new Sync07 performance videos & photos

I’ve just uploaded two new videos to YouTube. The first features Bubblegone’s gorgeous live ambient music/video performance, and the second has a montage of clips from the Bill Van Loo & J. Schnable live performance.

Bubblegone – Live at Sync07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_Ys5Eqgcf4

Bill Van Loo & J. Schnable – Live at Sync07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDOFDqEvsis

You can also see photos from the night here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chromedecay/sets/72157594579934542/

bill van loo & j. schnable – raindays: now available!

I am extremely pleased to announce that the Bill Van Loo & J. Schnable full-length, “raindays“, is now shipping.

We’re very happy with how “raindays” turned out. It was mastered by Joshua Eustis, half of the acclaimed Hefty recording duo Telefon Tel Aviv. Both J. Schnable and I knew he’d be perfect, and he did a great job. Thanks, Joshua! You can download 2 free mp3s from the album, as well as check out photos from the production process.

Bill Van Loo & J. Schnable – Raindays

adventures in spray paint, plywood and velcro: my new controller board

Lately, I’ve had a problem. When I started out playing live electronic music, I quickly realized the value of rack-mounted gear, in terms of making setting up for a show quicker and easier. In the last few years, however, I’ve moved away from rack-mounted gear in favor of using laptop-based software combined with hardware controllers – things I can put my hands on during a show. However, I still wanted the quick and easy setup that I got when I carried a rack of gear. The ideal is that I’d get to a gig, pop off a cover, plug a few things in, and be ready to go.

The reality the last few years, however, has been that I’d take out four or five pieces, plug in all their respective cables (power, audio, MIDI, USB, etc) and carefully assemble this network of stuff. At the end of the night, I’d tear it all down again. Since all the pieces were things I needed to have my hands on, they don’t lend themselves well to being mounted in a rack, so after doing some thinking and experimenting, I came up with the idea of creating a controller board, in the spirit of the pedalboard a guitarist might use (as a side note, I’ve only recently stopped carrying a pedalboard in favor of my Line 6 PodXT Live, which does it all in one tidy box).

The design I came up with consolidates my reworked USB QWERTY keyboard, my repainted PC1600x MIDI fader box, a USB hub, and a 4-channel MIDI interface, and requires only plugging in a few cables after taking it out of the case. The photos below document the process.

Initially, my thought was that I’d simply create a folding shelf that would fit into my laptop bag, and save the trouble of carrying a big, long shelf to set on an X-stand or my Deltex stand. You can see what my rig looked like with that shelf in place below:

live rig

However, I quickly realized that the folding shelf by itself didn’t save me any time in setting up, so I kept thinking about it. I realized what I needed was permanently mounted and connected gear, much like a pedalboard. After doing some design sketches, I came up with the following design. I’d still make a folding shelf, but have one side dedicated to the two controllers I use most for my laptop (the PC1600x fader box and the USB QWERTY keyboard), and the other side as a place to put my laptop. The side of the shelf that holds the laptop would neatly fold under the side with the controllers for use in the studio, and storing in one of the aluminum cases I have for travelling with gear (side note: check Home Depot and Lowes for these – $20 or so, and some already come with foam!).

Here are some of the pictures from construction.

I constructed the two sides of the shelf from 3/8″ plywood, screwed together. Here you can see both sides once they were cut:
both sides of the shelf

Putting the two sides together with the hinges:
Putting the hinges on

I decided to cover the shelf in carpet to prevent the nicks and dings that always happen when traveling with gear. It gives that pro rack look, too:
the completed shelf (with carpet)

Here you can see me getting the pc1600x ready to stick down with velcro. I use this wide industrial-strength velcro, which works great:
velcro!
the velcro!

After the pc1600x went on, I added the USB QWERTY keyboard:
the rig takes shape

Here you can see the rear of the board, which has the connections for the MIDI interface (a 4 in, 4 out Edirol MPU64) and the USB hub (a 4-port Griffin USB Audio hub):
back view

Here’s the final product. It will easily sit on a keyboard stand, although it’s shown here just on the case it travels in:
the full view

The board, folded up and in its travel case:
rig in the travel case

I’m really pleased with the final result. I now have a controller rig that I take out of its case, plug in a single power cable and a single USB cable, and have up and running in about 2 minutes (instead of the 10-15 minutes it would take me before, when I was assembling the whole rig each time).

