Music Hackspace

Hacking Buddhist Chanting Machines with Lu Yi
2018-09-11 18:30 - 20:30 (Europe/London) | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
In the first part of this workshop, Lu Yi will introduce Buddhist chanting machines. These are small sound players sold throughout Taiwan, China and Japan that play Buddhist chants on repetitive loops and are often used at religious ceremonies and on special dates. Lu Yi will talk about how people use these machines in both normal and abnormal ways by introducing some artist videos which demonstrate the potential of repurposing these objects.

Second, will be hacking chanting machines by accessing their small circuit boards inside and finding their clock resistors. This can be done by exploring the circuit board with a wet finger. By touching the resistor with your wet finger you can also change the pitch of the machine. Participants will then be replacing the clock resistors with variable resistors to give more control over the chanting machine’s sound. Finally, at the end of the workshop all participants will be invited to join in a live improvisational jam session.
All tools and materials will be provided by Lu Yi and Music Hackspace.
Lu Yi is a sound artist and a member of Soundwatch Studio. She obtained a master’s degree in Applied Arts from National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. She did further study in San Francisco at the Academy of Art University and the San Francisco Art Institute. She began working in the sound art sphere in 2011 when she founded Soundwatch Studio with Fujui Wang, a pioneer of sound art in Taiwan. The two have performed live together at events and festivals including “Shoot The Pianist” (Birkbeck School of Arts, University of London), “On Site” (Taipei Artist Village), “B!as 2015: Taiwan-Belgium Sound Art Exchange Project / City Sonic 2015” (Mons, Belgium), Digital Art Festival 2015 “Digitopia” (Songshan Tobacco Factory, Taipei), “Ting Shuo Has Performance” (Ting Shuo Studio,Tainan), “Craked Sonic” (The Wall,Taipei) and Lacking Sound Festival “Listen 100” (The Wall,Taipei).
This workshop is curated by Lucia H Chung (Happened) as part of her residency with Music Hackspace, which aims to promote and give visibility to artists from Taiwan working with sound. Throughout July, August and September, four Taiwanese artists chosen by Lucia will be taking up short term residencies at Music Hackspace and delivering workshops, artist talks and performances. Lucia’s residency will culminate with a final night of performances in late September in collaboration with Lacking Sound Festival.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.
This event is supported by the National Culture and Arts Foundation in Taiwan.

Artist Talk and Performance: Lu Yi
2018-09-12 18:30 - 20:30 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
Taiwanese artist Lu Yi will perform several sound compositions with a plasma globe. She will create sound using sampling, hardware hacking and analog errors. In addition, she will deliver an Artist Talk with an opportunity for Q&A afterwards.

Lu Yi is a sound artist and a member of Soundwatch Studio. She obtained a master’s degree in Applied Arts from National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. She did further study in San Francisco at the Academy of Art University and the San Francisco Art Institute. She began working in the sound art sphere in 2011 when she founded Soundwatch Studio with Fujui Wang, a pioneer of sound art in Taiwan. The two have performed live together at events and festivals including “Shoot The Pianist” (Birkbeck School of Arts, University of London), “On Site” (Taipei Artist Village), “B!as 2015: Taiwan-Belgium Sound Art Exchange Project / City Sonic 2015” (Mons, Belgium), Digital Art Festival 2015 “Digitopia” (Songshan Tobacco Factory, Taipei), “Ting Shuo Has Performance” (Ting Shuo Studio,Tainan), “Craked Sonic” (The Wall,Taipei) and Lacking Sound Festival “Listen 100” (The Wall,Taipei).
This event is curated by Lucia H Chung (Happened) as part of her residency with Music Hackspace, which aims to promote and give visibility to artists from Taiwan working with sound. Throughout July, August and September, four Taiwanese artists chosen by Lucia will be taking up short term residencies at Music Hackspace and delivering workshops, artist talks and performances. Lucia’s residency will culminate with a final night of performances in late September in collaboration with Lacking Sound Festival.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.
This event is supported by the National Culture and Arts Foundation in Taiwan.

Max MSP meetup
2018-09-25 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
This is an informal, participatory meetup focusing on Max MSP. A place to share knowledge, patches and ideas relating to max and visual programming. While this meetup primarily caters to existing users of Max, we encourage those unfamiliar with Max, but with a strong interest in it, to attend and chat with Max users about the possibilities. We recommend bringing a laptop to this event.
Max MSP is a music programming environment that allows to bring together sensors, samples, synthesis engines and video. It is used by sound artists throughout the world, but also by visual artists and in installations. Max MSP is developed and maintained by Cycling’74.
Max MSP is proprietary software but can be used for free for 30 days. Many of the principles of Max are applicable to other visual patching environments such a Pure Data.
If you’ve never heard of it and want to see how it works, there are a few videos to get started on the Cycling’74 Youtube channel.
The meetup is organised by Music Hackspace.
Drinks will be available from the bar next to the entrance to the New Wing of Somerset House.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.
If you have any questions about this event please contact info@stagingmhs.local.
Image by p38.

Taiwanese Experimental Music with Wang Fujui, Lu Yi, Meuko! Meuko!, Tzu Ni and LTY
2018-09-29 20:00 | Somerset House Studios (Deadhouse), Somerset House Victoria Embankment entrance, London, WC2R 1LA
Taking place in the crypt below Somerset House’s courtyard featuring music visuals by Wang Fujui, Lu Yi, Meuko! Meuko!, TZU NI & LTY. The evening will be full of analog and electronic noise, visuals and unique sonic experimentation from Taiwan based artists.
This final event of Lucia H Chung’s (Happened) three month curatorial residency with Music Hackspace is a showcase promoting and giving visibility to artists from Taiwan working with sound. The night, taking place in the crypt below Somerset House’s courtyard, will feature music and visuals by Wang Fujui, Lu Yi, Meuko! Meuko!, TZU NI and LTY. The evening will be full of analog and electronic noise, visuals and unique sonic experimentation emerged and cultivated in a small island country in East Asia.
This event marks the end of a 3 month residency with Music Hackspace as part of their Somerset House Studios residency and is presented in collaboration with Lacking Sound Festival based in Taipei, with support from National Culture and Art Foundation Taiwan and from Arts Council England.

Please note this is an 18+ event.

