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20160512

In the future we can borrow clothing from the libraries.

Got a job working for the Grey Cube Galleries! I’ll be in charge of documenting their summer events at the Helsinki Zoo. Discussed the gig with Päivi Raivio and as requested I’ll make 4-6 short documentaries of various events and projects. I’ll get to interview Katrin Caspar & Eeva-Liisa Puhakka, Päivi Allonen and artist of the Honkasalo-Niemi-Virtanen group. These artist talks will be backed with interviews of various animal caretakers and zoo personel. I worked for the Grey Cube Galleries last summer too. I build the Zoovision reality-headset during my residency. This gig is a interesting continuation of last years work and offers a new view to the zoo institution.

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20160511

Two weeks of life wasted on the WSG. Still not working right. Swapped all the parts and resoldered the wiring using an alternative diagram. It’s not working and I have no idea why. I ordered new resistors for the second unit and I’ll stop trying to fix this one to save energy to work on the next unit. Made a song about the life I wasted.

Noticed I have made fun entries to my soundcloud account. 20160423 2021 is one of my favorites.

Visited the “My Signs” performance by Pekka Toivonen at the Rock Church. It was a celebration of his career as a graphical designer. He had composed a concert for a small orchestra and made a video collage which showed his personal life during the time he had made his celebrated designs. The show was centered on his artists-persona, his encounters with women and snapshots of fast paced life.

Graphical designers have taken center stage of contemporary creative culture. Their profession is about building connection between different sorts of tastes. They don’t necessarily strive to make statements, their work is a celebration of complex signs presented in tasteful packages. The audience is left to make sense of what is being presented (they often build their interpretation on zeitgeist vibes or immerse in with the experience like romantic art back in the days). I imagine graphical designers don’t get constructive criticism about their work (there is no statement to criticise), so it must be a lonely profession.

Toivonen is the Gallen-Gallela of 21th century Finland but that’s not why I like him. I like him for his class struggle. His success is the success of the welfare state – He has breached the boundaries of his class.

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20160510

It’s incredible that some electronic components are so rare. We can’t reach a post-scarcity economic utopia (where we only trade services) as long as specific resistors are so hard to find. I saw a dozen of Yamaha Electone organs for sale 10€ each at a local recycling center. Each device has components inside them which cost more. I should start a component upcycling business. Some info on the Electone organ chips is available online.

Tried my best to get the WSG working again. Sanded the paint away from the case (under the potentiometers) to create a stable ground connection, added a ground wire from the “-” power lead to the case and replaced the audio jack. Results: Only sound A Osc.2 is working. Bought new components for a second unit. I’m determined to build a working noise box.

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20160509

We met with the “In the Flow” reading circle last evening. Quotes to remember: “…Russian avant-garde art was not directed against the status quo, against the dominating political and economic power structures. The Russian avant-garde of the Soviet period was not critical but affirmative…” Groys on postrevolutionary art in Russia and “Only dull and impotent artists screen their work with sincerity. In art there is a need for truth, not sincerity.” by Kazimir Malevich.

I’ve wasted another day working on the Weird Sound Generator. Replaced every capacitor, added ribbon pins to the wires and resoldered them on board. Double checked the resistor values and pulled out some resistors for testing. Eventually replaced the CD40106 chip.. This returned the voice B Osc.2 but voice A Osc.2 is still missing. I had two chips to begin with and I might have damaged both. During the resoldering session I noticed that a capacitor had been missing a connection from the beginning (because the double sided circuit board I’ve etched is missing connections between sides) and I might have short circuited both chips at some point. I’ll acquire a new chip at some point but I’ll start working on the case now. Working on the board is addictive.

Contacted the Theatre Academy of Helsinki concerning our “Horse and Performance” course which is planned for next fall. They seem excited about our course and apparently students are eager to join register.

Idea: Attach a piezo mic (with a preamp) to hammer and broadcast the audio through the Raspberry Pi radio transmitter (on FM 99.0).

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20160507

Swapped nearly every component on the Weird Sound Generator board but I’m still missing Osc. 2 on sounds A&B. The problem has to be with the potentiometers or wiring. After a week of intensive soldering I’m ready to settle with what I have. I’ll fix the casing next week. I’m dissatisfied even though I learned a lot about electronics and found inspirational projects like 3TrinsRGB1. I still have a board left and I’ll buy new parts for a second unit. Given that I have most of the tools (and spare potentiometers) already new parts will likely cost only 10-20€.

I could start saving for something easy to use and fun like an Novation Circuit or a Korg Electribe 2 but they feel boring. Even as this WSG working in 50% capacity it still sounds more alive then digital synths I’ve played with. Particularly the low sounds manifest raw power. During this debugging phase I’ve heard every sound imaginable from the device. Touching the wires can wield surprising and painful results. Knowing that the sounds are present in the circuit builds respect to the device.