8/31/2009

Crowphonics: Cro-1

During our last event, Trash Audio Synth Meet 3, there were a few things that caught my eye and strangely it wasn't the abundance of 3U or 5U modulars for some reason it was the Crowphonics Cro-1 mk1, aka the Scarecrow. Simply, it is another squarewave noisebox. I was never into noiseboxes in general, a self contained squelching box sounds limiting but as you can tell from the video, the box is quite versatile. It pushes out a beautiful frequency range that loves to make your chest resonate. It features 4 oscillators, some audio, some LFO's for controlling various parameters such as pitch and Attack/Release but the feature that gets me blowing my rape whistle is the Power Starve. This knob emulates a dying battery by limiting the power going into the box making all the functions change personalities. It creates wonderful subtle noises in the background I've never heard before anywhere else. Yes, its made of wood and its 97 British Pounds which equals about 150 bucks. That's a deal considering you can have this process external audio.

- Crowphonics

Tip Top Audio Z5000k is processing the Crowphonics signal before hitting the computer.

8/30/2009

Totally Wired

Strangely, Xart handed me this dvd earlier today while at his studio and when I got home I received this e-mail:

Dear Friends,
It gives me great happiness to announce at last the release of 'Totally Wired', a film about Schneiders Buero, now available on DVD from Amazon
To thank you for your patience and support, a 10% discount is available to you with the following code: FRLD3JPV
The film will also be available from HERE and in Schneiders Buero, Berlin.
All Tweets, Forwards, Adds and Posts would be greatly appreciated!
I hope you enjoy the film and look forward to your feedback.
Niamh Guckian, Director, 'Totally Wired'.

For sneak peaks and trailers, please visit Here
Totally Wired on Twitter: Here


Sneak Peek from 'Totally Wired' - Ken Macbeth from niamhguckian on Vimeo.



8/28/2009

Harvestman: Hertz Donut

This is nothing terribly new as The Harvestman Hertz Donut Oscillator been announced and anticipated for quite some time but finally it's ready to be.... pre ordered. September, 7th 2009 marks the day where analog purists will start to question their equipments efficiency and functionality when this beast gets released. As with all Harvestman products, there are many special features which take its modules one step further and this oscillator is definitely a little more than a bleep producer. In layman's terms (aka the only terminology I'm familiar with) the module has a primary oscillator with a secondary modulation oscillator to enhance/destroy your sound. The secondary modulation oscillator can be routed to your primary frequency - creating FM synthesis within one module, shape - creating a psuedo waveshaping effects, and amplitude - which creates AM synthesis. All in one module.
Listening to the audio sample below I'm asking whether any of my single modules, be it digital or analog - hell, even my computer can do this? Up front, no. If I spent a great 30 minutes to patch something up, maybe... but hell I could've been using that time to be melting faces off.
Well, I have to clean myself off and try to go about my day... with that whole socializing and relating to other people on an emotional level.

- Technical info: Here
- Purchasing info: Here

Stupidtriangle by harvestman



8/20/2009

Leaving Our Apartments

It's that time of year where Justin and I make our rounds into the night. We'd love for you to come out with us - First one is this friday.


Polyfuse - Music
August 21st, 2009 - Chicago, IL - Chelsea House Garden Ballroom (w/Millipede, Aphorism)- Info
September 3rd, 2009 - Chicago, IL - Castle Tacoskull (Schizophrenia PrePreParty w/Sickboy) - Info
October 3rd, 2009 - Chicago, IL - Kinetic Playground - Info



Surachai - Music
September 3rd, 2009 - Kent, OH - Europe Gyro (Schizophrenia PrePreparty w/Eustachian) - Info
September 4th, 2009 - Detroit, MI - (Schizophrenia Preparty w/Xanopticon, S/M, Rtype) Info
September 14th, 2009 - Chicago, IL - Ronny's (w/in the age of terminal static) - Info
September 18th, 2009 - Chicago, IL - Mortville (Xrin Arms, EYESEARSNOSE) - Info
October 17th, 2009 - Los Angeles, CA - Droid Behavior (/w Kid 606)
October 23rd, 2009 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's Live (w/ Venetian Snares, Wisp) - Info

* Pending: October X, 2009 - Los Angeles, CA - The Smell (w/Captain Ahab, Eustachian)
* Pending: October X, 2009 - San Francisco, CA - 5lowershop (/Eustachian)

^ If you are interested in booking Surachai and Eustachian on the West Coast in October, send an e-mail to trash@thedeepelement.com

8/19/2009

X-art Studios hosting Bi-monthly Sessions

I received this e-mail from Xart:
"Chicago modular/noisebox Jamhub sessions!

