Bike Pics

the banana seat slider

Live at Dixon Place for first run!

taped up, full view

getting prepped for disassemble

wiring things up for a test run

taped up and ready for fresh paint!

The bicycle midi controller was an idea that came to me while writing a grant proposal. I wanted to collect lessons, images and sounds from the awesome array of drummers living in Brooklyn, NY and share us with the world. As an epicenter of music and culture you can find such a rich variety of drumming from every corner of the world here. How could I bridge this resource with my own love for electronic music while expanding my knowledge of electronics, welding, bike mechanics, programming and community building... the Bicycle MIDI controller combined with the research of Brooklyn Bike Beat seemed like a good idea. I collect the history, ideas and rhythms of the city and spit them back in a fun twisted way. Little did I know when I started the project, that I would be drawn into a vast community of hackers playing with all sorts of micro controllers, arduino boards, computer code and general bad ass out of the box thinking.

The bike grew into it's own monster, challenging my brian to problem solve. Right now, I have a bunch of sensors and potentiometers wired to an Arduino board and rigged up on the frame of an old bicycle that I brought back from the dead with the help of the folks at Recycle -A-Bicycle in NYC. The sensors interact with some of the mechanical features of the bike and trigger sounds and clips from Abelton Live. I bypassed writing speicfic code by linking my arduino board through junXion, a computer program from the Stein Institute.The classic acoustic sounds of the bike are highlighted with the use of contact mics. I'm just beginning to pull it all together and finally make music!

Many thanks to the Brooklyn Arts Council, Recycle-A-Bicycle, Harvest Works, Terry Dame, Joshua Freidman, and all the folks who posted links, resources, and tips on-line for folks like me to discover.