Remixes from the Command Line Using Python and Echo Nest Remix

Last weekend, a collection of popular songs remixed into swing versions went viral on the Internet. They all used the “swinger.py” script in the trunk of Echo Nest Remix, a new python web services API for creating song remixes. The script sends sound files to Echo Nest — a Somerville, Massachusetts company — and then, using the data about the beats and song sections collected, manipulates the track into a swing version by “time-stretching the first half of each beat while time-shrinking the second half.” The result is rather uncanny, with the songs immediately more upbeat and swingy, without significant artifacts.

Although similar effects, at least for swing, can be administered in Ableton Live and other advanced Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs), there is something magical about creating interesting remixes straight from the command line (especially with open source software!). Additionally, having the power of Python, along with the Echo Nest data, to manipulate song segments potentially enables an entirely new approach to remixing that is more algorithmic and comfortable for coders.

On Friday, June 25 at HacDC at 7:00PM, Todd Fine will introduce the Echo Nest Remix framework, do some live mixes (bring your mp3’s and wav’s), and the group will brainstorm about interesting algorithmic approaches to remixing (including music video manipulation). He will also talk about how SoX (Sound eXchange) effects can be added to Echo Nest Remix scripts to create an extreme command line studio. When Todd heard about the swinger.py example, he immediately created a version of Rick James’s “Super Freak” which has received over 2,500 listens on Soundcloud in the last several days. He is still learning the potential of the Echo Nest framework, and would highly encourage others in the D.C. area with experience to stop by and describe the work they have done.

Super Freak by Rick James (Swing version with Echo Nest Remix) by tfine

When: 7:00PM-8:30, Friday, June 25
Where: HacDC Space, 1525 Newton St NW, Washington DC 20010
Cost: Free and Open to the Public!

“Artificial Evolution for Computer Graphics” (Karl Sims, 1991)

Tonight (May 13) at HacDC’s Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence Group (NARG), Todd Fine gave a talk about a 1991 paper by Karl Sims called “Artificial Evolution for Computer Graphics.” It elaborated how genetic algorithms using the human aesthetic as a fitness function could generate beautiful, pleasant 2D textures and animations. Sims’ program created LISP S-expression trees which contained simple mathematical operations and graphical functions along with randomized scalar and vector constants. After the intervening selection of the most pleasing images, the expression trees would evolve in simple ways and create new generations.

Todd implemented a basic version of this approach using Pyevolve and the Python Imaging Library. He showcased some of his results (slides are available here), and the group discussed future elaboration that could involve cloud computing, Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, and web applications. NARG meets on every Thursday, and we encourage interested parties to join us.

National Robotics Week and “Hackerspaces in Space” Project

In honor of National Robotics Week, which was punctuated today in D.C. with a number of meetings organized by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International on Capitol Hill, I would like to mention a few robot-related opportunities at HacDC and in the surrounding area.

1. A few days ago in the The Daily Mail, you may have read about an enterprising young British man who took some beautiful pictures of the Earth from a regular digital camera sent upward by balloon. Well, HacDC is doing something very similar as part of an inter-hackerspace competition called “Hackerspaces in Space” to launch and recover a payload that takes a photograph of the Earth’s horizon. All individuals, including non-members of HacDC, are welcome to participate and assist us, and you can join the “Spaceblimp” mailing list by signing up here.

2. April 24 is Robotfest, a great yearly event at the National Electronics Museum in Linthicum, MD. This year, for the first time, it is an official “Mini-Maker Faire,” a type of event connected to Make Magazine which have become regular Woodstocks for tinkerers, hackers, and roboticists. HacDC will have a table, and we will likely organize carpooling to the event. If you would like to come along, please stay tuned on the listserv. It is a blast and fun for folks of all ages.

3. Today is the start of the national championship for the FIRST robotics competition in Atlanta, Georgia. It can be even watched online through the website. HacDC has a number of friends and members involved as mentors for FIRST, and we can likely lead you in the right direction if you are interested in helping. Also, if you are a FIRST parent or teacher who would like to brush up on your electronics, programming, or mechanical knowledge, HacDC would be a great place to come, ask questions, and absorb.

4. Finally, HacDC is generally an excellent place to learn about robotics. We have a great deal of useful tools and project fodder, and every Monday is “Microcontroller Monday,” a night where anyone can come to chat and learn about the brains behind most robotic systems. We encourage all to stop by and join us.

Categories: UncategorizedAuthor tfine

Join us for Microcontroller Monday (March 22, 2010)

Microcontroller Monday is an informal weekly gathering at HacDC where electronics and microcontroller enthusiasts of all experience levels meet to advance and discuss current and future projects. The night is free and open to the public; feel free to stop by and bring your friends!

Things normally gear up around 7PM or so.

Categories: UncategorizedAuthor tfine