ojdo – Page 18 – Reviews of Creative Commons music, self-made photos and wallpapers

How to use TikZ for inline polygons

The trick is to define inner sep=0pt when beginning the tikzpicture environment, as I learned from pgf bug report #172 minimum size in regular polygon fails for small length from last year. Here is a minimum working example, adapted to my use case of inline polygon symbols with roughly text height, i.e. 2ex in my…

Thu, 21st Aug 2014
Dr. Mindflip – [2014] Every Waking Moment

Quirky indie pop. Netlabel blocSonic keeps to its mission to deliver solid indie music, this time in form of swingy pop tunes. Acoustic instrumentation (drum, piano, bass, acoustic guitar) + vocals create a solid soundstage and 4 slightly eclectic songs.

Wed, 20th Aug 2014

Alternative, CCBYNCND30, Indie, Pop
How to change the default matplotlib font

The default fonts for matplotlib are set in file matplotlibrc in the folder $USER_HOME/.matplotlib. You can find them here, depending on your operating system: Windows: C:\Users\YourName\.matplotlib\matplotlibrc Linux: /home/YourName/.matplotlib/matplotlibrc Within the file, search for the font section, and uncomment (remove the hash symbol # at beginning of line) or add the following settings as desired. In…

Mon, 18th Aug 2014
How to autoreload packages while using them in IPython

I use IPython to interactively use and debug code that I edit in a text editor at the same time. Unfortunately, Python does not automatically reload packages and functions after an initial import foo, simply for performance reasons. Fortunately, there is a solution: the IPython extension autoreload does what its name says: either all (how…

Thu, 14th Aug 2014
Boogie Belgique – [2013] Nightwalker (Vol. 1)

Vintage remixes done right. Wow, simply wow. Before encountering this album, I thought that remixing old vinyl recordings necessarily leads to repetitive hip hop background tracks. But this release, presented by netlabel Dusted Wax Kingdom, fortunately breaks with this rule. Modern sounds seamlessly blend with old audio samples.

Wed, 13th Aug 2014

CCBYNCND30, Electronic, Lo-Fi, Swing, Trip Hop
Auditive Escape – [2013] Profound

Convincing downtempo trip hop. Ok, “convincing” might sound a bit too corporate for this lush piece of an album, flirting with ambient genre elements. French artist Jean Patier really knows how to turn the knobs to create deceptively simple chill out tracks. Read on for my two (from 10) favourite tracks and the release link.

Wed, 6th Aug 2014

CCBYNCND30, Downtempo, Electronic, Trip Hop
$How to use custom colours in LaTeX$

How to use custom colours in LaTeX

I will post short minimum working examples (MWEs) of minimal LaTeX documents, showing a certain feature in action. Though the well-maintained LaTeX Wikibook is a much more extensive resource than a collection of such examples could ever be, they show directly compilable examples compared to isolated snippets. I start simple: custom text colours, using different…

Tue, 5th Aug 2014
cantaloup – [2006] tonight it shows

Acoustic post pop. Airy sound scapes made from guitar carpets and synthetic strings, mixed with mellow vocals make for a soothing ambient album. If these 8 calm tracks are not enough, have a look at cantaloup’s Bandcamp profile, where he has released several albums since.

Wed, 30th Jul 2014

Ambient, CCBYNCSA, Electronic
Various Artists – [2009] Netaudio 2009 – Acroplane and The Centrifuge

Classic netaudio sampler. Nowadays, netlabel Acroplane release new albums on Bandcamp. Unfortunately, they did not move all their releases there. Fortunately, their back catalogue is archived at my favourite well-known place. This compilation has 18 diverse tracks from chiptunes over breakcore to glitchy IDM.

Wed, 23rd Jul 2014

Breakcore, CCBYNCND30, Chiptune, Compilation, Electronic, Experimental, Glitch
entertainment for the braindead – [2008] hydrophobia

Acoustic dilettante post-something. At least that’s how the Julia Kotowski from Cologne describes her exquisitely melancholic songs. Honest, without fancy effects, simple and heart-warming is her music. This album is a collaborative release by the two netlabels aerotone (out of business, unfortunately) and aaahh-records (up and rockin’). 2 of the 10 songs await you below.

Wed, 16th Jul 2014

CCBYNCSA, Folk, World
Colourful light wallpapers

Sat, 12th Jul 2014
Th.e n.d – [2009] Schizophrenic Birth

Minimal downtempo goodness. Berlin artist Th.e n.d. seems to prefer quality over quantity. This EP, released 2009 at the Acustronica netlabel, only contains 3 tracks. Yet every track is distinct in style and remarkably well produced. Unconventional sound combinations and laidback tunes are the common theme.

Wed, 9th Jul 2014

Ambient, CCBYNCND30, Electronic, Piano
Aydio – [2009] Deltitnu EP

Laid-back trip hop with grooves. Where conventional trip hop serves monotonous boredom, Aydio excels with groovy bass lines, atmospheric guitar samples and a blend of vintage and modern soundscapes. 4 tracks or 20 minutes worth of great background music await you.

Wed, 2nd Jul 2014

CCBYNCND30, Electronic, Trip Hop
Schaustelle Pinakothek der Moderne

From April to October 2013, Pinakothek der Moderne had to close for renovation. During that time, a temporary exhibition space called Schaustelle was erected. Here is my take on the construction:

Sun, 29th Jun 2014
The Additive – [2010] The Additive

Edgy techno dance music. Berlin artist Addictive is brought to us by the renowned Italian techno netlabel Sostanze Records. 7 tracks, each more than 5 minutes long, speak for themselves: endless beats and slow transitions.

Wed, 18th Jun 2014

CCBYNCND25, Electronic, Techno