I was very pleased to have the opportunity to perform at one of the world largest computing events Assembly 2008. It was an held at Hartwall Areena, Helsinki, Finland. Several thousand computer enthusiasts brought along their home computers into the arena and all linked up. It allowed them to chat to each other, watch talks and performances and take part in a mega screen, where each computer monitor is one pixel forming a huge screen in the arena.

The arena was full, not just in the center but all around it, with displays for new games, hardware and demos from enthusiasts. I had never seen an event like this, to this scale.

I got to perfrom in the seminar hall which in turn was beamed around the arena on several hundred TV screens, on the Internet and cable tv, it was a great. I was told it was very rare to have Finnish people dancing, which made it all the better when most of the room was :).

The event was really well organised and had a great atmosphere, I would definetely recommend going, the hold it twice a year and it has to be seen to be believed.

To see the full galley visit my flickr page.

As part of Ipswich IP-ART festival this year I got to pilot and idea I had for a hands on circuit bending workshop, often is the case I would demonstrate circuit bending as part of a lecture, but I have always wanted the audience to take part.

It was great I had about twenty participants who had come to learn about circuit bending. I bought a huge box of cheap keyboards around £3 each, 100+ crocodile clips and 40 potentiometers, and step by step I talked them through the basics of circuit bending, and it was an amazing sound having twenty people poke around inside keyboards all at once.

I think for most of them it was the “permission” to take apart the keyboard that they found novel, it was a new keyboard of little or no value and they were allowed to take it apart. They weren’t afraid of being told off for doing it or it being broken in the process.

About an hour into it, the workshop went on autopilot which is exactly the way it should be, they were all very comfortably experimenting with sounds on their own. I briefly stopped them from time to time to hand out additional crocodile clips and components to add to their keyboard and after two hours of it all ended. It was great they all got to experiment safely with sound and circuit bending, and even better I let them all take their new instruments and components.

I was very pleased this year to finally perform at my home town of Ipswich’s Music Day. After playing in and around the world for about two years, chip tune music has taken off in Ipswich. It was a great gig and very good to have this kind of positive reception on my doorstep.

It was good crowd and I would like to thank ICR FM and CSV for sorting out the stage and sound system.

The performance was also covered by the BBC here.

To see the full gallery visit my Flickr Page.