Cycling '74 Launches
Record Label Supporting MAX/MSP Artists
June 13, 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. |
