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Listening to art. Playing with audio. Sounding out technology. Composing in code.

Monthly Archives: February 2007

8-Bit MP3

[ February 9, 2007 / Department: downstream / Leave a comment ]

This past week saw the release of 8-Bit Operators (Astralwerks), on which over a dozen Krafkwerk classics are performed on Gameboys, old Atari setups and other lo-fi, lo-rez and, in general, unintended digital audio production tools. A heap of the assembled’s work is available for download at 8bitoperators.com, one highlight being a track from 2004 inelegantly titled “loBit12tone1-06-04-04NYC-LiveVariation-gameboy” by Jeremy Kolosine, aka Receptors, who curated the Kraftwerk tribute. (As head honcho, he snagged the “Trans-Europe Express” slot.) The piece, recorded at least in part on a Gameboy using the first version of Nanoloop software, favors a minimal techno swagger over the overclocked mayhem that is typical of much 8-bit music, and blips along with an enviably carefree vibe (MP3). More info on Nanoloop at nanoloop.de.

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Outdoor Installation MP3

[ February 8, 2007 / Department: downstream / Leave a comment ]

Listening to MP3s of sound from outdoor installations can be a bit like watching an Akira Kurosawa film on your laptop: less than faithful to the original. That said, as site-specific art with audio becomes more common, a seven-megabyte file sure does trump a roundtrip plane ticket for cost efficiency. Michael Samos created sound as part of a multi-speaker installation by sculptor Barbara Westermann, herself a specialist in audio-oriented art, like concrete-steel renditions of baby monitors and reliefs that suggest the music of the spheres. Their exhibit, Observatory Sounds, isn’t due for display until this coming autumn, at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, New York. But there are already two ways to hear it. Pick up a copy of Loud5, a “sound magazine” with a focus on sound art (more info at loud5.com) or download a seven-minute excerpt of casual noise, cycling tones, chance field recordings and light sonic manipulations (MP3) from Samos’ website, michaelsamos.com.

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DJ Klock MP3s

[ February 7, 2007 / Department: downstream / Leave a comment ]

The Ropeadope record label has long been a home for plugged-in roots music, from Kid Koala’s scraggly rock outfit Bullfrog, to the avant-groove of Medeski Martin & Wood, to the funky turntablism of DJ Logic, just to name a few. It’s now launched a download-only sublabel, ropeadope.com/digital, and among the initial seven releases is San, a playful collection by Japanese marvel DJ Klock (born Ryo Kato), perhaps best known for his experimental work under the name Turntabrush and his collaborations with DJ Krush. Two San tracks are available for free download, both bouncing with wind-up-toy wonder: “Theme,” which opens with drum-corps funk before adding low-key horn (MP3), and “Dakota,” which has a melodious, cartoon pump-organ appeal (MP3). They’re even less marked by hip-hop than his previous work. More info at ropeadope.com/djklock.

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1,000-Year Remix MP3

[ February 6, 2007 / Department: downstream / Leave a comment ]

“Longplayer” is the name given a sound installation by Jem Finer that is seven years into its planned 1,000-year run. It has “listening posts” around the world, in London and Nottingham, England; Alexandria, Egypt; and Brisbane, Australia, with additional posts in the works. The goal is for it to have its own radio transmission frequency, but for now it’s listenable to at those locations and, when it’s functioning, the streaming channel at longplayer.org.

Fitting for these heavily mediated times, the easiest way to hear “Longplayer” is in a remix version. Douglas Benford, who records as si-cut.db, is one of many musicians working on their own renditions of the original material, which Finer has described as having been sourced primarily from “Tibetan singing bowls of various sizes, and gongs.” That ringing sound, which brings to mind the teleportation system on the Star Trek Enterprise, lends a trance-like foundation for the dubby concoction Benford has cooked up (MP3). More on Benford at douglasbenford.co.uk.

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Dub-core MP3s

[ February 5, 2007 / Department: downstream / Leave a comment ]

Start the week off with a bang, or more specifically with Red Zero Radio‘s “Atomhead” mix, blurring (no, pummeling) the line between dubstep and grindcore, with metalicized beats that sound all the better for the wear and tear (MP3). Recorded live at PUNXTC in Strasbourg, France, in November 2005, but posted just yesterday as part of the resonancefm.com podcast series.

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