Wang Fujui + Lu Yi
As one of the pioneers of sound art in Taiwan, Wang Fujui founded NOISE, Taiwan’s first independent record label and zine focusing on experimental sound in 1993. In 2000, Wang joined ETAT Lab, and initiated BIAS Sound Art Exhibition and Sound Art Prize in the Digital Art Awards Taipei. Over the last decade, while continuing his practice in sound and digital art creation, he has also been leading the new generation of young digital artists in Taiwan through his public programmes. Since 2008, Wang has been curating the annual Digital Art Festival Taipei and TranSonic Sound Art Festival.
Lu Yi is a sound artist and a member of Soundwatch Studio. She obtained a master’s degree in Applied Arts from National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. She did further study in San Francisco at the Academy of Art University and the San Francisco Art Institute. She began working in the sound art sphere in 2011 when she founded Soundwatch Studio with Fujui Wang, a pioneer of sound art in Taiwan. The two have performed live together at events and festivals including “Shoot The Pianist” (Birkbeck School of Arts, University of London), “On Site” (Taipei Artist Village), “B!as 2015: Taiwan-Belgium Sound Art Exchange Project / City Sonic 2015” (Mons, Belgium), Digital Art Festival 2015 “Digitopia” (Songshan Tobacco Factory, Taipei), “Ting Shuo Has Performance” (Ting Shuo Studio,Tainan), “Craked Sonic” (The Wall,Taipei) and Lacking Sound Festival “Listen 100” (The Wall,Taipei).
Meuko! Meuko!
Meuko! Meuko! has been an ongoing project for the producer and singer since 2007. Collaborated with Goodbye Nao member performing live experimental sound performances. Started performing solo in 2015. Each performance contains improvisation and elements of new works, collecting from various different objects and of strange sounds and noises. Components of local experimental beats and a wide gamut of electronic music draw from Taiwan’s irregular view / architectures and buildings, muggy, emissions-filled air, and hectic streetscapes, while Mandarin Chinese and Japanese influences marry intricate beats and whispering lyrics. All these tiny elements serve as pondering-points on the darkness that underpins the most intense emotions of the city’s aggregations. Meuko! Meuko! hosts a monthly NTS show from Taipei.
TZU NI
Space and sound, sound and body, body and machine, machine and ritual, ritual and poetry, poetry and space. In a social landscape filled to the brim with busy work, Hung Tzu-Ni seeks to create a setting or an environment where a listener or viewer might enter into a dream state, momentarily isolated from the outer world, and in that space be able to more intensely perceive one’s frame of mind & body.
LTY
LAI, Tsung-Yun, curator of Lacking Sound Festival, presenting a sampling of audiovisual interactive praxis, piecing together largely formless images and field recordings of eccentricity and frenzy. Chaining altogether mixed noises and oversampling test tones, his sound experiment provides listener a profound dip into the enigmatic soundscape.
失聲祭 Lacking Sound Festival
Lacking Sound Festival is one of the most prestigious events for experimental sound artists in Taiwan. It was founded by a group of sound artists who saw the lack of platform and community for this creative medium, and started a monthly event for performances. It has been running continuously in Taiwan for the past eight years. Lacking Sound Festival does not only introduce international new talents, but also dedicates themselves to documenting and producing theory writing on the Taiwanese sound art scene.
This event is supported by the National Culture and Arts Foundation in Taiwan.

October TidalCycles Meetup
2018-10-24 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
Our TidalCycles meetups are a series of informal, participatory meetups focusing on Alex Mclean’s open source, accessible livecoding platform. They’re very loosely structured, with occasional short talks and performances.
No programming experience is necessary for these meetups. They are open to all abilities and are an excellent opportunity to learn how to start making music with code. We encourage you to bring a laptop and headphones to make the most of the meetup. There’s no need to have come to the previous meetups to come to this one.
TidalCycles is a programming language for live coding pattern. It allows you to make musical patterns with text, describing sequences and ways of transforming and combining them, exploring complex interactions between simple parts.
Tidal is open source and can be downloaded for free here. If you have any problems with installation we’d be happy to help out in the meetup. If you’re keen to develop your Tidal knowledge beforehand, there are plenty of great resources available. See our document of resources for independent learning here.

The meetup is organised by Music Hackspace.
Drinks will be available from the bar next to the entrance to the New Wing of Somerset House.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.
If you have any questions about this event please contact info@stagingmhs.local.
Photo by Antonio Roberts (http://www.hellocatfood.com/)

Electronic Music from Field Recordings workshop with NSDOS – Part of ASSEMBLY
2018-11-17 - 2018-11-18 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
As part of our final residency in 2018 we’re collaborating with Somerset House Studios in a jointly produced workshop presenting French artist NSDOS in November, also part of the Studios’ new experimental music programme– ASSEMBLY. Paris based NSDOS –aka Kirikoo Des– is a hybrid artist who works simultaneously on music, dance, digital art, and builds his own instruments.
During the workshop participants will create sounds and music through data generated by video-tracking and field recordings, focusing on how musicians capture, manipulate and perform data. Alongside the workshop, on Saturday 17th November NSDOS will perform live as part of ASSEMBLY.

Over the weekend (11am-5pm Saturday and 11am-6pm Sunday), participants are invited to make musical patches from field recordings capturing sounds and datasets off-location on Saturday, followed by Sunday’s programming and composition sessions at Somerset House Studios. The workshop is targeted at entry level audiences with interests in music, dance and digital, who are interested to discover new digital audio workstations.
Participants will need to bring their own laptops. Free one month licenses of Usine Hollyhock (NSDOS’ DAW of choice) will be provided. Tutorials and introductions to this particular software will take place during the weekend.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them. For any questions please email workshops@stagingmhs.local

NSDOS
Paris-based NSDOS – aka Kirikoo Des – is a hybrid artist who works simultaneously on music, dance, digital art, and builds his own instruments. After studying dance, Des felt the need to create his own sound in order to explore movement. Unrestrained by existing technological tools and softwares, he prefers creating his own mediums: futurist instruments made of old audio converters (carte son), Gameboy emulators, pieces of metal dismantled and weld together giving form to surreal machines. Surrounded by his hybrid tools, NSDOS unravels the rectilinear anatomy of techno music. Textures are exploded, sounds mutilated, and brought back to their essence.
ASSEMBLY
A celebration of contemporary electronic and experimental music and the makers behind it, curated by Somerset House Studios. Putting artistic process and community at the forefront, this packed weekend series will feature newly commissioned performances, installations and discussion from the Studios’ artists and the best international talent. Artists include Gazelle Twin, Jennifer Walshe, Paul Purgas, Vessel, Lucy Railton and more. Discover the full programme here.

