Sunday Synth Jam: This abstronica jam captures what Richard Devine does when he’s not busy watching a lake form around his house.

The patch combines Tiction – an animated nodal music sequencer for Mac, Windows & Linux; monome; and the touch-screen JazzMutant Lemur controller.

Richard Devine is one of the early users of Native Instruments new The Finger, a $79 keyboard-controlled performance effects processor developed with electronic music artist Tim Exile of Warp Records.

He created this glitchtronica freakout, and has this to say about The Finger:

Here is a little experiment I tried using Tim Exile’s new Finger Plug-in with Logic 9.

I was running some of my drums on a track in Logic’s Flex mode, slightly drawing in graphic tempo changes, and automating all the parameter twist knobs drastically, while programming every MIDI parameter I could assign on the piano roll editor, Doing more then my two hands could do=) Just letting it all go crazy.

Some strange interesting results indeed. =)

Richard Devine’s “first little messy beat jam with the Monemur patch for the Lemur controlling MLR.”

Monemur is a Monome emulation for the JazzMutant Lemur.

“Just thought I would record a patch I made this afternoon on my modular system,” explains Devine. “Bits and pieces running through the H-3000 DS/E Eventide Harmonizer.”

This set of videos features Richard Devine demonstrating the techniques that he and Josh Kay used in capturing sounds for the sample kit Richard Devine – The Electronic Music Manuscript.

Click here to view the embedded video.

via Nonima1984:

I do not own copyright to this video, but I have uploaded it to generate interest in Richard Devine’s samples and for Richard Devine fans.

The 2nd Annual City Skies 09 Electronic Music Festival will be held in the Atlanta area on May 7-9, 2009.

Kavarna in the Oakhurst section of Decatur, GA (minutes away from Atlanta) is once again the venue for the Festival Event. Kavarna offers a perfect vibe for the performances, with great sound and a nice selection of food and beverage for festival attendees. Kavarna is a non-smoking and all-ages venue.

The list of performers include some of the best electronic musicians from around the U.S. heard on radio stations like Music From the Hearts of Space, Echoes, Star’s End, Soma FM, StillStream, Galactic Travels, and more, and are from Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Musical styles ranged from ambient to downtempo chillout to Berlin school to IDM to space rock to experimental. This is not a DJ event.

Real electronic music performed live by humans!

Details below

Performers and tentative schedule for the three-day event are:

Thursday, May 7, 2009

• 7pm- Different Skies All-stars (John Rossi III, Jonathan Mills, Kevin Haller, Jim Combs plus guests)
• 8pm- citizenGreen
• 9pm- Broken Symmetry
• 10pm- Tony Gerber
• 11pm- Masik

Friday, May 8, 2009

• 7pm- aTHeNa Blue
• 8pm- Earthgirl
• 9pm- Duet for Theremin & Lap Steel
• 10pm- Xeriod Entity (Howard Moscovitz, Greg Waltzer, Bill Fox)
• 11pm- Paul Vnuk & Klimchak

Saturday, May 9, 2009
Afternoon session

• 1pm- Ivan Schwartz
• 2pm- Don Hassler
• 3-5pm- Richard Lainhart workshop- Multi-Dimensional Control for Realtime Analog Synthesis Performance*

Evening session

• 7pm- Kathy Raimey
• 8pm- Mark Mahoney
• 9pm- Richard Lainhart
• 10pm- Kevin Spears & Shane Morris
• 11pm- Richard Devine & Joshua Kay

For more information, ticketing, and performer bios and event schedule:
http://www.cityskies.com

All proceeds from ticket sales will go to performers for this event.

Tickets are available online at Brown Paper Tickets:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producerevent/52609?prod_id=10495

Discount tickets are available for buyers of multiple days or sessions.

Purchasers of the 3 day – 4 session ticket save $18 over buying at the door.

Purchasers of the 2 day – 3 session ticket save $11 over buying at the door.

And purchasers of the All day Saturday ticket save $6 over buying at the door.

Single session tickets saves $2 over buying at the door.

Venue location -
Kavarna, 707 East Lake Drive, Decatur, GA 30030

This is a quick demo of a prototype of the Quad Multi-Mode Gates.

Only the Doepfer monster case was used, everything is just blinking alluringly, attempting to distract you (worked on me!).

• Doepfer A-155 randomly sequencing a Livewire AFG sine,
• Doepfer A-147 square wave clocking Doepfer A-149-1/2,
• Doepfer A-149-2 random gates triggering QMMG CV triggers and CV resonance in no particular order,
• QMMG master out lightly treated with Doepfer A-199 spring rev & Doepfer A-188-1Y (256) (CV2 modded with A-149-1) 

This is a prototype QMMG, and the patch uses 2 of the 4 modes.

