music
Henry Northmore ta ks to Peter Peck from Yamaha as the company launches its revolutionary Tenori-On
akin
t's hard to neatly sum tip the 'l‘enori—()n. The bare lacts are these: it‘s a
new music dey'ice l'rom Yamaha; it produces a light show that
corresponds witli what is being played; it can be programmed in real time and is a new innoyatiye. intuitiye system.
(‘onceiy'ed by leading Japanese media artist 'l'ioshio lwai. the 'l‘enori-()n takes the l‘orin ol a lo x lo matrix of l.l{l) switches that ol‘l‘er iiisti'iimerits/samples along one axis and time along the other so you can build and create music and tracks iii your hand. And each ol the buttons on the l'ront sets oil a corresponding light sequence on the back so the audience gets a Visual interpretation of the music being played and the sequences being created. But the only way to l'ully get your head around what the 'l'cnori-()n offers is to see it in action.
Yoti can tell Yamaha are yery excited about the 'l‘enori-()n; the smile on the lace of Peter l’eck. head ol l'K marketing l‘or Yamaha. is inl‘ectious as he manipulates the dey'icc and instantly creates new tracks. ‘lt's just such a li'esh way ol' looking at things.‘ he explains. 'l’ersonally speaking. l‘ye been making music bad music for more years than I care to remember. using synthesisers and sequencers. Because so many midi-based musicians are hiding behind the laptop or a big bank of sy'nths. people in the audience don‘t necessarily appreciate what‘s going on. but with something like 'l‘enoi'i-()n you can actually see from the audience what‘s happening and it becomes tar more yisual.'
Not only does it add to an artist's performance. the machine presents a User l‘riendly way ol creating electronic music. and ol‘ course you can import your own samples and sound el'l'ects. ‘You lind that you can start a loop going; it cycles round and then you can just go back to it and moy'e one note. or change the sound or length of that sound without having to do sliil‘t. menu. edit. I") and all that. So on stage you can create completely new pieces ol music liye.'
He‘s not the only one to be excited by this new dey'ice. Samples have been sent out to the likes of Kral’tw'erk. Mouse on Mars. Atom Heart. Jim ()‘Rourke. 'l‘ortoise and To Rococo Rot. 'There is a moment with Tenori- ()n where the penny drops and people just get it.‘ says Peck. ‘and most of the time there is just a huge grin that comes across people‘s t‘aces.‘
The Tenori-On launches at Rub A Dub Records, Glasgow and Underground Solushun, Edinburgh, Tuesday 4 Sep.
Reviews
~ :‘s- rs; TRANSFORMERS : THE GAME
(Activision) O
It was looking good there tor a while. lhirtysometliing males were enjoying the resurgence of the must haye toy ot the Eitls‘ lhe lranslormers. lheie .‘.'as a pretty decent stab at a (‘onsole title. then a summer blockbuster llltl‘.’l(.‘. And now comes the game of the mowie ol the toy. And the whole thing is translormed into a stinking pile of mechanical slag. Man. this sucks? No matter what side you pick, what mission you choose. what morphing behemoth you manipulate. the outcome is always the same. Crippling disai)pointment. Combat is tedious and repetitive. the envrronments are dull and ugly, collision (lClOCllOll is random and control is twitchy. An absolute stinker. (lEilll Davidsonl
NlN l ENDO ‘."."ll TRAUMA CENTRE: SECOND OPINION (Nintendo) .00.
Trauma Center: Second Opinion will damage yOu. Not in an "ooh my wrist is sore' RSI type way. And not in a 'who left
" l' lill“r I ‘l ‘1 i 'f" ’ v when l" {W 1m: ‘ ' {iii
".7 bl" dot: at
"ieart l‘. primes systett‘ si t ‘u‘ at adrenaline, tlooiting your rniisr‘ies with so many stress ‘iorrrxines that d.’l\t‘.’lt‘ i“.t‘l llli‘ iltlt‘ i‘i say, if. should seriously consider not playing it all.
‘iou are a surgeon
The \‘»'i. controllers are
your instruments And your telly is the operating theatre In that hysteiirtal melodramatic style that the Japanese loy‘e so much. you are presented with an met more (Z()llll)llt7{ilt,’(l series ot riierlieal operations to perlerm. lhese range lrom simple defibrillation to lull on invasive surgery. battling all manner of \.’|lllf3(ff§ and parasites. And all the while the patient's lite signs are weakening. Relentlessly. lnsistently lhe threat of their death brings an urgency to your work, but Wllll haste (:omes error, And stress. And shortness of breath, And chest pains. Is there a doctor in the house’,) rlain Davidson;
xBoxaoo PC
COLIN MCRAE: DIRT
(Codemasters) 00000
Surely the most attractive thing about rally sport IS its white knuckle. mud-spraying.
3:}. Infilt ' ‘ 4 ' our. 1“,“ 3.\
F {‘1'- ~ - ‘ o
J‘ .1 o "I.
N‘lir‘ t‘ililt‘ r‘\t‘iit‘l‘.lr‘l‘i ‘ \'."iirh s where most hilly t'tletl seem to go astray. t‘reter'ir‘g: l0 'i‘lli‘fi We? ‘ or loiirini: i‘ar 'i‘i.’.e at exai‘littitle. ana‘ technical precision and painstaking realism Ca," ‘fiflae [1W letllt‘tusets llllti imbalance lt caryes straight down the middle. mixing :ust enough reality with ridiculous oye' exuberant arcade tluidrty to create a yery special title indeed While the graphics Will get a lot ot the plaudits rand they are indeed lush. i".i'l‘, iioni'eiyable t?ll‘.'lltllllllt’lll reproduced with panachei, and the variety of cars and challenges will ple. se those looking tor value tor money. it is the handling that is {)i/i’l‘s seeret Weapon .lust loose enough to encourage silliness but precise enough to reward skill, it reproduces the leeling of rally rather than the actuality. And that is what you really want
from a game, a thrilling
representation of the ideal. And the best thing is, it isn‘t perfect. The online modes could be vastly improved for example. So. not only are you blessed Wllll a great game. you can look toward to it getting better still.
rlain Davidson)
ENVIROMENT/SEARCH
a black background. the Site uses less
monitor uses 74 watts to display a white
that would stack up if we all made the switch. www.blackgoogle.corn
\'\’hy not try Black Google’? It's Just like the tamous search engine. but because it has
energy than regular Google. The average
soreen out Just 59 watts to display a black SCreen. so rust think of the energy sayings
_“
GAMES
More flash game madness. fun little time wasters and addictive puzzles to help yeti fill those Idle moments. With new games added every day. hallpass offers hundreds and hundreds of diversiOns to keep y u occupied lOr hOurs on end (Or a cheeky five minutes while the boss is out on lunch). www.hallpass.com
23 Aug—6 Sep 27.7 ms LIST 51