Music Hackspace & Individual Collective pres. An evening with Downwards Records
2018-11-28 18:30 - 20:30 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
Somerset House Studios residents Music Hackspace have joined forces with London event curators Individual Collective; to present a panel celebrating the 25th anniversary of the eponymous electronic music label: Downwards.

Born in 1993, Downwards was launched from the gritty industrial heartland of Birmingham. In doing so, founder Karl O’Connor AKA Regis, crystallised a definitive direction beyond the confines of the 90’s electronic music scene and the definition of ‘Techno’.
Downwards’ longevity has continued to buck the trend of many independent Labels in Electronic music: refusing to be constrained by genre; not only weathering the death and rebirth of vinyl, but in learning how to publish a book and consistently releasing fresh creative content with clever juxtaposition of musicianship. Artists such as Justin Broadrick and Mick Harris (Napalm Death) sit alongside newcomers such as Samuel Kerridge, DVA Damas and Ora Iso. If that wasn’t enough; Downwards collaborations continue to inject layered depth and renewed energy to the club scene: the recent rebirth of British Murder Boys (Regis & Surgeon), Ugandan Methods (Regis & Ancient Methods) and the much anticipated reimagined CUB (Regis & Simon Shreeve) premiering in December.
The panel will be hosted by The Quietus’ Luke Turner who will be joined in conversation by legendary electronic producer Andrea Parker, Karl O’Connor himself and long time Downwards artist and NTS Radio broadcaster Samuel Kerridge. It will be a unique opportunity to hear their personal perspectives and to follow the evolution of the label. In this intimate setting, the audience will also have the chance to interact with the panel and ask questions.
Following this event Individual Collective will host the last night of the Downwards 25 year tour at Corsica Studios on 1st December where they will host the world premiere of the first ever CUB live show.
With this panel Music Hackspace starts a series of discussion events looking into precarious practices in electronic music, DIY publishing and London based collectives promoting experimental and electronic music.
Doors for the event will open and 18:30 and the panel will begin at 19:00.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.
If you have any questions about this event please contact info@stagingmhs.local.

Programming Embedded Synths and Effects with Rebel Technology
2018-12-08 11:00 - 18:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
Rebel Technology will be teaching participants how to use Max MSP’s Gen to program synths and effects which can then be run on a hardware synthesiser, and used expressively in a modular or desktop environment. The workshop is for anyone wanting to learn musical programming and modular synthesis to get beyond the limits of traditional music software, by designing their own personal, unique musical instruments.

The Rebel Technology workshop lasts one day and costs £50. The workshop fee is redeemable against a purchase from Rebel Technology’s full product range, giving you a £50 discount and the chance to take home one of their new (or old!) products.
Participants should bring a computer with Max MSP + Google Chrome installed. No prior knowledge of Max is required. Rebel Technology will be providing hardware both from their recent Magus Kickstarter as well as their modular synthesizers. The patches we develop can run on any of the new desktop devices: Magus, Wizard and Alchemist, as well as the OWL Modular and OWL Pedal.
If you backed the Magus Kickstarter campaign and want to learn how to make your own patches, or if you’re keen to get hold of one now, or simply want to learn more about musical programming: this is the workshop for you!
If you have any questions about this event or any of our workshops please contact workshops@stagingmhs.local.
We can offer a student discount of 10% off this workshop. Please email us for a discount code.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

January TidalCycles Meetup
2019-01-29 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom

Max MSP/Pure Data Meetup
2019-02-27 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
This is an informal, participatory meetup focusing on the visual programming environments Max MSP and Pure Data (Pd). A place to share knowledge, patches and ideas relating to visual programming. While this meetup primarily caters to existing users of Max and Pd, we encourage those unfamiliar with the platforms, but with a strong interest in them, to attend and chat with existing users about the possibilities. We recommend bringing a laptop to this event.

Max MSP and Pd are music programming environments that allow users to bring together sensors, samples, synthesis engines and video. They are used by sound artists throughout the world, but also by visual artists and in installations. Max MSP is developed and maintained by Cycling’74. It is proprietary software but can be used for free for 30 days. Pure Data is open source and available for free here.
If you’ve never heard of Max and want to see how it works, there are a few videos to get started on the Cycling’74 Youtube channel. Plenty of Pure Data resources can be found here.
This meetup is organised by Music Hackspace.
Drinks will be available from the bar next to the entrance to the New Wing of Somerset House.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.
If you have any questions about this event please contact info@stagingmhs.local.
Image by p38.

Human Instruments presents the Haptic Baton
2019-03-06 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
We’re pleased to welcome accessibility instrument builders Human Instruments presenting their new project, Haptic Baton, a conductors baton that communicates to visually impaired players. The baton captures the speed, angle, attack and sway of the conductor’s hand in real time and beams it directly to all players wearing receiver bands. They feel the expression and timing of the conductor – just as if they were seeing the baton itself.

In the event, founder Vahakn Matossian will give a presentation on the Baton and other projects from Human Instruments.
Watch the BBC Stories documentary on our newest project with The Paraorchestra and Friends and Korean marimba virtuouso Kyungho Jeon.

Human Instruments is an organisation which researches, designs and develops high quality musical instruments for people with physical disabilities, creating opportunity by designing and building beautifully crafted musical devices to rival traditional orchestral instruments.
Doors for this event will open at 18:30. The talk will begin at 19:00 with time for Q&A afterwards. Drinks will be available from the bar next to the entrance to the New Wing of Somerset House.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.
For any questions please email info@stagingmhs.local.

Ritual Laboratory; a technology to transform consciousness
2019-03-13 18:30 - 22:30 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
Ritual Laboratory – Labours of Herakleos

Join us for a series of participatory rituals, based on the 12 mythic Labours of Herakleos. Forming part of an ongoing research and development project, considering the relationship between sound and movement performance, and altered states of consciousness.

The embodiment of each myth functions as an interface, to construct the components of ritual form, and to explore the subjective impact of trance inducing use of sound, movement, light, scent, and symbolic narrative.
Each Labour of Herakleos as narrative score, catalyses a dialogue between musicians and performers, facilitating an immersive experience of the myth. These 12 Labours share significant parallels with the astronomical movement of the Sun, projected through the symbolism of the zodiacal constellations in a calendar year. Harnessing the cyclical changes in our natural environment as a basis for structure and objectivity, we aim to fall into rhythm with the cycles of the natural world.
Each session of the laboratory focuses on balancing a sequential zodiacal energy. We begin with Aries – The Head (Thoughts), and work down to Pisces – The Feet (Deeds), utilising a variety of techniques that function as rites of passage.

