The 2010 series of Elements events have gone from strength to strength with record attendances at both our indoor and outdoor events and this coming Halloween we plan to do it all again and blow the cobwebs right off ze wall! You can expect 2 fully themed & decorated dancefloors, pumping sound systems, extra lights, lasers, projection screens and more. But it doesn’t end there we really want YOU to get involved! It’s time to start working out your spooky Halloween costumes kiddies! We want you to help accessories the clubs decor with your fun & creative costumes. Get your spook on… Join headlining artists Spektre (UK), Phil K (Melb) & Digital Divide as they take us on a frightening freaky dance floor journey!

Massive support from Tranceducer, Stuart Wild, Adam Swain, Rich Curtis, Vertical Transport, Werk-E, Emmy Lou, Sabot4ge playing a variety of spOoKy demonic House, Breaks, Trance, Techno, Psychedelic & more!!

Hellements will be held on Saturday the 30th of October at Barsoma.
(22 Constance St, Fortitude Valley)

$20 presold tix are available NOW through Oztix.com.au or from any of the dj’s playing at Hellements or $25 at the door on the night.

SPEKTRE (RESPEKT / UK)
It’s the vision of successful producers/djs Paul Maddox and Filthy Rich, who came together through a bond of minimal techno, and a willingness to experiment unmercifully with new sounds. Unsettling any crowd that stands in their way, with their razor-sharp beats and explosive chemistry, their releases and live sets have been menacing dance floors ever since their project was born. Stacking up an intimidating amount of industry knowledge and skill between them, the Spektre monster is storming from strength to strength, taking no prisoners… Filthy Rich has released countless successful tracks as well as gaining the support of top name DJs, whilst Paul Maddox has been fiercely producing music since the age of 15. Although coming from two very diverse musical backgrounds, their love of minimalism and attraction to cutting edge technology created a lethal combination.
Spektre
Their sinful sounds draw inspiration from early R&S releases, Joey Beltram, right through to modern masterminds such as M.A.N.D.Y, Plasmik and Trentemoller. They use their combined experiences of minimalism to produce dark sinister sounds mixed in with twisted vocals and unnerving foundations, whilst remaining accessible to the crowds. Connoisseur of the scene Oliver Huntemann, snatched up Spektre’s early releases for his own label “Dance Electric.” Since then the pair have earnt admiration and support from Sven Vath to Tim Sheridan, Audiojack to Fergie and the world over!

Spektre have been unleashing their dirty live sets in clubs up and down the country, casting their spell on thousands. With their insatiable energy for touring, 2008 sees their unique sound reaching the shores of South America, Russia & Ukraine, with a album showcase performance at this summers Glade Festival, there is no doubt this year will be as full of the same hectic gig schedule as the last. Expect to witness their undefined sets storming through clubland and expect to walk away breathless!

PHIL K (MELB)

As overused as the term ‘legend’ is in dance music, it’s worthy in the case of Phil K. The quintessential DJ’s DJ, Phil manages to balance technical dexterity (and he is a whiz) with what the dancefloor wants, a double threat that has set him apart all these years.
Before the term “house music” was even coined and when most of todays clubbers were still watching “Playschool” Phil was plying his trade at parties around Melboune. In the nineties Phil managed to play every noteworthy club night in Melbourne and supported just about every International DJ that toured that decade. Working at legendary record store DMC Records in Melbourne Phil set up Zero Tolerance Recordings and started to put Australia on the map internationally with his take on underground electronic music. His own project on the label with Andy Page known as Hi Fi Bugs is a great example of the sound they were pioneering. The track “Lydian and the Dinosaur” is widely regarded as a defining moment in breakbeat music and is still one of the most collectible 12″ records to come out of Australia.

In 2002 after having a few remixes, singles and tours under his belt he released Balance 4 which was critically acclaimed and was voted in the top 10 compilations of that year by UKs DJ Mag. His world went totally haywire after that moment, going on to take out various awards including Australias Best DJ and an award for a Lifetime Contribution to Australian Dance Music amongst a swag of others.

