iku LIVE @ 909FEST w/ visuals by Gleix - - - Full set up on youtube
in visual
Via youtube description -
I've been quietly working on a DIY Modular Video Synthesizer. Here's a little sketch using the current working modules, a circuit bent Casio SK-1, and the Modbox 37. Lots to document on the modular! A lot has been done but I've not documented it just yet, hoping to get to that soon - more to come.
Casio SK-1 & MB37: http://gleix.net/modbox-37
Initial blogpost re: modular: http://gleix.net/updates/2020/9/25/beginning-the-gleix-video-modular
Put together some footage of my install at last years Cityfox Halloween festival.
Around this time last year I was given the opportunity to put together a themed composition with synchronized lighting for the "Lobby of the Lost" at the Cityfox Experience Halloween Festival at Avant Gardner here in Brooklyn.
The 30 minute piece moves through a series of dark atmospheres, anxiety driven percussive moments, ambient textures and (given the room's theme) some eerie circus-type melodies. The music is accompanied by a collection of sequenced strobe lights, chandeliers, wash lights, and glowing gowns that surround the room.
Both the music and the lighting sequence were written in Image-Line’s FL Studio. The lighting sequence, written in a series of 14-bit MIDI triggers and automation envelopes next to the music, is sent in real-time via a loopback into Derivative Touchdesigner where the data is processed and sent out as DMX values to each of the fixtures. A simple previz system was also built within Touchdesigner to visualize the lighting data during the sequencing process.
It was an absolute highlight of my year getting to dive into such a unique project and see it all come together. To everyone at the venue who helped in any way, Billy for the opportunity, and those who came by to check out what I went nuts working on for a couple weeks, thank you. Hope to do something like this again some day 🎃 Happy Halloween!
https://www.gleix.net https://www.instagram.com/gleix
Thank you to https://www.brendanzoltowski.com for helping capture footage during the event.
#cityfox #halloween #installation #synchronizedlighting #touchdesigner #flstudio
A commissioned circuit bent Casio SA-8 build.
Hard on/off switch
1/8” switching audio output jack
Squealing feedback/distortion knob with on/off
Glitch trigger button with depth knob
Power indicator LED, lightly flashes to audio output
Five additional tone select buttons allowing access to an additional 75 voices
A switch for dropping the clock speed of the SA-8 allowing it to run in a much slower, pitched down mode
October, 2020.
I did visuals for @iku.picocore during the last @iochipmusicnyc stream, and the other day they reached out to commission some custom visuals for their 20 minute set during the @909worldwide event this past Saturday. This may go up on youtube at some point, but in the meantime here are a few clips on Instagram.
Excited to have these done. The EK-001 below is one of the more advanced versions of this build I’ve ever done. I’ve been aiming to do proper VO overviews of things recently, despite the time it takes, and I’m pretty happy with how these came out.
And a very brief one for the SA-9:
After building the VGS-35, VGS-FB, and eventually the 100PFB, I realized that I wanted to do a more fully-formed video synthesizer for myself.
I went back and forth on layout designs, enclosures, what to include, how to include it, and ultimately realized that the project was continuously expanding in scope as I learned more and more. I was removing features based on the size of the enclosures I could find, and limiting the functionality as a result.
So, after realizing that I don’t want to limit myself, and I want to be able to expand my video synth as I continue to learn, I’ve decided to go the modular route.
Panel Progress
I’ve been working first on designing a layout and building a few panels. None of these are functional yet, except for the LFO which I built based on Niklas Ronnberg’s design as I needed a module for testing purposes.
As things develop I hope to build out a dedicated spot in the Devices section for these modules so I can document their development and share resources.
I’ve got a few things for sale which you can check out here!
I’m in the process of making videos for each device, but I’ve linked to previous builds that are very similar to the ones for sale. Feel free to get in touch with any questions you might have!
'FM in the B4' by Broken Alias is out today on all streaming platforms. You can also pick up a limited edition cassette available on Bandcamp which featuring stills from a DIY video synthesizer.
