… and we’re back. while I was blog-absent some fun things have happened. VIZZable was the 10th most read story on CDM last year. It’s exciting news for a little set of plugins in the relatively obscure Max for Live video scene  and encouraging that others are as interested in using Ableton as an audio-visual environment as I am.  Big shout out to the great folk on the Jitter in Max for Live group!

Sound 2 Light

Some documentation of  last years Sound 2 Light has arisen. Sound 2 Light was a tech/media arts event held in Hobart where artists are partnered up and given a small period of time to come up with an installation or performance. I was partnered up with venerable techno producer Sam Gregory and we created a 20 minute AV piece revolving around strange hybrid animals all mapped onto four, large rectangular panels. I also put together two smaller installations: “Homunculus II” a teleoperated robot visible at the start of the video and a colourful, kaleidoscopic, audio-reactive projected piece that evolved throughout the night. Watch the video below and see if you can spot such things.  You can also listen to the live broadcast that went out on the night.

Stereosonic

Last year I was also lucky enough to VJ the Bass Arena at Melbourne’s Stereosonic.  It was the longest set I’ve played so far – about 9 hours – I used the opportunity to try out some new masking and feedback techniques as well as the usual fare of Live camera feeds, glitches, datamoshing and rainbow meltiness.  Whilst playing for Danish electropop singstress Lucy Love, her manager approached me and asked if there was anything wrong with the video signal.  I gestured to my PS3 controller as if to say, nope, it’s OK, It’s supposed to be like that and before I could launch into a deep discussion of how visuals, when tightly synced, can reenforce sound and give it more impact he said “Don’t do that”.  I quickly pigeon holed him as a square whom I usually enjoy confusing but to keep him happy I kept the rest of the set less interesting/confusing. Anyhoo, some videos of the day have popped up on youtube.  Datsik was particularly awesome.

Next…

A few Zeal shows are popping up in Radelaide in the coming weeks as well as some remix projects to get back into the music side of things.  I’m building another controller similar to Archaeopteryx but this time for feet:

I’m also exploring Augmented Reality with a view to put together an immersive AR installation at some stage in the future.  I hope I’m not alienating all you normal people as this is possibly the geekiest video I’ve uploaded to date:

Alrighty, you’re up to date.  I’m back to blogging and tweeting so sit tight, there’s more soon.

bob.

ch ch check it out.  this may be the last zeal gig for the year plus i’ll be vjing for the black chords so you get some extra zealiness for your dollar.  dig the facebook event.

there’s more to report – new music video, newcastle, tassie, stereosonic.  but that will be in the next post.  adios for now.

Yo Melbournite. Monday 13th of June, 1:30PM @ The Workers Club. Be there!
from me: new visuals and I might bring the guitar hero axe back.  I miss it.

Dig the facebook event.

if you’re in melbourne, you can see these plugins in action along with some button pressing, singing and jumping around when i play live at plugnplay next thursday the 28th of april at the kent st cafe, 201 smith st, fitzroy.  i think i’m playing with vdmokstati, jean poole and others… bit short on details at the moment… but it’ll be awesome, i’m sure.  the day after that (friday 29th) i’m playing at the builders arms with time shield, the leafs and sun blindness.  i’ll also supplying visuals for the leafs and sun blindess.  check the fb event!  and the poster:

in other news, the dudes at projuice have thrown up a little write up about me which makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy.  projuice is a media creation showing airing on abc at the moment – it’s really great seeing tutorial style programming making the airways especially since it’s pretty much favorite sort of thing to watch on the interwebs.  that and videos of baby sloths.

in other, other news, i’ve been inspired by this, this and this and have decided to build a midi controller (i’ve undertaken a similar project in the past).  i’ll be using the guts from two korg nanokontrols and a usb qwerty keyboard and it should end up looking a bit like this:

can’t wait.

Another gig!  I’ll be playing the first official zeal gig of the year next wednesday Thursday the 24th at 303 supporting Sydney’s Karoshi.  The new audio visual set’s really coming together after last weeks trial run and it should be even better by next wednesday.  I’m also scheming some evil live streaming schemes so all of you in internet land can check out the shiny new moving pictures and sounds…  more gigs coming.  and videos and things.  oh, the unbearable intrigue.

dig the facebook event

P.S. I’ve revamped my facebook page!  go like it, eh?

i’m playing this saturday night at the empress with JUNK! and the time shield – and this time not as zeal but as my VJing alter ego lazy laser.  i’ll be trailing some new AV material (using VIZZable)  and it will be under rehearsed but hopefully interesting. it should be a taste of the future zeal live show.  the inimitable junk will be doing some stripped down acoustic or ambient or jazzy versions of their songs and time shield will be there to shield us from the horrors of time (and also make pretty pictures and sounds).  back to getting my shit together!

go dig the facebook event.

Download: VIZZable Modular VJ plugins for Ableton Live

UPDATE!

These plugins are completely compatible with the amazing V-module suite by Fabrizio Poce. These two projects have now merged to provide a comprehensive suite of video, effects and real-time graphics tools for Live. If you’d like to become involved in testing and developing these plugins please join us in this google group.

My album is ranked third on a whothehell.net  ”list”.  It’s the second time i’ve ever been on a list and it’s still fun.



Last week my song “clouds” made a top songs of 2010 podcast on polaroids of androids.  it was the first time i’d ever been on a list and it was fun.

i played alot of shows this year, all of which had secret words, many of which i can’t remember.  some were:

• alphabetical
• curvacious
• rod stewart: android
• william shatner
• gumption
• dental plan
• dragon master
• griffin slayer
• cromulent
• lights in the skies

the best gigs of the year were hobart + music = yeah and the gate.

i also had a great time at this is not art where i sat on a panel and talked about axis.

i got to make a mixtape sorta thing for a polaroids of androids podcast and inflict my taste in music on the masses.

i put out an animated film clip for vigilante with midi and lights:

my name was in sos

i released my debut album and it landed album of the week on FBi.

it was also uploaded to a russian file-sharing website.

it’s been a good year.  onwards into a happy and productive twenty-eleven!

bob.

1.) Thursday 9th of December at the toff with rush in attack and 8-bit love

2.) Thursday 16th of December @ Pony with Junk, Uncle Chunk and Keith Party

it’s the first time i’ve played either of these venues.  also, i might whip out a VJ set at the toff gig…

there’ll be one more show in Radelaide before the year is up but i’ll post about that later.  until then, enjoy a preview of colourful things in the works…