SEAM: Somatic Embodiment, Agency & Mediation in Digital Mediated Environments.

Critical Path (Director, Margie Medlin) and University of Western Sydney (Dr. Garth Paine) present SEAM 2010 Agency and Action.

SEAM 2010 follows on from the success of the inaugural SEAM 2009, and promises the same intriguing mix of artistic and academic research and presentations, crossing disciplines and offering a smorgasboard of performances, exhibitions, forums, workshops, laboratories, papers and presentations to specialist researchers and the general public alike.

Underpinning SEAM 2010 is groundbreaking academic and practitioner-based research occurring at the VIPRe Lab (Virtual Interactive Performance Research Environment), at the University of Western Sydney, Macquarie University and Critical Path as well as ongoing research from around the world.  In 2010, SEAM will establish a number of experimental environments to investigate and record the relationship between performer and audience and how notions of agency, embodiment and mediation are altered by interactive technologies. The notion of performance embodied in a myriad of forms made available through the most current technological advances will be thoroughly scrutinized.

The primary focus for SEAM 2010 is to provide a resource rich, stimulating environment for local dancers and choreographers and media artists to interact with local and international leaders in the field of interactive technologies and allied arts disciplines. We want dancers and choreographers to take away with them a raft of new tools, new knowledge, philosophical and performance frameworks, contacts and possible future partnerships in the creation of new or more profound directions within their contemporary choreographic practice.

For further information on SEAM 2010 events, click through the program of events on the left hand menu.

For more information on Critical Path, go to the Critical Path website.

via SEAM2010 Agency and Action: ABOUT SEAM 2010.

To take us into the weekend, here are some favorite online music releases this week to download, stream, and enjoy. Be sure to click over to the site if you’re on RSS for the included players if they’re not appearing.

The big buzz this week was the surprise emergence of Squarepusher on a project with Ed Banger Records – a surprise because Squarepusher has long been synonymous with Warp. I’ll leave the music blogs to concern themselves with the label. (Resident Advisor goes understated, whereas exclaim.ca offers, snarkily, “Either Ed Banger Records has moved on from the French touch explosion of 2007 or IDM legend Squarepusher has dropped the wacky time signatures for some four-on-the-floor filter-house.”)

Mostly, Squarepusher fans have been having a good time with a funky, fun track and remix that’s free on Soundcloud (the one “label” we all find ourselves on these days):

via Create Digital Music » New Music Listening, Free and Pay-What-You-Will: Shigeto to Squarepusher to Ambienteer.

ABC The Drum Unleashed - Arts funding: think outside the box.

Ben Eltham has written and excellent and well researched article questioning the status-quo of music, arts funding in Australia. He points out that the vast majority of funding goes to classical music and in particular the symphony orchestras, and that the crumbs left over are all that supports contemporary practice and the development of music that represents our experiences, our stories in the now.

I wrote on this issue also a few years ago - the article can be found here on my blog

The paper examines the funding environment for sound focused art within Australia, be it, digital, new media or analogue. Some of the underlying assumptions commonly applied to sonic artworks, often considered too abstract and intangible for exhibition in art galleries and major public spaces, are discussed.

The paper asks why the audible domain remains subordinate? Why do we not respect and honour the audible culture, the experiential, visceral, instinctive, intuitive, spontaneous, intimate perceptual habitat where the human body is central, where the visceral engagement with sonic architectures dismisses the western mind-body split as hopelessly inadequate. We can listen with the mind, but not without the body.

Not withstanding consideration of the uniqueness of the sonic experience, many experimental sound artists have struggled to find funding support and to create opportunities for the presentation of their work in Australia.

Music based funding is characterized as conservative. The importance placed upon historic, practices has been clearly illustrated by the federal government’s substantial funding increase to the ABC symphony orchestras in early 2005 against the recommendations of the Strong report it commissioned. The report by James Strong, recommended the Queensland, Adelaide and Tasmanian orchestras be reduced in size . The state orchestras are supported by a budget of more than $57 million dollars per annum with a total of $80 to $100 million dollars being earmarked for classical music activities in Australia.

Figures for attendance at symphony orchestra concerts and analyses of the number of unique individuals who attended concerts (rather than repeat attendances) is difficult to find, however the Symphony Australia website has figures for 1999-2001 , which show a total of 990907 attendances with 263537 of those attending free concerts, and 76046 attending school concerts, leaving a total of 651324 ticket purchasing members of the public. This represents a subsidy of $87.51 per paying attendee.

Such subsidy is not and is never likely to be forthcoming for contemporary and experimental music, but what this figure does show is the vast chasm between the establishment institutions, the symphony orchestras and the other classical music endeavours and the music of our time.

As Ben Eltham points out, the orchestras, including ACO identify less than 10% of their performance program as Australian music.

It really is a shame that even after the Strong report, the vast majority of music funding in Australia supports the living archive of classical music and adds nothing new to our culture. It does not assist us in developing a contemporary Australian identity or culture and offers nothing toward the telling of our stories - the stories of now, which critically are well supported in publishing, and in the visual arts.

