fotosis / we like to make stuff

Taking a break...

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:13:00 +0000

We're in need of change. While we figure it all out, please refer to our labels and links to your left. Many, many thanks for all the continued support and interest! If you would like to stay informed on our whereabouts online and off, feel free to visit John's Delicious or my Multiply page for, if not frequent, general updates. In the meantime this blog will remain up and will eventually redirect to our future projects.

Until then...

Regards, Connie & John

New Clorinde / The Creative Listener / Limited Edition DVD

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:59:00 +0000

Italian brothers, and independent audio-visual mavens, Clorinde have just released their limited edition companion DVD to the 2009 album, The Creative Listener.

As expected, this DVD is an emotional and visually stunning homage. Representing their work since 2007, this handmade packaged offering includes gritty imagery and animation, vintage film and live performance. It's no secret that I admire these two tremendously, they are humble and appreciative of their growing fanbase, and are creating a body of work that is interesting, engaging and thoughtful.

"One year after the release of "The Creative Listener" we decided to create a visual version of the album putting together the videos originally made for our live concerts from 2007 up to today. This dvd is the result of years of working, learning and experimenting with images and sound to engage, amuse and inspire a receptive audience."

Clorinde - 100 Women from Etruscan Records on Vimeo.

It is a moving and essential addition to anyone's music collection. Help support them by either picking up their DVD (PAL) for only £8 or buy both CD & DVD for a mere £12, all including postage. It'd make a great gift for yourself or your friends. There are free music and video samples to explore, so please visit the sites below.

BUY THE CREATIVE LISTENER DVD HERE

MY REVIEW OF THE CREATIVE LISTENER

MY INTERVIEW WITH CLORINDE

- C

Settling Back In / Handmade Music Brooklyn

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:45:00 +0000

We just came back from a grueling but extraordinary trip from S. Korea. In 6 weeks, we discovered much about ourselves as much as we did about Korean culture while away. Before I post on some interesting things we found and experienced there, I'll start with this great video from the recent Handmade Music event in Brooklyn to kickstart some new blog posts for 2010. It's strange to head into the new year so late, but reassuring to find the rhythm of DIY again.

I will have more exciting events/projects to share very soon. It's almost Spring!

- C

DIY Night Zurich / Ring Mod Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:48:00 +0000

We'll be hosting an afternoon ring mod workshop next Saturday, December 12, in Zurich. The venue is just outside of town at Rote Fabrik / Dock 18. Thanks to the kind SGMK crew for organising this event. Other workshops will include music production methods, theremin building and a PureData / Arduino how-to. We're looking forward to checking these out as well as helping others build their own ring modulators, levels will be beginner to advanced and we will set up some instruments for testing and play.

DIY Night 2009

- C

"Tom Nunn demonstrates Skatchboxes" via MAKE

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:22:00 +0000

Great sounds, I really like this.

"Tom Nunn demonstrates the "skatchbox" a simple percussion box outfitted with contacts mics and a plethora of objects for scraping, tapping, swiping, etc. The shuffling and raspy textures the boxes make are pretty unique, certainly warranting further investigation by audio experimentalists out there."

More about Tom Nunn,

"Tom Nunn has designed, built and performed with original musical instruments since 1976, having received a B.Mus. and M.A. in music composition from the University of Texas at Austin and S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook, and post-graduate work at U.C. San Diego. His instruments typically utilize commonly available materials, are sculptural in appearance, utilize contact microphones for amplification, and are designed specifically for improvisation with elements of ambiguity, unpredictability and nonlinearity.
In addition to the nearly 100 instruments he has made, Tom has performed extensively throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years, as well as in other parts of the U.S., Canada and Europe, both as soloist and with other musicians. "

( Source, Photo by Tim Nunn, Tom Nunn Official)

- C

Handmade Electric Guitar Found A Good Home

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:42:00 +0000

It's a very nice feeling when you see someone playing something you've made. John had a big smile last night when he watched this video...

More about John's guitar can be found in our archives here.

