reacTable

The reactable is a collaborative electronic music instrument with a tabletop tangible multi-touch interface. Several simultaneous performers share complete control over the instrument by moving and rotating physical objects on a luminous round table surface. By moving and relating these objects, representing components of a classic modular synthesizer, users can create complex and dynamic sonic topologies, with generators, filters and modulators, in a kind of tangible modular synthesizer or graspable flow-controlled programming language.

http://mtg.upf.es/reactable/

Bjork at Coachella Festival, California, 2007.

There's no space for food on this table. :) The amount of work involved to create this amazing phenomenon... I'm just over-awed. Genius...

Digidesign... DODOdesign?

I was once in awe with this beauty. A control surface that can control almost everything in Protools in realtime.

• 16 Focusrite Preamps (YUMMY!),


• automation of plugin parameters(MAGIC!),


• 5.1 mixing capability,


• and all these via 1 ethernet cable!

Yeah yeah yeah, I'm not a fan of Protools, but I don't mind bending backwards just to record/mix on this babe.

And now this babe has aged into this...

According to Digidesign, we can now 'upgrade' the old 16 Focusrite Class A preamps to the new 16 'high quality, low noise' preamps ??? And pay again if you wanna upgrade to Protools 7.4 ??? My poor baby has definately aged... the golden years are 'gone with the wind'...

Symphony of Destruction !!!

Hell Yeah! More than a decade ago, I was listening to the cassette 'Countdown to Extinction'. Now the the good ol' nasal Dave is still screeching in front of me! hahaha...

The interesting thing about such gigs is the simplicity of it. Clean stage free of any Jack Daniels, Jim Beams, TS9s, Wah pedals, only a setlist stuck right beside the mic stand. Even the FOH tent was unusually neat, with a serious lack of beer cans, and outboards effects and preamps, and compressors and.... Thanks to Yamaha's PM5D which effectively robbed any chances of eye-candy for gearslutz ! Arrrgghhhh!!!

*A night of horns*

What was interesting was that when I was in the moshpit, this young minah chick beside me was actually singing to most of the songs. Here's where I believe, music has no generation gap. :)Check out equipment list here. http://focalproaudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1350#1350

Avolites Pearl Programmers' Course '07

Thanks Tony for the arrangement and Dawn for the comprehensive course. For people with conventional background, this is hell lots of fun. And it beats going up the genie to focus the lights...

Guess who's on Pro Audio Asia '07 !!!

Yes! Self praise is disgrace! But do I look like I give a damn? So leave your sour grapes in your pocket and suck it up... :)

Focal presents... Drum Recording Workshop '07

Joshua Agilan - Drumstruck Studios

Hey Eugene, thanks for the pics!

It was quite amazing. To be in company of good fellas. The turnout was cosy, and therefore comfortable. From the positive feedback, I think that would warrant a couple of beers. By the way, Josh rocks man! and not to forget the rest of the speakers as well...

Hadaka: K!

Hadaka: K is the conclusive installment of the Hadaka series initiated by Yuen Chee Wai. Over three days, sound will be the medium of negotiation between the artists and their audience.

In the subtractive colour model used in traditional printing techniques, black typically appears to be one of the most important colour units. It augments characteristics the rest lacks. Black embraces a sense of mystery. Black tells of extremes. Hadaka: K is the culmination – a combination of all the processes of the previous Hadakas. It is so singular yet it is a multiplicity of colours. The 9 artists shall attempt to work, talk, collaborate, in creating, nothing. Yet everything.

The artists will participate in a daily open studio-styled workshop which members of the public are free to be witness. The night performance will feature at least three artists performaing in a relay, replacing one another in turn and closing in a final jam session.

The programme will not be revealed until the day of the performance. So there is always a fluid, amorphous energy. The audience joins the experience of discovery - like the workshop process the artists will be participating in. It also highlights the "uncurated" and democratic approach to the entire Hadaka, where every participant is a stakeholder.

The artists participating in Hadaka K: are Venza Christ (Indonesia), George Chua (Singapore), Dickson Dee (Hong Kong), Atsuhiro Ito (Japan), Jin Sang Tae (Korea), Otomo Yoshide (Japan), Vu Nhat Tan (Vietnam), Yuen Chee Wai (Singapore) and Zai Kuning (Singapore)

Hit for more details from Esplanade!

Very interesting concept where you actually get to see working relationships, between everyone that's involved in putting up this show, musicians, techs, engineers, and most of all don't forget equipments, cables and fingers....

