The Red Button

The Red Button is a revolutionary one-press solution for mastering. Simple and portable, it brings tangible awesomeness to mastering studios. Just press the button and enjoy the awesome wideness and dynamics of the music. Also make sure you use the fader to adjust the amount of awesomeness. It criticizes the thousands of dollars paid to mastering studios for their presets.

Mastering, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master); the source from which all copies will be produced.

In the past, (mid-1920s) after the introduction of the microphone and electronic-amps, mastering meant electrically driven mastering lathes cutting master discs.

After the advent of tape, mastering meant making fine adjustments to the amplitude of sound at different frequency bands (equalization) prior to the cutting of the master disc to make the resulting record sound better. (Especially for pop recordings)

But now, in the digital music era, we can deliver precise digital copies of the final sound files to the listeners. But musicians all over the world are still mastering their albums, or sending it to mastering studios, paying thousands of dollars to make them sound “louder” and “better”… Most of the mastering studios nowadays, have their signature sounds. Not because of special hand-made equipments they use. They use presets.

But do we really need something so loud? If so, can’t we just do it in the mixing studio ? Why not solve these problems in the mix ? Why the loudness wars ? I think, nowadays mastering is overrated. So I made the red button with Ziyun Peng to criticize the thousands of dollars paid to mastering studios for their presets.

Intonarumori

Intonarumori 100 – Instrument re-built by Carl Bajandas, composed by John Ozbay & Ziyun Peng, for the Wats:ON? Festival 2013, commissioned by Golan Levin and Spike Wolff.

Performed by :
John Ozbay, Ziyun Peng, Elif Baskin, Jorge Sastre, Patra Virasathienpornkul, Carlos Camacho, Yi Cao, Rui Zhang, Guangyu Xia.

The Art of Noises

The Art of Noises (L’arte dei Rumori) is a futurist manifesto, written by Luigi Russolo in a 1913 letter to friend and Futurist composer Francesco Balilla Pratella. In it, Russolo argues that the human ear has become accustomed to the speed, energy, and noise of the urban industrial soundscape; furthermore, this new sonic palette requires a new approach to musical instrumentation and composition.He proposes a number of conclusions about how electronics and other technology will allow futurist musicians to “substitute for the limited variety of timbres that the orchestra possesses today the infinite variety of timbres in noises, reproduced with appropriate mechanisms”. Russolo designed and constructed a number of noise-generating devices called Intonarumori and assembled a noise orchestra to perform with them. A performance of his Gran Concerto Futuristico (1917) was met with strong disapproval and violence from the audience, as Russolo himself had predicted. None of his intoning devices have survived.

Russolo’s Intonarumori – 1914

Centennial

With 2013 being the 100th anniversary of both The Art of Noises and John Cage’s birth, the directors of CMU’s Wats:ON? Festival, Golan Levin and Spike Wolff felt the time was ripe for a presentation of noise, and decided to re-construct the forgotten Intonarumori instruments. Carl Bajandas, a sculptor, an instrument builder studying violin-making at Philip Injeian’s downtown violin shop, and a former manager of a company that built life-size animatronic dinosaurs, took the lead, and built 10 normal sized, and 1 large bass Intonarumori instruments. Meanwhile, Ziyun Peng, and I have been asked to collaborate, and compose for the concert.

Preperation

Photo Gallery

Wats:ON? Festival 2013

Opening Day – The Intonarumori performance took place at Kresge Theater in Carnegie Mellon University on April 4th 2013, and opened the Wats:ON? Festival.
Followed by the concert, renowned Geeta Dayal presented “Signal and Noise: A Brief History of Electronic Music”.
2nd Day – Film historian Jeff Hinkelman presented “What is the Sound of a Pig Dancing?”.3rd Day – Artist Dan Wilcox held the workshop “Bang Your Head: Making Noise with Pure Data”.

Closing Day – Jeremy Boyle, Michael Johnsen and Eric Singer performed electronic, electro-mechanical and robotic music.
Followed by, Lesley Flanigan, a NY based experimental electronic musician.

