Archive for September, 2010

This “brand new”, supposedly made for NASA, Hasselblad MKWE can be yours for around $34K if you win this auction. It apparently comes as new in the original packaging. I love the concept of new-old stock; something about the idea of a product sitting undisturbed for decades in the original packaging is pretty cool. I have seen some classic synthesizers still sealed in the original box come up here and there on ebay, I even once saw a Rhodes piano, in the box, still unassembled. But none of those really compares to this beauty. The hardest part about getting this would be deciding whether to even use it or to preserve it in some sort of airtight viewing cube.

Auction via Sam Valenti

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho2m2th66GE

This is the incredible video for Four Tet’s remix of Vessel by Jon Hopkins. Not only is it mega weird in the most perfect way, but it really suits the song perfectly. Hypnotic to say the least. I love it when the dancers are on a really short repeat loop: the shots between 00:16-00:45 and the very last are my favorite.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a video synced with music in such an interesting way. This was probably the last time.

via Carefully Selected Garbage

Moog just announced the new XL version of their Voyager synth. This is pretty exciting news considering the dearth of manufacturers these days willing to go out on a limb with a fully analog design. When I first saw the press shots I was really hoping it was going to be polyphonic, a modern Memorymoog maybe. But after checking the specs I was disappointed to learn that it’s just a mono synth like it’s Voyager brethren. What was even more disappointing was the price: $5,000 USD. While this is a beautiful piece of equipment and I appreciate the fact that they are produced on a small scale, that just seems like a lot for a larger — albeit still mono — Voyager with VX and CV tacked on. From what I can tell the same functionality could be had by getting a Voyager Rack and the expander boxes.

Also like the previous Voyagers, it’s pretty much in line visually with the original Model D design cues, which I adore. But I have a Voyager Rack and have always been disappointed by the body. The original Minimoogs had an incredible paint job and color scheme. Even the typography was amazing. The new stuff has a big sticker for the interface, as opposed to being screened directly on to the metal. It’s details like this that can really undercut an otherwise quality design. That being said, I’d have to say it’s still one of the prettiest synths out there, save for the Virus TI2 of course.

At any rate it’s still one of the most beautiful sounding musical instruments that you’ll ever hear.

And here are a couple of vintage Moog ads for good measure.

So after years of being goaded by my friends I finally took the plunge and went to Burning Man. I figured it would be a good idea to bring a camera but I had heard that the dust could wreak havoc on the delicate inner-workings of a DSLR so I decided to leave the D80 at home and bring my little SD780 Elph. It ended up working out great, that little thing surprised me every time I used it. But this being my first time, I wanted to focus more on the experience and not be worrying about getting shots the whole time. Consequently, I didn’t come home with a whole lot of material, but I was really happy with what I did manage to get. Next year I am definitely going to bring the D80 (or whatever I’m shooting with at that time) and focus more on shooting, the place is a photographer’s dream.

Above are some examples of the shots I did get; all have been post-processed and most are multiple-exposures. As you can see, the place was downright otherworldly in terms of aesthetics; the beauty of the desert (a place I’ve spent very little time in my life) was absolutely breathtaking. The texture of the sand (which was extremely fine, almost like talcum powder) seemed like what I’d imagine the moon to be like. As the images above will attest, I was somewhat preoccupied with the sun, but you’ll have to forgive me as the sunrises and sunsets were some of the most beautiful I’ve ever witnessed. Some of the photos are available for purchase as prints at the ISO50 Photographic site.

As for the experience itself, I could go on and on but I’ll spare you the details and just say that is was without question a high point for me. The music, people, and artwork were all incredible. I brought with me a lot of preconceived notions about what Burning Man is and the kind of people who go there, but within the first hour or so of being out there in the desert with 50,000 people, every one of those notions were proven to be completely wrong. Try to make it out there if you have the opportunity, it’s really something special to be a part of.

Edit: I’ve discussed the process of creating these images a little in the comments.

Edit: ZX asked in the comments if I could post an unprocessed image, the example below is the raw output from the camera. After processing it became the top-most image above (this one). I really had a great time working with these images and I think I am closer than ever to becoming a Canon convert with my next DSLR purchase.

I’ve just started tour managing School Of Seven Bells this week, its long stretch over a short period of time w/ Active Child. I was hoping that maybe if you live in one of these cities in the US maybe we’d run into each other and also you can hear these 2 great bands. I will keep you guys updated and let me know if you have any questions that you’d like me ask the band.

