tom moody
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"Drum Machine": Notes for my lecture/performance tonight, Friday, May 19, 8:00 pm, at artMovingProjects, Williamsburg
In the '80s the Roland TR-808 and TB-303, failed drum machine and bass genie, were scarfed up cheap by kids and "acid house" was born.
"People's music" - affordable tech for credible psychedelic party - Dionysian, anti-"control system" - different view of Modernism - apolitical vs opting out - "who controls the pleasure?" (The Man or the kids?)
Current soundmaking tech divides functions of the Drum Machine:
--sound generation is mechanical (voltages or digital signal processing is "sculpted" to make percussive noises)
---composition/sound design is done in the Sequencer
* Grids of MIDI notes - musical Mondrian
* editing of waveforms
Both are visual. Visual artists have a "home court advantage" (ear also helps)
"Drum Machine" video. (May describe, not show--it's a bit somber)
Doubly ironic:
--all sounds are "bent" from conventional drum sounds - spacy, not realistic
--visual elements *do not correspond* to sounds - problematized, anti-MTV
Live performance of 5 demo songs played with a sequencer (on laptop) controlling Vermona drum machine (subbing for TR-909) and Sidstation (subbing for TB-303):
Clip City
Godhopper
Protest Song Variation
Suite 6
ArtMoving (new, composed this week)
Increasing interest in creating sound/image combos. Play the following videos:
--End Notes (w jimpunk)
--Sensor Readings
--Ninja Elements