… 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.

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.

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.

While you’re at it, check out all things Subsketch.  He makes tremendous stuff.  It is worthy of your attention.

this is going to be the format of the new Zeal live set except expect some acoustic guitar, live sampling and words that sound nice but don’t mean much.

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.

I’m working on a few new music videos as well – first up’s Vigilante which will be a MIDI sequenced animation and then Wasps which will be some sort of warp speed slide show.  Also, if you get a chance, go see 10k Free Men and Their Families. He was awesome at TINA.  Exhibit A:

like these ones:

If you’re heading to this year’s TINA I’m going to part of a panel discussing making music with game controllers smart phones, not so smart phones etc.  I imagine I’ll be talking about AXIS and and MAX/MSP…  The TINA/Sound Summit Program puts it like this:

Saturday, October 2nd:

2.00pm – 4.00pm: Artist Presentation
Instant Expert: Know Your Gadgets
Process Space (401 Hunter St)

Facilitator: Andrew Tuttle (Sound Summit)
Participants: Brett Kinny (Megatroid), Jason Forrest (Cock Rock Disco, DJ Donna Summer, Nightshifters; USA), Pia van Gelder (Dorkbot), Robert Jarvis (Zeal)

The ongoing development of gamer controller technology and continuing innovations in smartphone capabilities have contributed to an increasing number of electronic musicians composing and performing with these tactile devices. Learn some tricks on how to revolutionise your live performance, and have a whole lot of fun doing it.

Should be a lot of interesting ideas in one place!

If you’re in Adelaide Monday the 20th of September (tonight)  come down to the wheatsheaf from around 8 to see Virtual Proximity play with me in my VJ disguise.

More travels imminent to promote my (new and free) album: