I've been working on some new images for some screenprints next week, and using  some fairly well-known but cool techniques for adding some randomness to digital images.  It involves converting the picture into a raw format which can then be opened as a sound and subjected to the usual effects that you might use if you were making music, such as echo or, in the case of the image above, reversing sections.  The raw file is then saved and opened again as an image.  There are so many possible outcomes, it's quite bewildering.  You can do

I saw this in a doctor's waiting room.  Very unsavoury.  What is he doing?

"Oh, it's lovely!  Really wonderful, thank you!... It's great, but... I think you've not quite got her forehead exactly right.  I mean, I do like it.."

I did this silly cartoon for a mate a few years ago.  See if you can guess the name of the song.

I got a puppies calendar from a friend for Christmas, and I decided to customise it a bit.  So, here's Mr. January.

This week I've been hard at work building a cigar box guitar.  I'm a lucky chap to be able to waste so much time on such things.  It plays well, has quite a nice tone and holds its tuning.

There's loads of good advice on building them online, especially at cigarboxguitars.com.  I got the idea from Make magazine initially, and then found out that- of course- there's a load of people making them, from the most basic up to the Stratocaster-with-a-cigar-box-stuck-to-it level.  My fave builder is Chickenbone John.
I was worried about fretting it for fear I'd get the intonation wrong, but I think I'm going to go for it, because I want the sustain that frets give.  I had a load of friendly help from the guys at Deimel guitars in Schöneberg, who have made axes for no less than Sonic Youth.
I've got lots of instruments already, but building a simple guitar was a wonderful thing:  It's all your creation, from the look to the sound, and you feel that you have to work with what you've made.  You can have the limitless capabilities of Max/MSP, but  there is also power in having a limited palette.

Just finished a commission for my Sister in Law's 30th Birthday.

And here's how it got there.

I've dreamed of making an album for years and years, but in my mind it would have to perfect.  Unsurprisingly this got in the way of doing anything about making an album.
Then Bandcamp came along and took away the chore and the pressure of pressing, distributing, folding and gluing etc.
This morning I thought "There's no point sitting on a whole load of good music is there?", so I looked through the big variety of tracks that I've accumulated over the years, tweaked them a bit and stuck 4 of them together on an EP, which you can listen to and/or buy by clicking the cover art below.  I do hope that you will enjoy it.

T-shirts all labelled up and ready to hit the shelves!