creativity/machine

Yet another online electronic music mag: igloo::magazine - found via William Fields (team techno) who by the way makes beautifully squishy and squelchy downtempo electronica. He has several tracks available for preview or download.

Linking from there I found the website for DI (DigImpro), which I heard about a while back and then promptly forgot (mind like the proverbial kitchen implement). This promises to reconfigure the notion of music “consumption” yet again:

The di format is a completely new media file format. Unlike current file formats such as mp3, the di format allows the consumer to interact with the audio information stored within it, allowing listeners to manipulate the music and customise it at the touch of a button.

During the production process, the musician stores several versions of the different parts of their track - for example several different versions of the vocals, the bass and the drums - and when the file is played back using the diPlayer, the listener can interact with the music in a number of ways:

1. Playback of preset alternatives
2. Improvised playback
3. Playback using filters
4. Playback with live dynamic mixing

The player is free to download. I can’t wait until I have time to play with it.

Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that Kazaa has thrown its weight behind a plan to start billing users for their music downloads.