The Pâte à Son by LeCielEstBleu is a sound toy and compositional tool conceived to encourage musical experimentation.

Go to the site. Drag instruments, switches, and transporter pipes from the conveyor belt to the checkerboard to make music. Rotate the pieces. Choose a melody. Change pitch, tempo and volume to fine-tune the composition.

Original concept and production by LeCielEstBleu on an initiative of the Cité de la Musique. FluxTunes, the new version of Pâte à Son, all grown-up, will be available soon. Continue reading

Continue reading

Leonardo Music Journal, Vol. 17 (2007) - With an introduction by Nic Collins: My Favorite Things: The Joy of the Gizmo — is now available. With contributions by Bert Bongers, Eric Leonardson, David Toop, Peter Blasser, Phil Archer, Andy Keep, John Wynne, Richard Garrett, James Saunders, Richard Lerman, Brett Ian Balogh, César Dávila-Irizarry, Vic Rawlings, James Fei, John Bowers and Vanessa Yaremchuk, Guillermo Galindo, Jane Henry, Neil Feather, Robert Poss, Jeremy Hight, Kyle Lapidus and Tali Hinkis, hans w. koch, Kazuhiro Jo, Laura Emelianoff, Marc Berghaus, Bruce Cana Fox, Michael Duffey, Charles Stankievech, Juraj Kojs, Stefania Serafin and Chris Chafe. Plus new reviews from the Leonardo Reviews panel. Continue reading

The Future of Sound :: November 9, 2007; 8 – 10.30 pm :: Entrance Hall, The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London :: Price: £5.

The Future Of Sound is a sonic spectacular that showcases cutting edge artists in music and audio design, performing their innovations and discoveries in surround-sound in the Entrance Hall of the Library, and against a sumptuous projected backdrop. Inspired by the experiments of the 20th Century Avant Garde, the event will present contributions by the infamous Scanner (aka Robin Rimbaud), who recently composed a new national anthem for Europe, Continue reading

miniorgan: For all friends and lovers of rare and vintage musical electronic toys, this is the first museum of lost organs, damned keyboards, childish synthesizers, dusty voice transformers and singing calculators. Most of them are from the 70s and 80s.

Maybe you remember some from your own childhood, but I’m sure you haven’t seen most of them in your life. Enjoy watching the constantly growing collection of these little beeping creatures. There are 16 pages of toys, including MATTEL MAGICAL MUSICAL THING (1978), a masterpiece of the golden age of electronic musical toys. You can play it with your knee, hip or elbow! The collector (Eric) played it with his nose… very funny experience. This online collection includes over 120 toys, with more added several times a year. You can contact Eric from the site. With thanks to pixelsumo.

Music Making for All - Todd Machover’s work on easy to use instruments and software for composing - is helping musicians, people with disabilities, and children.

Todd Machover (b.1953) is renowned for his work with computer music, having pioneered at IRCAM and now, at MIT’s Media Lab, a series of works using hyperinstruments that extend traditional performance practice with interaction, real-time digital processing. These pieces are uniformly entertaining and often very funny. You can squeeze squishy embroidered balls, play soundless violins or bang on glowing bugs with antennae.

These hyperinstruments were developed by Machover in an attempt to break free of conventional musical instrument design. Building on technologies developed for Machover’s groundbreaking Brain Opera, the Music Shapers enable children to engage in sophisticated listening, performing and composing activities normally accessible only after years of study. Continue reading

For those of you not familiar with the Museum of Sound Toys, here it is: “A collection of links to web-based interactive works that allow you to explore the nature of sound, music creation and the history of music.” The list includes music games, music remixing tools, virtual instruments, multimedia guides and more, and it doesn’t make any difference what age you are, you’ll find something to enjoy. You can contribute additional resources in the form of a link with a brief description. And while you’re there, you can check out Dave’s free sound samples, audio software and music downloads at http://www.squidoo.com/freesounds.

Tate Modern: Free in the Turbine Hall :: Mathieu Briand SYS*011. Mie>AbE/SoS\ SYS*010, aka the Spiral + More:: May 25, 17.00–18.00 pm and May 26, 10.00 am -18.00 pm.

SYS*011. Mie>AbE/SoS\ SYS*010, aka the Spiral is a sculptural sound installation and performance space created by the French artist Mathieu Briand (b1972). It comprises five turntables, one etching machine to burn new vinyl records, a matrix of four vinyl records on which sounds from machines and other samples have been etched into locked groove loops by the artist, two mixing desks and the possibility of plugging in up to seven additional instruments, laptops and other hardware. Mathieu Briand’s Spiral intends to create an alternative space within the museum structure. He envisions this installation as a “Temporary Autonomous Zone” (Hakim Bey) that would disrupt the traditional structure of the museum by deconstructing its hierarchies and altering its rules for a certain period of time. Continue reading

Dangerous Curve’s “Is It Music?” Series for Week of May 6, 2007 :: $10-7.00 sliding scale :: 1020 East Fourth Place, (500 Molino Street #102), Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.

Sunday, May 6, 2007, 4:00 p.m. (Programs subject to change.) The Choir Boys (Jeff Kaiser and Andrew Pask), Vinny Golia, and Cosmologic (San Diego) :: 8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. :: The legendary Z’ev (two sets) and here.

“Dim Effigies” from The Choir Boys Continue reading

The term circuit bending refers to the inspired short-circuiting of battery-powered children’s toys to create new musical instruments, and over the last few decades a worldwide subculture has sprung up around this amazing art form. We are very excited that for the first time the Bent Festival will be crossing America in April, making stops in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and New York.

We will bring together performers, educators, and visual artists from around the world who not only push the circuit bending genre forward but also are on the cutting edge of the contemporary music and art scenes. In addition to interactive art installations and nightly concerts, adults and children alike can participate in workshops led by some of the world’s greatest circuit benders. Continue reading