it is light, and I could probably write a whole book about that. Maybe it will come.

I have been invited to a festival named Les Musiques by the GMEM.
You can read this about this event.
The official Theater page is here

I decided to use a very new & fresh setup for this particular event.

The hardware
I’ll use my BCR2000, the best & solidest rotary encoders machine EVER.
I never found one lighter, solider, cheaper that the BCR2000.
All knobs job will be done with it. I need knobs under my fingers for volume, fx tweaking etc.

I’ll use my monome for all toggling control.
Probably, I’ll use it to control the clips grid in Ableton Live.
I’m using it with a Python script I made a long time ago specifically for this use.
With it, I can scroll, trigger anything.
It could also be replaced by Touchable  or LivKontrol on my iPad.

Why both mentionned ? Because I didn’t choose yet.
I need a light & efficient application ONLY for clip triggering and it seems that Touchable became a bit too big by making everything which, as a digital artist but a programmer too, makes me afraid a bit.

I could also come one day with my own Ableton Live iOS application which would be totally dedicated to clip triggering, clip looping etc.
Btw, it isn’t the point here.

The software
Ableton Live for all the live stuff.
As usual, I’m composing almost everytime a new liveset.
Today, in the afternoon, I found my new way.
The one which inspires me the most.

I have, in white, rhythmic stuff.
4 first tracks are routed to DRUMS one.
I like to tweak only rhythmic parts, letting the others not tweaking.
It provides a nice way to break, but to tweak slightly too, letting parts almost independant if it is required.

The track 5 isn’t really used but is often for the bass.
Orbital sounds is my title for anything related to pads, ambient & atmospheric soundscapes.
Orbital could be a reference to a group but it isn’t at all, here.
Micro sounds is my name for anything related to noise systems.

Those titles are very subjectives. They make me feeling well and I know what kind of sound is where.

The tOOL.
Used almost only in studio, I decided to manage complex structures using some Reaktor machines on a side, and to samples some parts for performances purpose.
The way HAS to be flawless & flexible.
I need to focus only on sound when I’m composing so, using that way, I’m fast to create, & integrate into my “real” tracks for stage in seconds!

This next live
I hope you like noises & clunks!
You won’t be disappointed if you do. Else, you’ll cry, which can be odd, but if you cry loud, it could add some strange textures (but please don’t do that)

I could modelize this next performance as

“a strange travel into electronic territories with atmospheric rotating sounds, unfiltered noises all over odd rhythmics”

It will yell from the sound system
You don’t have to be afraid but it will be loud.

If you like crunchy noises, you’ll have it.
If you love smooth ethered pads & atmospheric textures, you’ll be in trance (not related to trance goa, mates)

Intrigated? Then come!
Disappointed? Then, come too, there will be beer to drink, drunk mate!

Because I still didn’t finish even really began myUniverse, I won’t have a lot of visuals to show.
So, I asked to a couple of friends artists to provide me one of their creation.
I hope they will do that.
Else, I’ll plug something nice in the VGA bus.. don’t worry.

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.

Music performance scheduled on May the 15th

In the great National Theater of La criée, I have been invited by GMEM to perform live.

This time, your ears will hear my really really (nervous) IDM.
I hope you are not afraid and are opened to new sound experiences

It will happen on May the 15th around 9:30 PM
The Facebook event is here https://www.facebook.com/events/281294878624714/

myUniverse

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Because every makers/creators/artists have their own universe, it is obvious that, at a particular point of their lives, they want to make the big equation of everything in order to describe it.

Indeed, we (artists), are strange people.
We want to show you everything of us, sometimes nothing, oscillations being a huge part of our work, if we can consider we are working, because I’d prefer to write we are living, instead working.. our life being our work or vice versa.

Building an universe from nothing seems to be hard.
But there are already many parts we just have to stick, to agglomerate, to join.

In my case, I’m just multiple which doesn’t mean mentally ill!

The multiple parts of myself – working together

Art takes its sense with the word technic.
Indeed, even if some doesn’t agree with that, we know art is also relatic to skill.
Britannica Online says Art is “the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others.”

How to separate skill & imagination ?
Indeed, it seems hard, but education, societies, and globally jobs & bosses tend to make you using right & left parts of the brain absolutely not at the same time, which breaks absolutely our bunch of super-powers being inside of us.
My great friend Laurent (Boghossian) agrees 100% with that and it means a lot for me as he’s one of the most accurate to explain that kind of global human theory through his books about management, self-improvement.

Indeed, you have to notice that: each Continue reading »

Nice review for Bits10 by Beach Sloth

I really thank Beach Sloth Blog for their review about the last part of my minimal triptych project: Bits#10, the 2 first ones being Bits#0 & Bits#1

my first app on App Store !

Dear followers/friends, I’m so happy.
I designed this application, based on an algorithm I coded initially for Processing (which is JAVA-based)
I translated it and improved it too inside C++ language in order to fit with Open Frameworks framework, and especially with iOS build.
I want to thank a lot Reza who supports his precious MIT licensed ofxUI addon for UI design purposes.

The first post about it is here.

This application is also a new & nice way to test how I could distribute my music to you.
Music alone can often sound a bit sad.
Now, if you grab that app, you’ll have :
- a 13 minutes track of evolving ambient by me as protofuse
- a visuals generator based on my algorithm of flocking particles

I can now use this logo.
Click on the logo and you’ll be driven to Mobile Particles.

I found a new way of expression which can live on mobile devices and be closer from you.
Here is a view of the menu.
Each parameter is tweakable and make the visuals evolving a lot.

I hope you could share it with your friends.

Nice review for my latest EP

I want to thank Ventilo & Jordan who wrote the review about my latest ep bits10

The whole issue is here

This latest EP is available on my homepage at http://protofuse.net
You can buy it if you like it as a support.