The rest of the noughties was a never ending worldwide tour schedule leaving very little time for Australian audiences as his commitments forced him to move overseas. He performed just about everywhere he ever dreamed of playing and many places he had never heard of. Some notable performances include events such as Glastonbury Festival, SONAR, Big Day Out and at some of the biggest clubs in the world including Fabric, Womb, MOS and a countless haze of others. In between the touring Phil found time to keep recording as various artist names, but it was as Lostep with Luke Chable that they created another seminal record called “Burma” which was included on Sasha’s “Involver”LP. “Burma” led to a recording contract with Global Underground and the LP “Because We Can” was released in 2005.

Another area of interest became apparent and it was in the area of DJ technology. Phil’s now legendary relationship with Pioneer Electronics began with a trip to Tokyo showing their engineers the things they thought their equipment couldn’t do as well as redesigning the EFX500 to become the EFX1000. Phil has had input into most of the machines that most DJs use everyday and his skills on these products along with James Zabiela (who was one of Phil’s early “students” in the use of effects) is famous worldwide. He has been called a “lost jedi” by Tom Middleton and taken the likes of Meat Katie, Anthony Pappa, Chad Jackson, Dave Seaman, Adam Freeland and a battalion of other students and notables through the finer points of key mixing and digital effects mixing. The reason he is regarded as the DJs DJ.

Phil is now regarded as one of Australia’s most successful and respected DJs ever and is back residing in his home town Melbourne, content and happy that he has achieved much of what he has set out to do in his music career. His passion for travelling has definitely wained, but his passion for music and DJng remains just as strong. When you watch and hear him play you can hear and see the 25 years of influences and experience at work. Genre-defying programming, laced with incredible technicalities that can be subtle or “blow the roof of” kind of large, Phil is a true musician in a 21st century kind of way. He currently performs regularly at venues such as Brown Alley and La Di Da in Melbourne and Chinese Laundry in Sydney amongst others and at very select interstate and international destinations.

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Digital Divide is formed by two of Brisbane’s finest up & coming DJ’s, Manesh & Tekka. Both Manesh & Tekka share a love for all things minimal and techno, combining their skills to bring the easily recognizable sound of Digital Divide. 2009 saw Digital Divide smash into the Brisbane dance scene, securing a residency at the notorious SAMPLE – Not For Resale parties at 12 Lounge. Following their first appearances at SAMPLE, the two boys were booked by Brisbane and interstate promoters, such as, Let’s Get Minimal, Soundtrap (ACT), Jack’d, UDP, Elements, Alchemy, Divided, Praxis, Metric and played at Secret Sessions Festival 2009. Digital Divide secured international gigs at Yumla Nightclub in Hong Kong, headlining the ‘Techno – Brisbane, Australia Style’ party with Robohan (LGM), supported by Yumla resident Wendy Wenn [HK].

TRANCEDUCER
Programmed with a deep musical passion, diligent drive and natural manner, Tranceducer is highly regarded throughout Australia’s dance music industry. Tranceducer’s dedication to share music that thoroughly fulfills and surprises has him regularly included on Brisbane’s biggest dance line-ups. Adaptable to any environment, Tranceducer regularly appears at the finest clubs and festivals and has held his own when supporting many international dance legends. As well as a constant gigging schedule, 2010 sees the conductor enter the studio to craft his own dance floor ammunition. This will see him armed and loaded to execute his primary function: converting musical energies into dance floor focused sets of techno, trance, tech-house and darker progressive house.

STUART WILD
Over the past seven years, Stuart’s dance music has travelled many stylistic grounds. His latest approach manages to keep the best aesthetics from each, delivering them as sheets in an all-encompassing layercake of dance floor focused techno.

Taking advantage of today’s technology, Stuart mixes up to four tracks at once (plus loops & FX) and has been known to hammer up to 40 songs into a 90 minute set without it feeling squashed. Maintaining friendship with the concepts of journey and transition, Stuart’s only agenda is to keep you in the groove, and on the floor.

This persistent focus has seen Stuart share lineup space with influential international acts such as John 00 Fleming, Perry Farrell, Raja Ram, Propellerheads, Shpongle/Hallucinogen, Maetrik, Nick Sentience, Mark Henning, Artifakt, DJ Krush and many more.

DJ ADAM SWAIN
It takes a certain enthusiasm and man to willingly spend hour after hour with a beer in one hand and some music in the other, yet never tire or waver from the end goal of keeping those around you entertained.

