Ether Pad presentation with Edward Rateer, April 2nd
Date: Thursday 2nd of April, 6.30pm
Location: Unit 15, 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, E2 9DS
“Ether Pad is in the final stages of development. It is an innovative instrument that gives drummers and percussionists a new way to control reverse sample playback in real-time. During this presentation, those attending will have the opportunity to test and play a prototype.
This presentation will be particularly useful for musicians who choose to perform with electronic drums/pads and who would like to enhance their musical expression. It is also aimed at developers/hackers interested in augmented instruments and looking for new ways to control and perform with them.
That said, anybody who finds this idea interesting is welcome to attend. As the developer of Ether Pad, I look forward to the feedback I receive from members of the audience.
With a passion for innovation, and with a number of ideas waiting to be progressed, I would also like to meet people who are interested in collaborating on the further development of the Ether Pad concept and on similar projects.
Looking forward to seeing you there!”
Edward
Chisato Minamimura, March 19
Join a LAB with deaf dancer Chisato Minamimura to consider visual representation of sound for Chisato, to experiment with a number of sonic/digital elements and their responses to her new score ‘Time’ which she will develop in the next few months with her dancers. This new work explores time within sound & music from a deaf perspective and cultural differences between Japan & UK including the Japanese concept of MA (negative space).
The work will be developed here and shared in Japan. Chisato is looking for collaboration to work with digital artists, engineers and programmers to visualise her new choreographic score and this is the first phase of the process.
Chisato Minamimura is a Japanese deaf dance artist, choreographer exploring the experience of sound/voice/music from a deaf perspective. Chisato has been on this journey for a while and is developing a new score exploring the notion of time from a diversity of perspectives, in London, Brighton and Tokyo.
Date: Thursday, 19 March 2015 from 18:30 to 21:30
Location: Music Hackspace, Unit 15, 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, E2 9DS
More info about the project.
http://chisato.h-and-c.jp/profile_e.html
Musica Dispersa at Music Hackspace, March 26
Musica Dispersa is a London based platform which operates internationally and is dedicated to the dissemination and diffusion of experimental music through a wide range of projects in radio broadcast, cassette releases, live events and exhibitions (more info www.musicadispersa.co.uk).
When: March 26 @ 18:30 – 23:00
Where: Unit 15, 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, E2 9DS
Entrance: £4
Following recent collaborations and a residency in Haggerston, Musica Dispersa are coming to the Music Hackspace bringing a line up of experimental music and sound artists, in an event that will focus on the space, the artists and the sound; from noise music to abstract ambient, the event is open to a variety of sonic proposals within the experimental music fields.
Featured artists include Clara Black, Phil Mill, Rasul, Ewa Justka and elpueblodechina (more info of the artists can be found below).
SET TIMES:
19’00-19’30 Clara Black – electronics
19’45-20’15 Phil Mill – field recordings
20’30-21’00 Rasul – tapes/loops
21’15-22’00 Ewa Justka – experimental/electronics
22’15-23’00 elpueblodechina – noise
Join us at the space for drinks and chat from 18.30. Drinks will be available at the bar.
ELPUEBLODECHINA (NOISE,LIVE)
Alejandra Perez (Chile) is a noise artist, media designer and current phd student at the University of Westminster in London. Her research is focused in the detection of rhythms and frequencies that are imperceptible in space. Further research develops into the study of semiotic energies. Her areas of work include writing, live noise performances, education, designing new interfaces, free tool sound art and the development of instruments to detect high and low frequencies (Pure Data, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, electronica DIY-DIWO, Gnu Linux). Recent work includes recording low frequency sounds in Antartica with vlf (very low frequency) hydrophones, and previously measuring UV radiation in Punta Arenas in the desert of Atacama. Her performances are noisist by definition, leaving open doors to improvisation and interaction.
EWA JUSTKA (EXPERIMENTAL/ELECTRONICS,LIVE)
Ewa Justka is a Polish electronic noise artist and instruments builder based in London. Justka’s main field of research is based on exploration of materiality of objects, vibrant, ontological systems (human bodies, plants’ bodies, electronic circuits: varied range of micro and macro environments and relations between them) and an investigation of modes of quasi-direct perception through noise performance actions, interactive installation, DIY electronics, hardware hacking, plant-molesting, breaking, deconstructing and collaborating. In her artistic work Ewa attempts to explore the concept of materiality of the hidden.
