the loneliness of objects

Composed for Berlin-based Blissland Gallery's The Art of Tarots exhibition, the loneliness of objects is a drone work created by live processing of a harmonica through a Max program. This material was then drastically time-stretched, and additional elements, such as hiss and noise created through wavetable synthesis, were layered to create the compositional structure.





untitled 2014

This piece was created using a custom piece of software built in Max, based around two algorithms. The first is a feedback buffer which streams its contents while simultaneously recording over them. The output of the feedback buffer is run through ten tracks which manipulate the sound (by recording and looping small portions of the audio stream) before sending it back to the feedback buffer. This feedback produces an accumulation of noise, resonance, and density with each iteration. The other algorithm, referred to as a "burster," is an implementation of the clustering algorithm described by Albert-Lásló Barabási in his book Bursts. This algorithm is composed of a stack of numbers which are output and reinserted into the queue one at a time, with their relative position in the queue determined via a power law distribution. This algorithm is used in several parts of this program to automate parameters such as amplitude, timing offset, and the triggering of tracks to record over their buffer contents.

The source material used for this composition is a recording of a partially improvised composition utilizing piano, acoustic guitar, and vocals, all based around polychords. Three separate recordings were made running this file through the software, each pulling from different points in the file. The results were overlayed and edited in order to thin out certain areas and to draw attention to desired motivic elements. The lack of filtering and dynamic processing on these overlayed tracks was intentional to create a sense of engulfment when listening to this work. It is intended as well, through the avoidance of any effects such as reverb or delay, to create a sense of depth that is not spatial, but based on scale. The difference in amplitude and density between different tracks is intended to portray a kind of scale invariance, where similar processes with similar material is occurring at all points of the dynamic range of the piece. The feedback built into this composition results in entropy, where recognizable rhythmic and melodic elements are presented and repeated, yet over time are pulverized beyond recognition, leaving only rough timbres and resonance.

Guitar: Noah Lefebvre
Vocals: Lenka Chludova





summary of the immediate

The second track from my 2011 album Present in Some Language, released with the netlabel tecnoNucleo. This album seeks to span extremes, from nearly imperceptible to overwhelming volume, from diaphanous instrumental structures to abrasive cascades of digital noise, from barren sparsity to maximal density. This track focuses on subtle motion and textural development. The full album is available here.





sinter (excerpt)

This excerpt is from a 30-minute composition comprised of six 5-minute segments linked together. Each segment is created as an improvisation through the same software program--a step sequencer created in Max. All segments contain a similar formal structure, but are created using differing sound sources. More information on the software and download links are available on the software page, and the full album, released with Stasisfield, is available here.





mamori

This piece was created during a 2-week residency in 2011 with the Mamori Sound Project. Run by composer and biologist Francisco López, the residency is based around field recording in the Brazilian rainforest. This work uses hydrophone recordings of underwater insects run through the fragments software program.