Scientists exposing the truth about the “Mozart – Effect”:
There is no increase of brainpower when you listen to Mozart.

But Glenn Schellenberg, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, says that there is no Mozart effect. Any number of experiences besides listening to music might improve cognition. Most people find the music of Mozart pleasant to listen to, and it might increase dopamine levels in the brain, which is generally thought to improve cognition. But “eating chocolate might have the same effect,” Schellenberg says.

In 2010, a team of Austrian researchers analyzed the results from 39 attempts to replicate the Mozart effect. In most, a group of subjects listened to a Mozart sonata before testing their spatial intelligence. Scientists then compared the results against a control group that had not heard music. The researchers’ findings were neatly summed up in their paper’s title: “Mozart Effect Schmozart Effect.”

Read the full article on Gizmodo.

There are about a half a dozen animals involved in his “voice”: a whale (for the breathing), lions, alligators and tigers (for the low frequencies of roaring), an elephant (his primary, gut-busting roar) and a freaking koala (for the grunting).

Great article on cracked.com about 5 funny and extraordinary Movie Sound Effects.

Outstanding web video Series about the “Remix-Culture” :

Remixing is a folk art but the techniques are the same ones used at any level of creation: copy, transform, and combine. You could even say that everything is a remix.
To support this series please visit everythingisaremix.info/donate/

For further information and additonal web videos visit: http://www.everythingisaremix.info/

Five centuries before Facebook and the Arab spring, social media helped bring about the Reformation.

Great read – The Economist

rheo: 5 horizons
RYOICHI KUROKAWA

Audiovisual installation
2010
5 HD displays | 5ch multi sound
Duration: 08’00″ Loop

via [Twitter]

Richard James came up with the idea of controlling a 48 piece string section and a 24 strong choir by remote control, using midi controllers, lots of headphones and some remote visual cues, after being commissioned to write some pieces for the European culture congress in Poland.
There was only one opportunity for a rehearsal to see if the idea worked, it was in the morning, the day of the concert!
This is the result.

see full version of the performance here vimeo.com/30040716

see the other Aphex Twin edits for this show here = vimeo.com/album/1735255

see all other performances from the show here
youtube.com/user/fixedmachine#grid/user/CFB3F7A0029A764C

visual interface design by weirdcore
programming by weirdcore & andrew benson

Made for Boston Music Hack Day 2011 (http://boston.musichackday.org/2011/) with MaxMSP and Synapse for Kinect (http://synapsekinect.tumblr.com)

More info here: http://wiki.musichackday.org/index.php?title=Kinect_BeatWheel

Heart-warming music video by Nabil Elderkin for Bon Iver.

Wonderful interactive Project by Philips – listen to each musician from the Metropole Orchestra individual, during their performance. Developed by Philips Sound and  Tribal DDB Amsterdam.

Visit Obsessed with Sound

The minute is a special place, unseen microcosmos within a unseen universe bind us together.
Our creative vision is to continue our conversation with the Macro Kingdom.. an ongoing poem
in the tradition of the two previous films.

So, what is it about the scaled down infinate? certainly not unappreciable.. as you can see and hear..
we bring to life, forms, shapes, ideas.. We bring to life your attention… This regal landscape of atomic proportion.

The sounds, created from found objects, the camera capturing moments in detail too easy to ignore.
brought to your attention by Clemens Wirth, and crafted sonically by Radium Audio.. creators of detail – enhanced listening experts.
enjoy

Video by Clemens Wirth vimeo.com/?clemento
Music & Sound Design by Radium Audio radium-audio.com/?
Vocals performed by Melanie Pappenheim melaniepappenheim.com/?

be sure to check out the making of music & sound design on macro kingdom 3: vimeo.com/?22286867

Beautiful clip.