PHIL MILL (FIELD RECORDINGS,LIVE)
Phil Mill began experimenting with sound and musical composition exploring the use of environmental sound within a musical context, practising improvised music and electronic music.More recently he has began to look at the aesthetics of listening at first within an improvised context and then within field recordings and acoustic ecology.
https://philmill91.wordpress.com/
RASUL (TAPES/LOOPS,LIVE)
Rasul is an experimental musician based in London that practices loop-based improvisations. Relying heavily on found objects, Rasul captures sound through different techniques, favouring methods that allow the compositions to become autonomous and unintentional. Inspired by Eastern spiritual traditions, Rasul’s performances evoke a mystical atmosphere that provides the listener with a contemplative space to wander and dwell within; a space where the role of an artist is not too different from the role of the listener.
https://soundcloud.com/peopleoflu
CLARA BLACK (ELECTRONICS,LIVE)
Starting to produce her own music from a young age, and always with an interest in experimentation, as well a being a resident DJ, Clara is currently creating music for experimental films and short movies.
Gen.AV – Tools for Generative Audiovisuals
Nuno Correia will present his artistic work and research on audiovisual performance. The first part of the presentation will focus on his artistic work with Video Jack (www.videojackstudios.com), which was the subject of his PhD thesis and book: “Interactive Audiovisual Objects”. The second part will focus on work with tools for audiovisual performance: the vector graphics oriented AudioVisual Vector eXchange – AVVX (www.avvx.org) and the recent project on generative audiovisuals – Gen.AV (www.gen-av.org). The latter is part of his current research at Goldsmiths, University of London.
When: March 5, 18:30 – 21:30
Where: Music Hackspace, Unit 15, 5–10 Corbridge Crescent London, United Kingdom
Nuno N. Correia (www.nunocorreia.com) is a researcher, media artist and musician. He is interested in enabling interactive multi-sensorial experiences. Since 2000, he has been teaching and conducting research in media art and design, in universities in Portugal, Finland and the UK. Nuno holds a Doctor of Arts degree in new media from Aalto University (Media Lab Helsinki), with the thesis “Interactive Audiovisual Objects“, and an M.Sc in innovation management from the Technical University of Lisbon. Currently, he is a researcher at Goldsmiths, University of London (EAVI Group), working on the project “Enabling Audiovisual User Interfaces” (http://avuis.
Nuno’s work has been presented in more than 20 countries, in such festivals and venues as ACM Multimedia – Interactive Arts exhibition (Scottsdale), Electro-Mechanica (St. Petersburg), FILE (São Paulo), ISEA (Istanbul), Le Cube (Paris), Mapping (Geneva), NAME (Lille), Optronica / British Film Institute (London), PixelAche / Kiasma (Helsinki) and SXSW (Austin). His articles have been published at conferences such as ACE (Advances in Computer Entertainment), NIME (New Interfaces for Musical Expression), SMC (Sound and Music Computing) and TEI (Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction); as well as at the Journal of Visual Art Practice, Leonardo Electronic Almanac and Intermedial Arts (book chapter). Nuno’s projects have been featured in CreativeApplications.Net, Create Digital Motion, The Creators Project, Leonardo Reviews and Digicult, among other specialised media.
Stanley Lewry presents OptoNoise, Thu 26 Feb
Date: Thursday 26th February, 6.30pm
“The project revolves around trying to make sound using analogue optoelectronics.
We have a plan to build a keyboard that allows light to filter through etched microscope slides that traverse the light beam as they are pressed, with a sensor that will pick up the variances in the light that passes that will create a unique tone to the sound.
We also hope to make spinning transparent disks that light will pass through to further add tone to the sounds.
Use of prisms to slit lights could possibly add further harmonics to arrays of sensors.
Ultimately we would like to have a synthesiser that will give the operator the ability to change all the sounds by replacing and/or customising various physical light filters.
For a rich authentic sound we are not using any digital components.
Would be great to get a bigger team, perhaps to focus on different parts(sensors, filters, housing, design, marketing)
Kickstarter would be great if we can get a simple plan for a viable product together.
Very early stages so ideas very welcome.”
SL
The closest tube stations are Cambridge Heath Road station (5 minutes walk), Bethnal Green (Central Line – 10 minutes away) and Hoxton station (Overground – around 15 minutes).
We look forward to seeing you at our space!
Embedded Residency 2012-13 (Tim Murray-Browne)
As a part of Sound and Music’s Embedded Composer programme, Music Hackspace hosted sound artist Tim Murray-Browne during a ten month residency. The composer in residency programme resulted in The Cave of Sounds, an interactive sound installation exploring the prehistoric origins of collective music making through the contemporary music hacker scene.
The work was created by composer in residence Tim Murray-Browne in collaboration with members of the Music Hackspace (Dom Aversano, Susanna Garcia & Borja Alexandre, Wallace Hobbes, Daniel Lopez, Tadeo Sendon, Panagiotis Tigas and Kacper Ziemianin) and debuted in London in August 2013.
