All Original EP by Anwiya Youkhanna - Summer / Winter / Dream Sequence / Existential Trance / Blast

Project 1 review:

My project one was a drum with a ribbon mic running through a pedal board and amplifier, and a sampler instrument running through Logic 9. The pedal board had a few different settings that sounded pretty good with the microphone picking up bass energy. I think I did a good job of making a setup to create new interesting sounds, but there were some elements that could have been improved. The drum was a little unstable in the stand so I would have to get some material to keep it tied to the stand. I also didn’t think the sampler was as interesting as a part of the project, but I think it was mostly about experimentation. I found all of the other projects pretty interesting as well.

Project 2:

The entire class discussed together as a group ideas for the second project. We had some brainstorming and eventually came up with the idea of having a digital environment system. We briefly started talking about stations, effects, lights, and sounds.

One way to provide program informaiton for a musical event would be to simply create a convienient domain name with a mobile layout website and have the information there. The website address could be listed on posters outside the main event and on the tickets for the event. That is the easiest way I know of. The customer would just have to input the website address in their mobile device.

Some elements we discussed as possibilites for Project 2:

• rain machine
• story telling
• easy for non musicians
• play instrument which controls different aspects of the room
• dark room, rope lights
• not too much explanation or instructions
• different weather elements
• ambience
• base station
• rain, beach, storm environments
• equipment

Here are some ambience examples I could create longer and more elaborate samples similar to this:

Electronic Music vs. Acoustic Music: http://www.indabamusic.com/indablog/8097-electronic-music-vs-acoustic-music

If we look at the effects of technology on music purity, we might say that music has become less based in its natural source. One may imagine a slider scale from pure acoustic based sound to electronically derived sound. I would call consider myself an audio purist, as from my music I try to remain based in the acoustics. That does not necessarily mean everything acoustic sounds better. The sounds of car engines while walking down an avenue are acoustic, and I would say that is not a pleasant sound compared to an amplified electronic keyboard. Electronic sounds however have the timbre of modernism which creates conflict in sentiment and tradition. What might an electronic artist argue is that there is no need for tradition and morality in art, however even an absolutely rebellious artistic inspiration is a response to an orderly concept. One might call the purist a naturalist, however electronic signals are also based in the natural world, but they are mimicking the sounds of an instrument. A music instrument already it’s own right has no stencil. It seems that every drum set its own character, every saxophone, guitar, etc. However, a generic midi instrument forms that instrument into more of a stencil. The notes are more identical, less dynamic, and seeks to create a perfection that is unreal. The value of art is in expression balanced with form. There is great electronic music, but it loses me is when form is emphasized over expression.

New Media allows us to transfer information in a variety of ways. If I use my iMac to transfer some information, I have a variety of ways to do that. I can upload the files to a web hosting server. I can use the Dropbox application. I can connect with iChat and send files through that. I can more traditionally attach the files to an email. I could also do the same thing using Facebook, Scribd, or any other social media website which can easily transfer files. It all depends on who I am trying to send it to, and what program they are using to make it easier for both of us.

-The audio recording sounds like some kind of eastern percussion set, although I am not entirely familiar with the specific sounds. I mostly can deduce that because it does not sound like African, Arabic, or Indian. I have heard and watched traditional eastern Asian performances and it sounds pretty similar. It definitely has all the elements of PRDTT- the drums have toned pitched, there is intricate rhythms, quite noticeable dynamics, characterized tone and timbre. I’m not entirely sure because there is no visual, but it seems quite possible that there is some improvisation. The audience is probably a group of people who are part of that culture of sound.

-Edgar Allan Poe said “There is no exquisite beauty… without some strangeness in the proportion.” Technology is the application of scientific knowledge to make life easier. However at one point does genuine experience succumb to the illusion of perfection? As a flutist who has seen many classical performances, I will always value the real performance as opposed to a synthesized output. Synthesized music is really an artform in itself, and I prefer it when it is done honestly, as a band like AIR from France makes it quite obvious there music is almost entirely synthesized. I also listen to records, and still prefer reading comics from a newspaper. As an artist there must be value in sentiment. Some retro video game enthusiasts argue that older games for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis were better because they were more creative. These cartridges held somewhere between the range of 2-8 Megabytes, which is rather miniscule in relative to anything in the market today. With this smaller size, developers were somewhat forced to make the most out of the smallest detail. Games involved more reading, less cinematic elements, and more user control. That is not to say we still see a phenomenal game every few years or so, but it is all about virtual competitive gaming, film features, and it seems the stories and characters have become less detailed.

-I’m working with the documentation involving this second project. I’m hoping that I will be in charge of photography. I can go reserve a camera at the cage with a tripod.

I found the ticket system for communicating points was painless and straightforward. I’m sensing some dystopia paranoia in general, but I think this is just some remaining reaction from the initial announcement of this process. I do not suppose it is that much to worry over. I cannot help but think about Lord of the Flies where the kids used a conch shell to take turns speaking. That is one of my favorite books despite the tragedies on the island.

It is probably best, and I am not so opposed to establishing general order to a discourse. One of the problems in public forums is the digression into a battle of the loudest. This unfortunately is what I hear and witness from people who participate in business meetings, political discussions, simple conversation between friends, and so on. If you consider the implications of this behavior, then you see the problems arising in a larger society from a failure to understand and compromise. As long as unique concepts are not being dismissed simply for being challenging and different, then I do not see a problem.

I participated in organizations in the past which required full consensus of all members before a topic could be fully addressed. This does not happen often in our representative democracy, as it requires a solid amount of patience, but it theoretically is the most fair way to handle business.