adventures in space and sound

adventures in space and sound


I have been in contact with the Planetarium. They have given us green lights as far as using the space during the Fringe next year. There is a slight cost but it is nominal. For the workshops there is no cost. Uni Sa wants to be kept in the loop as far as promo material we distribute but that's about it.

Now we need to make some songs, approach Fringe organisers and make it all happen.

Scheduling the first workshop at the Planetarium, Mawson Lakes for 3rd weekend of July. So all that are interested, try and get some ideas together so we can hear what you come up with.

Now that exams are over we have some time hopefully.

Darren Curtis has a show coming up:



I am inviting all of my friends to a fundraising event on Friday 30th June 2006 at 7:45pm.

The event is raising funds for my performance of 'Ancient Lands' on 1st September 2006. I need to raise money so I can get my new CD's published.

It will be 7:45pm to 9.00pm on 30th June 2006 at Unit 14/6 Reservoir Road - Hope Valley. (Just of Grand-Junction Road)
Please ring and let me know you can make it, so I can get numbers.

I will be playing a few songs and then giving a little speak about my up coming event.

There will be lite snacks (soup/dips) and drinks, if you would like to bring wine etc please do so.

All I will be asking for is a small donation suggested of $15 from each of you towards the event.

I am looking to raise $300 on the night, so please support me and help get the 'Sacred Music' heard among the greater community and airwaves.

Much Peace,

Darren Curtis
http://www.geocities.com/sacredresonance22
Go here for the latest news on 'Sacred Resonance'




There are some themes still left for people to get involved with. Let us know if you are interested.

Patrick.mccartney@student.adelaide.edu.au

Week 12

I have a confession to make. I hate technology!

I'm an Arcadian trying to make my way through the world of the Technophiles.

Each week I get even less enthused about this blog thing. It doesn't matter what I do, uploading files doesn't seem to work for me.

But it seems to work for everyone else.

I want to make it clear. This is all very frustrating. I don't seem to understand how it is we are expected to do all the work that we are meant to do. It's crazy. I haven't gone to bed before 3am all semester and I don't get all of the work done.

It's too much.

So you have been warned. I do not devote any time to blog.

Creative Computing

We looked at Peak. And how to hack sound.

Audio Arts

We mic'd up a drum kit, it was fun to play. I haven't thought about doing the assignments related because I've got 1000000000 other things to do first.

Workshop

There was a song, called Kyrie, that was really nice. I liked the dynamics and especially the harmonics.

Forum

Vinny's song that he played was awesome. I really like his music and would like to do something with him. I can't believe that the person he wrote this song to sing with declined the invite.

Anyways, short and sweet is my blog.

Week11

Audio Arts

This week we recorded Jodie O'Regan singing. Here is the result.

singsong

Creative Computing

Still going through Pro Tools. Good for a laugh. I still find myself frustrated at what I perceive to be faults with Pro Tools. But we'll get there.

No Workshop - although I did meet the girl who is going to move into my house and be my new housemate. She seems nice, and hopefully neat.










I just made this word up and looked for photos - it's a photo of Ghorak Manor.



Forum

It would be interesting to talk more to Stephen about Vocoding and Distributed Musical Performance. I'm not sure if I see this as the 'future of music', where instead of us going to a concert hall, we sit at home and watch / listen from our PCs. Is this the future? I wonder?

I like the idea of collective dislocation performances. Even having the audience somewhere totally separate to all the performers.

Will people have to subscribe to listen to the performances on line?

Tyndall

I performed last night at Tyndall - it went well. Rushed for time, no rehearsal or soundcheck and dodgy bouncing down to 4 tracks led to some of the channels being excluded due to human error.

Anyways, here is a link to the track

Saladdin

Copyright Law

I'm finding my fascination with music concrete and dissonance an all encompassing pursuit. I was reading some Zen the other day, followed by some Cage. It has definitely opened my ears to the possibilities of new textures to explore. I like the idea that all sounds are beautiful if we only bother to explore them to their core. I know I've posted previously about my distaste of music concrete, but I feel there is a new understanding and determination to use this genre more in my works.




Audio Arts

I think I posted once how I didn't think I was into recording other bands. But I got to do it the other day and really enjoyed it. It was tiring, but satisfying. There is so much to learn, especially about mic placement and choice. I guess it is essentially up to the engineer. I like that there are no rules, more just guidelines.

I'm organising to be involved in a few different types of recordings and doing the sound at live shows. All of which I'm looking forward to.

I'm still having difficulty uploading files to filelodge. I 've got some tracks I want to share but can't seem to get them to work.

hearseride




Creative Computing

Thanks to Steven Whittington, I now am aware that it is NOT 'Creative Communication'. I'm a bit of neohyte on Protools, but so far I don't really rate it. There are things I like about it and things I don't. I want to explore it more. I am enjoying the music concrete project.

Workshop

Unfortunately, I was held up at work and missed the workshop.

Forum

The talk today on copyright law was very interesting. I can't really say I understand it any better, however it certainly is a field that we should be aware of. I don't need $300K fine for making music. Definitely rather see that lob in the IN tray.

