Kristen Roos

This timeline is the result of researching the origins of digital paint and draw software, and the tools that were developed to allow for hand manipulation (versus plotter drawn) drawing and painting - the mouse, light pen & drawing tablet. If we look at the software that has become commonplace today (such as adobe photoshop), which allows for painting, animation and photo manipulation in one, we can trace the roots of this software to the University and Corporate Labs that housed large computers with advanced capabilities for their time - MIT Lincoln Labs & Radiation Labs, DARPA & the Augmented Research Centre (ARC), Bell Labs, NYIT’s Computer Graphics Lab, Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre (Xerox PARC), NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs (JPL). The artistic collaborations that grew out of these labs fueled the advent of Computer Graphics, Computer Art and Video Art from the 1960's to the 1990's.

An amazing collection of videos by @kristenroos.bsky.social detailing the history of digital painting/drawing software — from Sketchpad (1963) to Deluxe Paint IV (1991).

"Paint: a timeline" kristenroos.ca/timeline

Hrafnamynd, by Patricia Wolf 11 track album

The new @patriciawolf.bsky.social album is out on Balmat today and it's a real gem; if you liked her debut for us (or if you like spare, melody-conscious ambient in general), you're going to love this. patriciawolf.bandcamp.com/album/hrafna...

First mural I’ve made based on images created with vintage paint software.

From the Hotham Sound 10 year anniversary show on saltspring island last weekend.
@hothamsound.bsky.social

No words to describe the beauty of this event. Thank you to everyone who made this possible, especially Ben and Raf and all the Hotham Sound artists. ☀️

Just announced! Excited for this one.

Join us at Plantasia at Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago on Sept. 14 and 15. Presented by Sacred Bones, Empty Bottle Presents, and Garfield Park Conservatory.

Early Bird Two Day Passes are on sale now.

Tickets: www.ticketweb.com/event/empty-...

Come celebrate 10 years of Hotham Sound Recordings with us on beautiful Saltspring Island. This one is going to be fun.
www.eventbrite.ca/e/hotham-sou...

Artist spotlight on Kristen Roos, courtesy of Flow State
www.flowstate.fm/p/kristen-roos
@kristenroos.bsky.social
#vintage #computer #software

NxNWx10, by Various Artists 27 track album

hothamsoundrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/nxnwx10
Hard to believe but 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of Hotham Sound Recordings. To celebrate we've released a massive free comp featuring favorites from our first decade. If you're curious, this is a killer introduction to the label.

YouTube video by Hotham Sound Kristen Roos - Bok

youtu.be/cQ7au2RQwkY?...
Live performance by @kristenroos.bsky.social tomorrow night at Red Gate, Vancouver, BC. This has been a big year for Kristen, with writeups in @thewiremagazine.bsky.social , @electronicsound.bsky.social, and @theguardian. Doors at 8. Come see what all the fuss is about.

Tonight on Art Of Beatz Radio, guest Kristen Roos celebrates the release of the third volume in his Universal Synthesizer Interface series, the show starts at midnight PST on coopradio.org
@kuma23.bsky.social @kristenroos.bsky.social
@hothamsound.bsky.social
@wearebusybodies.bsky.social

PORTAL

Just a reminder that if you recently ordered tapes from us, Canada Post is on strike, so please be patient and support the workers!

Universal Synthesizer Interface Vol III, by Kristen Roos 6 track album

hothamsoundrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/univer...
It's release day for this stunner. Grab a copy on cassette from our Bandcamp, or head to wearebusybodies.bandcamp.com for the full vinyl treatment. Congrats, Kristen 🤸‍♂️

My thoughts on three wonderful volumes of experiments with some of the earliest available personal computer music composition software. Playful, clever, endlessly diverting stuff.

Kristen Roos :: Universal Synthesizer Interface, Volumes I, II, III

aquariumdrunkard.com/2024/11/20/k...

Composed of pulses and patches, primitive drum machines and bass squelches, USI emerges as one of the most slyly delightful, engaging and weirdly beautiful musical projects going.

Kristen Roos : Universal Synthesizer Interface, Volumes I, II, III : Aquarium Drunkard In 2019, Vancouver composer and sound designer Kristen Roos acquired a floppy disc of pioneering computer musician Laurie Spiegel's 1986 algorithmic composition program Music Mouse for a few bucks on ...

Over at @aquariumdrunkard.com I wrote about the 3 volumes of Vancouver artist Kristen Roos's explorations in 1980s computer music. Roos offers one of the most slyly delightful music projects going, plus a vision of human interaction with technology that feels almost utopian in its charm & simplicity

VANCOUVER: Live performances by V.Vecker and Kristen Roos on December 14th at Red Gate Arts Society @kristenroos.bsky.social

Thank you for the PORTAL @kristenroos.bsky.social 🖤 Have a feel this will transport me somewhere good 💫

An ad for Intelligent Music from 1987 that appears in an article I've written for CLOT magazine.
Intelligent Music was founded in 1984 by Joel Chadabe.

https://clotmag.com/oped/intelligent-music-unearthing-the-human-intention-behind-vintage-algorithmic-sequencing-software

20190118 / QC56 / Red Gate Arts Society, by KR75 from the album Quiet City 2010-2020

FROM THE ARCHIVE ◀◀
Excerpt of a live performance by KR75 at Red Gate Arts Society as part of the Hotham Sound label showcase, taken from our ten-year retrospective Quiet City compilation @kristenroos.bsky.social @hothamsound.bsky.social #ambient #electronicmusic

Intelligent Music & vintage algorithmic sequencing software Kristen Roos gives us insight into the research for ´Universal Synthesizer Interface´ & vintage algorithmic MIDI sequencing software from the '80s and '90s.

Article in CLOT Magazine by Kristen Roos about Intelligent Music software from the 1980s, the lineage and connections to more modern audio tools clotmag.com/oped/intelli... @kristenroos.bsky.social

~VORTEX BLOC II~
Still image of a piece from new series :: SCAN/CYCLE :: animation created with vintage software that has been manipulated through video synthesis techniques/scan processing.

https://objkt.com/asset/KT1HiMXwvr941HRya6hm6pwoA8ZvaYQkEZac/5

So great that Whole Earth and CoEvolution Quarterly are now an online archive…the Summer 1975 edition of Co-evolution Quarterly has one of the first mentions of the term PERSONAL COMPUTERS...

https://wholeearth.info/p/coevolution-quarterly-summer-1975?format=spreads&index=0

Profile in The Wire Magazine’s latest issue.

Weaving today!

Music video premier on ClotMagazine !

With an interview that discusses my creative process & inspiration behind the video and albums.

https://clotmag.com/news/video-premiere-kristen-roos-diablo-iii-fabrications-with-early-algorithmic-explorations