Some DJs prefer the opposite – happy to keep their head down and plug away, letting the dance floor take care of and enagage with itself, where others are mad enough to jump out from the safety of the booth to make themselves the life of the party and much more than a music delivery system. Adam Swain has always fitted comfortably in the latter category – as passionate a clubber as he is a DJ, like most party animals he truly appreciates the power of a solid warm up, and having built a reputation in the crucible of such challenging early slots, Swain is reaching beyond with his trademark blend of emotional, organic, deep and rolling tech house that’s as relevant at the beginning of the night as it is in the middle or at the end.
RICH CURTIS
Rich Curtis wears many hats, but all are woven from a thread of consistency and quality forging a sound which is always fresh, always epic, and faithfully sitting at the big room end of progressive and tech house: Hat 1 “DJ”: Resident at Empire, Tonic Lounge and later in 2010, Luna Loca. Guest at Family, The Met, Barsoma, Electric Playground, Birdee Num Num, Mass, GPO, Winter Sound System Festival and Future Music Festival as well as a monthly radio show “Resolutions” on http://www.insomniafm.com

Hat 2 “Promoter”: Host (since 2007) of the Ulterior, House Arrest and Embrace nights under the banner of the Ritual Events showcasing Hernan Cattaneo, Anthony Pappa, Charlie May, Jim Rivers, Reset Robot, Henry Saiz and many more! Hat 3 “Producer”: firmly rooted in underground prog tech / tech-house, Rich’s first EPs will be released on Replug Records and Elektrax Progressive in late 2010″

VERTICAL TRANSPORT
Vertical Transport is a Dj / turntablist / producer and promoter of Deep Space Entertainment. With over 10 year’s experience performing & promoting events he has supported some of the biggest names in the electronic world; Artists such as – Ferry Corsten, Skool of Thought, Loopus in Fabular, Freestylers, Dj Hyper, Concord Dawn… the list goes on and on….

Vertical, as a Dj is very well known for his crafty skills on turntables and has played for countless amounts of Clubs, Doofs, Festivals, Radio stations etc. VT will often drop massive FX in on top of tracks and samples that have either politically suggestive and or spiritual themes. VT’s also known to drop in anything from Minimal to Dub-Step, Psy or Breaks, however his main style of beats he’s best known for are Dark Psy Break beats. This enables VT to venture anywhere within the boundary’s of Broken beats and Psy-Trance and depending on the mood of the crowd, will often lean more towards one or the other…

WERK-E
From an early age Werk-E has been heavily influenced by the sound of hip hop and grime. After many years of honing various forms of electronic music behind the decks he has focused his energy purely on dubstep, instantly being attracted to the heavy basslines and rolling melodies.

Whether it be chill or up-front, Werk-E has developed his own distinct style of mixing and is always found dropping the freshest beats and crowd pleasers. His versatile musical background also allows him the ability to turn his hand to various styles of electronic music including progressive psytrance, breakbeat and anything driving and ‘four to the floor’. Whether unleashing his frequencies indoors or outdoors, Werk-E is always known to stand and deliver surgical precision and unrivalled energy behind the decks.

Event Details

• Artist: vdmo Kstati
• Date: Saturday, October 30th 2010
• Time: 9:00pm
• City: vdmo Kstati in Brisbane
• Venue: Barsoma
• Address: 4/22 Constance St
• Venue phone: (07) 3252 9550
• Country: Australia
• Admission: $20
• Age restrictions: No Minors
• Notes: Feat: Spektre, Phil K, Digital Divide, Tranceducer, Stuart Wild, Vertical Transport, Adam Swain, Rich Curtis, Mr. Killen, Emyy Lou, Werkmeister, Sabo4ge + (vj) vdmo Kstati
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

Some of the upcoming shows to be noted are:

Illumination 11 (Starseed) – Cairns @ AJ Hacket 23 October 2010
Elements (Halloween) – Brisbane- @ Barsoma 30th October 2010
Local Produce v4 – Victoria – 11th -12 December 2010
NYE Tribadelic – Victoria – 30th December 2010 – 1st January 2011

Front Room
Fatigue, Mista Kifsta, Phatt Albert,

Back Room
Wez, Dj Jack McCord, meOmy, NewWorldAudio, Suspekt, vdmo Kstati

You can watch the clip here: Some bit mapped Bass

gemQ free VJ software for linux workshop from Spuk Kommune on Vimeo.

