Studio going well . . .

Well, I have gotten off to a good start. Very happy to be working. I gave up the idea of creating the separate plugins. They just kept crashing the computer and weren't working very well. But, besides that, Cliona and I recorded three takes of of the harp piece (see previous post). Unfortunately there was a big outdoor concert going on in the park (a mile away) and it was bouncing off the music building. So, we were lucky to get three takes in. Jason Dixon (see link at right) was really a sport. He made a great recording. He even offered to mix the recording down for me. Thanks Jason. Hopefully I will have a copy of the recording up on the website in the next few weeks. But, probably not before I get back from Barcelona. Still looking forward to that little trip. I am hoping to have my bio on the website (it needs a rewrite) by the end of the weekend. So much to do!

Returning to the studio . . .

Angela and I had a great weekend. We finally had time to hold our Spanish tapas party. There are pictures somewhere and we might post them somewhere. It was a long weekend with a lot of food and drink and now that it is over I am returning to the world of the studio. I was able to get a 8-speaker panning system set up last week before taking time away (basically I can move the sound around an 8-speaker ring which sorrounds the listener.) I will have to see how that works out in practical use. So, I plan to spend the next week down in the studio. I will be working with Dr. Cliona Doris, harpist, to record mediation, meditation, mediation (for harp and electronics) this Tuesday. I will publish the recording to my website in the next few weeks. In the meantime . . . back to work.

The kids . . .

Had a great day teaching kids from the Discovering Queen's Program. It's really enjoyable to see these young poeple take to computers and sounds, etc so readliy. They are all so talented; it's a shame the world has to get a hold of them.

Studio . . .

I am in the Harrison studio now (in the Music Department). Things are going slowly and it's very quiet around here -- no students, no faculty. This is probably because it's so WARM outside. Can you believe it, a warm day in Belfast? Yesterday we all went down to the Botanic Gardens and sat in the sun listening to local groups playing. There was a food fair as well. I turned a bit pink as the sun was so BRIGHT. This must be our indian summer. I think I am going to go over to the office and snoop around a bit, get some coffee, etc. . . .

The next posting . . .

Good morning . . . rainy, drizzly day here in Belfast. This morning I am participating in a spatialisation study done by Eimear Twomey (SARC graduate student). Basically a group of us diffuse a piece over the 42 speaker system and Eimear records the movements; then, she begins to analyze the movement and tries to coordinate it with the content of the music (amplitude, frequency, etc.) Then I am off to the school of music in the afternoon where Jason Dixon (my evil twin) has been kind enough to set up (and solder!) the Harrison Studio so I may work unobstructed for the next two months in glorious octophony (eh, . . . 8-speakers). So, the panopticon project (see earlier post) is off the ground today. My partner Angela is back from Paris and has given me the gift of foie gras (goose liver pate), confit de canard (duck legs boiled in duck fat) and a few bottles of wine. We are gonna pic-nic on the floor sometime soon.

August . . .

The first two weeks of August I am collecting vinyl from thrift shops throughout Ireland. So far this is providing an interesting activity. My goal is use sources such as the Alexander Brothers (pictured) and Maestro Montovani, amongst other exquisite eccentricities, to develop a multi-channel work with the running title of Panopticon. To get some idea of where I am going with this project, you might want to look into the architecture of the panopticon.

In October I will be working with the Uilleann piper Flaithrí Neff to create a new work for pipes and electronics (MSP). I am really looking forward to this. Flaithrí, along with his brother Eoghan (fiddle) are incredibly talented musicians. They just returned from a tour with Riverdance where they saw the world. Finally, I am looking into purchasing the Parrallax Basic Stamp unit in order to prototype a new interface for the Max/MSP/Jitter environment based upon accelerometers and inclinometers. I believe this reflects my return to live solo performance practice (Yippie!).

This will be a good distraction during the write-up of my dissertation which begins in January (yippie . . .) In additon to the above I will be joining colleague Chris McClellan to teach 14-18 year old students the basics of recording and digital processing via the Discovering Queen's programme. I've done this twice before and it is always alot of fun. My blog should be up soon, I intend to mirror this page (the 'current' page) there as well as provide some fun stuff and thoughts.

I feel the good energy coming on . . . how about you?