AirPiano Touch-Free, Sensing Gestural Music Controller

The unveiling of an instrument is quite a rare event in the twenty first century.But there are always exceptions..A revolutionary concept in music technology, the AirPiano is nothing like the familiar set up
of a keyboard instrument. It draws on computer technology for inspiration and is sometimes
referred to by its nickname, ‘the magic plank’. Invented by Israeli musician and engineer Omer Yosha,
the AirPiano was developed in Berlin by Kesem Design and is built from walnut wood, dark red acrylic glass and RoHS compliant components.

The instrument is an innovative MIDI and OSC controller which allows the performer to trigger invisible keys and faders in mid air. There aren’t any actual piano keys so fingers are redundant. Instead hands ‘hover’over the plank, which consists of a set of 8 upward-facing proximity sensors that pick up the distance of a player’s hands from the base unit, sending info to a computer and producing pre-programmed sounds. The sensors create up to 24 virtual keys and 8 virtual faders and the 40 LEDs provide easy orientation and visual feedback. According to the AirPiano website the instrument is ‘the first musical interface to introduce an intuitive and simple touch-free interaction’.

The AirPiano is championed by a Scottish musician and composer Jo Hamiliton. Jo, a multi-instrumentalist, is the first artist in the world to work with the AirPiano. She released her album Gown in September 2009 to critical acclaim and now demonstrates the AirPiano around the world. ‘I am not a particularly tech-minded girl’ she says, ‘I’ve always thought of it as a grid of buttons that hover, invisibly, above this…. plank’. ‘Playing is almost dance-like. You have to think about the choreography of a piece’. ‘What appealed to me first was the simplicity of it, the fact that you were literally plucking sounds out of the air’ says Hamilton. Observing the ‘AirPianist’ in action seems reminiscent of futuristic sci-fi TV programmes like Star Trek. Good spatial awareness seems necessary as does refined limb control and movement.

The instrument produces no sound on its own; it has to be linked up to a computer and it isn’t for the inexperienced beginner. Musicians who enjoy experimenting with different sounds and concepts will love this idea. It certainly has a novelty value and is an interesting and innovative addition to the music technology scene.


source:morethanthemusic.com and www.airpiano.de

UK Band name called Karnataka?

UK Band name called Karnataka?,yes you heard it right,there is a UK(United Kingdom)band named after our beloved state.

Karnataka were formed in 1997 by founding members, Ian Jones (bass/acoustic guitar), Jonathan Edwards (keyboards) and Rachel Jones (vocals). The band started as a project to record songs in Ian’s home studio, that had been written and performed by Jonathan, Rachel and Ian in earlier bands. The project was augmented by additional musicians, Paul Davies (electric guitars) and Gavin Griffiths (drums), who had played with other members of Karnataka in earlier bands.
At the end of the recording the decision was made to continue the project as a band. The name Karnataka was chosen by the band, from a suggestion by Ian, following his trips to that region of India.

The five-piece recorded what would become their debut album, Karnataka in 1997. In the beginning, the band had no thought of actually releasing the album — they made the recording for their own pleasure. As they started to play live shows in their new configuration, however, word of mouth ensured that an increasing number of people started asking for copies.

It was recommended to the band that they send a copy of the album to Martin Hudson at the Classic Rock Society. Martin gave the band their first break by positively reviewing the album in the society’s magazine, and then offering them a gig for the Classic Rock Society in Rotherham, supporting the Genesis tribute band ReGenesis in 1999. The show was a success and Karnataka were offered another support with Jump in October 1999. Encouraged, the band had already started writing the material that would eventually appear on their second album, The Storm

Since then they have released two more projects 'Delicate Flame of Desire' (2003) and 'The Gathering Light' (2010) and live album called Strange Behaviour (2004)

Karnataka were recently voted 2nd in the ‘Best Of 2012 Live Acts’ category on the Get Ready To ROCK website !.

Here is one of the famous tracks 'The Storm'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdw-EanLja0

For more info on the band you can visit their website
http://karnataka.org.uk/home.php

Karnataka's facebook page link:
https://www.facebook.com/KarnatakaOfficial

Listen to their songs
http://www.last.fm/music/Karnataka