Micah Frank

Trash_Audio just published some Q & A in their Workspace & Environment series.

http://trashaudio.blogspot.com/2008/11/workspace-and-environment-kamoni.html

I was sending sysex data to my Machinedrum the other day when suddenly it began blurting out the most digitally obscene sounds I have ever heard from it! I was a little offended and you might be too once you hear them. This is the stuff I love – when a piece of gear generates sounds that it could never create under its normal operating mode.

I took some time today to program a drum kit and then some Live Racks that cycle through various samples repeatedly while simultaneously jumping between sample offsets every 10ms or so creating interesting transients. Here’s a quick mp3 demo and a download link for the Live Pack. Enjoy!

This pack is now available as a free Puremagnetik download here.

Cover story for CM’s guide to digital drumming

The editors at CM asked me to write a guide to digital percussion. It includes many step-by-step tutorials, tips and techniques for integrating and performing with percussion controllers Ableton Live, Native Instruments Battery and more. Be sure to check it out this month!

“Sixteen” is a sequence generated by a few simple equations within Native Instruments’ KSP processor for the Kontakt sampler. Utilizing 113 different samples, mapped across the keyboard, the sequence explores the number 16 as both a common musical value (the 16th note) and a point of reference for measuring voice allocation. Once the sequence is triggered, a loop is initiated. Different note values are selected at random while note velocities are selected from an array of 16 possibilities. The outcome of the velocity value is then divided by 16. That quotient is the number of 16th notes until the next note is triggered. It is a simple equation that naturally invokes complex syncopation and musical patterns within the given sample set. Here is one example outcome. Sixteen by micahfrank

Puremagnetik now has a soundset of custom Kamoni kits for Ableton Live 7. It’s a free download and can be found in the “Artist Kits” section at Puremagnetik.com

Ableton Live Rack tutorial in Computer Music Magazine

Computer Music Magazine asked me to write a detailed Ableton Live Rack tutorial in July’s issue. It includes some beginner as well as advanced programming methods and lots of screenshot examples. Should already be out in Europe hitting the US in another few weeks.

Interview in German magazine Keys