Thanks for all Mister Theau!

- C

DIY / Home Made Ticino / Vico Morcote, Switzerland

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:17:00 +0000

Just posted on my mog some new adventures we had in Ticino, the Italian part of Switzerland, at the end of August. Again with the SGMK organised DIY events, we had a great time. Below some excerpts,

"Back in May, one of the organisers of the event told me about being nestled in the Italian-Swiss countryside - a DIY get together in summer, intimate and relaxed. Our busy estival plans happened to slow down at the right moment and here we were, undaunted by the new introductions needed to meet this group of 40+ diverse individuals who had worked hard to finally present their projects to local media and friends/family at the end of the week BBQ."

"We were so privileged to attend, even if only for two nights. We were welcomed by kindest of electronic enthusiasts, artists, friends, DIY orchestras, tupperware techno raving, terrifying microscopy specimens, arduino micro-controlled LED creations, a mega amp built with a modest microchip, ominous black scorpions used for visual display, late night playlist battles, tent camping in a storm..."

More here. Photos are all here.

- C

DIY Kinetic Sculptures / Theo Jansen "Strandbeest" / Zurich, Switzerland

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:36:00 +0000

I recently attended a presentation and demonstration from one of my favourite living artists, Theo Jansen. I was thrilled to see him in person and was impressed with his bare bones engineering, his thoughtful creation process and his use of everyday materials (pvc tubes, cable ties..) to create such beautiful, moving creatures.

Each Strandbeest follows an organic evolution, a natural process that makes Jansen's creatures come alive elegantly and poetically. They roam the beaches in Holland and the world now. We were treated to a live demonstration of the Animarus Umerus after two consecutive presentations, the spectators gasped with delight, applauding until the end.

The best part, he signed my latest issue of MAKE magazine.

MORE ABOUT THEO JANSEN & STRANDBEEST HERE.

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT HERE.

- C

DIY Music / Humanthesizer / Forget The Bikini's, This Is Cool!

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:27:00 +0000

Via CDM,

"Through the power of skin-safe conductive ink, Scottish electronic artist Calvin Harris has collaborated with a team to make a synthesizer out of himself and a group of models in bikinis."

"Johnson programmed the interface and music: two Arduinos provide the analog-to-digital connection between the ink-human circuitry and a computer. Patching environment Max/MSP then deals with the data and translates to MIDI, and musical materials are sequenced live and "performed" into Ableton Live."

Pretty cheesy with the ladies but I am sure it will help boost the youtube pageviews. Nonetheless, I really like the use of humans and body parts, fun interactivity to make music - alot of promise for artists & musicians alike. Something great for DIY festivals and surely, Burning Man or something.

More on the making-of here. More on Calvn Harris here.

- C

Poolloop Festival @ ROTE FABRIK, Zurich, Switzerland / Bit Tuner, Sonic Wargames & Musical Ping Pong

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:17:00 +0000

Just did a write up on the Poolloop festival that was held a little while back in Zurich.

"I was having a late dinner Friday evening. The location was a government subsidised, graffiti covered venue in greater Zurich. Called Rote Fabrik (Red Fabric), this alternative enclave was fitted with several function rooms, restaurant/bar and a lovely view of Lake Zurich.

It was early evening, I was feeling a little lonely, the night before became morning too soon and I was physically drained (a recovering sprained arm and a tense 10km late night bike ride). My usual social tendencies were fragile on this 2nd day, intimidated even. I thought about the nature of traveling alone, about making conversations with new people for need, for the feeling of being part of a whole; when in fact you were a stranger, strange to all around you. As I pondered the ups and down of attending a festival by myself (which I have done numerous times before) a smile arrived at my table. He was the physicist guy that caught my eye earlier among the late afternoon crowd already soldering despite hangovers and the humid summer heat. Hooded in bright green, he had meticulously twisted and turned the knobs of a DIY tupperware housed noisemaker."

