This short film by Terri Timely, Synesthesia, like the films of David Lynch, envelopes you in a dreamworld.

The film explores synesthesia – the subjective sensation of a sense (such as sight) different than the one being stimulated (such as sound).

via the awesome musicforsound blog

If there’s anybody that you don’t want driving up and down your street at night, it’s probably EXOcontralto.

This video documents how he hooked up a cheap Casio synth to his 2000 watt automotive sound system so he could rock his ‘92 Dodge Caravan like no other, with massive “Loud Ass Bass.”

Details on this hack below.

This is a remake to a how-to car modification video, explaning, and going through the various procedures involved when re-wiring speaker terminals into RCA connects, designed for hooking into external receivers, Like you Car Audio Amplifier!

Loud Ass Bass!

Directions:

Solder existing speaker terminals with Idental pair of wires, Solder RCA connects, Connect to Auxially Receiver, or Amplifier, your DONE!

Tone: Synth Bass
Bass test tones were recorded in the key of C, and I go through various steps within that scale.

92 dodge caravan

Pioneer DEH-P6000ub
Clarion Eqs746
(1) Alpine MRP-M500
(1) Alpine MRP-M1000
(3) Orion HP12 sub’s @ 2 ohms
(2) Orion Cobalt 5.25’s
(2) Polk DB 5×7’s
(2) Polk DB 6×9’s
Big Three in 0 Gauge
(1) MCR 200 amp H/O Alternator
(2) Power Acoustik PCX’5 Caps

_ – ~ Auxillary ~ – _
(1) Coleman 800wrms DC/AC Power Inverter
(1) Sony THS-K670 @ 600wrms into 4 ohms
(1) 10′ MTX Blue Thunder SVC Sub into 4 ohms

Martha Stewart and her mom, in this completely unretouched photo, decide that the Akai APC40 Ableton Live controller is something good.

via SuzieSunshine, via MarkMosher

Lesley-Anne Green’s sculptures may be “charmingly hideous“, but they also immediately brought to mind the image presented by a certain electronic musician.

Let me know if you see the resemblance, too!

Synthgear has put together a gallery of synth tattoos, like this awesome monome tat and the Moog Minimoog tattoo, below.

If you’ve got an awesome synth tattoo, leave a link in the comments. If you’ve got a nasty photo of your half-naked hairy body sporting an irritated, splotchy tattoo, wait a week or two and take another picture.

And if one of these tats is yours, leave a comment with your synth tat story!

Antares today officially announced intent to start thinking about the possible development of its revolutionary new Direct Mind Access (DMA™) musical composition technology.

Designed to free would-be composers, songwriters, musicians, and drummers from the tedious study and practice that have traditionally been required for the development of musical skill, DMA technology will allow anyone (see NOTE below) to transfer the music (or voices) they hear in their head directly to any DMA-compliant DAW.

Details:

Based on groundbreaking neurocognitive research that Dr. Andy is planning to start “any day now,” Direct Mind Access will free users from complicated, annoying user interfaces by allowing them to simply think about the music they’d like to create and have it instantly and seamlessly appear in their DAW. Using DMA’s Cognitive Realtime Audio Processor, not only will DMA eliminate the need for talent, but the need for musicians and vocalists as well. For the first time in the history of audio technology marketing, the claim that “The only limit is your imagination!” will actually be true.

NOTE: DMA will require the cranial implantation of the Cognitive Realtime Audio Processor along with a micro-Bluetooth communication unit. It is expected that implantation will be available as an outpatient procedure at most metropolitan neurosurgical facilities. Users should be in relatively good health and of at least average intelligence. It should be noted that when paired to a DMA-compliant DAW, Direct Mind Access will manifest any of the user’s thoughts, whether music-oriented or not. Consequently, the ability to concentrate solely on the desired music is critically important. (DMA and porn do not mix!)

