visual musical experience

Two fantastic videos that visualize the sound of a musical piece with motion graphics. The first, an intricate creation by Carlo Vega set to ‘Gray Keys’ by Chilly Gonzales. The second, an animation by Adrien M / Claire B that puts a creative spin on a familiar meme.

the sound of years

This record player plays slices of wood, translating year ring data into music.

A tree’s year rings are analysed for their strength, thickness and rate of growth. This data serves as basis for a generative process that outputs piano music. It is mapped to a scale which is again defined by the overall appearance of the wood (ranging from dark to light and from strong texture to light texture). The foundation for the music is certainly found in the defined ruleset of programming and hardware setup, but the data acquired from every tree interprets this ruleset very differently.

by Bartholomäus Traubeck

agnes obel

I have enjoyed the music of Agnes Obel for some time, but news of her fall concert in the Netherlands has me listening again.

Weekend Links #29

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed last week:
1. Listening to Bon Iver’s new album. A thousand times over.
2. Getting a peek at Kinfolk Magazine, a concept of community near to my heart, featuring many great artists (pictured above)
3. Watching a disturbing Frontline report on for-profit schools and the ‘fast foodization of education in America”
4. Appreciating, yet again, the work of German photographer Michael Wolf
5. Watching this beautiful time lapse of the Greenland landscape (pictured below)
6. Saving this recipe for cold-brew coffee for when it’s a few degrees warmer

Weekend Links #27

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed last week:
1. Reading the bits of wisdom gathered in The Good Advice Project by designer Jacob Lysgaard and photographer Hanne Hvattum (pictured above, via The Post Family)
2. Partaking in the combination of a song, lyrics, a photograph, and musings on Icarus & Occident (pictured below Leo Berne‘s photo paired with Bon Iver’s Calgary, via show&tell)
3. Viewing the 0 to 100 project app, a study of life and aging through the portraits of 101 people (via heodeza)
4. Listening to Death Cab for Cutie’s new album Code and Keys on NPR’s first listen

Weekend Links #25

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed last week:
1. Listening to the collaborative album by Thao and Mirah over and over again, streaming on NPR until the 26th (pictured above)
2. Reading through the New York Times’ take on Amsterdam, a good start for 36 hours
3. Reading Nicholas Kristof’s article Three Cups of Tea, Spilled
4. Skyping with my little dog. Isn’t she cute all wrapped up in a blanket?

Weekend Links #17

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed this week:
1. Seeing the winners of the annual World Press Photo contest http://bit.ly/gYoXnh
2. Listening to an NPR interview with Over the Rhine (pictured above), a band whose music brings back memories of a Boston winter and a corner room
3. Tasting Afghan food for the first time at Mantoe
4. Watching the Chinese New Year celebrations in this short video (via wearethedigitalkids)
5. Browsing the collection at La Rosa Curiosa, a little vintage clothing store that is quickly becoming a favorite in Amsterdam (pictured below, image via bheart)
6. Watching this video of the celebrations in Egypt

love love love

Cute music video by Josh Smith for Avalanche City. Let this day be not without love.

Weekend Links #16

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed this week:
1. Seeing over 40,000 photographs over the course of the last week
2. Interviewing photojournalist David Burnett, Geo director of photography Ruth Eichhorn, critic for The New Yorker Vince Aletti and photographer Heinz Kluetmeier http://bit.ly/fs55tx (image above of the studio)
3. Listening to Adele’s new album 21 on NPR. Just beautiful.
4. Remembering the Oregon fog in images (pictured below, via for me, for you)
5. Reading about the wonder of winter and enjoying the final moments of the season
6. Listening to the new album by Avalanche City (via home.town.treasure)

Weekend Links #8

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things that I have enjoyed, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed this week:
1. Spending time in Berlin. It never grows old.
2. Listening to the serene music of Breathe Owl Breathe discovered via NPR (pictured above)
3. Loving the photos of snow on Boston’s Big Picture
4. Finishing (almost) the last Christmas shopping thanks to Etsy and Creature Comfort‘s gift guide (pictured below)
5. Looking forward to the Funky Christmas Market at Westergasfabriek today

Weekend Links #6

After an eventful past week, I bring you Weekend Links, a collection of interesting bits and pieces. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things that I have enjoyed, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I experienced last week:
1. Loving the music of Agnes Obel, a Danish pianist. Perfect for the fast-coming winter (pictured above, via 11.54)
2. Intrigued by this article about the divergent personalities of siblings on NPR
3. Reading a Thanksgiving reminder Back to the Land by Maira Kalman (pictured below)
4. Sifting through my photos from Oporto, Portugal and Köln, Germany. Coming soon…

Rope and Summit

Just bought tix to see Junip in October. They’re playing at Trouw in Amsterdam, but also have a lot of UK dates on tour. I saw José González play a solo show in Amsterdam about two years ago. Looking forward to see him with his old band. Here is ‘Rope and Summit’ from their EP of the same name, to be released in the fall. Enjoy*

Colouring of Pigeons

A song, in preparation to see Tomorrow, In a Year, an opera by The Knife, playing tomorrow in Münster.

The Jazz Loft Project

The Jazz Loft Project is an archive project profiled in a multimedia production from The New York Times. The production features photography and audio content from the archive of W. Eugene Smith, captured from the unique perspective of his loft building (via Micha).

From 1957 to 1965, the photographer W. Eugene Smith exposed 1,447 rolls of film to record the goings-on inside his loft building, as well as scenes from street life visible from his windows. He also made 4,000 hours of audio recordings that captured random conversations, phone calls, radio programs and, above all, many legendary musicians of the day, who came to the building to hang out, rehearse and jam.

The Music of Movement

The sound of footsteps on the cobbles mingled with the rumble of the carriage wheels and the echo of horse hooves to make what Charles considered to be a uniquely city sound. It was the music of movement itself.

— The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd

1234567

A film by Job and Roel Wouters, showing their rainbow gun in action. The music by Yvo Sprey & Friends, in which Job and Roel also contribute, is also worth some attention.

THIS, Los Angeles

Enjoying videos of acoustic performances by Micky Adams and others posted on the blog of THIS, a new gallery space in LA.

Trixie Whitley at De Brakke Grond

Tickets from a friend sent me to see Belgian-born, Brooklyn-based Trixie Whitley play at De Brakke Grond last night. Although I had never heard her music or been to the venue, I was in for a pleasant surprise. The hall of De Brakke Grond was an intimate setting for the concert and Trixie Whitley played (mostly) solo, with minimal piano or guitar chords giving a frame to her impressive vocals. The whole band plays tonight at Paradiso.

Tiny Desk Concerts

Fans of La Blogotheque are likely to enjoy NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, a series of short-set performances recorded live at the desk of Bob Boilen, music producer at National Public Radio, at the office in DC. The intimate setting leaves no room for amplifiers or special lighting, but draws an array of musicians nonetheless. Paul Fahri describes the concerts:

Each week, more or less, the little space becomes an unlikely stage for mini-concerts by an eclectic group of famous, near-famous and downright obscure musicians.

The video webcasts of past sessions can be viewed here.

The Year in Music

NPR takes a look at the best music of 2009, with more than a few representatives from the Pacific Northwest.