Through symbolic performance of the corresponding myth, we create a platform to interact through creative practice and performance within ritual form. An opportunity to communally develop method and infrastructure, for celebrating culture and sharing ideas through performance of the arts.

Through imposition of physical communal activity, we challenge the dissociative side-effects of increasingly disembodied tools, and consider the impacts of interface design on social interaction within our culture and creative practices.

Further, we critically analyse the role that interface and has to play in inducing and facilitating altered states, as well as in presenting the context for creation and shared performance.

………………………………………………………..
An experimental laboratory of 12 events. No prior knowledge required. Everyone welcome!
We will begin each session by sharing a discussion regarding the symbolism of the myth, and how the Labour will play out. Secondly we explore features of trance induction, hypnotic phenomena and their role in creative practice. Lastly we will perform the myth together, and share feedback afterwards.
Instrumentation will vary as we explore the intersection of traditional trance instruments and contemporary production tools.

Max Meetup: The Anatomy of a Jitter Patch
2019-03-14 19:00 - 21:30 | Stour Space, 7 Roach Rd, Hackney Wick, London, London, E3 2PA, United Kingdom
We continue a new monthly series of visual programming meetups, a place to share knowledge, patches and ideas relating to Max and Pure Data. The next event on Thursday 14th March will focus on Jitter patches, co-organised by the London Max Group, hosting at Stour Space in Hackney Wick.
Presenting
19:15 Chris Speed
19:45 Open Mic&Beam
Chris Speed is an experienced audiovisual artist and VJ exploring systems for generative art. Max/MSP/Jitter is among one of his most widely used tools for creative coding. In this presentation, we will explore how to work with Jitter to make visuals and various patching techniques within OpenGL. Check his work @ https://www.facebook.com/chrisspeedvisuals/

This is a free-to-all, informal and participatory meetup focusing on the visual programming environment MaxMSP. A platform for the specialised needs of artists, educators and researchers working with audio, visual media and physical computing. It is one of the most used frameworks for designing and prototyping custom systems for live performances, art installations, with infinite scientific, experimental and interactive applications.
While this meetup primarily caters to existing users of Max and Pd, we encourage those unfamiliar with the platforms, but with a strong interest in them, to attend and chat with existing users about the possibilities. We recommend bringing a laptop to this event.
If you wish to present your work during the Open Mic&Beam (10-15min slots), we encourage you to download our presentation template.
Max MSP is developed and maintained by Cycling’74. It is proprietary software but can be used for free for 30 days. It works with MAC and PC. Alternatively, PureData is an open-source project that works similarly to MaxMSP and available for free here.
In collaboration with London Max Group.

Modular synthesiser workshop with Befaco
2019-03-16 11:00 - 2019-03-17 19:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
Barcelona based synthesiser designers Befaco will lead two days of workshops where you can build their DIY modular synth kits. We provide all the necessary components to build your device from scratch. Befaco is a Synth DIY/open hardware platform focused on designing modules and organizing modular synth workshops regularly in Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin and London. You can read Befaco Workshops FAQ’s for more details. All modules are Eurorack format.
No previous experience in electronics is necessary to take part in this workshop.
Please see the price list below for the full cost of what you’d like to build.

When you book your place you will be charged a £20 booking fee. With this item you will be booking a spot in our workshop.
This £20 booking fee will be deducted during the workshop from the price of the kit(s) of your choice. On the workshop day please bring cash to pay for your kit(s). We’ll email you to find out which device(s) you’d like to build.

The workshop takes place 11:00-19:00 on March 16th and 17th 2019.
Befaco modules available:
NEW!
StMix…………………….…85 GBP
KickAll …………………..150 GBP

More:
Spring reverb …………………..150 GBP
Even VCO ………………………130 GBP
BF22 VCF……………………….140 GBP
VC ADSR……………………….125 GBP
Rampage……………………………. 170 GBP
Instrument Interface………………125 GBP
Output module………………….. 70 GBP
Mixer……………………………..55 GBP
Crush Delay…………………….. 130 GBP
Power bus…………………………60 GBP
Switching power supply………… 30 GBP
Dual Atenuverter…………………55 GBP
Joysitck controller……………….120 GBP
Slew Limiter ………………………….60 GBP
Sampling modulator…………….130 GBP
Chopping Kinky……………………130 GBP
A*B+C………………………………….95GBP
MIDI Thing…………………………..125GBP
Jumpskiff……………………………. 195 GBP
Hexa VCA……………………….180 GBP
Hexmix……………………………. 300 GBP
Hexpander……………………….260 GBP

Other Kits:
Patching Panda:
Grabal8……………………………140 GBP
Petit Mix……………………………60 GBP
Transient:
2M…………………………………86GBP
8S………………………………….100GBP
1F…………………………………..70GBP
GinkoSynthese
Grains…………………….55 GBP

If you have any questions about this event or any of our workshops please contact workshops@stagingmhs.local.
We can offer a student discount of 10% off this workshop. Please email us for a discount code.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

Electronics for Artists and Musicians workshop series
2019-04-18 18:30 - 2019-07-28 18:30 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
Artist, musician, and electronics wizz Dr Tom Richards (Mini Oramics, Nonclassical) will be teaching the foundations of electronics in this new workshop series. Divided into two courses, participants will be guided through different component types, reading schematics, and translating them into real prototypes.
In the beginners course we will focus on discrete components and basic ICs, covering the basics of analog and digital electronics. The beginners course will take place over 6 Thursday evenings on April 18th & 25th / May 2nd, 23rd & 30th / June 13th from 6.30pm at Somerset House Studios.
[ Beginner Course SOLD OUT ]

In the intermediate course, these basics will be taken further, covering some more specialist IC types and more complex circuits. Here we will also cover soldering and the construction of more permanent prototypes, and we will also do a session on basic schematic capture and PCB layout. The intermediate course will take place over 6 Thursday evenings on June 20th & 27th / July 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th from 6.30pm at Somerset House Studios.

