Changes in Scanned Synth Pro 2

• New GUI design
• New presets
• An audio input that can be used to feed Scanned Synth Pro’s hammer and mass shapes making its sound even more dynamic
• An envelope follower that follows the level of the audio input and can be used to modulate the synth’s parameters
• A Danger Switch for extra nastiness
• Context-sensitive help
• The facility to load and save fxp and fxb files from within the plugin
• Improved sound quality and host support

Any synth, hard or soft, with a “Danger Switch” is worth checking out, in my book.

Scanned Synth Pro 2 is available for Windows PC and costs 60 EUR. (Registered users of version 1 can upgrade to version 2 for free).

It’s science: chill out music music is good for you

According to research presented at the American Society of Hypertension’s Twenty Third Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition (ASH 2008), listening to just 30 minutes of rhythmically homogeneous music every day can significantly reduce high blood pressure.

By rhythmically homogeneous, they mean music with little or no variation in rhythm; they tested with classical music and Indian raga music, but the research offers some medical validation to Stephen Halpern’s pioneering new age music, Brian Eno’s ambient music (which he conceived while bed-ridden) and more recent chill out music.

Researchers found that patients with mild hypertension who listened to just half an hour rhythmically homogeneous music a day for four weeks experienced significant reductions in 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP)

“Listening to music is soothing and has often been associated with controlling patient-reported pain or anxiety and acutely reducing blood pressure,” said study investigator, Prof. Pietro A. Modesti, MD, PhD. “But for the first time, today’s results clearly illustrate the impact daily music listening has on ABP. We …. can now confidently explore music listening as a safe, effective, non-pharmacological treatment option or a complement to therapy.”

Unfortunately, the research was limited to  testing the positive benefits of “soothing” music, so we can’t tell if listening to techno is just as beneficial, or if it’s likely to send your heart into a hypertensive spasm.

Research Details

Hypertension is a common disorder in which blood pressure remains abnormally high (a reading of 140/90 mm Hg or greater) and is responsible for causing at least five million premature deaths each year worldwide

A total of 48 patients aged between 45 and 70, all with mild hypertension and using pharmacological treatment, took part in the study. Of these, 28 patients aged between 45 and 69, listened to 30 minutes of classical, Celtic and Indian (raga) music per day while conducting slow, controlled abdominal breathing exercises. Twenty patients of comparable age, blood pressure values and antihypertensive treatment served as the control group. All patients underwent ABP monitoring before randomization (baseline) and one and four weeks after treatment allocation.

The study results revealed a significant systolic ABP reduction in those patients who had been listening to music daily (-3.2±5.6 and -4.4±5.3 mm Hg, p<0.01 vs baseline for both) at one and four weeks respectively. Only small, non significant BP reductions were revealed via 24-hour monitoring of the control group. The effect on systolic blood pressure was independent from changes in heart rate because no differences between groups were observed in 24-hour mean heart rate.

“Sadly, despite the global focus on prevention, it predicted that 56 billion people worldwide will be hypertensive by 2025,” said Modesti. “In light of these devastating statistics, it is reassuring to consider that something as simple, easy and enjoyable as daily music listening combined with slow abdominal breathing, may help people naturally lower their blood pressure.”

Image: KristenV

Synthinetic is a kinetically powered synthesizer that produces crazy sounds of destruction and beauty.

It’s a project that explores using energy creatively to produce and manipulate sound.

Video demo here.

Ahhh. Times were simpler in the 70’s, when you could snap a picture of Santa next to his Moog and expect to sell some cheesy electronic music records.

If you know anything about this photo or the record it must have accompanied, let me know in the comments.

Image via dreamchimney

9 Samurai

This video shows several different users trying out the first iteration of the SynthMonster, which is sort of a circuit bent Tribble.

Addonics has introduced a 1.8″ ZIF - CF Adapter kit that you can use to make your iPod faster and more shock resistant.

The adapter (ADZIFCF) supports several types of Compact Flash media including PIO, DMA, UDMA4 for up to a 40MB/s transfer rate. In addition to iPods, the adapter supports any laptop computer or portable device that uses a 1.8-inch ZIF connector. It has a MSRP of $23.99.

The upgrade is not for the timid. Install instructions are available.

Features:

• Install Compact Flash into a device which uses a 1.8″ hard drive with ZIF connector
• Can be used like a 2.5″ hard drive using the optional ZIF to 2.5″ IDE connector converter
• Compatible with Apple iPOD
• Can be installed into laptops which use 1.8″ ZIF connector
• Current Compact Flash speeds support up to 40MB/s with UDMA4
• Supports PIO, DMA, UDMA depending on type of Compact Flash installed
• OS independent
• Fully RoHS compliant

In a move guaranteed to annoy people charging crazy money for Autechre goods, their latest 140 minutes of music will arrive as MP3 files only, first exclusively via bleep.com over a course of two weeks from May 19, either by subscribing to a pack or as individual track downloads. The music will then be made available from all major download services as an EP bundle a week later.