Additional content for this article, available only online.

Hobby Laser and Materials Buying Advice

October 29, 2009 | Technorati | del.icio.us

+ LINKS

Circuit Schematic

Skycraft Parts & Surplus

Edmund Scientific

Rainbow Symphony

Dragon Lasers

Sunclan

Laser Pointer Forums

Photolexicon

Thomas Wilfred

via makezine.com: Lunchbox Laser Shows.

To most people it might seem incredible that recordings exist of a concert given in the Crystal Palace in 1888 - yet it's true.These recordings are highly significant musically, historically and technically but remain largely unknown.

via The 1888 Crystal Palace recordings.

That means we have been recording music for more than 130 years!!

Lampifier Microphones: Online Programming ToolEach Lampifier® microphone is pre-programmed and ready to use. You can change the program in your microphone to improve performance or change it's application. This online tool guides you through the process of changing a standard program and creating a custom program. Use caution. Re-programming can radically alter microphone performance. Always bring up your sound system volume slowly after re-programming. The programming controls are located inside the microphone for protection against unintentional changes to your important settings. You must partially disassemble the microphone to access the controls and program your microphone. .

via Customize Your Lampifier Microphone.

Sennheiser Worldwide: Microphones, Headphones and Wireless Systems
Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser�s biography as a developer and entrepreneur was indeed one of the most remarkable careers in Germany. From its modest beginnings in a university laboratory with a staff of just seven, the company he founded became what is now Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG, a major international company. The family firm located in Wedemark near Hanover generated a total sales revenue of over EUR 385 million in 2008, with a workforce of more than 2,100 employees. The company�s own sales subsidiaries and long-established authorised sales partners look after Sennheiser customers throughout the world in a close-knit sales network. Sennheiser has production sites in Germany, Ireland and the USA, manufacturing microphones, headphones, conference and information systems, headsets and audiology products. In addition, the company provides extensive consulting and planning services for worldwide projects. The Sennheiser Group also includes the studio specialist Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin, and the joint venture Sennheiser Communications headsets for PCs, offices and call centres.

Prof. Fritz Sennheiser dies on 19/05/10 at age 98

One of the outcomes from the Thinking Through the Body project is the Wii LEAF project which you can see in Exhibition at the DAB Lab at UTS.

The opening is this Wednesday March 10th from 6Pm to 8PM

All welcome

Wii LEAF
An interactive installation investigating touch, movement and physical experience.

Opens WEDNESDAY 10th March 2010, 6pm � 8pm

Exhibition continues until Friday 26th March 2010. Monday � Friday, 10am� � 5pm.
Level 4 courtyard, UTS
Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
702-730 Harris Street, Ultimo
ph 02 9514 8016
www.dab.edu.au/dablab

Interesting new sensing platform which looks great for bio-sensing

Shimmer Small Wireless Sensor Platform Designed to Support Wearable Applications
Wireless Sensors have progressed in recent years due to the development of micro electromechanical MEM technology. However, traditional constraints such as size, weight, reliable wireless communication and power consumption are issues that wireless sensors must contend with. Shimmer provides and extensible platform that allows you to overcome traditional hardware and software constraints through the following features:

Very low power consumption
Soft power switching
Small form factor: 50mm x 25mm x 12.5mm
Light weight: 15 grams
Readily connects via Bluetooth or 802.15.4 radio
Platform Features

Compact Form Factor, Light & Wearable Weight: 15 Grams, Volume: 50mm x 25mm x 12.5mm
Wireless communications via Bluetooth� and 802.15.4 WML-C46A, CC2420
Offline Data Capture � Micro SD Card Storage � 2 Gigabytes
SD data bypass 8MHz MSP430 CPU 10Kbyte RAM, 48Kbyte Flash, 8 Channels of 12 bit A/D
Open Platform, driven by TinyOS
Internal and external connectors for expansion
Includes simple serial command interface for Bluetooth�
Integrated TCP/IP stack for 802.15.4
Integrated 3-axis MEMs accelerometer with selectable range
Integrated tilt / vibration sensor
Integrated Li-ion battery mgmt.
Supported by BioMOBIUS� graphical software platform

Available as add-on extension boards and accessories

Kinematics sensing � Designed for motion capture applications. The design uses a pair of dual-axis gyroscopes.
3 Lead Micro-power electrocardiograph ECG � Utilised for the capturing of ECG data
2 Lead Micro-power electromyograph EMG � Utilised for evaluating and recording the activation signal of muscles
Passive Infra Red -
USB dual UART programming dock � for programming and applications where wired serial communication are desirable. Also acts as a single SHIMMER� charger
SHIMMER� Charger dock � battery charger cradle that can charge 6 SHIMMERs simultaneously
Analog Breakout board to thru-holes for rapid prototyping � enables multiple analog signals to be plugged into SHIMMER�.