Festival Photos taken by Andrew Viny

Household Symphony – Recorded, Sampled, Composed, Produced by John Ozbay.
Filmed by Ziyun Peng, and edited by John Ozbay.
All sounds available soon, as Logic EXS II instruments.
2 Octave Wine & Champagne glasses, 10 Velocities
Various household items, 2-4 Velocities.

In 2011, me and my visual designer friend, started working on an iPad Magazine project. (Scroll down for more info and videos of the magazine) We didn’t want to use Adobe’s Digital Publishing Suite, and pay hundreds of dollars to a 3rd party company just to publish it. While we were working on the magazine, I noticed that he hated it when I spoke computer language/code, and I realized what exactly makes Adobe so successful in their business. Visual designers don’t like coding. So I decided to design my own publishing platform. After spending two weeks with my visual designer friend, I created a new platform for digital publishing. It’s not the first, nor the best. However I created a platform for my friend, and for visual designers like him.

Here’s how it works :

1. The designer, uses the “designer’s/editor’s app”. It’s basically an app which organizes the content in a designer-friendly way, and creates a special XML file.
2. The designer/or the webmaster, uploads the XML, all images, videos, and content to their webpage.
3. Reader downloads the “reader’s app” from iTunes App Store for free. It’s basically a mini-mag-store for this platform.
4. Finally, reader picks a magazine from the store, and starts reading.

The Designer’s App

I’ve tried my best to design the simplest app that’ll do the job, so that anyone who’s familiar with the basic visual design concepts, can design a magazine. The app has a Live iPad Preview window, and a design tools window. All you have to do is to drag-and-drop images into image-boxes, and the app does the rest. After saving the XML files, all you have to do is to upload them to your server. Later, the app registers the magazine to the main lobby on my server, and the magazine takes it’s place in the mini-magazine-store, ready to be downloaded by the reader.

The Reader’s App

The reader’s app is a mini-magazine-store. After finishing the app, I found out that the technical process of publishing an app to iTunes App Store, is also really hard for a visual designer. I had two options,

1. To open the app’s source code and let the designer compile, and publish to apple (and the designer still had to pay apple a yearly fee)
2. Create a reader app, which acts like a lobby, so that no designer has to compile the reader again.

I chose the second option. So all the designer has to do is to design the magazine, and the app/cloud does the rest.

Platform Features

• Left, Right, Center positioning
• Fixed background (including scrollable text over still background – using iScroll (c) 2010 Matteo Spinelli)
• Margins and Columns
• Custom Links to internal or external pages
• Audio & Video Support
• Swipes, Taps and Double Taps (opens the index page)
• Video Cover Page

These are the main features. There are many more to come, and I’ll improve the project as I have free time.

I’m still working on the documentation, I’ll upload the XCode files with examples page soon.

– HERE ARE TWO EXAMPLE MAGAZINE VIDEOS  –

so you can see how it looks like once it’s published.

BIS : An iPad Magazine for Music Lovers

BIS is an iPad Magazine for Music & Concert lovers. Almost every magazine on the market features studio albums, and personally I love concerts more. With BIS, I changed the standardized magazine approach to Music, and I featured concerts, more than albums. My goal is to change the way we ‘read’ music. I don’t like ‘reading’ albums! In my opinion, reading articles about music is no different than a blind-born person talking about paintings. To fully understand what’s written on the page, to understand the artist, we need to ‘hear’ the album.

• In BIS, if there is an article about an album, you can ‘hear’ the album.
• If there is an article about an artist, you can watch their music videos, concerts, listen to their albums, check their photos, tour dates, and even buy tickets for their local show.
• If there is an article about a concert, you can watch the concert, see photos of the concert, and if available, see photos from different photographers.
• BIS is like the biggest festival in the country, bringing different musicians together. BIS features different genres and styles.

To me BIS is more than just a simple magazine. It brings artists’ webpages, concerts, albums, photos and sharing their music to your iPad.

Bis (Latin) : Encore : *a repeated or additional performance of an item at the end of a concert, as called for by an audience.

