Last updated Tue May 6 10:19:56 2008.
All content © 1996-2008 Christopher Ariza. All Rights Reserved.
flexatone h.f.p. is the front of composer and sound designer Christopher Ariza. This site provides free downloads of complete, un-cut, high-quality mp3 and ogg audio files of experimental concert, computer, and electro-acoustic music, as well as information about the music, music research, algorithmic music software, and on-line tools for music analysis and creation. Music on this site is distributed for free, without cost or registration; software on this site is either free or open source.
This site, since its first manifestation in 1996, has been designed to provide an exploratory web experience. The original site (version one), titled Matrix (before the movie series), was created in raw HTML and was posted as a student page on a University server in 1996. The design of that site was inspired in part by a media project called The Black Harlequin Space. The content of that site, in addition to original audio works, included references and links to other contemporary art mediums by other artists. In 1999 and 2000 the flexatone URLs were acquired and a new site (version two) was created. Essential design components from the earlier site were maintained. From this point, all content was focused on original music and software. From 2000 onward the original raw HTML was incorporated into a custom Python framework to permit flexible site generation. This framework was forked and expanded to create additional sub-sites with dynamic content. In 2007 this new Python-based framework was used to completely redesign this site (version three).
KIOKU's premier CD, Both Far and Near, has received some new reviews. See the links below.
Three flexatone hfp related products are now available on Amazon.com: KIOKU's premier CD, Both Far and Near; Resonance, featuring the composition "phanopoeiac"; and An Open Design for Computer-Aided Algorithmic Composition: athenaCL.
KIOKU: Both Far and Near
Resonance: Steel Pan in the 21st Century
An Open Design for Computer-Aided Algorithmic Composition
After over seven years of version two, flexatone h.f.p. (now version three) has been completely re-designed. This new design offers the ever-growing content of this site in a more accessible fashion. Additional design features include an improved search utility, in-page QuickTime and Flash audio playback, and new RSS feeds.
flexatone h.f.p. offers direct downloads of complete, ultra-high quality mp3 and ogg audio files, free. A featured hi-fi 256KB mp3 and ogg file is offered each month. This month's featured track (for September 2007) is metalloidesque electronico-clankered' (2005).
flexatone h.f.p. offers professional, high quality, and artistically and technically superior audio mastering and post-production services to clients around the world working in all types of music and sound media.
This site provides music, software, research and other information about new and experimental music. Browse the music listings under experimental or consumable music. Find software or research under computer music. Use the site map for a complete index or try the search engine if you are looking for something specific. The reference below provide additional details about components and themes of this site.
The mp3 is a licensed audio compression format. All mp3s are not created equal. An mp3 file can vary greatly in quality and fidelity to the original. The quality of an mp3 is determined by its bit-rate encoding, or how many bits per unit of time the file is designed to handle. The more bits, the better the quality. Most internet radio stations and mp3 sites distribute 56KB or 128KB mp3s. flexatone h.f.p. hi-fi mp3s are twice this resolution, delivering very high quality 256kb mp3 audio files.
All mp3 files distributed via flexatone.net are created with LAME (Lame Ain't an MP3 Encoder), at quality level 2 (-q 2).
To play an mp3 you need software. Depending on your platform, you may need to download an mp3 player. They are widely available and often free.
The ogg (ogg vorbis) is a free open-source audio compression format. The ogg vorbis compression format is often shown to be superior to mp3 at any given bit-rate; thus a 128kb ogg file often sounds better than a 128kb mp3.
All ogg files distributed via flexatone.net are created with oggenc, part of the vorbis-tools distribution.
To play an ogg you need software. Depending on your platform, you may need to download an mp3 player with a specialized ogg plugin. They are widely available and often free.
ogg vorbis main site
download ogg vorbis software
ogg vorbis QuickTime plugin for Windows, MacOS X, and iTunes
A flex-a-tone is a modern percussion instrument (an indirectly struck idiophone) consisting of a small flexible metal sheet suspended in a wire frame ending in a handle. A wooden knob mounted on a strip of spring steel lies on each side of the metal sheet. The player shakes the instrument with a trembling movement which causes the beaters to strike the sides of the metal sheet. While shaking the handle,the musician makes a high or low-pitched sound due to the curve given to the blade by the pressure from his thumb. A tremolo is thus produced. An invention for a flexatone occurs in the British Patent Records of 1922 and 1923. In 1924 the 'Flex-a-tone' was patented in the USA by the Playatone Company of New York, at 113-119 Fourth Ave., New York City. This website has no affiliation with the Playatone Company.
Playatone Flex-A-Tone Advertisement
Playatone Flex-A-Tone Playing Instructions
algorithmic.net | Post-Ut | envl.net | HFP | KIOKU