The price includes a basic kit of components, and all tools will be provided. An information pack with session and calendar details will be sent to all participants ahead of the first workshop.
You don’t have to be an artist or musician to do this workshop series. We will be using creative applications to illustrate the theory. This will be hands on and practical sessions, keeping mathematics to a minimum, focusing on learning by doing, and how to experiment to get the desired result. The workshop series will NOT cover Arduino / Microprocessors / PICs etc, but will be very useful for those wishing to learn how to make better interfaces for those types of devices.
We can offer a 10% concession for students or people who are unemployed or benefit recipients. If eligible, please email workshops@stagingmhs.local and we can send you a code.

The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

Ritual Laboratory #2; a technology to transform consciousness
2019-04-23 18:30 - 21:30 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
The second instalment in a series of participatory rituals, based on the 12 mythic Labours of Herakleos. Forming part of an ongoing research & development project considering the relationship between sound & movement performance & altered states of consciousness.
Each session of the laboratory focuses on balancing a sequential zodiacal energy. We begin with Aries – The Head (Thoughts) and work down to Pisces – The Feet (Deeds). This month we continue with Taurus (Desire), utilising a variety of techniques that function as rites of passage.
The embodiment of each myth functions as an interface, to construct the components of ritual form, and to explore the subjective impact of trance inducing use of sound, movement, light, scent, and embodied narrative.
Each Labour of Herakleos as narrative score, catalyses a dialogue between musicians and performers, facilitating an immersive experience of the myth. These 12 Labours share significant parallels with the astronomical movement of the Sun, projected through the symbolism of the zodiacal constellations in a calendar year. Harnessing the cyclical changes in our natural environment as a basis for structure and objectivity, we aim to fall into rhythm with the cycles of the natural world.

Please email curators@stagingmhs.local for any questions.
……………………………………………………
An experimental laboratory of 12 events. No prior knowledge required. Everyone welcome!
We will begin each session by sharing a discussion regarding the symbolism of the myth, and how the Labour will play out. Secondly we explore features of trance induction, hypnotic phenomena and their role in creative practice. Lastly we will perform the myth together, and share feedback afterwards.
Instrumentation will vary as we explore the intersection of traditional trance instruments and contemporary production tools.

Ritual Laboratory #3; a technology to transform consciousness
2019-05-28 18:30 - 21:30 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
We continue our series of participatory rituals throughout summer. Based on the 12 mythic Labours of Herakles. Forming part of an ongoing research and development project, each event considers the relationship between sound and movement performance, and altered states of consciousness.
Each session of the laboratory focuses on balancing a sequential zodiacal energy. We begin with Aries – The Head (Thoughts) and work down to Pisces – The Feet (Deeds). The summer series includes:
28th May – Gemini (Polarity)
25th June – Cancer (Intuition)
24th July – Leo (Expression)
15th August – Virgo (Cultivation)
In each session we will utilise a variety of techniques that function as rites of passage.

The embodiment of each myth functions as an interface, to construct the components of ritual form, and to explore the subjective impact of trance inducing use of sound, movement, light, scent, and embodied narrative.
Each Labour of Herakles as narrative score, catalyses a dialogue between musicians and performers, facilitating an immersive experience of the myth. These 12 Labours share significant parallels with the astronomical movement of the Sun, projected through the symbolism of the zodiacal constellations in a calendar year. Harnessing the cyclical changes in our natural environment as a basis for structure and objectivity, we aim to fall into rhythm with the cycles of the natural world.
An experimental laboratory of 12 events. No prior knowledge required. Everyone welcome!
We will begin each session by sharing a discussion regarding the symbolism of the myth, and how the Labour will play out. Secondly we explore features of trance induction, hypnotic phenomena and their role in creative practice. Lastly we will perform the myth together, and share feedback afterwards.
Instrumentation will vary as we explore the intersection of traditional trance instruments and contemporary production tools.
This series is organised by Nicole Bettencourt Coelho. Nicole is a qualified Hypnotherapist, practicing Sound Therapist and member at Music Hackspace / Somerset House Studios. Presently working with the composition of improvised choreographic score by drawing from her experience as a touring session musician, to foster an interdisciplinary approach. Conducting an investigation at the intersection of traditional therapeutic instruments and modern production tools, she is investigating the ability of sound and ritual form to support and direct the transformative power of performance. As well as generating dialogue around the sociological impact of evolving tools on culture and fulfilling creative practice. Current studies focus on communal performance in the context of astronomical myth, as a technology to transform consciousness. Combining archetypal symbols and storytelling with therapeutic and artistic applications of intuitive sound and movement, to induce and support inward journeys within a collective experience. Using a variety of techniques to consciously compose and utilise alternate states of awareness, she seeks to create opportunities to foster a healthy relationship with the creative impulse on an individual and collective level.
Forming part of her therapeutic practice CURVE ASC, she is currently exploring the interplay of energies moving through the body and the cyclic rhythms of the environment in the context of herbalism. Hosting a series of seasonal sound baths with local herbs. This being an embodied study of the natural rhythms of the dialogue between body and eco-system. A reciprocal dance through time. These are opportunities for reconnection, restoration and reflection.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

Spatial Sound Meetup #1 with BBC R&D
2019-06-12 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios (G20), New Wing, Room G20, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
A new series of monthly meetups taking place at Somerset House Studios, focusing on new spatial sound technologies, with talks and discussions around creative uses of spatial and AR audio.

The meetups will take place on the following dates, you can register here:
12th June – Professor Zoran Cvetkovic from King’s College
3rd July – Contributors TBA
7th August- Contributors TBA
4th September – Contributors TBA
Each session will be hosted by BBC R&D and will feature a presentation by invited guests.
BBC R&D has been at the forefront of innovation in media technology since the founding of public service broadcasting in the UK.
Based in Research Labs in the North and South of the UK, the department is comprised of just over 200 highly specialist research engineers, scientists, ethnographers, designers, producers and innovation professionals working on every aspect of the broadcast chain, from Audiences, Production and Distribution right through to the Programmes themselves.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

Make music with code, with Lucy Cheesman
2019-06-19 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios (G20), New Wing, Room G20, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
Learn to make music with code using Foxdot, taught by Lucy Cheesman. FoxDot was created in 2015 to try and open the pathways to Live Coding for users who may be new to programming and want to use it create music quickly and easily. FoxDot is an easy-to-use Python library that creates an interactive programming environment and talks to the powerful sound synthesis engine, called SuperCollider to make music. FoxDot schedules musical events in a user-friendly and easy-to-grasp manner that makes live coding easy and fun for both programming newcomers and veterans alike.
Requirements: Participants should bring a laptop (OSX / Windows/ Linux), and a pair of headphones. Please install FoxDot in advance. You can find details on how to install here. This workshop requires no prior experience with either Foxdot or music production.

