Now You Can Control the World’s Largest Synthesizer

Posted on March 15, 2012 by John CS Keston

Motherboard.tv has an article on what is probably the world’s largest synthesizer (let’s not forget T.O.N.T.O) created by Joe Paradiso over about twelve years starting in 1974. It has recently been installed at MIT. What is amazing is that you can listen to long audio files of patches that Joe creates every couple of weeks, or (now for the really crazy part) visit an online interface to literally control the synth remotely with other users doing the same thing!

Xperia Sola with Floating Touch

Posted on March 14, 2012 by John CS Keston

This is not my usual kind of topic, but I just came across an exciting new development. Sony has introduced the Xperia Sola with what they call floating touch capability. The screen on the device detects the presence of a finger up to 20mm away allowing for mouse-like hovering behaviors. What this means for me is that it would be an easy matter to create a velocity sensitive touch keyboard or set of pads on a device with this feature. Simply measure the time between entering the field and actually touching the device and then apply the number to the amplitude, or any other attribute of the sound. There is a significant amount of potential for expression with this technology. I would love to see this on a tablet and develop an instrument it. How would you like to see floating touch (or something like it) used for music applications?

Diego Stocco at the Art of Music in LA

Posted on March 9, 2012 by John CS Keston

I have recently become aware of an excellent sound design and music event series held at the Bleicher Gallery in Santa Monica, CA. The series is titled The Art of Music and on March 25, 2012 they will feature a showcase by one of my favorite sound artists, Diego Stocco, as well as a performance by Nat Evans. The purpose of the series is to present “…an oasis in Hollywood for criminally overlooked music, giving media professionals a unique chance to discover new resources, discuss upcoming projects and forge new creative partnerships.” Checkout the details at artofmusicla.com.

Coloring Time at the Deepwinter Bonfire

Posted on February 29, 2012 by John CS Keston

Recently I participated in a performance with a collective of musicians called Coloring Time. The show took place on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at the History Theatre in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota and was sponsored by McNally Smith School of Music. Performers include: Crescent Moon (Kill the Vultures), Kristoff Krane, Chastity Brown, Aby Wolf, Peter Pisano (Peterwolfcrier), Joe Horton (No Bird Sing), Michelle Kinney and Melissa Mathews (Mississippi Peace), Chris Thomson, Bobby Mullrennan (No Bird Sing), Casey O’Brien (Face Candy), John Keston (Ostracon, DKO), Graham O’Brien (Mississippi Peace, No Bird Sing), and many others. This video is from the last six minutes of the performance. Apparently there’s much more to come. If it’s as lovely as this segment I will share it here when it shows up. Enjoy!

Eyeo: Using Digital Imagery to Generate Sound

Posted on February 27, 2012 by John CS Keston

The first ever Eyeo Festival was last June and the second iteration looks to be just as amazing as the last. Here’s a video of a presentation that I gave at Eyeo last year on using digital imagery to generate sound. I also have the HTML5 slideshow available (use the left and right arrow keys to navigate). A big thanks goes out to Dave Schroeder for creating Eyeo and sharing these videos.