March 2016 Soundbytesmag.net articles

The March 2016 issue of Soundbytesmag.net is out now (www.soundbytesmag.net) and I have three new articles in it.  

First of all, in my "Music on Tablets" column, I have a review of Alexander Randon's very fun new app, "Fugue Machine."  I'm having a lot of fun with this program.

http://soundbytesmag.net/music-for-tablets-real-time-counterpoint-for-the-ipad/

Then there's an interview with Phil Burk, one of the leading developers of new tools for music technology.  Phil is currently working for Google, developing new audio facilities for the Android platform.  There's a lot of good information here, and Phil was a real pleasure to interview.

http://soundbytesmag.net/interview-phil-burk/

And finally, there's an article about how to use the microtonal facilities in UVI's new Falcon sampler/synthesizer.  These facilities are quite comprehensive and versatile, and allow for some very pleasant surprises and mistakes, as well as working quite efficiently in "correct" mode.  If you're into microtonality, this is well worth a look.

And now, for a limited time only, a FREE DOWNLOAD OFFER!

I just posted an mp3 copy of my 8 CD set: "Music for Microtonal Piano Sounds 1992-1998" to Hightail.com, for a friend in the Netherlands.  And it occurred to me that as long as it's up there, I might as well let the world know about it.  So, for a limited time - until February 9th, you can download the zip file of the mp3 copies of the set for free.  Just go to this link, and download away!  And if you like what you hear, let me know.

https://www.hightail.com/download/ZWJXb2VOOW5ZY1JDaDhUQw

Three New Articles in soundbytesmag.net

The latest soundbytesmag.net is out, and is well worth a read.  I have three articles in it. First, in my usual "Music on Tablets" column, I have a review of Waldorf's Nave softsynth, previously just for iOS (iPad) format, but now available on PCs and Macs as well:

http://soundbytesmag.net/music-on-tablets-and-beyond-nave-from-waldorf/

Then, there's an introductory article to the language PD, to accompany Dave Baer's review of Andy Farnell's new book "Designing Sound."  If you are a newbie to visual programming languages, this article might provide a bit of enlightenment.

http://soundbytesmag.net/pd-pure-data-a-public-domain-patching-environment/

Finally, there's a (too short!) review of Curtis Roads' wonderful new book "Composing Electronic Music: A New Aesthetic."  I can't recommend this book highly enough.  It's wonderful.

http://soundbytesmag.net/composing-computer-music-a-new-aesthetic/

Enjoy!

Flute, Guitar and Recording - a new performance by Unassisted Fold

Unassisted Fold, which is Flavio Virzi, guitar, and Sonja Horlacher, flute, have just made a version of my "Flutes Guitars Celli" from 2014, and they've done a wonderful job with it.  "Flutes Guitars Celli" is a 30 minute recording made with the Novation Launchpad, where I improvise a mix of recorded microtonal melodies played with flute, guitar and cello samples.  This recording is then to be used by a chamber ensemble to improvise with.  Flavio and Sonja assembled a 5 minute recording of various bits from the tape, and then improvised with it, and the results are, I think, splendid.  They call their version "flute, guitar and recording," and it will eventually appear on a forthcoming album of theirs.  Flavio has performed my music in the past.  He's played my "Fast Random Walk on a Microtonal Fingerboard" for guitar, and then in 2013 performed a guitar and percussion version of my "Bourbaki Two" which was originally written for violin and percussion.  So it was a delight to hear from him and to hear the recording of their realization of my piece.  Many thanks for them, and also thanks for letting me share this recording with you.  Enjoy!

And for those of you without access to a Flash Player (meaning you can't see the player above this sentence), you can download the piece HERE.

Catching Up with the Past Three Months, Part 2 - Bent Leather Band at OZCHI, Dec 10, 2015

The Bent Leather Band (Joanne Cannon, contra-monster; Stuart Favilla, light-harp; and Dale Chant, extended guitar, invited me to improvise with them at the OZCHI conference at Melbourne Uni on Dec 10, 2015. We had all just given presentations at a panel discussion on new interfaces for musicians. Catherine was there with her cell-phone and grabbed this 4 and 1/2 minute excerpt from the proceedings, which were noisy, and a lot of fun.  I especially enjoy some of the audience interaction here. Stelarc, who had just given a lovely keynote address, is of course, documenting things, and I enjoy the statue of (is that?) Athena standing impassively behind us, or maybe she's doing a kind of extremely minimal post-modern dance.  (grin)  Here's the video:

Enjoy!