Lucy Cheesman makes sound installations as part of creative collective SONA and performs live coded music using open source software solo as Heavy Lifting and in collaboration as TYPE. She also runs a record label called Pickled Discs which is dedicated to promoting experimental electronic sounds.
She is a board member at Access Space, a charity for the promotion of arts and technology and is a founder member of SONA, an organisation which supports women in music technology through creative projects. She organises and facilitates inclusive workshops and events and recently acted as project lead on a year-long initiative to build a community of practice for women in sound and music technology. Lucy was part of the 2018 cohort of the Sound and Music Composer-Curator programme, and has also received project funding from Arts Council England and Sheffield Hallam University.
Through her interest in engaging marginalised groups with creative technology, she has contributed to research showing how community building approaches can have a significant impact on redressing inequalities in digital arts.
We can offer a student discount of 10% off this workshop. Please email us for a discount code (workshops@stagingmhs.local).
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them. If you have any questions about this event or any of our workshops please contact workshops@stagingmhs.local.

Ritual Laboratory #4; a technology to transform consciousness
2019-06-25 18:30 - 21:30 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom

DIY Modular Synthesiser Workshop with T37
2019-06-29 11:00 - 2019-06-30 19:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
Madrid based synthesiser collective T37 will lead two days of workshops where you can build their DIY modular synth kits. We provide all the necessary components to build your device from scratch. All modules are Eurorack format.
No previous experience in electronics is necessary to take part in this workshop.
Please see the price list below for the full cost of what you’d like to build.

When you book your place you will be charged a £20 booking fee. With this item you will be booking a spot in our workshop.
This £20 booking fee will be deducted during the workshop from the price of the kit(s) of your choice. On the workshop day please bring cash to pay for your kit(s). We’ll email you to find out which device(s) you’d like to build.

The workshop takes place 11:00-19:00 on June 29th and 30th 2019. You can attend either or both of these days.

T37 modules available:
The Gender Bender: A 7 channel trigger sequencer performance oriented plenty o generative patterns, each
channel has 5 independent parameters density, division, fill, velocity and duration.
Price: £210, Size: 28hp, Difficulty: Advanced, small SMD components.

Ardcore: Based on Darwin Grosse , 20 objects ardcore its an arduino tool meant for exploration and learning Arduino coding. It can be used as drum sampler, LFO, VCO, clock divider and so on. Available in SMD and through hole versions.
Price: £85, Size: 8hp (SMD) or 10hp (through hole), Difficulty: Medium (SMD) or easy (through hole).

Sequential Squanch: It’s a bidirectional 4-to-1 switch sequencer. It can connect in both ways any signal is send (audio, cv). It has a clock input to move the connected channel. Available in banana and minijack.
Price: £55, Size: 4hp, Difficulty: Medium, SMD components.

Stompbox: A dual channel interface to change levels from modular to line, and vice versa enabling the use of external processors like pedals or other musical instruments, equipments. Available in banana and minijack.
Price: £55, Size: 5hp, Difficulty: Medium, SMD components.

Mixer: An 8 channel mixer.
Price: £60, Size: 8hp, Difficulty: Easy, through-hole .

4Send: A quad send, useful to buffer signals and with attenuation control for performance.
Price: £35, Size: 4hp, Difficulty: Medium, 0805 SMD components.

ADfesio: 4 channel Pattern generator, but instead of gates/triggers it outputs 4 independent slopes. Each slope has dedicated attack and decay control, and can be triggered independently without using the pattern
generator engine.
Price: £100, Size: 10hp, Difficulty: Medium, 0805 SMD components.

BleepDrum: Inspired in the BleepDrum by BleepLabs its a 4 channel drum sample player, with independent inputs and pitch controls. Additionally you can punch-press patterns in a tap-tempo mode to record on the fly your tune. 4 Buttons allow for independent manual trigger of the sounds.
Price: £85, Size: 10hp, Difficulty: Medium, SMD components.

Standalone Devices
CHA/VES – Cheap Hacky Audio/Video Synth: The CHA/V is an simple and cheap VGA video synth with 6 VCO based on schmitt triggers, that glitches an VGA tester board to produce patterns and sound. It has two vactrols to further modulate and its patcheable with breadboard cables. It has 3 minijacks that can be used as outputs to hear the Oscillators, or inputs to create reactive glitch compositions. This is a standalone device.
Price: £80, Difficulty: Easy, through-hole components.

MIDI TO SOLENOIDS: A standalone device with a programmable microcontroller based on Arduino, that converts midi messages to triggers. It has 12 triggers outputs that can drive solenoids, dc motors or electromagnets and was conceived to create an electro acoustic instruments controlled via MIDI messages.
Price: £120, Difficulty: Easy, through-hole components.

If you have any questions about this event or any of our workshops please contact workshops@stagingmhs.local.
We can offer a student discount of 10% off this workshop. Please email us for a discount code.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

Spatial Sound Meetup #2 with BBC R&D
2019-07-03 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios (G18), Somerset House Studios, Lancaster Place, London, United Kingdom
A new series of monthly meetups taking place at Somerset House Studios, focusing on new spatial sound technologies, with talks and discussions around creative uses of spatial and AR audio.

This meetup will run as a participatory workshop aimed at getting everyone started with the basics of producing spatial sound mixes and rendering them as binaural stereo – using Reaper and the Ambisonic Toolkit.
This will cover using mono, stereo, and ambisonic sound sources, applying spatial effects and panning and moving sound sources with automation.
No experience with Reaper or ATK is necessary but it’d be useful if you’ve at least a little familiarity with working with digital audio.
Bring a laptop and headphones if you have them! If you don’t, we’ll pair you up with someone who has the equipment.
In addition, there’ll be a little time for announcements, presentations and requests for feedback/discussion on your own projects. If you’d like a 5-minute slot to present something or start a discussion, please let us know!
Throughout the evenings, attendees are welcome to ask questions and interact with both the speaker and one another.
Each session will be hosted by BBC R&D and will feature a presentation by invited guests.
BBC R&D has been at the forefront of innovation in media technology since the founding of public service broadcasting in the UK.
Based in Research Labs in the North and South of the UK, the department is comprised of just over 200 highly specialist research engineers, scientists, ethnographers, designers, producers and innovation professionals working on every aspect of the broadcast chain, from Audiences, Production and Distribution right through to the Programmes themselves.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

Grim Beeper workshop, with Tara Pattenden (13-16 year olds)
2019-07-28 11:00 - 18:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
In this workshop you will learn about electronics and electromagnetic frequencies and build your own EMF detector. The Grim Beeper picks up electromagnetic frequencies which light an LED that controls the sound.

