www.x-tet.com » A-Life

Baby Reindeer

norbert — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 19:31:55 +0000

“Baby Reindeer” is a generative music app for iPhone and iPod Touch.

The “baby reindeer” is actually a toy—the Fisher-Price “Ocean Wonders Soothe and Glow Seahorse.” It was a gift to my son, who cuddled with it at night and enjoyed the mix of classical melodies and ocean sounds. When my daughter saw it for the first time she squealed with delight, saying, “Oh look! It’s a baby reindeer!” It was soft. It lit up when you squeezed its belly. Everyone was fond of the “baby reindeer.” I was fascinated with the way that, as its batteries ran down, the melodies and ocean sounds would detune and garble. Short, micro-recordings of these sounds comprise many of the parts heard in this music.

In 1996 Brian Eno invented the term generative music to describe a sound experience that is unique upon every listening. Simple compositional rules unfold to make each ‘performance’ distinct within a range of possibilities. This app uses the processing capabilities of your device to play continuous music that drifts within a mood and is unlikely to be repeated.

MP3 rough sketch of “Baby Reindeer” (initial rough sketch from April ’11)

Sanding

norbert — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 01:06:12 +0000

I’m currently experimenting with some guitar recordings I made with an EBow. The music is produced with two long drones that are fed through a variety of signal processes. Of these, the most important is the NeuroGranular Sampler designed by John Matthias and Nick Ryan for use in their larger piece The Fragmented Orchestra created with Jane Grant.

The NeuroGranular Sampler simulates the process of neuronal spiking and, “…reproduces the spiking and bursting behavior of known types of cortical neurons. The neurogranular sampler works by taking short segments (or sound grains) from sound files and triggering them when any of the neurons fire” (MUSE).

I find that the sound grains “fly off of” the drone recordings like sawdust stripped from a piece of wood by sandpaper. The sonic sawdust can be routed to filters, delays, and a battery of other effects to produce incredibly interesting and varied textures and melodies. There are currently no specific directions for the project, but stay tuned.

Listen to Sanding rough edit

Documentation: Sound Garden 2009

norbert — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:53:54 +0000

For one week each year, the Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Arts gathers creators and performers of new media arts from around the world to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul (USA) to showcase their work to the public. I was invited to Spark 2009 to show my installation Sound Garden and give a paper, Dérive en Mille Sons.

Thank you Ali, Doug, and J for hosting a great festival in February! The Spark media producers have since been busy editing the festival documentation. It’s not like being there, but a these videos offer a decent tip of the iceberg. During the public tour of the Regis Center I gave a short talk on Sound Garden to provide attendees and other artists with an idea of what was happening in the skyway.

After Spark, I recorded Sound Garden at different times of day with all of the sounds that had been “planted” during the festival. These MP3s are titled by the time at which the recording was made. Due to differences in ambient light, temperature, air movement, and human presence at various times of day, each recording has something unique to offer.

Play 03-08-2009-1500.mp3
Play 03-09-2009-0000.mp3
Play 03-11-2009-1500.mp3
Play 03-18-2009-1200.mp3

Sound Garden

norbert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:48:53 +0000

Asynchronous improvisation by me, you + others. Following Perturb, Sound Garden is the second work in a series of musical installations that explore the relationship of people, location, and audio relative to technology. Sound Garden was composed for Arts Week 2007 at Indiana University, Bloomington. The project originally ran from 21 February to 7 March, 2007. Most recently, Sound Garden was part of the 2009 SPARK Festival of Electronic Music and Arts at the University of Minnesota, February 17–22, 2009.

Launch the Sound Garden project site

Sound Garden online and in the press:
“Cultivating the Sound Garden” from the IU News Room
Attention from networked_performance
Post in the Audio Cookbook

Perturb

norbert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:24:53 +0000

An asynchronous improvisation by me, you + others at the SoFA gallery in Bloomington, IN. Sound material is to be provided by those who vist the piece. Join in the performance with your own short recordings, samples, soundscapes, and found sonic objects.

Launch Perturb project site

A(rt) Life 2.0

norbert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:23:54 +0000

A(rt)Life 2.0 is an installation of music, sound, and projected animation. It uses a flocking behavior to reveal the possibilities of sound in Artificial Life systems. A(rt)Life 2.0 examines the relationship of music and emergence by exploring how self-organizing behavior can extend music endlessly in time.

Launch A(rt)Life 2.0 project site

A(rt) Life Study

norbert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:22:54 +0000

A(rt)Life is a new project, initiated Summer 2005. This study uses the PSO algorithm and explores the connection between swarm dynamics and specific parameters of a music composition. Unlike my other PSO-related works this example is only available as an MP3.

Play max.s.o.mp3

AUTOMATIC BODY

norbert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:21:54 +0000

Automatic Body, done in collaboration with Yacov Sharir, is an installation driven by swarm dynamics where individual behaviors are translated into sound and dance. The media has not been optimized for the web, so please excuse the sluggish playback.

Launch AUTOMATIC BODY

Particle Swarm Optimization [2]

norbert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:20:54 +0000

Complexity via simplicity: This piece uses the particle swarm algorithm of Kennedy and Eberhart to make generative music. PSO[2] was premiered at the Red Gate Gallery in Beijing, China in conjunction with “Consciousness Reframed 2004: Qi & Complexity.”

Launch PSO[2]

Particle Swarm Optimization [1]

norbert — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:19:14 +0000

PSO[1] is my first composition that used the particle swarm algorithm of Kennedy and Eberhart to perform music.