The Butterfly Effect (2004)

Sypnosis:

Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) has lost track of time. From an early age, crucial moments of his life have disappeared into a black hole of forgetting, his boyhood marred by a series of terrifying events he can't remember. What remains is the ghost of memory and the broken lives of his childhood friends, Kayleigh (Amy Smart), Lenny (Elden Henson) and Tommy (William Lee Scott). Throughout his childhood, Evan was under the care of a psychologist who encouraged him to keep a journal, detailing the events of his day-to-day life. Now in college, Evan reads from one of those journals and finds himself thrust inexplicably back in time.

Evan comes to realize the notebooks he keeps under his bed are a vehicle, a way to return to the past to reclaim his memories. But these recollections only leave Evan feeling responsible for the damaged lives of his friends, especially Kayleigh, the childhood sweetheart he still loves. Determined to do something now that he was incapable of doing then, Evan purposely travels back in time, his present-day mind occupying his childhood body, in an attempt to re-write history and spare his friends and loved ones these traumatic experiences. By altering the events of the past, Evan hopes to transform the present. But every time Evan changes something in the past, he returns to the present to find his actions have unexpected and disastrous consequences. Try as he might, he can't seem to create a reality that allows he and Kayleigh to live "happily ever after."

I'm quite sure everyone wants to go back in time to make things better. Like B.B. King would sing about greener pastures, somewhere out there. But what defines the term 'better'? Something as simple as being able to breathe, walk and talk? Or would you rather have fame, power and wealth? If you are able to construct your own future, how much in detail would you construct every factor and variable? Would you schedule natural calamities/diseases to keep human population in balance? Would you program death so we will respect life? Would you still want to experience lost to treasure what you have now?

On the side note...

What makes you think certain situations are better when you have never experienced them yourself? If the grass is greener on the other side, why don't you make your side more colourful instead?

Somewhere out there...

B.B. King - There must be a better world somewhere

Sometimes I wonder

Just what am I fighting for?

I win some battles

But I always lose the war

I keep right on stumblin'

In this no-man's land out here

But I know

Mmmmm yes, I know

There must be a better world somewhere

Flying high

Some joker clips my wings

Just because he gets a kick

Out of doing those kind of things

I keep on fallin' in space

Or just hangin' in mid-air

But I know

Ohh yes, I know

There has just got to be a better world somewhere

Every woman I want

Only wants herself

Everybody I love

Seems to love somebody else

And every woman

Got a license to break my heart

And every love, oh it's over

Over before it gets a chance to start

If it ain't dead

Maybe in the year after

Instead of tears

I'll learn all about laughter

But meanwhile I'm stuck out here

It just ain't fair, but I know

I said I know

Oh yes, I know

There must be a better world somewhere

There's just gotta be

Gotta be a better world somewhere

Alec Empire @ DXO !!!

Anyone for some ol' skool noise?

Focal Drum Workshop '07

Since I'm going to be having some time off, might as well push the limits even higher. :) What have I got to lose anyway? Fopo warmly welcomes all, especially to those who have no clue of my work after all these while. Cheers!

When the sun comes up tomorrow...

Hootie & the Blowfish - Let Her Cry

She sits alone by a lamppost

Trying to find a thought that's escaped her mind.

She says dad's the one I love the most

But Stipe's not far behind.

She never lets me in

Only tells me where she's been

When she's had too much to drink

I say that I don't care I just run my hands through her dark hair

Then I pray to God you gotta

Help me fly away

And just let her cry

If the tears fall down like rain

Let her sing

If it eases all her pain

Let her go

Let her walk right out on me

And if the sun comes up tomorrow

Let her be

Let her be

This morning I woke up alone

Found a note standing by the phone

Saying baby, maybe I'll be back someday

I wanted to look for you

You walked in I didn't know just what I should do

So I sat back down and had a beer and felt sorry for myself

Saying let her cry

If the tears fall down like rain

Let her sing

If it eases all her pain

Let her go

Let her walk right out on me

And if the sun comes up tomorrow

Let her be

Let her be

Let her cry

If the tears fall down like rain

Let her sing

If it eases all her pain

Let her go

Let her walk right out on me

And if the sun comes up tomorrow

Let her be

Oh... Last night I tried to leave

Cried so much I could not believe

She was the same girl I fell in love with long ago

She went in the back to get high

I sat down on my couch and cried

yellin' Oh momma, please help me

Won't you hold my hand and...

Let her cry

If the tears fall down like rain

Let her sing

If it eases all her pain

Let her go

Let her walk right out on me

And if the sun comes up tomorrow

Let her be

Let her cry

If the tears fall down like rain

Let her sing

If it eases all her pain

Let her go

Let her walk right out on me

And if the sun comes up tomorrow

Let her be

Oh, let her be.