In 2014, The Cave of Sounds was awarded the Sonic Arts Award (Digital Art category).
The final installation consists of a circular arrangement of eight bespoke digital musical instruments. Audience members are invited to experiment with the instruments together, explore the potential of creating music as a means to interact with new people and consider the intertwined history of music and technology.
Although music plays a greater role in our lives than ever before, creating music is an activity often limited to trained professionals. Made up of a set of newly conceived musical instruments, The Cave of Sounds seeks to disrupt the boundaries between performer and audience. Regardless of training, visitors are invited to actively participate and experiment with new ways of creating and connecting with each other through sound.
Each instrument has been designed and created over a period of eight months by a member of London’s Music Hackspace as a personal and interactive embodiment of the ideas and mind of its creator, whilst remaining intuitive to allow newcomers to express themselves.
In the hands of its audience, the work is crafted to provoke participants to connect and resonate with each other through musical expression. Software linking the instruments allows them to gently adjust their sounds to converge musically as well as detecting musical connections between participants and visualising them on a central floor projection of abstract shapes.
Events
- 90dB Festival Internazionale Arti Sonore, 11-14 September 2014. Exhibited at Ex-Cartiera Latina, the former Latina Paper Factory, as a part of the 90dB Festival of sonic arts.
- Watermans Gallery, 1-3 November 2013. Performing for the Arts and Technology Festival near Richmond, London.
- The Victoria & Albert Museum, 21 September 2013. Exhibited for one day as a part of the V&A Digital Design Weekend and the London Design Week Festival.
- Barbican Centre, 19-26 August 2013. The Cave of Sounds debuted on Level -1 of the Barbican as a part of Hack the Barbican.
Tim Murray-Browne
Tim Murray-Browne is a sound artist and creative coder based in London. He works primarily with installation and performance pieces that investigate themes of discovery, self-expression and how they relate through action, movement and sound. Drawing on technology, dance and the psychology of human-computer interaction, he seeks to create interactive works that rely on minimal instruction, highlighting how physical and social interactions inform our understanding of who we are, our place within the environment and our relationships with each other.
Murray-Browne’s recent work includes IMPOSSIBLE ALONE, an immersive soundscape that can be explored only through the synchronised movement of two individuals, created with the dancer Tiff Chan, and the Serendiptichord, a wearable musical instrument for dancers created with the artist Di Mainstone. It has been shown around the world at venues including the Barbican, the V&A, Berkeley Art Museum, Kinetica Art Fair and the Secret Garden Party.
REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF EMBEDDED RESIDENCY WITH TIM MURRAY-BROWNE
With the new Embedded residency with Sound and Music for Spring 2015 announced, we welcome you to meet our previous composer in residence Tim Murray-Browne.
When: Thursday 19th of February, 6.30pm
Where: Unit 15, 5-10 Corbridge Crescent London E2 9DS
Tim Murray-Browne will speak about his ten month residency at the Music Hackspace through Sound and Music’s Embedded Composer programme,. This composer in residency programme resulted in The Cave of Sounds, an interactive sound installation exploring the prehistoric origins of collective music making through the contemporary music hacker scene.
The work was created by composer in residence Tim Murray-Browne in collaboration with members of the Music Hackspace (Dom Aversano, Susanna Garcia & Borja Alexandre, Wallace Hobbes, Daniel Lopez, Tadeo Sendon, Panagiotis Tigas and Kacper Ziemianin) and debuted in London in August 2013.
In 2014, The Cave of Sounds was awarded the Sonic Arts Award (Digital Art category).
The final installation consists of a circular arrangement of eight bespoke digital musical instruments. Audience members are invited to experiment with the instruments together, explore the potential of creating music as a means to interact with new people and consider the intertwined history of music and technology. Although music plays a greater role in our lives than ever before, creating music is an activity often limited to trained professionals. Made up of a set of newly conceived musical instruments, The Cave of Sounds seeks to disrupt the boundaries between performer and audience. Regardless of training, visitors are invited to actively participate and experiment with new ways of creating and connecting with each other through sound. Each instrument has been designed and created over a period of eight months by a member of London’s Music Hackspace as a personal and interactive embodiment of the ideas and mind of its creator, whilst remaining intuitive to allow newcomers to express themselves. In the hands of its audience, the work is crafted to provoke participants to connect and resonate with each other through musical expression. Software linking the instruments allows them to gently adjust their sounds to converge musically as well as detecting musical connections between participants and visualising them on a central floor projection of abstract shapes.
Events
- 90dB Festival Internazionale Arti Sonore, 11-14 September 2014. Exhibited at Ex-Cartiera Latina, the former Latina Paper Factory, as a part of the 90dB Festival of sonic arts.