The least they could do is offer a $300 deluxe set!

Tracklist:

• The Plc ccc
  Perlence range 7
  Perlence Suns
  90101-51-6
  9013-2
  Tkakanren
  90101-51-19
  Perlence subrange 3
  chenc9-1dub
  9010171-121
  Perlence losid 2
  notwotwo
  Perlence subrange 6-36

via RA

DJ Tiësto has announced a 24-city US & Canadian tour.

The tour focuses on smaller clubs, so it could be a great chance to see Tiesto in action.

Here are the dates:

• 5/23 - Ruby Skye, San Francisco, CA
• 5/24 - Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA
• 5/25 - Jet, Las Vegas, NV
• 5/26 - Bank, Las Vegas, NV
• 5/31 - WaMu Theater, Seattle, WA
• 6/2 - Marquee Theater, Phoenix, AZ
• 6/2-6/5 - Vanguard, Los Angeles, CA
• 6/7 - 4th and B, San Diego, CA
• 6/7 - Wavehouse, San Diego, CA
• 6/8 - Blu, El Paso, TX
• 6/9 - Bar Rio, Houston, TX
• 6/10 - Le Cirque, Dallas, TX
• 6/11 - Uptown Theater, Kansas City, MO
• 6/12 - Epic, Minneapolis, MN
• 6/13 - Bonnaroo Festival, Manchester, TN
• 6/14 - Vision, Chicago, IL
• 6/15 - House of Blues, Chicago, IL
• 6/16 - Clutch Cargoes, Detroit, MI
• 6/17 - Metropolis, Cleveland, OH
• 6/18-6/19 - The Estate, Boston, MA
• 6/20 - The Mixx, Atlantic City, NJ
• 6/21 - White House, Hampton Bays, NY
• 6/22 - Constitution Plaza, Hartford, CT
• 6/23 - Opera, Atlanta, GA
• 6/24 - The Forum, Charlotte, NC
• 6/25-6/27 - Webster Hall, New York, NY
• 6/28-6/29 - Club Ibiza, Washington, DC
• 6/30 - Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario

Esthetic Evolution is a community based, participant driven music and art festival scheduled for June 20-22 in Idaho.

The event features live electronic music performances and art installations covering an entire weekend, and encourages attendees to contribute to the collective experience by any means of their imagination. The festival’s main premise is to provide a backdrop upon which participants can project their inner artist through a spirit of acceptance, collaboration, gifting, and love.

This year’s theme is “The Four Elements”, representing the fourth anniversary of the Event’s origination in 2005. Attendees are recommended– but by no means limited– to use this theme to guide their personal contribution to the Festival. Art installations and theme camps are strongly encouraged to enhance one’s own experience and the community as a whole.

You can get details on the event at the site.

An interview via BeatPort, of Juan Atkins of Model 500, one of the godfathers of techno.

Germany’s Paul van Dyk is looking for producers to remix his track with Giuseppe Ottaviani, Far Away, on Beatport.

The remix competition is open to producers from all genres, as van Dyk is looking for innovative, cutting-edge and thought-provoking mixes of his track.

You can download two of the track’s parts for remixing for free. To get all the parts, it costs $3.99.

I’m ambivalent about these remix contests where you basically have to pay to take part in them. While it may be another opportunity for van Dyk to make a little money, it seems like he’s asking some of his biggest fans to pay to promote his music.

van Dyk would probably get a lot more mileage out of this sort of competition if he’d release the remix parts for free, like NIN has done, and get a lot more people interested in making remixes.

Peter Aidu plays Steve Reich’s Piano Phase, a work for two pianists, with with his left hand on one instrument and his right hand on the second.

While this is a unique performance and is a feat, the result seems to emphasize the synchronized phases of the two piano lines over the shifting phase relationships and the tension created by the “in-between” phase relationships.

If you’re a Reich fan, let me know what you think in the comments!

Somewhat OT: This horribly dated “educational” video reveals the shocking fact that “female deviation in normal sexual behavior greatly exceeds the male!”

It also kicks off with some ultra-cheesy old-school electronic music. If you know anything about this series or the music, let me know in the comments!

OT: South Park creators Trey Parker + Matt Stone have put together a wonderful animation to go along with Alan Watts’ ruminations on Music & Life.