9-10 Phosphorus(Cairns)
10-11.30 Suspekt(Open Records)
11.30-12.30 Slytrance (Live)
12.30 -2 Sensient(Album Launch)
2-3.30 Phatt Albert(Cairns)
3.30-5 Mista Kiffstar (Freakquency Records)

Front Room
9-10 adder KING troll
10-11 JT
11-12 Werlo
12-1 Cardaic
1- 2.30 Hard D
2.30 -4 Fatigue
4 -5 Tyson

VJs
Phosphorus
Vdmo Kstati

Event Details

• Artist: vdmo Kstati
• Date: Friday, July 2nd 2010
• Time: 9:00pm
• City: vdmo Kstati in Cairns
• Venue: Heritage
• Country: Australia
• Notes: With Sensient(Zenon Records)
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

12.00 Pan Electric
1.00 Stickleback
2.00 Sun:Monx
3.30 Chocolate Strings
4.30 Zennith
6.00 Solstice Ceremony by the lake
7.00 The Rhythm Hunters
8.00 Tijuana Cartel
9.00 Opiuo
10.00 Rhythmik
11.00 Slytrance

Sunday a.m

12.00 Player One
1.30 Ozzy
3.00 Skyhighatrist
4.30 Mekkanikka
6.00 Loud
7.00 Twilight
8.30 Tetrameth
10.00 Frechbax
11.00 Woodsman
12.00 Erphun (Live)
1.30 Adam Giardina
3.00 Jamie Stevens

Freeform Stage Set Times
Friday p.m

4.00 Diff.Rent
5.00 Adusk
6.00 Haas Effect
7.00 Mony
8.00 Jake Reid
9 .00 Psybaba
10.00 Taesty Gecko
11.00 Mecca

Saturday a.m

12.00 Legacy
1.00 Dj Auracle
2.30 Area 52
4.00 Tarun
5.30 Lunacy
6.30 Psymon
7.30 Solarplex
8.30 Spoonhead
9.30 One Tasty Morsel
11.00 Eegor

Saturday p.m

12.00 Paul Abad
1.00 Funkform
2.00 U_One
3.00 Shinya Okamoto
4.30 Oblique_Industries
6.00 Solstice Ceremony by the lake
7.30 Hijacker
8.30 The Baron
9.30 Jeremy J
10.30 Stickleback
11.30 Scruffy Goat

Sunday a.m
12.30 Aaron Smiles
1.30 Simple Psyman
2.30 Ajita Audio
3.30 Rekka
4.30 A.N.O
5.30 Groove Diva
6.30 Cymo
7.30 Faeorin
9.00 Bush pilot
10.00 Auditory Illusion
11.00 Paul Kearney

Sunday p.m

12.00 Solrac
1.00 Suseri
2.00 Danni B
3.00 Anri
4.00 The Mollusk
5.00 Kalya Scintilla
6.00 Sun In Aquarius
7.00 Dov
8.30 Ghettafunkt
9.30 Grouch
10.30 Widespread
11.30 Waltek

Monday a.m

12.30 Jekyll
1.30 Brothers Darkness
2.30 Ray
3.30 Cheryl Catawampess
5.00 Marz
6.00 Stampedey
7.00 Unseen Dimensions
8.00 Bushmech
9.00 Merkaba
10.00 Shadow Fx
11.00 Erphun Dj

Monday p.m

12.00 SunControlSpecies
1.00 Suspekt
2.00 Continuum
3.00 Steve Ward

* in Alphabetical order

VJ Asterix (Darwin)
http://www.imagineer.net.au/australian_vj/
http://www.vimeo.com/vjasterix

Asterix works with an array of real time audio visualisers pre-rendered eye candy to take you on a magical visual journey. For VJ `Asterix; Sine, Cosine and audio are essential ingredients in modular realtime visual software he uses for creating mesmerizing kaleidoscopes, audio driven 3d worlds and realtime video mixing. VJing is the ultimate escape from his life in commercial graphics, and an opportunity for boundless creativity ‘live’ and in the moment. With music as his guide he takes you on a journey into his world of fantasy and spirituality.