Innovative Copy Protection

To ease the frustration of burdensome copy-protection schemes, DMA will utilize the convenient iLobe™ USB Really, Really Smart Key. Requiring only the implantation of a simple cranial USB port (which can be installed at the same time as the CRAP and Bluetooth transmitter), the iLobe allows you to take your DMA technology wherever you go. And for users with multiple personalities, the iLobe ensures that your DMA capability is available to all your personalities, regardless of which one is currently in control.

The Obligatory Marketing Spin

“Auto-Tune has often been accused of eliminating the need for vocal talent (along with being a harbinger of The Apocalypse),” said Marco Alpert, Antares VP of Marketing. “But in reality, that’s simply not the case. A crappy singer with Auto-Tune is still a crappy singer, just in tune. It doesn’t directly address the soul-crushing discrimination that is suffered daily by millions of talentless would-be musicians around the world. But DMA will change all that. No longer will you have to put up with the elitist attitude that it takes years of boring practice and study to get access to high-quality drugs, hot groupies, and expensive hotel rooms to trash. Whether your inspiration is the 1910 Fruitgum Company or the virtual post-metal of Deathmøle, DMA will ensure that even a total and utter lack of talent will never hold you back. And isn’t that what America is all about?”

Direct Mind Access will probably be available someday. (Unless it won’t.)

Upgrade Information

Upon the release of the first product incorporating DMA, free upgrades will be available to all registered owners of Antares’ kantos 1.0, Spectral Shaping Tool (SST), and Infinity Looping Tools.

Special reduced upgrade prices will be available to owners of all other Antares products, as well as registered owners of an alphaSyntauri, Ghouls ‘n Ghosts (Sega Genesis version only), or a Studebaker Avanti.

Image: Mr. Biggs

On his birthday, Mr. Biggs was treated to an awesome synthesizer cake:

For my birthday on Monday, Sacha made The Coolest Cake EVER. It tastes as good as it looks. Preset: yum.

I want a “yum” preset on my synths, too!

This is a very strange 1984 Pioneer Laserdisc demo featuring Devo and some bad blind jokes via Ray Charles.

What do you think – did this video kill the Laserdisc format?

Details:

This is from an in-store demo disc featuring Devo explaining the benefits of laserdisc over tape. A little bit has been cut to keep it under 10 minutes, you can see the complete disc (including the turtle side) on Stage6 or Google Video.

Parts of this were included on the “Complete Truth About De-Evolution” laserdisc and its subsequent DVD release.

Ray Charles did a number of TV and radio commercials for laserdisc- the deal on them was that he was blind, but the sound on laserdisc was so good he loved it just for that. This was before digital sound on laserdisc had come out. In 1981, Optical Programming Associates put out a concert of his shot in Canada, which you can see part of here and has been reissued on DVD.

via eyeh8cbs, sync.sound.cinema

Here’s the translation, via Johan Larsby in the comments:

HobNox is running a contest to promote its browser-based virtual studio, AudioTool. You can check out the contest details here.

But this bizarre promo ad is enough to give you nightmares!

Are you getting inspired to make music? Let me know what you think!

via Mark Mosher on Twitter

Description:

Teen Torture – Annoy your kids with high frequency sounds that they can hear, but you can’t. As you age you lose the ability to hear high frequencies(called presbycusis). This concept was put to use with the Mosquito alarm, which is an electronic device which emits an ultrasonic sound, similar to a mosquito (~17.4 kHz at 85dB). The device is typically heard by people less than 25. The device is used for preventing behavior such as gang loitering, graffiti, vandalism, drug usage, drug distribution, and violence. Students took advantage of this by using Mosquito Ringtones that only they could hear but the teachers could not.

The problem with these devices is that the correlation between age and hearing loss isn’t absolute – a lot of older people can hear these frequencies just fine.

I’ve been easy on Synthtopia readers lately, carefully avoiding posting videos that could scorch your eyeballs, give you nightmares and even warp your unborn progeny. 

This video, Thriller in the Nude, merits your attention, though, as it may be the strangest music video of 2008. 