"The setting was the SGMK (Mechatronicart Society) workshop table that I have come to know quite well this past year. As he continued to make beautiful noise, calculated and seemingly comprehensive, I sidled beside him and opened my bag. In hand I had my homemade ring modulator, my recently gifted Gakken SX-150, and some homemade cables made for all required uses. We discussed for some time before I wandered through the event organisation as they prepared for another long festival night to come. Alone, I navigated to the table of where I sat now, a view of the lake and the many groups of which I did not belong. So, here he was again prepared to join me, a welcome sight and wonderful company for the downtime one has in making friends in a foreign city. We ate spaghetti, the popular reasonably priced dish of the day, and walked together to the opening subversive film screening afterwards. It began with two gay pixels in love."

You can read the rest of the entry here on my mog blog.

PHOTOS CAN BE FOUND HERE.

POOLLOOP 09 OFFICIAL SITE.

- C

New Music / Clorinde / The Creative Listener (2009)

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:25:00 +0000

Some new music I'd like to share here on fotosis by Clorinde, the brothers Simone and Andrea Salvatici. Their sound is electro-acoustic with electronic textures. Here is the info from my other blog,

"Been holding onto this album for a couple of weeks anxious to get the word out. The multi-instrumental performers Simone and Andrea Salvatici have always been generous in providing me insight into their work and their personal trials in pursuing a passion that can be a heartbreaking process. Music making is inspired, often the battle for survival, a battle of time and constraint. What I found in The Creative Listener were 11 emotive and powerful hymms of triumph and truth.

You feel the frustration and the beauty that encapsulates a year's worth of work, the magic of fantasy and the melancholy of reality. It's instrumental folklore that evokes a gritty and sensational voyage. The result as a listener is exalting and pure. The challenge of being "The Creative Listener" is the seduction, you delve further into their universe and immerse yourself in the highs and lows of this two man orchestra; a bond that is something akin to soul searching, a journey we all need from time to time."

LISTEN / PURCHASE THE ALBUM HERE.

Here is one of their older works in audio/visual form,

- C

Sad News / Telefon Tel Aviv Charlie Cooper No Longer...

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Charlie Cooper from Telefon Tel aviv has passed away at the young age of 31.

"The cause of his death is still unknown, but bandmate and friend Joshua Eustis left the following message on the band's MySpace page.

"It breaks my heart to inform you all that Charlie Cooper, my better half in Telefon Tel Aviv, passed away on January 22.

We have been friends since high school, and began making records together a decade ago. We have been so fortunate to tour the world together, while at the same time having a massive amount of laughs at one another's expense.

Aside from Charlie's singular genius and musical gifts, I can tell you that he was a total sweetheart of a guy, and a loving friend and confidant to people everywhere. His musicianship was surpassed only by his greater gift to the world—his warmth, his generosity, his unquenchable humor, and his undying loyalty to those he loved. In the spirit of honorable mention, however, I should mention that he had a shoe collection that was marvelous, knowledge of hip-hop that was profound, and knowledge of wine that was subtle."

The latest information reports that Cooper went missing prior to his death last week and was found dead afterwards. More here at xlr8r and additional coverage at CDM.

Sincere condolences to all.

- C

Tim & Puma Mimi / Live Taping 'Musicomax' Television Show @ MAD, Lausanne, Switzerland

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:25:00 +0000

I've been telling everyone about Tim and Puma Mimi since the DIY Festival and was lucky enough to have Tim invite me to watch them tape a live TV program this past weekend at a local club, MAD.

Tim has been performing for a year onstage with Puma Mimi streamed into the venues via Skype in Japan. The cast and crew of Musicomax were really into the performance, as was I, despite minor technical difficulties and the almost inaudible interview because of where I sat off stage.

There's more about the taping on my mog here. It was a great weekend.

Here's a video from their YouTube channel,

-C

Do It Yourself / DIY Festival, Dynamo / Zurich, Switzerland

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:01:00 +0000

We attended the DIY Festival in Zurich a while back. It was the fourth year it's been held and I have to say they really did a good job and I look forward to returning. I'll have to brush up on my German for next year.

For more about our trip, visit my other blog.

- C

Elegant Design / 'Last Drones'

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:53:00 +0000

Max does it again! Beautiful little mini synths...

"the last drones built for my friends, playing with me in Elisha Gray band.

on the left FESTER, the optical theremin.

on the top Ag0 LOLLOSO, the weird sound generator.

on the right WHAT A MESS(INA), the atari punk console."

(Photo by Max Farnea, Source: MAKE magazine)

- C

Fotosis EP / Revisited & New Download Link

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:08:00 +0000

The old link was too much of a hassle for most of our readers/friends so I have our EP up on *archive.org.

*We had to upload again as it missed one of our songs (Chimes) due to file corruption, the new link should be ok.

- C

Acid Machine - Interesting Visual Synth

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:17:00 +0000

I really love this. Here is the link for more info.

(Source)

- C

Music / Saw Theremin Composition

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:17:00 +0000

The saw theremin still remains one of our most asked about instruments.

Musician & Sound designer Alexandre Baranger hails from Lyon, France and so kindly created this composition for me with my baby, the very first theremin that I've ever made. Alex's inventive combination of the theremin sound, the jazz vibe and the experimental thumpin' pace creates a truly unique and engaging track. This instrument now resides permanently in his studio, I am glad it is in good hands.

-C

Music: Cheveu / Punk, Rock & Electro

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:57:00 +0000

Just saw these guys again, would love to get our instruments into their hands.

I wrote a bit about them and some other events I've attended since Spring on my other blog here.

-C

'Advanced Beauty' Video Sound Sculptures & Processing & Etc.

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:35:00 +0000

This summer has been filled with travel and relocation for both John & I, and living and working apart resulted in the recent absence from the blog. But, rest assured we are still very much here and looking forward to returning back to instrument making.

In the meantime, I am updating my music blog over the next weeks, you can find my latest post and future ones here. Related, I have also been looking into audio/visual projects and have two in particular that I would like to mention.

The first project is the Advanced Beauty series of videos using Processing and inspired by the condition synesthesia. This is a condition where people perceive music through colours according to the tonal qualities of music. I've always been fascinated by this phenomenon and this project is aesthetically beautiful, as it is musically entrancing. You can view the first 6 parts out of 18 here at the Color + Design Blog. (Source)

The other audio/visual project that impressed me recently was the Glastonbury 2008 Pi Installation. This project allowed people to not only interact and play sounds with motion, but it also fully utilised the body as an instrument, syncing quite brilliantly both the audio and visual elements of the participants' movements and collaborations. You have to see it to get what I mean.

Glastonbury 2008 - Pi Interactive Installation from evan on Vimeo.

It truly feels like a fully thought out and cohesive art installation that I would love to know more about and try firsthand. Detailed info about the project can be found at memo.tv. Great, great job! (Source)

- C

'25 Great Music-Making Tips From Musicians' via Music Thing

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:49:00 +0000

Some Good advice. Thanks to John for the link.

1. Like Kraftwerk, have a non-music day every week or so (Anonymous computer musician)

2. If things go wrong, just maintain that you were playing jazz (Max/MSP enthusiast)

3. Play less (Guitarist, and lots of other people)

4. When learning to play a piece of music, play it first so slowly that you don't get a single note wrong. Then slowly increase the speed. Then, play louder than normal at the proper speed and you'll play more confidently (A bass player and a synth tweaker)

5. When editing, don't cut the breath off before someone starts talking or singing (Guitarist)

6. Finish the first draft (Bass plyer)

7. It's essential to begin every recording by asking 'Are we Recording?' (Guitarist - is that you, Peter?)

8. Before you start for the day, go for a long walk (Computer musician)

9. Listen. Listen very carefully. No. REALLY listen. (A guitarist, although 115 people used the word 'listen' in their tips)