Forcing directivity in low frequencies!

Yup! Yet another instance where Man wins over Nature. :) A very good lesson here: always fall back to simple physics to make things work for you. Not only we get to control the dispersion of low frequencies(although only to a certain extend), the sound on stage is actually much more managable.
Cardiod Subwoofer Array rocks man!
Thanks to SodaGreen(http://www.sodagreen.com.tw/main/index.html) for this chance too.


A/B test of 2 diffierent configurations

D&B Audio Q1 tops with Q-Subs

Taken from http://www.dbaudio.com/pub/live/TI330_E.PDF

Republic Polytechnic's Official Opening

Prime Minister Lee dropped by for a visit to RP, and what a show we did. For those who weren't at the show, the statement I made could swing either side. Unfortunately for PICO....

But it sure was an eye opener on many aspects. PICO don't have much reputation left now, at least with the RP folks.

MICA's representative and the rest of the video crew from various broadcasting stations are still as infamous as ever! One curly hair uncle with cheesy polo tee and a beer belly came just in time before the house closes, armed his camera, and nonchalantly walked up to the rostrum on stage to setup his own microphone, DURING THE DAMN SHOW !!! If only someone shouted 'Bomb!' while pointing to that ass. Now that would straighten his hair a tiny bit.

For some weird reason, we all hear aliens talking on the wireless mic on stage, during the song. It didn't happen 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months ago. But only during the show! Well done Aliens! At least SIT's director, 'The Ah Beng', had thought of a very good excuse, saying that James Bong has jammed the wireless network. Haha...

PALME '07: Lazer Showcase @ LOBO's booth

If a picture is worth a thousand words, watching this showcase live will leave you breathless. With both front and rear projectors, and at least 10 lasers (can't be bothered to count as I was just enjoying the show), LOBO continues to amaze at every PALA with their precision in synchronisation. Although this year's booth is a bit smaller than before, 'every kid will still smile for chocolate, big or small, dark or white'.

Bravo!

Eine außerordentliche gute Vorstellung!

http://www.lobo.de/index.htm

Meyer's Matrix3 @ PALME '07 !!!

This bugger makes MIDI buttons triggering recorders/players look stone age! I would love to try this audio show control. With Automation, Harddisk playback, Surround panning and matrix mixing and processing, I can even hook it up to a server, and have wireless control via laptop/tablet! Imagine doing mixing, soundcheck while walking around the auditorium checking out deadspots and girls. Hahaha...


How can this system be any better, without the Lemur?
http://www.jazzmutant.com/lemur_overview.php

http://www.meyersound.com/products/lcs_series/matrix3/

Gearslut moment! MutantJazz's Dexter

*Slurp* Does it get anymore delicious than this? Pretty cool improvement to controllers. But too bad I'm a skeptic, who don't usually believe things can look this good. Just wondering how's the resolution of the multitouch screen's sensitivity. Say if I just need 0.89dB more compression. hehe...


Imagine DJing in surround with this! WooHoo!

http://www.jazzmutant.com/dexter_overview.php

Telex Training: Midas !!!

Cheers to Brian and Giri! For letting me crash SAE's party at Telex. Finally I got to touch the XL8 from Midas!!!

I had high expectations for Midas to retain extend its preamp legend into the digital world. But I guess it's all subjective. Like Willy would say, "Ah Yeah, got pros and cons lah" Of course it has some cool features which I desperately wished Yamaha guys have included in their PM1D, like the longer channel meters. But I shouldn't complain since I've got access to better efx modules.

Midas Heritage 4000
http://www.midasconsoles.com/h4000.html

Midas's new flagship XL8
http://www.midasconsoles.com/xl8.html

D&B Audiotechnik Touchdown !!!

Mama-mia! The smell of fresh gear out from the box. As addictive as summer's snowflakes, as lethal as sweet wine. The Q1s, Q10s, Q-Subs and B2s. Yummy. :)

http://www.dbaudio.com/en/systems/q_series/

Gentarasa's Orchestra Pit

Sennheiser MD 441s on almost every percussion set, all because TRCC don't have any SM57. Unbelieveable! On top of that we got the Neumann 184 for drum overheads. MD441 on guitar amp as well, but it doesn't really matter coz that 'great' guitarist actually used a zoom multi-effects for his paid gig! Well, no one complained that they can't really hear the guitarist in the house. :)

Gentarasa: Titisan Cacamerba '07 setup

Finally a major production at TRCC. All hell breaks loose baby!


Parnels and profiles

Vari-lites 2500 and 500

Orchestra Pit with my babes.

Orchestra Pit without people blocking my babes :)