Week 9

I missed most of the workshop due to being held up at work. I did catch the tale end of some Pink Floyd. I don't mind the Floyd. But listening to one entire album would probably lead me to suicide.

Honors Presentations

Seb

It sounds like a pretty good idea. To develop an interface that people can build themselves is pretty cool. I look forward to seeing the end result.

Darren

The stuff Darren is looking at is so awesome. I can't begin to describe how interesting I find this stuff. I would like to do an honors thesis on something similar.

Creative Computing

More Pro Tools - I am beginning to feel more familiar with this programme. Still a lot to learn.

Audio Arts - I recorded my mates punk rock band for my semester project. I will post a link to some MP3s when they are ready.

A friend brought over some really old reel-to-reels and we had a crack at digitally remastering them. Some of the tape quality is so bad, they could not be saved. Not at least by me anyway.

So here is a link.....

Sorry, but I've tried too many times now to upload something to filelodge.com and still have no idea why it won't work.

So here instead, is a pretty picture.

Honors Presentations

Tim Swalling - "A-Life: Artificial Life in the Creation of Music"

I rocked up late to the beginning of Tim's presentation. Quite quickly though I realised I'd entered a portal into a world where definitions blur and my ability to comprehend waned. I have admiration for Tim in his endeavour to do whatever it is he is trying to do, because quite frankly, I didn't get it really.

Jasmine Ward - I only understood Jasmine's talk because I have spoken to her about it previously. To my mind, I'm still confused. It seems she is trying to work out a way to promote the reduction of waste by glorying the sounds that waste makes. I asked her if she has any ambitions to develop a literal filter via MT to help clean up the environment. I mention this because if you have seen any of Emoto's work, you would know what I'm on about.

http://www.netmar.com/~maat/archive/aug1/consciouswater.html


Emoto has been conducting worldwide research on the effect of ideas, words, and music upon the molecules of water, and the descriptions below are taken from the book of his published results.

The photo on the left is of a frozen water sample from the lake at Fujiwara Dam, in Japan. As you can see, the water's structure is dark and amorphous, with no crystalline formations.

After the above water sample had been taken, the Reverend Kato Hoki, chief priest of the Jyuhouin Temple, made a one-hour prayer practice beside the dam. After that, new water samples were taken, frozen and photographed. As you can see (at right), the change is stunning--the ugly blob of the former sample has become a clear, bright-white hexagonal crystal-within-a-crystal.

The third photo shown here, also of water taken from Fujiwara Dam after the prayer treatment, reveals a shape that had never, prior to that time, been seen by Masaru Emoto in his over 10,000 water-sample experiments. As you can see, it is a heptagon, or 7-sided crystal.









I think that Tim and Jasmine could collaborate and maybe come up with something worth pursuing. I'm all about doing stuff that is practical and will serve a purpose to help the community. I mean, if they picked up on Emoto's work, then perhaps they really could develop some synth patch that used the water molecules from a spring, infused with a hint of MT, let it steep and the end product could be a meta-cyber anthropomorphic creature that purified the environment with every successive birth of its subsequent offspring and its future heirs...




Audio Arts

We recorded an acoustic guitar using two different microphones. It was interesting to see the difference that occurred in quality between the two. I look forward to more experimenting is this domain.

Creative Communication

It would be opportunistic of me I were to sit down and actually open up pro tools. I haven't done this yet. Scarey, because I have to record a band tomorrow. Hmm. Maybe parliament should enact an extra day in the week so I have more time to do everything on my 'To do ' list, which includes sleep.

Workshop

I reallly like Frank Zappa. There isn't one song of his I don't like. His dad used to be an experimental object for the US Army. When Frank got sick, his dad took him to the army doctor who stuck radium pellets up his nostrils to clear out his sinuses. I recommend you read his autobiographies. Frank and the Mothers of Invention, are without doubt, the biggest musical influence on my own life and compositions.

MILKCRATE

Milkcrate

I think Seb's idea is pretty cool. However when it came to actually participate in Milkcrate I bailed. I couldn't handle the idea of being locked in room to make music for 24 hours. My attention span is not that good. I would be up for maybe 12 hours or 6. The idea of a matchbox is even more intriguing.

Workshop

I really struggle to understand most of the music that we have listened to in the workshop. I find it completely inaccessible and in short, annoying. I am concerned that in studying music tech that I'm going to end up making music that I can't stand listening to. What is wrong with these composers? I can appreciate exploring sounds and how they interact, but I want music to make me feel good, not want to head butt the wall!

Audio Arts

I'm a bit confused with our project for this semester. It seems we have to jump from a radio signal up to recording and mixing a whole band. Doesn't anyone think that's a bit of a fastforward? I guess it will be interesting none the less? I don't have too much interest in recording bands or working in a studio in that manner so I'm going to have to fire up to actually do it.

Creative Communication

The music concrete project we have to do is up there with all the stuff we have been subjected to in the workshop. I don't like music concrete. I don't want to have to make a music concrete piece. But I did find an interesting sample in the toilet of Barr Smith that I'm going to sample for it. I was thinking too of something in a stair well of Schulz.