Here’s the details on the QMMG:Quad Multi-Mode Gates (QMMG)

A huge riff on the original Buchla 292 Quad Lo Pass Gate, including a Mix Out and containing no fewer than 8 vactrols.

The QMMG offers the additional features of High Pass Gate mode, Voltage Controlled Feedback, Direct Coupling (for processing of Control Voltages) and Normalizations so that multiple channels may easily be used together to create Bandpass Gates, steeper HP or LP Gates or even something like a traditional Synthesizer Voice Architecture. 

The voltage controlled feedback is routed differently in each mode. 

In VCA mode it is routed to provide slightly non-linear GAIN. Daisy chain multiple channels for voltage controlled clipping. In BOTH Mode the feedback is routed to provide DAMPING of the ringing vactrols. The effect of adding  feedback in BOTH mode is not unlike placing your hand upon the head of a drum, while striking, thus allowing the user to control how much the Vactrols ring. In the LP and HP modes, the feedback is routed to provide a very wicked, highly unstable, non-linear resonance. At higher settings, the positive and negative portions of the signal will develop different resonant peak frequencies, and further, they will clip asymmetrically. The filter can be slippery and smooth at low resonance settings, but it cuts like a choir of daggers at high resonance settings.

The benefit of Direct Coupling is that a channel of the QMMG could be used to attenuate or amplify an incoming CV before applying to another channel. The mixing section is set-up so that inserting a plug at the output socket of any given channel removes that channel from the mix, therefore you could use one half of the QMMG for voltage controlled mixing of CVs to apply to the other half being utilized for signal processing. 

This module is 24HP  and consumes 60mA worth of current. The price is TBD. 

Visit devsnd.com for free Battery kits made from unique analogue sound sources

Image: percussa

Percussa’s Bert Schiettecatte has published a nice interview with Atlanta electronica artist Richard Devine.

A large part of the interview looks at Devine’s use of the Percussa AudioCubes:

Which elements attracted you in the AudioCubes when you got in touch with them?

I loved that they worked with the idea of sensors. That you could interact with them or have the AudioCubes react to each other and you have lots of interesting possibilities. Lots of room for experimentation, as the concept is so radical.

How did it go when you used them for the first time?

It took me a few hours to get the Cubes to work with my software, using the MIDI Bridge application. After I got my head around that, I was on my way, and I was totally sucked in. I was surprised to find that they had so many great examples on the installer CD. It really helped me see how many different situations you could use the AudioCubes in. I first went through the examples to see how many different variations and applications where possible.

I loved the Ableton demo they had using the Cubes as triggers to play samples, and loops. I soon started messing with some of my MAX/MSP and Reaktor patches, getting into more complex sound applications. In the meantime I found that I have been designing my software environments around them. I found that I have been triggering sounds and my approach to some of my old software applications has completely changed because of the AudioCubes. It’s an entirely different way to play and react to sounds. I think it’s an amazing step forward in alternate controllers. I love that it steps completely outside the conventional controllers, that usually deal with the knobs, faders and keys.

Do you use them in the studio, for live performances, or both?

I first started using them in my studio, and now I have started to use them in my live show. I see them working in both environments quite well. In the studio I have been using them with Cycling74’s Max/MSP and Native Instruments Reaktor 5. I have been recording my movements and triggers with them. They seem to work well with hand movements, and I am able to record very gestural movements, almost like a Moog Theremin. I recently used the AudioCubes on a new Sample Library that I created for Sony. We used them to control these custom Reaktor Drone patches, that were triggered by the AudioCubes.

Which other hard or software do you use?

I pretty much use everything. I love the Kyma System by Symbolic Sound, and I love the Elektron Machine Drum, and Mono Machine. My main sequencer is Logic. I also have been getting back into using Analogue Modular gear lately for sound generation.

How many times did you use the cubes already during your live performances?

So far I have used the AudioCubes twice, but I am starting to get more comfortable with them, and intend to use them for all my future shows. I have been using them with Ableton Live 7, Yamaha Tenori-On, Elektron Mono Machine, and Machine Drum. The reaction is always, whoa! What is that! Those look super cool! Everyone is totally fascinated by them. They also look amazing when playing with them in a live situation in a club where they glow in the dark.

