Cool Tools 414: Michael Garfield
Dec 20, 2024
Michael Garfield, an independent scholar, multimedia artist, musician, and paleontologist-futurist, blends science and play to explore complexity and human-machine agency. He demos live looping and performance techniques, tells a field-story about a Brunton transit compass, praises a rugged headlamp, unpacks the game Flux as a systems lesson, and previews his Humans on the Loop project.
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Live Real-Time Looping With Boss RC-505 MkII
- The Boss RC-505 mkII enables zero-latency live looping and effects control for five distinct tracks, making studio-style layering portable on stage.
- Michael Garfield uses it as an audio interface with guitar, iPad synth, and voice to create site-specific improvisations and DJ other performers in real time.
Sampling Audiences To Build Live Sets
- Garfield describes DJing live audiences by sampling and remixing volunteers or other performers on the fly, turning spontaneous sounds into layered music.
- He recounts residencies and Burning Man sets where he passed a mic, captured vocals, then stacked and manipulated them into immersive soundscapes.
Use Dedicated Hardware For Reliable Live Performance
- Prefer hardware like the RC-505 when you need guaranteed zero-latency, tactile controls, and onstage reliability over digging through laptop menus.
- The unit exposes functions at the surface layer and accepts MIDI/CV so you can integrate synths or controllers without a computer.