Gear show and tell is great, and I had a great time meeting all of you! I think it time to ‘jack it up’ a notch in our local modular /noisebox community. I am going to volunteer to host bi-monthly Sunday Improvised Jam Sessions.
The idea would be to plan a theme + setup our playing rules + jam session etiquette and meet for 3 hours and play . . . We can also expand this to a improv silent film night, etc. I would like to propose we do this in the late afternoon/early evening on Sunday as a productive close to the weekend. I want to keep this as low-tek and accessible as possible to get people out of their apartments/home/bedrooms and make some noise. After doing some research on the best way to set this up (In an urban space) I came across the JAMHUB. Fukcing brilliant. idea that will reduce the need for excessive volumes and allow each person to be set to the same volume and each musician decides how loud each person should be, no more battle of the egos ! (or pissed of neighbors!)

www.jamhub.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIwU2dnx-zo

I made some calls as it is expected to ship in early September. I will set up the fist JAMHUB improv. session at the X-ART studio as soon as we get it in.
We will obviously have a limited number of ‘seats’ for each session, but I want to get to the point where I set this up bi- weekly with a rotating group of people. Anyone interested?"


If you are, send an e-mail to trash@thedeepelement.com


8/17/2009

Trash_Audio Synth Meet 3: Victory

I'm declaring victory! We saw the entire range from noise boxes to full on modular systems in plenty of different formats. If it makes noise, we're into it. Thanks to all that came out and to Rob who hosted the party at his studio. Also thanks to Justin who accidentally the entire meet but I'm giving him a break because driving from Tennessee in stormed traffic sounds way worse than hanging out with modular dudes. I'm just going to say it because I'm the decider: We have the best noise crew on the planet.
Oh and if you're a modular/noisebox/pedal/synth manufacturer, I highly suggest you get in touch with me at trash@thedeepelement.com for the next meet.



8/11/2009

Stretta: Z2040

If you want a video done right, look no further than Stretta. A wonderfully informative, technical and beautiful video on Tip Top Audio's Z2040. It gives a great introduction on the basics of the module while providing many ideas on how to use the filter to its full potential. I'm excited that someone knows how to make decent videos around here!

TipTop Audio Z2040 from GM on Vimeo.



8/09/2009

Reminder: Trash_Audio Synth Meet 3

Despite the initial problems with throwing an event (scheduling conflicts that resulted with three date changes, a quick search for a place to host), we already have a healthy amount of people coming out on Sunday, August 16 and spending their sunday nerding out with an incredible amount of gear. If you want to be a part of this, e-mail me at trash@thedeepelement.com for information on how to get there and what to bring. For the original post, just look down or if you're lazy click: Here.

8/04/2009

Tonight, Chicago...(Update)


Tonight I am going to attempt a live improvised set with just the Cwejman S1, Virus TI and a bit of reverb. This event is completely free and 'Planet Earth' will be screened during the sets.

Details:
August 04, 2009

FIRST TUESDAYS

featuring

BENN JORDAN
http://www.bennjordan.com

DOLO VS TWITCH
http://www.myspace.com/spacelaserword

POLYFUSE
http://www.polyfuse.net

Screening: EYES and Planet Earth - Deserts

Free - no cover

9pm - 2am


Update: Here's a few video clips that Surachai assembled of the set, Kind of hard to hear, but you'll get the idea.


Activate

Our Trash_Audio Synth Meet 3 is less than 2 weeks away. Send me an e-mail if you're interested in coming. There has been a healthy response so far and without a doubt, this will be the heaviest one! Be square and be there!

Powering off and on the system creates some strange warm up sounds that I can't seem to achieve otherwise.