Lectures – Room 440
Phase Distortion for Fun and Profit: A Brief History and Technical Exploration of Casio’s CZ Series Synthesizers
This talk will examine the origins of Casio’s CZ synths, their technical peculiarities, and their overall influence on contemporary electronic music. We will look at the CZ series’ beginnings as a collaboration with Isao Tomita, the inner workings of the series’ Phase Distortion architecture, and whether or not Casio actually infringed on any patents in its design. Towards the end, we’ll listen to some recordings featuring the CZ series and explore its heyday in 90’s dance music, as well as its recent revival in both software and hardware.
A. Campbell Payne (they/them)
A. Campbell Payne is a Massachusetts-based musician with a practice rooted in pattern, chance, time, and perception. Payne’s approach to composition utilizes generative structures, extended polymeter, and idiosyncratic tuning systems built around just intonation. Drawing influence from dance, astronomy, geometric artwork, and the history of mathematics, Payne creates sonic environments that are at once approachable and disorienting.
Fitting the Pieces Together – Raspberry Pi, MIDI, OSC, Audio, Pure Data, Python, Real GUIs, Hardware Controls
A high-level introduction to the amazing tools available right now that make it possible to create DIY standalone instruments, controllers and processors with capabilities rivaling commercial ones. With examples, including a software editor for the Dreadbox Nymphes synthesizer and an audio processor for in-ear monitors.
Scott Lumsden
Musician and hacker of hardware and software. Used to feel torn between art and technology, but it turned out they’re really the same thing.
Let’s talk! Options for interfacing Buchla Music Synthesizers with the Eurorack environment, and beyond
This talk will demonstrate/ discuss various options for allowing these different synthesizers communicate with each other in unique and hybrid ways .
Andrew Neumann
Andrew Neumann is an American artist who works in a variety of media, including sculpture, film, video installation, and electronic/interactive music. I the past he has designed his own MIDI based music interfaces. He has had solo music/video performances at numerous venues, including Experimental Intermedia and Roulette, both in NYC.
Bandcamp: https://andrewneumann.bandcamp.com
Instagram: @Neumann58
Creating Polyrhythmic Beats in Pure Data
Pure Data is a visual programming environment for music, audio, and multimedia. Bohn will present a program shell that can be hacked to create elaborate, polyrhythmic beats.
James Bohn (he / him)
James Bohn teaches music theory and music technology at Stonehill College where he directs the music program. He is the founder of the Bleep / Blorp festival of synthesizer music and he records and performs under the name Darth Presley.
Electronic Music and Human Gesture: A Case Study
This talk looks at some historical examples of synthesizers, and how they are used now by performers – specifically on the era around the 1970s, during a period of rapid advancement. Owen will be speaking about how electrical engineering enabled musicians to precisely manipulate audio signals, through an exploration of controller interfaces and analogue systems.
Owen Richmond
Owen Richmond is a rising senior at Northeastern university studying computer and electrical engineering. He is passionate about the link between the circuit and the music world, and the affect that technology has on the human experience; he also plays piano on the side.
Honoring ARP: Alan Pearlman and the ARP Synthesizer
This lecture explores the history of the ARP synthesizer, its creator, and its impact on society.
Madison Rosen (she/her)
Madison is a fourth-year environmental science student at Northeastern. She loves electronic music and is currently enrolled in Professor De Ritis’ course, Wired for Sound.
https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/
Fun Sequencers for Eurorack: A Tour with Demos
Explosive growth in the world of Eurorack has made many fun sequencers available ranging from classic step sequencers to generative performance engines. We will have a look at some interesting sequencer modules and through live demos see what they are like for both private and public performance that goes beyond simple pitch control.
Steve DeJesus (he/him)
I am a professional engineer with 40+ years of experience in music electronics for both recordings and live performance. I am also a volunteer curator/instructor for the Arps For All program at The Record Co. in Boston. My current musical interests focus on Eurorack modular synthesizers with a strong interest in creating satisfying musical experiences embracing elements of chance, control, and evolution.
Synthesis For All: Modifying Electronic Music Instruments and Curriculum For the Blind
While the physical features of traditional musical instruments lend themselves to specific playing methods that work for sighted and blind musicians, the design of hardware and software electronic music instruments requires reading text for parameters as well as input and output functionality. This lecture examines the various accessibility issues challenging blind and visually impaired musicians seeking to learn sound synthesis. Strategies that music technology educators can implement to create equitable learning experiences will also be discussed through a current firsthand example.
Donald Martin (he/him)
Donald is a sound synthesis educator currently teaching fundamental and advanced electronic music courses focusing on the genre’s technical language, history, and legacy at NYU Steinhardt. A former student of Morton Subotnick, Donald is also an electronic music composer, producer, and performer fascinated with exploring new sonic perspectives while creating organic and immersive experiences for listeners.