PL, Ars Cameralis Festival
Academy of Fine Arts
ul. Raciborska 50
40-074 Katowice
Free Admission
1pm - 5:15pm
Abstract:
In every age light has different meanings and symbolism; as a means of creation, it has been used with different intensity and purposes. [link]
DE, Ableton Loop Summit
Funkhaus, Nepalstrasse 18-50
12459 Berlin
P4 Saal 4
3pm - 4pm
NL, ICMC 2016 Conference, Utrecht
TivoliVredenburg (Club Nine)
Vredenburgkade 11, 3511 WC
2pm - 4:30pm
DE, Superbooth 16, Berlin
Funkhaus
Hall 1, Building B
Nalepastraße 18, 12459
8:30pm - 9:00pm
Abstract:
While discussions continue around the dichotomies of analog, physical, and digital instruments, visionary instrument makers have been bridging the gap between these previously separate realms with cutting edge ideas that combine the character and expression of tactile control, with the infinite possibilities and ease of software – the best of both worlds. Will hybrid concepts and setups turn into a benchmark development in instrument design? And how could it already be changing how we create and perform music? Join a panel of distinguished technology pioneers and creatives for a roundtable discussion dissecting the status quo and the possibilities of our Hybrid Future.
CA, McGill University, Montrèal
Tanna Schulich Hall
Elizabeth Wirth Music Building
527 Sherbrooke Street West
4:30pm - 6:00pm
Abstract:
1. The Artist: For an artist working in the field in between sound design, visual arts, music and installation, the implications of Moore's law are a very mixed blessing. Within a few decades we moved from a perceived lack of sufficient tools for expression to an overwhelming abundance of choices. With hardware and software becoming increasingly powerful and available, the role of the artist changes, and the expectations of the audience too. Old models of separation between composition, instrument design, performance and recording become obsolete. Not only did the technical side change but as a result also the social interactions and feedback systems within that artistic process. This situation needs adapted strategies to cope with new offerings and demands. What can serve as anchor points for creation when everything can be rethought, redone, reprogrammed at every stage of the process? How can we manage to work towards a defined goal with hundreds of possible versions simultaneously available and deliver something that matters? And what actually does matter artistically in a world where everything can at any time be compared to what someone else is doing on the other side of the planet?
2. The Software Designer: Our musical instruments have feature lists and come with updates. Ideally an instrument is perfect for a certain use case, once it is invented it becomes part of the palette of options and it can be practiced and mastered. Obviously things are not like this in software! Artists are customers and they want features, but constantly changing an instrument is a bad idea. Coping with expectations and resisting the desire to add every possible option is a big challenge, and things don't get easier when a piece of software becomes the main creative tool for a large user base. Every change has the potential to make a lot of people either very happy or the opposite, and experience shows that this is often quite unpredictable. The history of Ableton's Live software will serve as a case study here.
UK, Texture MCR, Manchester
67 Lever Street
6:00pm - 10:00pm
DE, Ableton Loop Summit
Description: "Creating something completely fresh is only possible when leaving the common ground. Trying out a different path can be hard and frustrating but also highly rewarding. Robert Henke talks about expectations, disappointments, careful planning and happy accidents in the creative process. What strategies can one employ to stay creative? Can technology support that process or does it get in the way? Robert's talk will offer some personal answers to those questions and hopefully raise many more."
US, CalArts Los Angeles
US, Stanford University CCRMA
Description: The expected result of this week is seeding ideas, which can be used for creating music, audiovisual artworks, or for building the next big thing in music software. This class is the opposite of a DSP course. Almost nothing I am going to talk about has a valid checksum, and theory is used as a method to get as quickly as possible to practical results. The essential question is not if the algorithm is correct, it is: do we like what it does? And if so, why? And who is we?
Symposium Session 1 Title: Great Moments and Great Failures Tuesday, Mar 31, 6-9p
Description: A critical review of some of my works, installations and performances with a special focus on the interaction between technology and result. We are also going to discuss the topic of expectations and how to deal with them. And before all that we start with a very basic question: what is a good idea?