10. Wear earplugs (Drummer)

11. Hit it hard, ye massive ponce (Drummer)

12. Grab some string and bend it. If it doesn't sound right move up a fret and try again. (Guitarist)

13. Start now, don't wait (Keyboard player)

14. Get into the groove / Boy, you've got to prove / Your love to me (Guitarist)

15. Retune your guitar, so you don't know the notes, then try making music with only your ears as guides (Keyboard player)

16. Tune your guitar, play in time (Guitarist)

17. Do it in triplets! (Programmer)

18. Make, go sleep and check again tomorrow... (Synth tweaker)

19. You may think you're playing your instrument, but what you're really playing is the audience (Studio engineer)

20. Keep your cigarette lighter away from my drummer - He'll set fire to anything that burns (Nord Modular enthusiast)

21. Do something every day. Even if all you do is make a beat or write some lyrics or a bassline or whatever, do something. Even if you just have a few minutes a day to spare, the material you have quickly builds up (Field recordist)

22. "Play more things that make me dance around and less things that make me sit and look miserable in a plastic chair" - Brian Eno (Guitarist)

23. Learning any instrument is about scales. Scales. Scales. Scales. The trick is to make learning the scales interesting. Which is hard. And I've never done it. Which is a shame (Studio engineer)

24. Never listen to the same loop for longer than 10 minutes (Beat maker)

25. Write as many songs as you can and pick the best (Guitarist)

(Source)

- C

Custom Order: Fotosis No. 007, Noise Generating Synth.

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 11:42:00 +0000

Hello world, its been some months since we have completed anything in the realm of homemade electronics. Basically we have had our world turned upside down lately, I am now living in a whole other country working at a new job and trying to do as much Fotosis related work as possible on my off time when I come back to Lyon on the weekends.

This project was a custom order that challenged us to develop several new systems, most notable a sample and hold circuit and a micro-controller based trigger pulse generating system.

There are too many controls to list individually and descriptions would be difficult because I don't think it would be possible to find similar controls on another system to compare them to. This will probably be the last time I try to make an all in one unit this complex due to the time it took to develop build, test and debug the various circuits and programs that it contains. I feel in the future it would be better to build each of the systems individually and house them in separate enclosures that could be attached to some sort of board that gives them power etc.

Anyway here it is in action Fotosis No. 007...

There are still two more sections to complete, a CV interpretation module that will take in a control voltage and convert it to trigger pulses that can be used with the trigger pulse system and also a rocker pedal that will control the pitch of the oscillators as well as several other functions.

The sound range from more conventional synth noises to full on noise as well as different patterns of beeps and tones created by the trigger pulse generator. It would be the type of instrument ideally suited to someone wishing to create strange little samples for use on their tracks or it could be used live as a bizarre noise generating unit.

So essentially I am not going to go into details regarding the technical elements because there are just too many, so please just bask in the glory of this weird and interesting creation.

-J

'Will DIY geeks save American ingenuity?' via Collision Detection

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:46:00 +0000

I've been an avid reader of Clive Thompson for some time. Being a subscriber and a fan of Wired magazine since the late 1990's, his writing always spoke to me and his most recent article is no exception. Thompson recently updated his blog to coincide with the publication of his commentary on 'How DIYers Just Might Revive American Innovation' in the latest 16:03 issue (Wired's 15th Anniversary).

I know it has nothing to do with music nor am I (or John) American, but it speaks to all people who are venturing out on their own to create art, a way of life, a business and a new set of rules to work by. The DIY culture is one we obviously feel close to being the founders of this project, Fotosis, and our various other hobbies. As someone with no formal education, I know that skills are in demand, that there are many who are out there doing things that weren't taught but learned, experienced firsthand, hands dirty and curious. Let's keep this innovation going then and hope the movement avoids being pigeon-holed into a mere trendy past-time and remains a true revolution.

From blog: "Can you fix things that break in your household? Probably not. Our schools systematically stream "smart" people away from working with their hands, and I think that's a huge problem for the US, on pretty much every level -- commercially, globally, intellectually and spiritually, really."