Photo credit: Justin Hollar

Tour Dates:
WED SEP 15 Mod Club Toronto, ON
THU SEP 16 Blind Pig Ann Arbor, MI
FRI SEP 17 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL
SAT SEP 18 Majestic Theatre Madison, WI
SUN SEP 19 7th St. Entry Minneapolis, MN
MON SEP 20 Blue Moose Tap House Iowa City, IA
TUE SEP 21 Waiting Room Omaha, NE
THU SEP 23 Record Bar Kansas City, MO
FRI SEP 24 Larimer Lounge Denver, CO
SAT SEP 25 Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, UT
MON SEP 27 Neumos Seattle, WA
TUE SEP 28 Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver, BC
WED SEP 29 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR
THU SEP 30 Independent San Francisco, CA
FRI OCT 1 Echoplex Los Angeles, CA
SAT OCT 2 Detroit Bar Costa Mesa, CA
SUN OCT 3 The Loft San Diego, CA
TUE OCT 5 Plush Tucson, AZ
WED OCT 6 Launchpad Albuquerque, NM
FRI OCT 8 Hailey’s Denton, TX
SAT OCT 9 Mohawk Austin, TX
SUN OCT 10 Warehouse Live Houston, TX
MON OCT 11 Spanish Moon Baton Rouge, LA
TUE OCT 12 Club Downunder Tallahassee, FL
THU OCT 14 Crowbar Tampa, FL
FRI OCT 15 The Social Orlando, FL
SAT OCT 16 Grand Central Miami, FL
MON OCT 18 The Earl Atlanta, GA
TUE OCT 19 Local 506 Chapel Hill, NC
WED OCT 20 Ottobar Baltimore, MD
THU OCT 21 Rock and Roll Hotel Washington, DC
FRI OCT 22 Johnny Brendas Philadelphia, PA
SAT OCT 23 Santo’s Party House New York City, NY

I came upon these pictures from the Princeton 1966 yearbook while tracking down a copy of Take Ivy. These shots are reminiscent of those in Hayashida’s book, but they are actually from a year later and were just published in the school yearbook. I went to prep school and I did not look this cool.

What I love about these shots is the feeling of potential that is conveyed. I feel like important things are being discussed; movers and shakers are in the making. It appears impossible to not achieve ultimate focus in this academic environment.

via The Trad

Emeralds head man Mark McGuire *insert baseball reference here* is on the right track to grabbing up a Best Of 2010 song on my end of the year list. Not only is this song a bubbly lush piece of work but there’s dynamics, it blooms when the distorted guitars hit, I want more.

I have no info on this collab besides posting plenty of Teen Daze on the blog. Part of me hesitates to say this but stripped down there is some Selected Ambient Works or early Ninja Tunes love on the instrumental that makes me smile.

This pulsating haze from Toujours grabbed my ear, very airy and DIY sounding, i’m not too fond of the vox it not gonna kill me listening to it.

The new Superpitcher LP is sublime, i’m posting Moon Fever, its kind of the lone wolf of the bunch but the mood is right, should of debuted on Pop Ambient.

I’m pleased to announce that we’ll be doing a few Tycho shows later this month in Seattle, NYC, and Toronto. All the sets will include the full live band (and unless otherwise noted, all future sets will as well). Details follow, hope to see you out!

Tycho Live Dates, Sep/Oct 2010:
9/26 – Tycho w/ Tim Hecker+Sanso-Xtro – Triple Door, Seattle Tickets
9/29 – Tycho w/ Com Truise – Le Poisson Rouge, NYC Tickets
10/2 – Tycho w/ TBA – The Drake Hotel, Toronto Details

This Lake Washington Residence is a 4,000 square foot home designed by Miller Hull Architects. It was built on Mercer Island overlooking Lake Washington, just outside of Seattle. It faces outward from the edge of a steep hill and heavily forested area over the lake. The view alone is just as captivating as the actual house.

The main entrance of this residence is from the hillside above via a bridge to the third floor. The uppermost level of the residence is used as a place for guests to stay. The residence was designed to be naturally ventilated where the main staircase would pull air up and through the house. I do wonder how well insulated the home is.

Dwell has an excellent piece on Swiss design shop Geigy. The in house agency has such a rich portfolio of beautiful work, most for the medical industry. I particularly enjoy the packaging work.

Grain Edit also has some more info and pics from a book about Geigy design here

Source Dwell