Granular Synthesis News

20th of May 2008: ACMC08 The Australasian Computer Music Conference 10-12 July 2008

The theme for this upcoming conference is sound:space. How space plays a role in sound will be discussed from various perspectives. Live sound spaces including multi-channel diffusion systems, sound installations, and electronic music venues will probably be a big topic. Virtual spaces such as the Internet will definately be discussed, as will acoustic spaces such as recording environments, and surround sound recording systems. My own paper deals with acoustic spaces used in the creation of virtual environments, using the eco-structuralism technique for composition.

Registration for this conference should alreaady be open. Visit the web site: http://www.acmc08.org for more information. I hope to see a lot of people there!

6th of May 2008: Web Site updates

I have been busy adding new software links to the site, and updating various other thing on the site to make it more useful. There is also a built in MP3 player to play various granular synthesis musical works online on the music page. Lastly I have added an RSS feed for anyone who wants to subscribe and be notified whenever there is significant new content. Just click on any of the RSS icons to subscribe, at some point I might also include occasional podcasts within the RSS feed, but not yet.

24th of April 2008: Tristram Cary

Tristram Cary has sadly passed away. Having spoken briefly with him only a couple of months earlier, I was shocked to hear of his death. There was still so much I wanted to hear from him. He was an inspiration to all aspiring electronic musicians. He was very generous and kind. Going by popular sources, he will most likely be remembered for the incidental music he wrote for Doctor Who because in most writings about him this is one of the first items mentioned, and although I am a huge Doctor Who fan, it is only a small part of what he should be remembered for, for it does not even begin to encompass the mind that pioneered electronic music in the early years. Tristram Cary built electronic instruments from dismantled equipment from WWII. He built an entire electronic music studio in his backyard, long before the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was set up. He wrote a lot of music for the BBC incorporating electronic music and musique concrete techniques. He also helped found EMS and designed the VCS3 portable synthesiser used by Pink Floyd, Brian Eno and Aphex Twin. He has composed many notable pieces of music. Some of which are hosted on his web site: http://www.tristramcary.com. Tristram Cary is also featured on the documentary What the Future Sounded Like published in 2007. If you want to get a fresh view on electronic music, look him up. Listen to his music, read about his life, and his inventions. You will come away full of new ideas.

Farewell Tristram Cary.