Scientists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver have invented gloves that sing when you move your hands.

The musical mittens generate a computerised voice that replicates the sound of real vocal chords with every gesture. Yet – because the movements inside our larynxes are much more refined – the noise produced sounds remarkably like the Star Wars villain Darth Vader.

The inventors are confident the system could one day be simplified to help people with speech problems communicate.
But right now, it is enormously complicated and takes about 100 hours to play the extensive range of sounds that it is capable of.

Sidney Fels, who led their development, told New Scientist: ‘It’s very hard, it’s like trying to do your email while talking on the phone.’ Continue reading

Last Call for Application :: The Edith-Russ-Haus for Media Art offers three stipends for 2012 :: Each stipend consists of 10.000,- Euro for the realization of a new art project within the broad field of Media Art. You apply with a proposal
online at http://www.edith-russ-haus.de/no_cache/en/stipends/stipends/user-registration.html :: Deadline for application is February 29, 2012, 24:00 (CET)!

All detailed information about the programme, the conditions for application and the requirements of the stipend you can find at: http://www.edith-russ-haus.de/en/stipends/stipends/current.html

The Global Composition: Conference on Sound, Media and the Environment :: July 25-28, 2012 :: Darmstadt/Media Campus Dieburg (Hochschule Darmstadt), Frankfurt, Germany :: Call for Submissions — Deadline: March 12, 2012.

The sonic environment is an indicator for the quality of life: One crucial aspect, however, remains open and leads to a multitude of questions: Is this, what our hearing is exposed to, satisfying and enhancing our individual, social, functional, biological, economical, aesthetic and existential needs and endeavors? If not, which concepts exist to “orchestrate” everyday life’s cacophony? Which methods exist to successfully evaluate the quality of soundscapes? Continue reading

The School of Sound :: The Soundtrack Summer Workshop presented in collaboration with the ifs internationale filmschule köln :: August 11-31, 2012; 9:00 am - 6:00 pm :: Köln, Germany :: Application Deadline: May 25, 2012.

The Soundtrack Summer Workshop is especially designed for Editors, Sound Designers and Composers looking for new ways to work with each other and to improve their skills.

Application form here.

Focusing on the creation of soundtracks for fiction films, The Soundtrack goes beyond the usual teaching of sound design and composition to create an awareness of how these disciplines fit within the structure of film narrative. Continue reading

The Xth Sense,( Marco Donnarumma), a biophysical, wearable interactive technology for musical performance and responsive milieux has been awarded the first prize at the prestigious Guthman New Musical Instrument Competition as “the world’s most innovative new musical instrument.” The GNMIC is an annual event to find the world’s best new ideas in musicality, design, and engineering. It takes place at Georgia Tech, Atlanta, US.

This critically acclaimed event seeks to provide a fertile platform for the advancement of the studies on New Musical Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME).

The Xth Sense is a new and original, biophysical interactive system based on free, open source tools. The project goal is to investigate exploratory applications of biological sounds, namely muscle sounds, for musical performance and responsive milieux.

Complete information and a blog documenting the research can be viewed on-line. Continue reading

Harvestworks is offering a very unique and special class February 25, 2012 at 12:00 pm and February 26, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. :: Sonifying Wireless Data: Snuff Workshop with media artists Mario DeVega and Victor Mazon :: The workshop is 8 hours :: Maximum of 15 students.

Mario DeVega and Victor Mazon have been developing a special device that amplifies wireless internet traffic, bluetooth data transfer, mobile phones, microwaves and other devices with electromagnetic activity in the 2.4 GHz range. During two sessions on Saturday/Sunday (Feb 25/26) their Sonifying Wireless Data: Snuff Workshop will allow students to construct and experiment with a portable device able to amplify and de-modulate frequency ranges between 0.1 to 2.4 GHz. They will also discuss in detail the philosophy behind it.

Infantcore: Experimental Music by Babies. Motion tracking software converts the performers’ movements into sound :: February 18, 2012; 11:00 am – 4:00 pm :: Machine Project, 1200-D North Alvarado Street, Los Angeles, CA.

Taking the term “experimental venue” to one of its possible extremes, Machine Project brings you Infantcore. We have garnered a cadre of infant volunteers, graciously donated by their parents, who will serve as variables in an algorithmic sound composition. Scott Cazan has written some software for the occasion that uses a camera and a computer to track the babies’ movements and convert that information into different sonic phenomena. How will this sound? As we have never done this before, we really have no idea. It could sound terrible, not work, be boring, embarrass everyone and end in tears – like most everything at Machine Project. Continue reading

Sounding with David Dunn :: February 18, 2012; 7:00 pm :: Listening Gallery, 800 Lincoln Road, Miami, FL.

David Dunn is a deep yet entertaining thinker in all matters related to sound. For many years, his work with sound has explored the interaction between art, language and environment, and his brand of artistic curiosity has brought about a new field of insect sound studies and scientific research.

The Listening Gallery Soundings at the Artcenter are, not lectures, opening receptions or performances … but a sample of all-of-the-above. These are opportunities to meet the artist in a very special and intimate context. Continue reading

Icarus’ album, Fake Fish Distribution (FFD), uses generative and parametric software techniques to create 1000 unique records. FFD comes in the form of a vast array of structured variations on the album’s musical content, feeding unique versions to each unique listener.

The album is available as a limited edition, via the normal medium of music distribution — the media file download — with each of the 1000 versions only being sold once and in sequential order. Upon purchase, you become the owner of that unique version.

FFD is encoded as 320 kbps mp3 files, contains no digital rights management software. and will play in any digital music player able to handle mp3 playback.

http://www.twitter.com/birdy_electric

ChordPunch is a record label dedicated to algorithmic music: sound generated by or inspired by automated processes. Continue reading