You can see more photos, and larger details, at the chromedecay flickr site.

Update: This got picked up by Create Digital Music, a great music technology blog that I read. You can read the story and see comments at the site: Create Digital Music.

cdigital009 released: bill van loo live at the dreamland theatre

I played a live show this Saturday (October 21) at a little venue called the Dreamland Theatre in Ypsilanti, MI. After a few days’ work, I’ve got photos, videos, and MP3s available from the performance:

bill van loo: live at the dreamland theatre (cdigital009)

I presented material from several projects, including “5 sketches for thinkbox” and “chromedecay tracks pt2: 2001-2005“, as well as several unreleased compositions.

Here are direct links to the Flickr photoset and the YouTube video clips, too:

Photos on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chromedecay/sets/72157594341844758/

Videos on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=2D8A947B6B5C9CF5

Some technical info about the performance: I used Ableton Live on my Powerbook to run loops, using 4 channels of audio loops and 4 channels of MIDI loops. I had a weighted-key MIDI controller playing the Emagic EVP73 Rhodes plugin through Live’s Saturator plug (to dirty it up a little) and the Trigger Finger to play in live drums and control some effects. The Peavey PC1600x was set up as a master mixer (8 channels for levels, 8 channels for delay send level). All that was set up on the Deltex stand I use, with the Trigger Finger set up on a mic stand (such a great feature of that piece!).

I also ran my Line6 PodXT Live for the first time, as both guitar processor and USB Audio interface, which worked out great. I need to spend more time still working on getting used to that box, but it shows great promise for live work, which is one of the big reasons I moved to that from the Johnson J-Station.

chromedecay tracks pt2: now shipping!

I’m pleased to announce that chromedecay tracks pt2: 2001-2005 is now available for purchase, and copies are ready to ship out! This project represents 4 years and 11 tracks, spanning dub-techno, downtempo instrumental hip-hop rhythms, and moody soundscapes. My signature sounds are found all over this record, which sees beauty filtered through a gritty urban palette of sounds and textures.

chromedecay tracks pt2 cover image

Jump to the release page to get more info, download 2 free mp3s from the album, and check out photos from the production process.

You can currently buy chromedecay tracks pt2: 2001-2005 direct from chromedecay via PayPal.

If you live in the United States, just click the “Buy Now (US Shipping)” button below.


($11, US SHIPPING INCLUDED)


If you live outside the US, click the “Buy Now (International Shipping)” PayPal button below.


($14, INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING INCLUDED)



chromedecay tracks pt2: now taking pre-orders!

After many months of preparation, I’m pleased to announce that the next Bill Van Loo record, entitled chromedecay tracks pt2: 2001-2005, will be available in a few weeks. chromedecay tracks pt2: 2001-2005 is a compilation of material I produced during that time period that fits the chromedecay aesthetic of deep, emotional, gritty art. It’s being mastered by Shawn Hatfield (who also records as Twerk) at his Audible Oddities mastering studio, and the test masters I’ve heard so far are sounding great.

I dropped off the cover art at Standard Printing (great local print shop here in Ypsilanti) this morning, and expect that I should have cover art in a week or two. After that point, it’s just a matter of getting the duplicated discs back from Sonar Duplication (the CD duplicator I use) and then I’ll have it available for release.

Therefore, chromedecay tracks pt2: 2001-2005 is now available for pre-order. Pre-orders will get free shipping anywhere in the US, or $2 off shipping to anywhere else in the world. The price is $10; to pre-order, click the “Pre-Order Now” button below to order via PayPal, and fill out your information. As soon as the record’s available, it will be shipped out to you.





Thanks for all your support!

new gear in, old gear out

I recently sold some old studio gear, and purchased one new piece with some of the money from the sales. The new piece, a Line 6 PodXT Live, will be my main gear for live guitar sets now, replacing my trusty Johnson J-Station.

Anyway, here’s a few samples of what I’ve come up with using the new PodXT Live:

a little dub guitar [Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120 amp model, tape echo, etc]

tremolo chopped guitar loops [looped guitar via Boss RC20 through custom tremolo patch]

That’s based on a few hours playing and tweaking. The Line 6 Edit software is a great way to really get the most out of this box’s power – it offers a graphical way to edit everything about a patch. It’s definitely a solid piece of gear, and I’m looking forward to digging into it even further in the future.