I lived in a dining room for two years. For the second year, I decided to upgrade my curtain and design a more substantial living boundary. These doors are influenced from japanese Fusuma, or sliding doors (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusuma). Another constraint was to make them not do any damage to the property we were renting. The doors ended up being so custom tailored, that they stayed up for the entire year with only friction and a few pieces
September 2008
As a kid growing up, my favorite video games were multiplayer games. Having spent so much time playing them, it is no surprise that I still desire multiplayer experiences. This NES controller to MIDI converter is another exploration of the connections between sound/music and play/games. It is an interface for sonic collaboration and entertainment.
The device was exhibited at the UCLA Design Media Arts Undergraduate Exhibition in 2008.
When performed solo the interaction takes on a whole new direction. The performer finds ways to use all the controllers at once. This can be done with the feet, elbows, palms, head, etc.
The controllers as instruments can be used to trigger anything from sonic explosions to calm meditation.
Two arpeggiated mbiras with kettle noises and door squeaks:
http://richard-c.com/touch/nes-midi/NES MBIRA ARP KETTLE NOISE.mp3
Improvisational duet with melodious second half:
http://richard-c.com/touch/nes-midi/NES With Madre Edited.mp3
Noisy upright bass and kitchen noises:
http://richard-c.com/touch/nes-midi/NES improv 2 for Video.mp3
Materials: Custom electronics, Arduino, Nintendo controllers, MIDI, Audio
August 2008
At one point I was in a experimental trio with musicians Cynthia Payne and Leaf Tine. We would get together and play experimental music over Internet 2 with Stanford CCRMA and Rensselaer. Leaf's primary instruments were a circuit bent keyboard, amplified rocks, and a joystick synthesizer, which I was always envious of.
Since I am now acquainted with electronics, I created my own joystick synthesizer. It is a modified pc joystick with a built-in square wave oscillator and lowpass filter. It is an excellent sound source to use on its own or feed into effects. I have posted the schematic and parts list so that you can build your own (I take no responsibility for damage you cause to your speaker or yourself ... etc)!
Sound exploration with Joy Stick routed through effects: http://richard-c.com/touch/joystick/JOYSTICK-DEMO.mp3
Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6c_lH52834
Schematic: Schematic
Parts List: Parts List
June 2009
This is a musical pachinko machine. It is a sequencer that allows you to compose music with a certain amount of indeterminacy or chance. When you press the space bar, a ball is launched from the top with a random direction and velocity. You can also launch balls at the mouse position by pressing shift. You can assign samples to the pins with the three rows of the keyboard - Q-Y for sound-set 1, A-H for sound-set 2, and Z-N for sound-set 3. There are two versions of the program. The first one uses a built-in sound library that has four sound-sets - Casio Sk-1 drums, Rubber Bands, Glockenspiel, and Mbira. The other version uses the OPEN-SOUND-CONTROL communication protocol to trigger sounds in an external application. Use it here. See documentation video here (youtube).
Live Demo!: Demo
Video Demo: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ATo6-rCtjLg
Download SWF: http://richard-c.com/touch/flash/com.richard-c.pachinko.zip
May 2008
"The Photo Koto is a musical instrument that plays the sounds of a city. Resembling the Japanese koto, the instrument has 48 photo sensors are mounted in along its length. Each one triggers a different sound, collected in Los Angeles along the path of the Metro Red line. The sounds are arranged spatially along the instrument. With each sample, the small scale beauty scattered through Los Angeles is simultaneously collected and revealed, and when played and combined a new soundscapes emerge. The piece was recently on display at the 2009 Design | Media Arts undergraduate exhibition." - Patrick Tierney
The photokoto was made in collaboration with Patrick Tierney.
Video: https://vimeo.com/3950103
Materials: Custom Fabrication, Arduino, Midi, 48 photo sensors
April 2008
HARMONY - multiple sounds being noticed at the same time - John Cage
Zyo-Ha-Kyu is a game for musical meditation. 1 player controls an abstract virtual world which generates a musical score as a side effect. 3 players play this musical score on pseudo-spiritual instruments. The "performance" of these players feeds back into player 1's world. If everyone does everything right, then the game will end with silence.
This video tries to make it easier to understand what is happening. There is also some audio to give an idea of what the game sounds like.
This video documents the only live performance. Unfortunately there was a camera malfunction and the video appears choppy. Nonetheless, it gives a rough idea of what Zyo-Ha-Kyu is like in a live performance.
February 2008
Materials: Arduino, Contact Microphones, Eletret Microphones, DIY Instruments, Processing, Flash, Box2d
I made this chess set for a class called Form. At the time I was adapting to the switch from studying computer science to studying design. I was used to a problem set oriented education. Design is more open ended. This transition manifested itself as this chess set. The design is based off of early computer punch cards. When viewed from above, the chess set is a grid information. The board is a data structure and the pieces are its elements.
Dimensions: 6x6x1 inches
2007
My Sound World is an album which is a reflection of my changing outlook towards sound and music. It is about experimenting with and embracing of all sounds. It is about degrees of composition - some tracks are composed songs, other are recorded sounds, some contain musical improvisation, some tracks are renditions of songs composed by other artists, some tracks are played with other musicians, another track is about learning to play an instrument, and one was created with loops on a Sega Dreamcast.
Together this is a collection of sounds that I hear and create. Uniquely, they form my sound identity or my sound world.
This release is also the fruit of a challenge to create a 45-minute 20-track album in a few months. It is technically my third album. It's dedicated to whomever it may concern.
Additional Files: mysoundworld.zip
September 2007
Left UC Santa Cruz for UCLA
June 2007
In 2007 I was a member of Synthia Payne's experimental improvisational ensemble. This culminated in a tele-performance with Pauline Oliveros over internet-2 (the separate faster internet). Four ensembles in different locations followed live conducting broadcast through video chat.
Synthia Payne writes:
"100 Meeting Places 2007" by Pauline Oliveros and under her direction from RPI. Participants include Chris Chafe et al at Stanford CCRMA, Sarah Weaver's ensembles at Loyola Chicago, and yours truly in Santa Cruz, Synthia Payne, with leaf tine, richard caceres, jamie burkart, and chris mix. This was a 4-way live performance between the four locations over Internet2. My participation was in partial completion of my MFA in Digital Arts and New Media at UC Santa Cruz in 2007. Enjoy!
Full Audio: http://soundcloud.com/synthia-payne/100-meeting-places-unedited
Short video of video chat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR-Lap8WRgE
Video from rehearsal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBg_vGCktL8
March 27, 2007