The Make blog has notice of a couple of indie musos who have found their muses through the Nintendo DS title Electroplankton.
Keeping with Nintendo's current broad approach to gaming, the software was developed by a Japanese contemporary musician. It's not a game per se, but a multi-media platform that uses interactive elements, including touch and voice, to make sound. While its release was limited outside of Japan, the cult hit has found a following among a new generation of musicians who share such untranslatable suggestions as:
I found that it sounds best if I have the yellow lumineria bouncing between two F points, and the red and green ones looping around the Bb diagonal
Among the champtions are Boing Boing's Mark Frauenfelder, who used it to compose the music that accompanies one of his podcast interviews, and Merleon Cedraeon, who says,
Earlier this year, when I found out about Electroplankton, I was suddenly motivated to create a new type of music that I had never before attempted. When I finally had the chance to experience Electroplankton I instantly knew what my next project would be.
If you find yourself moved by the underwater music, Thomas Wilburn has written a very thorough How-To guide for budding Electroplankton composers.
