.fractal

So many things are happening!

- The Rock Band Creator’s Network is live. This will break more bands than god.

- Emilie Simon is my new favorite steampunk chanteuse. That glove came out of IRCAM, apparently! Obviously they’ve found peolpe who can actually design.

- I bet a friend that facial recognition on phones would be here in two years. That was six months ago. Meet Recognizr. Will this be spidering public Facebook pictures soon? You bet your ass.

- In China, the Internet is watching you back. And sometimes it doles out vigilante justice, in theform of “Human Flesh Search Engines”.

- I watched a film about techno called Modulations on Friday in my computer music class. It was made in 1998, and has not aged well. This one, Speaking In Code, looks like a good update.

- Virtualization of musicians and composers is stumbling towards reality.

- Britain is using Classical music as a form of social control. Ahhh, Beethoven 9. (Also, Steve Goodman / Kode 9’s book SONIC WARFARE is out now. Must get a copy. )

is not the name of this asteroid-belt-deep DJ set:

Download here.

1: Exoplanet - My Circuits Are Fading [Proton]
2: Exoplanet - Afterlife [Proton]
3: Exoplanet - Clouds [Proton]
4: John Debo & Steve Porter - Deported [Bedrock]
5: Marc Mitchell - Souls On Board [Proton]
6: Sasha - Three Little Piggies [emFire]
7: Luke Chable - Melburn (Amb Bee En Tea Mix) [Bedrock]

I bought some music! Let me tell you all about it:

Johnny Cash - I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow (Apparat Remix) [Shitkatapult]
Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream (Limbo Remix) []
Tycho - Coastalbrake [Spectral]
Janet Jackson - Scream (Neon Tetra Remix) []
Lifelike - Sequencer [K7]
Yousef - Come Home [Cocoon]
Nicolas Valle - Acid Punch [Dusty]
Secret Cinema - Reaktivate [Dmom]
Hrvsion - Oh, It’s Mastered [Living]
SebastiAN - Head / Off [Ed Banger]
Closer Musik - Maria [Kompakt]
Damabiah - Snow and Fog [Further]
Steve Bug - Trust In Me feat Virginia (John Daly Remix) [Poker Flat]
Quivver - Sludge [Boz Boz]
Royal Sapien - Clouded (Stefan Anion Remix) [Olaris]
Soliquid - Taipei Pocok Salata (Quivver Remix) [Baroque]
Somfay - Lying In A Bed Of Mist [Global Underground]
Mathew Jonson - The Alchemist
Hrdvsion - Peap Svm I Hsim [Living]

I’ve also been thinking about the value of promotion vs. hermitage, but more on that later. And I want to remix Schubert. And record a DJ set about the 7 deadly sins. I may need to get out more. Some quick things:

I can’t say enough good things about Bryan Talbot’s ALICE IN SUNDERLAND. Every city needs a book about it that is this clever and this full of love. Contrawise, Salman Rushdie’s latest, THE ENCHANTRESS OF FLORENCE, fell just a bit flat. It’s filled with light and wonder, but trails off a bit.

On more internet-centric things, someone has built the dating wheel from Logan’s Run, and HP are trying to build Dan Simmons’ Allnet. May you live in interesting times.

I am closing down SMARTBOMB, at Sunset, on Saturday Feburary 20th. If you’re still vertical at 0400, I’ll make you dance.

I also got a pleasingly crunk little set recorded:

Download here.

1: Missy Elliot - Pass That Dutch (Petter Remix) []
2: Jackson - Rock On [Warp]
3: Janet Jackson - Scream (Neon Tetra Remix) []
4: Flying Lotus - GNG BNG [Warp]
5: Bibio - Sugarette [Warp]
6: MIA - 20 Dollar [XL]

News!

- I’m DJing at SMARTBOMB, at Sunset Room, on February 20th. Unsure of the timeslot, but probably opening. Will keep you posted.

- My piano suite, FRAGILE THINGS, will be performed at the UVic Composition Concert on February 6th, at 8 PM.

- Went to the West Coast Student Composer’s Symposium on Friday, at SFU. Heard a really good sample-based thing, all from a wine glass & Csound processing. Other highlights included (all of UVic’s program) a thing for “prepared recorder”, and a charming flute sonata

- Also saw Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 on Saturday night. Woosh. Helluva a piece - a friend called it “Beethoven 18″, and he’s not far off. 300 people in the choir, 115 people in the orchestra, 8 soloists. Huge is not the word.

- Got my sax quartet read by the brave and noble Quasar quartet. They played a very fast thing very well, and I’m in their debt.