Audio Cookbook

Native Multitouch Support on the Nexus One and Beyond

I successfully installed an official Google Nexus One update to my phone last night and have been giddily pinch zooming to my hearts content ever since.

The previous lack of multitouch support on the N1 led to speculation about Apple patents and possible litigation against American companies including it on their handheld devices, but Google no longer seems worried about it.

It will be interesting to see the reactions to this, but in the meantime I’m feeling pretty glib about my decision to buy the Nexus One.

Of course this doesn’t change the potential of the device for multitouch control or music apps, however, it might attract more customers, and as a result, more developers to the platform.

Furthermore, I have been researching a variety developing stories about multitouch tablet devices to compete with the iPad. MSI is releasing a tablet running Android OS later this year. And Google has released concept photos of a tablet running Chrome OS, that is reported will support multitouch capabilities.

So, for many of us who were disappointed by Apple’s iPad announcement last week, there are a variety of competing and more open devices on the horizon that could very well satisfy some of what we’re dreaming of for open, multitouch, interactive, music devices.

Speak & Spell Like Vowel Simulation

While reviewing my set for last night’s Ostraka performance, I noticed that using filtering followed by down-sampling produced a robotic vowel like sound applied to synth bass. It’s got a nice vintage vocoder or Speak & Spell graininess to it.

Finding this effect was really an accident, because I had been using this particular effect chain on my master track in this set for a while, but hadn’t stumbled across the settings that produced this sound until last night. Placing the filter before doing the the down-sampling is the key. It does not work the other way around.

Here’s a couple of minutes to illustrate how to apply the effect. I was making real-time adjustments to the frequency of the low pass filter, and the amount of down-sampling. Toward the end I upped the reverb to give it some tail.

Speak & Spell Like Vowel Simulation

Apple iPad: Glorified iPod Touch? Still Waiting for the iLap

Thanks to Peter Kirn at CDM for his opinion on the iPad. I tried hard to ignore the hype about this device, but gave in and listened / watched live blog footage of the event. Peter has eloquently stated his views on the device, and I have to agree with him. TouchOSC will be great on the iPad, turning it into a budget Lemur, but ultimately not much more satisfying than it is currently on the iPod Touch, unless significant updates are made specifically for the device. The two things that disappoint me the most are:

1) Apple seems to be enforcing a ridiculous patent on multitouch with plenty of prior art examples (Lemur, etc.). Google should straighten their backs and just put multitouch into Android. Multitouch belongs there, like it does on normal computers, playing piano, making love, etc. This is slowing down the pace of development and hurting the industry. A corporation shouldn’t be able to patent “multitouch” (whether it’s for mobile devices or not) anymore than it should be able to patent fingers. Multitouch is a human sensory capability. We have built-in multitouch. Are human beings inherently violating Apple’s patent? I wouldn’t be surprised. I am a mobile device after all.

2) As Peter mentions in his article, it’s a closed device. No running existing applications like Ableton Live, or MaxMSP unless stripped down versions are developed for it and sold on iTunes. I might have been interested in this if it was a multitouch device that I could use in the same way I use a laptop with the same tools available now. Imagine being able to move ten sliders in your DAW right in the interface; no external device required.

I might change my mind, but presently I see the iPad as a very pretty, but bulky iPod Touch / Kindle great for Facebook, movies, and e-books, but not something that’s likely to become a significant platform for music or sound design. I’m still waiting for the iLap. Perhaps, once the iPad is cracked and people start putting Android on it, things might get interesting. No one has registered android4ipad.org yet, but it’ll be amusing to see that happen down the road.

UPDATE: Apple claims these types of alterations to be a criminal offense. Checkout the Free Software Foundation view of the iPad – iPad is iBad for Freedom.

Superheated Water – Dance of the Blobs

I love the texture of this sound – it’s infinitely sampleable, and equally uncontrollable. A thin coating of oil, rubbed into the pan – then heat it on high for 5 minutes. After a while, the water becomes so hot and isolated from the surface of the metal it superheats (boils without bubbles). This creates the beautiful dancing effect you get, similar to when mercury is loose on a solid surface.

