December update

Long time, no post. (If you don’t already, add me on Soundcloud, Twitter and/or Facebook for more frequent updates. This site has become more of a hub and archive rather than a hotbed of activity like those above.) I recently converted this site template over to HTML5 (thanks in part to reading the excellent HTML5 for Web Designers by Jeremy Keith). Next, I intend to replace the Flash-based media player with an HTML5 version, which will deprecate better in less-than-modern browsers. If you notice any problems, let me know. I also updated my discography with current availability information.

I have been busy working on new compositions, some of which can be heard in my Recent work set. They continue to feature generative beats, synth patterns and polyrhythms. I’ve also been exploring techniques in granular synthesis, including using the new (and recommended) Density M4L and Pulsaret M4L devices, to explore the world of microsound. I have utilized some aspects of granularity in the past but hadn’t been able to pay much attention to the full scope and theory until recently. I find myself fascinated at the variety and range of tones and rhythms that come from making slight changes to the source material. I also like moving away (at least as an option) from rigid note quantization and the familiar timeline of sequence-based composing. I created a Microsound set with some recent pieces, so have a listen to hear what I mean.

I’ve been re-reading some books by Marshall McLuhan, including The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects and War and Peace In the Global Village. His work is so dense with non-traditional ideas about media and culture, I often have to take it in small doses. I am awaiting delivery of the books Microsound by Curtis Rhodes and Electronic Music and Sound Design by Alessandro Cipriani and Maurizio Giri and look forward to reading them over the holidays. (All links to books above kickback to my Amazon affiliate account.)

Happy Holidays and “Cheers, thanks a lot!”

Link Love for May 19

After missing footage was found in Argentina, Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” has been restored and its narrative better understood (above).

Oxo Good Grips Designers Take on Tablet Magazines.

How Much Do Music Artists Earn Online?

Apple to xplatform developers: We’re no longer suicidal.

Create Your Own Virtual Instruments With Maize Sampler v2.0.

New Alarm Bells About Chemicals and Cancer: eat organic, drink filtered water, avoid plastic containers.

Dear nerd, start a nerd sash with nerd merit badges (nerd).

SKTCH is an interesting generative drawing iPhone app.

Link love for May 18

We’d love to buy the My water bottle in light blue, but the shipping costs as much as the bottle!

The Big Bang Was an Explosion OF Space, Not IN Space.

New Reverse Vending Machine Pays You to Recycle,

Interview with David Toop, one of our favorite music writers.

The iPad, the Kindle, and the future of books.

Why Funnel Marketing Doesn’t Work.

Uncommon Act of Design: The Secret of Getting Kids to Eat Veggies? Move the Salad Bar.

Guerrilla gardeners use candy machines to sell seed bombs.

The Progress of the Platform.

Link love for May 17

Recycled, Modern, Outdoor Furniture (above) by Loll Designs.

Apple and the politics of phoney outrage.

Modern House Numbers giveaway.

Curated hypocrisy: How Google camouflages its attacks on Apple.

Biomimicry Challenge: IDEO Taps Octopi and Flamingos to Reorganize the USGBC.

How Cul-de-Sacs Are Killing Your Community.

Polar Beer pint glasses, for fans of Lost.

88% of Lost Wallets Containing Baby Photos Get Returned: How To Use That Fact to Boost Business.

The Shirky Principle: “Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.”

Marvel Comics for the iPad looks rad.

The Twenty Systems project combines an audio CD of new music with a full colour 60 page book containing photos and diagrams of the electronic instruments used, along with a detailed history documenting the development of synthesisers between 1968 and 1988.

Dazzle Makeup to foil computer facial recognition.

Link love for March 11

Setgo Transport Urban Bag from Yanko Design (above).

Thermopower waves: MIT scientists discover new way to produce electricity.

Obama appoints Edward Tufte to advise on stimulus transparency.

A loot valued at $20 million lies off the coast of Staten Island, and Ken Hayes is on the hunt for the sunken silver bullion.

Demolishing density in Detroit: can farming save the motor city?

Whales, like trees, slow warming.

With artificial photosynthesis, a bottle of water could produce enough energy to power a house.

Books in the age of the iPad.

LastHistory graphs all your Last.fm listening.