In This World – A Post-Apocalyptic Music Video (with Coldest Fall)

Lyrics & Composition: John Ozbay, Mirna Pibernik
Guitars: Serkan Sandikkaya
Drums: Elijah Wood
Song recorded in Izmir, Turkey.
Backing vocals recorded in Zagreb, Croatia.
Drums recorded in New York, USA.
Mixed in Izmir, Turkey.
Mastered for YouTube release in Ankara, Turkey.

Music video directed by Can Ozbay in 2012, filmed by our amazing friend, Videographer & DoP Ugur Savci, written by Coldest Fall band members, and was organized by Orkun Eray.

Filming locations:

Bodrum, Turkey
Izmir, Turkey
Ankara, Turkey
Zagreb, Croatia

Special thanks:
Serap Ozbay, for welcoming us into her house to film this music video.
Time Out Bar, for the amazing bar scenes.

Music video by Coldest Fall performing In This World. (C) 2011 Coldest Fall Productions This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2011 Coldest Fall

About the Project

Coldest Fall’s drummer Elijah, lives in New York, USA. Backing-Vocalist Mirna Pibernik lives in Zagreb, Croatia, and the rest of the band lives in Izmir, Turkey. After working on Lines We Drew, and recording an entire album overseas, I decided to do something more extreme.

An old friend of mine Mirna Pibernik (a.k.a Mirna Simatovic) challenged me to make music together back in December 2011. So I accepted the challenge, and started working on the project. The problem, this time, was that we had no reference point for timing. While working on Lines We Drew, with Elijah, because it was just two countries, it was relatively easier to sync. But this time, it was nearly impossible, because of the roundtrip latency. So I decided to split the project. First, Mirna & I recorded a draft project using the same method we used before with Lines We Drew. Then, Elijah and I recorded the drums on top of the draft. After that I mixed the song, and we had an online meeting. We decided that the song’s dynamics are not good enough, so we recorded another song. The composition process took us 2 months. Finally the song was pretty much done.

However, we wanted this song to be a little bit different, and we planned the project as a whole. It was going to be a package. Song, Music Video, and Marketing, all had to be one package, and it had to mean something as a whole.

We were pretty pissed about the fact that humans are constantly damaging the planet. So we decided to act. Video takes place in a post-apocalyptic world.

First, we invented a fictional activist group called : Human Re-Adaptation Act. We bought an international toll free phone number,     +1 (855) 472-7762      got a website, printed out banners, and spread them around the city. (Mostly in Izmir, and Zagreb). Here are the banners:

Then, after 2 weeks of intensive propaganda, we called a photographer friend of ours Orkun Eray. He had a lot of connections, so we asked him to call a few places to get on-location filming permits. We were pretty lucky in the process. He did manage to close a trans-city road (let’s say re-routed a part of it) for 30 minutes so we could film the opening scene.

Then, he got us a permit to film in Bodrum, a holiday heaven in Turkey. We had an opportunity to film on it’s normally-crowded(!) streets.

While there, we found a half sunken yacht, and filmed in front of it.

Also, it was the coldest winter of Izmir in the past 60 years, so it snowed in Izmir, for the first time, after 50 years. Our cameras were ready to film it.

By the time we started filming the music video in the city, most of our posters were already torn, or gone. But, we found a couple posters along the way.

After filming the video in Izmir and Bodrum, we realized that we still don’t have enough footage. So we decided to add a few populated capital cities into the music video. I had to  clean the videos to achieve an abandoned city. The post-production took about 2 months, licensing took about a month, and finally, in September 2012 we released the music video. Due to the internet censorship in Turkey, video never took off on Youtube or on other social websites, however it achieved a fair attention in Turkey. Coldest Fall became #9 in Turkey Rock Charts. (It was also rare for an English-music making band to be successful in Turkey, therefore it was a success for us). Here are some before&after photos from the abandoned cities.

