The Optical Theremin

Matt Finke from LoopLight sent me this video using ArKaos software in a very creative way. In their toolkit you find NuVJ for standard VJ work and MediaMaster controlled from a GrandMA console.

The Optical Theremin

The Optical Theremin

Here is the video:

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Philipp from LoopLight also sent me this information:

“I used Arkaos MediaMaster, Arkaos NuVJ and grandMA ultralight in one network session. The headlights were Jarag-5 in a matrix with par30 and 52 Movinglights with CMY. I made a pixelpatch in MediaMaster for Jarag and put the CMY of the movinglights in the same pixelpatch. A camera, the first input to MediaMaster, indicated towards a plexiglass disk, which i had divided in two areas. Left side for Jarag and the right side for the CMY. The NuVJ was the second input to MediaMaster for SD Clips. I set different fx like edge detect, greyscale and contrast in MediaMaster. Then I scaled my live input on pixelpatch, only the left area of plexiglass. Finally I moved my hand vertically and horizontal on the left area during playing SD Clips from NuVJ. For CMY I made four large Colourwheels in different bright colours. I moved one of the Colourwheels in the right area to change all CMY in the movinglights.”

As you can see it’s a cool example of creative processing with lighting!

Biosphere (2009) – Wireless – Live At The Arnolfini, Bristol

I am a long fan of Biosphere since Microgravity in 92 and even when he was playing with Bel Canto

Biosphere (2009) - Wireless - Live At The Arnolfini, Bristol

Biosphere (2009) - Wireless - Live At The Arnolfini, Bristol

I like the cool flow created in this album, I already saw him in concert in Brussels and I find back the memories. For some this music maybe too minimal ambient but for me it is perfect. This album is also using subtile field recordings that add a layer to the music, particularly in the track I visualized.

Because it’s the first live album he released it’s highly recommended if you are a fan and never saw it live. It’s hard to believe he waited so long because he is doing a lot of concerts.

I found it while I was staying in Ireland in July 2009 and I did listen to it during my week while shooting video loops of landscapes and sea sides. Naturally when I came back home I made an editing of what I did shoot on one of the tracks of the cd.

Here is my visual remix, I played a lot with the speed of the loops and adding motion blur to enhance some movements, it contrast nicely with the music:

My Best ECM albums for the first part of 2009

I am a big fan of ECM records since ever, 2009 seems to be a great year for the label. So far here are my favorite records:

Till Fellner РJohann Sebastian Bach РInventionen und Sinfonien РFranz̦sische Suite V

So many musicians have recorded those that it’s difficult to add something. This is what said Till Fellner, he waited to master those pages so much before to record them.

The result is really convincing. It’s always a big debate when you play Bach on the Piano, and I am a big fan of playing baroque music on historical instruments. The music here is flowing and is very well articulated. As usual the ECM sound is here, clean and pure, the piano is recorded close but you still have some room acoustic around.

ECM 2043 Till Fellner - Bach

ECM 2043 Till Fellner - Bach

Eleni Karaindrou (2009) – Dust of time

Eleni Karaindrou is mainly recording film music on ECM records, but you don’t really need to know the movies to enjoy the music.

I have always been attracted to Greek music, but not the festive version of it, I am looking for pictures and landscapes, for something that help you to meditate. Eleni Karaindrou always had this effect on me and this new album is as strong as the previous ones.

ECM 2070 Eleni Karaindrou

ECM 2070 Eleni Karaindrou

Jon Hassell (2008) – Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street

No many albums had so much influence on musicians 25 years ago when John Hassell released “Power Spot”. This was one of the first albums that included a lot of digital processing of wind instruments over complex sound textures. Today many have followed and reproduced that kind of ambient sound. So I was excited to see him coming back to ECM after all those years. The music is ambient and has all the complex evolutions you can expect.

ECM 2077 - Jon Hassell

ECM 2077 - Jon Hassell

Jon Balke Amina Alaoui – Siwan

The latest one I discovered. With this album ECM continues to open new territories. ECM is the label that started dissolving boundaries, mixing ethnic music with Jazz, classical and electronic music. Musicians like Garbarek and Nils Petter Molvaer being famous for that.

In this record I like first the presence of the voice but then I was also struck by all the compositions of Jon Balke. If you like music that is mysterious, this album should amaze you. This album plunge back in time in the area of the Spanish renaissance and before, when Arabic was ruling in Andalusia. All the tracks are original compositions building bridges between electroacoustic and baroque, between Jazz and arabic ornamentation… By example track 4 “Ya Safwati” where Jon Hassell trumpet textures play with Amina Alaoui vocals and the ornementations of the orchestra is really amazing.

ECM 2042 - Jon Balke (2009) Siwan

ECM 2042 - Jon Balke (2009) Siwan

Sleepy Sun (2009) – Embrace

Sleepy Sun is a band from Santa Cruz that migrated to San Francisco.

There is something magic in the sound of their music. Sometimes it reminds me of dream pop or shoegazing bands such as Slowdive but they definitively have a Californian touch, a blissful sun-baked psychedelia that find it’s root in Santa Cruz.

Embrace by Sleepy Sun

Embrace by Sleepy Sun

When I finished the last WWDC I spent my last day in the south of San Francisco, we went to Santa Cruz and then to Año Nuevo State Natural Reserve to enjoy the wildlife of California.

Here is a video I made with a track from Sleepy Sun as background:

I bought my copy of the album on emusic : Sleepy Sun (2009) – Embrace

Here is their web site : www.sleepysun.net

Neuronium music and video clips

One of the cool thing about running ArKaos is the ability to see the tools we are creating being used by artists you like. For me one of those is Michel Huygen / Neuronium. I remember buying his first vinyls and being impressed by the sonic textures created by him.

Neuronium music could be described as electronic or ambient music but the best term is cosmic music.

In this latest video clip I like the organic evolution:

 

 

The cosmic feeling in the music is very often connected to the work of his friend and painter Tomás C.Gilsanz

 

Neuronium did a lot of video clips using ArKaos VJ, here is another beautiful example:

 

 

You can find more clips here:

NeuroniumMusic on YouTube

 

And find more information on Neuronium music here:

Neuronium web site