From Wired:

"The decay has been rapid. Only a few decades ago, most serious adults were expected to be fluent in basic mechanics. If your car or stove or radio broke down, you opened it up and fixed it. "Magazines like Popular Mechanics in the '40s and '50s would publish projects like an automated pig-feeding trough, and they assumed you had the tools and skills to make it," says Dale Dougherty, editor and publisher of Make magazine.

But as we migrated to an information economy, those skills began to seem as quaint as, well, mechanical clocks. America's bright future, we were assured, wasn't industrial. It was in the hands of "symbolic analysts" -- folks who sat at desks and thought for a living. In the '90s, the rise of the Internet sent this post-mechanical age into a sort of giddy overdrive. Remember Nicholas Negroponte urging everyone to "move bits, not atoms"?

But when we stop working with our hands, we cease to understand how the world really works."

Read the blog post on Collision Detection.
Read the Wired article.

- C

Interview With The Creator of Pixelache via WMMNA

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:40:00 +0000

We Make Money Not Art has an interesting interview with Helsinki based Pixelache organiser Juha Huuskonen. Huuskonen is a multi-talented DJ, artist and software designer, and according to the article, also deemed one of the "Godfathers of the Finnish media art mafia". Wow!

The Pixelache 'movement' has certainly taken off successfully since its' last 6 years. There is even a Pixelache University with monthly events throughout the network.

For those of you unfamiliar, the Pixelache festival brings together media and technology creations and ideas through various events and festivals in several international cities including Paris, Montreal and New York. Like most events, there are informative seminars, concerts and related exhibits. We tried to attend the last one in Paris (Mal au Pixel) but unfortunately couldn't even though we were in the city around the same time. Let's hope we have the opportunity this year!

Here are some excerpts from the interview,
How Pixelache began:
"The first Pixelache festival in 2002 was put together in an improvised manner, with a tiny budget of a couple of hudred euros. The purpose was to bring local active people together to discuss and present experimental work that fell between the categories - not art, not design, not research, but kind of all of these at the same time. This type of work is of course shown in all kinds of international festivals (today even more than a few years ago) but the other special thing about Pixelache has been that we've focused on showing work by young, emerging creators and taking risks by showing work that is still in the concept or prototyping stage."

Pixelache in other countries:
"Our international events started in 2003, when we organised Pixelache festival in New York and Montreal. Both festivals were organised on a shoestring budget, with a lot of effort and enthusiasm from both organisers and artists. We carried most of the necessary gear and artworks as luggage, organised free/very cheap accommodation and traveled on a Greyhound bus between New York and Montreal.

The events in New York and Montreal brought together a quite unusual combination of local organisations that all had a lot of influence in planning the festival program. In addition to international guests, both events featured a lot of local artists, many of whom were later invited to Helsinki. We have maintained this way of working ever since. The model is sort of opposite to ISEA: instead of a separate international jury, the local organisations are in charge of the program, they never have to present projects that they don't consider relevant for the local context. The program decisions are aided by an on-going discussion between various partners within the Pixelache network."

Read the entire interview here at WMMNA.

Links:

Pixelache
Pixelache University
Mal au Pixel
WMMNA

- C

Free Sounds - 'Collaborative Database Of Audio Snippets, Samples, Recordings, Bleeps'

noreply@blogger.com (fotosis) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:42:00 +0000

Thanks to Dzendvokh, I now know about the freesound project. Details from their site,

The Freesound Project aims to create a huge collaborative database of audio snippets, samples, recordings, bleeps, ... released under the Creative Commons Sampling Plus License. The Freesound Project provides new and interesting ways of accessing these samples, allowing users to

browse the sounds in new ways using keywords, a "sounds-like" type of browsing and more
up and download sounds to and from the database, under the same creative commons license
interact with fellow sound-artists!

Really like the idea of an open and organised database, we've certainly been stuck trying to find the right sound for a project.

Visit the site to find out how to participate as an individual or institution.

The Freesound Project

- C