Curtis for iPadEach week we chat about the tools of the trade with one outstanding creative to find out exactly how they do what they do. The questions are always the same, the answers, not so much. This week: The Strange Agency.The Creators Project: Who are you and what do you do?
Lucas Kuzma: I'm a software developer, media artist, and electronic musician (Claus Muzak). I founded and run The Strange Agency, which creates novel musical instruments for the iPad. We focus on exploring new ways to synthesize, visualize, and interact with sound.What hardware do you use?
I do nearly everything on my MacBook Pro. I also have a little collection of vintage analog kits which is perversely never surpassed by all this digital innovation.What software do you use?
Besides Safari, Mail and iTunes? This list is endless, but I chiefly rely on Xcode, Photoshop, Illustrator, Logic, and Coda.If money were no object, how would you change your current setup?
More programmers! My MacBook and a few old synths and compressors is about all the hardware I need, but able coders are hard to find and expensive to support. Each app I sell buys me about 4.2 minutes of programmer time!DonutWhat fantasy piece of technology would you like to see invented?
When I look around my desk, I already feel as though I live in a fantasy! I have a phone with something like 16,000 times the memory of my first computer. Oh, and it's also a camera, a camcorder, a chess wizard, an arcade, a clock, a calendar, a notepad, a sommelier, a terminal, a stereo, a record collection, a library and a musical instrument.Is there any piece of technology that inspired you to take the path you did?
My Texas Instruments TI-99/4A computer. It was a huge failure for Texas Instruments, which made it cheap enough for my parents' budget. I very well might have become a chef if it wasn't for this discontinued product. Back in 1984 I was writing code with which to generate algorithmic graphics and sounds, and of course I had no inkling I would be doing essentially the same thing 27 years later.To be honest, I have to add another piece: a secondhand Korg DDD-5 drum machine from around the same era. I bought it to use with a Roland Octapad, but once I started sequencing beats I gave up my drum lessons, and it was all electronics from then on.What’s your favorite relic piece of technology from your childhood?
I have this old Roland Juno, with a wonky voice chip. It still sounds so lush and wonderful! I don't think I'm the only one who'd like to see the Juno made again, but unfortunately Roland only sees fit to resurrect the names of its great products rather than the products themselves.
Lucas Kuzma: I'm a software developer, media artist, and electronic musician (Claus Muzak). I founded and run The Strange Agency, which creates novel musical instruments for the iPad. We focus on exploring new ways to synthesize, visualize, and interact with sound.
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I do nearly everything on my MacBook Pro. I also have a little collection of vintage analog kits which is perversely never surpassed by all this digital innovation.What software do you use?
Besides Safari, Mail and iTunes? This list is endless, but I chiefly rely on Xcode, Photoshop, Illustrator, Logic, and Coda.If money were no object, how would you change your current setup?
More programmers! My MacBook and a few old synths and compressors is about all the hardware I need, but able coders are hard to find and expensive to support. Each app I sell buys me about 4.2 minutes of programmer time!DonutWhat fantasy piece of technology would you like to see invented?
When I look around my desk, I already feel as though I live in a fantasy! I have a phone with something like 16,000 times the memory of my first computer. Oh, and it's also a camera, a camcorder, a chess wizard, an arcade, a clock, a calendar, a notepad, a sommelier, a terminal, a stereo, a record collection, a library and a musical instrument.Is there any piece of technology that inspired you to take the path you did?
My Texas Instruments TI-99/4A computer. It was a huge failure for Texas Instruments, which made it cheap enough for my parents' budget. I very well might have become a chef if it wasn't for this discontinued product. Back in 1984 I was writing code with which to generate algorithmic graphics and sounds, and of course I had no inkling I would be doing essentially the same thing 27 years later.To be honest, I have to add another piece: a secondhand Korg DDD-5 drum machine from around the same era. I bought it to use with a Roland Octapad, but once I started sequencing beats I gave up my drum lessons, and it was all electronics from then on.What’s your favorite relic piece of technology from your childhood?
I have this old Roland Juno, with a wonky voice chip. It still sounds so lush and wonderful! I don't think I'm the only one who'd like to see the Juno made again, but unfortunately Roland only sees fit to resurrect the names of its great products rather than the products themselves.