Archive for September 2024

tBd @ No Bounds Festival 2024

Posted on 30th September 2024 in Gigs

We’ll be at the No Bounds Festival again in 2024, this time playing two special live shows on the 11th of October at the Hallamshire Hotel. It’s not a big place, so make sure you’ve got your tickets. You’ll need the “Opening Concert Only [Friday]” ticket or a weekend pass for entry.

Tickets: https://ra.co/events/1607259

Live Coding Software For Music

Posted on 24th September 2024 in Gigs, News, Studio & Production

In September 2024 we took part in a Live Coding Workshop and Showcase at the Festival of the Mind 2024 in Sheffield. Together with the School of Computer Science at the University of Sheffield, we spent the afternoon making bleeps with code, before heading out for a live demo at the Spiegeltent in the city centre.

And now, the software is publicly accessible and free to use, along with the tutorials and a set of music demos from us:
https://bleep.sheffield.ac.uk/artist/seclusion

It’s a web-based live coding environment, designed for generating noise and music, and it’s intended to introduce the basics of coding, while making some interesting noises. It’s not as scary as it sounds, the simplified code lets you jump straight in and make some noise with just a single line of code. The tutorials will guide you through the basics, so it shouldn’t matter whether or not you have any coding experience.

This system and the code used is based on Sam Aaron’s Sonic Pi project, only now, it’s entirely web-based. It’s very much a work-in-progress, so may be a little rough in places, but that shouldn’t stop you getting stuck in.

And as you might have noticed, we’ve avoided referring to the software by name, mainly because it hasn’t actually got one. All suggestions welcome!

The demos we produced for the festival are at:
https://bleep.sheffield.ac.uk/artist/seclusion

The tutorials created for the workshop can be accessed via:
https://bleep.sheffield.ac.uk/artist/tbd

Download the tutorial PDF:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1glIlPp00SJi_gMVX8bZ5fwLNumnrlVyy/view?usp=drive_link

Want to dig deeper? More information is available in the Wiki, although this too is a work-in-progress:
https://github.com/guyjbrown/bleepmanual/wiki

Want to start from a blank project?
https://bleep.sheffield.ac.uk/user

Let us know what you get up to!

Seclusion EP – Out Now

Posted on 20th September 2024 in Releases

Our new release, the “Seclusion EP”, is out now, and at a special price when bought from us:

DustStore.com
Bandcamp.com

Patreon Supporters
As always, our generous supporters on Patreon can get the downloads for free, right now. You can join for the price of a chippy dinner:
https://www.patreon.com/theblackdogma

Out In The Rest Of The World
Kompakt
Juno Download
Boomkat
Bleep
Spotify
Apple Music
Beatport
Deezer
traxsource
TIDAL

Techno Music Programming – Festival of the Mind 2024

Posted on 3rd September 2024 in Gigs, News, Studio & Production

On the 21st of September 2024, we’ll be joining with the School of Computer Science at Sheffield University for a couple of special music programming events, all as part of Festival of the Mind 2024.

Techno Music Programming Masterclass – The Diamond
This free 2-hour workshop will explore the basics of computer programming through the lens of techno music creation. Led by renowned musician and live coding expert Dr Sam Aaron, participants will use software specifically developed for this workshop, teaching the basics of coding and exploring music composition. We’ll be there to share our knowledge of techno music production, sharing our own code and examples to illustrate. Places are very limited and can be reserved at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk

Techno Music Programming Showcase – Spiegeltent
At 5pm we’ll head down to the Spiegeltent in Barkers Pool where we’ll introduce the concepts of live music coding, demonstrate the unique software and perform some of the music that we’ve created, including pieces from our new Seclusion EP. The event is free but the Spiegeltent has limited space, so get down early to get yourself a place.

Full details for all of the events at this year’s Festival of the Mind can be found at:
https://festivalofthemind.sheffield.ac.uk/2024/

Seclusion EP – 20/9/2024

Posted on 3rd September 2024 in Releases

The “Seclusion EP” continues our work from the “Isolation EP” and the album “Other, Like Me”. The four tracks explore the concept of seclusion as a personal choice: freedom from environmental and social distractions to enhance our creative focus.

While beneficial, this practice is not without challenges. Finding the balance between isolation and engagement is difficult because it requires constant attention.

We are complex, not easily understood, and we often struggle to stop the inner dialogue and rumination.

Pre-order now and download from the 20th of September 2024:
DustStore.com
Bandcamp

The initial concepts for this EP were created using software developed by the Computer Science Department at Sheffield University, specifically designed to introduce the concepts of coding and creating music. We’re taking part in a techno music programming masterclass at The Diamond and then performing in Spiegeltent for Festival of the Mind 2024. Full details of the events can be found at:
https://www.theblackdogma.com/2024/09/techno-music-pro…of-the-mind-2024/