9 February 2007
Community Ensemble led by
Kim Cascone (microsound.org, Silent Records) – USA
and Bert Schiettecatte (Percussa) – Belgium
8pm @ Video In (1965 Main Street)

Presented by Vancouver New Music and Video In/Video Out.

> Download call for participants PDF

Vancouver New Music and Video In/Video Out are pleased to present Kim Cascone , a pioneer of ambient electronic music, founder of Silent Records and co-founder of microsound.org, and Bert Schiettecatte , founder of Percussa, who will lead a community based ensemble in a performance using AudioCubes . AudioCubes are modified colourful plastic cubes that serve as an interactive audio platform for music exploration, sound design and composition.  Following two-days of workshops the ensemble will give a free public performance using these colourful, interactive music-making modules.

If you are interested in taking part in the workshops please email giorgio [at] newmusic [dot] org by January 31st, 2007 for more information or to register.  You do not need previous musical experience to participate, however participants are required to bring a laptop with at least one USB port and Windows XP or Mac OS X 10.3.x installed. Please note that as space is limited participants will be accepted on a first-come first-serve basis.

About AudioCubes
AudioCubes were invented, designed and implemented by Bert Schiettecatte in 2003 and represent a new platform for electronic music exploration, sound design and composition. AudioCubes are a collection of two or more plastic cubes, each containing a battery powered sound and light processing computer. The audio and control signals generated by each of the AudioCubes are transmitted by infrared light to other cubes placed within a proximity of 40 cm. Each cube can sample the sound from four of the cube's faces, process it, and convert it back to analog sound to be transmitted through the same four faces. Because of the analog transmission used, light (and thus sound) can be mixed by pointing two or more cubes at a third cube. Each AudioCube contains both infrared emitters, detectors, sound input/output connectors and a built-in omni-directional microphone. Besides the sensors and emitters, each cube also contains a light source (red, green and blue) that can be controlled from the sound algorithms. By positioning the cubes relative to each other and moving them, the parameters of the algorithm (think: modular synthesizer) can be changed in real-time and in turn affect the sound. Depending on the algorithms running on the cubes and their orientation and location, an infinite number of sound synthesis techniques become possible.

For more information on Percussa AudioCubes and sound examples please visit:

http://www.percussa.com and http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~bschiett/audiocubes/

Kim Cascone
Kim Cascone has a long history involving electronic music: he received his formal training in electronic music at the Berklee College of Music in the early 1970s, and in 1976 continued his studies with Dana McCurdy at the New School in New York City. In the 1980s, after moving to San Francisco and gaining experience as an audio technician, Cascone worked with David Lynch as Assistant Music Editor on both Twin Peaks and Wild at Heart . Cascone left the film industry in 1991 to concentrate on Silent Records, a label that he founded in 1986, transforming it into the U.S.'s premier electronic music label. At the height of Silent's success, he sold the company in early 1996 to pursue a career as a sound designer and went to work for Thomas Dolby's company Headspace as a sound designer and composer. After a two-year stint at Headspace he worked for Staccato Systems as the Director of Content where he oversaw sound design using algorithmic synthesis for video games. Since 1984, Kim has released more than 30 albums of electronic music and has recorded/performed with Merzbow, Keith Rowe, Tony Conrad, Scanner, John Tilbury, and Pauline Oliveros among others.

 Cascone was one of the co-founders of the microsound list that focuses on issues concerning digital music and laptop performance ( http://www.microsound.org ) and has written for Computer Music Journal (MIT Press), Artbyte Magazine, Contemporary Music Review, Soundcultures and Parachute Journal. 

Bert Schiettecatte
Bert Schiettecatte graduated from the computer science program at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium) in July 2001 (summa cum laude). Following this, Schiettecatte applied to CCRMA, Stanford University (the Master of Arts in Music, Science and Technology program), and graduated in July 2002. From 2002-2004 Schiettecatte did research towards a PhD, and worked at ESAT (KULeuven) and DSSP (VUB / ETRO). In October 2004, he started Percussa, a small company that provides hardware and software design services. Schiettecatte invented AudioCubes in 2003

Vancouver New Music and Video In/Video Out are pleased to present Kim Cascone, a pioneer of ambient electronic music, founder of Silent Records and co-founder of microsound.org, and Bert Schiettecatte, founder of Percussa, who will lead a community based ensemble in a performance using AudioCubes . Following two-days of workshops the ensemble will give a free public performance using these colourful, interactive music-making modules.

The following evening, 10 February 2007, Cascone will give a solo performance of ‘Spectral Space' at Video In. Spectral Space is a new work focused on extending density in audio material; a layering of audio fields through which sounds glint, shimmer, collide and implode within the fabric of noise. Tickets for that event are $15/$10; available at Zulu Records, Scratch, Ticketmaster (surcharges apply) and at the door.