VJ Blindoff (France)
http://www.myspace.com/blindoff

Formerly in charge of mission in ecology, specialising in Insects, Blindoff is from the alternative art scene of Lille (France). Blindoff has performed Belgium in France, Germany and Spain and in various Major Electronic festivals (AVIT Visual Berlin, Dour festival, Electromind, VAD Gérone, Tilt festival), playing alongside world renowned Dj’s and international live acts such as Carl Cox, Jeff Mills, Popof, Phill Kearan, Boy Noizes, MAD PROFFESSOR, Zion train, KRS one…And many more mostly from the electonic minimal style. Blindoff multiplies artistic experiments & visual imaging during his performance & he will remix live visuals whilst integrating his masked character.

Crystalotustar (Kuranda/Cairns)
http://www.crystalotuscreations.com

Crystalotustar is the creative expression of spirit coming through the mind, body and soul of FNQ local Bonny Cooper. Based in the tropical paradise of Kuranda she is inspired to reflect the magnificence of mother earth and creator spirit. Using organic imagery of the earth, inputting sound through the ears, blending it with the fingers and taking it on a journey through technological circuits to be absorbed by the eyes… an organic spiritual psychedelic journey…

VJ Juladi (Germany)
http://www.youtube.com/user/VJjuladi
http://www.myspace.com/juladi

Visions, emotions, optical impressions VJ Juladi creates new pictures and makes sounds visible. Before every projection begins the search for out of the ordinary pictures, a unexplored perspective, a hidden treasure. With every performance, the video artist gets into the atmosphere, the visual lights, music and audience with her mix of local pictures, movements, artistic talent… as well as available optical snippets. The senses are invited to journey through the beautiful composition of picture and sound. VJ Juladi studied at the Stuttgart Media University. The media design and electroacoustics composition courses at the Bauhaus University in Weimar developed her feeling for music and pictures. In 2004, she broadcasted a weekly live programme with two friends which was devoted to psytrance and which was broadcasted in the Stuttgart area through UKW and worldwide over the internet. VJ Juladi is Elke from Nuertingen near Stuttgart (Germany), who likes to present pictures, but also doesn’t want to show too much. A good example are the clouds in the sky. Everyone discovers something different and every observer has their own imagination of the pictures.

Matty Moon (Perth)
http://www.myspace.com/matty_moon

Matty’s second VJ performance @ Winter Solstice. And you can also catch him playing DJ set as well at this years event.

Morph (Sydney)
http://www.morphvisual.com/

MoRpH (aka Grant Muir) has been a predominant figure on the Australian (and international) VJ scene for over 10 years. His visuals never fail too prove innovative and creative with his blending of old and new technologies, stunning graphics and amazing live footage. His unique performance video style has seen him working with a HUGE list of international Djs of all genres (Luke Slater, Eric Morillo, Carl Cox, LTJ Bukem, DJ craze, Sasha & Digweed and many, many more) and at festivals all over Australia & the world. Unlike other VJs, MoRpH has an energetic stage presence that is reflected in his mixing, blending performance with creation in a flurry of motion.

Phosphorus (Cairns/ Townsville)
http://www.myspace.com/phosphorusvj

Phosphorus has been creating and manipulating live digital visuals for events in FNQ for over 8years. Born and bread in the rainforests of Kuranda, where which his style and subject matter which have been inspired from. Expect a hypnotic convergence of nature and technology, a journey into the self and to the divine cosmos. As above and so below.

Plankton (Cairns)
http://www.myspace.com/sid_pixel
sid has always been fascinated by visuals, and has adapted his digital art skills to create animated loops using photographs, 3d models and anything that pops into his mind. Based on a tropical island off cairns, he is
totally surrounded by the elements, and this will reflect through his visual creations.

Tim Parish (verb) (Melbourne)
http://undergrowth.org/user/verb
** will be VJing with Editor (Melbourne) and AV set @ CHILL on Sunday

Tim Parish is the art director and co-editor of Undergrowth.org, which he founded with Rak Razam in 2004. He is a cross media artist, working in video art, painting, illustration, writing, and graphic design. His films have been screened in festivals around the planet, as well as widely distributed freely through Indymedia channels and the internet. He regularly exhibits his paintings and prints his writing through the Undergrowth books and magazines, and has a regular blog on Nomadology, a collective portal for gypsy tales and literary ruminations on the nature of travel. He has also worked as a film curator for many festivals and conferences. He is writing about himself in the third person right now, and it feels really wierd. In his own words:

I like to play with words, colours, molecules, and pixels.

vdmo Kstati (Cairns)
Seems to be Right Now
http://www.vdmokstati.com

Likes long walks on the beach, creating visuals, coordinating video elements for outdoor and indoor events & festivals ( Winter Sosltice, Earth Freq, etc). Local to North Queensland (Cairns) and regular on a scene throughout FNQ, Central and SE QLD, NWS, Sydney, Victoria and Melbourne. Likes to stay in a moment.

