Broken Note - Let Em Hang

I'm (very) excited to share with you the first video I've been commissioned to create:



(IMPORTANT: Play in fullscreen mode)

This is the cumulation of my experiments with algorithmic music videos, generated by AI. Only ~5% of the mixing decisions were made by a human.

Ever since I discovered Broken Note via DJ Intoner, I've been enamored with their sound. Any time I spin Dubstep, Broken Note's tracks are more often than not the climaxes I build up to. Needless to say, I was breathless when they asked me to make a video for them. Fortunately, I had the good sense to nod. Emphatically.

I've made all the source code used to create this video available under the GPLv3, 'cause that's how we do things around here.

For a full write-up of this video (including a link to the source code), please see its Vimeo page.

Note: The version you're viewing is only 30 frames per second, and 720x480... The version Broken Note and I will use for live shows is in a 1920x480 ultrawide 3-projector format, and at 60 frames per second. 60 fps is intense.

dvj Source Code Released

This release is suitable only for code hackers.

I'll announce when things are 100% bullet-proof for users. That's my primary goal, and the reason for open sourcing the software.

If you want to check out the GPLv3 code, go here:
http://code.google.com/p/dvj/source/checkout

This is the project's site:
http://code.google.com/p/dvj/

On Ubuntu, you'll need these packages:

apt-get install subversion ctags libsdl1.2-dev g++ libfftw3-dev libavcodec-dev libavformat-dev libswscale-dev libsdl-image1.2-dev libsdl-net1.2-dev lame jackd libjack-dev

You'll also need to compile + install:
http://www.unison.com/opensource/sdl_audioin-0.3-rc1-ums-0.2.zip

Currently, there's some trickery required to get this working flawlessly,
including setting up proper ~/.jackrcd and ~/.asoundrc files.... More details on that later.

Don't hesitate to email me with questions or success stories.

Releasing dvj's Source Code

Perhaps the most important part of my Beat Research show was neither the audio nor the video, but instead the software.

For a decade, I've been working on a DJ + VJ program called "dvj". In short, it gives the user a pair of video-linked turntables: Scratching with a MIDI controller scratches both the audio and video. This is the only program I use at my shows, and I'm quite happy with it.

On Jan 19th, at Beat Research, I released dvj's source code for the first time, under the terms of the GPLv3. By the end of the month, I'll upload the source to dvj's Google Code page:

http://code.google.com/p/dvj/

It's been tested on like three different linux machines, so the audience for this code is currently developers, not users. All my subsequent development efforts will be to get this program to the point where anyone can use it easily.

Beat Research Aftermath

I had an incredible time playing at Beat Research in Boston, on Monday.

It was so awesome to actually meet Flack and Wayne, and perform at such a legendary night, and for so many of my friends who live there.

In the coming days, I'll be posting more information about the set, like a tracklist, and documentation for my software's source code, which I handed out as CDRs embedded in floppy disks.

I also recorded my set's audio, and intend to make a DVD, once I sit down to reconstruct the video. I'm considering posting the result to vimeo, or youtube, but maybe it would be better to do that quite a bit later, so the videos in my performances are fresh to each new audience...? Hmm...

Regardless, send an email to interim dot descriptor at gmail dot com, if you were at the show, and you want a copy of the audio or video.