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Swarm Theory
More sociobiology: Steven Johnson’s article Emerging Technology: Music of the Swarms is about music software that uses an analogy between the semi-structured patterns of jazz improvisation and the swarming behaviour of bees to teach computers how to “improvise”. In Tim Blackwell’s computerized “free improv” compositions, the notes sometimes fly together in formation, resembling bird flocks, […]
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MP3.com Abandons all Pretence
An ongoing discussion has emerged in response to a post by Lawrence Lessig about mp3.com’s betrayal of its founding principles (or at least its founding sales pitch to artists). (Thanks to Art Machine for the link to this story.) Apparently Lessig (the guy behind Creative Commons) received nothing but a brusque ‘cease and desist’ from […]
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Electronic Music and the Death of the Star(s)
So soon after Johnny Cash passed on, we learned that Australian godfather of lonely-truckdriver country and western music, Slim Dusty, has died at age 76. Here are some thoughts I posted just now in response to a message on aus_emusic about “stars” (and their deaths) in popular music: While the passing of Slim Dusty, Johnny […]
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Music Maps
City of Sound’s Dan Hill has a very interesting post that gathers together some of the possibilities for creating rhizomatic semantic maps of music, going far beyond the banality of the record industry’s constructions of “genres”. Reflecting on the amazon.com linking systems, he asks, “how can we develop ‘Like this? Try this!’ beyond simple catalogue […]
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Open Source Music Projects
Creative Commons calls for producers to remix Bm Relocation Program’s song, Superego Exchange. Successful remixes will end up on the next Creative Commons promotional CD. Details here. Australian youngsters (
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Retro Chic Moves On
SHoLtZ ViTRiNe asserts that the retro chic army has turned to obsolescent digital technology in search of that all-important grunge factor (although without quite forgetting that whole “analog is warmer” argument). “MP3 players suck.” Says Garry Banes of Time To Drive magazine. “That bloody ‘squishy’ sound that makes tasty cymbal sound like Biros on tabletops. […]
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Latest Toy
I’ve always hoped that one day I would be wandering dejectedly around some incredibly sad flea market and come upon a real retro find, but so far, no luck. Today, however, on my big excursion to the local primary school fete (hey, at least it got me away from the computer and out into the […]
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Subsonic Weirdness
From a Reuters Story: Mysteriously snuffed out candles, weird sensations and shivers down the spine may not be due to the presence of ghosts in haunted houses but to very low frequency sound that is inaudible to humans. British scientists have shown in a controlled experiment that the extreme bass sound known as infrasound produces […]
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Reverberant | Sound Art
Reverberant | Sound Art | Info. “This site documents collaborative sound art projects by Iain Mott, made primarily with Marc Raszewski and Jim Sosnin. The work explores the physical relationship between sound and the public and integrates sculpture, audio electronics and video. Interactivity is used to heighten the aesthetic experience, engaging and directing participants in […]
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Resonant Cities: Call for Sound Works
New Media Scotland seeks sound works for Drift: an exploration of sound art and experimental music which comprises live events, radio broadcasts, moving image and publications. We are seeking sound works for ‘Resonant Cities’: Internet radio streaming that explore the sonic identity of our surrounding space and that engage with the fragmented ‘noise’ of the […]