May, 2008 archive

Moog has announced an update to the operating system for the Moog Lttle Phatty:
Happy Birthday, Dr. Robert Moog!
Moog Music is pleased to present the latest operating system for the LP Stage Edition; version 2.00!
As many of you are excruciatingly aware by now, this update includes new features such as an arpeggiator with MIDI sync (and [...]

I’ve had my eye on the Boss RE 20 Space Echo, which is based on the classic Roland RE201 tape echo, for a while.
The RE 20 Space Echo basically reproduces many of the effects that are possible using an analog tape delay, but does it in a reliable, affordable digital package.
This video [...]

The LA Times has a review of seminal minimalist composer Terry Riley’s Sunday performance at the Walt Disney concert hall.
“Minimalist” is a strange tag for Riley. It suits him in that he has never lost his love for interlocking repetitive figures imbued with the strength to send the brain into psychedelic reverie. But Riley is [...]

Gadget.Brando.Com.HK has a DJ Plasma Light that reacts to music to create an interactive light show.
They are super-cheap - $18. Cheap enough to tempt me to get several.
Let me know if you’ve used these and, if so, what you think.
Features:

DJ Plasma Indication Tube
ON/OFF power switch
Lightning or Music/Sonic switch
Music/Sonic with Line [...]

Above, Duran Duran covers Kraftwerk’s Showroom Dummies during their Red Carpet Massacre show on Broadway at the Barrymore Theatre in New York City on November 6, 2007.
Below, Kraftwerk performing Showroom Dummies live at Coachella 2008.

Duran Duran may win this round.
But Señor Coconut , below, may get the prize for “most original cover”. Are you ready for some [...]

OT: I love hypnotic electronic music, especially when you’ve got some trippy visuals to go with it. Dynamically generated visuals seem like a natural pairing with live electronic music. 
The Metalab Metamatrix is a fantastic DIY project that uses 3456 Leds,1 FPGA, 1 mini ITX board and the contributions of over 20 people. 
If you know of any other awesome [...]

The Wilhelm Scream may be the most famous movie sound effect of all time:

It’s a scream that’s been used in movies for over 50 years, becoming a sort of inside joke among filmmakers. It was used in all six Star Wars movies, Poltergeist, all three Pirates of the Caribbean films, Monty Python and the Holy [...]

Sound synthesized by computer on the fly, according to interactions caused in the virtual world by the user.