Symposium Session 2 Title: The perfect tool, or why orange sliders sound better.
Thursday, April 2, 6-9p
Description: Using some of my favorite hardware synthesizers as starting point, we figure out why some instruments are 'classics' and others are forgotten. What does it take to make a good synthesizer? What's the role of the interface? How do you figure out what you need to be creative? This lecture also deals with building interfaces and the role of haptic access.
Symposium Session 3
Title: Spaces
Tuesday, April 7, 6-9p
Description: From algorithmic reverb via the cathedrals of techno to strange usage of totally wrong impulse responses in one go.
Symposium Session 4
Title: Audiovisual Endeavors
Thursday, April 9, 6-9p
Description: About the desire to add sound to moving images and vice versa. Technical, conceptual and artistic aspects of the creation of audiovisual performances or installations. Additional opics which will sneak in on those four days: multichannel sound, wave field synthesis, sound pressure level and loudness war, the role of empty spaces and cheap drinks for the evolution of club music and eleven things you should not do if you want a contract with a record label.
UK, Huddersfield, University
Robert Henke's laser performance Lumière II utilizes audio rate signal processing in Max not only for sound synthesis but also to create the control signals for the lasers.
The presentation will provide detailed insight into the functionality of his software and the concepts behind it. Code for laser control demands sample accurate timing also for control signals. A special focus of the talk will be on the methods employed to achieve highly effective code that meets this criteria. The second main topic is the interactions between artistic desires, the necessity to program a dedicated environment to achieve the initial goals and the transformation of the project as a result of the knowledge and inspiration gained by using these new tools.
Key words: laser, gen~ codebox, audio event based processing, networked patches, Max4Live, performance, multicore parallel processing in Max, vector graphics, sample accurate preset switching
SI, Lublijana, Kino Siska
NL, Amsterdam, STEIM
Part 1 : (ca. 1,5 hours)
The development of an audiovisual language using lasers and sound. Conceptual and aesthetic adventures in the exploration of a commonly underrated medium. Topics of the talk include a history of Henke's laser works starting with his Fragile Territories installation, and a detailed discussion about the aesthetic challenges of the Lumière project. Lumière has a strong focus on improvisational performance, and the talk will also cover this aspect.
Part 2: (ca. 1 hour)
Developing a technical framework for Lumière. This part of the talk provides in-depth details about the technical aspects, starting from the properties and limitations of the used laser system down to the code developed by Robert Henke to drive the lasers and the interaction between the sound and the visual elements. The Lumière project's is technically based on a combination of Ableton Live, Max4Live devices, and a lot of MaxMSP/gen~ code.
IT, Siena, University
France, Paris, IRCAM
DE, Essen, Folkwang University
DE, Düseldorf, IMM
SAE, Milano, Italy
Goethe Institut, Genoa, Italy
DE, Berlin, CTM Festival / Bethanien
Goethe Institut Dublin, Ireland
With Peter Weibel (ZKM), Robert Henke (Ableton/UdK Berlin), Stefan Prins (Nadar), Christian Blom, Alvise Vidolin (Centro di Sonologia Computazionale,University of Padova) and Joran Rudi (NOTAM). [link]
Kunstraum Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
SETI Institute, Mountain View, USA
San Francisco Art Institute, USA
USA Stanford University
Bing Studio
USA Santa Barbara UCSB
USA Chicago NWU
MUTEK ES, Barcelona, Spain
UCC, Cork, Ireland
STEIM, Amsterdam, NL
Laboratorio / Arte Alameda Mexico City Mexico
SAE Mexico City, Mexico
Decibel Festival, Seattle, USA
PNCA, Portland, USA
MUTEK Monteal, Canada
Goethe Institute, NYC, US
IET Society, London, UK
Sound Studies Department Univeristy of Art Berlin Germany
EMPAC, Troy, USA
CalArts, Los Angeles USA
DU, Denver, USA