Gizmodo: brian eno

Trope, the New Brian Eno iPhone App, Is the True Followup to Bloom

Adam Frucci — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EDT

Last week, Brian Eno's management company released "Air" to the app store. While it wasn't written specifically by Eno, it was "based on concepts" by him. Trope, on the other hand, was made by Eno and Peter Chilvers.

Eno and Chilvers developed Bloom together, and Trope is very similar to it. It's the same setup, where you tap your finger in different areas of the screen to create sounds that then loop and change over time. Trope uses more drones and pads than Bloom, however, so the music you'll get it quite different and, as the developers say, darker than Bloom. The visuals have also gotten a big bump up, offering much more variation in patterns and colors than Bloom.

Trope is $4 and you can get it from the App Store now. If you liked Bloom, you'll like this. [Trope (iTunes Link)]

New Brian Eno-Based iPhone App 'Like Music For Airports Made Endless'

Adam Frucci — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:30:00 EDT

Bloom, Brian Eno's first iPhone App, is still one of the best and most inventive apps in the store, so I'm pretty excited about Air, the followup.

Developed by Sandra O'Neill and Peter Chilvers (who co-developed Bloom), Air assembles vocal and piano samples into a constantly changing and evolving composition that you control.

Air features four "Conduct" modes, which let the user control the composition by tapping different areas on the display, and three "Listen" modes, which provide a choice of arrangement.

For those fortunate enough to have access to multiple iPhones and speakers, an option has been provided to spread the composition over several players. Recommended for headphones and external speakers.

It's $2, which is impulse purchase territory for this guy. [Air (iTunes Link) via Synthtopia]

Brian Eno's Bloom Raises the Bar for Musical iPhone Apps

Adam Frucci — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Brian Eno, the father of ambient music and one of the greatest musical minds of our time, has just teamed up with musician/programmer Peter Chilvers to create one of the coolest, most unique iPhone apps to hit the App Store yet. Called Bloom, it's "part instrument, part composition and part artwork." It's also a must-get.

Unlike most music-creation apps, it doesn't take an existing musical instrument and cram it awkwardly into the iPhone's interface. Instead, it creates a completely new "instrument" designed specifically for the iPhone. Essentially, you're provided with a colored screen and a quiet drone. As you tap the screen in various places, different tones play depending on where you tapped. They then loop, creating a unique piece of music on the fly, one that changes gradually on its own once you stop tapping.

You can also just let it create music on its own, coming up with a new, unique piece every time you run it. It's also beautiful, with the tones appearing as colored spots that slowly fade. It's as satisfying to actively play with as it is to let do its own thing.

Bloom is available on the App Store now for $3.99, and if you're a fan of ambient music or music in general, you'll be wanting to get it right now. [Bloom (iTunes link) via The Apple Blog; Thanks, Purns!]

Brian Eno Selling Gear, Going Digital

Noah R — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 11:26:39 EST

Brian Eno is selling the DX-7 he used to create the Microsoft startup sound and other, more amazing, compositions. He's also auctioning a Prophet VS, Jellinghaus DX-7 Programmer and two Mackie Mixers. The auctions are taking place at Vemia, a terribly designed site that is an eBay alternative for musicians. Why is Eno selling his gear? A Sound on Sound article last month had this:

"Despite his reservations about computer recording, Eno has now decided to go further into the computer only world and sell his studio... "

That's right, from electronic to digital — Ambient 5: Music for Computers anyone?

Brian Eno is Selling Lots of Gear [Music Thing]