New CDM Minisite: Sound Design and Performance
with Kore, Reaktor, Komplete

To really work with music software as an instrument, you have to focus on a set of tools and get deep into what they can do. Today, we’re launching the first of a limited series of minisites that lets us do that. It’s called Kore @CDM, devoted to NI’s Kore and Komplete lines. We’ve built a special blog which will feature regular tips on how to work with this set of tools, basic and advanced tutorials, and downloadable content, all free and open. (The contents of the site will be Creative Commons-licensed, so you’re free to share and modify what we do, with credit to the authors.)

Kore Minisite @CDM, http://kore.noisepages.com

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Why choose this product now?  I’ve felt really strongly, even having been critical of Kore’s first release, that Kore 2 has the potential to live up to its promise of creating a "meta-instrument" for working with sound and effects. Combined with the rest of the Komplete family, including Reaktor’s open-ended patching environment and the scriptable sampler Kontakt, NI has some deep tools — not perfect, not for everyone, but tools that matter to us. We want to really get into how to use them, and to develop a set of techniques and tools for others, both for sound design and live performance, in combination with hosts like Ableton Live. And this means not just doing stuff "by the book," but really seeing how far we can push these tools, sonically and in playability.

Kicking things off is Eoin Rossney, who talks about how to create feedback loops intentionally in Kore for special effects. It’s something mentioned in the manual, but there haven’t been instructions on how to accomplish it until now. Eoin takes that challenge on, and produces some really oddball sounds just by routing effects into themselves. Have a listen to the samples — just be sure to turn your speakers’ volume down first.

How to Route Feedback Loops in Kore - On Purpose [Kore @CDM]

Peter Dines, a Reaktor whiz and author of the Reaktor Tips blog, will also be writing and screencasting for us soon. Both Eoin and Peter have been CDM regulars, so it’s great to have them onboard.

Why we’re partnering with NI: So that we can provide as much content as we can for free, we’ve gotten sponsorship from Native Instruments to produce the site. But that doesn’t mean we want to make an "advertorial." NI has been generous enough to give us full control over the contents, and the goal isn’t a review, or an ad — it’s as much actual knowledge of these tools as we can provide. And, hey, it’s basically our job to demonstrate that by doing as good a job as we can and listening to your feedback. I’m happy to answer questions about why we’re doing things this way and what it means; we can talk in comments or contact the site.

Most of all, though, I hope you’ll check out the site. If you don’t own Kore or the other tools, we’ll still have sound and video samples and will include instructions for trying out projects in the demo, if you just want to kick the tires a bit. And definitely let us know what you think as we roll out more stories, because we want this to be as useful to you as possible.

Oh, yeah, and if you’re wondering about what the "noisepages.com" thing is about, you’ll be hearing more soon. Suffice to say the Kore site isn’t all we’re working on.

Bonus points to anyone else who had the "opportunity" to see the movie Deep Kore Core.

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Gorgeous DIY MIDIBox64, MIDI Controller for Live,
Traktor, Max

"DIY project" may conjure up images of something hacked-together and rustic, but then you see projects like this one from William "Logo." Cheap-looking, mass-produced controllers, begone — behold the luxury US$400 and some construction talent can produce!

Logo shares the project on EM411:

After being dissatisfied with a dozen or so controllers, and due to the lack of quality affordable DJ mixer style ones on the market, I bit the bullet and went the DIY route. Overall it cost around $400 to make (it would of been about $300 if I didn’t make several ordering mistakes and splurge on super nice faders). It was by far the largest electronics project I’ve taken on and have the scars to prove it (aka I wanted to throw it out the window several times). Painful but worth it. I’ve never felt anything so damn hefty. It consists of 16 knobs, 5 faders, 16 arcade buttons, and 32 MIDI controlled LED buttons.
I plan on using it primarily for "crazy" 4 channel chopped up DJ sets in Live and simple sets in Traktor. I’m also in the midst of making some simple step sequencers for it in Max to take advantage of the fancy led buttons.

And, of course, having a controller no one else does? Priceless.

