sound factory

experiments in generative sound

sound file index: sound threads & weavings created from recorded fragments. experiments in generative command line sox audio sequences

background

notes on process

My work explores free improv, chance, discrete & continuous tonal sets, and various means of algorithmic / generative sound production.

The machine / tools I use range from the cello (the fretless, infinite between), found sound, voice, metallic objects, breath, reed & tube, piano, fretted string instruments, the web audio API, recording / mixing software, & other command-line & coded (text-based) tools.

I have played solo & in ensemble as a free-improv musician. These years included live performance & recorded work. My studio work resulted in collage-like albums & soundtracks for film.

I then embraced a chance-infused, ever-churning, generative web environment for creating sound from small fragments of recordings (artifacts) and sine wave frequencies. This freed me from the constraints of proprietary, software mixing tools. It lent a free-improv feel to the clang. I also liked the sense of creating an infinite renderer of drawings & sound ::: a constant mill ::: a never-ceasing weaving / flow.

This work is/was available both online & in cross-sensory installations.

This generative, web (often networked, relational) environment could be difficult for long-term installation and for producing fixed-form work samples. The sound factory tracks below are early experiments in creating chance-infused, fixed-form sound threads (directly creating mp3 files). I use a mix of Bash shell scripts, node.js, and calls to Sox audio commands.

At the core of this research is an investigation into score & archive ::: an algorithmic code (a score) generates & documents ::: performs its (legible) text. There is often a nested structure ::: a layered set of code creating next-step code to infuse a degree of chance into the resulting sound and/or animation.

You can listen to random samples on the jukebox or can access each research session by clicking on the raw sound links below.

I am drawn to prolificacy ::: (an electric eternal photosynthesis) ::: an endless pouring ::: in the face of existential world conditions (I find this, for example, in the work of Hanne Darboven). I love the "tinkering" (her word) of someone like Laurie Anderson. I am inspired by the endless, creative, free-improv flow of musicians such as Cecil Taylor (see also the vertigo, the word-rivers of: César Aira). The deep-listening practice of Pauline Oliveros has had a profound impact on my ability to listen.

Samples of my previous, free-improv work can be found at: my portfolio ::: sound drawings page.

library of sounds

click on links below to access specific sound files sets