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Thanks a lot for the tip. I'm about to check it out. -Jesse ----- Original Message ----- From: Keenan Lawler <klaw@konstant.com> To: <Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com> Sent: Thursday, April 15, 1999 2:29 AM Subject: Re: error correction/Nicolas Collins > > Hello Jeese & all loopers-i agree with yr comments on Nic Collns-hes >quite > a brillant composer/musician who has done so much innovative work esp his > inverse guitar stuff- have you ever seen the kalvos & damien new music > bazaar site? > > check this for a live interview & great music from Collins (as well as a > wellspring of great music from many diverse composers ) > & some wacky banter in between .Its a huge archive of radio shows from 5 > years ago to the present-youll need real audio > > > scroll down the page & click the programm to see the playlist--- > > > http://www.goddard.edu/wgdr/kalvos/shows.html > Oedipus Nix > July 6 > > Nicolas Collins, 2 > 58 > Czar Nicolas, the Tunguska Fireball > June 29 > 42 > > Nicolas Collins, 1 > > > > enjoy! > > K > > > > > > > > > > > > > At 06:30 PM 4/14/99 -0400, you wrote: > >I've been hearing and reading quite a bit about Nicolas Collins lately (who > >coincidentally studied at the school I now attend, though that has nothing > >to do with how I heard about him), but I haven't been able to find his stuff > >anywhere. However, Kim's remarks reminded me about an interview I read with > >him where he talks about his modifications to CD's and players. The below > >is excerpted from a longer interview at > >http://www.art-bag.net/contd/issue2/collins.htm#f1 > > > >By the way, if anyone has more info on Collins or is familiar with his work > >and where to find it, do share, off-list or on. > > > >*** > >I started to do the CD-skipping-thing in '88 or '89, and used it a lot >in > >live performances, since I tend to do a lot of pieces that are based on > >processing found sound material. In a nutshell, everything I do has to >do > >with sticking something into a machine and watching it come out >different at > >the other end. I used to work a lot with cassette tapes, I put different > >material in the left and the right channels and sort of distributed >stuff > >randomly over tape so you would never know exactly what you would get when. > >And I started using CD players because I could remotely control them >very > >easily, to get access to different parts. I did some modifications in >the > >players just to see if I could manipulate the CD the way you can an LP >-- > >scratching. I came up with a few very simple tricks whereby you can scratch > >and cue and this kind of stuff. > > > >MC: So you do the tricks on the CDs or inside the CD player? > > > >NC: In the CD player. In terms of history, there were a number of artists -- > >most particularly Yasunao Tone, a Japanese artists working in New York, who > >did pieces where they prepared the CDs themselves. They discovered that if > >you put crayon marks or cellotape on the CD, you can get it to do all sorts > >of jingling stuff. But I went inside the CD player and looked, because I > >suspected -- and I was right -- that the laser was always reading > >information off the disc, even when you're on pause or moving from track one > > >to track 30. It's always reading information, but the control computer > >"censors" the output, decides for us what is music (i.e., the clean > >playback) and what is "noise" (scratching, skipping). So I found that > >control signal, marked "mute" and I simply flipped that pin off the chip so > >that it could no longer mute anything. And that opened the door to the inner > >world of the CD: you could hear anything that the CD-player was doing at any > >time. Later I got in deeper and started to turning in and off the motor and > >sled, slow it down, make things go backwards, typical screw-up things. > >*** > > > >-Jesse > > > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: Kim Flint <kflint@annihilist.com> > >To: <Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com> > >Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 1999 2:42 AM > >Subject: Re: error correction > > > > > >> > >> I played around with this idea once. I think I even mentioned it on >the > >> list a long time ago, since it's an interesting way to get some crazy > >> loops. With a little experimentation, you can get some really nutty things > >> to come out of a cd player. My favorite from those days was a bad >heavy > >> metal band* cd that I painted lines on with white-out. Then I scraped some > >> of the white-out off so it was fairly spotty. I think it was an iterative > >> thing, really. I painted a bunch on, played it, didn't like it, scrape > >some > >> off, play again, etc, until I got a good result. For me, the cd player > >> would randomly skip around the disc, getting stuck in tight loops over > >bits > >> of audio for a while and then skipping randomly again. Sometimes it would > >> actually play a stretch for a little while before skipping off again. > >> Ofentimes I'd have to press buttons on the front to break it out of a loop > >> if it stuck too long. The result sounded like some wild industrial music. > >> Intense, percussive loops would form over little stretches of >bad-metal > >> sound, and suddenly switch to a different bad-metal loop. Great fun. > >> > >> A guy I knew then who did this weird college radio show suggested > >> microwaving the cds. I guess it makes lots of sparks before the >plastic > >> around the disk shatters, leaving spider webs of lines all over the cd > >> surface. Probably that wreaks havoc on the poor cd laser. Never tried that > >> one, as I would surely starve to death if I blew up the microwave. > >> > >> I don't imagine it's easy to disable error correction in the player. > >> Different manufacturers probably use different error correction > >algorithms, > >> so I would guess the results differ from machine to machine. However, > >error > >> correction is only meant to handle bits of dust and small scratches, >so > >any > >> serious damage to the cd should completely overwhelm it. I don't know how > >> the guy would get pitch and timbre changes, but I'm sure you could get all > >> sorts of crazy stuff if you experimented with different cds and > >> cd-mutilation techniques. > >> > >> I say, just grab some crappy cd's and go for it! If you destroy your cd > >> player or any other home appliances in the process, please don't blame > >> me.... > >> > >> *Meliah Rage, remember them? no? They were much better after I >finished > >> with them. ;-) > >> > >> ______________________________________________________________________ > >> Kim Flint | Looper's Delight > >> kflint@annihilist.com | http://www.annihilist.com/loop/loop.html > >> http://www.annihilist.com/ | Loopers-Delight-request@annihilist.com > >> > >> > >> > > > >