It is believed by some people that a ghostly presence can be associated with a fluctuation in temperature and electromagnetic energy. This has not been proven however an EMF detector is a common tool used by ghost hunters.
Here’s an example – the grim beeper does react differently in different environments and
times of day due to changes in EMF.

The Grim Beeper is made of two parts. An EMF detector which lights an LED when
Electromagnetic frequencies are detected. This light controls the sound of a square wave
oscillator.
In this workshop, you will experiment with electronics and build your own Grim Beeper. You will learn to solder and about basic audio electronics. No experience in electronics is
required.
The workshop will be lead by Tara Pattenden. Tara is an artist and instrument maker and educator who has been working in sound and electronic media for the past 20 years. She performs with Goodiepal and Pals and solo as Phantom Chips. With her Phantom Chips project she makes her own wearable synthesizers that can be stretched and squeezed to create sound, and in this workshop she will be presenting her Lerango drone machine.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.
For 13 – 16 year olds accompanied by a parent or adult.
You will learn to solder, read schematics and gain an understanding of basic electronics. No previous knowledge required, inductions to soldering will undertake.
If you have any questions about this event or any of our workshops please contact workshops@stagingmhs.local.

Ritual Laboratory #5; a technology to transform consciousness
2019-07-31 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios (G18), Somerset House Studios, Lancaster Place, London, United Kingdom
We continue our series of participatory rituals throughout summer. Based on the 12 mythic Labours of Herakles. Forming part of an ongoing research and development project, each event considers the relationship between sound and movement performance, and altered states of consciousness.
Each session of the laboratory focuses on balancing a sequential zodiacal energy. We begin with Aries – The Head (Thoughts) and work down to Pisces – The Feet (Deeds). The summer series includes:
28th May – Gemini (Polarity)
25th June – Cancer (Intuition)
31st July – Leo (Expression)
30th August – Virgo (Cultivation)
In each session we will utilise a variety of techniques that function as rites of passage.

The embodiment of each myth functions as an interface, to construct the components of ritual form, and to explore the subjective impact of trance inducing use of sound, movement, light, scent, and embodied narrative.
Each Labour of Herakles as narrative score, catalyses a dialogue between musicians and performers, facilitating an immersive experience of the myth. These 12 Labours share significant parallels with the astronomical movement of the Sun, projected through the symbolism of the zodiacal constellations in a calendar year. Harnessing the cyclical changes in our natural environment as a basis for structure and objectivity, we aim to fall into rhythm with the cycles of the natural world.
An experimental laboratory of 12 events. No prior knowledge required. Everyone welcome!
We will begin each session by sharing a discussion regarding the symbolism of the myth, and how the Labour will play out. Secondly we explore features of trance induction, hypnotic phenomena and their role in creative practice. Lastly we will perform the myth together, and share feedback afterwards.
Instrumentation will vary as we explore the intersection of traditional trance instruments and contemporary production tools.
This series is organised by Nicole Bettencourt Coelho. Nicole is a qualified Hypnotherapist, practicing Sound Therapist and member at Music Hackspace / Somerset House Studios. Presently working with the composition of improvised choreographic score by drawing from her experience as a touring session musician, to foster an interdisciplinary approach. Conducting an investigation at the intersection of traditional therapeutic instruments and modern production tools, she is investigating the ability of sound and ritual form to support and direct the transformative power of performance. As well as generating dialogue around the sociological impact of evolving tools on culture and fulfilling creative practice. Current studies focus on communal performance in the context of astronomical myth, as a technology to transform consciousness. Combining archetypal symbols and storytelling with therapeutic and artistic applications of intuitive sound and movement, to induce and support inward journeys within a collective experience. Using a variety of techniques to consciously compose and utilise alternate states of awareness, she seeks to create opportunities to foster a healthy relationship with the creative impulse on an individual and collective level.
Forming part of her therapeutic practice CURVE ASC, she is currently exploring the interplay of energies moving through the body and the cyclic rhythms of the environment in the context of herbalism. Hosting a series of seasonal sound baths with local herbs. This being an embodied study of the natural rhythms of the dialogue between body and eco-system. A reciprocal dance through time. These are opportunities for reconnection, restoration and reflection.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

Spatial Sound Meetup #3 with BBC R&D
2019-08-07 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios (G18), Somerset House Studios, Lancaster Place, London, United Kingdom
A new series of monthly meetups taking place at Somerset House Studios, focusing on new spatial sound technologies, with talks and discussions around creative uses of spatial and AR audio.

The meetups will take place on the following dates, you can register here:
12th June – Professor Zoran Cvetkovic from King’s College
3rd July – Contributors TBA
7th August- Call and Response & Jon Francombe
4th September – Contributors TBA
Each session will be hosted by BBC R&D and will feature a presentation by invited guests.
BBC R&D has been at the forefront of innovation in media technology since the founding of public service broadcasting in the UK.
Based in Research Labs in the North and South of the UK, the department is comprised of just over 200 highly specialist research engineers, scientists, ethnographers, designers, producers and innovation professionals working on every aspect of the broadcast chain, from Audiences, Production and Distribution right through to the Programmes themselves.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

DMLab London Meetup
2019-08-14 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
DMLab London is a meeting place for makers & disabled musicians, a space to explore musical potential and get hands on with kit. It is a partnership between Drake Music, Graeae and Music Hackspace to bring together disabled musicians with technologists, to imagine, hack, design and build new accessible instruments and technology. This could be redesigning a traditional instrument, hacking recording kit to make it more accessible or creating something ground-breaking that we can’t even imagine yet. Big or small, a fully-formed idea or just a glimmer, all are welcome…the floor is yours and the doors are open.

