Wii Loop Machine

The LoopMachine on the Tech Weekly Podcast

rolo@theamazingrolo.net (The Amazing Rolo) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:05:46 +0000

I’m heading to Cardiff tomorrow to show off the LoopMachine family to our Welsh friends (Iechyd da!), but before I go I just wanted to mention that I am featured on the most recent episode of the Tech Weekly Podcast from The Guardian. I spoke to them for a while about the successes I’ve had and challenges I’ve faced working on the LoopMachine. It’s a super interesting episode altogether, be sure to check it out! You can download the mp3, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, or just listen to it on the Tech Weekly website.

Wii Adventures in Liverpool

rolo@theamazingrolo.net (The Amazing Rolo) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:17:57 +0000

Anyone in Liverpool this weekend is almost certainly already aware of the Abandon Normal Devices event happening there right now – I’m happy to say that I will be there too, and I’ll be bringing along a bunch of Wii remotes!

I’m going to have a stall and will be giving a talk/demonstration at the Interface Amnesty event at the Static Gallery.

Come on down if you live in the area…I’ll be showing off tons of Wii-related projects, as well as my crazy Gelkies and my iPhone app. I’ll be giving a talk at 4, but I’ll be there all day! Come and say hello!

ApSci rocking the Wiimote in NYC

rolo@theamazingrolo.net (The Amazing Rolo) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:05:49 +0000

Just a quick note to say that tomorrow night the always-awesome ApSci have a big event going down in New York tomorrow night. From their Facebook Event Page:

ApSci perform electro-pop with indie rock & hip-hop undertones. This live set will feature vocal loops, live sampling, sing-along choruses, beats & rhymes, a little opera, and some rigorous delay & pitch-shift effects tweeked with a Wii remote, along with ApSci’s signature stop-motion videos filling up the wall-size projector screens… A special show, won’t come around again too soon.

ApSci have been fans of the Wii LoopMachine since version 1, are pretty much all round great people and their music is now starting to get the attention it deserves!

There’s a great video of their Wiimote antics on Facebook (which I can’t embed), and here’s an old school video of them using the LoopMachine:

I can’t make it, I’m afraid, since I’m 3000 miles away, but you should definitely go if you have the chance!

Wii LoopMachine on a Bike!

rolo@theamazingrolo.net (The Amazing Rolo) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:11:18 +0000

I get some pretty awesome emails from Wii LoopMachiners using the software in fun and interesting ways, but this one definitely ups the ante. Polish sound artist Arszyn, aka Krzyszstof Topolski recently used the LoopMachine for the Street Waves Festival in Gdansk. On a bike. Awesome.

Wii performance in London

rolo@theamazingrolo.net (The Amazing Rolo) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:05:43 +0000

My Wii remotes and I will be in London early next week to play at a very exciting launch party for My-Um.com! The show starts at 8 on June 15th at The Dublin Castle in Camden, and is only £6. I’ll be using several Wii remotes, possibly some Jam Jars, and much more. Hope to see you there!

Unique Beats

rolo@theamazingrolo.net (The Amazing Rolo) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:09:28 +0000

Last weekend, whilst I was cavorting around the Maker Faire, an amazing event was happening right here in Edinburgh: Unique Beats. A “festival of electronica”, in featured appearances by Ableton, Cakewalk, Edirol, Korg, and many other really big companies, and I appeared via video! Here’s the first of two videos I made specifically for Unique Beats, a short tutorial explaining how I made the Wii BeatLooper in Max/MSP:

You should also subscribe to the Unique Beats podcast, where you can hear an Amazing Rolo song!

Maker Faire Day 1

rolo@theamazingrolo.net (The Amazing Rolo) — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:53:13 +0000

Phew, what an amazing and exhausting day yesterday at the Maker Faire! Thanks to everyone who dropped by and said hello and played with the LoopMachine and the Jam Jars! Those of you interested in the Jars should check out my Amazing Rolo website for much more information about them, I’ll be posting schematics and directions soon.

Otherwise, please poke around this website to find free downloads and watch tons of videos of the LoopMachine family in action!

Anyone coming to the Maker Faire today has a chance to win a LoopMachine t-shirt – just come on down to booth number 121 (next to the tesla coils) and say “The LoopMachine is awesome!”

The doors have just opened for day two. Let’s get Looping!

Road to Maker Faire, we’ve made it!

rolo@theamazingrolo.net (The Amazing Rolo) — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:31:04 +0000

Oh my goodness, this is getting exciting. We made it to San Francisco and checked into the Maker Faire yesterday. We’ve got booth number 121, so come on down and say hello! We have already seen a giant mechanical giraffe, an amazing set of prepared pianos, and a giant moving plastic bottle sculpture. Fantastic stuff. Can’t wait to bring out the LoopMachine and my collection of Wii remotes!

Download the Wii BeatLooper

rolo@theamazingrolo.net (The Amazing Rolo) — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:35:47 +0000

The Wii BeatLooper, which I showed off a couple of days ago in this video, is now available for download! Click here to download the standalone application for Mac OS X, as well as some free samples, a pdf that explains connecting the Wii remote to your computer, and the Max/MSP patches for anyone who wants to play around!

The Road to Maker Faire Part 1

rolo@theamazingrolo.net (The Amazing Rolo) — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:16:59 +0000

Here’s a video showing off the first mini-wii-music-software I’ve made in celebration of going to the Maker Faire next week! It’s a simple beat looper that let’s use scratch, effect, and mess around while dancing around (and looking awesome, of course).

The plan is to have a bunch of little bits of software like this ready the Maker Faire, along with a bunch of wii remotes, so that groups of people can jam out together! I’ll be making more videos in the next few days showing them off, and I’ll be posting the software + Max patches on the site very soon as well! Phew! Very exciting stuff!