[Links]
Album stream with analog visuals • Bandcamp • Spotify • Lagom Audio/Visual • Broken Alias Webpage
Broken Alias is a project that was conceived in an effort to keep music that I make on mobile platforms & consoles separate from the other music I produce, and this album is no exception. FM in the B4 is, like previous Broken Alias works, an album written entirely while traveling and commuting in NYC, using Caustic for Android. As a theme this album explores FM Synthesis as a primary tool. The album title is derived from this fact, and due to this album being written in 2019 - in what many of us might now consider the "before times.”
Released through Lagom Audio/Visual.
Check out the page here!
Via the 100PFB page:
The 100PFB, which stands for 100% Feedback, is a video synthesizer based around creating a no-input feedback loop by feeding two analog video signal converters into each other and exposing controls for manipulating the image.
The I/O includes two composite video outputs (one for the main mix, one for a mini monitor), a VGA output, an external signal/audio input with on/off, and a 5v power jack.
The main panel includes mix knobs for the red, green and blue channels, ‘pulse’ buttons for each channel, an LFO with on/off and controls for rate, shape, depth, switches to send the LFO to each color channel, image shift buttons, zoom/crop adjustment, basic menu controls, and switches for causing some visual glitches.
The device was built into an enclosure which was painted using a hydro-dipping marbling technique.
Custom built for Adam Kane who does visuals over at the 100% Electronica stream on Twitch.
August, 2020.
IO Chip Music NYC is hosting a second international chiptune open mic! This time around I’ll be premiering a brand new song & music video off of an upcoming Broken Alias EP, and I’ll also be doing visuals for a few acts! Full lineup and info below.
I’ll have an audio/visual piece of mine, “Aurora”, shown at this event coming up on August 15th. This event takes place in two rooms on the VR platform Sansar which also has a desktop client.
Check out the event page here.
2020/08/23 EDIT: I have uploaded my visual performance from the showcase here.
Hosted by @neverknowsbetter and @creativecodeart
I had some documentation on circuit bending the Casio SA series up, but while helping somebody work on their own I realized how shoddy, old, and ugly those old images were and decided to make a new one. This new diagram includes all information I’m currently aware of in regards to circuit bending the Casio SA-2 (and many others in the Casio SA family) based on personal experience and available information scattered across the internet.
Over at the schematics page
Via the ‘Other Instruments & Toys’ page:
I stuck an LTC1799 oscillator module in a lil box which can be connected up to the gameboy via 1/8" stereo cable for variable speed under/overclocking. I really didn’t want to add any ugly controls to the Gameboy itself, so this worked out well. It runs like normal without it plugged in, but with it plugged in you're able to use coarse and fine control knobs to drop it to a near-stop at 100Khz, or speed it up to 7.12Mhz (original gameboys run at 4.19Mhz). It crashes any higher than that, so I capped the speed there (though the 1799 does go up to 33Mhz). Also added a switch to set the max speed at either 1x or 1.7x, so in a performance setting there's no need to fumble around for the proper speed after dropping it down. Fun for music, also a quality of life improvement for the Pokemon grind. This gameboy has been a nice restoration project, and has a few other mods as well (Backlight, bivert chip, internal pro-sound mod, internal speaker amplifier, glass screen cover).
Check the photo gallery for a wiring diagram! The 1799 module I used came from Amazon, though any will work.
August, 2020.
Finished up a reworked version of the video I debuted at I/O Chip Music NYC’s International Open Mic stream the other day!
My Chiptune project Broken Alias will be taking part in an international open mic event for artists who make chip music, as well as visual artists, on the 11th and 12th! See poster below.
I’ll have a selection off of Travelchip and a live performed visual accompaniment. Come stop by at 10am on July 11th and 9pm July 12th at twitch.tv/iochipmusic
The fireworks were nonstop in Brooklyn for the past few weeks, and I put together this little pixel art scene with background ambience of the city on July 4th :)
A new page has been made for a recent build, the VGS-FB. Like the post-title says, this new device is meant to expand the abilities of a previous build of mine. In conjunction with the VGS-35 this functions as an analog video feedback generator and a lofi video synthesizer. Check it out here!
Working on getting a video together.
Finally got this reel together! Here are a bunch of moments from running live visuals in 2019 condensed into a little reel.
It took me getting through the ~20 event recap videos (Cutting 5-7 hours of footage down to <15 minutes each) and then selecting some sections from all of those, so it’s been something I sort of put on the backburner due to the sheer amount of time needed. So glad to have all of this together now!