Everyone loves them. They look so fun, and react to your hands and MIDI messages, and pulse to the music, which adds to the live performance. It really enhances the experience as the audience can see that the music is actually totally interactive with the performer and that he’s not just pressing a space bar on a computer which can be really boring. From the last two shows, I have gotten a flood of people coming up to me asking what they are, and how they work. The response has been amazing. I think it’s the most fun that I have had in years with any sort of controller device. Simply easy and completely interactive. You feel like you are completely triggering the sounds with the sensors and your hands, very responsive.

Check out the full interview, and Devine’s list of the 10 best records in the history of music, at the Percussa site.

There’s a related remix context you may want to check out, too.

Description:

Pulse contains all the musical maps and charts you need to plan and execute your own fantastic voyage through entire worlds of electronica, hip-hop, and film music.

With classic analog sound streams tapped from hot Buchla, Doepfer and Cwejman electronics, and beat structures forged in a deep neural network of today’s finest soft synths, Pulse is completely packed with royalty-free sounds, each one organized and fortified with spot-on metadata that ensures seamless playback in ACID software and every other program that supports .wav files. Blend the essential elements in Pure Analog Lifeforms and build formidable music species adaptable to any inner landscape.

397 (545 MB) original, royalty-free WAV files.

DJ Richard Devine goes over the features of Stanton’s DaScratch (SCS.3d) – a touch sensitive software controller.

Here are the details on Stanton’s new controller:

Stanton’s StanTouch technology allows you to use traditional DJ-style motions and gestures on a touch-pad style surface to take full control over music and software applications such as Traktor DJ Studio, Traktor Scratch, Ableton Live, Serato Scratch Live or any other MIDI compatible software. Minimal moving parts ensure durability from gig to gig.

Highlights:

• The StanTouch interface can be used for scratching, scrubbing, and navigating through digital audio. The tactile buttons, triggers, and virtual faders can also control samples, pitch, effects, cue and loop points, and other mappable functions. Multiple finger touches can even prompt quick kills on EQ’s or transform effects on volume.
• Magnect connection system allows multiple DaScratch units to securely snap together, creating a larger control surface with increased performance options.
•  DaRouter software gives DaScratch a little brain of its own, allowing customized support for a variety of applications. DaRouter runs on Mac / PC and will automatically load presets that are tailored towards the application the SCS.3d is controlling. A generic preset is also provided for mapping to any application that supports MIDI learn. 
• USB connection for easy plug and play connection to your software. Class compliant with Windows XP, Vista and Mac OSX to ensure that drivers are never needed. Bus powered by design to ensure that no external power or batteries need to be used.

Gordon Salisbury looks on as Richard Devine feeds muscle inputs into his modular rack at Mind Meld.

Mind Meld was a gathering of musicians, visualists, technologists and artists held at the studio of artist Duncan Laurie in Jamestown, Rhode Island.

There’s a great set of Mind Meld images from Peter Kirn on flickr.

Richard Devine talks about the Stanton Control System

via remixhotel

In the article, he (of course) talks about using Electron gear, but he also touches on his reasons for composing:

What inspires you to compose?

I find inspiration from many different sources. Sometimes I will be out at an art museum, and see a video installation, short film, or sculpture piece, and it will inspire me to create something. I love late 21st century modern architecture too. I see the skeletal structures of buildings and spaces, and it makes me think of musical structures. I have always believed that there is a close relationship between visual art and music. They are based on the same principals of design, repetition, color, balance, rhythm, tone, texture, etc. I tend to get more ideas from visual references than audio sources.

You are also a well-regarded sound designer. How do the two processes, composing and sound designing, complement each other? Are they even two separate processes? For instance, when you sit down to work, do you approach the session as a “sound design” or “composition” session depending on your mood? Or do you just let the session flow?

I look at both processes differently for different applications. When I work on sound design projects, it could be scoring sounds to a video game where I go in and create a palette of sounds that are design to be triggered by the user. These could be switches, buttons, selection sounds, loading, weaponry, Foley FX. It literally is thousands of small pieces that will be used in a specific environment or interface. So in that situation the process of sound design is only to have the sounds work in a single shot instance, and they should be unique to work on their own. In scoring to TV/Film I use sound design much differently. I term this as being what I call “musical” or “narrative” sound design. Where the sounds almost tell a story and work on a linear time line matched up with moving picture and the events happen in a very specific order. This is to me composing and this similar to how I compose some of my musical compositions.

Check out the full interview for more.