It starts out fairly normal…..but then the ninjas and naked guys come in.

Give this a watch and let me know what you think. And then go disinfect your eyes.

via the warped minds at apc

It looks like Dali’s been faking it again. 

The good people at DeadAct dredged up this video of Dali soloing on synth. 

Note that there’s no correlation between what she plays and the synth sounds. 

Or as DeadAct notes:

Perhaps she was harmonizing, but I don’t think so because the riff seems to magically play while she runs off and gets a cigarette, and by the looks of it, it is laced with MDMA.

Know any other acts that fake it as blatantly as Dali?

Pascal Kleiman is a unique artist, deejay and producer who DJs using only his feet.

This video captures Kleiman in the semifinals of a recent Spanish talent search show. 

Kleiman’s example is a reminder not to let anything keep you from doing what you want to do. 

via Beatportal

At the time, we thought that Italy was the place to be if you got reincarnated as a lab rat. 

But those Italians scientists didn’t stop with giving rats ecstasy and exposing them to music at club noise levels.

Somehow, they got the funds to do additional research and this time they studied the sex lives of clubbing rats. 

And it turns out that raving rats, at least in Italy, have pretty lousy sex lives. In fact, a single dose of ecstasy, in combination with loud music, “notably impaired copulatory behavior of sexually experienced male rats”.

In fact, “combined treatment of MDMA and music stimulation did not fully restore normal sexual behavior as the animals reaching ejaculation still showed a marked reduction of copulatory efficiency.”

So, if you’re worried about your copulatory efficiency, and place any weight on scientific studies like this, you’ll want to avoid the “combined treatment of MDMA and music stimulation.”

Here’s the details of the study:

Abstract

The effects on sexual behaviour of acute low doses of methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) (0.3, 1, 3 mg/kg/i.p.), alone or in combination with exposure to loud music (1 h stimulation), were investigated in Wistar rats. Results indicate that acute MDMA, at dose of 3 mg/kg, notably impaired copulatory behavior of sexually experienced male rats. 

In particular, MDMA-exposed animals exhibited a significant increase in intromission and ejaculation latencies as well as a significant decrease in percentage of rats displaying copulatory activity (one intromission at least). Surprisingly, one hour exposure to loud music, which per se resulted ineffective, antagonized the suppressive effect of MDMA by increasing the percent of animals displaying sexual activity.

However, combined treatment of MDMA and music stimulation did not fully restore normal sexual behavior as the animals reaching ejaculation still showed a marked reduction of copulatory efficiency.

These findings demonstrate that the systemic administration of a single low dose of MDMA, alone or in combination with loud music, which is commonly present in certain environments such as rave parties, notably impairs copulatory activity of male rats. 

via BoingBoing, image: pink fuzzy rat

This documentary on prog-rock is narrated by a female robo-narrator. Strange, but interesting. 

via ProgAlbums

Electronic musicians and DJs think they have it tough – but robotic-DJs have it even tougher.

They have to compete for attention with robo-strippers!

From Mutate Britain, a five week exhibition of multiple media, presented by Urban Style & Hosted by Joe Rush and Wreckage International of the Mutoid Waste Company.

Merce Death plays a guitar with the tesla coil. Pretty cool – but it doesn’t beat Mark Smart’s outrageous tesla coil prog synth work.

via hackaday

Sound Animals (App Store link) is a bizarre iPhone audio sampler app, and it’s free, too.

Sonic Nausea is a small electronic device which can really turn one’s stomach. It generates a unique combination of ultra-high frequency soundwaves which soon leads most in its vicinity to queasiness. It can also cause headaches, intense irritation, sweating, imbalance, nausea, or even vomiting.

The unique soundwave characteristics make directional source determination difficult.

Powered by one 9-volt battery (not included). For extended run time six AA batteries in a battery pack with transistor clips (available from most electronics stores) can be used instead.

Use with extreme discretion.

Sound a little hyped up; do you think that a little battery-powered device can really trigger waves of nausea using sound?

via Presurfer