The recording was made on a fostex FR2LE with a canon digital camera for visuals. The single hits would be cool for super fizzy percussion, don’t you think? Sampled at 24/96 on a fostex fr2le in stereo, 12 inches above the pan.

Tom

High quality download here:
Superheated oil and water – dance of the blobs

YOUTUBE link – Superheated Water & Oil – Dance of the Blobs

Bicycle Converted into a GMS Input Device

Checkout this video made by Chris LeBlanc. Chris is using LEDs attached to a rotating bicycle wheel as an input device for the GMS. Chris and I had a session recently where I showed him ow to sync the GMS up with Ableton, and the next thing you know he’s come up with a new way of using the software. Nice one, Chris!

Upcoming Ostraka Performance and New Album

My experimental music project, Ostraka with Graham O’Brien on Drums, is performing on January 27, 2010 at Big V’s in St. Paul, Minnesota. I’ll be on laptop using my custom developed application, the Gestural Music Sequencer (GMS). I’m also using my iPod Touch controlled grain-table glitch generating Max patch for another layer of texture. Chain Fight and Juhyo round out the bill.

It’s also about time I mentioned that I’m in the process of producing a new Ostraka album that features Graham O’Brien on drums. We recorded it recently at Masters Recording, formerly Flyte Tyme of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis fame. The studio was just sold again and from what I understand will be called Madison Media Institute. In any case it was an amazing facility to lay down tracks. Here’s a shot of our setup in Studio A.

Video of Fives Performance

Five Movements for Five Sampled Sounds in Five Loud Speakers from Unearthed Music on Vimeo.

This video was shot during a performance of Fives at the University of Minnesota last December. The sound quality is poor, but I think it illustrates how I was able to sort of “pour” my looped granular experiments into each of the five channels using the iPod Touch as a controller. For more about this project visit my portfolio site at www.johnkeston.com.

Google Nexus One as an Electronic Music Device

With all the Android devices appearing recently, I’ve decided it is time to upgrade my four year old Sony Ericsson K800i to a Google Nexus One smart phone (I think I’ll hold off on calling it a super phone for now) and perhaps consider using it as a controller as I have been with the iPod Touch. Another consideration is attempting to do some music software development on the Android platform. Perhaps porting the GMS, developed in Processing.org, may even be possible with the Nexus One’s 1 GHz Snapdragon (Qualcomm QSD 8250) processor and the built in video camera.

I currently have the phone in hand and will write about my impressions once I’ve had time to familiarize myself with it. It’s definitely going to take some getting used to, but so far I can say that the display is gorgeous and for the most part the functionality is wicked fast.

Music applications for Android under development include TouchOSC, and I’ve read several articles on CDM highlighting others that are available or in progress. I’m curious about Android music or sound based projects and applications that are either currently available or under development. Please comment if you’ve encountered articles or examples on this topic. After doing some research, perhaps I can start experimenting with some of the apps and writing about them here on ACB. Thanks!

Generative Accident – Dripping Water

I have been re-reading articles on Generative music in Audio Culture : Readings in Modern Music again, and some unplanned generative music took me be suprise – dripping from my jumper.

I set up a few cardboard loo rolls to resonate with the sound and stood around for 5 minutes recording it all. There are some really interesting syncopated moments, all underpinned with a regular metronomic beat. I liked the intrusion of external sounds to the mix, as you listen on. A Happy accident

Tom

generative dripping clothes
rec@24/96 with rode nt5 and fostex fr2le, minimal eq

Water Color Dream

I’m back from the audio dead with a little mini track from my forthcoming ten72 release Bicycle Family due out in March on Unearthed Music.

Water Color Dream is an escape from the rest of the album. I’ve veered away from my spastic futuristic jazz fusion sound on this one and relaxed a bit. Enjoy the juicy frequencies!

Water Color Dream