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20210109

Learning about my Rampage. The odd behavior of the A & B outs I’ve experienced when using a passive LPGs (and some other modules such as the caliOSC) is typical and well documented. It can be referred as the once the output goes high it will “stick” on until I unpatch -issue. Similar and even odder behavior occurs in the falling & rising outputs. Which can however be fixed by adding a 1Mohm pull down resistors to the gate outputs.

Sloth Chaos by Nonlinearcircuits might be a good match for use with diy capacitors.

Successful connected our flat and my shelter-studio using an intercom made from a pair of ~50 year old Ericsson Dialog phones. Dug a discreet 50m trench for a 4 pole telephone-wire. Made first calls and everything works. The line powers when I turn on the electricity in the studio. Got the ringer/buzzer in the other end working by using the “ground” wire to supply voltages to a buzzer (controlled with a button). Landlines are back!

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20201225

Disabled the Auto WiFi hotspot script on my Raspi following the Script Removal guide. Using the Raspi as my studio terminal… Yeah, I build a studio over the last two weeks. It’s a small room (240 x 230 x 235). Originally a compartment of the mandatory civil defence emergency evacuation structures of our apartment building. It’s below ground level but has a cute window trough which I can see the grass. In the summer I can turn this space into a camera obscura!

I build long shelves, two tables (one for standing and the other for sitting) and a weird high work stool using a Brooks-bicycle saddle and timbre I salvaged from a nearby construction site. The tables and shelves run along the walls and are mounted straight to them (made from OBS hence channelling strong 2000-berlin vibes). I’ve used every corner of the space and even added a sitting hammock to the ceiling. I got everything ready just before I was relieved from my gig-job at Posti. Still recovering from the gig.

I haven’t used the space much yet and there is still some work to be done. I’m currently moving all my gear, tools and supplies from the closets I’ve used to stash them. Dismantled the WaterLab patch (made notes of it) and organized my modules to the two cases I’ve build. I can finally test CaliOSC with the Mutable Instruments CVpal with my Norns (running Orca). The hammock is positioned perfectly for working a keyboard/Norns and to send signals to the modular.

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20200707

My gig at the Malmi cemetery has ended. I got an opportunity to leave the job thanks to a Art Promotion Center covid grant. The grant enables me to complete a writing job on Performance Pedagogy, start developing the Horse & Performance course for TEAK and prepare mineral water performances for the fall (which is going to be hella busy). I got the grant for making an interesting critique of the response creative culture in Finland had on the pandemic.

I miss the work a bit, it felt honest and the crew was fun. It was exhausting to work outdoors in +30C° weather / rain and doing artsy stuff as a sidejob took its toll on family life. The pay was pretty low too, so the grant feels like winning the lottery. I’ve slept and wept for two days. Artists in Finland often complain that government artists grants are too low. Sure, they are but considering the hours and physical exhaustion of the gardening job I’d take the grant life for life.

I completed two electronics kits over the last weekends. I assembled a Dannysound Cali (California) oscillator, which is a replica of the Buchla Model 258. Wavefolding is inspiring: Instead of removing content to develop a sound, an aspect of it gets exaggerated. The unit allows wavefolding to be used to cut the volume, which works for neat lowpass filter type effects. Last weekend I assembled a Befaco Rampage, which is an “approach to an old invention: the Serge/Buchla ramp generator”. It processes sound, triggers and gates to spurt out an array of control voltages. It feels like an intelligence of sorts. I can use it as an envelope follower (Planning to process sparkling water. Edit: My preamps are not strong enough!). My current Waterlab eurorack system runs on a USB power bank.