127th AES Convention Coverage (New York, NY Oct. 9-12)
PRESS RELEASE

Cycling '74 Launches Label for MAX/MSP Artists

June 11, 2001

Cycling '74 recently launched c74, a record label that showcases a wide variety of genres, ranging from electroacoustic music to electronica and beyond, created by the community of composers and performers who employ Cycling '74 software products such as Max and MSP.

The first c74 release, from The Freight Elevator Quartet, might be said to be a microcosm of the label itself. "Fix it in Post" blends live recordings, which intermingle instruments (cello, didjeridoo, modular synth, drum machine, keyboards, guitars, basses, and a PowerBook running Max/MSP) with musical genres (drum'n'bass, academic electroacoustic music, pop, dub, space, electro, and hip-hop) into a refined and coherent whole.

The second release is "./swank" from Interface, a maverick duo composed of violinist Dan Trueman and bassist Curtis Bahn. They combine the territory of free improvisation with a powerful set of extended instruments; the duo's 5-string vertical bass and a 6-string electric violin are transformed using Max and MSP into both the source of the sounds you hear and the means of their transformation. "./swank" was recorded before a live audience at Boston's Mobius Arts Center.

"The artists you hear on c74 use Max/MSP to create 'patches', powerful logical constructions of interconnected function-boxes and patch cords that react to external input and manipulate audio, video, or anything else that can be connected to a computer. We're constantly delighted to discover new and creative ways that people are using our software. We started c74 so that others can hear it, too," said David Zicarelli, Cycling '74 founder.

MAX was originally developed at IRCAM in the late 1980s by Miller Puckette and was ported to the Macintosh by David Zicarelli in 1990. Since its initial release, MAX has been used extensively around the world in cutting-edge live performance and multimedia development. Cycling '74 has extended and complemented MAX's MIDI and multimedia support with MSP, a set of synthesis and signal processing extensions.

Additional releases from Amnon Wolman, Kim Cascone, and Leslie Stuck are planned, as is a CD of Cycling '74 employees including jhno, Safety Scissors, and Kit Clayton. CDs may be purchased directly from Cycling '74 on their web site, www.cycling74.com/c74.

For more information, visit their web site at http://www.cycling74.com/.

Recent Cycling 74 headlines

More Cycling 74 Headlines

Similar Products at Musician's Friend

Email: webmaster@harmony-central.com | © 1995-2009 Harmony Central, Inc. All rights reserved.