Event Details

• Artist: vdmo Kstati
• Date: Friday, June 18th 2010 - Monday, June 21st 2010
• Time: 9:00pm
• City: vdmo Kstati in Sugarbag Station
• Venue: Winter Solstice
• Country: Australia
• Notes: > 18th – Freeform Stage VJing, 19th> Opening Ceremony with Pyrodynamics, Freeform Stage VJing, 20th/21 Freeform Stage VJing.
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

After a crankin show on the 19th we are back on Freaky Fridaze the 23rd April to proudly present another round of VIBEbrations @ the Vibe bar.

This night will once again showcase the finest local artists within the record label industry. With local label legends SUSPEKT (Open Records) and MISTA KIFFSTA (Freakquency Records) SALAMANGKERO (Local Legend) and MARTIAN with his album launch the local boys will be ripping up the dancefloor with sum serious stompers and proving the power of our locally based Record Labels. With 2 Massive Visual screens projected by VJ VDMO KSTATI and 10,000 watts of crystal clear sound they will driving the vibrating dance floor with Doors opening @ 9pm with double the vibes from 9-11..

Please arrive early to ensure entry as VIBEbrations has a limited capacity and a full house is expected.

Location:

In the back room @ Vibe
39 Lake St Cairns
10 bux door tax..20bux with Datavize Album DJ Martian (Top Quality Meatz and Beatz)

Datavize Album DJ Martian (Top Quality Meatz and Beatz)
Residing in the Far North this Alien butcher has been cooking up some psychedelic frequencies! 2009 saw the Martian invade Oz winding it up in BBQ Brisbane at “NYE 2010” with a huge crowd of the Brisy and Goldie crew. Martian has teleported around the country firing up the barby @ gigs in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Over the last few years he has been serving parties @ “Enchanted forest” with a huge 9000 strong hungry crowd as well as Tribeadelic NYE, System 6 and parties in the Far North such as drooling Dreamscape, Sizzling Solstice, Symbiosis, Full Moon BBQ Beach Raves and The legendary Freakquency Fry-Up Frydaze action!.

Martian has played along side World famous master chief DJ’s and Acts including Skazi, Infected Satay Mushroom, Derrick May, Pied Piper, Crystal Method, Pendulum, Nu Energy Collective and Captain Tin Ribs with BBQ Sauce to name but a few. His sets are full flight non-stop gas burning action psytrance mixed with some of his own original psycotropic tastey trax abducting you to another planet.

The last couple of years has seen the Martian take his production to the next level with 4 albums meet packs under his belt Datavize Systems is the latest …“Datavize Volume 2” and his mixed CD of all original trax “Pangalalactic” will be launched this Fridaza the 23rd @ VIBEbrations and “Datavize Volume 3” is about to roll of the production press, so standby for more info on this new fresh new release about hit the industry market!

Deversity is the key with Martians new style of meats and the local Cairns lad is gearing it down to a solid new marinated chunk style of trance, Martians epic mixing skills and experimental ear has released new groove of psy sounds for the Ciarns massive that can only be desrcibes as “Top Quality Meats and Beatz” @ a local butcher price!!…If ya though the Freshwater bucther had it all then ya betta stock up on ya Sizzling Phat PSY Sauasages and Rockin Rump @ only $10 a kilo @ VIBREbations next frydaze and get some Psy Source and bangin bread cause its gunna be cooked to perfection!….

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111198825577786

MIDIloop Alpha

MIDIloop is an application for recording and playing back MIDI information.
(via: bugfug on vjforums)
Unlike a normal MIDI sequencer, MIDIloop is designed to record short loops of automation data in real-time and send them to a host application in sync with music or an external MIDI clock.It is designed for VJ’s who increasingly need to control multiple screens and more parameters than a single pair of hands could deal with.
It may also be useful for real-time music performances.(MIDIloop is currently for Windows only.)