This relaxed social event will give you the chance to pitch your idea or request – however big or small – for a new accessible musical instrument or piece of kit, to meet up with other musicians and makers, and to listen to talks by two inspirational women.
Our two speakers, Jo-anne Cox and Dani Clode will open up their practice and share their ideas and challenges – one is a technologist advancing new ideas for artificial limbs and one is a musician imagining new ways for audiences to interact.
Jo-anne Cox
In April 2019 Jo-anne Cox held the first scratch performance of her show Defiant Journey – the sonic saga of a musician and her electric ally, navigating the highs and lows of life as a neurodivergent artist.
The show involves interaction with bespoke designed audio to light and music technology, designed by creative technologist Charles Matthews. The audience can also get hands-on with Vibrotactile technology designed by VibraFusionLab and made by disabled artists from Together! 2012 in East London.
In this presentation Jo-anne will talk about the process of developing Defiant Journey, from initial ideas to first performance. The presentation will cover the Aesthetics of Access, the benefits of multi-sensory engagement and discovering audio to light, music tech and vibrotactile tech as a tool for:

communicating hidden disability
challenging recovery mode and austerity politics
involving audience as equals in immersive and interactive storytelling.

All technology on the project was designed with access in mind and there will be opportunities for you to try it out …. that is if you dare to play the bed bug ipad!
Dani Clode
Dani Clode is a product designer from New Zealand and a MA graduate from the Royal College of Art in London.
Her main project, the Third Thumb explores human augmentation and prosthetic extension. Dani is currently developing the project further with neuroscientists from the Plasticity Lab in the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL, exploring the boundaries of neuroplasticity – seeing how it can be harnessed to improve the usability and control of prosthetic devices, and how our bodies and brains adapt to material change.
Dani also collaborates with The Alternative Limb Project, designing sculptural prosthetic arms that challenge the perception and boundaries of prosthetic design, incorporating new materials and design processes to extend the human form.
She is interested in exploring how she can work with Disabled musicians in the future and will talk about these projects and open up discussions on ideas and inspirations for collaborations.

This will be a relaxed event and there will be a quiet space available with comfortable seats. There is step-free access to the venue which is located on the ground floor of Somerset House. It is fully wheelchair accessible, with an accessible toilet (no hoist). There will be BSL interpretation provided for the two speakers. To book a ticket for an assistant or access support person then please use the ‘Pay What You Can – £0’ option.
This meetup is brought to you by Music Hackspace and Drake Music.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

Make music with code, with Joanne Armitage
2019-08-21 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios (G18), Somerset House Studios, Lancaster Place, London, United Kingdom
In this workshop, Joanne Armitage will show participants how to get started making music with code in SuperCollider, with specific reference to her own creative practice. SuperCollider is a powerful open-source platform for audio synthesis and algorithmic composition, used by musicians, artists, and researchers working with sound. It is free and open source software available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Requirements: Participants should bring a laptop (masOS/Windows/Linux), and a pair of headphones. Please install SuperCollider in advance. It can be downloaded for free here. This workshop requires no prior experience with either Supercollider or music production.

Joanne is an internationally recognised live coder and contributes to groups including laptop ensemble, OFFAL and algo-pop duo ALGOBABEZ. In 2019 she curated SXSW’s first Algorave supported by Lush, PRS Foundation and British Underground. Recent projects include a coding cultural exchange between Yorkshire and Tokyo funded by Arts Council England, British Council, Daiwa Foundation and Sasakawa Foundation. As part of British Council’s Amplify programme she gave a workshop-performance at Mutek Argentina. In 2018 she was recipient of Sound and Music’s Composer-Curator fund and is a resident at Somerset House Studios.
In the day time (mostly), Joanne is interested in the relationship between digital technologies and our everyday lives. Her work covers areas such as physical computing, digital methods, sensory data and critical computing. As a researcher at Cambridge University, she is part of the Citizen Sense project investigating environmental sensing technologies and citizen engagement. She also lectures in digital media at the School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds. In 2017 she was awarded the British Science Association’s Daphne Oram award for digital innovation.
Outside of academia she regularly leads community workshops in physical computing, live coding and experimental music making. This includes the hackathon and workshop series ‘Automation and Me’ as part of Leeds International Festival 2019, facilitating activities for artists, academics, technologists and publics to explore issues around algorithms and bodies.
We can offer a student discount of 10% off this workshop. Please email us for a discount code (workshops@stagingmhs.local).
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.
If you have any questions about this event or any of our workshops please contact workshops@stagingmhs.local.

Livecoding Meetup
2019-08-22 18:30 - 21:00 | DIY Space For London, DIY Space For London, 96-108 Ormside St, London, SE15 1TF
Our Livecoding meetups are a series of informal, participatory meetups focusing making music with code. While these meetups are open to any language that can be used for livecoding, the host primarily holds expertise with TidalCycles. TidalCycles is an open source, accessible livecoding platform. These events are very loosely structured, with occasional short talks and performances.

No programming experience is necessary for these meetups. They are free to attend, open to all abilities and are an excellent opportunity to learn how to start making music with code. We encourage you to bring a laptop and headphones to make the most of the meetup. There’s no need to have come to the previous meetups to come to this one.
Livecoding, in this context, refers to using code as a means to make music or produce generative visuals.
TidalCycles can be downloaded for free here. If you have any problems with installation we’d be happy to help out in the meetup. If you’re keen to develop your Tidal knowledge beforehand, there are plenty of great resources available. See our document of resources for independent learning here.
The meetup is organised by Music Hackspace.
If you have any questions about this event please contact info@stagingmhs.local.
Photo by Antonio Roberts (http://www.hellocatfood.com/)

Ritual Laboratory #6; a technology to transform consciousness
2019-08-30 18:30 - 21:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom

Creative Electronics Laboratory with XNAME
2019-08-31 11:00 - 18:00 | Somerset House Studios, New Wing, Room G16, Entrance via Lancaster Place, Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA, United Kingdom
This workshop guides participants in the construction of a small robot animated by sunlight. After a brief introduction to the rudiments of electronics, the focus is on building a small oscillator soldering all components directly on the microchip. When hit by lights, the robots emit sound. When connected to a speaker they turn into a synthesisers that can be modulated with intermittent and coloured lamps. According to the components selected and the creativity of each participant, every bot will be unique in sound and appearance.
All the necessary components will be distributed at the beginning of the workshop, and every participant can keep the synth built. No previous experience in electronics is necessary to take part in this workshop.

XNAME is a musician and instrument designer. You can find out more at her website (contains flashing lights).
If you have any questions about this event or any of our workshops please contact workshops@stagingmhs.local.
We can offer a student discount of 10% off this workshop. Please email us for a discount code.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.
