Synthesizers

CatSynth video: Modular Robot Cat

From popitem on YouTube, submitted by vlern via facebook:

“My modular playing a lfo based patch and a scary robot cat i rescued from the trash.”

I was a bit skeptical of this somewhat creepy robot cat, but I did find more info about it. It’s called a Yume Neko Smile from Sega. Here is a promotional video:


Yume Neko Smile, the Creepy Cat Robot from Sega
Uploaded by AkihabaraNews. – Explore more science and tech videos.

Preparing for tonight’s performance

I am busily getting ready for my next solo performance tonight.

Light A Fire: Amar Chaudhary, Zeina Nasr, Evangelista/Lowecki/Stuart
Monday, January 17 · 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Mama Buzz Cafe
2318 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland, CA

Please join us for creative music in three acts (incidentally the third Monday of the month)–featuring:

-Zeina Nasr
Emphatic, ethereal vocalisms

-Amar Chaudhary
(www.ptank.com/amar_music/)
Complex, articulate solo work with an electronic aesthetic

-Karl Evangelista/Shaun Lowecki/Doug Stuart Trio
(www.karlevangelista.com)
(www.shaunlowecki.com)
-Animated, explosive inside/outside music

Hope to see you!
-Friendly Neighborhood Light A Fire Committee

I am once again using a relatively minimal setup (or as minimal as I can make it for a solo show).  There is the iPad (and the iPhone), the MacBook with a monome, and the Evolver.  I also have a couple of percussion instruments, and the dotara, an Indian string instrument.

For the iPad, I will be using the Curtis for iPad (shown in the photo below), along with the from Smule, the 古筝 (Guzheng) app, and the KORG iMS-20, among others.

Based on feedback from my last performance at the Omega Sound Fix, I am going to try and use fewer elements, particularly in the live sampling/looping section. I will start with the dotara, and layer the Magic Fiddle and guzheng model on top of it. I will be reusing some of the other elements that I have been having fun with, such as the Count Basie Big Band Remote from the Blue Note in Chicago controlled via the monome.

Luna wants to help out with preparations, too:

CatSynth pic: Grainslide for Monome

From the B-Roll, via matrixsynth:

“…a friend and fellow monome user Jared just recently released his new monome app called Grainslide. I tested an early version of the app on Day 213 and he has since made adjustments and released it to the community. It’s a simple but effective concept. His layout design is unique to most other monome apps which I think is great. It’s not a quick sample cutting app although you could play it that way. It’s a layering tool really.”

I am curious to check out Grainslide. The mlr application that I often use with the monome would be the quintessential “sample cutting app” – it has worked well for me in live performance, but I really have only scratched the surface on what I can do with this controller.

CatSynth pic: Bella

Submitted by Alessandro Cilano:

here’s my cat Bella, sitting on the chair of power at my desk.
She’s grumpy as there are too many places to fill in my modular and she’s not allowed to play with the patch cables…

We have seen some pictures in the past of his cat Guiliano.