The Strange Agency

Curtis gets Devine

lucas — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:57:03 +0000

The latest installment of Curtis, version 1.1, is up on the iTunes Store. We’re extra excited about this one, as Richard Devine has been kind enough to create an incredible sound scape for the app. We could hardly think of a better way to glitch bliss on Curtis!

New in this release:

exclusive Richard Devine sound set
pitch control
echo effect
volume control
mp3 import

Curtis on iPad

lucas — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:33:22 +0000

The initial build of Curtis for iPad has just been approved!

It’s our first app using the new drag-and-drop document functionality in iTunes. No more in-app-server craziness; just drag-and-drop files between Curtis and your computer. Finally! Please only WAV files for now.

Some free promo codes, first come, first served:
RJAX43KF7E7M
EAPXNY3WXFMN
TTWJN34RW7EH
6PPP9YH9MRYA
WL7JYTFJR6MP
MM4X3PHYMYWM

Space Love 1.5

lucas — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:10:36 +0000

We just submitted a new version of Space, coming to your iPad (extremely) soon. The touch interface was totally reworked, tossing the iPhone modal paradigm. The short of it: you can get all multi-freaky now: tweaking wave forms as you select notes, detune an oscillator, adjust the echo, set the modulator. We rarely wish we had more fingers, but this morning we’ve nearly deployed our toes. The new hold features do however make it a little easier on our overwrought digits.

• rewritten touch interface, now much more multi!
• fixed ultra-crashed arp
• fixed arp display sync issue
• hold now works with arp off, for a sustained single note
• hold now extra sticky, allowing you to add and alter arp notes while a touch is held in the note area

Oh, and as for that borken arp. For the nerds among ye: the compiler was wreaking voodoo when optimizing the app. Everything rocked hard on our debug iPad, but the release version was doing Alpha Centauri math we’re only beginning to understand. Making a function-local variable into a class variable fixed the bug. Free pizza to the first commenter who can explain this!

Time for Space on the iPad

lucas — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:28:47 +0000

I am very pleased to announce the first iteration of our first iPad app, Space for iPad. It was obvious that the iPad would be a boon to our audio apps, but I didn’t know it would be so much fun! Trying the iPhone apps on the iPad sent me straight to Xcode. This release is a fairly direct port of Sound Scope Space. More features are already implemented and coming your way soon!

Back for NAMM

lucas — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:07:57 +0000

After an amazing and extended tour of Asia, we’re back in LA, and back to apps. Looking forward to implementing your suggestions and looking forward to the mythical tablet.

If any NAMM goers would like to chat, critique, suggest, or rumble this weekend, please get in touch! Email “hello@” or get all audio at 424-AGENCY9.

And a happy New Year

Slice hates your iPod Touch, presently

lucas — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:16:22 +0000

It seems a recent OS upgrade changes AudioSession behavior on the iPod Touch, making Slice grumpy and silent. This is most ill-timed, and we apologize. A fix is in the works!

UPDATE: the iPod-loving version 1.1 has been submitted to Apple on Nov. 9, and should be available within a couple of weeks!

In the meantime, Slice will reportedly work on your iPod if a headset with a microphone is plugged in.

Slice has launched!

lucas — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:18:33 +0000

We are extremely pleased to announce the launch of Slice, our beat-juggling app. You’ve watched the demos, salivated over the possibilities, and now you can grab the app and juggle our beats as well as your own to your pounding heart’s content.

The Slice debut features graphic design by Sally K Russell and sound design by Claus Muzak. Mountains of thanks for their efforts!

TSA at BArCMuT

lucas — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:24:32 +0000

Hello San Francisco! Lucas Kuzma will present current and future apps at the Bay Area Computer Music Technology Group meeting Wed. Oct 7, 2009 alongside other presentations for computer music enthusiasts.

Presentations will include:
- Ge Wang (Stanford CCRMA Assistant Professor and Smule CTO) will give a tour of TAPESTREA.
- Jorge Herrera (Stanford CCRMA graduate student) will demonstrate Flash Audio synthesis approaches.
- Lucas Kuzma of The Strange Agency will present his series of music applications for the iPhone. In addition to showcasing current and forthcoming apps, the talk will address making music on a mobile platform.
- SHARE San Jose is a group of technology-oriented musicians and visualists that meets monthly to jam, experiment, and talk. Tim Thompson will describe the group’s activities since its inception almost two years ago.

Slice loop contest

lucas — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:24:24 +0000

While hordes of strange agents wrangle little gleeks of funk from Audio Units to bring you Slice, it has come to light that SLICE NEEDS LOOPS!

So where can we get the phattest breaks on the planet? From you!

The Strange Agency is holding a contest for the best loops to package with Slice upon its release! Loops must be hecka, hella quantized and ready for slicing, dicing, cutting, and milking. This app is all about tight timing and recombinant beat synchrony, so slop cannot be tolerated.

You must forfeit all rights to any submission. Slice users will want string-less, royalty-free loops to play with, otherwise where is the fun? We will credit you in the app, and we’ll say prayers for you nightly, but that’s about all we can offer beyond the endless paeans of your peers who will break out your beats at shows, on albums, in BMW ads.

We need your sounds by September 11^th. We will submit each loop to a rigorous ass-test. If the ass don’t wiggle, no dice. Oh, and YOUR OWN SHIT ONLY please. Let’s not all get sued? God bless.

Send us your loop

Curtis Heavy saves

lucas — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:57:59 +0000

Curtis 1.4 just popped onto the scene, so those of you with long IP addresses can now also enjoy file transfer between Curtis and your computer. We fixed the address truncation bug and added saving, so now your favorite recordings can be accessed again and again.