This project makes use of the popular MIDIBox project, but we’re also expecting solutions soon based on Livid’s MIDI DIY control board. Which you choose comes down to the configuration you want, but we’ll have more details on the MIDI DIY soon.

More photos (including electronics pr0n shots of the innards), including those above, at William’s set on Flickr:

MIDIBox

Previously, also featuring increasingly-popular arcade buttons:

All-Arcade Ableton Live Controller, DIY Hardware by The Prevolt

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Scott Weiland Released On First Day Of Sentence

Rocker Scott Weiland reportedly walked free from jail on Monday - just hours after checking himself in to serve his eight-day sentence for driving under the influence (DUI). It's claimed the singer began his stint behind bars at a California prison at 8:55am [...] Read more!

Read The Full Article:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/05/13/scott_weiland_released_on_firs
t_day_of_s

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'American Idol' Viewers Are Disappearing

NEW YORK (AP) - Contestants are disappearing as the ''American Idol'' finale approaches. Unfortunately for Fox, so are the viewers. The 21.8 million people who watched last Tuesday's competition was the show's smallest Tuesday audience in more than five years.[...] Read more!

Read The Full Article:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/05/13/american_idol_viewers_are_disa
ppearing

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Lil Wayne: 'Cocaine Ruined My Looks'

Rapper Lil Wayne has given up taking cocaine, because the drug ruins his complexion. The Lollipop hit-maker insists he now sticks to marijuana, after experiments with the white powder threatened to ruin his good looks.[...] Read more!

Read The Full Article:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/05/13/lil_wayne_cocaine_ruined_my_lo
oks_

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Judge Sentences Remy Ma To 8 Years In Prison

NEW YORK (AP) - A weeping Remy Ma was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday for shooting a woman outside a Manhattan nightclub.[...] Read more!

Read The Full Article:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/05/13/judge_sentences_remy_ma_to_8_y
ears_in_pr

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New CocoRosie - "God Has A Voice, She Speaks
Through Me"

A year after The Adventures Of Ghosthorse & Stillborn, the sisters Casady are back with a digital-only single, "God Has A Voice, She Speaks Through Me." We're told Bianca and Sierra are working a new album, which will be out in 2009, and that, like "God.." it will involve "exploring spiritual dance music, driven by oceanic and apocalyptic themes." So, kinda like last time, no? It's also mentioned that "Until then, the girls will continue their endless summer journey, one that has taken them to beach side studios around the world, where folk musicians from Madagascar and Reunion Island gathered to lend their hands in creating the future lives of CocoRosie." This should provide some fascinating sonic, textural overlaps. For now, we can offer "God Has A Voice," an instructional auto-tuning paeon to Mama Nature.

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Welcome To The Next British Invasion ... Of Women

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) - Singer Duffy sits next to a clear blue swimming pool on a hotel rooftop patio, the sun setting behind her blond bouffant. [...] Read more!

Read The Full Article:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/05/13/welcome_to_the_next_british_in
vasion_of_

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Boring survey: Is Music Thing working OK
technically

Keith writes: "Hi, I've been reading your blog for years now and took a break from the internet for about 10-12 months. I'm back on and I noticed you've redesigned the page but it loads really slow and crashes Internet Explorer for me every time. Firefox loads it fine but, again, really slowly."

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Port O'Brien Get "Stuck On A Boat" For Your
Enjoyment

When Port O'Brien get nautical -- boats, ports, fishermen's sons -- they speak from experience. Or at least lead Porter Van Pierszalowski and bandmate Cambria Goodwin do. During a recent QYDJ they shared what it was like to work in a small Alaskan fishing town, on a boat and in a cannery respectively. Mix in that geographic isolation and disparate day jobs with the pair's romantic relationship, and you've got a fertile space for songwriting. The band name tells you just how heavily the seafaring life weighs on the band's work, but maybe nowhere more evidently and autobiographically as in "Stuck On A Boat." In this video the band put together for us, Van speaks to the intersecting themes that spark the simple All We Could Do Was Sing standout, and the band follows the intro with a La Blog-styled live performance in the lobby of Port O'Brien's Oakland, CA rehearsal space.

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