- Watermans Gallery, 1-3 November 2013. Performing for the Arts and Technology Festival near Richmond, London.
- The Victoria & Albert Museum, 21 September 2013. Exhibited for one day as a part of the V&A Digital Design Weekend and the London Design Week Festival.
- Barbican Centre, 19-26 August 2013. The Cave of Sounds debuted on Level -1 of the Barbican as a part of Hack the Barbican.
Tim Murray-Browne Tim Murray-Browne is a sound artist and creative coder based in London. He works primarily with installation and performance pieces that investigate themes of discovery, self-expression and how they relate through action, movement and sound. Drawing on technology, dance and the psychology of human-computer interaction, he seeks to create interactive works that rely on minimal instruction, highlighting how physical and social interactions inform our understanding of who we are, our place within the environment and our relationships with each other. Murray-Browne’s recent work includes IMPOSSIBLE ALONE, an immersive soundscape that can be explored only through the synchronised movement of two individuals, created with the dancer Tiff Chan, and the Serendiptichord, a wearable musical instrument for dancers created with the artist Di Mainstone. It has been shown around the world at venues including the Barbican, the V&A, Berkeley Art Museum, Kinetica Art Fair and the Secret Garden Party.
Hackables: augmenting instruments by Andrew McPherson, Thu 12 Feb
This Thursday’s event at the Music Hackspace will feature Andrew McPherson talking about the results of his EPSRC-funded project Hackable Instruments, summarising the results from both the study of appropriation and the D-Box study, along with a live demo of the D-Box and a discussion of future directions.
When: Thursday 12th February, 6.30pm
Where: Unit 15, 5–10 Corbridge Crescent London E2 9DS
The Hackable Instruments project (Victor Zappi and Andrew McPherson, Queen Mary University of London) looks at the ways performers use and misuse technology for creative ends. From the saxophone to the electric guitar to the turntable, musicians have been developing playing techniques for instruments which the designer did not expect. Customisation and modification are also important forces in the adoption of new instruments, with circuit bending being a prominent example in electronic music performance.
The Hackable Instruments project began with the creation of a deliberately constrained instrument to study the phenomenon of appropriation, where a performer develops a personal working relationship with an instrument. One finding of this study was that adding degrees of freedom to an instrument does not necessarily produce richer interactions or more favourable responses from performers.
More recently, the Hackable Instruments team developed the D-Box, an instrument which is designed for modification and circuit bending by the performer. The D-Box is a 15cm battery-powered cube incorporating touch sensors and a BeagleBone Black single-board computer. Inside the box is a breadboard of circuits which can be rewired in arbitrary ways to create new patterns of behaviour. The D-Box was used in an October 2014 performance by 10 musicians, many from London Music Hackspace.
Hackable Instruments was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, EP/K032046/1, 2013-14.
Annual General Meeting 2015
This will be our first AGM at the space, and an opportunity to review how we’re doing and take actions for the activities for the rest of the year.
The Music Hackspace Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday 12th Mar 2015 18:30 – 20:00, at Music Hackspace Unit 15, 5–10 Corbridge Crescent London E2 9DS.
AGM agenda:
– Review of mission and objectives
– Accounts and legal structure report
– Seminar program report
– Workshops programme report
– Space and permanence coordination
– Website maintenance
– Housekeeping
– Event catering
– Advisory board
– Any other business
Accessible Musical Technology with Gawain Hewitt from Drake Music, Thu 5 Feb
For this week’s presentation, Gawain Hewitt from Drake Music will host a session introducing the work being done by their Research and Development department to encourage and support the development of new Accessible Musical Technology (AMT). The presentation will take place at our new space (Unit 15, 5–10 Corbridge Crescent, London E2 9DS) this Thursday 5th of February from 7.30pm.
“The social model of disability says that disability is caused by the way society is organised, rather than by a person’s impairment or difference. It looks at ways of removing barriers that restrict life choices for disabled people. When barriers are removed, disabled people can be independent and equal in society, with choice and control over their own lives.” Scope – they have a great film on the subject here http://bit.ly/1z6jAx3
“At Drake Music we believe that technology can remove the barriers that many disabled people face when making music, and that good design, and innovative approaches will lead to new instruments and musical experiences. We have been working with the hacking, coding and making community for 3 years now as we seek to further this work. This meeting is an opportunity to meet us, learn about are work and get involved. We have a monthly meeting at our office, and also arrange hack events. We are also Mi.Mu gloves collaborators, and you can read about our work with Mi.Mu and Kris Halpin here http://www.wired.co.uk/news/
How to find us?
The closest tube stations are Cambridge Heath Road station (5 minutes walk), Bethnal Green (Central Line – 10 minutes away) and Hoxton station (Overground – around 15 minutes).
We look forward to seeing you!
