Synaesthesia is a condition (or ability) whereby two or more senses are experientially intermingled; synaesthetes often perceive letters as having a particular colour, or can experience music not only as sound but also as having form, texture and colour. Although synaesthesia is typically an involuntary congenital condition, a research group are developing a device that may allow blind people to ‘see’ by converting video images to sound…
(more…)
Music Technology Posts from June, 2008
A New Vision Of Sound
Thursday, June 26th, 2008Music Marketing – Is Topspin The Answer?
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008I first became aware of Topspin when Ian Rogers left Yahoo Music earlier this year to become the CEO of this mysterious startup. Some of the suspense has been lifted now that Topspin has come out of stealth beta – but is this the new music marketing model that so many of us have been waiting for?
(more…)
Nude, Star Wars – Together At Last
Friday, June 20th, 2008While the idea of a nude version of Lucas’ classic movie may have some appeal, today’s post presents a rather different angle on two popular pieces of music. I mentioned Radiohead’s release of Nude in stem form a while ago, and while many excellent remixes emerged, the one featured below is easily the most unusual I’ve heard (or seen)…and in a similar vein, we have a floppy disk playing the Emperor’s march from Star Wars…
(more…)
The Curse Of The Resonant Studio
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008In my last post I advised that it may not be necessary to purge your home studio of all external sound – in fact, room sound may be beneficial to your recordings. However, it’s also a good idea to test for obtrusive resonances, as these can impair your ability to accurately balance a mix…
(more…)
The Curse Of The Silent Studio
Monday, June 16th, 2008Home studios have been popping up everywhere over the last decade. This is largely because computers became powerful enough to run sophisticated sequencer software, and the hardware required for a DAW also became affordable for hobbyists. One of the requirements of a professional studio is that it be perfectly soundproof and acoustically treated; however, it may not be either reasonable nor beneficial to attempt to achieve this at home…
(more…)
When Should I Record At 96kHz?
Friday, June 13th, 2008The standard audio CD plays back at a sample rate of 44.1 kHz and a bit depth of 16. As this is the highest resolution the vast majority of listeners will ever experience a recording at, and considering the fact that the upper threshold of human hearing is about 20 kHz, is there any real benefit to running your DAW at 96 kHz? Well, actually, yes there is…
(more…)
When Music Leaves You Cold
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008It’s very difficult to predict how people will respond to a given piece of music; everyone values music in a slightly different way, and at the heart of our musical taste is a largely undefinable emotional barometer. However, I suspect that a live performance by Terje Isungset, a Norwegian artist who plays instruments carved from pure ice, would send a shiver down anyone’s spine…
(more…)
Warner Pulls Music From Last.FM
Monday, June 9th, 2008Last.fm’s on-demand streaming service has proven to be extremely popular, with its number of unique listeners up 92% only four weeks after the service was first launched. Warner Music Group have now thrown a spanner in the works, however, as they have officially withdrawn their catalogue…
(more…)
Time To Widen Your Image
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008The use of stereo imagers tends to draw mixed reactions from producers – some people love them, and some never touch them. Imagers are usually applied at the mastering stage, where the overall mix needs to be tightened up a bit at the bottom and spread out more at the top…
(more…)
Is Twitter The New MySpace?
Monday, June 2nd, 2008Social networks seem to have a fairly predictable life cycle; months or years of obscurity are followed by a sudden meteoric ascent, a spell of glorious world domination, and then a slow decline as advertisers and users realise that most of the other ‘users’ are actually dormant acccounts. Is this the case with MySpace?
(more…)