announcing CTRL4 + CTRL8: MIDI Control for Griffin PowerMate + PureData

Joshua Schnable has been working on a new controller idea, and chromedecay is proud to announce its availability.

CTRL4 & CTRL8: MIDI Control for the Griffin PowerMate + PureData lets you turn a Griffin Powermate into a flexible MIDI controller. The video below gives a very brief introduction to how this software works:

FIRST LOOK: Joshua Schnable’s CTRL8 Powermate/PD control software from chromedecay on Vimeo.

In short, this setup allows you to use a Griffin PowerMate (the aluminum knob that glows blue and outputs keystrokes/key commands) with the free, open-source PureData software in order to turn it into a 4- or 8-channel MIDI knob controller. More detailed videos will be coming soon, or you can check out the manual for more information.

studio production update

Here’s an update on the studio production side of things.

Slow but steady progress is being made on upcoming Bill Van Loo & Joshua Schnable material. Still undecided whether it will be released as several EPs or one full-length album, but the music is coming together nicely. Tracks keep getting handed back & forth via the power of the interwebs, with new pieces slowly taking shape.

Bill Van Loo solo material is also coming along, albeit at an even slower pace. Here’s a sneak peek at a new track that’s made almost entirely with iPod Touch applications as the sound sources; this (very rough) track uses SynthPond and BeBot Robot Synth as the primary sound sources, with additional post-production & arrangement in Ableton Live.

BeBot Robot Synth -> new track in Ableton Live
iPod Touch apps -> new track

BeatMaker on the iPod Touch is also getting used, along with a new ThumbTacks mic; here’s a (also extremely rough) snippet using only sounds recorded in the car, garage & front porch:

iPod Touch with Thumbtacks mic

a look back at 2008

Here we are at the start of a new year, so it seems worth taking a look back at the events of 2008. The next blog post will be a look forward at what to expect from chromedecay in 2009.

2008 was an extremely visuals-oriented year for chromedecay. Besides one digital release (Bubblegone’s excellent “Record of Memory (Live)“) and the Sync08 performance from Bill Van Loo & Joshua Schnable (see photos, video), the public output of chromedecay was otherwise visual.

Here’s a quick look back at the chromedecay year for 2008:

January 2008

January 2008 started off strong on the visual front, taking lots of photos.
the blur of passing cars
above: first photo of 2008

Another big development was the beginning of explorations in Processing, the fantastic visual programming environment.

processing sketch: many circles v1 (reds)
above: processing sketch: many circles v1 (reds)

February 2008
Bill Van Loo contributed the “chicago slow down (el trains remix)” for Canasta’s “We Were Mixed Up” remix album.

programming drums with the Trigger Finger
above: Bill Van Loo programming drums for the Canasta remix

skateboarder with hydrant
above: a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah yielded an excellent photo-walk!

March 2008
On Friday, March 14, 2008, Bill Van Loo & Joshua Schnable performed at the Sync08 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. You can see photos and video from this performance.

Bill Van Loo & J. Schnable - live at Sync08
above: Bill Van Loo & Joshua Schnable perform at Sync08

April 2008
Bubblegone’s excellent “Record of Memory (Live)” was released in April 2008, marking this talented artist’s first release on chromedecay. Bubblegone has performed at events with Bill Van Loo solo and the duo of Bill Van Loo & Joshua Schnable several times, so it was particularly exciting to have him join up!

Record of Memory (Live) cover art
above: artwork for Bubblegone’s “Record of Memory (Live)”

May 2008
May saw a studio session with Joshua Schnable, working on new material for future release.

quadruptych: bill van loo & j. schnable studio session
above: Bill Van Loo & Joshua Schnable in the chromedecay studio

June 2008
Continuing the visual domination of 2008, June 2008 marked the arrival of a new camera! Bill Van Loo took delivery of a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, and quickly began putting it to good use.

First FZ18 shots: in-camera motion blur
above: one of the first shots with the new DMC-FZ18

The real news for June, however, was the wedding of Joshua Schnable! Congratulations, Josh! See photos here and here


above: Bill Van Loo & Joshua Schable at Josh’s wedding

July 2008
A day trip to Chicago yielded a new chromedecay video, with black & white footage set to moody beats.

above: “chicago (as seen by car)” video

August 2008
There was lots of photo-taking during the summer months, including more experiments in long exposures.

I-94 lightstream
above: I-94 lightstream

September 2008
Just a few short months after Joshua Schnable got married, longtime chromedecay contributor and supporter Rob Theakston got married in scenic Lexington, Kentucky. Congratulations, Rob!

tablecloth (wedding abstract)
above: tablecloth (wedding abstract)

October 2008
Photographic experiments continued, as material was gathered for upcoming chromedecay photo and video releases.

michigan avenue, ypsilanti
above: a section of Michigan Avenue in Ypsilanti

November 2008
Here’s a favorite photo from November.

morning commute
above: morning commute

December 2008
December ended with more Processing work and photography.


rndm4 – processing sketch from chromedecay on Vimeo.
above: rndm4, made in Processing

gym mat abstract
above: gym mat abstract

Looking foward…
Next up: looking forward to 2009!

chromedecay studio look: TouchOSC with Ableton Live and BigSeq

I recently recorded a video that demonstrates using TouchOSC, OSCulator, Ableton Live and AudioDamage’s BigSeq plugin. TouchOSC is an interactive control surface that outputs OSC messages, which can then be converted to MIDI notes and CC data by OSCulator and other programs.

In this video, check out how much fun it is to control BigSeq with TouchOSC!


chromedecay studio look: TouchOSC with Ableton Live and BigSeq from chromedecay on Vimeo.

Links:

TouchOSC
http://hexler.net/touchosc

OSCulator (for converting OSC to MIDI)
http://www.osculator.net/

Ableton Live
http://www.ableton.com

AudioDamage BigSeq
http://www.audiodamage.com/effects/product.php?pid=AD009

Technical Information:

Screen recording was done with iShowU HD. This is my first time using it, and I’m quite pleased so far.

http://www.shinywhitebox.com/ishowuhd/main.html

The audio recording during the screen recording wasn’t so good because I was using the MacBook’s built-in mic. Attempts to get my external Firewire audio interface routed into iShowU HD through Soundflower were unsuccessful at first, but I’ll make sure I get that working for future videos.

The iPod Touch was recorded with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 camera.

chromedecay music on Vimeo

I’m pleased to present a nice piece of art from the Vimeo community. Charlie McCarthy, whose videos we’ve been enjoying for some months now, has used an excerpt from Bill Van Loo & J. Schnable’s “Raindays” in one of his latest videos on Vimeo.


Last Sunday around 10am from Charlie McCarthy on Vimeo.

Charlie’s been producing gorgeous slabs of color and texture on Vimeo for a while now, blowing us away each time. Thanks for including us, Charlie!

Also, there’s a nice little moody piece of downtown instrumental hip-hop video from the chromedecay sketchbooks:


chicago (as seen by car) from chromedecay on Vimeo.