Download: Download MIDIloop 0.1.0 – Released 1st April 2010

This is alpha software, which means that it doesn’t have all the features planned for the final version (if there ever is such a thing in software development!)
It may also contain bugs and should be tested thoroughly on your system before you attempt to use it live.
Please report any problems. If we don’t hear from you we may not fix them.

External Requirements

MIDIloop doesn’t require you to install any other software but you may find the following useful:
MIDI Yoke: Creates multiple MIDI loop-back devices. If you want to use MIDIloop with a VJ or music package on the same PC, you’ll need this.

Getting Started
Put some music on, preferably something with a solid beat.
Run MIDIloop, either from the icon on your desktop or your start menu.
The main window should appear shortly after.

Please note that you can drag any of the windows around and position them within the window as you like.
There are several sub-windows:
Tempo Window

MIDIloop-Tempo-Window

MIDIloop Tempo Window
This window controls the internal clock of MIDIloop.

The Clock
By default it starts at 60 BPM (beats per minute). You can set a new tempo by pressing the BEAT button in time with the music you want to sync with. At the bottom of the main window, on the status bar, you’ll see a read-out that looks like this:

BPM: 60.00 – NEW: 60.0 – BEAT: 2.12

BPM is the current tempo of the internal clock. As you press the BEAT button you will see the NEW value changing. This is the tempo that MIDIloop has calculated from the speed that you are tapping the BEAT button. To get an accurate tempo match you’ll need to press the BEAT button several times, preferably for 16 beats or more.

The BEAT read-out is the current bar position, a bar being 4 beats (comprised of 24 MIDI frames, which is the fractional part of the BEAT read-out).

Once you are satisfied you have matched the required tempo accurately, press The One button on the first beat of the bar of the music you are listening to. When you press The One you will see the BEAT read-out on the status bar reset back to 1.00, the first beat of the bar.

The internal clock will now be synchronised with the music you are listening to.

Even though we’ve worked hard to make the internal timing of MIDIloop as accurate as possible, you will experience the beat drifting over time. By pressing The One again you can resynchronise the internal clock.

MIDI Clock Output
You can synchronise other software to MIDIloop if they can receive MIDI clock messages. At the top of the Tempo window there is a radio button called Output and a list of the available MIDI output devices on your system.

By checking the box next to the device names you will select which ones MIDIloop will send MIDI clock signals to.
IMPORTANT: MIDIloop won’t actually send the MIDI clock unless the Send MIDI Clock checkbox, at the bottom of the Tempo window, is also ticked.

MIDI Clock Input
Alternatively, MIDIloop can sync to another application that is sending MIDI clock information. Choose the Input radio button and choose the MIDI input device to listen to. If MIDIloop is receiving MIDI clock signals you will see the NEW read-out on the status bar being updated. You will still need to click The One to activate and sync to the new tempo.
MIDI Input and Output Windows

MIDIloop-Device-Window

MIDIloop Device Window
These two windows show the MIDI input and output devices in your system. They operate identically so we’ll cover both here.

You will see there are two main entries: Devices and Controllers

Devices
Devices are the MIDI devices currently attached to your PC. By clicking on the [+] symbol you’ll see the names of the devices.

By default, all the input devices are disabled. To enable one, right-click on its name name and choose Enable. You should see its name change colour from grey to black, meaning the device is now open.

If you have a MIDI controller attached to your system, and that input is enabled, try moving some of the controllers. With a bit of luck you should see them appearing under the device.

Each device has 16 channels, and each channel has 128 controls.

The MIDI Output window shows all the channels and all the controls of all output devices found.

Input Controllers
Controllers are hardware or software MIDI controllers that you want to use with MIDIloop. You can add a new controller by right-clicking on the Controllers label and choosing Add Controller… Enter a name and click OK.

By default your new controller isn’t mapped to any actual MIDI device so right-click on the controllers name and choose Set MIDI Device… A list of input or output devices will appear. Choose the one which your controller is attached to.

MIDIloop allows you to group the controls of your controller either by MIDI channel, if your controller supports output on more than one channel, and/or by groups. To create a channel or group, right-click on the controller’s name and choose Add Channel… A new channel will appear under the controller. You can rename and delete it by right-clicking on it.