NY – Times Square ( Before & After & Final )

Moscow – Red Square ( Before & After & Final )

Zagreb – Town Center ( Before & After & Final )

Paris – Eiffel Tower ( Before & After & Final ) 

Croatia – Dubrovnik ( Before & After ) *never used in the music video*

• Recording Studio, DAW – Recording
• Broadcast Studio, Signal Routing
• Concert Audio, Live Mixing
• Concert Lights, DMX / CUE Control

Click here to download my band’s “Another Day In Paradise” (by Phil Collins) cover, mixed using ICE.

OR Stream (Requires HTML5 compatible browser)

[haiku url="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9038772/adip.mp3" title="Coldest Fall - Another Day In Paradise (Phil Collins Cover)"]

Functions List / How to use ICE

Left Hand – Channel Selected 

• Right hand Y Axis = Volume
• Right hand X Axis = Pan
• Right hand Z Axis = Reverb or Comp (Assignable & Only works in ICE Live)
• Rec Arm, Input Monitoring, Solo, Mute, EQ, Compressor, Reverb = Activated & Deactivated with right hand.

Left/Right Hand Modifier

• Level Protection (L/R Hand Modifier) (ex :

ICE v1.0

   

The first design had the transport bar on the top. I don’t usually go back in the project that often, so I thought placing the transport bar higher wouldn’t be a big problem. I placed the channels on the left, and spread the function buttons. The biggest problem was the “click” we’re all used to from the mouse. I don’t like clicking because I felt it’s not natural. In nature, you can’t just click and watch things happen, so I spent a lot of time thinking how I can use both hands, and reduce or even remove the “click”. I utilized a modifier-key system. When the left hand is over channel 1, the right hand’s Y adjusts the volume and X adjusts panning. (A new experimental feature : Z adjusts the reverb) It feels extremely natural, because it’s lifelike. It’s just like you’re holding the source and moving left-right or moving it away from you so you start to hear the reverb/delay and the room effect. I used the first prototype for a week to note down what worked and what did not. I found myself escaping from the transport bar, because it’s harder to reach. Channels did feel right, but because of the general sensitivity it was hard to hold my hand over a channel while I’m adjusting something with my right hand. I changed the entire layout. ICE v2.0I removed the top bar, used a different channel-layout, made the function buttons a little bit smaller, and gained some space for the “concert feed” (possible future implementation, using AR-Glasses). Now, I don’t have to reach up to the top bar and the transport buttons are in a less-tiring place. Channels 5/13 – 6/14 – 7/15 – 8/16 are not that high now, so I have happier left arm muscles now. I realized, I didn’t actually use the Bus Channels that much in the first rough/raw record – I removed the bus channels. ICE v2.0

Back in the day, my band’s drummer Elijah, lived in New York, USA while the rest of the band lived in Izmir, Turkey. This caused somewhat of a problem because it was difficult sending tracks back and forth, and collaborating on ideas. To overcome this huge difference, I used current technology to bring the band together, virtually.

To record this album, Coldest Fall Turkey Studios, Me & Serkan, needed to hear Elijah’s(NY) drums (processed) in almost real time, and Elijah needed to hear Me & Serkan (as a ‘talkback’). Turkey Studios shared the computer’s screen that was recording the drums in New York Studios using iChat and New York Studios streamed the final output including the ‘talkback’ to Turkey Studios using AUNetSend & AUNetReceive ( AAC  128kbps per channel ) with a max of 2 seconds delay. (with video if iChat Video Chat is also active) / (1/2 sec. w/o video)

This system made it easy to share ideas, and to get an “extra ear” when coming up with parts. Without this system, “Lines We Drew” would have taken much longer because we would have needed to send HUGE files (~500mb for one song, and ~50 tries = 25Gb.) back and forth to exchange ideas.

The drum sound you hear in the video, is the one I heard in Turkey. So it’s good and clear enough to collaborate, and work together to produce an album overseas, and record multichannel audio.

My living room is where I spend most of my life. It has my computer, my recording equipment, all my instruments, and my recording booth in it. I have always wanted a bar in my house, but prices were too high. So I made my own. I designed this using Google SketchUp. I used wood to match the overall interior design of my living room.