For gear freaks, here’s Devine’s gear list:

Gear List:

Here is a new complete kit list:

Mixers & Speakers

• Mackie HR-824 x 5
• Mackie HS-120 Sub
• KRK-Rokit x 2
• Mackie 32-8 analogue mixer
• Mackie 1202-VLZ analogue mixer
• Mackie 802-VLZ3 mixer
• Yamaha 02R digital Mixer
• Rane MP-24 mixer
• Allen & Heath Xone 3D
• Digidesign DIGI 002
• Digidesign Mbox
• Technics 1200 turntables x 2
• Stanton STR-150 turntables x 2
• Stanton Final Scratch 2.0 and 1.5
• Stanton SMX-501 Mixer
• Stanton C324 CD Players
• Ecler NU04 Mixer

• Alesis Andromeda A6
• Alesis Fusion
• Access Virus TI Polar and Snow
• Akai S3200
• Akai MPC-5000
• Akai MPC-1000
• Clavia Nord Modular G1 rack
• Clavia Nord Modular G2
• Elektron Monomachine mk II
• Elektron MachineDrum UW-mk II
• Hartmann Neuron
• Korg Radias rack
• Korg Triton Studio
• Korg Trinity Pro
• Korg Kaoss Pad V2
• Korg Kaoss Pad V3
• Korg MicroKontrol
• Korg S3 Drum Machine
• Muze Research Receptor
• M-Audio Ozonic
• M-Audio Oxygen 8
• MFB-Synth Lite
• MFB-Filter Box
• MFB-502 Drum Machine
• MFB-Synth II
• Symbolic Sound Kyma System
• Oberheim Matrix-6R
• Open Labs Neko 64 Keyboard
• Roland TB-303 (Devilfish Mod)
• Roland TR-606 (custom mod)
• Roland TR-707
• Roland TR-727
• Roland TR-808 modded by Josh Kay =)
• Roland SBX-10
• Roland R-8mk II
• Roland VP-9000
• Roland V-Synth
• Roland V-Synth-GT
• Roland D-5
• Yamaha DX-100
• Yamaha TX81Z
• Custom Chaos box-by Tim Adams
• Custom Modular synth by Time Adams

• Apogee Rosetta 200 (192k)
• Alesis ineko
• TC Electronic Finalizer 96k
• TC Electronic M-One-XL
• MOTU-896HD
• MOTU-828mkII
• RME Fireface-400
• RME Fireface-800
• Focusrite TwinTrack pro
• Eventide H3000-D/SE
• Eventide H8000-FW
• M-Audio Octane
• M-Audio Delta 1010

• Apple G5 Dual 2.5
• Apple Powerbook G4 1Ghz
• Apple Powerbook G4 1.67
• Apple Macbook 2.4 Ghz
• Apple G4 Dual 550
• Sony Vaio 3.0ghz tower
• Sony Vaio 2.0ghz laptop
• Logic 8
• Pro tools HD-7.3 with 96 HD hardware
• Nuendo 4 by Steinberg
• GRM tools
• Cycing 74 all software and plug-ins
• Sound toys all plug-ins
• Composer’s Desktop Project
• MetaSynth
• Csound
• Universal Audio UAD card
• All Native Instruments software including Kore-2
• Almost every known plug-in for PC and Mac.

Note: You really don’t need any of this gear to make good music. If you have a nice clean kitchen table, a pair of decent headphones and a Macbook running your favorite sequencer is really all you need =).

I wanted to make a library that would be useful for many different people. I was aiming for sound designers, composers working in Film/TV, radio, video games, and electronic music. I tried to create some really unique material that could be used in a loop format with ACID and Apple Loops, but also include single shot and Battery kits for those who want to program and manipulate the sounds on a more detailed level.

We recorded lots of strange instruments like the Water phones, Tibetan Singing Bowls, Talking Drums, Space Phones, Thunder Drums and Wooden Log Drums. We also recorded a small collection of Indian Pan Flutes, Bamboo Flutes, Ocarina’s and several Didgeridoo’s that I got in Australia. Some of favorite recordings came from the African Finger Pianos. We did a whole bunch of sessions doing prepared Finger Pianos. I have about 12 different ones that we recorded doing all sorts of strange stuff to. We would take a very John Cage approach to experimenting and getting new sounds out of these instruments. Sometime Hammering nails into the wood and using Magnets, Rubber Bands, Paper clips, wires, and small mechanical motors to play onto the metal tongs. You would be amazed at some of the variety of sounds we got. We did a 4-day recording session of my old Kurtzman grand piano, which was amazing. We placed the Water phone on top of the Piano Strings and played the water phone with a Violin bow, and let the metal bowel resonate into the chamber of the piano. It was a super creepy sound. All of these recordings made it into the final library. I was really happy with how this all turned out.

Lots of samples and demos from the library at the Sony site.