The Amazing Rolo's old blog (the new one is at theamazingrolo.net)
Friday, April 10, 2009
Freshening up around here
Today I started implementing a brand-new Amazing Rolo site, designed to integrate all of my various pages more tightly with my blog. Everything will now be based from theamazingrolo.net, and I won't be updated this blog anymore. All the old posts from this blog have been exported there, and I'm in the process of updating the music, sound design, and video pages.
See you there! ¶ 4:14 PM 0 Comments
See you there! ¶ 4:14 PM 0 Comments
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Introducing the Chicken Box!
Here's a little demo video of me playing around with a synth I finished building this weekend. It has just three knobs (whose function I don't really understand) and it sounds crazy cool!
All of this synth building will eventually culminate in an interactive installation called "Don't Talk Back". More on that later... ¶ 7:50 AM 1 Comments
Here's a little demo video of me playing around with a synth I finished building this weekend. It has just three knobs (whose function I don't really understand) and it sounds crazy cool!
All of this synth building will eventually culminate in an interactive installation called "Don't Talk Back". More on that later... ¶ 7:50 AM 1 Comments
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Hello folks.
I don't think I've mentioned it here yet, but I'm currently on a tour of the music industry in Poland, thanks to the British Council. It's been an amazing experience, and last night I played a show using the Wii LoopMachine at Jadlodajnia Filozoficzna, a totally awesome independent venue in Warsaw. The crowd was fantastic, thanks so much for being so supportive!
For those of you who were asking about the music, my Music page is in need of a refresh, I'm afraid, but if you poke around my blog you can find the songs I played last night! Here are two of them right away:
EarthFireWindWaterHeart
Rolled and Tumbled
Enjoy! ¶ 6:40 AM 1 Comments
I don't think I've mentioned it here yet, but I'm currently on a tour of the music industry in Poland, thanks to the British Council. It's been an amazing experience, and last night I played a show using the Wii LoopMachine at Jadlodajnia Filozoficzna, a totally awesome independent venue in Warsaw. The crowd was fantastic, thanks so much for being so supportive!
For those of you who were asking about the music, my Music page is in need of a refresh, I'm afraid, but if you poke around my blog you can find the songs I played last night! Here are two of them right away:
EarthFireWindWaterHeart
Rolled and Tumbled
Enjoy! ¶ 6:40 AM 1 Comments
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Introducing the Jam Jar!
I'm working on a project right now that involves building digital synthesizers that react to light. As a first step I made a small synth that I was able to fit inside a jam jar. I creatively named it the Jam Jar, and it totally rocks. Here's a video that explains what it is and shows me jamming out with Ableton Live!
For more pictures check out my Flickr set. ¶ 3:56 PM 2 Comments
I'm working on a project right now that involves building digital synthesizers that react to light. As a first step I made a small synth that I was able to fit inside a jam jar. I creatively named it the Jam Jar, and it totally rocks. Here's a video that explains what it is and shows me jamming out with Ableton Live!
For more pictures check out my Flickr set. ¶ 3:56 PM 2 Comments
Monday, March 02, 2009
Penalty Shootout
On the 28th of January 2009, Dundee United and Glasgow Celtic battled to a 0-0 tie in the semi-final of the CIS Scottish League Cup. The game thus went to penalty kicks.
Celtic won, but not before every player on both teams (including the goalies) took shots in what must have been one of the most epic penalty shootouts in Scottish (if not world) football history.
Watching the coverage I was struck by how the camera angles were always very similar for each penalty. I edited the footage and layered each of these similar camera angles on top of one another to create a composite version of the shootout, compressing the 24 shots into one. The angles were all different lengths, so sometimes you only see one or two layers, and occasionally you see many. I did a similar process with the sound, although I wasn't quite as rigid, as you will hear. ¶ 2:42 PM 3 Comments
On the 28th of January 2009, Dundee United and Glasgow Celtic battled to a 0-0 tie in the semi-final of the CIS Scottish League Cup. The game thus went to penalty kicks.
Celtic won, but not before every player on both teams (including the goalies) took shots in what must have been one of the most epic penalty shootouts in Scottish (if not world) football history.
Watching the coverage I was struck by how the camera angles were always very similar for each penalty. I edited the footage and layered each of these similar camera angles on top of one another to create a composite version of the shootout, compressing the 24 shots into one. The angles were all different lengths, so sometimes you only see one or two layers, and occasionally you see many. I did a similar process with the sound, although I wasn't quite as rigid, as you will hear. ¶ 2:42 PM 3 Comments
Friday, February 13, 2009
Chasing Geese
Here's a track I made the other day...I took a recording of "Wild Goose Chase" played by the incredible fiddler Clyde Davenport and edited two little sections out.
I then imported those samples into Ableton and layered them all together, using follow actions to randomize the way they were layered and played back. This created a sort of Steve Reich phasing effect, except with the added fun of randomness.
Enjoy!
The Amazing Rolo - Goose Chasing ¶ 10:22 AM 1 Comments
Here's a track I made the other day...I took a recording of "Wild Goose Chase" played by the incredible fiddler Clyde Davenport and edited two little sections out.
I then imported those samples into Ableton and layered them all together, using follow actions to randomize the way they were layered and played back. This created a sort of Steve Reich phasing effect, except with the added fun of randomness.
Enjoy!
The Amazing Rolo - Goose Chasing ¶ 10:22 AM 1 Comments
Friday, February 06, 2009
Gol show at the Filmhouse
I'll be playing some music tomorrow night at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh. My friends Pete Vilk and Roxana Pope have included me in their Gol project, so I'll be playing some keyboards and doing plenty of live sampling, Max/MSP trickery, and general sonic mayhem! We've been rehearsing a lot lately and it sounds great, a mix of electronic, acoustic, Iranian traditional music, improvisation, and heavy beats. The show is part of the Edinburgh Iranian Festival, which features great films, music, art, and a really nice logo.
We've got some more shows coming up, including one very special one that all of you in the internets will be able to watch, so check back soon for more details.
In the mean time, I'll be headed to London on Monday, for a very exciting interview! Who ever said I was "French-born"? I often find that people assume that your citizenship is the same as your birthplace... ¶ 12:36 PM 0 Comments
I'll be playing some music tomorrow night at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh. My friends Pete Vilk and Roxana Pope have included me in their Gol project, so I'll be playing some keyboards and doing plenty of live sampling, Max/MSP trickery, and general sonic mayhem! We've been rehearsing a lot lately and it sounds great, a mix of electronic, acoustic, Iranian traditional music, improvisation, and heavy beats. The show is part of the Edinburgh Iranian Festival, which features great films, music, art, and a really nice logo.
We've got some more shows coming up, including one very special one that all of you in the internets will be able to watch, so check back soon for more details.
In the mean time, I'll be headed to London on Monday, for a very exciting interview! Who ever said I was "French-born"? I often find that people assume that your citizenship is the same as your birthplace... ¶ 12:36 PM 0 Comments