A year later, I added the winery. (I mounted 4 parallel metal pipes under the bar.) Approximately 6 months after that, I added a small shot-glass shelf under the hanging wine glasses.

Open Studio Design

Almost every stage musician I’ve met in my life, complains that it’s hard being in the studio. Whether it’s the small, closed room, or tracking individually, not playing with the band etc. So I decided to design an open studio with my current knowledge. Of course it has flaws, but I had time in my hands, and I wanted to design a studio, in which musicians can enjoy recording, and feel comfortable. I’ve tried my best to use glasses to maintain eye-contact between musicians while keeping the resonance in mind. I used SketchUp to design the studio, because I started this as a hobby project. Later I exported the model, and calculated the inner acoustics using ODEON. I have to admit the results were not satisfying, but after a few quick material changes, I started getting decent results. ITD was better than I expected, and the experimental LeDe design worked pretty well without a control room glass. I used different layers of obstacles to stop the drums and guitars from leaking to the control room. So far my tests sound good in software, but real-life results always change. Here are some SketchUp rendered photos.

Vocal & Guitar Recording Booth Design

As a Music Tech. student living in a small apartment on the 7th floor, recording stuff in my living room at 3AM was a painful experience. So, in 2010, I designed a vocal/instrument booth. Basically, I built a mini-recording-room in my living room.  I needed a quick/rough design, because I knew acoustical-calculations and simulations change everything. So I used Google SketchUp to design the room, and ODEON to calculate the inner acoustics of the mini-recording-booth. Walls are the most critical part of the design, filled with 4cm rock-wool, 4cm glass-wool and 2cm air between them.

Resonance, is the biggest problem with vocal booths in general. To avoid extreme-resonance I tried my best to avoid using parallel surfaces, and tried to create a sweet-spot for my recording needs. Also, I needed this in my living room, so it had to be space efficient. My band had a double bass player, and I wanted him to be able to play his double-bass in this room. Also in the 3D design, there is a glass window, however after running acoustic simulations, I decided to remove that.

Here are some photos:

If you want to hear the results, I recorded all vocal, guitar and double bass parts of my band’s album “Lines We Drew” in this room. You can click here to listen to the album.

Lines We Drew (with Coldest Fall)

Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Compositions, Lyrics, Production, Tech : Can Özbay

Guitars & Experimental Instruments : Serkan Sandıkkaya

Drums, Tech : Elijah Wood

Artwork Photo : Elijah Wood

Coldest Fall Logo : Nurcan Durmaz

Band’s drummer Elijah, lives in New York, USA while the rest of the band lives in Izmir, Turkey. This caused somewhat of a problem because it was difficult sending tracks back and forth, and collaborating on ideas. To overcome this huge difference, I used current technology to bring us together, virtually.

To record this album, Coldest Fall Turkey Studios, Me & Serkan, needed to hear Elijah’s drums (processed) in almost real time, and Elijah needed to hear Me & Serkan (as a ‘talkback’). Turkey Studios shared the computer that was recording the drums in New York Studios and New York Studios streamed the final output including the ‘talkback’ to Turkey Studios, with a max of 2 seconds delay. (with video) / (1/2 sec. w/o video)

This system made it easy to share ideas, and to get an “extra ear” when coming up with parts. Without this system, “Lines We Drew” would have taken much longer because we would have needed to send HUGE files back and forth to exchange ideas.

Time Music Video :

Because Elijah (drummer) lives in NY, we used green-screen to shoot all the band members individually. With careful planning, and hours of video chatting, we made the entire video, without even being in the same location.

Imagine Music Video :

We wanted to celebrate John Lennon’s 70th birthday. We covered “Imagine”, and we wanted to show everyone, how people from distant countries can make stuff together too. Band’s drummer Elijah filmed his parts in NY, USA. Rest of the video was filmed in Izmir, Turkey. This video was featured in John Lennon’s official birthday channel on YouTube.

Click here to visit Coldest Fall’s website.