Monkeys & Synths

We like to mix it up @ the blog of choice and found the article below:
http://createdigitalmusic.com/2012/05/synths-versus-real-primates-so-easy-a-monkey-can-play-it/#more-24069


Composer and Swedish dance music maestro Håkan Libdo has been a constant source of experimentation. But his latest project yields zoo-like new adventurousness. Six species of monkeys are equipped with synthesizers to test the question of whether playing a synth is really playing music – or if it’s so simple, a monkey can do it. 


Describing the project, there’s a bit of a defense of the complexity of the instrument:


“You just press a button and out comes music, right?” Well… you do press buttons, twist knobs and faders, but there are endless ways of doing this. That is why the synthesizer is one of the greatest example of human ingenuity and engineering — something that makes us different from the monkeys.


You obviously can’t just break into the monkey cage with some finds from eBay and try this yourself. Lest you think there was some animal cruelty involved, Skansen Aquarium in Stockholm was a collaborator in the film. Here’s a look at what happens – the Bliptronic is to me the clear winner as a monkey-playable instrument, and in the end, some keyboards just … lose.





It’s all a teaser – and a clever one – for Sweden’s Voltfestivalen, coming up June 9. Edited by Simon Carlgren, concept by Håkan Lidbo. Of course, this doesn’t answer whether monkeys can be DJs… or Paris Hilton, for that matter. (She announced her debut DJ set date today and was, perhaps, met with more skepticism than these adorable zoo animals.) 

Choppertone, Wooden Ableton Jazz Controller, and Folk Music of the 21st Century: Video

“Folk music of the 21st Century” – radio broadcaster, jazz aficionado, and jazz-based Ableton Live instrumentalist / remix artist Nick Francis really sums up what this whole site is about. As he chops up jazz greats in Ableton, his mash-up music chops are as much musical analysis as they are performance. He walks through his controller moves in a pedagogical way, highlighting the meat of the jazz legends he puts into play. It’s a kind of digital transcription, transcribing re-imagined for Ableton’s colored blocks in place of.

Of course, you’ll only be able to reflect on this once you can take your eyes off that stunning wooden controller, which has the look of a decades-old instrument. Kraftwerk in their early days would have chuckled at the polished-wooden nostalgia, but here, it’s about care as much as memory – and Nick is a fan of Kraftwerk, DJ Shadow, and others. None other than Matt Moldover inspired all of this. (I look forward to catching up with Matt in California next month.)

Remixing the World: A Sampler of Sampling

The possibilities of a microphone and the world are limitless, so as this week we looked at a recording of music made with playgrounds, a mic, and Ableton Live, readers responded in kind with a fantastic spectrum of sampling-inspired, real world-produced musical wonder.

Berlin's Techno Scene From The Start

Real Scenes: Berlin from Resident Advisor on Vimeo.