Again, this channel group isn’t attached to any real channel at the moment (denoted by the (0) which is the MIDI channel number). Right-click on the channel name and choose Set MIDI Channel… A list of the 16 MIDI channels will appear (along with 0 to unassign it), choose the one that your control is sending data on.

Now your group/channel is set-up. You can now assign controls to it. Move the MIDI control on your controller and you should see its name turn bold under the Devices list. This is a visual clue to help you find the right control. Right-click on the control and a menu should appear allowing you to add this control to your newly created controller. If it doesn’t appear, you need to check you have assigned the correct device to your controller and also the correct channel number to your group.

You can create multiple groups with the same channel to group together MIDI controls together into a logical structure that maps closely to your physical controller.

Output Controllers
Exactly the same process applies to the MIDI output window, although in this case you’ll have to find the correct control number manually.
The Mystery Blank Window

This will be where you can save and load loops. It doesn’t do anything with the current release.

MIDIloop-Loop-Window

The Loop Window

MIDIloop Loop Window
Finally we get to the main loop window. There are 8 loops, all running simultaneously.

The key to understanding the loop window is by looking at a single loop and knowing that it is orientated from top to bottom.he text at the top is the input control. You can drag the control from the MIDI Input window and drop it over the text to set the input.

The top control with the white bar moving across it is the current loop preview.
Below that we have several controls that we explain shortly.

Below that is the output loop display. This is the data that’s actually being sent to the MIDI output.

Below that is the output control. It works just like the input control but you drag controls from the MIDI Output window and drop them here.

Recording a loop
Drag an input control from the MIDI Input window and drop it on the input control above one of the loops. You should see the text change from NO DEVICE/NO CHANNEL to the name of your input control.

Clicking the Clear button to the left of the input/output control will clear the current input/output control.

The white bar that is moving across the loop is the current play-head.

In the current release, everything is synchronised to the beginning of the bar. When you click on the record button (Rec) MIDIloop won’t actually start recording until the beginning of the next bar, when the white bar snaps to the left of the loop.

Press Rec and start moving your controller. When the play-head hits the beginning of the next bar it the loop will start recording and the output will look like this:

MIDIloop-Loop-Recording

IMPORTANT: in the current release MIDIloop will record the same loop up to 4 times and then produce a smooth average of the 4 ‘takes’.

If you want to stop recording before the 4 takes are complete, press the Rec button again.

IMPORTANT: MIDIloop will only record complete takes. If you press the Rec button before the end of the first take the resulting loop will be empty.

Once the loop is finished recording its colour will turn yellow.

Playing a loop
The loop is running, but only in preview. To actually send it to the output you need to drop it by clicking on the Drop button under the preview.

Once the play-head starts on the next bar the loop will start to appear in the output loop in green indicating the loop is now playing.

Drag a MIDI Output to the output control to send the output loop to an actual control.

Clearing a loop
Clicking on the Clear button under the preview loop will clear the current loop from the output. As with the other buttons, the loop will be cleared when the play-head starts on the next bar.
Working with multiple loops

You can also record multiple loops simultaneously. Just click on their Rec buttons during the same bar and they will start recording at the same time.

The Drop and Clear buttons to the left of the loops will drop and clear all the loops on that row.

Using these buttons you can line up several new loops and cue them all at the same time.
Changing the beat count

By default, all the loops are running for 4 bars. You can adjust this by changing the value in the box above the output loop. Initially this only changes the rate of the preview window. To apply the new number of beats to the output you need to drop it by clicking the Drop button.
Mapping MIDI Controls

It can be a chore to operate all those controls with the mouse. MIDIloop is able to map MIDI input controls to its buttons.

To map a MIDI control to a button, drag it from the MIDI Input window and drop it on the button that you want to control.

IMPORTANT: in the current version not all the buttons work with MIDI!

HINT: You will get more accurate tempo detection by attaching a MIDI control to the BEAT and The One buttons.

Summary
If you’ve made it this far you now know everything about the current release of MIDIloop!

We wanted to release this early version to get feedback from users before implementing a lot of functionality that isn’t actually useful. We hope you will be excited about the possibilities MIDIloop offers. Please let us know your feedback!