Dutch sound poet Jaap Blonk has released an iPhone version of his interactive sound poem the Blonk Organ. The Blonk Organ started life in 1997 as an online Flash application, which is still online here. The original sounds stay the same, although for this version (which is only available on Apple devices at present) the samples can be looped, sequenced and layered.

The app is free and available in the Apple app store here.

UPDATE (11 April): The app has been removed due to issues brought by the original designer of the Blonk Organ. Japp Blonk says: "It's incredible and very regrettable: after having received updates about the progress of the project (porting the Flash version of the Blonk Organ to the iOS platform) for almost six months, the original designer made a sudden U-turn when the app was ready and available, and didn't want to approve it. Also, he did not wish to cooperate in making a revised version that could be issued any time soon.

"The iOS programmer Chris de Chiara and I are now planning to collaborate on a brand new app. I hope to have news about this soon."

Jazz drummer Tony Marsh died from cancer yesterday, on 9 April.

Marsh had been performing until very recently, including a two night residency at London's Cafe Oto with Roscoe Mitchell and John Edwards on 9 and 10 March. In the coming months he was due to play with Mark Sanders at Freedom Of The City in May, and with John Edwards at Evan Parker's free improvisation residency at The Vortex.

Marsh first became known in the 1970s with jazz rock improvisors Major Surgery, which lasted until 1979, after which he taught percussion and played in Soho.

From the 80s onwards Marsh recorded and played with Evan Parker, Paul Rutherford, Barry Guy, Howard Riley, Harry Beckett, improvising quartet the Full Monte, Mike Westbrook, John Edwards, Paul Dunmall, The London Improvisers Orchestra, Roscoe Mitchell, Frode Gerstadt and others, as well as the 7RPM trio with Simon Picard and Paul Rogers.

Marsh had come to greater prominence in recent years via his regular trio with Evan Parker and John Edwards, and as noted by John Coxon, had recently been using a standing percussion set up with multiple hung cymbals and horizontal bass drums.

A more detailed biography and discography of Tony Marsh can be found here. Thanks to London Jazz and Oliver Weindling's blog.

Earlier this week we reported that three members of Russian feminist punk collective Pussy Riot had been arrested for performing a punk prayer in Moscow's Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Today Amnesty International has posted a public call for the women to be released "immediately and unconditionally", and reports that while the three women admit to being members of Pussy Riot, they have so far denied involvement in the cathedral protest.

Amnesty states that: "even if the three arrested women did take part in the protest, the severity of Russian authorities’ response – detention on the serious criminal charge of hooliganism – would not be a justifiable response to the peaceful (if, to many, offensive) expression of their political beliefs, and they would therefore be prisoners of conscience.

"The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly ruled that freedom of expression applies not only to inoffensive ideas, "but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population", and even if the action was calculated to shock and was known to be likely to cause offence, the activists left the cathedral when requested to do so and caused no damage. The entire incident lasted only a few minutes and caused only minimal disruption to those using the cathedral."

Read the full statement here.

Ethio-jazz musician Mulatu Astatke will be awarded an honorary doctor of music degree by Boston's Berklee College of Music (along with The Eagles and Alison Krauss). Astatke was the first African student at Berklee in the 60s, and he currently sits on the advisory board for the college's Africa Scholars programme.

The ceremony takes place on 12 May. More details here.

The Center for Forgetting in Allentown Pennsylvania has opened applications for its Patacademy Residency, for site specific projects and a free live/work studio, and access to a shared 4,000sq ft workspace.

This year the Patacademy Residency is interested in hearing from artists working in sound art and new media, who focus on the role memory plays in creating symbolic language systems.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, but must include a written proposal, including a project timeline. Submission details here.

Ivan Pavlov, half of the Soisong collaboration with the late Peter Christopherson, is planning to release the pair's final two projects this year. Next month Pavlov will release a double EP of sketches made by himself and Christopherson working apart, and the final Soisong album is scheduled for 20 December 2012.

Pavlov has also started a YouTube channel, depositing footage filmed and music recorded with Christopherson.

2012 was always going to be the group's final year of activity, tied to the project's name ('song' means 'two' in Thai). "My decision to start the channel is part of this final phase of activity," says Pavlov. "It comes out of certain necessity I feel, to share what we have in our archives and to celebrate the year, also trying to fulfill at least part of the promises we made when Peter was still alive. Working without him is not easy, but there isn't any other option."

Soisong also involves a virtual singer created by 3D animator Han Li Chiou (who also helped design Soisong's octagonal CDs) plus designers Yuu Omiya, and Panu Puntoomsinchai, all of whom continue to work with Pavlov. Watch a video made by Pavlov and Christopherson from excerpts filmed in Thailand, Greece and Austria below.

Three women from Russian feminist riot grrl collective Pussy Riot have been arrested and charged with hooliganism, for a performance of a 'punk prayer' titled "Virgin Mary, Drive Putin Away" in Moscow's Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

The performance, which took place in February, protested at Putin's regime and appealed to the "Holy Mother, Blessed Virgin" to "chase Putin out". A statement from the collective on freepussyriot.org states: "Our performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was a political gesture, which concerns the problem of merging of Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Putin government" and goes on to say: "We believe that as part of the post-election campaign, Mr Putin, who received the 'victory' in elections, has decided to recall all the wrongs that were inflicted [on] him by the opposition of citizens."

The women, named as Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Samutsevic, are reported to have gone on a 12 day hunger strike (which has now ended), and a trial is scheduled for 24 April. More information here, and in Russian here.

American label Sundazed is releasing an anthology of work by Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker, titled I Feel So Far Away: Anthology 1974–1998. The anthology includes a collection of tracks from Tucker's catalogue of solo recordings, made after her time with the Velvet Underground. It includes solo recordings, Velvet Underground covers, plus tracks made with members of Sonic Youth, Violent Femmes and Half Japanese.

Tucker replaced Angus MacLise as the Velvet Underground's drummer in the mid-60s, and left after six years in 1971, and now lives in Georgia, USA. The anthology is released as a double CD and triple LP. More details here.

ATP have cancelled their forthcoming I'll Be Your Mirror festival in Tokyo, Japan. In an open letter to ticketholders, ATP director Barry Hogan said that it is no longer financially possible to run the event due to slow ticket sales and the unavailability of some artists they were hoping to book. The festival will be rescheduled for later in 2012.

The festival was to be curated by Jim O'Rourke, and confirmed artists included Factory Floor, Nisennenmondai, Michael Rother, The Necks, and Tony Conrad with Charlemagne Palestine. Previously purchased tickets will be automatically transferred from the original dates (14–15 April) to the rescheduled dates, which have not yet been announced. More info here.

Mad King Edmund, a collective of jazz and electronic musicians led by Ed Pettersen, is crowdfunding a project to release a record by free jazz saxophonist Giuseppe Logan, a contemporary of Albert Ayler and John Coltrane who recorded two albums for ESP-Disk in the 1960s.

The recording took place in Manhattan on 16 October 2011 with Cooper Moore and Larry Roland. The $6,000 funding will pay for mastering, vinyl pressing, design and artwork, with any extra money raised going towards repairs for Logan's saxophone, which is unplayable at present.

Logan disappeared in the 70s and resurfaced over 30 years later after being spotted busking in New York. He then recorded his first release in 45 years as the Guiseppe Logan Quintet, which was out in 2009 on Tompkins Square. Watch the campaign video below.